A panoramic view of north west Kansas pheasant habitat. This area has three types of cover and food mixture within the same property, grass, crop and brushy draw. 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 6's and 8's for quail in the brushy draw.
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 as 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. 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 the second Saturday 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 combined makes the opening weekend of the season crowded. Crowded not in terms of land availability, but rather motel availability. Motels in the better 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. 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 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 and 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.
Four pheasants in one day is frequent. Four from one walk on one field is what Kansas pheasant habitat has to offer for a longer pheasant hunting season than anywhere else in the United States. |
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A Pennsylvania member since 1995 that regularly practices the 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.
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. The picture above should demonstrate there are enough birds right through the end of the season to make hunting right up to the last available day worth every hunter's effort.
