# Where are all the North Dakota Pheasant Hunters?



## Rick Acker

I was out this weekend. A little on the cold side and the snow was just deep enough to make it a little difficult, However...The hunting was fantastic! The thing I couldn't believe, we didn't see another N.D. hunter out there...A few groups from Minnesota and that's it! C'mon guys and girls...The Vikes are going to choke eventually, don't give up on the roosters just yet!


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## drjongy

That's the beauty of late-season hunting...I don't want to see anybody else.


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## tsodak

They were out around Jamestown!!! Lots of tracks around sloughs and we saw 5 groups hunting in 3 sections of small potholes Saturday. And if anyone asks, the pheasants all died in the snowstorms..... :lol:


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## BigDaddy

I had a great pheasant hunt on Saturday, just me and my dog. I also saw a few Minnesota parties out there, but no North Dakota guys. I was surprised how tight the birds were holding, most likely due the recent snows. It was a great day.


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## SnakeyJake1

Gotta agree there! I went out Saturday and didn't see a soul, except one group Muzzleloader Hunting. The snow is a little deep on the west edges of sloughs for the dogs, but I think they get a kick out of playing in the big drifts from time to time!

Just another great day in North Dakota!!


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## DJRooster

I cannot tell a lie. I was hunting!


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## Dick Monson

Been out every day the weather was fit. The Friday after turkey day there were as many people out as opener. Birds are bunched more and educated around here. I take no small credit for shoot and release. Some of the section lines are drifted in so you'll foot it now versus driving up to the slough. Half mile walk in, half mile hunt, half mile walk out makes Jack a dull boy. If we get more snow it will be the diehards left ---snowshoes. And of course -25 wind chills might lower hunter #s a bit.


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## mnswd

Anyone been out in Ellendale area. Have a trip planned over X-mas, did the birds make it through the Ice strom.


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## DJRooster

I heard there isn't a pheasant left in Dickey county and all the land is posted!


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## mnswd

Now you wouldn't be saying that because I am a NR.


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## gandergrinder

I killed my first rooster of the year this weekend and also missed my first one. First time I have been out pheasant hunting.

After walking a good many miles. I'm not sure how the birds are going to get any feed in the area I hunted. The ice was almost an inch thick on the ground and I had to kick the ground like mad to expose any dirt. I think there are going to be some birds that starve to death this winter.


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## Acemallard

Hey Jed my when I got home my dog was a little mad that he kicked up that rooster and you missed him. Said next time he might stay home if I tell him you are going. Just kidding. :eyeroll:

HARDCORE WATERFOWLER


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## DJRooster

Sounds like there may be a thaw coming later on this week. Let's hope so for birds and humans alike. We still need to fix the damage from the last storm.


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## DJRooster

mnswd, I think if you will read my history of posts you will know where I am coming from.


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## Rick Acker

Actually, a good share of it is posted now!(Dickey Co.) Access is difficult, but easier this time of year!


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## 94NDTA

Lets see...it was -13 below this morning, not many people enjoy sitting in the open prarie with blowing wind at these temps.

I seem to able to handle them.


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## Coach529

I went out on Saturday wiht some guys from work south of Valley. We only saw one other hunter who was stuck on a section line with his pick-up!! We helped him out and got him on his way. :beer:

We saw a ton of birds.............


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## NDTerminator

I've been hunting small but huntable concentrations near DL since the end of rifle season. Going to be headed down to Jamestown this coming weekend. Nothing better than late season pheasant hunting...


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## Springer

Dick wrote



> The Friday after turkey day there were as many people out as opener.


Where were you at? I was by Litchville and only seen two other groups of hunters all day.


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## indsport

I agree with Dick on Friday after turkey day. Once south of Marion, I counted 25 hunters before I got to Edgeley. I gave up with all the hunting pressure for most of that weekend. Surprisingly, this past weekend I saw hunters from Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin pheasant hunting.


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## Dick Monson

Springer, I was closer to indsport but I'd bet we saw 50 vehicles minimun. Some of the PLOTS had parties on both ends. Every section line was driven through. It was a nice day to be out (unlike today) and they were pounded pretty good. But the fun is in the effort.


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## tumblebuck

Wish there was a problem with few hunters out and about around here! Cripes! Went out saturday and saw hunters every where. One group even decided to walk the same WPA as us, even though they saw us walking from the road, waved, passed our parked vehicles, and then parked a half-mile down the road.

Sunday morning was no exception. Pulled up to one wildlife managment area shortly after 10:00 a.m. and by the looks of the tracks in the new fallen snow, we would've been the fourth group to walk that area.

Dang, how I like hunting in MN.


