Pheasant Hunting In The Rain? Best 51 Answer

Variables to consider when hunting upland game

Location: Because of the wide variety of habitats that upland birds call home, it’s important to choose your location based on the type of species you plan to hunt. If you hunt pheasants or prairie chickens, you will mostly find them in the Midwest. However, other upland game species such as partridges and quail are more likely to be found in the western parts of the country.

Solunar Calendar: According to a 1926 theory by John Alden Knight, the movement of animals is influenced by the position and fullness of the moon. This theory is said to have been used by hunters and fishermen long before Knight’s theory was published and is still widely accepted and accepted today.

Season: The season for hunting depends on the type of upland species you are hunting. When it comes to pheasant hunting, the best seasons for hunting are mid-autumn to early winter.

Time of Day: While many hunters prefer the early morning and evening hours for hunting upland game, don’t make the mistake of packing it in too early. Often, after most hunters’ lunch break, the sounds of stillness bring the birds back from their hiding places.

Temperature: The first cold snap of the season can produce some of the best hunting conditions for upland game. Cold weather is also helpful when hunting with dogs as they can smell over longer distances.

Air Pressure: Birds are very sensitive to changes in air pressure and will instinctively seek shelter when there is a large drop. Air pressure is also believed to affect the flight of birds, improving their ability to fly better on days when air pressure is low.

General Weather Conditions: As a general rule of thumb, the cloudier the weather, the better for upland bird hunting. Be prepared to brace yourself against the cold, wind, and rain if you’re serious about bagging one of these birds. Mud and snow can also create good hunting conditions as the birds are easier to track. If you’re hunting on a warm, dry day, look for upland chamois near areas with lots of fresh water.

Wind: Unlike other animals, strong winds are a plus when hunting upland birds. The sound of the wind will cover your tracks and hide your location from the birds. Use the wind to your advantage when hunting these birds by using it as a noise barrier.

“We’re going to flush about 150 birds today,” I said to my new friend M.D. as we loaded our guns onto his truck. MD had only recently been transplanted to pheasant country at the time and was gazing intently at the vast fields, trying to imagine 150 pheasants flying where he could only see a vast expanse of snow. “But only one of them will get up within range,” I predicted. “Do not miss.”

The pheasants looked like tiny black ticks against the white as they swooped in and out under scant cover from bushes and scrub. With the tall grasses buried under the snow, the birds had nowhere to hide. They ran up in large, nervous hordes before we could get within 100 yards. Eventually we found the one bird we were looking for and held on to a lonely clump of grass poking through the white crust.

MD missed, proving that when it comes to pheasants, knowledge is power only when you shoot straight.

Mocking deceptively difficult shots at close-up roosters is perhaps the most common mistake pheasant hunters make. But it’s not the only one. Here are ten lessons I learned the hard way.

1. Don’t hunt pheasants in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Pheasants sleep in thick, heavy grass and run or fly to the cornfields in the morning to feed. At midday they hang around near forage under light cover, only to return to the fields in the afternoon. Late in the day the birds return to their dense sleeping blanket.

Many people believe that pheasants linger on the roost on freezing winter days. Over the years I’ve wasted a lot of time getting up early in sub-zero mornings and trying to push sleepy pheasants out of their beds. Indeed, when it’s -20 degrees below zero and the days are short, pheasants head to the fields at dawn to recharge on high-energy crops, so chasing your bedroom on a bitterly cold morning is a waste of time. A nasty, windy, wet morning is another story: hunt the roost early, when it spits and blows, and you may well catch pheasants reluctant to leave their warm, herbaceous roosts.

Conversely, chasing good roosting spots at midday, when the birds are still eating, gives poor results. Be there during the last 45 minutes of daylight, however, when pheasants return from the cornfields and the hunt can be absolutely spectacular.

2. Don’t assume that all public lands have been “shot out” after opening day.

Early in the season, as hunter after hunter tramples public lands, the birds migrate to nearby private property where the pressure is not as severe. Gunwise birds sometimes use the public area as a bedroom, returning to the roost at dark and then leaving at dawn.

Hunt in a public area on the day the corn is picked on the private property across the street and you will be amazed. Last fall I walked around a small and busy county area on a whim, thinking I’d at least give the dog a good run. Little did I know then that the corn had been picked across the street the previous day and the pheasants, without a roof of corn stalks over their heads, had retreated confused into the swamp grasses of the public lands. What I thought was a quiet dog walk turned into one of the noisiest hunts of the year.

Late in the season, when heavy snowfall has flattened the sparser cover on private land, public areas (particularly wetlands) often again hold birds.

3. Don’t overshoot or undershoot.

A pair of rooster pheasants photographed by the author with a 12 mm Blaser F16 over and under shotgun. Phil Bourjaily

Pheasants don’t follow those nice rules of conduct printed on ammo boxes: “early season/close flushes” or “late season/wild flushes”. I’ve seen opening weekends where the wind was blowing and the birds got shy and didn’t fire any shots closer than 35 yards. And wildflush pheasants typically jump a good 100 yards out of range in late season; The birds you can actually shoot are the few that get stuck until you’re directly over them.

Rather than trying to guess what the birds are going to do day in and day out, I’m shooting the same upgraded cylinder/modified 12 gauge double or modified throttled 12 gauge pump from day one through the end of the season.

4. Always block exits where pheasants escape.

That’s one of the mistakes I make regularly; I’m usually too eager to hunt birds to wait for a blocker to get into position at the other end of a square. Every once in a while I’ll hunt with someone who believes strongly in blocking and I’m consistently amazed at how well it works. If you are chasing any type of stripe cover, pheasants will run to the other end and flush. If pheasants know someone is watching the back door, they will not run or flush wildly; They crouch and risk it with the hunters working behind cover. One loner I know of will actually noisily walk to one end of a tile and pretend to be standing and blocking, then sneak over to the other side and chase itself.

5. Knowing when to be quiet.

A slammed car door or a slamming slide can send pheasants fleeing before the hunt has even begun. Sometimes you’ll be treated to the awe-inspiring sight of flocks of pheasants taking off across a field in compassionate waves, each mass flush triggering the next, all birds leaving the field you intended to walk on.

