Pheasant Reports

Sharon wrote:

That’s a great picture of Ripley! He looks so natural and happy with his tongue hanging out. In his element for sure.

Thanks. He definitely loves to hunt!

What’s the coldest temps ya’ll will hunt in? The forecast on New Years Day here is right around zero, sunny, and minimal wind. I can tolerate bitter cold when I’m hoofing it around through grass and brush, but the wind is generally what bites. Last year on New Years I went and it was about 2 degrees above. My fingers got cold right away but after I started walking around they warmed up. And I still got 3 roosters too.

A few years ago I went out on the last day of the season and the air temp was in the negative single digits with a 30ish mph wind for a very very cold wind chill. No part of my body was exposed, I even wore ski goggles over my eyes because there’s no way you could have looked into the wind. Didn’t see a bird, and my gloves were so thick I don’t know if I would have even been able to shoot a bird if I saw one. Dog still had a blast, at least he looked like he did!

If it’s dry and not windy, there’s really no temp too cold to head out in. Only thing to watch is some ice balls forming in between the dogs toes, but with a lack of snow that may not be a problem.

I agree that cold temps are much more tolerable with sun and calm winds. Once the wind kicks up, at sub-20 degree temps, it gets nasty. Cold fingers are always a problem for me. I usually stick handwarmers inside my gloves. If it’s really cold, I will wear choppers that I can fling off if I need to shoot.

Spinoni are quite impervious to cold, but when temps dip below zero, I don’t like to risk my dog’s health. The pads are my main concern. I like to err on the side of caution.

Ice balls can be nasty. I started carrying a pliers to help bust them up, and I trim as much fur from between the pads as I can.

Well I braved the elements twice in single digits at seasons end and it still paid off with 3 roosters each trip. One day it was 8 degrees and the other it was 5. Some areas had snow drifts that were waist deep. Found every bird near corn.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

I agree that cold temps are much more tolerable with sun and calm winds. Once the wind kicks up, at sub-20 degree temps, it gets nasty. Cold fingers are always a problem for me. I usually stick handwarmers inside my gloves. If it’s really cold, I will wear choppers that I can fling off if I need to shoot.

Spinoni are quite impervious to cold, but when temps dip below zero, I don’t like to risk my dog’s health. The pads are my main concern. I like to err on the side of caution.

Ice balls can be nasty. I started carrying a pliers to help bust them up, and I trim as much fur from between the pads as I can.

https://dogbooties.com/ have worked well for me. You do lose them occasionally so you need spares. I’ve found the thinner ones (330 denier) are better when there is water the dog could step in because they drain faster, the thick ones hold the water and pull off due to weight. If it’s cold enough that everything is all frozen the thicker ones last longer.

I’m wondering how well everyone did this past season overall. I didn’t go until after deer season was over because there was too much corn. I went 9 times between Nov 13 and Jan 1 and harvested 29 roosters in east-central MN.

gim wrote:

I went 9 times between Nov 13 and Jan 1 and harvested 29 roosters in east-central MN.

9 multi-day trips or 9 days?

9 days. Less than 4 hours each time. Sometimes with one other hunter, sometimes just me and the dog.

Hey reef, nice profil pic! I need to teach my dog to do that…