first time we got our two man limit for 2023

a few times I got my two but not my hunting partner
once he got 2 and I only had 1
today we got it done with some beautiful weather also got into the high 40s with a little snow still in the shade and on the north side of hills.

I really like to pheasant hunt. Around here if you saw that many hunting all morning it would be a success.

I am sure you put on a LOT less miles than I did but I still had a blast. Late season, Public land MN roosters are a little flighty. It was a great way to break in the Winchester model 23 magnum.

Nice work. Public land?

yes public

Flushing a rooster never gets old.

we also heard more than we have heard all year

got out of the truck at the first location and heard a pheasant calling right away but from across the road at a farm standing next to a horse

saw 2 at that property but were flying way to far out and headed farther into the cattails I didn't have my waders on

kicked up a nice buck

then we hit 3 more places and there we connected with birds

including the only double of the year

Double limits is what me and my hunting buddy strive for. They can be tough to come by but it’s great when they happen. The guy that only gets one when the other guy limits takes some pretty good ribbing, especially if he missed one.

That's Awesome

Do you figure that they were wild birds?
I'm not judging or anything like that, but I don't think that I have seen much in the way of wild birds in our area in the last 35 years.
In fact, I am not sure if I have ever shot a truly wild pheasant after 1982.
It used to be that brushy fence rows were common and hawks were rare, now it's the other way around.

looks like a great day

Love hunting roosters Thanks for the pics and the update Very cool

Not likely. NW WI has some areas with wild birds but S WI is pretty much put and take.

Nice

Never really been on a real pheasant hunt. I have hunted them on game farms but that's it. I think it would be real fun hunting behind some good dogs.

On public- that's a great day- nicely done!

almost a guarantee planted farm birds I am hunting public lands where the DNR stocks birds , don't know the stocking schedule and I would guess these have survived a few weeks as they probably didn't stock during gun deer season

I probably haven't seen a hen in 5 years the DNR seems to plant 100% roosters

I don't have to feel bad about shooting a farm bird either , it was me the coyote or the hawk.

we pay a pheasant stamp that helps pay for stocking and habitat projects

not sure I have seen a wild bird since the early 90s

Same here in PA Pete. It's all stocked birds and we pay for a pheasant stamp. Our Game Commission does stock some hen birds. I don't understand why, we haven't a breeding population in the state for decades. And I'd much rather hunt cockbirds. They're bigger and that explosive cackling flush they do is pretty exciting.

working on the dog , he is 16 weeks right now

currently it is the 2 of us taking turns playing dog and pushing the brush so we do put on a little distance

we could have a breeding population of pheasants we did when I was a kid even more so when my dad was a kid

all it would take is a few Raptor seasons and some serious coyote eradication

we had a large breeding population of pheasant when my dad was a kid , my grandpa and a lot of other local farmers in the area had nearly wiped out the fox population and we had no coyotes yet . my uncle talks about the field behind their house being just full of pheasant grandpa talks about how they would chop corn till they were down to the last section then go out with shooters on each side of the chopper and clean up on pheasants as they walked beside the combine.

now they just stock roosters realizing they seldom last more than a few months and with all the nest raiders , coyotes , hawks they don't last

hawk season would probably go over worse than the wolf hunt.

populations do need managing of all types