Always approach pheasant cover quietly, especially late in the season when cover is sparse and birds have clustered. However, once I’m actually on the hunt, I’m not an advocate of silence. I believe that pheasants can almost always hear you coming, no matter how quiet you try to be. You’re out there in the grass, monitoring your approach by the crunch of your footsteps, basing your decisions to sit, run, or fly on knowing exactly where everyone in your party is at all times. Take a break every now and then; When ringnecks suddenly stop hearing you coming, they sometimes lose their nerve and blush.

6. Do not dress excessively for pheasant hunting.

Too many pheasant hunters wrap themselves in heavy clothing and overheat after spending an hour chasing the dogs chasing the birds. You want to feel a little cool while you’re standing by the truck getting ready; you’ll get warm soon enough.

Pheasant hunting rarely requires heavy boots or brush trousers. Better wear something light that you can move comfortably in. Wear several lighter, thinner layers on top instead of a heavy coat. You can add and remove layers as you cool down and warm up, and put unworn clothes in your game bag. I choose a light ball cap and have a warm knitted hat in my pocket in case it gets colder.

Hunting clothes of any color are fine as long as they are fluorescent orange. I’m glowing like a Chernobyl pumpkin hunting pheasants; I want the people I hunt with to do the same. Aside from avoiding accidents, this allows you to quickly check everyone’s location if there’s a bird on the wing and you want to be sure you’re getting a safe shot.

RELATED: The 10 Best Upland Shotguns of All Time

7. Don’t plan a big trip for opening day.

If you are traveling to hunt pheasants, make your trip two or three weeks after opening day (unless you have already leased some of South Dakota’s pheasant land or married into a farming family in Iowa, in which case you need mine not advice). Too many people think that opening weekend, with its uneducated, unhunted birds of the year, is the best time to hunt pheasants. In fact, the weather can be hot and can affect your dog’s stamina and sense of smell. For many years, the fields are not harvested on the opening day. Pheasants hide among the standing crops where you cannot pursue them. If you don’t have a place to hunt long before opening day, you may not find one, and public lands will be very crowded.

Two or three weeks into the season, the harvest is in, the weather is getting cooler, and the crowds are disappearing. There will also be many birds left.

8. Don’t ignore the woods for pheasants.

A rooster takes refuge in a wooded area on the edge of a field. Juha Suhonen from Pixabay

We all know that pheasants are meadow and marsh birds, not wood. Watch as a rooster flaps up through the branches on stubby wings, its long graceful tail is utterly useless as a rudder in close quarters, and you’ll see why ringnecks typically avoid the woods.

Nevertheless, pheasants hide in the forest when they have nowhere else to go. When heavy snow flattens the grassy fields, pheasants prefer, keep an eye out for birds in the wooded patches. The best pheasant forests have creek bottoms, bushes, or bush piles for them to hide in. Years ago I read somewhere that pheasants in the forest are usually roosters. I’ve since paid attention and found it to be true, although I have no idea why.

9. Don’t shoot pheasants too early.

Most pheasants are shot within 15 to 20 yards of the snout, and many more are missed at even closer ranges. Suppress the urge to fire immediately. At 10 meters your pattern is the size of a fist and you don’t really know where the bird is going yet. Three foot screeching psychedelic wild bird exploding at your feet is always amazing; It’s downright scary if you’re not careful. If you jump back and shoot in self-defense when a pheasant blushes, you’re going to miss a lot. Take a second to read the pheasant’s angle, swing the gun by the white neck ring and shoot. Trap shooting, with its different receding angles, is wonderful training for shooting pheasants.

While you’re at it, give up trying to beat your friends for the shot. Alternately; Everyone will shoot better, you will lose fewer birds, and those you kill will not be mauled.

10. Don’t take pheasants for granted.

The real trick to a successful pheasant hunt isn’t in getting more birds, it’s in getting more happiness from the ones you hunt. Even those of us who live in the best of pheasant country don’t get them every day, which is exactly how it should be. As my own focus narrows to include nothing more than the tail end of a bird dog in the weeds, I try to stop at the top of a hill, take a breather, look around and think how lucky we are – after plowing the prairies and outrun as many native birds – to have pheasants close by. Think about it that way, and every single bird is cause for celebration.

Iowa

Season: Oct 29, 2016 – Jan 10, 2017

Limits: 3 roosters daily, 12 possession limit

Minnesota

Season: Oct 15, 2016 – Jan 1, 2017

Limits: 2 roosters daily, 6 possession limit through Dec 1, then 3 daily, 9 possessions through end of season

North Dakota

Season: Oct 8, 2016 – Jan 8, 2017 (except in parts of Williams and McKenzie counties, see regulations for details)

Limits: 3 roosters daily, 12 possession limit

Kansas

Season: Nov 12, 2016 – Jan 31, 2017

Limits: 4 roosters daily, 16 possession limit

South Dakota

Seasons: Oct 15, 2016 – Jan 1, 2017

Limits: 3 roosters daily, 15 ownership limit

Montana

Season: Oct 8, 2016 – Jan 1, 2017

Limits: 3 roosters daily, 9 possession limit

Nebraska

Season: Oct 29, 2016 – Jan 31, 2017

Limits: 3 roosters daily, 12 possession limit

Colorado

Season: Nov 12, 2016 – Jan 31, 2017 (east of I-25); Nov 12, 2016 – Jan 1, 2017 (West of I-25)

