OntarioHunter
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Seems an appropriate topic this morning as I listen to the wind howling 50 mph outside. During the night from about four to 6:30 I estimate it was gusting nearly 100 mph. This 19' camper was dancing lively! I hope all the metal is still on it. Haven't ventured out for a look. Fortunately, my two large empty coolers hit the shower building when they blew away. I ran out and quickly dragged them back ... with the smaller one fluttering in the breeze behind me like a storm flag in a hurricane. Threw them in the Jimmy. Great care employed getting in and out of the camper so door didn't get torn off. The crazy furnace in this trailer! Can't keep the pilot going on a nice day but it stays lit all night in a hurricane. It needs a psych evaluation. Or an exorcism? Anyway, no hunting today. Would need to use contact cement face paint to keep my skin from blowing off.
Obviously hunting pheasants today is out of the question. Steel shot only on the refuge and wind blows that stuff seriously off track. This wind might blow the shot column back down the muzzle! However, I do often hunt game on less windy days. Thought I'd pass on a few things I've learned.
Pheasants can't smell worth a damn but they can sure hear well. On windy days try to stay downwind so it helps blow away the sound you and the dog make. I find that pheasants tend to avoid tulies on very windy days, probably because wind makes too much noise in it. Look for them on the edge of cattails or in tall grass. For whatever reason they seem to like bull rushes on windy days. After the leaves are gone they are often hiding in rose and snowberry patches in the bottom of coulees, especially lee sides out of the wind.
You'd think hunting into the wind gives the advantage of blowing flushed birds into the hunter. Not always. Pheasants are strong birds but large. They need to gain elevation quickly to evade the jaws of dog or coyote. Their powerful legs provide the initial liftoff (ever watch a winged rooster leaping three feet in the air trying to get airborne?) but then often as not they turn into the wind for more lift. Shoot them then. Cover the bird with your barrel and fire. Birds flushed downwind often drop altitude after attaining flight elevation. Very tricky shot especially if the wind is quartering away from you. Better be ready to shoot fast when the dog is birdy.
Best time to hunt pheasants on a windy day is the last hour of shooting. They hold better before dusk and often roosters are calling as birds try to bunch up before dark (coyote protection). Unfortunately, prevailing winds are usually from the west or northwest so hunting into the wind means looking into a setting sun. Ugh! Then I switch tactics and keep wind and sun at my back. Use a close working dog and take your time. Use the birds' reluctance to fly to your advantage. Be quiet as you can but stay with the dog. You'll get a shot if the dog finds something shootable. Odds are it won't be an easy shot so be ready to shoot fast and well. No follow up shots when hunting with the wind.
So ... what's your strategy for hunting the wind? When, where, how?
Obviously hunting pheasants today is out of the question. Steel shot only on the refuge and wind blows that stuff seriously off track. This wind might blow the shot column back down the muzzle! However, I do often hunt game on less windy days. Thought I'd pass on a few things I've learned.
Pheasants can't smell worth a damn but they can sure hear well. On windy days try to stay downwind so it helps blow away the sound you and the dog make. I find that pheasants tend to avoid tulies on very windy days, probably because wind makes too much noise in it. Look for them on the edge of cattails or in tall grass. For whatever reason they seem to like bull rushes on windy days. After the leaves are gone they are often hiding in rose and snowberry patches in the bottom of coulees, especially lee sides out of the wind.
You'd think hunting into the wind gives the advantage of blowing flushed birds into the hunter. Not always. Pheasants are strong birds but large. They need to gain elevation quickly to evade the jaws of dog or coyote. Their powerful legs provide the initial liftoff (ever watch a winged rooster leaping three feet in the air trying to get airborne?) but then often as not they turn into the wind for more lift. Shoot them then. Cover the bird with your barrel and fire. Birds flushed downwind often drop altitude after attaining flight elevation. Very tricky shot especially if the wind is quartering away from you. Better be ready to shoot fast when the dog is birdy.
Best time to hunt pheasants on a windy day is the last hour of shooting. They hold better before dusk and often roosters are calling as birds try to bunch up before dark (coyote protection). Unfortunately, prevailing winds are usually from the west or northwest so hunting into the wind means looking into a setting sun. Ugh! Then I switch tactics and keep wind and sun at my back. Use a close working dog and take your time. Use the birds' reluctance to fly to your advantage. Be quiet as you can but stay with the dog. You'll get a shot if the dog finds something shootable. Odds are it won't be an easy shot so be ready to shoot fast and well. No follow up shots when hunting with the wind.
So ... what's your strategy for hunting the wind? When, where, how?
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