honest ,courteous hunter looking for pheasants

[hunt4food]

I am a very courteous respectful hunter who has recently acquired a well trained German shorthair pup. I am looking for somone who would be willing to allow myself and possibly 1 friend to hunt pheasants on their private property. hey, maybe you have a family members that wants to hunt with us? You make the rules. I have more time than money. Maybe you need some help with some chores before winter? I have a ton of respect for others property and would jump at the chance to prove it. I just can't afford to pay game farm prices just to get my dog out. I live in the east metro but am willing to drive if necessary. You may contact me direct at: [email protected]

Thanks for reading this

[BLACKJACK]

A person doesn't need to goto a game farm to hunt, I've never been to one in my life and I spend 30-40 days a year pheasant hunting. Go to a local DNR office and get a map of all the public hunting areas, MN has thousands of them. Private land is always good because of less hunting pressure, but lots of pheasants get shot on public land! Consider taking days off during the week.

Good luck!

[fivebucks]

I agree with you Blackjack. What works best for me is to find areas with public land and hunt it. But, I keep my eyes open to and from and when I come across what looks like good land I go up and ask. If the farmer is in the field, I come back. More times than not I can get permission and most of my "no" responses are because they hunt or maybe they'll let me out after deer season etc. It's going to be a long pheasant season for me. I put my 12 year old down this summer and my new dog will be bred after this season. Looks like more bow hunting than pheasant.

[hunt4food]

I appreciate the advice gentleman! I just recently lost the 80 acres of farmland I grew up near. I used to hunt everything there. The owners finally sold it and now there are very expensive homes going in on it. I guess maybe I took it for granted for all those years. I have really not looked too hard for public land yet, but I will have to start. Luckily, I did find some more awesome deer hunting land. The owner would prefer I not hunt small game on it as he also hunts deer.

Keep the replies coming all!

[fivebucks]

Keep plugging away hunt4food. I certainly like public land even b/4 the crops are off. If you don't have much time you can hit it towards the end of the day and see the rootys fly in for the night. Don't get me wrong, I love hunting private land that doesn't get hit hard but even when you do find it you can't take too many birds. On a longer day out I try to hit a couple of public patches and one of the private pieces. Try to get out mid-week and have fun watching your dog.

[BDR]

A few years ago I was very new to bird hunting, I was very intimidated about going to the S.W. public lands.(heard all the crowded horror stories) Finally I just got in the truck on a weekday and went with my sportsman atlas(I call it my bible now).I found I had a lot of spots to choose from.The best spots had Farm fields ajacent that had been plowed already. It also took a while to be willing to go in just as someone else was leaving.Being a GSP guy I especially Tried to follow the lab guys to get what they walked by! To all the lab guys JUST KIDDING

[hunt4food]

Thanks for the encouragement guys! I made a few phone calls tonight and found a piece to hunt this weekend. That doesn't mean I am not still looking I hope to find a place where I can gain the respect of the property owner and be able to hunt it for years to come possibly with my two daughters. My 4 year old absolutely loves to go hunting and fishing. BDR...whats this "atlas" you speak of? Sounds like it may be a good investment for me. Ha! I am still laughing about the lab joke. You are going to stir the pot good with that one!! I hope you don't mind if I use it!

[This message has been edited by hunt4food (edited 10-07-2002).]

[BLACKJACK]

BDR, I've trained my Lab to ignore the small, immature roosters, let them grow up!!

Hunt4food, this weekend will be a zoo at the public areas, don't let that scare you, get out later in the season. Bad weather also helps keep the 'fair weather' hunters at home. Late in the season, when the sloughs ice up, find the biggest, baddest swamp (that the guys with GSP's go around) and hit it with your Lab, you'll find birds.

[Guest]

The guy with pointers go around ????? LOL

Who do you hunt with, beeper collars, no need to go around!

Thats were you get the birds in the cover.

The best way to get private land is to go find it. Most the farmers I talk to dont hunt so most likely you wont find them here.
You have to ask them face to face.
And to help them out is a great idea we have land we get to hunt every year because we go trim there trees thats the way to do it.
Show them you care and respect the land you have better chances most people are to lazy your on the right path.

[This message has been edited by B Sander (edited 10-08-2002).]

[doubleUcubed]

h4f, I would agree with the above posters in hunting the public land during the week if possible. B Sander brings up some good points for making contact with the local farmers/landowners. Another thing a person can do to improve your chances of getting on private land is to take time after heavy snow falls/storms (after the season) to drive the areas you are interested in hunting, look for birds and then approach the land owner with the offer to feed them during the tough times of the winter and you may get permission that way. Having grown up on a farm in central MN myself I'll tell you that a lot of the farm land is being farmed by big farmers, making contact with them is also a good way of getting permission on private land. One warning with approaching the guy's farming the land. Don't bother them during harvest season or planting season! There is nothing that will tick off a farmer worse than being out in the field harvesting the crop (especially with poor weather harvesting conditions) and then have a $35,000 SUV pull up and ask if he can shoot the rooster that just ran out in front of the picker! I really believe that a person can still find plenty of private land to hunt as long as most of the "permission getting" is done before the season or after. Good Luck!

[hunt4food]

Thanks for the advice guys! I really enjoy this forum. I will take your advice and use it. Maybe I will be able to report back my success this winter! Let's all hope for another mild one so we still have birds to hunt! If any of you ice fish the east metro, I have some great spots to share privately in return for your good avice! thanks again!

[Bird Dog]

Pick up a copy of the Minnesota Atlas by John Hanson
You may have to order it I saw it advertised on the internet for $17.47 It is well worth the price.Check out the local book shops first.I got a charge out of the Lab joke

Good Luck
Bird Dog