Incredibly stupid question.
 

Basically, how do you do it?

I live in southeastern Pennsylvania, and a house with land is incredibly expensive. I think private land is the best way to go bird hunting. You can manage your land as you please and also you control the extent of hunting pressure.

But, although I thought I would have solved this problem decades ago, I haven’t.

I live on a third of an acre.

What is the minimum amount of land I should be looking for, but again, it’s likely to be prohibitive in cost.

I really can’t move because my wife and I have to have something called a JOB. I would like a good hunting dog but I can’t work from home at all, despite this being supposedly widespread and my wife rarely can. I think it’s unfair to keep a dog cooped up in the house all day and, also, where can I work it?

How do I even find public land for bird hunting?

The best I can figure out is public land for deer and for fishing but the pressure is intense. I haven’t had a shot at a deer in years and fly fishing netted two trout last year, one too small to keep, and this year, none. Unlike last year, I haven’t even seen a trout. I don’t go out opening day for anything due to crowds, but this year so far I haven’t even seen one of the 3.2 million trout stocked by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania this year.

But I digress. Let’s stick to how to do the bird dog thing with the life happens part getting in the way and how to find a place to pheasant hunt? I think grouse, woodcock, and quail would be just about impossible.

And I apologize for this incredibly dumb question, especially considering how old I am.

Mr. Bojangles:

Start by adding an electric fence to your third of an acre and getting your name on a good breeder's list for a birddog. A setter would be a great choice! Then, when you get the call from the breeder, pull out the cash and go pick the cutest/prettiest puppy they have. My setter spends all day outside, contained by the electric fence. I keep the garage door cracked in the winter. After sunset is about the only time my setter is in (and wants to be in) the house.

Once you have that beautiful birddog, get in your truck and drive to the birds. Pen-raised, wild; hunt them all. Bird contacts make a great birddog.

Pennsylvania offers plenty of opportunities for grouse, woodcock and pheasant, possibly even released chukar and quail. And much more public hunting land than I have here in Ohio. Get yourself the Scout n Hunt map for Pennsylvania and, perhaps, Michigan and New York (https://mobilehuntingmaps.com/), and let that birddog run. He/she will teach you the rest.

-Victor

"State Game Lands" are all over Pennsylvania. Open to the public, free access, and stocked Pheasants. The map is available, again, free. I don't use them because I can't walk and lost my Wirehair a few years ago.

Victor and Bill have great advice. Mine is to also save hard for an early retirement, but hunt every chance you can until then. At first you'll be hunting for places to hunt (and it seems there are quite a few in PA). Once you find some covers and coverts, name them, love them, and treat them well with that new pup Victor just suggested you get.

Networking. Find a local hunting dog club- there are many. Some clubs focus on one breed, some on type (pointers, retrievers, versatile etc). My preferred is the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVHDA) which has 90+ clubs in the US and Canada. I have been a member for a little over 10 years. Even if you do not own a dog attend local events which are almost always on weekends for working folks. Speak to a club officer and offer to volunteer to assist with a training day or test day. You will meet men and women who love dogs and a majority who hunt. Get to know them. Through this networking you will learn about different upland opportunities, how others manage a busy work life yet raise and train their own dogs. You will likely find breeders with some well bred dogs and proven track records. I have made some great friends over the years. And I've even had some sweet new coverts shared with me. It's just a thought...

Ian, I can’t speak to Pennsylvania but down here if you want to set up a course with several very small food plots where you can put out quail, chukar or pheasants to train your bird dog, you’d need around 150 contiguous acres. The course can be laid out to be around 45 minutes on foot, 30 minutes off horseback, without finds.

This post is exactly where I was ten years back. It is a tough sport to break into starting from scratch. Plenty of great advice above and i will share with you my experience. I grew up hunting with people who had solved all these problems for me...then suddenly it all stopped. I didnt hunt for probably 25+ years. I wanted to re engage with it but had no land and no dogs and an old gun.

