Shhhhhhh.....Pheasant Opener is a couple of days away

[tweedlap]

400,000 pheasant hunters in Minnesota.

On the SW forum just as many birds down there as last year.

The west central..From Fergus to Alex to Monte is the best in years.

Shhhhhhh.

Hutch and Glenco have their share. Waseca, Fairibolt ..birds.

Here's hoping that it is this quiet on some of the public ground out west.

Good luck and shoot straight.

tweed

Back to Grouse chat.

[PurpleFloyd]

Took the dogs for a run along a drainage ditch when I got home and they put up 3 roosters and a hen. They were just starting to harvest the corn next to it.

[landscaper]

Seen a few birds but haven't been out lately

question for all you pheasant hunters

what kind of choke do you use??

[rwwong]

IC in my under barrel, Modified in my over. Most guys will suggest you use Modified as a general rule, factors can change what choke you use, like time of the season you are hunting, if you have a pointer or a flusher, if your hunting wild birds or game farm birds, shot size, etc.

[CJH]

I am pumped for opener, even though I can't get out since its our anniversary and not worth the argument.

I hunt some CRP land and its not worth it until all the surrounding corn is gone anyway.

I use either an IC or Mod choke, depending on what I am doing and the type of shells I am using.

Good luck to everybody that gets out! Be safe to the hunters and dogs!

CJH

[pureinsanity]

The real pheasant opener isn't until all the crops are out

Im excited for pheasant hunting but in all reality, I do not even hunt until all the crops are out!

[grousehunter]

I'll be out and about on the MN side of the border this weekend. Got the dog warmed up on some SD resident opener birds last weekend. Ducks in the morning and pheasants in the afternoon. Should be a fun weekend. Good luck to everyone and be safe!

[pureinsanity]

SD man coming to minnesota to hunt!? Must be bored with all the birds on your side...

[grousehunter]

There are no birds in SD

Couple friends are comming down for the MN opener so figure I would join them. It will feel wierd heading east instead of west though!

[creepworm]

This is disappointing. Found out today that I have to work this weekend. If anyone is going to be in the Chamberlain area of SD and sees a person out in the field soil sampling this weekend with tears in their eyes, feel free to stop by and say hi.

[landscaper]

Will be trying it in SW MN this weekend

choke is for.............

Rem. 870 pump, 4 shot, flusher for a dog.

[fishinarc]

Lets all remeber as we go out this weekend to be safe and always ask permission. I have a friend that is a dnr agent in southwest Mn and he said that they have already talked to plenty of farmers that are willing to give permission to hunt.

[mr_jman]

The corn is slowly going out with all of the wet weather we had down here. I haven't seen much for numbers this summer which is a little disheartening, but I did hear a rooster tonight while I was out fishing. HAHA... Fish or Hunt..... decisions!

[123fish]

They are there mr_jman they are there. Saw fourteen roosters on my way to work Monday morning. Seven roosters in one bunch and four in another plus three singles.The corn is coming out in the Worthington area and there are some roosters that are going to get the hurt put on them in the very near future.

[Eric Wettschreck]

The birds are there.

I have to work long shifts the next few weeks so prolly no hunting for me. No real biggie though, I'll get mine.

Crops are coming out nicely in my neck of the praire. The hunting will be fun, when I can finally get out there.

[BLACKJACK]

The real pheasant opener isn't until all the crops are out

Im excited for pheasant hunting but in all reality, I do not even hunt until all the crops are out!

I love it when I read posts like this!!! Less competition!!! In the meantime I'll be out every evening shooting roosters that fly out of that corn into the grass!!! Can't cover enough ground in that last half hour!!!

I'll be out in SoDak for the opener, SW of Aberdeen. Can't wait!!! Hunt pheas all afternoon, drink beer and play cribbage half the night, and wake up the next day and to it again!! Cleaned out the truck last night, kept adding to my piles of clothes and gear, I'm pumped!!!

I may be at work but my mind is heading west!!!

[CaptainMusky]

Apparently some people thought it opened last weekend. While at the local watering hole last night, I overheard a conversation about some guys that had gone out last weekend near Benson and shot 8 on private land. They called this guy to brag about how they did, and he said its not even open yet.

Are people that stupid that they didnt realize NO ONE else was out there competing for spots? I mean, Benson is heavily hunted and not seeing other pheasant hunters would be next to impossible.

[pureinsanity]

They are there mr_jman they are there. Saw fourteen roosters on my way to work Monday morning. Seven roosters in one bunch and four in another plus three singles.The corn is coming out in the Worthington area and there are some roosters that are going to get the hurt put on them in the very near future.

If you remember down the road, wanna let me know when the corn is gone out of Worthington???

[123fish]

It's going fast. Don't need it all out. Just around the immediate area you are hunting. There's going to be some fine hunting this weekend. Good luck to everyone.

[muc33]

pureinsanity, by tomorrow opening, over half the corn around Worthington will be hitting the bins. Still good amount of it out there, but they are putting the hurt to the crop hard and heavy.

[pureinsanity]

It's going fast. Don't need it all out. Just around the immediate area you are hunting. There's going to be some fine hunting this weekend. Good luck to everyone.

I never go opener, its always a zoo on public. I have a few public spots around the metro area, But I like to save that for winter. Typically I don't even start pheasant hunting until the deer hunting opens. That is the best time IMO to pheasant hunt. Everyone and their brother has buck fever and usually hunts private land. that leaves endless opportunities for me

[grousehunter]

Anytime is the best time to go pheasant hunting!

[Jack Peterson]

going out for opener with my buds. We have hundreds of acres of private land to hunt. hopefully we'll come across some birds, and hopefully the dogs will behave!

[Dave S]

I'm debating whether I should go or not. For what it would cost to drive out to my favorite spots in Western MN, I could drive 2 miles to the local gun club and shoot 6 birds for the same money. Plenty of wild birds on the land also.

[gr8icefishinmind]

"I never go opener, its always a zoo on public. I have a few public spots around the metro area, But I like to save that for winter. Typically I don't even start pheasant hunting until the deer hunting opens. That is the best time IMO to pheasant hunt. Everyone and their brother has buck fever and usually hunts private land. that leaves endless opportunities for me"

Pureinsanity...you must be purely insane! You are missing out on a full month of pheasant hunting if that is truly how long you wait to hunt pheasants!! By then, the public land birds are skittish (whats left of them anyways)! Get while the gettin is good man!! Luckily i hunt hundreds of acres of private land so i don't have to worry about the public stuff, but still, i don't understand why you wouldn't want to go out on opener other than the tons of people i guess??

[pureinsanity]

Pureinsanity...you must be purely insane! You are missing out on a full month of pheasant hunting if that is truly how long you wait to hunt pheasants!! By then, the public land birds are skittish (whats left of them anyways)! Get while the gettin is good man!! Luckily i hunt hundreds of acres of private land so i don't have to worry about the public stuff, but still, i don't understand why you wouldn't want to go out on opener other than the tons of people i guess??

I have a few public places I hunt and I know they get pounded but I also know those people hunt those places wrong. They don't approach the area the right way. I have some private places too that only I have permission to hunt on. I am not worried.

Most of the time I just hit south dakota for 5 days and than go out once or twice in MN. A couple trips out west and a few hunts around the metro area I should have more than enough birds to keep me fed till next year