# southwest reports



## tabes (Apr 11, 2006)

hi guys i was wondering if there is any hunting reports from the southwest ??? was there any snow ?? thanks guys


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## muskat (Mar 5, 2002)

I've talked to three different hunting groups that were out. No snow, lots of moisture, and mixed results. Two groups saw lots of birds, one group was disappointed. All hunting was done on private land, mostly family owned.


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## woodcanoeguy (Oct 8, 2005)

Farmer I spoke with said lots of rain on Sat and hunting was tough, with spooky birds. Snow that night so Sunday it was great hunting.......birds held tight


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## Remmi_&amp;_I (Dec 2, 2003)

I talked with some people that hunted near regent and they came across several nests with eggs in them that looked to have been abandoned!?!?!?!


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## wurgs (Mar 3, 2008)

Hunted in sw ND and was tough. Very dry summer with cover pretty scarce, some birds could be hiding in fields as most aren't even harvesting them cuz it was so dry. One landowner near Beach said they'd only got 1" of rain since end of June. It rained Friday and snowed around 6" after that so the farmers welcomed the moisture. Many cancelled at the hotel cuz of the conditions so there wasn't alot of hunters around.


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## jms605 (Sep 3, 2007)

Hunting was great, 6 of us got our limit before noon every day this weekend, Oct. 16,17 & 18, hunting private land, lots of birds where we found good cover, never hunted the same piece of property twice, didn't have to, the farmers we talked to, said the birds are at good numbers, just find good cover and you'll find your birds, no trouble finding places to hunt, we hunted about 80 miles SW of Bismarck.


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## Bagman (Oct 17, 2002)

jms605 said:


> no trouble finding places to hunt, we hunted about 80 miles SW of Bismarck.


...as long as your wallet is well stocked.


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## vman11 (Oct 21, 2008)

also did well in extreme SW ND over the weekend, but as mentioned it was bone dry and hardly any cover for birds - look for tree rows and shrubs to hold a ton

i didn't see much for young birds - i'm not sure if that is a function of the hatch being earlier because of dry and warm conditions or because the hatch might have been reduced because of the lack of moisture


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## Brad from ND (Jan 23, 2007)

I hunt by XXXX and there is noticeably less birds this year. Last weekend we only shot 1 young bird. They hadn't gotten rain for 3 1/2 months. It takes dew in the morning for the young birds to survive and when it's that dry, there's no dew.


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## tabes (Apr 11, 2006)

well we just returned from our annual trip to southwest nodak we left early because of the storm we hunted sunday-till wed noon we did very well there are a ton of hens we shot our limits pretty easily we saw alot of unhatched eggs and nests with eggs in them i found one nest with 10 eggs in and a few yards away anither with 8 in an found several singles un hatched if they all would have hatced it would have been un real if the hatch is even normal next year it should be awsome provided a good winter survival


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## nd_hunter (Nov 5, 2007)

^ that has got to be the longest sentence I have ever seen


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## takethekids (Oct 13, 2008)

It is a long sentence, but thanks for sharing anyway. Can't wait to head out there for Thanksgiving!!! Keep those reports coming


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## takethekids (Oct 13, 2008)

I've heard so much about the snow in ND that I'm getting concerned about the trip I'd planned for Thanksgiving. How has/will the snow affect the pheasants? Will the snow remain on the ground or is there a chance of it melting? Would you recommend cancelling or staying with the original plans if it were you?


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## BIRDSHOOTER (Jul 18, 2005)

I would still go as planned if it were me. In fact I'm leaving on the 13th for 5 days in the SW portion of the state and have no plans on canceling. Was told that 9 inches of snow fell with some smaller roads drifted over, but I'll adapt to the conditions.

From what I have heard parts of the state received substantial snowfall. Because of the winds some areas had considerable drifting. Temps are supposed to reach 40's by mid to late week and continue for a bit. So it's safe to assume some of that will melt off. By Thanksgiving enough should be plowed out to allow access to most areas. Heavy snow like that will further concentrate the birds into the heaviest available cover. That can be a double edge sword as once you locate them there will be a bunch of them. The down side may be that when they are grouped up in numbers that large they can be very hard to approach. Still, hunting in snow is my all time favorite thing. The snow gives you so many clues as to what the birds are doing.


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## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

I would still go.Unless the temps get way below zero and it gets downright uncomfortable.There are lots of pheasant hunters who hunt in Nov.and Dec.That's when the real pheasant "hunting" starts.Up till now it has been pheasant "shooting."


