With the Minnesota Pheasant Opener this weekend, and I believe the SD Resident opener, is anybody getting out chasing roosters? I have a family commitment on Saturday, so I don’t think I will get out then. On Sunday, I am completely free all day, but with a forecasted temp nearing 80, I don’t think I want to put my black lab through those temps.
I will be heading to SW North Dakota for the opener this weekend. Roadside reports have been promising with a 30+% increase in birds. ROOOOOOOOSTER!
My son’s final football game of the season on Saturday. Sunday supposed to be nice as well so I will probably spend what’s left of the weekend on the water instead of the field. Pretty warm so make sure to bring lots of water for the hounds!
Good luck.
I’m on the fence. I might go out.
Be careful with those dogs! Recognize the signs of them overheating. A few years ago SD had a huge issue with over 200 dogs dying from heat exhaustion. One of my worst dog nightmares…
I’ll pass.
Way too much standing corn left. There will be some shooting right away, but then all the birds will retreat to the nearest 400 acres of standing corn and good luck getting them out of there.
I’ll be hitting one area up by my hunting property, a nice area of low brush next to a big picked corn field. We saw the pheasants out there sunning themselves last weekend, so that’ll be good for a few quick roosters hopefully.
Grouse
I am heading out to Madison MN to chase some redheads! Never had a dog so heat intolerant so don’t know how much actual hunting will be done. The lab I have now the colder the better he likes it.
Good luck guys! My Pheasant opener is Oct 31 unless I get antsy and try Minnesota before then. I’ll wait and see what I hear from you guys! May have to split for one weekday.
I have a week of vacation starting Friday. If it cools down I may run to the SW part of Minn to get the dog out, otherwise I’ll be chasing some deer and maybe some grouse. Sure hope it cools off a bit, mid 70s this weekend is not what I was hoping for.
Well, as it turns out, I have a friend in the Pheasant Mecca that IS Pine County, MN who has about 30 pheasants (origins unknown) frolicking in his ditch and cattle pastures. In fact, there are some roosters sitting on his bale stack right now, he just texted me.
It’s a dirty job, but someone has to go up there and keep the Pheasants of Pine County from running rampant and harming women and children.
The entire hunt should take about 2 hours.
As an additional strange development, he swears he has seen a covey of bobwhite quail on his driveway. Stranger things have happened, but my guess is that it’s a brood of very young sharptail grouse or even pheasants. I guess we’ll find out on Saturday.
Strange things happen in northern MN. A few years ago I met another friend while driving and we were sitting on a rural road with the windows rolled down talking and a dozen guinea fowl walked by on their way to points unknown. What the…
Grouse
Good luck everyone. I will be out in SD next weekend for opener. 42% rise in birds sounds good but we will see how it goes.
Poor you, TFG! 
Poor you, TFG!
I agree, one man shouldn’t have to do that dirty job all on his own. 
Yeah Grouse, if you need help with that job I’ll do it for free!
These forecasted temps are just killing me. I’ve been looking forward to this weekend for so long but it’s just not worth hunting it with the dog in the heat. It’s a long season and we will have snow on the ground before we know it, hopefully!
Yea but those young dumb roosters are only young and dumb for so long and can be so rewarding to you and your dog!
Go morning on Sat then skip the scorcher on Sun. Or hunt just early morning Sun?
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Ralph Wiggum wrote:</div>
Poor you, TFG!
I agree, one man shouldn’t have to do that dirty job all on his own.
Just doing what I can to keep people safe. Last thing I want to do is pick up the paper and see the headline “Raging Rooster Rampage. Pheasants go bad and maul 6 in Pine County massacre.”
They must be stopped. ‘Tis a far, far better thing we do…
Grouse
Probably a quick Saturday hunt for me and then take the rest of the weekend off because of the high temps.
Once again good luck tomorrow fellas!!!!!!!! Openers of all kinds are a blast.
One of my favorite things to do is watch my pup Trigger work a field. Gotta love a good bird dog!
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Please don’t shoot the last 5 or 6 wild pheasants in mn, I like at least seeing them once a year 😊. And warning, boasting of 30% increase anywhere- even sd means basically coming back from 0 couple years ago. Just as much as anyone, I wish they were abundant, my favorite bird to hunt.👍
Report from out west is this was the busiest opener I have ever seen. The reports of the pheasants up must have gotten the hunters out as every WMA had hunters on it and they all held birds. Saturday was very windy and hot! Sunday was hotter!! Did not hunt as much as would like as the dogs got spent quickly but saw birds, got a few and should have had more with better shooting. Corn was mostly still up though the farmers appear to be in full swing taking it out and the hunting will only get better. Hope everyone had a fun and safe opener.
Update. Confirmed that there ARE, amazingly, pheasants in Pine County and we gave them an excellent cardio workout chasing them around. No pheasants were harmed in the making of this hunt, however. We saw 3 roosters and only got a shot at one of them. About 7-8 hens flushed as well.
I need somebody with a dog to go with next time. We’re totally walking past birds, I know we are.
Grouse
I HAVE A DOG!!!!!!! haha. I just wanted to be first in line…….
Dogs are really valuable in most circumstances. I personally wouldn’t even hunt pheasants without a dog, but that is because almost all of my enjoyment comes from watching the dogs work vs bagging anything.
Dogs are really valuable in most circumstances. I personally wouldn’t even hunt pheasants without a dog, but that is because almost all of my enjoyment comes from watching the dogs work vs bagging anything.
Hunting dog-less presents it’s challenges, but those are the cards some of us are dealt. I’m not ready for another dog right now, and convincing my wife that our next dog should have some worth in the field is a challenge.
To me dogs are a means to an end. If they weren’t so necessary to pheasant hunting I wouldnt take one. I wont hunt Grouse with dogs.
almost all of my enjoyment comes from watching the dogs work vs bagging anything.
Exactly how I feel!!
I’m not ready for another dog right now, and convincing my wife that our next dog should have some worth in the field is a challenge.
I completely get that and I have been in this exact position though maybe not for the same reasons as you. 2 Augusts ago my dog died unexpectedly and in honor of him I took the season off and didn’t find a “replacement” until the next July. I didn’t think it was right to move another one in right after his passing. He wasn’t even old.
My plan is usually to have 2 dogs about 3 or 4 years apart. That way you can train in a young dog while the other is in its prime. That wasn’t in the cards the last time, but hopefully it works out this time.
Excited for this season, the second season for my 1.5 YO shorthair. He really was making great strides at the end of last season.
I am really looking forward to getting back out again, perhaps this weekend if the temps are lower.
I HAVE A DOG!!!!!!! haha. I just wanted to be first in line…….
Hmmm. What kind of dog? It would have to be a very stylish one to make up for the style points deduction we’d take with you carrying a belt-fed machine gun on a pheasant hunt.
It’s just not cricket…
Grouse
Well if you’re going to be picky about my choice of weapons…..
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