I’m not gonna lie, I think you’re at a major disadvantage if you don’t have a good pointer or flushing dog or dogs along to assist.

But you can definitely flush them without dogs, you just have to work that much harder.

We hunted about 6 1/2 hours today, walked 8 to 10 miles and flushed only three roosters.

I would like to know how you can tell a wild hen pheasant from a stocked hen pheasant? Not a native bird so your thought on stocked hens not raising broods doesn't apply. Here in Iowa we have an over abundance of predators - mainly the aerial kind - but the nest raiders are the biggest hurt.

It most certainly does apply. Did you even read what I wrote above? There is no breeding population of pheasants in Pennsylvania. They do not exist. Every bird you shoot at is a stocked pheasant.

Long-term, expensive programs were tried to start a breeding population in this state. They did not work.

There are no wild pheasants in this state.

Read or reread this slue-foot. This is the reality of pheasant hunting in Pennsylvania.

Ok - I did what you asked about reading it again. I have never hunted in your state so I can't disagree with you that all the pheasants you harvest during season are stocked birds. Are you saying that at the end of the season all the stocked birds never survive till spring?

I think there are probably a very few that survive a month or two after the hunting season ends. There may even be a handful that survive until spring.

But if the state couldn’t create a breeding population for 15 years in all those thousands of acres of ideal habitat, common sense says that the handful of birds that could possibly, maybe survive until spring are not going to start a breeding population.

Very few hens are stocked. I think those that are are just the result of females slipping through the straight run production.

Shooting hens really has no impact on the Pennsylvania wild pheasant population because we don’t have one and I really don’t think we ever will.

If I thought there was even a small chance for hens to start a wild population in the state, I would never shoot another one. I spent almost 50 years, not shooting hens. But, I really don’t think there’s any chance of a wild breeding population ever happening in Pennsylvania.

Hens are legal game here since sometime after we switched over to hunting all stocked birds. They were illegal to kill when we had a wild population.

Thank You for your replies and I appreciate the chance to talk to you. You are a good man.
Tight chains my friend.

Thanks slue-foot, same to you.

Lugnut, i never had a dog but like to go now and then. Kicked around for about an hour today and got my two. I was the only one hunting this morningwhere i went. Saw two hikers that waved.

Why is it that your state can't having a breeding pheasant population. What is it missing that it can't?

Did Pa ever have a trapping program to go with the habitat efforts? Like before and
during the nesting periods, actually on the nesting grounds?

Well done Turtledale. I have respect for you guys getting it done without a dog. Some days it’s hard to get a limit even with the dogs. Like today. LOL

And you pluck them too!

I have no idea snowy, like I said above, I’ve never heard an explanation that made any sense. Actually, I’ve never heard any type of explanation. I don’t think the biologist know why we can’t get a breeding population going in Pennsylvania again.

I can’t say for certain RWH, but I doubt it. And I have no doubt that nest raiders play a huge part in why we can’t develop a breeding population.

Lugnut, predator's are hard on the nesting here too. I have places along the river very heavy cover and the coon and yotes can take a lot of nests away. I see that with turkeys here too but seems there is always birds some years not a good and some years there is bumper crops of birds.