Took my newest dog on some upland hunts last week.



We got her on some birds, at first she wasn’t quite sure what to do with them.



She figured out the retrieving part of her job pretty quick and was soon delivering to hand.







The old hand showing the pup how to hunt hard. He routinely hunts himself bloody.



He’s in pretty rough shape after the hunt.



We got them both on some birds and limited out some days.



A buddy joined us for a couple of days. His chocolate lab, Izzy, on the left is the sister of my new pup, Raven, in the middle. That’s Boomer, the old hand on the right.



The pups were mostly just romping around having a good time while Boomer hunted hard and put up birds. Raven made some great retrieves and has started to figure out the hunt game but, at seven months old, she still has a ways to go. We still managed to kill a decent amount of birds.

Great pics. I may miss my Nebraska grouse hunt for the first time in 15 years. Thanks for posting

You can shoot hen pheasants? Not really my business just wondering?

Yeah, hens are legal game. They are all stocked birds. Pennsylvania hasn't had a viable breeding population of wild pheasants since the nineties or earlier. I don't know why the Game Commission even stocks hens, most everybody prefers cockbirds.

I see, just curious. Shot hundreds of (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) birds here in SD. Lived in this state my whole life. Never pheasant hunted any place else. I grew up in N central SD back in the hay day of birds. Shoot a limit every day of season if you wanted to. Good times and good dogs.

That’s how it used to be in Pennsylvania. I started hunting in the late 60s towards the end of the heyday of the wild pheasant in this state. By the 80s they were getting pretty scarce and by the 90s wild birds were all but gone.

We haven’t had a viable breeding population since and there’s been no solid reason why given. I suspect several factors contributed to their demise; the federal protection and resulting overpopulation of raptors, the advent of clean farming techniques which resulted in much less cover, avian flu, the decline of the fur market and the resulting increase in land predators…

But none of that explains why efforts to rebuild their population continually fail.

I’ve always wanted to come to South Dakota to sample some of the fantastic pheasant hunting I hear exists there.

Looking at Boomer almost bring tear to my eyes.
Long in the tooth but the desire won't fade.

We still have some places that are incredible for sure! I’m old lab went blind about 3 weeks ago what a heartbreaker. I’ve got a 7 month old lab that’s been fun so far.

Just Awesome

Excellent hunt, Labs are good

Love the tri colors. Jake, Mila & Gracie.

Looks like fun !

Got a new pup here too..10 weeks soon

I grew up on a farm in South Central PA in the 60's In those days pheasants where as common as sparrows or robins .I remember finding nests in the hay fields and small grain fields As a kid I caught baby chicks and took them home . I would keep them for a day or two and let them go The typical farm in my area then was 70 to 100 acres some of which was used for pasture Remember until the 1940's most farmers in PA where still farming with horses. Also most farms had a mix of livestock So they grew wheat ,barley oats ,corn, for animal feed And hay to feed to the cattle and horses.. Pheasants are ground nesting birds and lay their eggs in those same fields that had hay and small grains planted In general they do not nest in wooded areas. So on many farms at least half or more acres of the farm was egg laying cover for pheasants In.the early 1970's the US government Farm Bill changed farming forever .It was farm from fence row to fence row. Farm every inch of dirt that will produce a crop .Double cropping fields became the way to go The use of chemicals became more prevalent. Farms that had numerous different crops where now being planted in a single crop .In the early 70.s nearly every farm still had good pheasant cover By the end of the 80's nearly every farm had little or no bird cover Pheasants are winter hardy birds .But they need winter cover Todays farms have acres of endless bare fields that do not contain enough cover to hide a mouse The pheasant was introduced to PA in the early 1900's .It thrived in the days of mixed crops and weedy farm fields . In the early 1970's South Central and South Eastern PA was the pheasant capital of the east coast of the USA .Opening day of pheasant season was as big of an event as opening day of deer season . You could not start hunting until 9:00 AM on opening day That was starting time to allow the farmers/hunters time to do the morning chores At opening hour the shooting was no stop for several hours .Those days are my favorite hunting memories . NO TRESSPASING Signs where uncommon .And in many cases landowners where related ,had been neighbors forever and often hunted together .The PA pheasant population plummeted quickly The PA Game Commission has tried stocking a different subspecies of pheasant which was a bust The PGC and Pheasants Forever have been working together to improve habitat on thousands of acres of State Game lands And some of those areas even where stocked with wild birds from out west .But wild birds are not part of PA pheasant hunting anywhere in the state .With the exception of a limited drawing for a youth hunt held on one of the areas that received wild birds from the western states So for those who still enjoy chasing pheasants in PA in is put and take But if you love hunting with dogs and still are thrilled by a chackling rooster in front of your dog .There are not many things that are a better way to spend time outdoors

Makes me miss mine. Had one I was able to teach to point, or,
he was able to let me allow him to point.
We got quite popular on Saturdays with friends and family.

Was fortunate to have a couple neighbors who raised birds and extended the
run. Maybe it is my turn next. Have not seen a ringneck, woodcock, or grouse in years.
But was surprised to see a couple quail.
Thanks for post Lug.

PS Mine first pointed at about same age as those pups.
He first pointed,,,
a groundhog lol.

Haven't flushed a partdrige in years...nevah mind a pheasant.

Excellent write up, you hit many good points West Side.



I also grew up during the peak of PA pheasant hunting and I couldn't agree more. And I love seeing the dogs work as much as they love doing it.

I had them out after grouse and woodcock several days last week but grouse populations have been in decline for years also. Ten yeas ago twenty-plus flushes a day were common, we flushed nine all last week. Woodcock were scarce also, the weather was too nice and the migrating flocks hadn't arrive in my camp area of north central PA yet. We just keep plugging away though.

Is that one of them new-fangled fox red labs there or is that just the way the sun is hitting your yellow lab?

A "fox red" is a yellow lab. Just a little darker in color. Anyone telling you otherwise is a breeder that wants your money