Self Guided Pheasant Hunts

Hunts

This topic defines Mid-America Hunting Association's self guided pheasant hunts as a means by which to insure there are not any surprises later.

A December hunt showing the results of two special days...

...one field, one hunter, one dog, five shells. The rooster without the tail was a two shot runner the dog brought in...

...true triple. Dog steady to point/flush, roosters piling out of a small plumb thicket, gun never left the shoulder, never took a step, three shots, three rosters. Impossible to have counted the number of birds that came out. The quail were a bonus on the way back.

The first and foremost issue is that we do not allow day hunts or gang/drive hunts. That one point alone goes far to describe the self guided pheasant hunting we offer is for the individual or small family of hunting buddy groups that seek the day for the quality of hunts not the number of birds shot at.

Those that seek a lot of birds at a short amount of time and limited energy expenditure should seek a release bird hunt rather than enjoyment of a wild pheasant hunt. The wild pheasant hunting we offer allows the individual hunter of his own dog to enjoy hunting in the company of his dog over his habitat of preference and at his own pace. Those that call us with any other definition for he hunting they expect are quickly told we are not the right organization for them.

One illustration we have observed that drives this point home is that many in the Association start hunting with others and soon the enjoyment factor of their dogs exceeds that of their adult hunting companions with the strong majority of pheasant hunters hunting with their children or alone. The individual hunter is who we screen for and for those that sponsor in others they may hunt together occasional, however the more frequent reservation is the lone hunter.

For the self guided hunter he will find a selection of regions in Kansas, Missouri and Iowa that each have distinctive predominate habitat types and more fields than can be hunted throughout several seasons. the self guided hunter can pick and chose of where to and not to hunt. He too can develop strategies for how to hunt each type of habitat suited to his dog power, hunting style and energy level. On this last point the individual self guided hunter is the one that sets up the most attractive dog and bird photos sent into the Association. This is a sign of a hunter that has assumed a leisurely approach to his hunting schedule. That aspect of managing the hunt as well as the hunting day schedule makes for more enjoyment than can be achieved through a drive hunt.

To jump start the self guided new to the midwest pheasant hunter includes an examination of failed hunting approaches that are frequently demonstrated by the first year upland bird hunter.

A common approach is to take maps sheets that have the most acreage on the individual sheet, start at the first lease closest to the motel and hunt each one in turn until the end of day light. The failure of this approach is that our best bird hunting is within the agricultural regions where 45 to 55% of the land use is farming. This means the best anyone could hope for in terms of wildlife habitat is 500 acres per 1,000 lease acres. Of that 500 acres of good habitat it is not all on one lease or one spot. Furthermore, of that 500 acres of wildlife habitat some may be in pasture and not all in any case is well suited for pheasant hunting. This brings the self guided hunter not to attempt to put nature in a box and take a systematic approach of hunting all land. It requires the self guided hunter to develop a calibrated eye for what to hunt and what not to. If at this point seems to make the wild bird hunt too difficult then the reader is probably more suited for a guided hunt on preserve birds.

Another failed approach of the new to the midwest self guided hunter is to draw final conclusions from limited trials. The first hunt may not always be a good hunt and a full season of hunts should be experienced before final analysis. Conversely those golden days we all want to repeat far more than is realistic to except cannot recur every hunt thorough any one season.

If we all agree that not all of our dogs are great, good or in some cases even average we likewise should not expect every day to be a limit day. Discussions with long time MAHA self guided hunters is their good years are defined in two parts. the first by bird numbers and the honest ones in terms of dog power. There is a special satisfaction to be gained with good dog work even on down years. that distinction makes for the hunter we seek. Any others may not be the self guided wild bird hunters they envision themselves to be.