Pheasants in the East this fall..???
 

Jen & I are thinking about taking a week and driving west for a day or two with our dogs (2 brits) for some Pheasant hunting (Sept or Oct. probably?). Anyway - does anyone have any recommendations? We've considered as far west as Iowa - but that's probably a good full two day drive, so maybe IN or PA or OH or..? And - I have no idea which states have good bird hunting!

The "perfect" setup would be two day hunt on wild birds with our own dogs. I don't think we'd need a guided hunt - and frankly, Jen would feel more comfortable with just our dogs and a really small group (like just her & I - as she's never been bird hunting, is taking Hunter Safety for her certificate/License, etc..).

Anyway - any recommendations on good pheasant, chukar and quail hunting outfits or guides, etc.?? I've been searching on the Internet for a few days - and there are a gazillion - but, if some of you have any suggestions - that would be just terrific!! (Ummm - and yes - I'd be hunting with a Parker - so this post is on-topic ;) )

Thanks in advance!

John

Good luck to you and Jen, hope you have a wonderful time. Even as close as New York state and Pennsylvania there is some pretty decent pheasant hunting. You'll likely be knocking on a lot of doors though, trying to gain access to likely looking properties. I'll tell you there's some fine pheasant-looking land out by Hausman's Hidden Hollow but again, there's that access thing again. I don't know what the hunting regs say in other states but in Maine and NH and Vt if the land isn't posted it is understood that it is open to hunting. That being said, it is still considered 'good manners' to ask the land-owner for access. Maybe it's the same in other states - you can check the regs online.

John, the seasons on Pheasants and Quail open in November in Kansas and runs thru the last of January and we have the Wildess of wild pheasants in the world. I think all of the States Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakoda are about the same. I have had great hunting in all the States, am not sure about EAST.

James Van Blaricum

Dean,

There are still wild pheasants east of the Mississippi? Ask guys who live in those states and I think you'll find out that it's really not the case. I know several guys in PA that haven't seen a wild bird in 10 years.

Northern Illinois has a few still, I think Greg S. still gets into them occasionally. Around Toledo, OH used to be great but they've completely disappeared from there.

Cross the river, that's your best bet and the least chance of a waste of time.

I've lived in Michigan for 9 years and have never seen a wild bird here.


Destry

John,
I live in Western NY. It used to be great pheasant country-no longer. I don't think you will find any wild birds in either NY or PA. Some of my released birds carry over but usually do not reproduce or even last till the next fall.
Grouse are another story. Good birds in many parts of NY and PA. Those Brits are well suited for them.
I do SD for wild Pheasant each year.
Bob Jurewicz

John,

The last wild pheasant I saw killed here in SE Penn. was when I was 15. I'm now 36. The PA Game Comm. is making small attempts to re-establish wild birds but the program is only in it's first years.

There a large tracts of state game lands that are stocked by the commision and some local groups. Expect large numbers of hunters, especially on days when they are stocking.

The 1st season runs from Oct. 24- Nov. 28. How old is Jen? If she is 16 or under, she can participate in the junior only hunt that runs Oct. 10-17.

What part of PA were you thinking of trying John? My brother and I have a hunt lease on a farm in Cumberland Cty. that we stock with pheasants and chukar. If you think joining us for a day might be of interest, feel free to email me at mdretallack@yahoo.com

All the best
Marcus

I will readily admit when I'm wrong but in traveling through NY, PA and Ohio several times recently and seeing a number of them dead on the highway in NY and PA one naturally presumes them to be around in pretty fair numbers considering probably less than 1 or 2 percent of those birds crossing the highway don't make it. No, don't ask me what towns I saw the dead birds in because I can't answer that question. I think that if there are wild pheasants in eastern MA (a rarity and certainly not in huntable numbers) and they do exist in huntable numbers in western MA they certainly must exist in the more rural areas of NY and PA. I know what I seen and them there was fezzants!!

Rhode Island Reds, must have been a lot of Tyson trucks running that highway.

DLH

Western PA is really bad for wild pheasants. Once in a while we will run into what most believe to be hold overs from the fall stocking. They mostly stay along the roads picking gravel and salt. It is ashame really, when I was a kid there was a huntable population of wild pheasants. I am really holding out hope for the new program the PA Game commision and Pheasants for ever have been working on. They are bringing in wild birds from the Dacota's and with cooperation of land owners are trying to reestablish a wild population.
Now Grouse is another story. Any where in north central Pa, usually has a nice population of grouse and they have been on the up swing the last few years.
Ben

Ben- I hope as well that this new program's a success. I grew up hearing my father's stories of pheasant hunting in Lancaster county in the 50's, 60's and early 70's. They sounded much like the stories I hear of the Dakotas now.

Dean- There are small pockets of wild birds.... They just aren't where I hunt:( I would wager the ones you saw were stocked. One back road I travel bisects the local game lands. It's not unusal to see a couple dozen pheasants on the road during hunting season and for a month or two after it closes. I still see one or two every so often this time of year.

Cheers
Marcus