# Going west roll call



## nrh0011 (Sep 13, 2018)

Who all plans to go west chasing birds this year?

 I will be headed out toward dodge city for the pheasant opener on Nov. 10th. My new Llewellyn will be joining me, can't wait to see what she does!


----------



## Michael F Sights (Sep 24, 2018)

West Texas 12/22 & 12/23 to chase those running little Blue Quail that mock hunters with their constant calling.


----------



## nrh0011 (Sep 24, 2018)

Scaley's??


----------



## gtmcwhorter (Sep 24, 2018)

No upland for me but heading to LA to duck hunt in Jan


----------



## whitedog (Sep 24, 2018)

Just returned from a trip to Nebraska


----------



## nrh0011 (Sep 24, 2018)

whitedog said:


> Just returned from a trip to Nebraska



How'd you do?


----------



## ddavis1120 (Sep 25, 2018)

Headed to Chamberlain SD the end of November......ROOSTER!  Population is supposed to be up slightly this year.


----------



## nrh0011 (Sep 25, 2018)

I like the Chamberlain area alot.


----------



## ddavis1120 (Sep 25, 2018)

We stay in Chamberlain but hunt mainly around Presho.  It's beautiful country and we've been blessed with decent numbers of birds every time I've gone.  Just have to be prepared to walk for them.


----------



## Stonewall 2 (Sep 25, 2018)

Headed to Winner SD for the openenig weekend next month can’t wait! Taking my youngest son who is 13. The only sour note is I can’t drive because my son would have to miss too much school and I won’t fly my dog. He is a 3 year old black lab and is great hunting dog and would absolutely love this environment. Any one know of a service to get your dog to you on a hunt that far away? It’s going to kill me to not have him with me.


----------



## whitedog (Sep 25, 2018)

nrh0011 said:


> How'd you do?


We had a good trip. It was hot but we managed to kill some birds and get some good dog work. We camped and hunted a mixture of public and private. We were hunting prairie chickens and sharptail grouse. Ill post some pictures when I get them off my phone


----------



## nrh0011 (Sep 25, 2018)

Stonewall 2 said:


> Headed to Winner SD for the openenig weekend next month can’t wait! Taking my youngest son who is 13. The only sour note is I can’t drive because my son would have to miss too much school and I won’t fly my dog. He is a 3 year old black lab and is great hunting dog and would absolutely love this environment. Any one know of a service to get your dog to you on a hunt that far away? It’s going to kill me to not have him with me.




Uship maybe??


----------



## nrh0011 (Sep 25, 2018)

whitedog said:


> We had a good trip. It was hot but we managed to kill some birds and get some good dog work. We camped and hunted a mixture of public and private. We were hunting prairie chickens and sharptail grouse. Ill post some pictures when I get them off my phone




Post em up, I'd love to see those.


----------



## nrh0011 (Sep 25, 2018)

@Stonewall 2 here is another real shot in the dark. 

http://forums.ukcdogs.com/forumdisplay.php?s=434a2e80bcf01dd21d28ae97539dd868&forumid=38


----------



## Gator89 (Sep 26, 2018)

I will be 25 miles east of Pierre, SD on the third Saturday in October, this will be my tenth consecutive year.


----------



## DJPineHillFarms (Sep 26, 2018)

ive always wanted to back-pack hunt chukar in Idaho on public land, but don't have dogs, and have to keep the hiking to a minimum until my hip replacement. I very much enjoy seeing yall's pictures and following the threads here though!


----------



## cohuttahunter (Sep 27, 2018)

Just got Back from a family trip to Colorado. Snuck off one morning to timberline in search of ptarmigan but to no avail.


----------



## Fishin & Hunting (Oct 1, 2018)

Will be, in Hand county South Dakota on the  farm pheasant hunting starting November 8th.


----------



## nrh0011 (Oct 1, 2018)

Let's keep this thread going. When you make it out west, keep us updated on your trip by posting pics here. I would certainly enjoy keeping up with all of your trips. Good luck to y'all!


----------



## hunt4em (Oct 3, 2018)

Sitting in the airport on our way back from chamberlain,what a great trip...it won’t let me upload pics......


----------



## nrh0011 (Oct 3, 2018)

Man, post some up later when you get a chance.


----------



## Stonewall 2 (Oct 8, 2018)

Well less than 2 weeks from heading to SD. Found a friend that wants to go and is going to drive out and is going to take my dog (thanks for the suggestions guys!), picked up the last of the gear for my son yesterday. Can’t wait to get out there and hunt with my dad my son good friends and last but not least my dog! Will definitely post some pics up when we get out there.


