Pheasant Hunting

Local Hunter

Belle, all around dog.

She is pointing in medium quality Bluestem Grass, a brushy draw in the mid ground with a crop field on the far side. Her master takes her pheasant hunting but a few times a year preferring quail.

This area has three types of cover and food mixture within the same property, grass, crop and brushy draw. Combined makes this a pheasant hunting hot spot.

This would be a property the upland bird hunter would carry 4's and 6's in the field for roosters and change out to 8's for quail in the brushy draw. This makes the double or O/U the preferred gun for our mixed bag quail and pheasant hunting. Auto loaders less common for quail, more so for pheasant hunting.

Traveling Pheasant Hunter

The well known Jack. "Hunts just like you see on TV"

A Pennsylvania member since 1995 that regularly practices the pheasant hunting art. This hunter has a rule that he only takes a picture when he has bagged 4 birds on one walk, in one field, off of one bird dog's points. During up years this is a frequent occurrence leaving the rest of the day for quail hunting.

After Jack such days were not as frequent.

The day this picture was taken was January 21, his last hunting day and the second consecutive year this hunter limited out on his last hunting day of the season. His quote:

"Do not think you must hunt the first two weeks of the hunting season to get good pheasant hunting."

Not everyone will do this well all the time and from year to year. Bird numbers cycle through highs and lows. Those that stick to it hunting every year always have better hunts than those that come and go with the pheasant numbers.

Once In A Life Time Dog, Buck

Those that hunted with Buck still talk about him today.

The November weeks of the season can be too warm, into the 70's, for good dog work. December and January offer a greater probability of colder weather and better dog work. For those that desire the hunting art this is also the time of the year when seeing another hunter is not likely. After the opening weekend rush and thanksgiving family hunts only those dedicated to working their bird dogs hunt the remainder of the season.

Pheasant hunting season begins the first Saturday in November in Missouri and the last Saturday in October in Iowa. This can be up to 7-13 days before Kansas opens early in November. This motivates Kansas and Missouri hunters to hunt Missouri and Iowa opener and does pressure the birds. By the time Kansas pheasant season opens the duck hunters have had a full month of waterfowl hunting and are ready for a break. With Kansas' higher pheasant bag limits combined with the duck hunters taking a break from waterfowl, the deer hunters dusting off their shotguns, all combined makes the opening weekend of the upland bird hunting season crowded. Crowded not in terms of Association private hunting land availability, but rather motel availability. Motels in the better pheasant hunting areas are booked 6 to 12 months in advance of opening weekend. Additionally, some counties may have only one motel for the entire county. Bed space goes by fast.

Bear, he always tried to catch the bird in the air.

For those wanting to practice the pheasant hunting art of working their dogs the first two weeks in December through January are the best times of the hunting season. The weather is cooler to cold, the duck hunters have returned to waterfowl hunting, deer hunters to deer hunting and the fair weather hunters have quit for the season. The family hunts of Thanksgiving are through. The next two periods of increased pheasant hunting are Christmas family hunts which are largely non-residents bring the children out for a hunt. Then the last two weeks of the Kansas season when folks realize a good thing is about to come to an end. Missouri closes their pheasant hunting by January 15. This motivates Missouri hunters to Kansas. And, the last week of Kansas' season sees an increased in hunting as hunters get one last hunt in before the end of the season.

All of this makes the best time for pheasant hunting the first two weeks of December, November and January which are the typical low usage periods.

Four pheasants in one day is frequent. Four from one walk on one field is what Kansas pheasant hunting has to offer. Kansas also has a longer pheasant hunting season than anywhere else in the United States.

Prairie Chicken

Prairie Chickens exist throughout the better pheasant regions of Kansas. Looking at their color it is easy to understand why it is common for them not to even be shot at. They in flight are easily mistaken for hen pheasant. By the time the pheasant hunter realizes what is before him are Prairie Chickens and not pheasant hens it is too late for a shot. These fast flying birds don't stick around.

Pictured are one each hen and cock Prairie Chicken.

Long Traveling Upland Bird Hunter

Another Belle. She travels from Maine For one long hunting trip each season.

Make no excuses the picture has only two roosters. No where on this web site will the reader find piles of dead birds boasting of the land's bounty and typical of large pheasant drive hunting.

We do not provide or allow game shooting of such nature. We concentrate on the tranquility of a hunt that truly is a hunt as hunting has always been. The isolated pursuit by father and son or favored hunting partners and the single hunter, their dogs and the game. In every hunt the outcome is directly related to the hunter's own abilities rather than overpowering nature.

These two birds came off a field that typically is less than a two hour hunt. This day the birds were working the hunter and his dog hard. Point, relocate and point again on running birds that sometimes flushed long or were hens at close point standoff.

This day four hours were spent in pursuit with two rooster points, two shells fired and two birds in the bag.

Both dog and hunter were spent, thirsty and ready for a rest. Such a hunt as this with its lasting memories far exceeds a group on a drive hunt that fires multiple shells at individual birds.

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