ND 2011 Pheasant Season Summarized - Harvest UP

More hunting opportunities meant more pheasants taken during the 2011 season, as last fall’s pheasant harvest was 683,000, up from 552,000 in 2010.

Aaron Robinson, upland bird biologist for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, said the overall landscape probably didn’t have more birds, but Mother Nature allowed for an increase in harvest due to mild weather conditions and minimal snow cover in November, December and early January.

“This is a prime example of how the harvest doesn’t necessarily reflect the overall population,” Robinson said. “We actually had lower production in 2011 than in 2010, but hunter effort made up the difference due to last winter’s exceptionally mild weather conditions.”
Statistics actually revealed the number of hunters declined 10 percent to 82,700. The number of resident hunters was down 5 percent to 58,200, while nonresident pheasant hunter numbers decreased 20 percent to 24,500.

“However, the determining factor is many hunters were able to enjoy good hunting conditions with mild weather through the last weekend of the season,” Robinson said.
Birds bagged per hunter increased from 6.0 to 8.3. Each hunter spent an average of six days afield.
Counties with the highest percentage of pheasants taken by resident hunters were Hettinger, 9.2; Burleigh, 6.4; Emmons, 6.0; McLean, 5.4; and Adams, 5.3.

Top counties for nonresident hunters were Hettinger, 24.9 percent; Bowman, 7.6; Emmons, 5.6; McIntosh, 5.2; and Divide, 4.5.

Annual pheasant season statistics are determined by a mail survey of resident and nonresident hunters.

Original ND Game and Fish Article

Iowa 2011 Pheasant Harvest Tops 100,000 Roosters - LOWEST since 1962

The 2011 Iowa pheasant harvest reflected what the roadside counts had predicted, that the population was down after five winters with above average snowfall followed by five wetter than normal springs.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources estimates that 109,000 roosters were harvested during the 2011 hunting season, the lowest since standardized estimates began in 1962.  Harvest was highest in the northwest region, followed by central and southwest.

The harvest estimate is based on a random survey of hunters. The survey is used by the DNR to estimate the number of hunters pursuing small game, hunter effort by species and harvest.

The survey collects data on quail, cottontail rabbit, squirrel, partridge, and mourning dove, in addition to pheasants.

According to the survey, an estimated 57,285 mourning doves were harvested during Iowa’s inaugural mourning dove hunting season.

Original Iowa DNR Article 

Win a Gun A Week For A Year - Pheasants Forever

Ingham County Pheasants Forever (467)

Win a Gun A Week 

For A Year!

 Less than 73!!!!

500  4/10

400 4/28

260 5/08

230 5/11

200 5/14

145  5/25

73    6/01

They are going fast, 

Reserve yours today!
_________________

Started and Trained English Setters For Sale

One of my dogs is from Northwoods Bird Dogs and I've sent my others there for training so I feel good about posting these dogs that are for sale.


Blue Peace Belle - whelped January 2, 2007 - CH Peace Dale Duke x Blue Silk

Belle is a pretty, 36 lb., orange and white English setter female with an even, dark orange mask. She is a veteran wild bird hunter with many, many hours afield. Her owner has hunter her on ruffed grouse, woodcock, pheasants, prairie chickens and sharp-tailed grouse. She is athletic, loves to retrieve and has great endurance and heat tolerance.

Belle is a focused, energetic hunter that hunts at a close to moderate range. She is easy to handle. She is entertaining to watch with her smooth, strong stride. Belle has a very nice disposition and loves people.

Belle is priced at $4,300. Please contact her owner, Steve Snyder, at 507-383-9049 for more information.

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Northwoods Heart - Whelped June 20, 2011 - Houston's Blackjack x Northwoods Chardonnay
Heart is a leggy English setter female that weighs 43 lbs. She is tri-colored with a patch over the left side of her head. She is a close- to medium-ranging dog and handles easily. Heart gets along extremely well with people and other dogs and loves attention. She is our classic two-speed dog—calm and relaxed in the kennel but driven to find birds in the field.

Heart has had several months of exposure to johnny house and liberated quail in Minnesota and Tennessee, as well as work on grouse and woodcock. She is a natural backer and very staunch. She is classy in motion and beautiful on point with a lofty style. She has had birds shot over her. We are currently working on steadiness training with pigeons. She has traveled frequently, been on a stake-out chain and knows basic commands such as Here, Kennel and has been introduced to Whoa. She is ecollar conditioned.

Heart is current on all vaccinations and medications. Her preliminary OFA radiograph reports “Good Hip Joint Conformation.” At her current level, Heart is a Started Dog and priced at $2,500.

