RSSCategory: Pheasants

You a Hunter or a Shooter?

You a Hunter or a Shooter?

Ran across this quote from an article about Iowa’s pheasant count: > “I haven’t even gone pheasant hunting the last couple of years because the birds just weren’t there,” said Tim Wolf, a 61-year-old bank president who lives in Waukee. YES THEY WERE! They most definitely were there. Maybe not like this… > “But I’ve […]

September 10, 2014 | By | 3 Replies More
Top 10 Reasons To Go to Phez Fest

Top 10 Reasons To Go to Phez Fest

Pheasants/Quail Forever’s Pheasant Fest/Quail Classic is coming up soon at KC, MO (see info in right column), and just in case you’re thinking it’s too far or whatever, here are the Top 10 – really just 10 of many – reasons to go. We’re doing it Letterman-style, 10 to 1. 10. What else are you […]

February 6, 2012 | By | Reply More
Across the Pond Bird Follies, Vids

Across the Pond Bird Follies, Vids

Ah the UK, the land that gave the world 17 pieces of silverware on the table, animal rights and other questionable stuff. Okay, it wasn’t all bad – that’s where our bird hunting came from too. But it’s different here…or there, depending on your perspective. Here’s some recent bird news plus some interesting vids. Katie […]

January 12, 2012 | By | Reply More
Do Congress, Tea Party Hate Pheasants?

Do Congress, Tea Party Hate Pheasants?

We make it a point to try not to get suckered by political hoo-ha, so that’s not what this is about. We ran across a blog post on the Discovery-owned treehugger.com titled “Why Does Congress Hate Pheasants?” and a related one, “Do Tea Party, Heritage Foundation Oppose Hunting?” Interesting stuff, written by the same gent, […]

December 19, 2011 | By | Reply More
PF Rooster Road-Trippers Q&A, Part 2

PF Rooster Road-Trippers Q&A, Part 2

As the title says, here’s the second and final part of our Q&A with the guys who went on Pheasants Forever’s (PF) recent and 2nd annual Rooster Road Trip. Quick review: 5 states in 5 days, all public land, they find birds. Serious. Here we go, some good info. SBH: Which one place you hunted […]

December 8, 2011 | By | Reply More
Q&A With PF’s Rooster Road-Trippers

Q&A With PF’s Rooster Road-Trippers

Hopefully you followed Pheasants Forever’s (PF) recent and 2nd annual Rooster Road Trip. It’s a cool idea, where several of the walk-it-like-they-talk-it PF guys hit the road to hunt pheasants on public land in five different states – in five days. Since the states are pretty dang big west of Ol’ Miss, that’s no small […]

December 7, 2011 | By | 2 Replies More
Is Climate Change Bad for Birds?

Is Climate Change Bad for Birds?

Regardless of whose theory you buy or what label you want to put on it, weather patterns are changing. Don’t think anyone can say how long that’ll last, but in the short term one effect of it – which also happens to be a symptom of a generally warmer climate – is more precipitation. For […]

December 6, 2011 | By | 5 Replies More
Early KS Reports: Not Great But Birds

Early KS Reports: Not Great But Birds

Kansas has endured a Texas-like drought in some parts of the state this year, prompting it to go from being “the other South Dakota” to “where did all the birds go?” in just a year. But judging by early reports, seems like pheasants (and quail) are still there…as long as you can find some habitat. […]

November 21, 2011 | By | Reply More
Competitive Pheasant Hunting?

Competitive Pheasant Hunting?

Competition is all over the place in the outdoors – all fishing (even fly), deer hunting, turkeys, etc. – but not so much in bird-dom. Could that change? We expect most everyone is familiar with local longest tailfeather contests among pheasant hunters. Slap your $5 or $10 or whatever it is down, measure the longest […]

November 11, 2011 | By | 4 Replies More
SD Hunt Report: Birds Galore, Part 2

SD Hunt Report: Birds Galore, Part 2

by Dan Craven [This starts with a continuation of Dan and company’s Saturday hunt. If you missed it, part 1 is here.] Farmers/ranchers out this way are moving towards “stripping headers” on their combines, which changes the game a bit in the agricultural fields. Strippers simply strip only the head off wheat or sorghum which […]

