November 2007 Updates page 7
19 November
Pheasant Hunt
John,
Had a very good pheasant hunt in [location deleted], harvested a number of young birds that would indicate to me that they had a good hatch. Hunting was somewhat tough due to the heavy cover and warm temperatures, but the old master is still is able to hunt in the mornings before it got to warm. Attached are a couple of pictures of the master (Zeke) with a few roosters.
Mike
John,
Attached are a couple of pictures that I got of a pretty nice mule deer buck and some doe he was with.
He was about a half a mile from where I will be hunting around a cut milo field and a wheat field. And oh yeah, I do have a mule deer tag for that unit.
He is not the buck that I have seen for the last two years, but he will do just fine.
Take care, Mike
Thanks for the great pictures Mike, good luck!
Rut
The rut appears to be late this fall due to above average temperatures, but the cold front this week should enhance conditions, such as this young buck below following the scent of a doe.
20 November
Upland Birds
You asked if I would give a member's perspective about Jewell county Kansas.
My recent journey to bird hunt Kansas started in Washington County with some known territory. Gusty winds to 35 mph that day made for some tuff shooting. I saw several coveys but they all were small by number of birds standards. Only flew 1 rooster. Typical Kansas weather for bird hunting.
The next day and a half I spent in Jewell County. I drove buy a lot of club ground that was very flat and in winter wheat. The grain markets seem to have most things in an uproar about crop rotation. I did hunt 2 milo stubble areas. I really like soft field edge and milo stubble for bird hunting. I saw a very nice sized covey on 1 and a "covey" of pheasants on the other. I have attached some general photos of Jewell.
Crop Ground
For those not familiar with our upland bird habitat the grain crop shown is milo. The drainage to the right is typically dry. This drainage runs for 3/4 mile straight line. Hunting both sides up and back without a covey would be over a hour at fast walk, twice as long for most and then some to find a covey and hunt singles. The volunteer growth is a mixture of cool and warm season grass, lower brush up to the tree line. The trees are generally short and grow out as much as up. Typically quail cover with an occasional pheasant.
Did get some good dog work for the dry conditions. Still run into this with the grain folks trying to increase acreage and return on land investment love this type of ground for bird hunting.
One of the new signs.
Jenny doing her thing and the grey muzzle showing age - my old mongrel bird dog went to the hunting preserve in the sky a week before Halloween. I will be looking for a new pointer pup late winter or early spring if you hear of any.
I shot a rooster that went down about half way to the trees in the distance. Acted like a head shot with the gaining of altitude till it dropped dead. A hawk immediately went down in the same area and stayed there marking my bird till I got within 30 feet then flew. So I did retrieve that rooster.
Jenny
Upland bird dogs in picture do well to show quality of the ground cover where birds are found.
The grain belt is looking more like this all the time with the reduction of folks living on the land and farm size increasing.
A lot of open ground between homes.
Stock pond with no stock.
Looking forward to more birds when the weather gets tougher. Headed to Scotland for a few days of woodcock shooting. Keep up the good work and have a nice holiday season.
The big greenheads appeared in central Iowa in the last few days - that means it is getting time for some serious bird hunting.
Dan
Thank you Dan for the review. Every bit helps to make all things better. Good luck with your current and future dog.
