Pheasant Hunting

I didn't go out, but various friends went to various WMAs and all said they were VERY quiet. One guy didn't flush a bird despite hunting 2 WMAs from sun-up to noon.
 
whacko said:
Went with my son.....no luck with pheasant......

It was wierd because the WMA was not as crowded as I expected it to be on opening day. Heard a few shots ........maybe 6-8 over the course of 2 hours we were there. I've been out on opening day in years past and it was pretty constant shots ringning out.......wonder what was up this year.

Anyway......we ended up taking a ride over to Harold Parker State Forest to try for squirrel and had some success. I didn't know Harold Parker was huntable until I did some research last week. There are signs posted on the trails telling people to expect hunting activity there from OCT-FEB. Not too bad I only got the "hairy eyeball" from one older woman out walking her dog. I was surprised that the other people out walking were friendly toward us and even got the "good luck must be opening day for small game" from a guy on a mountain bike. I played it safe and walked in deep of the trail and only "worked" our way into the woods and made our shots in the opposite direction of the trails. Nice piece of ground over there. I let him pick the places to stop and sit and hes getting better at moving slow and quiet.......I've taught him what oak stands look like and to look for chewed up acorns on the ground and it worked for him as he paid attention to the types of tree stands we were in.....avoided areas that were mostly hemlock and birch.......headed for the oak stands right away. He is learning fast too......we use his 20G shotgun with full choke and #4 heavy field loads so he reach high into the trees....had discussed with him before that if you have a close up shot you have to hit em with the fringe in order to avoid too much damage......13 years old and he listens well.......his first one walked 15 yards in front of him and he intentionally shot low and "kicked" the shot up at it....only 3 pellets hit that squirrrel and no meat ruined! Hes a geniuse! Bottom line it was good to be out there with my son and have him experience harvesting some game. I skinned and cleaned em this time.......next time he said he wants to clean them which is good. Squirrel stew was for dinner that night. On the way home he actually told me the squirrel hunting was better than pheasant because he bagged something that was not stocked!


Good stuff
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Awesome post!
 
OIFer said:
We discussed the shoot and concluded that next time we would keep walking up on the bird until it flushed.
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Good theory until the birds don't play. I have walked over to and picked up the bird. Twice! Both times were roosters.

The first time my buddy called 'pull' and I threw the bird in the air. We were both laughing our asses off and my buddy missed twice. I dropped it as it got further away.

The second time I was by myself. Held it for a couple minutes then dropped it and said good luck and left. I didn't need to kill it, stocked or not I was just happy to see it!
 
Was at the Frances Crane WMA Saturday.
Was successful first thing in the am with Quail, a lot of hunters out there and was only shot over once. we quickly put space between us and the other guys out there.
had breakfast cleaned the quail then went out for pheasant. Not successful, but got a couple more quail, definitely didn't expect to see those where we were.

Went out to Martin Burns this morning around sunrise. Was there for about 2.5 hours, no luck, called it a day. Didn't see any other hunters but heard a few shots. I know at least 1 other member was at Martin Burns this morning, hopefully they had some luck!
 
Nope! Two hours full of fun in the sun (and briars) but no birds. But hard to complain when at least I was outside and not in the office!
 
JCV said:
Was at the Frances Crane WMA Saturday.
Was successful first thing in the am with Quail, a lot of hunters out there and was only shot over once. we quickly put space between us and the other guys out there.
had breakfast cleaned the quail then went out for pheasant. Not successful, but got a couple more quail, definitely didn't expect to see those where we were.

Went out to Martin Burns this morning around sunrise. Was there for about 2.5 hours, no luck, called it a day. Didn't see any other hunters but heard a few shots. I know at least 1 other member was at Martin Burns this morning, hopefully they had some luck!
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Walking Crane over this past spring and summer we saw lots of quail all over, and we were not near the quail area. Lots of young-of-year too. It's good to see some wild breeding going on down here.
 
Was out Saturday morning, heard plenty of shots, but didn't flush or see anything. (No dog, just another NESer and I kickin through the growth).
 
PreliatorX said:
Was out Saturday morning, heard plenty of shots, but didn't flush or see anything. (No dog, just another NESer and I kickin through the growth).
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To me its still fun to take the guns for a walk......they need exercise every now and then,
 
Different areas have different stocking schedules. From three days a week to one day per week, October only.
 
Had a hen hunkered down at the end of our driveway yesterday...
Dog was in the car with my wife waiting for my daughter and barking his head off at this bird was strutting around in the yard.

My daughter ran down and flushed her into the woods.

Missed a woodcock and one hen so far....hope to bag a couple this week...
 
Now that sucks! It's bad enough to deal with mostly stocked birds.

I miss the days when I could go out and expect to jump a few grouse. Have only seen one in the last ten years, since I moved south to the Cape. No luck finding any here, but have done more waterfowl than upland.
 
OIFer said:
Dog and I had a GREAT hunt today, she pointed two pheasant and a woodcock - we flushed them, I shot very well - 3 shots and got all three birds (that is NOT always the case!) and she retrieved each bird perfectly. Very happy with her (she has done great all season), and super happy that I shot well. I recently got my shotgun stock custom-sized for me and it lines up perfectly. I have missed a LOT of birds in the past, and I felt like I couldn't miss today.

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That IS a great day
 
Went out the other morning for a couple of hours around Crane Pond WMA. Didn't flush anything but my dog found a couple of kill spots where someone else got lucky and we also found a dead stiff hen that someone shot and then, I guess, didn't find.
 
Struggling hard to find ANY birds at Erwin Wilder, starting to get disheartened...my pup hasnt even bumped a bird yet this season, I think ive given upon that place. Would love to get together with a more experienced hunter. Ive trained all spring and summer with him, hes still young(9 months) and tends to range a little bit, but he works hard. Hes seen many quail in his training, and is not gun shy. Any suggestions, or anyone willing to let us tag along? Will travel.
 
MrJingles said:
Struggling hard to find ANY birds at Erwin Wilder, starting to get disheartened...my pup hasnt even bumped a bird yet this season, I think ive given upon that place. Would love to get together with a more experienced hunter. Ive trained all spring and summer with him, hes still young(9 months) and tends to range a little bit, but he works hard. Hes seen many quail in his training, and is not gun shy. Any suggestions, or anyone willing to let us tag along? Will travel.
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I've got to compete with the retirees at the WMA I frequent, who somehow seem to know just when the chicken delivery truck will show up. And they're there all season long. I leave work a couple of hours early throughout the season. Every once in a while, I get a good day.
 
pupchow said:
I've got to compete with the retirees at the WMA I frequent, who somehow seem to know just when the chicken delivery truck will show up. And they're there all season long. I leave work a couple of hours early throughout the season. Every once in a while, I get a good day.
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What is the season limit in MA? In NH it's 10 birds.
 

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