What are your 2016 Hunting Plans??

Post by **mnaj_springer** » Fri Aug 19, 2016 1:08 pm

I look forward to the next season the minute that the previous one ends and I would bet others feel the same!

So what are your plans for hunting this fall? I'll start...

Nothing extravagant here... I will be chasing the King of Gamebirds fairly often this fall since I could hear them drumming every morning this spring while I had my coffee (it's like he was taunting me). I hope to make a trip down to SW MN to chase some longtails for a weekend, and maybe do the same thing in North Dakota over Thanksgiving weekend while the wife goes shopping. Sprinkle in the occasional duck hunt (and maybe a goose that floats into my duck spread), and hopefully I can fill my freezer up once again.

Alright... your turn!

NEhomer · Post by **NEhomer** » Fri Aug 19, 2016 1:40 pm

This is my setter's second year so it's a big one. He was awesome last year but I know there can be some regressions here and there. We're just starting force fetch this week. The nice thing about year two is no worries about gun shyness, hardmouth etc. the hard thing is that this year brings greater expectations so there's def more training pressure.

I hunt mostly stocked pheasants here in MA but I also have woodcock and some grouse around too.

I don't know how much goose hunting I'll get in but I have an awesome farm to hunt right under a local flyway. We use avery finisher blinds in fields and regularly bag out. I make jerky out of them.....yum.

Sometimes I get a chance to get in a stand but deer hunting is sporadic for me.

....I think it'll be another year of obsessing about my bird dog. He sure obsesses about me!

I've also got 8 cord to cut and bring in before the season so I don't miss time in the woods.

NEhomer · Post by **NEhomer** » Sat Aug 20, 2016 10:35 am

Gee springer, I thought this was an interesting thread idea. Oh well.

deseeker · Post by **deseeker** » Sat Aug 20, 2016 10:58 am

I've got my Omaha Indian Rez pheasant lic for this year. Maybe an early season southwest ND hunt for phez & hun. I'm also thinking about maybe a late year phez hunt in KS. Nebraska deer lic for next years meat supply.

MSU Aggie · Post by **MSU Aggie** » Sat Aug 20, 2016 3:56 pm

27 days of guiding for pheasants in SD and fitting in my personal hunts.

HuntMac · Post by **HuntMac** » Sat Aug 20, 2016 6:57 pm

-Arizona dove hunt week after opener.
-Colorado quail when I can get away on the weekends with some pheasants mixed in.
-Arizona mearns quail opener and for the week...my favorite!

oldbeek · Post by **oldbeek** » Sat Aug 20, 2016 11:37 pm

North Eastern California for quail opener and maybe chuckar, then over to northern Nevada for Chuckar. I Intend to camp up there for a few weeks. Hope i can learn the territory. In dec. will be southern AZ for mearns. Will be working my dog on a couple of home coveys but wife will not let me shoot them. Pooooor rain in So. Cal. and very small coveys.

IsThisHeaven? · Post by **IsThisHeaven?** » Sun Aug 21, 2016 5:15 am

The first couple of weeks of September is dove season. I have 2 grouse hunts planned - one the last weekend in September, the other the second weekend in October. Both will be 4 days hunts in Wisconsin. I am hunting early muzzleloader season here in Iowa. Then it is pheasant hunting from the end of October through January 10. After that it is rabbits through the end of February with some coyote hunting mixed in.

Timewise65 · Post by **Timewise65** » Sun Aug 21, 2016 8:24 am

We always start with an 'opening day' dove hunt....

Then this year we are going up to North Dakota for a 7 day hunt in November. That includes a focus on Geese and Ducks, but will also spend time going after Pheasant and many times we see other upland birds that we go after. Our trips up to ND are always different with a mixed bag....Our Golden Retrievers and a friends Lab will provide the hard work for us....all are AKC MH's!

When we return to MO, our season will be soon to follow and we will chase waterfowl most every weekend, with maybe a couple of breaks to get some Kansas Pheasants...

Hope the weather cooperates....

setterpoint · Post by **setterpoint** » Sun Aug 21, 2016 10:26 am

grouse hunt as much as poss.now that the cabins finished looks lika a good year

Post by **Sharon** » Sun Aug 21, 2016 12:58 pm

woodcock, grouse and pheasant as much as possible

Can't shoot anymore , but the dog and I will still have a great time.

DGFavor · Post by **DGFavor** » Sun Aug 21, 2016 6:18 pm

I'm not to creative...will just go wander around with the dogs like every year - https://vimeo.com/153576004

Gertie · Post by **Gertie** » Sun Aug 21, 2016 10:52 pm

I got an invitation to go sharp-tail hunting in Montana with some friends that I'm very much looking forward to. Also planning a jet boat hunt on the Snake for chukar. Other than that, it'll be the standard wandering around in the rocks hoping for the best

Great video btw, Doc.

