Pheasant season eve

I wasn't aware they posted that and find it very strange as well. I saw another male pheasant today scrambling across the road and into the field at the corner of Middle and JB Little Rd. in West Newbury. I have lived in the area 20 years and have never seen two pheasants in that area on the streets within a week, so if they aren't stocking it seems odd.
 
At the local WMA this afternoon all by myself, there were hunters in the area but the large group of fields I was hunting all alone.
Got two roosters. Only shot once. Dog caught the other.

Birds could barely fly. She put up three separate birds before that, I had to let go on every damn one cause they were low then flew into a trees. I just called her off and moved on and let them alone.

After the second bird I had to leash her because I feared she would catch another one on the way back to the vehicle.

Not sure where they are getting these birds but they need some flight training. The ones at Addieville get up and fly like rockets compared to these state birds.
 
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Nice to have a problem like that.
Not really. I would be breaking the law if she caught a third bird for the day.

I trained my dog to go after the bird as soon as it flushes because usually im in some godawful thicket and if the dog follows the bird and sees it fall she will find it or catch the wounded runners almost every time. 30 percent of the birds you knock out of the air hit the ground running and can be hard to locate after. They tend to bury themselves in some godforsaken stone wall or just run forever.

My old dog I taught to hold then we would go to the spot where it fell and usually find it, not always though. With this dog, shes on them and bringing it back in no time. We havent lost one since she was a puppy. Much more efficient, effective and less time consuming.


Problem is if they are weak flyers and just fly quick and land, she doesnt stop and repoint, shes on them as soon as they hit the turf. My belief is she thinks I shot it and is going to retrieve
 
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Tried to sneak out of the house to go bird hunting with the pointer while leaving the retired cocker behind, but the jig was up as soon as she spotted me wearing briar pants. She was pissed (she doesn't know she's retired).

You wouldn't want to visit this place until they stock it again, because we found the only bird left. As we were putting the hurt on the solitary pheasant, a hawk was screaming up the treeline. As we neared the hawk it kept screaming, and I could hear something make a few strides behind the trees. I didn't see anything, and the pointer didn't seem interested in whatever it was. And the hawk stopped screaming.

She's not being very photogenic here:
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Nice work, everyone. Only bagged one rooster but it was pretty big and yielded a lot of meat.

Yeah, seems like there are a lot of runners these days- definitely to a fault when the dogs can grab them.

Our club's source for special hunt stockers include some dark phase birds like this:

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Nice big birds that definitely like to fly- perhaps a bit too early. Lost one that flushed wild and wasn't able to find it again. Thinking about Saturday but probably will avoid the crowd. Might go for a clean-up hunt in the afternoon. Regardless, will go on a special permit hunt a few days before Christmas.
 
Our club has been seeing the same some really weird colored roosters this year.
My son and I got out with the shorthair and got our daily limit each for Tday.
My son made two nice one shot kills with his 1950’s ithaca.
 
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How's your Lab working out for hunting upland birds in Mass? My friends' Labs in Tennessee were always waterfowl dogs. Love the breed and might want one next time around.

he’s an upland machine. On his 3rd year. Great nose, ranges close. Loves to hunt.
hes good on pheasant and woodcock... maybe next year we’ll try some grouse up north.

He came from a quality breeder that was recommended from a couple people here.
Pick a good breeder with labs with actual hunting lines or field/hunt trial awards And the rest is easy.
 
How's your Lab working out for hunting upland birds in Mass? My friends' Labs in Tennessee were always waterfowl dogs. Love the breed and might want one next time around.
We have quite a few labs on our club. They do well. Im considering one for my next dog.

The shorthair I have is a machine with desire ive never seen before. Will go in the thikest nastiest shit possible. Will cover ground like mad. But im getting older and its tough to keep up. As she ages she will be perfect. But right now high strung is a bit of an understatement. If she knows shes going hunting she cant control herself and will pant and bark all the way to the club.
With other dogs she gets competitive and wants to get the bird first. Will break point, and range, until she gets settled in for an hour run or so.

With me alone, she’s awesome. One thing with her, we never lose a wounded bird, shes it land, its coming back in her mouth.

That said, as I get older I will need to go back to a slower hunting dog like a brittany or lab. Setters, shorthairs and pointers need a lot of running time. On and off season But by far my friend who runs setters and my shorthair take the most birds. Our dogs just go where other dogs like labs and brittanies wont. And they cover way more ground in a shorter time.
 
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My son made two nice one shot kills with his 1950’s ithaca.

That’s what I used the other day, the 1958 Ithaca featherlight 37 in my photo above. Love that gun! And same here, I fired just two rounds to get those two birds.
I randomly switch up my upland gun from that to a Remington 11, and an 11-48. Those are both pretty heavy compared to the featherlight though, so more often than not I go out with the latter. Only downside is it has no sling swivel studs and I never felt like altering the stock or mag cap to accommodate for that. It’s so light though, I can carry it in one hand for hours no problem.
 
Has anyone been out in Rhode Island public land stocked areas lately? I’m in Massachusetts but always buy a Rhode Island license. Pheasant season runs until February 29.
 
Has anyone been out in Rhode Island public land stocked areas lately? I’m in Massachusetts but always buy a Rhode Island license. Pheasant season runs until February 29.

Not RI but I’m still hunting phez down in CT. Their season ends Feb 29th too.
We’re still finding birds here and there. Flushed a hen last week and missed. That miss might hurt for while If we can’t find another till next year.
Find a spot with good cover and a food source.
I‘ve been hunting an area that still has standing corn and it seems to hold pheasant. Judging by the last few crops of the birds I shot, they like to eat the corn... and they had plenty of fat on them. I hunt the areas surrounding the corn fields. Ever single one I’ve flushed has flown toward the corn.... they learned quickly their safe in there.
I was there yesterday but later in the morning. Dog got really birdie but couldn’t get one in the air.
we’ll be back.

looks like our last harvested pheasant was Jan 9... along with some cottontail action.

Edit: shot a bird on the 17th after this pic
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Not RI but I’m still hunting phez down in CT. Their season ends Feb 29th too.
We’re still finding birds here and there. Flushed a hen last week and missed. That miss might hurt for while If we can’t find another till next year.
Find a spot with good cover and a food source.
I‘ve been hunting an area that still has standing corn and it seems to hold pheasant. Judging by the last few crops of the birds I shot, they like to eat the corn... and they had plenty of fat on them. I hunt the areas surrounding the corn fields. Ever single one I’ve flushed has flown toward the corn.... they learned quickly their safe in there.
I was there yesterday but later in the morning. Dog got really birdie but couldn’t get one in the air.
we’ll be back.

looks like our last harvested pheasant was Jan 9... along with some cottontail action.

Edit: shot a bird on the 17th after this pic
View attachment 328137
Nice rabbit!!!
 
Nice rabbit!!!

thanks. its still in the freeezer... trying to figure out how I want to cook it.
I did just get Hanks book Pheasant, Quail Cottontail and it’s full of good looking recipes.. should be able to find something in there
 
thanks. its still in the freeezer... trying to figure out how I want to cook it.
I did just get Hanks book Pheasant, Quail Cottontail and it’s full of good looking recipes.. should be able to find something in there
That's a great book.

Hasenpfeffer is a favorite of mine for cooking up rabbit and snowshoe hare.

What's the story on the rabbit? Did you gun it on the run or did it just sit tight for you? With snowshoe hare it can go either way......sometimes they are runnin full bore and sometimes they just stop dead in their tracks when they see you.
 
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