Limits: 3 roosters daily, 9 possession limit

Take it from someone who was there. If pheasant hunting is your fall passion, move to South Dakota. Walk out your back door and enjoy the world’s largest pheasant hunt. If for some reason you don’t want to live in the pheasant capital of the world (subtitled Wind Central) to hunt three months out of twelve, get ready to travel. Traveling to hunt is not a bad thing. You’ll get out of your routine, meet new people, explore new countries and have something to brag about in old age. If you can remember. Sometimes you have to travel a thousand miles or more to find a good rooster hunt, but sometimes a weekend trip will suffice. And you don’t have to go to South Dakota. There are other states with good to great pheasant hunting, about eight of them. I call them the Big Eight. Altogether you will find dozens of private pheasant enclosures and lodges willing and able to guide you to wild and/or ‘supplemented’ birds. This is a great option for first time visitors, people with limited time and anyone wanting to maximize the chances of getting birds. But for the do-it-yourself, hardcore purist, public land hunting is the Holy Grail, and parts of every state in the Big Eight offer it. They often offer more information about good locations and friendly hunting towns than fish and game agencies. Cities themselves often do the same, some even going so far as to provide names and numbers of cooperative landowners. Most states don’t release the year’s estimated pheasant population, nesting success, roadside count and the like until September at the earliest, so check the websites then – Read Pheasants Forever’s 2016 Pheasant Hunt Forecast. You should also be able to obtain all the necessary regulations, maps and licenses online. Most state fish and game departments do a good job of disseminating information on their websites, so dive in and learn. In the meantime, here are some insights, highlights, and tips on where to find ringnecks in the Great Eight States. This is where the tall corn grows, and when interspersed with tall CRP grass, that’s where the pheasants grow too. Hunters took 270,000 roosters to dinner in Iowa during the 2015 season, the fifth straight year of increase. But that’s a lot less than in the heyday of CRP. Iowa is an example of what’s wrong with pheasants in much of the country – not enough good habitat. The loss of CRP weed in recent years has made this worse. Northwest Iowa traditionally has the most pheasants because it’s drier and less woody, but regional weather can change that. Sometimes Marshalltown and Cedar Rapids counties south to Oskaloosa are better, sometimes Ft. dodge area. Iowa’s Habitat and Access Program has 25,000 acres on 50 tracts of private land open to walk-in hunting. These are clearly marked with orange signs. Maps are available from DNR offices in Iowa and online. In addition, Iowa DNR manages 360,000 Wildlife Management Areas for wildlife and public hunting. Of these 103,197 acres, grasslands/wetlands are best suited for pheasants. Minnesota DNR reports on the best hunting in the Southwest, West-Central and East-Central parts of the state. The annual rooster harvest in the land of 10,000 lakes has averaged 350,000, but not in recent years. Weather and declining CRP weed are the main culprits. The 2015 census was up 33% from 2014, but was still 39% below the 10-year average. Find farmland with a mix of CRP and cattail sloughs for your best odds. Wildlife Management Areas, WPAs and Walk-In Access – Hunters have access to 1,440 public wildlife areas totaling 1.29 million acres. Most of these acres are unsuitable for pheasants, but many are. Minnesota DNR has an excellent WMA locator with maps and detailed descriptions of each unit including pheasant suitability. In addition to WMAs, the state has a few dozen private properties in its Walk-In Access program. A significant number of federal waterfowl production areas also dot the southwestern counties and they are open for hunting. Their large cattails can be a haven for birds in inclement weather. All public hunting areas can be found on the DNR website both on a downloadable map atlas and via GPS coordinates and an iOS mobile map. Official boundaries of properties in the Access program are clearly marked. WIA validation must be purchased to legally search WIA sites. These, along with any required hunting licenses, can be purchased online or by calling 1-888-665-4236. Suitable HQs could be Worthington, Pipestone, Marshall, Montevideo, Redwood Falls, Austin, and Hinckley – but poke around. You’ll often find small farm towns in the best ringneck regions leaning back to accommodate pheasant hunters. Dog friendly motels, bird cleaning stations, freezers and more. Public hunting grounds are good/bad news in North Dakota. The good news is that around 2.5 million acres are open for public hunting. The bad news is that not all are good for pheasants and they are spread across multiple state and federal agencies. Nice problem! The PLOTS (Private Land Open to Sportsmen) program aims to develop 1 million acres each year. All are neatly plotted on the annual PLOTS map atlas, which also shows all other public lands. This atlas can be more valuable than your dog. Atlases are available from NDF&G and vendors across the state. You can also view maps on the ND Game and Fish Department website. They show all public lands, color coded, along with roads, trails, cities, rivers, lakes, etc. The site also offers Garmin GPS downloads for coordinates and smartphone map apps. On the ground, all plots of PLOTS are marked with triangular yellow signs. The state’s main pheasant area is south of I-94, and the southwest corner, particularly around Mott, Scranton, and Bowman, is usually the hotspot. Parts of the Southeast can also be good, as can the draws and hills bordering the Missouri River. Check out Ellendale and Edgeley to the southeast. The northwest and north-central regions have long been Ringneck strongholds here, but good hunting can be found in localized areas in the central, south-central, and southwest counties. The Southeast is mostly quail country, and the Flint Hills between Highways 77 and 75 south of I-70 are few and far between but the prime region for prairie chickens. The Northwest Region includes nearly 12,000 acres of public land and 341,000 acres of walkable hunting access to private land open to public hunting. The north-central region adds 75,500 public acres and 294,000 WIHA. You should find a bird or two on top of all this! Good capitals are Goodland, Colby, Phillipsburg, Hays, Concordia and Salina. Don’t overlook smaller towns in the area. Many have mom and pop motels and restaurants catering to hunters. The drought-stricken Southwest suffered from drastic bird declines for years before finding some relief last year, but this spring was dry again. Check with locals and Fish & Game before hunting in Dodge City, Garden City and Liberal areas this year. Kansas Wildlife, Parks & Tourism has maps galore covering WIHA lands, state wildlife sanctuaries and states open for hunting. Get them online or pick up a printed Kansas Hunting Atlas from licensed sellers across the state. Many state parks in Kansas offer not only campgrounds but also cabin rentals during hunting season, adding convenience to otherwise rural areas. South Dakota, king and still champion, once again promises the best pheasant populations in the world. Hunters have captured about a million each season for the past several years. The Mitchell area west of Chamberlain was exceptional last year, and the Aberdeen region west of the Missouri River was not far behind. Two isolated “sleeper” counties are Bennet in the southwest and Roberts in the far northeast. Martin and Sisseton are there headquarters towns. Other traditional hunting communities include Winner, Mitchell, Pierre, Huron and Aberdeen. Over 5 million acres of the Sunshine State are open for public hunting. State Game Production Areas, Waterfowl Production Areas, CREP, Walk-in Areas and more are identified in the annual Public Hunting Atlas available from Licensees, SDGF&P and online The Northeast is a pretty big game in its own right. In fact, they crow in many lowland valleys where grain is grown and on the wheat plateaus between Great Falls and Lewistown. There is also plenty of open access to hunt them, a combination of millions of acres of private land in the Block Management Program, WPAs, State School Lands, National Wildlife Refuges, and many state Wildlife Management Areas. Not everything is pheasant habitat, but many are. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks has a handy program for finding WMAs by name, region, nearest city, and even by species found within. A hunt planner software program on the website is also a great help in finding good public hunts. Annual Regional Hunter Access Guides list and show all Block Management locations for the year and will be available in August. BMA access is a bit complicated. Some countries are open to walk-in hunting; others must be reserved or require written approval from the property owner. The Montana WF&P website has all the details, so get online and start plotting. Good capital cities are Sydney, Glasgow, Glendale, Miles City, Lewistown, Great Falls, Havre and Malta. The Cornhusker State is a cornucopia for bird hunting. Not only are you likely to encounter ringnecks, but also bobwhites, pointed-tailed chickens, and prairie chickens. And you can search for them on 800,000 acres with public access in 300 state and federal areas. That’s just 2% of the state’s total land. So if you can appropriate private land, you have the potential to walk yourself to death in a barrage of highland hunts. Nebraska’s public hunting areas include Wildlife Management Areas and Waterfowl Production Areas, National Forests, Grasslands, Corps of Engineers, and National Wildlife Refuges. Get the annual Public Access Atlas to find them. Pay special attention to the 280,000 (approximately) acres of private land in the Open Fields and Waters Program. Go online for a digital atlas or pick up the paper version from licensed vendors. Despite its border with South Dakota, Nebraska’s best pheasant hunting traditionally occurs in its southwest corner, plus a concentration in the northern Panhandle from Alliance northeast to Gordon. Major cities include Alliance, Chadron, Sidney, North Platte, McCook and Holdrege. Portions of the NE may still be good where all of the CRP has not been ripped out. Your Colorado Rocky Mountain High doesn’t have to end with moose and mule deer. The Silver State hides pheasants in its eastern counties. You just have to search a little to find them. The northeast corner is the perennial hotspot. Fort Morgan, Sterling, Yuma, Burlington, and Limon should be good capitals. These are the arid High Plains where irrigation goes a long way in stimulating wildlife. Look for a mix of sage step drylands, short grass prairies, CRP fields, and cornfields. Colorado doesn’t have WPAs like the Dakotas, but a large number of private lands with walk-in access are open and scattered throughout the pheasant range. An atlas showing these is available from licensing agents or on the Colorado Parks and Wildlife website. In addition, there are many State Wildlife Management properties that can accommodate pheasant hunters. It’s complicated as some require prior registration, some limited number of hunters per day, species that can be hunted, etc. For State Wildlife Area lands and specific regulations, see the 2016 State Recreational Lands Brochure available at CPW is available. Story by Ron SpomerPhoto Credit: Chip Laughton