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Northwoods Brie - Whelped April 10, 2010 - Northwoods Blue Ox x Houston's Belle's Choice
Brie is a beautifully even-masked, tri-color English setter female that weighs 41 lbs. She is a medium-ranging dog with a friendly, want-to-please attitude. Brie gets along extremely well with people and other dogs and loves attention. She is our classic two-speed dog—calm and relaxed in the kennel but driven to find birds in the field.

Brie is steady to wing and shot on liberated quail and almost finished on grouse. She had one hunting season as a puppy and one season as a trained dog. She is a strong and accurate bird finder. She is pretty on point and fluid in motion. Brie backs and naturally retrieves. She has traveled frequently, been on a stake-out chain and knows basic commands such as Here, Kennel, Heel and Whoa. She is ecollar conditioned.
Brie is current current on all vaccinations and medications. Her preliminary OFA radiograph reports “Good Hip Joint Conformation.” At her current level, Brie is a Trained Dog and priced at $5,000.

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Northwoods Roquefort - Whelped April 10, 2010 - Northwoods Blue Ox x Houston's Belle's Choice
Roquefort is a very pretty tri-color English setter female that weighs 36 lbs. She is a hard driving, medium ranging dog with a want-to-please attitude. Roquefort has the ability to be a competitive walking field trial dog and has one open derby placement to prove it. She lives in the house with her owner and is fully house trained. She gets along extremely well with people and other dogs and loves attention. She is our classic two-speed dog—calm and relaxed in the house but driven to find birds in the field.

Roquefort steady to wing and shot on liberated quail and almost finished on grouse. She has one hunting season as a puppy and one season as a trained dog. She is a strong and accurate bird finder. She is pretty on point and fluid in motion. Roquefort backs and naturally retrieves. She has traveled frequently, been on a stake-out chain and knows basic commands such as Here, Kennel, Heel and Whoa. She is ecollar conditioned.
Roquefort is current current on all vaccinations and medications. At her current level, Roquefort is a Trained Dog and priced at $5,500.

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Northwoods Ahniwake Grace - Whelped April 10, 2010 - Northwoods Blue Ox x Houston's Belle's Choice
Grace is an athletic, even masked, tri-color English setter female that weighs 43 lbs. She is a hard driving, wide ranging dog with a strong desire to find birds. She is often in the house with her owner and is fully house trained. She gets along extremely well with people and other dogs and loves attention. She is our classic two-speed dog—calm and relaxed in the house but driven to find birds in the field.

Grace is steady to wing and shot on liberated quail. She has one hunting season as a puppy and one season as a trained dog. She is a strong bird finder and when she points, the bird is there. She is strong and fluid in motion and on point. Grace backs and naturally retrieves. She has traveled frequently, been on a stake-out chain and knows basic commands such as Here, Kennel, Heel and Whoa. She is ecollar conditioned.
Grace is current current on all vaccinations and medications. At her current level, Grace is a Trained Dog. Please contact us for price.


For more information Northwoods Bird Dogs

The 25 Best Pheasant Hunting Towns in America

The 25 Best Pheasant Hunting Towns in America

I always enjoy reading Outdoor Life’s annual list of America’s top hunting & fishing towns.  Following is my list of America’s top pheasant towns factoring in area bird counts, annual harvest, acres of accessible public hunting land, local Pheasants Forever chapter activities and available lodging for the traveling bird hunter.  It’s by no means scientific, but a fun exercise in day dreaming about next fall. Hopefully you’re lucky enough to live in one of these pheasant country towns, and if not, have the chance to visit often.
These dots on the map are great starting points for autumn pheasant hunting adventures, but this is a conversation starter. If you live in or know of a pheasant hunting town that has yet to be represented, please share it with us in the comments section below!

1. Chamberlain, S.D.  For jaw-dropping pheasant numbers, you won’t beat this Missouri River town in south central South Dakota. Part of the famed “Golden Triangle” region (the storied pheasant hunting area from Gregory, Winner to Chamberlain), the pheasant brood counts around Chamberlain have averaged 15.7 birds per mile during the last decade, more than double the statewide average.

2. Bismarck, N.D. Maybe calling Bismarck a “town” is a stretch, but it may be the only population center of 60,000 or more with world-class pheasant hunting just minutes outside of town.

3. McCook, Neb.  This southwest Nebraska town boasts a fair amount of lodging. Drive out of town in any direction, and you’ll find plenty of CRP-MAP (Conservation Reserve Program – Managed Access Program) areas. Through the program, the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission, in partnership with PF, pays private landowners to improve their CRP acres for wildlife and open them up for public hunting. Don’t be surprised to bump a covey of quail either. Note: CRP-MAP lands are being restructured and transitioned into Nebraska’s Open Fields and Waters Program.

