16ga.com ~ View topic

Member Joined: 09 Jun 2005 Posts: 885 Location: Wisconsin

West Centeral Wisconsin for grouse and woodcock. Doves,waterfowl, pheasants and woodcock right around here. May take a run to Louisiana for ducks later in the year. Heard more grouse drumming this spring then have in recent years .

Joined: 11 Jun 2005 Posts: 6 Location: North Idaho

Heading for North Dakota/South Dakota this fall for the first time. I will have my 2 Gordon Setters, 1 elsie, 1 Wingmaster, both in 16 Ga. The Wingmaster will be the back up and steel shooter if we find ourselves in a non toxic zone.

Michael

Joined: 08 May 2005 Posts: 16 Location: oregon

Eastern Oregon on weekends all fall from October through January, from 1 to 5 day trips depending on which weekend. I'll be hiking the canyons and ridges of the Malheur and Snake river drainages looking for wild chukars. I have yet to get a 16 gauge but, my elusive Model 37 will hopefully be in my hands. I've dreamed for years of a 2 week hunt to the mid-west to hunt for pheasants, and whatever the mixed upland bag brings, but so far I'll keep dreaming. I love this site and the stories and information you guys provide. May your shots be many and your misses few.

sixteen gunz
________
Vapir oxygen

Member Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 35 Location: Oregon

Opening day of waterfowl season will find me and three other Kurts (well, two other Kurts and a Curt) at a resorvoir in eastern Oregon. Hoping for limits of goose and duck, then looking for chukkar in the afternoon.

I would like to do a trip to Potholes Res. in eastern Washington for ducks at some point, but I don't think it's gonna happen this year. Maybe next. Perhaps I'll get to Klamath Lake for ducks and geese. I keep saying I'm going to do it, but...

Will be here in Georgia for the deer opener on 10/22, it's a tradition with my dad. Since he's 90, I'm not sure how many more of these I'll have.

Then my 4 Gordons and I will be heading to Wisconsin for Grouse and Woodcock. Will pick up the 2 boys at a field trial in Michigan, the last weekend of this month. It's a tradition with my dog breeder, kind of a homecoming for her dogs. I plan to be there every year and have made it the last 3 straight. Hope to be in the Northwoods on 11/1 with my Citori Upland Special in hand.

Might try to plan a trip to Iowa for Pheasant a little later in November. Would love to get back to S. Dakota, but not sure if I can fit that in.

Joined: 11 May 2005 Posts: 124 Location: Kansas City

Headed to KU Med.Center for a spinal fusion. So much for this hunting season. Oh well maybe next year.

Being a New Englander, and fairly close to the coast, I can pretty much drive in any direction and find decent wingshooting within 50 miles or so., except perhaps too far East. I'm not much for shooting sea ducks. They taste like sh..ould notta shot it. Wink

I am within 15 miles of some small but fairly decent parcels of cover for stocked pheasant and even the occasional wild bird. The weather has been way too warm and we still have a threat of triple E down around my favorite snipe fields. However, come the first light frost, it will be safer. That should be within a week or two. Plus, usually, the later it comes, the longer the season lasts. Plus, the woodcock are fairly thick now and the season opens soon.

The state F&W people are gearing up for stocking the bird fields now and they do an excellent job. Everything kicks off the 15th of the month, and I'll be out and amongst 'em soon. I might go west to the berkshires along the old Appalachian Trail in Western MA. Some years can prove to be real good for grouse. I have a hunch this is one. Plus, there are some nice state pheasant areas out there too if the grouse ain't around. No long trips this year. I'm sticking to my own back yard. Should be a good year I think.

Joined: 15 Oct 2004 Posts: 787 Location: Indiana

I just received notice today from the Indiana DNR that I was drawn for a state Gamebird Habitat hunt. The DNR uses money generated from sales of the state upland bird habitat stamp to purchase farm property in NW and Western Indiana, which they then manage for wild pheasants. If one is drawn for such a hunt, you can count on seeing WILD birds and plenty of them. It's prairie habitat; about like going to Iowa without actually making the trip.
The hunt is cost-free except for the 100 mile drive down there.
This year I was drawn for two tracts: a 65 acre and an 80 acre tract---hunt date is Dec. 10---limit 2 birds/day per person, and I'm taking my son. We will be the only party allowed to hunt these 2 tracts that day. I've done this several times, and the hunting is truly high-quality. We have a good dog; and all 3 of us will have a great time. AND I'll be using my Merkel 1620 in---you guessed it---16 gauge.

Joined: 21 Jul 2005 Posts: 25 Location: Somerset County, NJ

I've got to hunt stocked pheasants and the occasional wild grouse locally in Sussex and Warren Counties of NJ and a couple of spots in eastern Pa. this year. I burned all my vacation time taking the wife to Europe this fall, but sometimes you have to give a little to get a little.

Usually we go visit her family in Madison, Mn. around now. She gets to see aunts, uncles and cousins, I get to shoot ringnecks to my heart's content. As the Brooklyn Dodgers used to say "Wait 'til next year" Laughing

.

JCM

I'm very fortunate to be able to hunt a great variety of game right here at home so I don't travel out of province for birds. I live in south-central Saskatchewan. Within ten minutes of home, I have wonderful mixed-bag opportunities. Waterfowl hunts include field shooting over decoys for five species of geese, field and slough shooting for puddle ducks, big marshes for divers ( but don't usually bother with them) along with good pass shooting for sandhill cranes and walk up shooting for snipe.
Upland birds close to home are mainly huns and sharptail. Three hours or so South, residents can hunt pheasant, and the same distance North gets into good ruffed and spruce grouse.
Our bird season starts in September, but I missed the first month due to an unexpected call from an outfitter friend in the Yukon who had a client cancel a 12 day horseback hunt for Mountain Caribou. I was able to go on a week's notice at a much reduced rate, but it did mess up my bird hunting! So far this year I've only hunted one day for ducks and sharptails, but in October I will hunt most of the birds listed above. I don't really plan, and unless it's spotting geese the night before a field shoot. I just grab my gun, call my Pudelpointer, and go.
It would be nice sometime to experience what hunting for wild quail in good country would be like. That's something I've read about and would like to try.

