Pheasant Opener 2018

That 3rd photo is freaking awesome!!!

Sharon wrote:

Winter seems to be knocking a bit early this fall. It just doesn’t last long enough, does it?

No, it doesn’t.

And FWIW I do enjoy hunting pheasants in the snow, been out in sub zero weather, tracked all over frozen cattail sloughs through MN and SD. But… I do wish fall would last just a little longer!

Man, I saw a ton of pheasants when I was deer hunting last week. At least 20-30 every day. And now that most of the crops are gone its gonna be some good hunting until the season’s end.

A week ago Piper flushed 2 roosters and 1 hen in a challenging public land location, including snow drifts, cattails, and a half-frozen creek. I managed to drop one of the roosters. Even though it was only 9 degrees out I was sweating like a racehorse. It was a great hunt.
This weekend not so much. I picked a WPA that I thought would be void of any WI gun deer hunter traffic, but when I pulled in to park there were 2 gut piles. Since there were no hunters around however, we did hunt the entire field with no flushes. When we got home the dog’s left eye was swollen, had some seepage, and she was pawing at it. A Saturday evening trip and 3 hours at U of MN Vet Med Center confirmed an ulcerated cornea (scratched eyeball). So our season is over. It was fun while it lasted. I’m kind of surprised this didn’t happen sooner the way she goes through fields.

We worked our butts off for a few in Iowa this weekend. The snow was both a blessing and a curse. It allowed us to see tracks but it was filling and and eliminating ditches as decent habitat.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

That 3rd photo is freaking awesome!!!

Thanks, Ryan! My dad actually asked for that one and the one of us blown up to frame. I have such fun while out hunting and it’s important to remember to take photos for my collection. Gotta save the memories.

Nice Fella wrote:

A Saturday evening trip and 3 hours at U of MN Vet Med Center confirmed an ulcerated cornea (scratched eyeball).

Ouch! Will that heal up okay though? Poor thing.

Worked through a good bit of public and private in Stearns and Wright county.
Ran into a coon, that was it…
Passer-by said he saw a Pheasant in a tree a few miles back, guess I’ve been looking in the wrong places…

Mookie Blaylock wrote:

Worked through a good bit of public and private in Stearns and Wright county.
Ran into a coon, that was it…
Passer-by said he saw a Pheasant in a tree a few miles back, guess I’ve been looking in the wrong places…

I created a Pheasant Reports topic so that we can quit piggy-backing on Sharon’s opener report.

Sharon wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Nice Fella wrote:</div>
A Saturday evening trip and 3 hours at U of MN Vet Med Center confirmed an ulcerated cornea (scratched eyeball).

Ouch! Will that heal up okay though? Poor thing.

Treatment is ointment 3x/day for 7 days; drops to reduce itching & pain; cone to avoid possible re-injury by pawing at the eye. Should heal up in a couple days, but no sense risking further damage this year.