I thought about it a few seasons and then i decided to move forward come what may. I picked English Springer Spaniels for the dogs and they have been great for us. Great size, smart, perfect for bird hunting in grass and cover. I took them to a specialized trainer and just admitted I knew nothing and we all started on the ground floor. It took a lot of evenings and weekends but it was a fun and rewarding process to get the dogs up to speed.

There was no hope we could buy up a bunch of land.. so a buddy took me to a private preserve and that was the best next step. Hunting public land after a few weeks into the season was not going to yield much and you dont want bored dogs and bored hunters. For a membership and approx $25 a pheasant and $15 for quail you get a great afternoon for a few hundred dollars. Dogs are happy, hunters are happy, and you clean up and head home. I highly recommend this as a way to get started. Sure its cheating a bit with planted birds but you and the dogs still have to find them and the goal is to have a fun afternoon.

Two last thoughts: enjoy the process. enjoy running your dogs, getting out daily for a walk , training your dogs etc. you do that daily and then hunt a few times a season.

Trust people to help. i have found that the seasoned hunters and people at the private preserves are really pretty happy to get new people going - i just admit i'm new and open to advice.

Getting the dogs heading into my 50's was the best thing i did. i hope you move forward and it works out for you.

these were not shot with Parkers but I intend to change that this year.

Contact S&M game farm, a private hunting facility east of Gettysburg. It is a membership club with ownership shares coming available occasionally.

This is helpful. I sort of feel useless here, especially since it’s not like I picked up a shotgun for the first time at nearly retirement age.

A different time, a different place, a different era.

My father was not rich by any means, didn’t even own property at all when growing up, rented a small house on 400 acres of land (and we only had access to a small portion of that), and hunting wasn’t even allowed on that land.

But my father knew folks, knew where to go to get access on private land, knew when and where public land was stocked, had a lifestyle at least somewhat conducive to having dogs and the rented land to have a few.

Even if you could have all that, times have changed. My neighbors are much closer, wouldn’t tolerate a barking dog for long, many would bristle at the sight of a firearm, and despite all that, my father somewhat regularly would come home with a grouse or woodcock. No more. Due to the scarcity of them now, he will never take one again, nor will I.

Amazingly, being not where I grew up, I know an amazingly small selection of folks, friends at Rod & Gun clubs are more likely to be there for a cheap beer rather than swap hunting yarns and if they have access to great areas to hunt—their lips are sealed.

I have gone out for whitetail deer on state land about 3 to 5 days a year and haven’t even had a shot at one. I jumped one a few years ago, haven’t seen one since. A different time…a different place. Growing up, if I didn’t shoot at least one whitetail deer a year I felt like a failure.

Bill, this how this old Vet is beating getting old and feeble. First of all, sell some of your "stuff' to fund the project and if you are serious about following dogs, find a friend with a dog or two and tag along. Offering to pay for some of his birds and breakfast, will get you the invite. And my two pointing, multiple Grand Master Labs, don't hurt either. You would be surprised how good you will do with one of these buggies running down the edge of the cover plot. I took a high quality hitch carrier available at Tractor Supply along with a set of 'Reese' alum ramps, they are now giving a 'Veterans' discount, and then have the local weld shop modify to accept the extra width and away you go, just step out and shoot. This sucker will climb over most anything, just hang on if you are air headed enough to put it to the test. Just my two cents! Tom

Ahhhh, will load a few more photos later, just have to take them. Edit done

Just had an email about 'hunting from a vehicle' in Pa. First, I don't join the throngs hunting the stocked birds on State Game Lands, and the debate rages on: Motorized wheel chairs 'are not considered vehicles' in Pa. but certain Wardens, mostlly young fellows, say they are, so I am applying for a 'permit to hunt from a vehicle'. Never an issue on regulated shooting grounds. But, you never know! These buggies were designed for Wounded Warriors, which I am not, just severely handicapped when it comes to walking, the result of a broken back back in '14, that's acting worse these days.

Check out one of the worlds best after the hunt retrievers, so I guess I have another project; teaching one of mine to do the same.