Upland Bird Hunting Fundamentals

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For those new to upland bird hunting or those new to our central mid-west upland bird hunts.

We work with all bird hunters regardless of previous experience to insure all have as good of a hunt as possible..

Three parts to make wild upland bird hunting successful are the hunter's willingness to walk, shooting ability and dog power. All three elements are required for success. We take these elements and offer an adaptation to Mid-America Hunting Association.

Walk

Within MAHA the hunter's willingness to walk will be tested as every hunter will have more private land to walk/hunt than time or energy. What is common is for the first year member not to fully recognize this asset and that same hunter will attempt to hunt as much as possible always making it to the first field of the morning to wait for day break.

That same new member/hunter will hunt the fields from each truck stop as fast as he can and may walk through 640 acres or four quarter sections in a day stopping only when dark. The traveling hunter making the most of his always too short vacation days will also hunt as much as he can to fulfill that feeling of satisfaction gained from physical stress and good dog work.

Soon it will be discovered around the third day of the first hunt with us that competition is lacking and there is not any need to race and beat the other hunter to the next spot. It will be also discovered with our large farms that there is a difference between walking though portions of a farm as opposed to hunting the farm.

The pheasant hunter will quickly pick up on the nuances of tall grass and what is good and less good grass cover, the importance and spacing of grain fields, the avoidance of wooded areas and what a brush filled draw means to a mixed bag. the quail hunter learns the coveys will make a liar out of him and will be found in some of the less visually appealing spots that may be the last to be covered on the return leg of the walk back to the truck.

It will not be long until those four quarter section days are reduced to three quarters or 480 acres per day actually hunted and the smaller properties begin to gain appeal over the large blocks of lease land.

None of this must be believed at the point of reading this article, however most will find it true. After the first hunt or probably not later than half way through the second trip for the slower learners the hunter will take a couple of minutes in his truck between fields to leisurely finish his soda before the next walk. At this point the member has come to accept that he will be able to hunt whenever he has time, there is more land to hunt than all the MAHA members can pressure and the birds are there. His dogs will support this conclusion as by the fifth day they too have slowed down and some will have boots on.

Shots

All agree shooting ability must be present within the hunter for the evaluation many make of marking a good hunt by what's in the bag. Perhaps birds seen shot at and not, bagged or not and dog points and flushes would be a better measure of the day's enjoyment.

For most new members that may for the first time in their upland bird hunting career are experiencing a wealth of land, habitat and birds that each is important and shot at, both the pointed or flushed as well as the wild flush or jump birds. After a while the need to harvest many birds will become less the goal of the day and the quality of the dog work gains more appeal. This change soon follows with those that seek to hunt and enjoy their dogs making any shot at jump birds an interruption of that endeavor. This aspect is lost on many until gray hair begins to show and even amongst that group are those that count pictures of dogs with harvested birds more important than capturing in a picture that special day, hunt, point, flush and more.

Is this article to wax eloquent that which does not deserve so. That may be true as we have members say it is all about the birds.

Dogs

Upland bird hunters, even the ones that say the hunt is just about the birds, do not hunt hard or as often if it were not for the dog and its power superior to the hunter to find birds. Given that, all that remains is the ability of that dog to find birds and none are equal and none have the same enhanced instincts brought about by training. Within Mid-America Hunting Association there is not any discrimination as to breed or method for an upland bird hunting dog. As all hunters may hunt without mixing their dogs with another flushers, retriever, pointers are all welcome.