SOUTH DAKOTA REMAINS THE PHEASANT CAPITAL OF THE WORLD

PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Department of Tourism is reminding both resident and non-resident hunters that despite declining breeding numbers in 2017, South Dakota still offers some of the best pheasant hunting in the world.

“Tough weather conditions over the past year have certainly taken their toll on this year’s pheasant harvest,” said Jim Hagen, Secretary of the Department of Tourism. “Let’s not forget, however, that the average pheasant population in South Dakota over the past 20 years has been 7.4 million birds annually, despite varying breeding numbers. This population is significantly higher than any other state in the Union and has enabled hunters to capture more than 1 million birds in each of the last three years, or 9.5 birds per hunter per year.”

In 2016, South Dakota’s pheasant season attracted 142,887 hunters, of which 81,141 were nonresident.*

“Pheasant hunting is not only a tradition in this state, it is also an economic factor that provides jobs and income for many South Dakotan residents,” continued Hagen.

Data from the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish & Parks shows that pheasant hunting in South Dakota generated $287 million in direct visitor spending and nearly $20 million in state tax revenue in 2016.**

The South Dakota Department of Tourism consists of Tourism and the South Dakota Arts Council. The department is headed by Secretary James D. Hagen.

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Media Notes:

A downloadable infographic on the importance of pheasant hunting can be found at this link: http://sdvisit.com/emails/2017/pdfs/2017_PheasantInfographic_final.pdf

*https://gfp.sd.gov/hunting/small-game/images/pheasant-stats.pdf

**http://gfp.sd.gov/agency/information/docs/FishWildlifeBoatingEconomics.pdf

So you were invited to a bird hunt. All you know is that bird hunters seem to wear a lot of orange, talk about their dogs constantly, and that a shotgun is appropriate.

There’s a little more to it than that, but follow these 10 rules (calling them commandments may be presumptuous) and you might actually get invited back.

1. When in doubt, don’t shoot

No one minds a hunter who can’t hit a bird, but an unsure hunter is totally unacceptable. Upland bird hunting brings hunters closer together than most other pursuits, and bad things can happen quickly. It is absolutely critical that you practice safe firearms use and good judgment in this dynamic environment. Principle #1 to adhere to is when in doubt about the angle of the shot, the position of another hunter, the position of the dog, or just not feeling comfortable, hold your fire. There will be more birds – no human or dog life is worth risking over a bad decision.

2. Don’t give orders to another man’s dog

The hounds are often the shining stars of fowling, but the unsung heroes are the boys who have spent months training them. Ever seen a painting or sculpture of a dog handler? Give them the respect they deserve and don’t confuse the canines – if it’s not your dog, don’t tell them what to do.

3. Shoot at Blue Sky

When hunting flushed birds like quail, woodcock, snipe, partridge, grouse and pheasant, let the bird come over the undergrowth into the “blue sky” before shooting. In other words, make sure the direction of the shot is safely over the heads of dogs and hunters. This is especially important when hunting with “blockers” like pheasant hunting. Don’t be afraid to yell “Low Bird” if you feel the shot is uncertain.

4. Pick up empties

Your host has spent countless hours and dollars creating a habitat for birds. The least you can do is pick up your empty shotgun shells after you’ve fired so the ground doesn’t get littered with hulls.

5. Maintain a parallel line

Shooters and guides should maintain a constant parallel line when chasing flushes, this allows each shooter the greatest possible latitude to shoot safely. Adjust your walking pace as needed to ensure the line is straight, especially as you approach a point. If your path takes you over rough terrain, make sure everyone knows the location of other hunters who may be hidden by terrain or brush.

6. Shoot your zone

Each hunter has a slightly overlapping “zone” where they can safely shoot. This zone should allow for other hunters, guides, dogs, vehicles, etc. Visualize your zone before a shot presents itself so you know where potential danger areas are.

