Wisconsin has Pheasants Too

I saw 3 roosters and bagged one hunting in Wi yesterday evening on public land. Much closer than anything like it in Minnesota.

I used to travel extensively (3 to 5 days a week) all over Wisconsin and I noticed a few “pockets” where the pheasants were there in numbers. One area is right SW of Madison. There is a great deal of good pheasant ground here and the state stocks the birds. There is a pheasant farm on one of the State Prisons at Oregon which is just south of Madison. SW Wisconsin would provide a great deal of pheasant cover if farmers and land owners would put some cover back. Most farms are farmed ditch to ditch and many of the ditches are either sprayed, spring burned or mowed. On top of this there are almost no gravel roads left anywhere in SW Wisconsin. Most county roads are asphalt with no gravel shoulders and little or no cover in the ditches. Pheasants need thick ditch cover and gravel for their grit and there is very little of this in much of SW Wisconsin. If the counties would replace the asphalt with gravel and the farmers would leave some cover then the birds would come. Right across the Mississippi in NE Iowa there are many pheasants but there are very few paved county roads and the cover is 1000 times heavier. Grant County, Wisconsin has much land that would be very good pheasant country if the birds had the cover.

Eyehunter

I used to travel extensively (3 to 5 days a week) all over Wisconsin and I noticed a few “pockets” where the pheasants were there in numbers. One area is right SW of Madison. There is a great deal of good pheasant ground here and the state stocks the birds. There is a pheasant farm on one of the State Prisons at Oregon which is just south of Madison. SW Wisconsin would provide a great deal of pheasant cover if farmers and land owners would put some cover back. Most farms are farmed ditch to ditch and many of the ditches are either sprayed, spring burned or mowed. On top of this there are almost no gravel roads left anywhere in SW Wisconsin. Most county roads are asphalt with no gravel shoulders and little or no cover in the ditches. Pheasants need thick ditch cover and gravel for their grit and there is very little of this in much of SW Wisconsin. If the counties would replace the asphalt with gravel and the farmers would leave some cover then the birds would come. Right across the Mississippi in NE Iowa there are many pheasants but there are very few paved county roads and the cover is 1000 times heavier. Grant County, Wisconsin has much land that would be very good pheasant country if the birds had the cover.

Eyehunter

Where in WI were you hunting? Don’t worry I won’t tell.

Where in WI were you hunting? Don’t worry I won’t tell.

Good one.

Good one.

According to Iowa and Minnesota you can not pen raise pheasants. They will die in the wild. The key to pheasants is habbitat. In Wisconsin we apparently are wasting dollars by raising and releasing pheasants every year. This money should be used better. I think the few people that get to hunt these pen raised pheasants before they die are the minority.

According to Iowa and Minnesota you can not pen raise pheasants. They will die in the wild. The key to pheasants is habbitat. In Wisconsin we apparently are wasting dollars by raising and releasing pheasants every year. This money should be used better. I think the few people that get to hunt these pen raised pheasants before they die are the minority.

Pen raised? What are you talking about? As far as I know these are wild birds and habitat seems to be the key where I was hunting. I have yet to see another hunter. Went Sat mornig and saw zip for roosters.

Pen raised? What are you talking about? As far as I know these are wild birds and habitat seems to be the key where I was hunting. I have yet to see another hunter. Went Sat mornig and saw zip for roosters.