Article Database
These page is loaded with Featured Articles
Six “Military” Style Methods to Outsmart Late Season Roosters
By now late season roosters have been hunted hard, so they’re more wary. Hardened and experienced, these birds flush at greater distances at the mere sound or sight of danger. Add paranoia and the uncanny ability to become elusive and scarce when things get dicey. Veteran roosters know that slow birds of mind and wing are shot. Taking to the air is the last option as mature birds stay grounded and use their feet instead of wings to escape.
Ringnecks in the snow
Snowfalls in many states is the silent signal to die-hard bird hunters that it is time to venture out and chase ring-neck pheasants in the snow. There is much to enjoy about pheasant hunting in the snow during the colder weather months. While there are some hunters that will shun hunting in the snow and extreme cold conditions, there will be those that will find it to their liking and challenging. Hunters should be able to walk around when the snow is dry and light. However, the amount of snowfall will determine the difficulty in traversing the countryside and fields. Hunting during the winter adds a physical and mental challenge to finding and chasing winter birds.
`Upland` Chaps
The snow had begun to accumulate. Measuring just high enough that each boot step would certainly put me into almost ten inches of the white stuff. The landscape was wet with freshly fallen snow. Its weight had pushed down all the dried, tan switchgrass that fall and winter brings. I opened the back half of the truck’s cab to get to my gear bag. I unzipped the main compartment and pulled out matching tan chaps. They were quickly put on over my pants and secured. An hour into my hunt, I quickly found the chaps sole purpose that day was to keep me dry. I had pushed though snow-laden grass, flushing roosters who had taken to burrowing themselves in small openings to get out of the weather. If I had not worn chaps, I would’ve been one wet and cold bird hunter.
Outwitting Pheasants
Late-season roosters are neurotic in trying to stay alive. Throughout the winter months those ring-neck roosters that have been successful in avoiding ending up in the game bag and then on to a plate with vegetables and potatoes have evolved into hardy and experienced birds. Worthy field opponents. They have become field masters at out-witting orange vested bird hunters and their dogs. The upland chess board is made up in their favor. With an array of habitat and varying landscape, including every imaginable type of cover a pheasant will use to escape – it’s no wonder that hunters need to employ military style tactics to be on the same upland battlefield as a ring-neck pheasant.
Zen and Sharing Space With Bears and Snakes
While planning a trip to Montana a friend asked me if the possibility of running into a bear or snake was “over hyped or a real concern?” After some thought, my answer “both” wasn’t very helpful in easing his mind. But it is true - while the odds of an encounter go up exponentially in the country either dreaded species inhabits. The sheer volume of hunters, fishers, and hikers flooding the space makes the odds of you actually being the one who gets bitten or mauled impossibly low. Put another way, you have to play the lotto to win, but when was the last time you won the jackpot? That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be prepared, but common sense often goes out the window when we head west with our fears in tow.
WHAT TO WEAR? THAT IS THE QUESTION.
What do I wear for bird hunting? Is a valid and common question asked by new bird hunters. The answers they receive will be on both sides of the spectrum. From the very basic to high-tech. Comfort and protection are paramount when hunting the uplands, as they can be versatile in every aspect of the hunt. There’s a style to the upland ruggedness we hunt. What bird hunters wear must allow them to walk comfortably and if need be, crash through heavy and unruly thickets, brambles, thick cover, as well as up and over rough terrain in mild to extreme conditions. Wear what makes you comfortable and what you can afford, while still maintaining breathability, warmth, dryness, and durability. These attributes make for upland field excursions more enjoyable when not thinking about whether the clothes on your back will function, so focus can be to putting birds in your bird vest.
A Guide to Exploring Shotguns, Chokes and Shot Size for Hunting the Brown Rockets of the Marsh...
As I reloaded my 12 gauge over-and-under, yet again for the fourth, fifth, and even sixth time after I had whiffed on the acrobatic brown rockets of the marsh…the snipe, I had about given up on connecting on the fragile little fliers. The Ruger Red Label’s barrels were hot to the touch due to the number of shells being shot out of them. Trouncing through the wetlands, the occasional backsplash would create a “tsss” sound on the hot metal tubes. The break-open action on the double-barreled shotgun was surely seeing plenty of opening and closing.