7. Don’t be a toy pig

Nobody likes the guy who shoots more than his share. If you got some good shots, be merciful and let others get the chance. You’ll make more friends by demonstrating your restraint than your marksmanship.

8. Don’t make excuses

Everyone misses, but the hunter who keeps apologizing gets on everyone’s nerves. “The sun was in my eyes,” or “I got the wrong choke in there,” or “These quail don’t fly like wild birds,” or “My Purdey’s in the store” — we’ve heard it all before, we don’t know It is I do not care.

9. Use the right ruler

I’m not suggesting you go out and buy a new shotgun, but when bird hunting, you’re expected to match the bore and shot size to the game. Example: The hunter who shows up with a 12 gauge for a “plantation style” quail hunt may be viewed with a slightly raised eyebrow. If you don’t have the right gun for the hunt, see if you can borrow or rent a suitable gun. Speaking of guns, in many styles of upland hunting, folding, double-barreled, single-shot rifles are preferred to bolt-action rifles because they can be carried safely and the breech is visible to all.

10. Dress the role

A highland hunt doesn’t mean you have to look like a walking Orvis catalogue, but dressing properly does require some thought. Camo works well for hunting pigeons and ducks, but if you’re after birds like pheasants or quail, you can’t go wrong with earth tones mixed with a healthy splash of bright orange.

Follow these steps, be safe and enjoy yourself – you’ll be spoiled.

Pheasants are year round residents of the UK and can be spotted in most of the country. Besides Great Britain, the common pheasant can be found in most parts of Europe and North America.

The most common pheasant, the ring-necked pheasant, is mainly seen on land foraging on woodland edges and hedgerows. So, getting to that, how long do pheasants live?

On average, pheasants only live for one to three years. Female pheasants generally have a greater chance of living at the higher end of this average, but males often have shorter lifespans as they are hunted and shot.

Although pheasants have a short lifespan, they can easily live in excess of ten years in captivity, with a male pheasant living to the ripe old age of 18 today.

However, the average lifespan varies by species of pheasant, with species such as the king pheasant having a life expectancy of around nine years and the golden pheasant around 5 to 6 years in the wild.

Pheasants have relatively short lives, generally only living between one and three years

What is the typical lifespan of pheasants?

The typical lifespan of pheasants varies slightly between different species. Ring pheasants have one of the lowest expected lifespans (especially males) as they are hunted.

Lifespan of the common pheasant

The majority of common pheasants in the wild live 1 – 3 years, but in captivity there are confirmed cases of these birds living to 27 years.

Lifespan of the golden pheasant

In the wild, golden pheasants typically live about five years, but the oldest recorded is 13.4 years in captivity.

There are anecdotal reports claiming that these pheasants can live up to 20 years which seems plausible.

Reeves Pheasant Lifespan

The Reeves’ pheasant was recorded to be over nine years old.

Reeves Pheasant Golden Pheasant

How long do pheasants live in the wild?

In the wild, the average lifespan of a pheasant is usually between one and three years. The annual survival rate for adult females ranges from 21 to 46%, while males have only a 7% chance of survival.

The significant difference between male and female survival rates is related to the fact that only males are hunted, which drastically reduces the chances of survival.

Pheasants in the wild have quite a few enemies, so those not killed during a hunt are usually preyed upon by various raptors or mammals such as foxes.

Male (rooster) and female (chicken) pheasants in the breeding season

How long do pheasants live in captivity?

In captivity, pheasants have a much longer life expectancy overall, typically ranging from 10 to 18 years. The oldest documented common pheasant living in captivity lived to be 27 years old.

Like other captive birds, pheasants generally live longer due to the almost complete elimination of risks such as predation, infection, disease and harsh weather conditions. Food is also always available, which is another factor that contributes to longer lifespans.

What is the life cycle of a pheasant?

Most pheasants lay their eggs from early April to early June. Nests are fairly simple, being built in tall grass, shrubs, or weeds. Each egg is laid about every 1.4 days, and clutches typically contain 7 to 15 eggs.

Incubation: The incubation of pheasant eggs takes about 23 days on average, but in some cases it can be longer, extending to 28 days. Female pheasants only incubate the eggs.

Hatching: The hatching process takes about 12 hours. After gently tapping for a few hours, pheasant chicks kick off a large chunk of the shell before they are born. Once outside, the chicks lie quietly in the nest.

Leaving the Nest: Pheasant chicks are born covered in down, with their eyes fully open, and are able to leave the nest almost immediately. Once they leave the nest, they follow the female and mostly feed themselves.

Juvenile Phase: Pheasant chicks begin their pre-juvenile moult at just ten days of age. They stay with the adult female for up to 80 days before heading off to their wintering grounds and becoming completely independent.

Adulthood: Pheasants become sexually mature when they reach about a year of age after hatching. They will then go out and try to establish their territories and then try to breed each year.

Young common pheasant

How do most pheasants die?

For male pheasants, being hunted by humans is one of the most common causes of predation. Females and males, avoiding being shot, are often preyed upon by hawks, eagles, owls and foxes, usually in winter.

Most pheasants are preyed during the winter, particularly after dispersal from winter cover. During spring and summer, nesting hens (female pheasants) are often hunted while on the nest, and chicks are also often attacked.

Before 1950, the success rate of hatching pheasant eggs was over 50%, but more recently this number has dropped significantly. One of the main reasons for this is an increase in nest predation.

What are the predators of pheasants?

Pheasants and chicks have some enemies, as do adult pheasants. The main enemies of adult pheasants are humans (hunting male pheasants), birds of prey and mammals such as foxes.

Raptors take adults both off the ground and in flight.

In the United Kingdom

nest predation

In the UK, pheasant eggs and occasionally nestlings are eaten mainly by foxes and corvids (mainly carrion crows). Other nest predators include badgers, rats, stoats and hedgehogs.

In a study of pheasant nest predation, factors such as habitat type, season, or hen age had no direct impact on nest predation rate.

adult pheasants

A large proportion of male pheasants are hunted and shot during the hunting season. Female pheasants (chickens) are often shot but are less likely than males overall. Outside of the hunting season, the main predators for pheasants are foxes.

Common buzzards, honey buzzards, northern goshawks, northern harriers and peregrine falcons are all known to occasionally attempt to hunt adult and young pheasants.

