Pheasant Hunting basics
Pheasant hunting requires some advance preparation. First, you’ll need to do a little homework on state hunting regulations, area hunting maps, and some preseason scouting; it will pay big dividends later. Most fish and game departments make annual pheasant counts in late summer and publicize the results before the season opens. Study this information; then do a little research of your own. Drive around in early morning or late afternoon watching for birds on the roadsides. When you find a promising area, talk to the landowners and ask for permission to hunt once the season begins. Do not assume that because land isn't posted it is alright to pheasant hunt there. Ask for permission and always follow hunting edict and obey all pheasant hunting regulations.
Make sure you are properly outfitted. General-purpose pheasant-hunting garb consists of a blaze-orange hunting jacket with a good-sized game pouch, brush pants and a blaze-orange cap that makes it easy for your companions to see you in tall cover. Comfortable boots that provide good ankle support are a must for long-distance walking.
Learn two take your time on the shot. When a gaudy rooster bursts from cover with a boisterous cackle, even veteran hunters lose their composure. If you make the mistake of rushing your shot, the bird will fly away unscathed. If you do manage to hit the bird at close range, there won’t be much left of it.
Statistics show that more than 3 times as many pheasants are taken in the first half of the season as in the last. That’s because most hunters want to get the "dumb" young birds. Hunting pressure is normally heaviest on opening weekend and tapers off steadily through the season.
Pheasant hunting lodges are the perfect place for the person who loves to hunt pheasant. This can take pheasant hunting from monotonous and almost a competition sport with other hunters who go to the same area, to something much more enjoyable. Take some time to find pheasant hunting lodges near you or in an area where you plan to vacation and you’ll begin to enjoy it again.
A hunter can go to one of these pheasant hunting lodges, go on guided hunts during the day and enjoy things like spa treatments and room service at night. The type of hunting lodge you choose will depend on your taste and whether you want to be pampered or whether you want to feel like an outdoorsman who’s roughing it in the wild. The pheasant hunting lodges all do offer one thing in common and that’s acres of land on which to hunt pheasant where every hunter in the area won’t be at one time.
The land is set up in a way that attracts pheasant. It has their favorite habitats and hiding places. And as a bonus to hunters, pheasant are the only birds that they’ll find. Often grouse, partridges and other small birds will find these places suitable as their homes as well. Because it’s practically a protected area out of hunting season, it often has an abundance of different types of birds for the hunter to enjoy hunting once the season opens.
And just like a fine hotel that allows pets, pheasant hunting lodges welcome your hunting dogs. While there may be a few lodges that don’t allow you to bring your own dog, they usually have hunting dogs that have been trained and are friendly that you can use while you’re there. The vast majority, however, understand that you have your four-legged companion trained to go on hunts with you and they allow you to bring your dog.
If you just really want to hunt pheasant than look for pheasant hunting lodges that are pretty exclusive to that species. There may be other bird species living there as well, but the focus is pheasant hunting. There are a variety of lodges that offer pheasant hunting but also offer partridge, dove, quail and other bird hunting. Choose the one that appeals to you the most.
You’ll also want to choose between pheasant hunting lodges that offer guided hunts or those that are self-guided. Guided hunts are ideal for someone inexperienced in pheasant hunting who needs a little bit of help where self-guided hunts are better for the hunter who likes solitude and is familiar with pheasant hunting.
For a one stop shop for your hunting maps, hunter education, local contacts, and all 50 state hunting regulations and the regulations for the lower canadian providences stop by huntNfishregs.com
Happy Pheasant Hunting !