----------



## nrh0011 (Oct 8, 2018)

good looking dog there, he will love SD!!!


----------



## Jetjockey (Oct 8, 2018)

Since I live near Denver, what you guys call West, I call going East! ?.   This will be the first year I’ve been able to hunt opening weekend with my retired trial dog, and so can’t wait. I’m planning on cutting my elk trip 3 days early so i can hit the pheasant opener in NE.  Once CO and KS open, I’ll probably target Western KS since it seems their birds numbers look good again.  Rumor is that CO quail will be way down, and pheasants might be down slightly.  Since I can hunt CO, NE, and KS all within three hours of my house, the world is my oyster!


----------



## nrh0011 (Oct 9, 2018)

Jetjockey said:


> Since I live near Denver, what you guys call West, I call going East! ?.   This will be the first year I’ve been able to hunt opening weekend with my retired trial dog, and so can’t wait. I’m planning on cutting my elk trip 3 days early so i can hit the pheasant opener in NE.  Once CO and KS open, I’ll probably target Western KS since it seems their birds numbers look good again.  Rumor is that CO quail will be way down, and pheasants might be down slightly.  Since I can hunt CO, NE, and KS all within three hours of my house, the world is my oyster!



well ain't that just a geographical oddity...

You picked the right region to settle down it seems.


----------



## Jetjockey (Oct 11, 2018)

nrh0011 said:


> well ain't that just a geographical oddity...
> 
> You picked the right region to settle down it seems.



When I grew up in WA, all anyone had was bird dogs. When I moved to GA I started to hear people talk about wild bird dogs vs pen raised birds dogs.  To me, it was a strange theory since bird dogs were bird dogs.   But I did learn that there were some bird dogs who had seen a lot of birds, but none of them were wild.   Being back out West has been a wonderful refresher in the fact that bird dogs are bird dogs again.  We dont have wild bird dogs or pen raised bird dogs.  All we have is bird dogs.  Why?  Because we have lots of land with lots of wild birds to hunt, and very very few released bird preserves.  I do LOVE being out West again, where the toughest decision is what kind of birds to hunt and where to hunt them.      Btw.  My buddies said the sharp tail and hun hunting was tough in MT this year,  but my trainer said SD pheasant numbers were looking up.  A couple thunderstorms may have made upland hunting certain parts of CO rough this year.


----------



## nrh0011 (Oct 11, 2018)

I understand the reference all too well. I'm glad you're back out there and enjoying yourself.


----------



## Killinstuff (Oct 12, 2018)

MT was fine this year but yeah, some guys had trouble.  Just like fishing where 90% of the fish are caught by 10% of the fishermen, 90% of the birds are killed by 10% of the hunters.  I had plenty of birds every day for 10 straight days and never hunted the same place twice.  Just have to figure things out is all.


----------



## deerslayer357 (Oct 25, 2018)

Headed to South Dakota in 34 days myself, 2 labs, and a friend


----------



## nrh0011 (Oct 26, 2018)

Best of luck to you @deerslayer357. Post some pics when you get back


----------



## deerslayer357 (Oct 27, 2018)

Thanks!  Been to ND twice and KS twice, this is my first trip to SoDak.  

Was a trip my dad and I were planning before he passed in July.  He went to ND and KS once each with me these past two years


----------



## nrh0011 (Oct 28, 2018)

Sorry for your loss, I'm sure yall made some great memories afield on those trips!


----------



## deerslayer357 (Oct 29, 2018)

nrh0011 said:


> Sorry for your loss, I'm sure yall made some great memories afield on those trips!



We did make some great memories on those trips and other smaller ones.  Days afield with friends and family make memories that are cherished for a long time.

I am looking forward to my trip- going up around Aberdeen.  Anybody got any reports from that area this year?


----------



## Fishin & Hunting (Oct 30, 2018)

Brother injured his foot.  SD hunt has  been put off till December 15.   Going to a cold hunt,.


----------



## Killinstuff (Nov 24, 2018)

Kansas is pretty good this year so far.


----------



## Killinstuff (Nov 24, 2018)




----------



## trad bow (Nov 24, 2018)

I’m going to try my best to go to Kansas next year. Hope my puppy will be ready. 
Jeff


----------



## Killinstuff (Nov 24, 2018)

The Setter turned a year old last Saturday and handles pheasants, quail, grouse, woodcock, sharptails and huns really well.  9 months old and on they should be more then OKon birds. Get your pup on birds as soon as you can.  "Ready" or not in your mind, take the dog hunting.  He will figure it out.  Good luck.


----------



## nrh0011 (Nov 26, 2018)

good looking setter there!


