# Pheasant Hunting Tips



## eboll08 (Oct 20, 2012)

Hello, everyone. I am brand new to this forum, as I just moved out here after graduating from college. I love hunting, and I am going to do some pheasant hunting in the next couple of weeks. I have a PLOTS book, but I need some help as far as what to specifically look for when targeting pheasants. Coming from Michigan, I dont have any experience hunting upland birds. Any tips or advice you can give would be greatly appreciated. I currently reside in Dickinson, so I will be hunting near the area.


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## Dick Monson (Aug 12, 2002)

Welcome to this forum. You are in a bird rich environment where it may take some time to get access. However there is a bunch of public land available too. The only trouble with it is that it gets pounded by other hunters who don't have access to private land too. The good thing about pheasant hunting is that interest wanes as the season progresses and it only gets better.

Access is easier to obtain after deer season. It is a matter of knocking on doors, sheer numbers. Deer hunting drives people nuts in ND. The farther you can get from the Mott-Regent area (fee hunting) the better off you are usually unless you intend to pay. Any trip you make should involve scouting for future trips. Farmer X might turn you down but say to come back in a month. Do it. Don't try to brown nose the landowner(they hate it). Just be polite either way.

You are looking for cover with food. Might be CRP but it might be a good draw where the birds have moved to because of the weather. Or an abandoned farm yard. They nest in the grass but move out of it as the season and weather change. Sometimes harvested wheat or corn will hold them during the day. Weedy spots in those fields are good. Saline seeps that have kochia (tumble weeds) are good if near a field. Cattail draws are good.

Being in Dickinson gives you another plus and that is sharptail grouse. They get wild this time of the year but National Grasslands can give some great hunting for them. But every time you go out, scout. When you drive home, take a different road and scout. It is easier to ask and receive permission to hunt for 2 weeks from now, than it is in the next 5 minutes. Keep a note book for your info and other maps help too. Google Earth is a God send for hunters, very easy to pin locations for future reference. You are living there and have the edge over traveling hunters.

Do you have a dog?


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## slough (Oct 12, 2003)

I usually look for grass that is about knee height or taller. Much shorter than that isn't enough for pheasants (grouse on the other hand...). Look for grass that is nice and thick - not so much that it's real hard to drag your feet through necessarily, but not real sparse and patchy . Cover (brush, cattails, grass) near crops like corn, sunflowers, soybeans, or wheat is usually a good bet. Hunting slough edges is usually good on warmer days.


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## eboll08 (Oct 20, 2012)

Thanks for the help guys. I do not have a dog, but one of my buddies does. However, his dog won't be out here for several more weeks. Although I won't have a dog for a while, I have about 4 guys I will be hunting with. They are all new to pheasant hunting as well.
Went out a few times this weekend. Our group only flushed a couple of roosters, and we hunted Saturday morning/evening, and this evening. We found what looked to be a promising spot tonight- about 6 rows of short pine/shrubs, and thick grass (about knee to waist high) surrounded on three sides by a cut wheat field. Not a single bird in the air. 
Is it pointless to hunt without a dog? I am stunned at how few birds we have seen; especially since we see so many at work.


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## Dick Monson (Aug 12, 2002)

I wouldn't say pointless (no hunting is pointless) but it is damn tough. The birds are going around you.


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## eboll08 (Oct 20, 2012)

Would it be a good idea to just keep scouting and letting the pressure die down until my friend's dog arrives? I feel like most of the out of state hunters hunt near the opener. 
I appreciate all of the tactics/advice, great stuff :thumb:


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

eboll08 said:


> Would it be a good idea to just keep scouting and letting the pressure die down until my friend's dog arrives? I feel like most of the out of state hunters hunt near the opener.
> I appreciate all of the tactics/advice, great stuff :thumb:


thats what I would do, most of the birds you do manage to knock down will run off and hide never to be found without a dog.


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## slough (Oct 12, 2003)

It is pretty tough to hunt without a dog. If you do, stick to small patches of cover (little sloughs in a harvested crop field or creek beds or brush piles). Walking a quarter of CRP without a dog no matter how many guys you have is pretty much pointless, other than the good exercise it provides.


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## eboll08 (Oct 20, 2012)

I saw a lot more birds during work today, about 20 roosters, and 3 grouse (all on private land). It seems that they are much more active during sunny days.


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