Common pheasant in flight

In the USA

nest predation

In the US, nest predators include many species of birds, including ravens, blue jays, American crows, grackles, and magpies. Foxes, coyotes, badgers, raccoons and other mammals predate pheasant nests.

Adult and young pheasants are eaten by:

mammals

Red fox

coyote

badgers

mink

weasel

racoon

birds

golden eagle

hawks

snakes

snapping turtles

Great horned owls

Close-up of a pheasant

How old is the oldest pheasant?

The oldest recorded ringneck (common) pheasant alive was 27 years old.

This age record is cited in the Animal Aging and Longevity Database.

How long can pheasants survive without food?

In winter, pheasants can draw on their rich fat reserves for several days if necessary. But after a few days, the pheasant would most likely starve to death.

This behavior of living off their fat reserves generally only occurs in winter when food sources are less plentiful.

Female and male pheasant in the snow during winter

Can pheasants survive the winter?

Most pheasants rely on finding suitable and secure winter cover to survive the winter. These winter cover areas are usually grass cover for roosting at night and trees and shrubs for foraging during the day.

Pheasants build up a fairly substantial fat reserve, which usually peaks in January.

During harsh winters, pheasants have to burn around 25% more energy to survive, meaning they have to find more food while staying away from hungry predators.

Mild weather conditions are what pheasants thrive on, especially during the breeding season. Rain helps grow the nest cover they need and attracts many insects for the chicks to feed on.

Stocking caged birds is not an efficient means of increasing wild bird populations, as numerous studies over the past 25 years have shown. On the other hand, habitat development and improvement has been shown to help increase ring-necked populations.

WHAT IS PHEASANT STOCKING?

By definition, ‘stocking’ is the release of indoor pheasants into habitats where wild birds already exist. “Introductions” or “transplants” are different. These relate to the capture and release of wild birds in areas where birds are not generally found, using very carefully studied management.

WHAT about keeping young (8-14 WEEKS old) pheasants?

On average, only 60 percent survive the first week of publication. After a month, about 25 percent is left. The winter survival rate is up to 10 percent but rarely exceeds 5 percent of released birds

SHOULD WE NOT END THE SEASON WITH HIGH MORTALITY?

Most of the time, hunting has little to do with poor survival. Predators take the real toll on feather-reared pheasants and are responsible for more than 90 percent of all deaths. The reason for this was that birds raised in enclosures never had the chance to learn predator avoidance behavior. Hunger can also be a problem. Some newly released pheasants take up to three weeks to develop optimal feeding patterns, which are essential for survival in the wild.

WHY NOT WAIT UNTIL SPRING TO ADOPT BREEDER CHICKENS?

Mortality is still very high – around 40 to 70 percent of hens die before attempting to nest. Also, high mortality rates persist even after nest placement or successful hatching of eggs, resulting in dismal low production. The average production of spring released hens is between 5 and 40 chicks per 100 released hens. Abandoned hens are therefore not productive enough to replace their own losses.

CAN’T THE SURVIVAL RATES BE DIFFERENT FOR SOME AREAS?

There will often be a few that make it, but studies have shown that they are unable to sustain a population. Because of this, local stock programs continue year after year. Ultimately we must ask why it is necessary to repeat restocking annually when the survival rate is as high as is often claimed.

Isn’t minimal survival better than none at all?

Not necessarily. We care about a self-sustaining population that we don’t need to constantly replenish with cage-reared birds. In order to remain at a constant level, wild pheasant populations must have a production rate of approximately four chicks (which live up to 10 weeks of age) per hen. At production rates of less than one chick per hen, a population would decline rapidly.

Stocking worked initially, why wouldn’t it work now?

When pheasants were first transplanted (other than stocking) and introduced to the US, the landscape was very different from what we have today. Farming techniques were primitive, field sizes smaller, and crops more diversified. These habitat conditions created a situation ideally suited for the introduction of a farmland species such as the ring-necked pheasant.

Is releasing birds harmful?

Although not proven, there is cause for concern. Genetic dilution can occur. Even with minimal survival, the release of thousands of cage-raised birds over many years can reduce wildness in wild populations. Another concern is that by releasing hundreds of birds in a given area, predators could start catching pheasants. This can result in wild birds being subjected to higher levels of predation. Finally, there is the possibility of disease transmission from released birds to the wild population.

What if I just want to bag a few more birds?

Easy enough. Release the birds as close as possible to the time you plan to hunt. Anything else is a waste of money. Raised birds offer hunting opportunities and a chance to keep your dog in shape. Just remember that these birds are not going to spawn a feral, self-sustaining population in your area.

Is there hope for areas with LOW pheasant populations?

Yes. Start by understanding the habitat needs of pheasants. In which areas do pheasants nest? What are optimal covers in which they survive harsh winters? How can these areas be created and maintained? Get the answers from your local wildlife experts. Consider becoming a member of Pheasants Forever. Informative and educational articles on these and other topics are part of every Pheasants Forever Journal of Upland Conservation. If you are serious about improving local living conditions, you should consider joining or starting a chapter.

Where will pheasants with improved habitat come from?

Due to their high productivity, wild pheasants can quickly colonize newly created habitats in the area. In unpopulated areas with suitable habitat, transplanting wild birds or their offspring (F1 generation) seems to be the best solution. The first step should be an investigation of the factors that have restricted pheasant populations in the past – for example a lack of winter quarters or increased use of pesticides.

Can we realistically recreate wild numbers of pheasants?

Yes. Over the past 50 years, a colossal amount of money has been spent on supplemental stocking programs by state and local governments, athlete groups and individuals. If those dollars had been invested in habitat restoration, hundreds of wildlife species in addition to pheasants would have benefited.

Here’s the bottom line: as habitat conditions improve, wild pheasant populations will increase in response to that habitat.

I could feel the bite of the north wind on my face as I struggled to carve a trail through the deep snow. I trained my fingers in my gloves to keep the feel of my bird dog, Timber, playfully gliding across the crusted snow. For me, however, every step was a chore, but I had to keep up and maintain good firing position.

Due to the cold temperatures, the pheasants clung to their chosen cover to conserve energy. Only when Timber was directly overhead would they break cover and head for the safety of the sky. But once a colorful Ring Pheasant took flight, my numb face and frozen fingers were quickly forgotten as I slung my shotgun to my shoulder, found the pheasant in flight and pulled the trigger.