4. Oakley, Kans.  Conveniently located on Interstate 70, which bisects the Sunflower State, getting to Oakley is only the beginning: more than 350,000 acres of publicly accessibly hunting lands, and pheasants, quail and prairie chickens in northwest Kansas awaits.

5. Lewistown, Mont. This agriculture community is located in the geographic center of Montana, where pheasants can be found with buttes and mountain ranges as beautiful backdrops. Travel northwest to hunt the Pheasants Forever Coffee Creek BLOCK Management Area, one of the largest habitat projects in Pheasants Forever’s history.


6. Aberdeen, S.D.  Even in pheasant-filled South Dakota, the Aberdeen area in the northeast part of the state stands out as one of the most appealing destinations for public land and outfit-based pheasant hunters. The surrounding area has more than 200,000 acres of public hunting land available. Hunters in Aberdeen’s Brown County averaged 8.5 birds each during the course of the last hunting season.

7. Mott, N.D. Mott bills itself as a pheasant hunting destination, and with good reason. Contrary to rumor, there’s enough Private Land Open to Sportsmen (PLOTS) areas in the area to make a shoe-string budget hunt an option.

8. Sterling, Colo. Eastern Colorado has its own version of a “Golden Triangle” – the state’s best pheasant range from Sterling to Holyoke to Burlington. With proximity to the prime hunting grounds of southwest Nebraska and western Kansas, the traveling bird hunter that’s willing can plan a triple threat trip.

9. Okoboji, Iowa.  This tourist destination is a great place to base a freelance pheasant hunt. The 4-county block of Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, and Palo Alto Counties offer more than 40,000 acres of pheasant habitat open to public hunting.

10. Marshall, Minn. Marshall is the ideal jumping off point to hunt four rectangular shaped counties in southwest Minnesota – Lyon, Lincoln, Murray and Pipestone Counties – which offer up some of the best rooster action Minny has to offer. Minnesota’s vast Wildlife Management Area system provides excellent public hunting opportunities in each county.

Towns 11 - 25 and complete Pheasants Forever Article

We need more kids like this. 13 year old dog trainer.

Paul is a 13 year old who has gotten into dog training and trials.

Read his story here.

Wild Turkey and a Coke

Some pics of how you don't want to start your morning.

LL Bean 100th Anniversary

LL Bean 100th Anniversary interview by BirdDogsAfield  

 

Getting Even - You Know Your Dogs Will

By Steve Smith


I picked up the phone in my office on the first ring because the Caller ID said it was from Sue, a Very Close Relative By Marriage. Since I'd left home only a half-hour earlier, and over coffee we'd talked about plans for after I got out of work, that could mean only one thing: Murphy.

I'm not clairvoyant; I just know my dog.


"Guess what your dog just did." Most of the time
 – almost always, actually, Murph is my dog.

"No idea – but I'll bet you called to tell me."
"I was getting ready to go shopping, she wanted to go and she was being a pest, so I shut her in our bedroom. She opened my purse, found a ten-dollar bill, and shredded it. I mean shredded."

"It could have been worse."

"Don't start –"

"It could have been my ten."

"Or a fifty."

"I'm immune – I don't have any fifties."

See, the problem is Murph likes to get even. What? I can't go with you? That'll cost you ten bucks!

For the two-hundred and seventh time, I congratulated myself on naming her right: If it can go wrong, Murphy will figure out how to make it happen. But she's not alone. They get even with us, you know, in case you haven’t been paying attention. They have their ways, the conniving little back-biters. Our first black Lab, Maggie, when she got old and retired from the hunting field, would watch me leave with Roxie the pup. You could almost hear her saying to herself, Well, fine! as she headed downstairs into my den, where she’d turn over my wastebasket, and shred everything – shredding seems to be a major part of the program.


You think these dogs don't hold a grudge or get snippy when they don’t  get their own way? You should have my job as a dog magazine editor - I hear it all, and some of it borders on the surreal.


I got a call one day from a fellow that wanted to know if I’d ever heard of a dog (it was a German shorthair as I remember) letting a hamster out of its cage. The cage had one of those lift gate openings on the side. He'd go away, come home, and launch into an impromptu hamster-hunt. He couldn't figure out how the little rodent was doing it, so he set up a video camera, left the house, came back in an hour, and the hamster's out. The video held the evidence: The shorthair, his nose out of joint because he didn't get to go with the boss, used that very same nose to open the cage. Busted. He never paid any attention to the hamster, just let it go.


We've all heard of dogs that figured out how to open refrigerators and steal a little tidbit to tide them over until supper, but I don't think you can call that getting even. I think it's smart.

Read The Original PDJ Article

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