displacedtexan

Am I the only one on here that has thought of bird hunting pretty much non stop for the past week? We are heading to far western OK to camp and hunt opening weekend. About 8 guys, all good friends. It's a blast. And that trip means Pheasant and Quail are coming soon. My pup's first full season!

And I'm actually going to deer hunt this year, since the wife gave up commercially processed meat a month back. I guess it's up to me to keep her in meat now.

LOGAN

i think i am gonna do some bird hunting before i leave this year, i want to try out my new double barrel fox 20 gauge i got for 50 bucks.

displacedtexan

Where are you heading to?

LOGAN

im moving from ohio to florida, hunting sucks down there, we have had 2 world champion bucks taken within 1 hour of my house here in ohio, the amish buck and the beatty buck. down there they are about the size of a decent sized dog. they also dont have open season on all game like up here, down there you got to fill out an application for hunting license from what ive been told. i havent been bird hunting in a long while, probably 6 or 7 the last time i went bird hunting.

displacedtexan

I actually grew up not hunting, very anti hunting mother, and my Dad never did. I started a few years ago, and have become highly addicted to bird hunting. Almost every weekend during the seasons, and a couple of days off work

Since I got the pup, my Mom has warmed up to the idea, actually ate a bite of pheasant the other day, I grilled chicken and hot links at their house, and did it for my wife, and Mom came to tell me it was pretty good. Her first wild game.

LOGAN

if it flew, swam, or walked on 4 legs ive probably tasted it. my mom hunts every deer season, she uses a 870 express magnum, same one i use, she also hunts and shoots my .357, dad had his FFL 3 for several years after he got out of the marines and he is a gun fanatic, so i get it honest, grandfather on my dads side ran the gun dog trials for about 30 years at the local pheasant/quail farm, he had several champion bird dogs. we just dont allow bird hunting here on the farm cause coyotes took out most of the ground birds for several years, pheasant are finally coming back. only 3 or 4 guys hunt turkey. i seen 50+ turkey about 150 yards down my driveway in the driveway and in the field this spring.

rogers259

I got started hunting when I was 12 by my Dad...problem is he grew up in IL and Iowa hunting and then tried to teach me to hunt in OH. He took me out twice and after spending 8 hours both days he gave up and never went with me again. It wasnt till I was 18 that I was able to get out and go bird hunting on my own with a friend from work that had Brits. After that I couldnt wait to get a dog and start working birds behind a good dog. Jump 12 years into the future now I've got 5 Vizslas that I hunt in the fall in MI, Iowa, Illinois and during the spring and the fall to keep the dogs tuned up my wife and I field trial the dogs. Infact the whole reason I just bought my first diesel a few days ago was so we could start pulling a trailer and horses to the trials.

Like it was mentioned above it gets in your blood and this time of year its all i'm thinking about. The dogs are getting run 3 days a week and worked on birds just as much to tune them up for field trials. First field trial is the first weekend in September. I'll run the dogs every weekend from then till end of october and then hit our Nationals out in Branch Oaks, Nebraska. After which i'm taking my time coming back and doing some bird hunting in Nebraska, Iowa, & Kansas...cant wait!!!!! Wife will be attending this year with me and will be bringing her O/U 20 gauge to do alittle hunting with me.

Hate to say it but Ohio sucks for upland game(pheasants, quail, etc) Doves are pretty good in the right places. But DNR is mainly concerned with Big Deer and Turkeys.

LOGAN

ODNR has unloaded a huge amount of pheasant in the last several years around my area, try Cherry Bend pheasant farm down by Sabina, my grandfather hunted there for about 40 years.

rogers259

yeah i've been to Cherry Bend before but that was under previous ownership. Plus I dont like the grounds they are to small to let me dogs roll. I like to turn them loose and find em standing on the next hill walking up and pushing out a covey of 50 pheasants...HEHE...cant wait for Iowa again this year!

LOGAN

same family dosent own it anymore??? that sucks, i loved going there when i was little.

Hoss

Dove season doesn't start here until September 1st, but I'm certainly looking forward to it. I plan to take my 4 year old out with me a couple of times this year...not to hunt...just to watch and have a good time with dad.

MikeyB

Patiently waiting for September 1st.

MikeyB

rogers259

Logan,

I believe the older couple sold out to a new management group and the new group is apparently changing things for the better however I believe prices have gone up.

Honestly if I'm going to hunt pen raised birds I'll buy them from my source(John Wagner) and put them out for the dogs on the grounds I train at. its a more controlled situation and I dont have a bunch of other people following me round a field just cause I have the only dog.

I just checked the regs for OH and looks like Sept 1 sunrise to sunset. can't wait!

ccbooth83

Thinking about it non-stop for a week?.......I have beening thinking about it non-stop for a month!!!! Two of the best things in the entire world start on opening weekend of dove season, the beginning of hunting until january and the begining of FOOTBALL season! Counting down the days!

vzdude

Have any advice where to go in Iowa? We went last year just north of Iowa City and got skunked pretty bad! We still ahd a good time though. The weather wasn't very coperative for the first week in January either! It was about 45 degrees most days, and absolutely no snow. I've heard we need to head further west, but how far? Any public ground you can point me in the direction of?