War
Wars between son-in-law and mother-in-law are endemic in our culture, perhaps pandemic in wealthy families and especially when son is Dixie-born and bred and mother-in-law a Yankee. So it was between Eloise Crump of Boston and Doug Hall of Thomasville, husband of Eloise’s daughter Charlotte.
Quail…Are They Still Around?
You betcha! Well, at least in Kansas. Talk of the good ol’ days are annoying, because they’re here!
Is Anybody Home?
As a little kid visiting my grandparents in Tennessee it wasn't uncommon to jump up several covey of quail while walking around on their hundred acre farm. Today, not so much. While I still hear a few birds whistle from time to time, it's rare that I ever see a wild bird, much less scatter a whole covey. I'd love to be able to find wild birds in Tennessee again, so Quail restoration and conservation is something I'm pretty passionate about. I've tried releasing birds, planting native grasses and sowing food plots, but I lack the knowledge to make any real difference. In an effort to educate myself, I decided to reach out to an expert, Dr. Dale Rollins, to see if I could share something from the Rolling Plains Quail Research Foundation. He was gracious enough to allow me to share this article about counting the quail population on your land. It's an activity meant for spring and I probably could have waited to share, but I'm hoping to find and share similar articles in the future. I believe the first step to any good habitat management is to first figure out what you're working with.
And the Birds Whistled Bob-white
Quail hunting in the South has always been as common as sunburn. Due to the fertile soil, flat and rolling coastal plains that are cut by long rivers and dotted with lakes and ponds, made for a perfect farming. Mild winters with hot, humid summers meant crops grew for longer times of the year than just about any other part of the country. Cotton, rice, peanuts, tobacco, peaches, sugar cane, watermelons, and indigo, the blue dye that comes from the plant, were staples. It didn't matter if the farming occurred on plantations several thousand acres big or on 50-acre tenant farms, one thing was for sure. Quail were abundant.
Upland Hunting Vest Round-up
I was on Facebook the other night and saw a post asking about recommendations for an Upland Game Vest. There were so many different brands listed, that I thought it'd be a good idea to list some of them here on Gundog Central for everyone to see, with links to where you can purchase. While researching these Upland Game Vest, I was kind of surprised at how many different ones there were available. It would be impossible for me to list them all here, so I'll stick with the ones I know or might be interested in. I won't be offering any recommendations as to which one you should or shouldn't purchase, mainly because we all have different needs and hunt different types of birds. What's good for someone hunting Quail, might not work as well for someone hunting Pheasant. You might like to travel light, where someone else might want to carry more gear. An older person will have different preferences than a younger person and people in the south would have different needs than someone hunting up north. If you would like to leave any recommendations or feedback, maybe suggest some I missed, you may do some in the comments below.
Field Cocker Madness
The brace of pointers was stunning, and they were locked up on the edge of one of the thickest patches of greenbriar I'd ever seen. The tangle was so dense it resembled unfurled rolls of concertina wire. A little cocker named Rip didn't care, for when he was cut loose, he snaked his way through that mess with more moves than a belly dancer. I'd I couldn't see him, but to know where he was I just needed to see which section of greenbriar was shaking. When the dog locked on his target, a covey of wild quail exploded. They believed if they held their ground they'd never have to leave. How wrong they were.
One Who Gave For Us-And Paid A Price
"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."
Oklahoma is more than OK
Opening Day is the one we wait for all year long. It's the time when we gather our family and friends, our dogs and favorite shotguns, and trade in every day life for the fields. If we're lucky, the day falls on a weekend and we don't need to make special arrangements. But if Opening Day lands during the week, well, then many of us mysteriously get sick. If enough of us bird doggers scrap work then the country's gross national product might suffer. It'll rebound when we return, but if we miss the opener there is a good chance we won't. Belling dogs and following up points isn't all it's cracked up to be; it's much, much more.