Max2 · Post by **Max2** » Mon Aug 22, 2016 4:56 am

I believe Max & I will make a tip up north in NY for the season opener. Then it will be more of NY when the rest of NY opens up on Oct. 1 . Max & I have amassed quite a few different covers over his first 9 yrs on earth. Time fly's !
Enjoy your time with your four legged friends

cjhills · Post by **cjhills** » Mon Aug 22, 2016 5:40 am

Mn. rough grouse around home, sharptails in the northwest. Late pheasants in the south. Planning to take a trip through ND, Montana, Kansas, South Dakota and maybe Iowa. A couple late trips to SD.
Might have to scratch some of the plans cause my legs ain't what they once were and buying all the state licenses to hunt the same bird gets a bit questionable. according to reports it looks like a good year..................Cj

mask · Post by **mask** » Mon Aug 22, 2016 10:34 am

North Dakota, Montana, Canada, and around here where fires have left some hunting country.

nhachman · Post by **nhachman** » Mon Aug 22, 2016 11:04 am

Planning to stay in Missouri for the first couple of weeks of the season. Going to to western KS over the Thanksgiving holiday and either going back there or trying NE or IA late in the season after Christmas. Fill in any available gaps with Missouri hunts as time allows.

fishvik · Post by **fishvik** » Tue Aug 23, 2016 9:23 am

Hunt Idaho, if it isn't completely burned up by the opener. Right now a lot of my sharptail and hun country is on fire east of Idaho Falls.

GSP4ME · Post by **GSP4ME** » Tue Aug 23, 2016 2:17 pm

I will start off with Oklahoma Dove, followed by North Carolina deer, Pennsylvania Grouse/Deer/pheasant, Oklahoma Quail, South Dakota Pheasant, Oklahoma Quail, Oklahoma Pheasant, Oklahoma Quail, rest.

nikegundog · Post by **nikegundog** » Wed Aug 31, 2016 8:14 pm

Ditch parrots around the area, along with two trips to SD. Chase the occasional woodie and greenwing early, greenheads late. Hope to get into the Goose migration (if they come).

reba · Post by **reba** » Thu Sep 01, 2016 9:20 am

Leaving in a couple of days.

Will start in Wyoming for chickens, then up to Montana for huns, sharptail and pheasants. Then back to Wyoming for fill my goat tag and fly fish for browns. Then over to Idaho for chukar, huns and pheasants. Try a new spot in Nevada for chukar and end up chasing mearns. Will look for spots to hunt ruffed grouse along the way. Hope to be home for Christmas.

After all these years I just discovered ruffed grouse hunting last year. I was really surprised how quickly my big running GSP's tighten right up in the timber.

My goal is to not hunt the same spot twice. I just hate the guys that hammer the same spot day after day.

I am in my seventies and have been blessed with good health and great dogs.

The secret to finding birds is to learn the habitat and the right weather.

You can make a dog even better if you let it hunt, keep your mouth shut and your whistle in your pocket.

Talk to you all next year!

Post by **mnaj_springer** » Thu Sep 08, 2016 9:49 am

Well the season hasn't started yet but already a wrench in my plans. A family event was scheduled for grouse opener so Mr. Ruffed will have to wait, but no worries, I have a back-up. On opener I'll explore some unknown territory (to me at least) looking for Mr. Sharptail. That should really test my young pointer.

Grommet · Post by **Grommet** » Thu Sep 08, 2016 3:36 pm

Reba that's sounds awesome but unfortunately we don't need any new ruffed grouse hunters we already have plenty and don't really want to share our hotspots with any new comers to the sport. But thanks for your interest and good luck on your sacred public hunting grounds in AZ.

Moonshine Ike · Post by **Moonshine Ike** » Thu Sep 08, 2016 4:43 pm

Grommet wrote:Reba that's sounds awesome but unfortunately we don't need any new ruffed grouse hunters we already have plenty and don't really want to share our hotspots with any new comers to the sport. But thanks for your interest and good luck on your sacred public hunting grounds in AZ.

H3lls B3lls, Just what are you trying to say?

Mountaineer · Post by **Mountaineer** » Thu Sep 08, 2016 5:01 pm

Listen to Yoopers, Yinzers, Mountaineer fans and Kansas folks.

Rik · Post by **Rik** » Sat Sep 10, 2016 7:04 pm

Headed to Powder River, NE Oregon, then Treasure Valley, Idaho for flat ground and Quail. First year we won't hunt the Snake River for Chukar. I can't climb the canyon walls anymore and my pup is 13, and starting slow down some and I don't want to have to carry him back the truck if he decides to move on while hunting.

Good hunting to all you guys/gals...................

setterpoint · Post by **setterpoint** » Sun Sep 11, 2016 8:27 pm

grouse hunt ever day maybe not all day but 2 to 3 hours in the mornings and a few in the afternoon

MNTonester · Post by **MNTonester** » Mon Sep 12, 2016 12:44 pm

I plan to get out for the opener this Saturday - not that I expect to actually see anything with the cover as it is. My wife was out in our small patch of woods (right in the middle of town) and came across two ruffs. they had wandered off by the time I grabbed a camera and one flushed on the neighbor's side of the fence. I hope that bodes well for the wilder parts of NE MN. Plan to make day trips for pheasant in the St. Cloud area as much as possible. My wife just texted me to inquire about a trip with her sisters out to Portland next month. I told her 'go for it.' That way she can't object when I do something i've wanted to do which is to hunt North Dakota - possibly over the end of December. My brothers from out-of-state come up twice a year to hunt grouse part of the week and pheasant in SW MN the other part of the week they're here. Fall/hunting season is my favorite part of the year. Like you, I'm looking forward to the next Fall once the current hunting season ends.

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