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## takethekids (Oct 13, 2008)

Thanks for the responses guys! I believe I will go, but the guy that owns the place says it is a bad year for the area. I've done almost all of my pheasant hunting in KS and this year has been pathetic, so ND can't be any worse. I don't care about the weather......at least I can count on it not being 80 degrees like KS has been so far this season


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## gasburner70 (Mar 17, 2005)

was to the area two weeks ago and to say the least 4 guys filled out every day by 1 -2 so if that is bad then id like to see good and all we hunted was PLOT land i have been hunting that area for 12 yrs and i would say it is a normal yr , I am going back the 21st of NOV and then to finish the last four days off of the season.


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## Shorthair.On.Point (Nov 28, 2006)

Hopefully it will be a mild winter for next year. I have always hunted public land. My pockets aren't filled with cash so I have to make do. How many others out there hunt public land?


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## takethekids (Oct 13, 2008)

Heading to Mott, ND Wednesday. Can anyone tell me if there is snow on the ground still and if it is crusty on top or not?


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## BIRDSHOOTER (Jul 18, 2005)

As of the 17th the snow pack has gone down considerably. Drifted areas still showing and most of it is hard pack and walkable from the melting and re-freezing that went on. Most CRP is now accessible that was previously snowed in. You'll need to hunt with stealth though as the birds are very wary.

good hunting.


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## deacon (Sep 12, 2003)

BIRDSHOOTER said:


> Most CRP is now accessible that was previously snowed in. You'll need to hunt with stealth though as the birds are very wary.


Stealth is right on, it will be impossible to get close to birds... Stealth boomer might be best approach... :lol:


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## Dak (Feb 28, 2005)

Birds are REALLY jumpy.


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## takethekids (Oct 13, 2008)

Thanks for the report BIRDSHOOTER! Sounds like conditions are as good as could be expected. Hopefully the wind will subside sometime over the weekend!


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## takethekids (Oct 13, 2008)

Crunchy snow everywhere :******: Shot 10 roosters and 9 of them were old. Wish I would've stayed in KS this Thanksgiving weekend. If you're headed to Mott, ND.....take lots of people and use an extra full choke. I know these guys said the birds were spooky, but they're rediculously jumpy. Saw loads of em' a 1/4 mile away. Spooky in KS means 100 yards. Spooky in Mott, ND means the entire field erupts when you take your first step in it


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## BIRDSHOOTER (Jul 18, 2005)

Therein lies the problem when you have pheasants in those kind of numbers in a close proximity. I don't think the storm helped matters either, only to concentrate them even more. The public lands in that region usually don't hoard the enormous flocks like private land does so hunting them might be more like traditional hunting, where you actually have to spend a few hours/miles in putting up a limit.  Not to mention much better dog work.


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## lynxx69 (Mar 21, 2004)

Ok here is a real good report for everyone. Saw a lot of birds as usual, but with the snow that was piled up saw very few birds away from a treeline or a farmstead. Places we shot birds earlier in the year we saw nothing in this trip because there was no cover for them. This means if there was a bird in the open field it was up and out before u could even get close.


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## gasburner70 (Mar 17, 2005)

how has the hunting been in the southwest the last few weeks no reports and was wanting to hit it up one last time before the seasons end, just curiouse how people are doing out there.


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## Dick Monson (Aug 12, 2002)

> I know these guys said the birds were spooky, but they're rediculously jumpy. Saw loads of em' a 1/4 mile away. Spooky in KS means 100 yards. Spooky in Mott, ND means the entire field erupts when you take your first step in it.


It's been that way since the early '90s. Unrelenting hunting pressure and thin cover cause it.


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## prairie hunter (Mar 13, 2002)

We would go hunt SW ND in late November or late December in the 80s. This was before outiftters, internet, and weather channels ....

We would call the game warden in the area to get the snow conditions, etc... His comment was always birds are bunched up in the active ranch yards or on the river bottoms.

SW ND has very little in the way of great winter cover except along the main rivers and their tribs. Few cattail sloughs and the ones that are their are not very large.

To survive a tougher winter the pheasants (& deer and turks) head to the active ranch yards. These people often (actively or reluctantly) keep their areas wildlife populations from dropping to near zero.

On the eastside of the state pheasants out in a field that begin flushing wildly often head to a spot where they can be pinned. Guess where that is?


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