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## pheasantslayer

haha, 
now you guys know how it has been like in sw nd for the past five years. What really sucks is when all four sides of the land you are on is pay hunting. What really sucks is when the hunting rights are leased away from the farmer you get permission from and leased to people who only let themselves on. The one thing that really sucks is that the land that isn't posted out here, you might as well just walk it as one big group with the other 100 people who are going to walk it so you don't shoot each other. I wish I could tell you that your hunting will go back to the way it is, but it won't. People have had a taste of your part of nd and that will be enough to commercialize it.


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## RWHONKER

tsodak, I agree with you on that one. I also live in Jamestown and there where alot of people out this weekend in the area. Still saw a ton of birds and managed to fill out.


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## DJRooster

Could not have asked for a better scenario than this past weekend when we finally got a thaw and got rid of some of the ice that covered the fields. This will help the birds in the long run trying to make it until spring.


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## mburgess

I put on some miles in some CRP with about six or seven small dried up sloughs and managed 1 rooster and kicked up about 10 hens. Then I drove a little south and walked a workable frozen slough on private land, and got into a sh-t storm of roosters. Ended with a nice limit and two of the three held for points, which is rare this time of year. Birds are bunching up now though! Still is some hunting to be found. The one thing I've found out this year versus others is NR's are hitting public stuff all year long more than in the past. The PLOTS around here are full of hens but roosters are few and far between. Last year I was getting roosters on PLOTS all year long. Looks like those days are over. Season is coming to a close, and I'm looking at the calander trying to find any open time to get out. Might have to try going out over Xmas with some family.


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## DJRooster

One of the best things about hunting roosters is that you cannot over harvest them so it is good that people are taking advantage of the resource. i actually told a friend of mine not to come hunting on Sat. because I thought the weather was going to be so bad and here it turned out to be about 40 degrees and instead of 35 mph winds as predicted they were only about 15-20. We had a great day of hunting and dropped our last bird about 3:00 pm. The birds we got were hanging real tight and without the dogs we would have walked right by them in the cattails. The dog made a great retrieve on the second bird of a double I shot in a cattail slough. He didn't see the second bird down which landed in a soybean field along the cattails so I took him over and got him sniffing and after a couple of false runs in the snow he took off through the cattails and started running about a half mile down a ditch with a tailwind and ignored another bird that got up right in front of his nose. He just kept on the runner that had about a 5 minute head start on him and pretty soon I could see him coming back with the bird. It just doesn't get any better! It was a lot of fun because we had to hunt to find the birds and sift through all the hens. I firmly believe that there are roosters amongst all those hens but it takes a little luck and a good dog to flush a cattail "cock!" The last rooster we got we finished walking a shelterbelt and on the way back to the truck there was a narrow band of cattails(10 yds wide at the most and 100 yds long) in the ditch so I went right down the middle with my dog and my friend walked down the downwind side with his and he had gotten to the end before me and I was within about 5 yds of the end when my dog finally flushed that bird from the end of the cattails. That sucker was not coming out unless he had been forced out! I just love these late season roosters!


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## mburgess

Early season (opening weekend) is nice as you get the dumb ones right away. Middle season can be tough because they can still be anywhere and they are much smarter. Late season you know where they are at (right in the middle of the cats) and it truly is a match of wills. You won't get any unless you pound the cattails and that is what seperates the fair weather boys from the real rooster shooters. Oh yeah, a good dog doesn't hurt either.


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## NDTerminator

Had a fine hunt last weekend. My wife and I got 11 birds in two days, and Josie made 50+ flushes...


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## Todd Reber

went out on saturday, we didn't see another hunter walking all day, seen some driving around, we did really well around the Lisbon area. saw lots of birds out in the field feeding in the middle of the day. We walked some Plot land saw lots of birds. Also saw something that burnt me up a bit, do alot of hunters just breast there birds out and leave the rest for fox and other people dogs to get into? Why can't you clean your birds at home?


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## pointblankshot

Went out over the weekend down by the border south of Jamestown and was in awe over how many birds we saw! This is the first time I've hunted them this late and it was amazing to see so many bunched to together like that. Getting our limits was nice but just being out there and watching the swarms flying back and forth over the cats was so cool I almost forgot to shoot. Good luck to all you late season hunters out there it's a great time to be out!


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## muskat

> Why can't you clean your birds at home?


When you deer hunt, do you take your deer home before you gut it?


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## drjongy

Todd Reber said:


> ...Also saw something that burnt me up a bit, do a lot of hunters just breast their birds out and leave the rest for fox and other people's dogs to get into? Why can't you clean your birds at home?


I guess I never thought of this much before...but what do you all think about cleaning birds in the field? Is it better to leave the carcass in the wild for another animal to eat, or bring it home and throw it in a landfill?

With a lot of my pheasants this year I skinned and salted the hides in anticipation of using them for some outdoors craft-type projects. Who knows if I will ever use them, but they are almost too pretty to just throw away.