I'm very fortunate to be able to hunt a great variety of game right here at home so I don't travel out of province for birds. I live in south-central Saskatchewan. Within ten minutes of home, I have wonderful mixed-bag opportunities. Waterfowl hunts include field shooting over decoys for five species of geese, field and slough shooting for puddle ducks, big marshes for divers ( but don't usually bother with them) along with good pass shooting for sandhill cranes and walk up shooting for snipe.
Upland birds close to home are mainly huns and sharptail. Three hours or so South, residents can hunt pheasant, and the same distance North gets into good ruffed and spruce grouse.
Our bird season starts in September, but I missed the first month due to an unexpected call from an outfitter friend in the Yukon who had a client cancel a 12 day horseback hunt for Mountain Caribou. I was able to go on a week's notice at a much reduced rate, but it did mess up my bird hunting! So far this year I've only hunted one day for ducks and sharptails, but in October I will hunt most of the birds listed above. I don't really plan, and unless it's spotting geese the night before a field shoot. I just grab my gun, call my Pudelpointer, and go.
It would be nice sometime to experience what hunting for wild quail in good country would be like. That's something I've read about and would like to try.

I start my season in SW Washington state chasing after quail and pheasant in the hilly Palouse country. We have access to several large CRP farms there. This year looks to be the best in the last dozen. We also take a late October trip to SW North Dakota for pheasant as we often see 500 or more birds per day there. The last 3 years have seen the best hatches they have had in the last four decades according to our gracious farmer host. Hooray fro CRP!! The best part about the ND trips is the fact that my two sons ages 13 and 29 get to join me most of the time. Yes, that is due to dad paying the bill....but there is nothing finer than hunting with my sons and our lab "Skeeter". This year will be my first with a fine 16 gauge as I just bought a FAIR 400 Gold. I have a Model 12 in 16 ga also but usually hunt with one of the 4 Ithaca SKB's or one of several Ithaca Model 37's we own. We are all lefty's. November finds us enjoying waterfowl season here at home in Western Washington. Depending on the weather we get lots ducks on our farm and always have lots of Geese. Later in December we head to eastern Washington for some of the finest late season corn and grain fed mallard shooting in the whole USA. We have ducks on our farm right on through till spring....and we do as much wetland conservation and resotration each year as we can find time for.

Member Joined: 15 Oct 2005 Posts: 40

The below hunt plans were posted on SSBB earlier this year. However there have already been changes.

Sept 1- 7 - Montana (Sage Grouse) I have never hunted them.
Sept 8 -16 - Maybe North Dakota along with some sight seeing with the better half.
Sept 17 - 27 - South Dakota (Sharp-tail, Prairie Chicken & Huns)
Sept 28 - Oct 6 - Nebraska (Sharp-tail & Prairie Chicken)
Oct 24 (Tentative back to South Dakota for Pheasants)
Nov 12 -19 - Kansas (Pheasant & Bobs)
Nov 20 - 23 - Oklahoma (Bobs)
Dec 1 -12 - Kansas (Lesser Prairie Chicken, Blues, Bobs & Pheasant)
Dec 13 18 Oklahoma (Bobs)
Jan 3 -15 - Kansas (Lesser Prairie Chicken, Blues, Bobs & Pheasant)
Feb 3 - 10 - Oklahoma (Bobs)
Usually make one trip to Iowa but have not been up there for the past two seasons. Most of the farmers I have known since the mid -70s have either died off or sold out.

The Montana hunt and ND side trip were changed for a Colorado moose hunt Sept 10 16. We were successful in getting a nice 40 bull on the third day. Then we hunted sage grouse down in the valley from where we were camped for the next couple of days. We were able to get five birds; one was a beautiful mature male. I used my 16 gauge Arrieta model 871.

Sept 16th I headed on to South Dakota. Good dog work, lots of birds and success with combination of 14 Sharp-tail & Prairie Chicken; no Huns. Only complaint was it was very hot the first four days. Got to try my new Krieghoff 16 gauge Essencia purchased at Cabelas in Sidney NE on the way to SD.

The Nebraska hunt had to be cancelled. I left to check on my mother after being notified she suffered a stroke the morning of Sept 27th.

The other hunt plans are still in place.

Good hunting to all.

After hunting S.E. Nebraska for years and becoming more and more frustrated with dwindling access and a feeling that we were just to be put up with by the locals.
I am heading back to Cawker City Kansas for quail and Pheasant.

The folks in Kansas should be proud of the quality and amount of public access lands they have made available. I hope these rural farm communities are getting back enough "tourist" dollars to feel their efforts are worth it.

We'll be there the week before Thanksgiving. We're always looking to meet new friends out there to push some of those big CRP fields with us so let me know if anyone will be in the area and we can meet up for breakfast over in Downs.

Good shootin fellas!

Brad

*Last edited by brdhnt on Fri Feb 25, 2011 4:12 pm; edited 1 time in total*

Steve,

I have delayed posting until I had everything firmed up. I will be spending five days in SW Iowa and then after two days rest in KC and visiting with some friends will be going to SW Kansas to meet up with another buddy for 5 days of pheasant hunting.

Still in the works are the Nebraska and Arizona trips.
________
Genetically modified food