Percent of wild pheasants that hold?

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Chemist
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Joined: Thu Sep 15, 2022 10:15 pm
Location: Tri-Cities, WA

Percent of wild pheasants that hold?

Post by Chemist » Fri Dec 09, 2022 9:39 pm

I realize this is going to vary wildly with location, terrain, cover, how pressured birds are, etc. but I would be interested to hear what percentage of wild pheasants give your dogs a chance to work them. As everyone is well aware it is not uncommon to flush wild before the dog had a chance to lock it down.

I think with my dog in southeastern Washington, hunting birds which are at a fairly low density but are decently pressured I would say about 10-25 % of the pheasants that I see allow me and the dog to get close enough that the dog had a chance to work them. That does not mean they are not still bumped or mishandled but that they didn't flush before my dog had a chance to smell them. I would say 5-10 % of the birds end up holding for a point, generally after some relocating.

What is your observance in your area?

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gonehuntin'
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Re: Percent of wild pheasants that hold?

Post by gonehuntin' » Fri Dec 09, 2022 10:07 pm

I hunt heavily pressured birds on public land, so take it for what it's worth. First, I think it is very dependent on terrain and how far your dog stands off them. Of course, the further away they point,(like a grouse dog), the more likely it is you'll never find that bird to flush it; he'll run 100 yards then flush. Hunting cattail in snow, I think it's around 25-30% that will hold. I hate hunting cattails but it is the most effective place to hunt them late season.

In switchgrass, I'm pretty happy if one in five hold I'm pretty happy. I don't keep accurate records, that's just what it seems to me. It doesn't do you much good if your dog points 50 yards out and you can't find the bird to flush it. My preference is that they push the bird fast and hard and point the same way.
LIFE WITHOUT BIRD DOGS AND FLY RODS REALLY ISN'T LIFE AT ALL.

Chemist
Rank: Junior Hunter
Posts: 32
Joined: Thu Sep 15, 2022 10:15 pm
Location: Tri-Cities, WA

Re: Percent of wild pheasants that hold?

Post by Chemist » Fri Dec 09, 2022 10:51 pm

Interestingly, the birds I find in cattails and phragmites do not seem to hold well for me. My dog is on the large side and when he piles in it sounds like a freight train when he is going through it unless it is fairly wet out. In Eastern WA it generally is not wet out. However, at times I am able to anticipate where the birds will flush out of the cattails and phragmites and set myself up for a shot.

In thick tumbleweeds it seems like the birds hold the best around here and it is at least 50 percent that hold for the dog. I don't particularly like to hunt the tumbleweeds as they are hard to walk through and scrape up the dog pretty good.

In the sage it seems like the birds rarely hold, but there a couple of spots with sage that I can typically find a couple birds, especially early in the season.

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