When I don't plan on keeping the birds I guess I'm probably 50/50 for skinning them in the field (and leaving required identification, or course) or skinning them at home. I always gut the bird in the field almost immediately after shooting, however.

Another idea I got from reading a post this fall is to keep a tail feather from each bird and use in some type of display in your home/den/game room/garage.


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## muskat

> Another idea I got from reading a post this fall is to keep a tail feather from each bird and use in some type of display in your home/den/game room/garage.


I keep a feather from every bird I shoot or is shot in my party. At some point I am going to make a nice display, right now they are jammed into two Mason jars.

I also think that cleaning birds in the field is not a bad thing. For some, taking birds home is not an option. The weather conditions really dictate whether I take birds home to clean, or clean them in the field.


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## Todd Reber

muskat said:


> Why can't you clean your birds at home?
> 
> 
> 
> When you deer hunt, do you take your deer home before you gut it?
Click to expand...

 Yes I gut my deer out in the field, but I don't skin him and bone him out in the field? Do you! seems like a lot of work to do in the field, you usually take them home and skin them out and cut them up, these pheasant were breasted out, legs left on and the whole carcess left in the field.


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## muskat

I cant speak for the way that other people clean their birds, its their choice. Some people dont like all the tendons in the legs. I personally take all the meat out of pheasants.

I clean birds often in the field, and leave the carcass (skin and head). I dont see anything wrong with that.

The reason I asked about the deer is your comment about letting fox, coyote, and dogs get into things. A deer gut pile is just as likely to be found and eaten upon.


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## Todd Reber

muskat said:


> I cant speak for the way that other people clean their birds, its their choice. Some people dont like all the tendons in the legs. I personally take all the meat out of pheasants.
> 
> I clean birds often in the field, and leave the carcass (skin and head). I dont see anything wrong with that.
> 
> The reason I asked about the deer is your comment about letting fox, coyote, and dogs get into things. A deer gut pile is just as likely to be found and eaten upon.


 I don't have a problem with people gutting there pheasants out in the field, but we as hunters have the responsibility to clean up after ourselves. We don't need to give guys like Fairy Boy any ammunition to hold against us. if everybody left all there pheasant or deer carcasses laying out in the field it probably would not leave a pretty sight? I don't think alot of land owners would appreciate leaving this out in the open. Hunting is a right and can be taken away if we don't watch are p's and q's. The one thing alike about this fourm is you can have a opinion, I may be wrong but I love to hunt and I would like to hunt for many years to come. we need to respect the aniamals we hunt, and the landowners who let us hunt. take care everybody and have a Merry Christmas! :beer:


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## muskat

I agree we need to respect landowners and game. That should be a given for anyone who calls themselves a hunter.

I dont see any difference between placing carcasses in the field or in the dumpster. Anti's will take a picture of birds cleaned in the field and use it as ammo just as easy as a picture of a dumpster full of carcasses.

Does anyone else have any thoughts on this?


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## Dak

I personnally don't like cleaning my birds in the field. However, I don't mind others doing this IF they leave the carcasses some where that isn't readily visible from a road/trail.


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## upland420

This late in the year it doesnt matter quite as much but frankly I think anyone who doesnt field dress their birds(or ANY game) is nuts. Big difference between field dressing and actually cleaning your birds. Field dressing a rooster takes about one minute. A small cut between the anus and bottom of the breast will allow you to get a finger in there and open the body cavity enough to scoop out the organs(the tiny 'gut pile' disappears when tossed into the grass...zero visible mess for ANYONE to even see). I then flush with a quick splash of water(to rinse excess blood) and put a paper towel in the cavity to absorb any remaining blood and water. Saves rigor mortis from setting in, eliminates all foul odors and keeps the meat from spoiling as well a improving the taste when you cook. You leave all guts and blood in there they get foul very quickly. Who wants a stiff, nasty smelling rooster when they get home? Ill pass. Unless youre on a prolonged trip I dont see any reason to actually CLEAN birds prior to transport.


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## Field Hunter

I've been hanging them gutted and with the feathers on for 3 days or so in the garage....assuming it isn't freezing or too warm......I might be wrong but they seem to be a little more tender this way and in no way do they smell bad when finally cleaned.


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## Todd Reber

Todd Reber said:


> muskat said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Why can't you clean your birds at home?
> 
> 
> 
> When you deer hunt, do you take your deer home before you gut it?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Yes I gut my deer out in the field, but I don't skin him and bone him out in the field? Do you! seems like a lot of work to do in the field, you usually take them home and skin them out and cut them up, these pheasant were breasted out, legs left on and the whole carcess left in the field.
Click to expand...

 now that I think about this I'm surprised it never occured to me before, but I don't know how the transported these birds without any identification on them, the left everything including the wings and the feet, just breasted them out! Isn't that Illegal?


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## muskat

Yes, that is illegal.

I always leave a wing on the birds if I clean them in the field.


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