Wild vs planted pheasants, wow....

[Bob-WY]

Grew up in New England ruffed grouse, woodwork and occasional pheasant. Spent pretty much every afternoon chasing them. Lost touch with birds as I grew and lately focused on big game. Last fall with the help of a friend, and his dog, got back into birds, mostly stocked pheasant. What a blast. Never hunted over a dog before

This year , just got back from ND after 4 days of pheasant hunting. All wild birds, but LOTS of them. What a difference wild birds are. Run from the dog and LOTS of wild flushes, but we got almost our limit every day, not thanks to shooting but sheer number of birds.

We actually shot good day 1. Both got limit of 3 and we didn't start huntimg til noon. Days 2, 3 and 4 wind kicked up to 20+ mph and our shooting dropped with it. Man those birds hit the wind and are GONE. When you add in the slight hesitation of roosters only, any bird that flushed at 30 yards, at best gave you 1 shot before being gone.

Dog saved our bacon on a few retrieves that ran and hid. He was amazing!

 

[okie archer]

I definitely got quite humbled a couple weeks ago hunting wild pheasant.

 

[rjthehunter]

Full choke for wild birds in some areas!!!

They're definitely jump quite a bit sooner than farm birds. Also fast little buggers!

 

[Moserkr]

I was spoiled hunting wild birds in SD all of my life. Planted birds just don't cut it. Im used to hiding the truck, closing doors quiet, and sneaking into positions to do drives - otherwise the birds flush 200 yards away. Even if you do get them cornered, better walk slow or they run circles on you, or get up behind you. Letting experienced wild bird dogs work them is my favorite part of hunting. Glad you got bit by the bug again!! Share some pics of your success!

 

[FairWeather]

I’ve only ever done 1 solo farmed pheasant hunt and it was…ok. Felt too staged for my liking. That wild hunt sounds like a great time, though!

 

[Sask hunter]

I’m not much of a pheasant hunter but I usually take an annual trip to southern Sask every December. I have always been fortunate there has been enough snow they hold tight. But need a dog to get them up as they won’t flush till they are off the dogs nose

 

[MNElkNut]

One of my favorite hobbies is pheasant hunting. Primarily the Dakotas, Montana and Minnesota. Late season hunting is the most fun in my opinion. You need about 4-6 inches of new snow, a good dog, and a good pair of boots. I just love hunting the thickest willow/cattail swamps I can find. Will be out in ND in a few weeks.

 

[NR_Hunter]

Unless it's to train a dog, I can't do planted birds, I'd rather go fishing or duck hunting or watch Netflix. I just really doesn't do anything for me. Nothing tastier than finally getting a December pheasant to flush in gun range tho.

 

[BrentD]

Unless it's to train a dog, I can't do planted birds, I'd rather go fishing or duck hunting or watch Netflix. I just really doesn't do anything for me. Nothing tastier than finally getting a December pheasant to flush in gun range tho.

How many states are now releasing birds on public land for hunting? I have heard about South Dakota and Nebraska doing this. Wyoming has for a long time. I don't know about others. I THINK it is fairly limited in SD and NE, but I would like to know more from those with data.

 

[NR_Hunter]

How many states are now releasing birds on public land for hunting? I have heard about South Dakota and Nebraska doing this. Wyoming has for a long time. I don't know about others. I THINK it is fairly limited in SD and NE, but I would like to know more from those with data.

Pheasant season begins Oct. 12 with 18,000 birds released

HELENA, Mont. – Pheasant season kicks off on Saturday, October 12, promising exciting opportunities for hunters in the state. This fall, Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks is set to release

www.montanarightnow.com

Montana has been doing state funded releases on public lands for a few years according to this news article.

https://outdoornebraska.gov/about/p...e-released-for-hunting-prior-to-thanksgiving/ Looks like Nebraska does as well.

I'm not exactly sure what goes on in SD, if its their actual G&F doing the stocking or if just private entities doing it all like the big lodges and shooting preserves. Def tons of pen-raised birds getting dumped in that state tho.


Minnesota might not be the best, but a pheasant here is a pheasant earned.

 

[Rie Bread]

Full choke for wild birds in some areas!!!

They're definitely jump quite a bit sooner than farm birds. Also fast little buggers!

Full choke and semi auto

 

[fowladdict]

How many states are now releasing birds on public land for hunting? I have heard about South Dakota and Nebraska doing this. Wyoming has for a long time. I don't know about others. I THINK it is fairly limited in SD and NE, but I would like to know more from those with data.

Idaho does.

 

[fleabagmatt]

Idaho does.

As does Washington.

 

[Keep'er Movin]

How many states are now releasing birds on public land for hunting? I have heard about South Dakota and Nebraska doing this. Wyoming has for a long time. I don't know about others. I THINK it is fairly limited in SD and NE, but I would like to know more from those with data.

I live in SE WI and McFarlane Pheasant farm (also located in SE WI) is the biggest pheasant farm in the country and they ship birds everywhere. To my knowledge, almost every state that has premier pheasant hunting gets some of their birds from McFarlane. Wisconsin's birds come from Poynette in Columbia county.

 

[Moserkr]

Hunted over some fairly wild "planted birds" in Kansas once. They raised the chicks in the field with outdoor cages, self sufficient with feed and water. Minimal human contact. Released early once they could fly which gave them months to acclimate to their surroundings. While not completely wild, definitely not a canned hunt.

If your only choice is hunting a planted property but you want a more wild experience, opt for a late season hunt and ask to hunt the "leftovers". Make sure they don't add plants. Then you get to hunt the planted birds that survived, as well as the wild birds that mixed in with them due to weather. Sometimes these hunts are fast limits, other times an unsuccessful grind. Been on a few of these hunts and it was fun for the most part.

 

[Dougfirtree]

How many states are now releasing birds on public land for hunting? I have heard about South Dakota and Nebraska doing this. Wyoming has for a long time. I don't know about others. I THINK it is fairly limited in SD and NE, but I would like to know more from those with data.

New York does.

 

[BrentD]

I live in SE WI and McFarlane Pheasant farm (also located in SE WI) is the biggest pheasant farm in the country and they ship birds everywhere. To my knowledge, almost every state that has premier pheasant hunting gets some of their birds from McFarlane. Wisconsin's birds come from Poynette in Columbia county.

I do not believe Iowa (the state) puts out birds. Iowa is incredible cheap and unsupportive of public property, and all that goes with it. But they do have good wild pheasants. One day soon, they may have to cross that bridge, however, or become Illinois. If that happens, I suspect I will be done with pheasants.

 

[BRoth82]

I raise birds for a guide here in MN, but talking to others there are 100,000 of thousand raised pheasants let out in South Dakota each year to sustain the hunting pressure. Most are released at night in the fields since they won't fly as far in the dark.

 

[Keep'er Movin]

I do not believe Iowa (the state) puts out birds. Iowa is incredible cheap and unsupportive of public property, and all that goes with it. But they do have good wild pheasants. One day soon, they may have to cross that bridge, however, or become Illinois. If that happens, I suspect I will be done with pheasants.

I'm curious...what does Iowa have in terms of land for in state or out of state pheasant hunters? A buddy suggested I look at Iowa during one of my school breaks for pheasants, but I know nothing about it.

 

[Keep'er Movin]

I raise birds for a guide here in MN, but talking to others there are 100,000 of thousand raised pheasants let out in South Dakota each year to sustain the hunting pressure. Most are released at night in the fields since they won't fly as far in the dark.

How many birds would you say you raise in a typical season?