Timber brings back some beautiful snow pheasants the day after a snow storm. Timber brings back some beautiful snow pheasants the day after a snow storm.

There is nothing quite like an autumn day in the field hunting Ringneck Pheasants. I appreciate spending time in the field with my tracker dog by my side on fair weather pheasant hunts. However, as soon as the temperature drops to freezing point and snow covers the ground, I am very much looking forward to going on a little pheasant hunt.

Before the snow flies

Under normal autumn weather conditions, pheasants often run around to feed, scratch and even socialize. But when the weather cools and the clouds gather, pheasants are out and about, eating as much food as they can. During these pre-storm conditions a hunter will see large numbers of pheasants and it will often be one of the best hunts of the season. The reason a hunter has many encounters before the snow flies is simple. Much like big game animals, a pheasant’s instinct before a cold front is to feed aggressively and for as long as possible to prepare for the cold weather. In these conditions, hunters should focus their hunting efforts in areas of high protein intake, such as fields of grain, corn, and peas. I’ve also had incredible success near farmers’ granaries. Pheasants will feed on the spilled feed around the bins and unless there is good cover the birds will seldom stray far from these areas.

Hunting pheasants in deep snow after a cold front can be hard work, but the rewards are worth it.

Hunting pheasants in deep snow after a cold front can be hard work, but the rewards are worth it.

As soon as the snow flies

While Mother Nature has a fit, pheasants hold on to conserve energy and live on their reserves. Like other wild animals, pheasants take cover to protect themselves from the elements. During this time a pheasant will not move unless absolutely necessary. And it’s not uncommon for pheasants to hold out for days if need be. This makes hunting cold-weather pheasants a challenge. Hunters should focus their attention on the thickest cover. Your bird dog is your lifeline in these conditions. Your dogs may even get a bit confused as pheasants may be reluctant to fly in the worst conditions and it is not uncommon for dogs to pick up a live pheasant.

I have found pheasants keeping to the base of trees, in crevices, windrows, in dense scrub, and two of my favorite spots for snow hunting are in and around farm implements and in deep holes in the snow itself. Wherever they need shelter from the elements If you can find them, you will find them, even though they are no ordinary pheasant hideouts. And they won’t detach from the cover until you or your dog is on top.

Before and after a cold front, hunters should focus on protein-rich foraging areas such as corn, grain, and peas. Before and after a cold front, hunters should focus on protein-rich foraging areas such as corn, grain, and peas.

Once you’ve spotted snow pheasants and are reluctant to fly until the last minute, shots are often close range and even ground level. Hunters need to be mindful of where their dog is, and you might even want to lighten your shot. If a bird is missed, pay close attention to its trajectory as it doesn’t usually spend much time in the cold air. In cold weather, pheasants may only fly 60 or 70 meters and then come back down to hide. I’ve even had them fly just 20 meters, land and take cover quickly. This sedentary lifestyle serves to conserve energy and maintain heat. They instinctively stuffed themselves before the cold front hit, but have no idea how long it will last. Therefore, it is also instinctive to save energy until the weather changes.

As soon as the weather breaks

The longer it stays cold and the more snow, the better. As I mentioned above, pheasants can use up their body reserves for several days if necessary, but once the weather changes all a pheasant thinks about is feeding and replenishing its reserves. Pheasants and many other wild birds congregate again in the protein-rich foraging areas. This initial feeding after the weather breaks will eat pheasants aggressively. They drop their guard while eating. This allows a hunter to get much closer before heading to the safety of the skies. These are excellent hunting opportunities for new or first-time wing shooters as roosters are easy to spot against the crisp white background and most shots are at close range. This is also a great time for pheasant hunters who don’t have a bird dog. It’s almost like spot-and-stalk pheasant hunting.

The colors really come into their own in the rosters with a snow background. The colors really come into their own in the rosters with a snow background.

Once the pheasants have had a belly full of high protein feed, they will rest and bask directly in their food source. This dormant feeding pattern lasts for a few days before the pheasants return to their normal routine. However, hunters should keep a close eye on weather reports. If another cold front moves, which is very common during the late fall season, the ringnecks can start the cold-weather cycle all over again.

With the right clothing for cold weather pheasant hunting and understanding what happens to pheasants before, during and after a cold front, a pheasant hunter can not only hunt in poor weather conditions but also be very successful.

Wes David is a speaker, freelance outdoor writer, and wildlife photographer based in Alberta, Canada. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

In the highland world, pheasants are considered the easiest birds to shoot. Their profile is larger than most highland quarries, and their flight plan is measured and predictable. And because they prefer grass to trees, line of sight isn’t usually as problematic as it is with other winged wildlife.

But young and old hunters still miss pheasants. If you can’t manage to connect with roosters, your problems are likely due to faulty shooting mechanics. Here are three of the most common problems and how to fix them.

You are wrong

The adrenaline rush provided by a short-tempered rooster is one of the main reasons Highland Hunters keep coming back to the field. However, it is also a major reason hunters miss. It’s easy to literally start off on the wrong foot by not getting your bearings properly when a bird is flying.

To increase your chances of a connected shot, aim your front foot in the direction the bird is flying rather than where it was. This will help your weight stay over your front foot as you swing the pheasant. If your front foot is out of position or you are otherwise off balance, your weight will shift to your back foot as you pursue the bird. As a result, your head will automatically climb over the shaft, resulting in consistent high and back busts.

In any type of wingshooting scenario, keeping your weight forward is imperative as it allows your front hand to move and control the weapon. Imagine steering a car with the rear wheels instead of the front wheels – you can, but it would be inefficient, cumbersome and difficult. Similar to a vehicle that puts more weight on the front tires, positioning your weight over your front foot gives you better control and allows you to match the speed of your gun barrel to the bird’s speed. When firing, it also ensures you persevere rather than pausing and raising your head to see if you’ve actually hit the bird.

Watch your footing, too. There are a lot of literal pitfalls in pheasant country, and it’s easy to step on uneven ground. A lack of balance not only leads to inaccuracies, but is also unsafe.

