Hunting
Some hunters might say, "The only thing better than a long day of pheasant hunting, is a short one."
Recently, mild winters, decent springs and good habitat conditions have pushed the pheasant harvest numbers to 40-year highs, but we haven't reached the MN Pheasant Plan goal of an average annual 750,000 rooster harvest... yet. We still need to build more habitat to reach that goal, but here are a couple resources (reports, maps, strategies & gear) that can help you reach your full potential in the field this fall.
Each August the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources send out their wildlife professionals to survey 30-mile routes across the state, the same routes they've surveyed since the 50s. They collect data on the number of birds/broods observed, age and sex. This data can be compared between regions or years to estimate density of pheasants and other small game.
2006 August Roadside Report
2005 August Roadside Report
2004 August Roadside Report
The same data collected in the roadsides maps is used to generate pheasant forcast maps which predict how the hunting will be in across the pheasant range.
2006 Pheasant Forecast Map
2005 Pheasant Forecast Map
2004 Pheasant Forecast Map
- Scouting is critical - whether you do it during an early duck hunting trip or during the hours that come before or after a day of pheasant hunting, scouting is critical to successful pheasant hunting. In addition to talking with farmers seeking permission to hunt on their lands, ask them where they have seen local birds. Another good source of information are the guys driving road graters - they can say with confidence where to find pheasants.
- During the early season - focus your hunting on linear patches of habitat like thick fence lines, right-of-ways and filter strips. Pheasants hang out in these odd areas until the weather starts pushing them into progressively thicker cover. They focus and contain running birds and can be easier on your dog - unless you let him go wild and run to the end of the line.
- One or two hunters can surround pheasants in a big field through trickery. Stop at one end of the field and slam a door or talk as if getting ready to hunt. Then quietly but quickly drive to another side of the field and repeat. Hit one more side, then silently move to the final side to begin your quiet approach. Birds will be confused and more likely to hold. Similarly you can leave blaze orange caps or jackets on corner fence posts as blockers. Try a portable radio or two turned to talk stations. Ron Spomer - Rooster, A Tribute to Pheasant Hunting in North America.
- Carry a red-tailed hawk call. When working running birds, hit the call. A rooster's instinct will be to freeze so the hawk doesn't spot him. This can work for crippled birds too. Paul Hanson, Chairman, PF National Board of Directors.
- Pheasants have patterns too. Understanding the daily movements of pheasants can increase your chances of bagging Mr. Curlyspurs. At night, pheasants roost in grass of short to medium stature, but by first light they head to roadsides looking for grit (gravel). A bit before shooting hours pheasants start feeding and over the next few hours cautiously wander back into cover. During these early hunting hours focus your efforts along the grassland edges of picked cornfields. By late morning the birds have moved into thick cover - standing corn if it's still available or CRP and cattails where they will stay until late in the day. You have to hunt hard with a good dog to bag roosters in the mid-day hours in thick cover. Try small habitat chunks near feeding areas. Late in the afternoon pheasants move from loafing fields back to feeding areas and grass / field edges can again be good hunting. After feeding, its back to the roost. Late afternoon hunts (after 4pm) are consistently the most successful.
- Once cattail sloughs freeze hard in MN - the best place to hunt roosters is a big cattail slough. Don't make the mistake of hunting just the edges - find a monster of a dog and bust right through the middle. The late season birds may be a bit jumpy, but there will always be a couple that sit tight and explode from under your dogs nose.
- Late Season - be QUIET!!! If not, you go in one end of a field and the roosters run out the other.
In the ARMY they drill recruits about the importance of feet. Wear comfortable boots and have an extra pair of socks available just in case. If you get wet feet, put a bread bag between two layers of socks. Dry, happy feet will extend the time you can stay in the field.
- Boots wet? Stuff them with crumpled newspaper overnight and they will wick up the moisture.
- Towels - keep a couple old towels in the back of your truck - one for the dog and one for the gun on rainy days. You may also want to put some wet-wipes in a bag for washing your hands after cleaning a bird.