----------



## nrh0011 (Nov 26, 2018)

Just got back from Kansas. Pheasant numbers seemed down, but we ran into quite a bit of quail. Enjoyed getting to hunt with a new dog and I'm anxious to tune her up for next year.


----------



## nrh0011 (Nov 26, 2018)

@Killinstuff tell us about the gun...


----------



## Killinstuff (Nov 26, 2018)

The gun is an Agnew.  125 year old English 16ga with 30" Damascus  barrels, still getting it done


----------



## Jetjockey (Nov 27, 2018)

Gotta love KS!  Best bob white quail hunting, and second best pheasant hunting in the country.


----------



## nrh0011 (Nov 28, 2018)

I prefer hunting in the snow just about. Birds hold tight


----------



## awashin5 (Dec 3, 2018)

I am headed to the Dodge City Dec 18-22! We’re any surrounding counties better than others?


----------



## Killinstuff (Dec 3, 2018)

There are no places better than any others in SW KS.Stay mobile and hit a lot of places.  Don't fall into hitting anyplace twice.  Successful hunters need to hunt and that means burning gas.  I covered 200 square miles as much as I could.  One of the biggest mistake guys make is thinking they will hunt x,y and z.  Don't do it.  Go someplace new everyday, it will make you better.


----------



## awashin5 (Dec 3, 2018)

Great! That’s what I have done on the atlas, selected multiple areas where I think is good habitat cover, food and water. Just work a different county each day, multiple counties if need be! Hunted outfitters several times in Kansas but this is our first public land hunt! Do you hunt first shooting light until last shooting light?


----------



## Killinstuff (Dec 3, 2018)

I'm an early bird and get out before first light because I can't help myself. That doesn't mean it's the best hunting though.   Pheasants go from cover to food then back at first light but quail are lazy.  They will loaf til it warms up a bit.  Heavy cover close to stubble fields are the deal.  Avoid walking a sea of grass.

I suggest not having a set plan.  Have an idea of what direction you want to go each day but stay flexible.  Looking at maps and such beforehand can set you up for failure.  Nothing wrong with looking and thinking  but have the guts to to keep on driving if it only looks ok.  Remember, if it looks good to you on the computer, it looks good to a 1000 of other guys too.


----------



## awashin5 (Dec 3, 2018)

Thanks, all that is good to know! Ha ha .... I thought maps would help us out! I guess you really don’t know until you pull up on the plot of land! I don’t have a problem moving around letting the dogs out and putting boots on the ground! We will not complain with a pheasant or a quail in the vest! End of the day it’s about the good people and the dogs.


----------



## Jetjockey (Dec 4, 2018)

awashin5 said:


> Thanks, all that is good to know! Ha ha .... I thought maps would help us out! I guess you really don’t know until you pull up on the plot of land! I don’t have a problem moving around letting the dogs out and putting boots on the ground! We will not complain with a pheasant or a quail in the vest! End of the day it’s about the good people and the dogs.


Maps do help, but you have to be ready to move, and don’t be afraid to change things up.  Like Mike Tyson says, “everyone has a plan until you get punched in the mouth”. Last friday, I got punched in the mouth.  A buddy and I headed out to SW NE knowing the corn would be out.  Guess what, when we got there, most of the center pivotes still had corn, and even a few dry land corn fields did as well.  Closest thing we got to a shot was a wild flushing rooster that my dog had tracked out of the CRP into the corn.  We moved and moved, but finally gave up and headed back into CO. Across the CO line wasn’t much better, lots of good looking fields with no birds.  We decided to change things up and headed South and West.  We drove 20-30 miles away, as far as we could get from any sort of town.  We drove over a hill on our way to a few “corners” CRP fields that were on the maps, and what do you know?  100-150 pheasants literally playing in the middle of the road. We proceeded to hammer birds in every field we walked in over the next 2hrs.... Have a game plan, but be willing to adjust on the fly.  There’s a TON of birds out West, and just as many places to hunt them. Nest week we will be targeting Blues, Bobs, and Pheasants in SE CO, all at the same time. I have a plan on where to hunt, but that will probably change as the hunt progresses.


