Incredibly stupid question.

[Carl G. Bachhuber]

Unless your last name is Turner or Bezos I doubt that you will (will any of us??) ever be able to afford land that has a sustainable huntable population of game birds. I think the best approach would be to try to find some property that is in close proximity to some ag.or state land that holds birds. My choice would be land abutting private land as trespassing can be a real problem living next to public land. Also, depending on local law, you have to have enough land that you can actually hunt/shoot on the proper and that you won't get 'zoned' out of your hunting as the surrounding land gets built up.
C.G.B.

[Stan Hillis]

Originally Posted by Carl G. Bachhuber

Unless your last name is Turner or Bezos I doubt that you will (will any of us??) ever be able to afford land that has a sustainable huntable population of game birds.

Doesn't take a lot of land to be able to plant a food plot to attract doves. A 5-6 acre field planted with brown top millet will attract doves in numbers enough for a couple or three (maybe more) afternoon shoots.

Also, a positive, "get it done attitude" will get anyone much farther in being invited to hunts than a negative, "I can't do it" attitude. Nobody is attracted to a person with that mindset.

[MrBojangles]

Originally Posted by Stan Hillis

Doesn't take a lot of land to be able to plant a food plot to attract doves. A 5-6 acre field planted with brown top millet will attract doves in numbers enough for a couple or three (maybe more) afternoon shoots.

Also, a positive, "get it done attitude" will get anyone much farther in being invited to hunts than a negative, "I can't do it" attitude. Nobody is attracted to a person with that mindset.

Now this is something I would ge inclined to do. 5 to 6 acres is possible with some effort, and it can be local.

[John Marscher]

In 5 min of searching, Michaux Sate Forest is 2.5 hrs from Philadelphia. It is 85,000 acres of grouse, woodcock, deer, turkey, and im sure anything else you would like to pursue.

https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/StateForests...s/Hunting.aspx

I am 32 and have a ton going on with family and career. I don't think twice at waking up at 3am and driving 5 hrs to a public tract to find wild quail and woodcock. I do it weekly during season. I live in a neighborhood and run my bird dog multiple miles in the morning and afternoon and then am in the office from 730 am - 6pm. Just have to prioritize what is important to you and your family. I am saving to eventually buy a tract to manage for wild quail. It will take me decades, but I will eventually do it. Land near Charleston, SC is around 5k an acre if you're lucky, and I am shooting for at least 300 acres. Knocking on doors down here to hunt doesn't exist anymore. Not sure about PA. I would trade one wild bird over "hunting" a preserve.

Good luck and stay motivated. Figuring it out on public land is one of the most rewarding ways to hunt.

[Mike of the Mountain]

Originally Posted by Ian Civco

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.

Ian, I grew up just outside of Macungie. My Pappy's farm was loaded with pheasant and rabbit. It was surreal compared to what the area has become. Most, if not all of the State Game Lands put out pheasants. The stocking schedule will be on the PGC site. You will need the Pheasant Stamp to hunt pheasants on public lands. Unfortunately in PA you either hunt stocked birds on public lands or hunt preserve birds. From where you are the SGLs by Kutztown, New Tripoli and Limerick are your closest bets. The PGC has also been doing a lot of dove field habitat. You can find all that info on the PGC site.