November 4, 2011 | By | 2 Replies More
SD Hunt Report: Birds Galore, Part 1

SD Hunt Report: Birds Galore, Part 1

by Dan Craven [Dan is a Serious bird hunter who’s co-authoring our forthcoming book, Serious Pheasant Hunting, Book 1. He lives in Minnesota and goes to South Dakota every year to hunt birds, not just pheasants. Here’s the rundown of his recent trip. One word for it: awesome.] Thursday 4:00 pm – Depart for Bismarck, […]

November 3, 2011 | By | 3 Replies More
IA, MN Phez Habitat: Now’s the Time

IA, MN Phez Habitat: Now’s the Time

Seems like these bird forecasts are like media coverage of the economy: self-fulfilling, and rarely good. A recent article in MN’s Star Tribune newspaper noted that: “The predicted decline in Minnesota’s pheasant population this season has caused some hunters to skip ringneck hunting. The Department of Natural Resources sold 66,747 pheasant stamps through [Oct. 17], […]

November 2, 2011 | By | 1 Reply More
Pheasant Bands: New Upland Trophy?

Pheasant Bands: New Upland Trophy?

Ever see those duck and goose leg bands on waterfowl hunters’ call lanyards? Maybe you’re a waterfowler yourself and have them. If so, cool – they’re legit trophies of the hunt, like shark-tooth or bear-claw necklaces and many other examples. Why are we bringing this up? Because Nebraska banded some wild pheasants this year. Details: […]

October 31, 2011 | By | 1 Reply More
Iowa Tackling Pheasant Decline

Iowa Tackling Pheasant Decline

Word is the pheasant situation in Iowa is so bad that Iowa hunters are heading to South Dakota to hunt birds. But the silver lining may be not taking the birds and their habitat for granted. More below, from a couple Iowa papers. The Issue From the Knoxville, IA Journal Express: > With pheasant hunting […]

October 25, 2011 | By | Reply More
Re-Hatch: MT Pheasants Decent!

Re-Hatch: MT Pheasants Decent!

Doom and gloom. That’s all anyone heard about Montana’s birds earlier this year. But turns out now that hunting season is here (opens Saturday), things aren’t as bad as they once seemed. Dang forecasts! Here’s the skinny, excerpted from a great article in the Great Falls Tribune. It can be summed up in one word: […]

October 6, 2011 | By | Reply More
A Few Bird Recipes From the UK

A Few Bird Recipes From the UK

How do you cook your birds? We’ve found two ways: slow and fast. Sounds goofy, but we’re serious: Cook strong-tasting woodies fast and eat rare on a cracker with hot sauce or even horseradish, and cook mouth-watering grouse and pheasants slow so you don’t dry ’em out. Oddly, while we do branch out gastronomically with […]

October 5, 2011 | By | 2 Replies More
Bad Phez Forecasts Hurting Iowa

Bad Phez Forecasts Hurting Iowa

Just in case there was any doubt (other than common sense) that poor bird forecasts hurt tourism, a recent article on radioiowa.com had this to say: > A survey released last week showing Iowa’s pheasant population is at an all-time low is not only bad news for hunters, it’s a big blow for the Iowa […]

October 4, 2011 | By | Reply More
SD Not Buying More Bird Land?

SD Not Buying More Bird Land?

We’d bet that in terms of numbers of hunters and dollars raked in, South Dakota is the numero uno destination in the world for bird hunters (including waterfowl). Has to be true for North America, anyway. One reason for that is the sheer number of pheasants in South Dakota, which means lots of good habitat, […]

September 28, 2011 | By | 2 Replies More
Kansas Official Forecast Finally Out

Kansas Official Forecast Finally Out

Kansas has been suffering through a drought and record high temps this year, and even though the state was hoping that the effects on their darn good bird population wouldn’t too bad, appears that’s not the case…which shouldn’t be much of a surprise. Today Kansas issued its 2011-12 bird forecast, and the summary of the […]

September 22, 2011 | By | 1 Reply More
Should Forecasts Be Banned: Part 2

Should Forecasts Be Banned: Part 2

Last week we published the first part of a point by point rationale for why bird forecasts are more bad than good, and should potentially be banned…or changed, per the below. Here’s the second and final part. If we’re missing something here or got our logic wires crossed, make sure you let us know. Also […]

September 19, 2011 | By | Reply More