----------



## awashin5 (Dec 4, 2018)

Jetjockey said:


> Maps do help, but you have to be ready to move, and don’t be afraid to change things up.  Like Mike Tyson says, “everyone has a plan until you get punched in the mouth”. Last friday, I got punched in the mouth.  A buddy and I headed out to SW NE knowing the corn would be out.  Guess what, when we got there, most of the center pivotes still had corn, and even a few dry land corn fields did as well.  Closest thing we got to a shot was a wild flushing rooster that my dog had tracked out of the CRP into the corn.  We moved and moved, but finally gave up and headed back into CO. Across the CO line wasn’t much better, lots of good looking fields with no birds.  We decided to change things up and headed South and West.  We drove 20-30 miles away, as far as we could get from any sort of town.  We drove over a hill on our way to a few “corners” CRP fields that were on the maps, and what do you know?  100-150 pheasants literally playing in the middle of the road. We proceeded to hammer birds in every field we walked in over the next 2hrs.... Have a game plan, but be willing to adjust on the fly.  There’s a TON of birds out West, and just as many places to hunt them. Nest week we will be targeting Blues, Bobs, and Pheasants in SE CO, all at the same time. I have a plan on where to hunt, but that will probably change as the hunt progresses.


----------



## awashin5 (Dec 4, 2018)

That’s why they call it chasing birds! I coach High school football for a living so I am use to adjusting when I get punched in the mouth! I will move through that state as much as I have too! I long do you keep the dogs on the ground before you decide to move if you haven’t had any bird contacts?


----------



## nrh0011 (Dec 4, 2018)

don't be afraid to burn a tank of gas a day or more. @Killinstuff hit the nail on the head multiple times.


----------



## awashin5 (Dec 4, 2018)

If that’s what it takes we will be more than willing to get after it!


----------



## nrh0011 (Dec 6, 2018)

Let us know how you do!


----------



## nrh0011 (Dec 6, 2018)

awashin5 said:


> That’s why they call it chasing birds! I coach High school football for a living so I am use to adjusting when I get punched in the mouth! I will move through that state as much as I have too! I long do you keep the dogs on the ground before you decide to move if you haven’t had any bird contacts?



Tough question to answer, if you're walking a lot of grass you can cover a whole quarter section i.e. 160 acres and not jump a bird, but it doesn't mean they arent there. Same thing with crop stalks (which I try not to walk alot unless they have decent height and cover), bird seem to run around out in front and dogs can't cut them off very well. If I hit two or three good looking spots after daylight that had plenty of cover and near feed with no sign of birds, then I would probably be starting to load up and go elsewhere. My opinion, for what it's worth.


----------



## Killinstuff (Dec 6, 2018)

It's like fishing.  There are folks who are perfectly fine putting a worm on a hook under a bobber and just tossing it out there.  Or you can have spots and targets those spots.  Bird hunting isn't much different.  There are spots on the spot you will find most of the birds on.  Could be a weedy patch in a sea of grass.  A point of tumbleweeds sticking out into a stubble field.  An old homestead.  Some old farm equipment.  A guzzler. Or two trees in the middle of no where like in this pic.  There's a covey there waiting for me to fly them.  And if was to go back tomorrow, those birds would be there again.


----------



## nrh0011 (Dec 8, 2018)

Great advice, reading that painted quite the picture for me. Man I love chasing those dang birds.


----------



## nrh0011 (Dec 8, 2018)

Those setters are a sight to see on point, and capturing it with their partner backing is something else. Very nice.


----------



## deerslayer357 (Dec 19, 2018)

Back from SoDak- saw tons on birds and had a great time.  The dogs worked great, the fellowship was good, our shooting could have been better.  Ended up with 14 birds between the two of us. I will be going back!


----------



## nrh0011 (Dec 19, 2018)

Glad you enjoyed yourself @deerslayer357


----------



## Fishin & Hunting (Dec 21, 2018)

Got back from our December hunt in SD.   Birds were just not there for us.  And what was there were wild as heck.  Weather was warm.   Got 35 birds for five hunters on a four day hunt.


----------



## awashin5 (Jan 3, 2019)

Killinstuff said:


> It's like fishing.  There are folks who are perfectly fine putting a worm on a hook under a bobber and just tossing it out there.  Or you can have spots and targets those spots.  Bird hunting isn't much different.  There are spots on the spot you will find most of the birds on.  Could be a weedy patch in a sea of grass.  A point of tumbleweeds sticking out into a stubble field.  An old homestead.  Some old farm equipment.  A guzzler. Or two trees in the middle of no where like in this pic.  There's a covey there waiting for me to fly them.  And if was to go back tomorrow, those birds would be there again.  View attachment 951989



Little late checking in on my trip to Kansas I just got back from Montana! Laid eyes on what I consider to be a bunch of birds each day for a Georgia boy! Pushed large coveys of quail and saw our fair share of pheasant! You guys were spot on..... travel and when you find that correct spot with in the spot the birds will be there! Turned out to be an outstanding trip, especially for my pup that turned one while we were out there!


----------



## nrh0011 (Jan 3, 2019)

@awashin5 good deal man, post some pics up when you get time.


----------