All in all, don’t rush the shot—take the time to anchor your front foot in the bird’s direction of flight. The extra seconds it takes to lay down a solid foundation will result in more hits than misses, and today’s high-velocity, hard-hitting charges like Federal’s Prairie Storm offer hunters the luxury of time, being more effective at long ranges and patterning evenly.

You “shoulder” the gun

The phrase “shoulder on gun” is misleading. If you butt-ram your shoulder, drop your head on the stock, and then raise the barrel on target, prepare to fail before you ever pull the trigger.

To properly mount a shotgun, point your forefoot in the same direction the bird is moving, then bring the end of the barrel into your line of sight while connecting your cheek to the stock. If you do these steps in the same motion, your head will move forward with your gun while you align your eye with the barrel and target. If your head moves forward with your cheek on the shaft, it will be more difficult to move it sideways.

In other words, don’t shoulder-mount the gun, drop your head on the stock, and then move the rear sight to catch up with the bird. It’s rare that you’ll shoulder the weapon in the exact same spot every time, so forget your shoulder and instead touch the stock on your cheek. As you move the barrel toward the target and then raise the butt to hit your cheek, it also helps to position the gun in the same spot on your shoulder each time without snagging on your vest.

Dropping your head on the stock after the butt is glued to your shoulder means your head is likely resting higher or further up the ridge, forcing your field of view to be more of the barrel, rib and front sight of the weapon than it should. If that’s the case, you’re almost guaranteed to miss the high.

If your weight is too far back and your head is too high on the stock, the gun will swing you and the felt recoil will amplify, hurting your cheek and knocking the crap out of your shoulder. Pretty soon you’ll be flinching when you pull the trigger – willingly or not.

To hit more birds forget your shoulder. Instead, try raising the barrel first and as you extend it to the target, touch the stock to your cheek and then lean into the gun.

You cover the bird

A few years ago I took a hunter training course for my son. The teacher was fantastic and he was able to hold the attention of every child in the classroom for two separate 3 hour sessions. It was better than I could have imagined.

However, when we went to the range to shoot for the field portion of the course, I was surprised to hear him encourage the kids in the class to “cover the bird” with the shotgun barrel when aiming at clay pigeons. It was the same advice I remember when I took the course in 1990. The problem is that it’s a flawed approach that took me years to overcome.

Think of it this way: Many parents yell at their kids to keep their eyes on the ball and not to pull their heads when swinging a baseball or softball bat. The same basic principles apply to shooting, because it’s hard to hit what you can’t see.

Covering a fleeing rooster with a shotgun barrel can work in the rare event that the bird flies immediately. However, in most other cases, if you barrel-cover a bird, you won’t be able to see where it’s going, causing you to pull your head and peek. Result? up and behind.

Ultimately, covering a bird means you’re shooting where a bird is, not where it’s going to be. And it’s never a good thing not to lead a bird that flies over 40 miles per hour.

Handling a bird is important, but just as important is making sure the gun stays under the bird. If you cover the bird, your eyes will automatically drift to the end of your run, causing a high shot. Remember that a shotgun sight is only a peripheral reference and focusing on a brass bead or fiberglass sight instead of the target will often result in a miss. Holding the keg under a bird and not covering it increases the chances that you can see where the keg needs to go and keep it from birds when they shoot to safety.

With the Highland season only a few weeks away, what better time to head down to the shooting range and brush up on some shooting mechanics. Regardless of where or how you practice, pay close attention to where your front foot is pointing, how you mount your weapon, and see if your focus stays on target or drifts to your bead. You’ll be amazed at how much you can learn about yourself in a controlled environment, and you’ll be rewarded with more hits than misses this fall.

A Pheasants Forever fan on Facebook recently asked this question, “Is it hard to hunt pheasants without a dog?” I believe the answer to that is as simple as adding 2 plus 2. There is no doubt that hunting pheasants without a dog is more difficult; just no doubt in my mind.

However, there is one question that I think offers more room for discussion: “Is it even possible to successfully hunt pheasants without a tracking dog?”

First of all, I am a dog person. Plain and simple, the dog work of a pheasant hunt gives me great pleasure in the field. That being said, I believe I am being impartial when I say that a dog is more important in pheasant hunting than in any other bird hunt. Unlike virtually any other wild bird, a pheasant’s first instinct for survival is to run from danger rather than flee. Consequently, pheasants can circle a dogless hunter without giving any indication of its existence. Pheasants are also difficult to kill aerial birds. Personally, I’m an average shooter, and I believe my dog ​​saves at least 90 percent of the birds I cripple from going completely unrecovered.

So back to the question. My answer is a qualified “yes”. Here are the four instances where I believe you can successfully hunt pheasants without a dog:

1) Walking linear coverage. Roadsides, drainage ditches, and rows of fences create a linear habitat in which a dogless pheasant hunter can walk until he/she forces a bird off the end or squeezes one out the side.

2) Small stains. Same basic principle as with the Walking Linear Cover. If you can propel a small patch of habitat completely surrounded by plowed fields, your chances of nurturing a bird multiply.

3) The big group push. If you have enough people to walk close together, it’s possible to push a large field and pounce the young birds that don’t have the elusive ability to scoot around your steps.

4) Game Farms & Reserves. There is no doubt that pen-reared birds lack the survival instincts of a wild pheasant that has evaded predation throughout its existence.

I add two caveats. First, in all four scenarios, it is possible to flush a faucet without the help of a dog; Finding a winged bird without a dog, however, is a whole different story. Any ethical pheasant hunter who enters the field without a tracker dog should take great care to take high proof and quality shots. Second, I would bet that a good bird dog will result in twice as many birds being flushed when going through the same scenarios as when hunting without one.

I’m sure there are dozens of dogless pheasant hunters reading this blog who have bagged wild roosters in vast cover areas without the help of a canine companion. . . Where do I think the holes are?

The Pointer was written by Bob St.Pierre, Vice President of Marketing for Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever. Follow Bob on Twitter @BobStPierre and hear Bob and Billy Hildebrand on FAN Outdoors radio on KFAN FM100.3 every Saturday morning.

Hunting pheasants is both fun and great exercise. It offers an opportunity to get outdoors, meet with other hunters and there is nothing quite like the thrill of the hunt. Pheasants were first introduced to the United States in the mid-1800s, but didn’t really begin to thrive until the 1880s. Since then they have become one of the most popular game birds and are still hunted in the UK and elsewhere where they breed.