Anyone done a Diy hunt for pheasant and duck? (Updated)

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rebelduckaholic
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Re: Anyone done a Diy hunt for pheasant and duck?

Postby rebelduckaholic » Wed Oct 28, 2015 1:03 am

Just got back from freelance duck up there a couple hours ago. Dry warm and tough. When we got on them we were really on. When off we were really off
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gps4
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Re: Anyone done a Diy hunt for pheasant and duck?

Postby gps4 » Sat Oct 31, 2015 2:31 pm





Buddy and I drove from Vicksburg and arrived in Custer State Park in west South Dakota on Wednesday night. We left Custer and headed east through the Badlands on Thursday and stayed in Mitchell Thursday night. Friday, we slept in, went to Cabellas, grabbed some lunch, and decided to kick around some public land to spend the time Friday afternoon.

Took a gamble on an out of the way piece of public land. We stepped in the first field around 1:00 and within 100 yards of the truck, we jumped the first rooster. We jumped several birds in the first field alone. We should have been done within two hours, but missed several roosters that should have rounded out our limits. We bounced around 4 or 5 more fields and it rained on us for the last 2-3 hours of shooting time.

It was only the two of us and we did not have a dog. It was also our first time ever hunting public land in South Dakota. Without a doubt one of the best and most satisfying days of hunting I've ever had.




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Last edited by gps4 on Wed Nov 25, 2015 11:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
Greenhead329
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Re: Anyone done a Diy hunt for pheasant and duck?

Postby Greenhead329 » Tue Nov 24, 2015 2:46 pm

Hey guys got back last week. Had a blast except driving through Missouri .. That state never ends.
My young pup was pissed he had to ride in the crate vs the cab like normal.. And somewhere between stopping to pee in Arkansas and the hotel in Missouri ...he showed his displeasure

3 of the 4 walls had been covered in blue insulation :/

Our bunk house was nice once we finally got to midland SD.

First morning the weather was a warm 36 with sleet and 15 mph wind. Managed to scratch out a limit..

Cache took to pheasant hunting like a natural . He enjoyed it way more than duck hunting :(

Birds were plentiful, and my shooting was on par. If I shoot that good all season I'll be a happy camper.
All I know is... A wise rooster don't bury his head when a chicken hawk is around...he keeps his eyes on his chickens

Dude...Why'd you make the homeless guy pay for supper?
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Smoke68
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Re: Anyone done a Diy hunt for pheasant and duck?

Postby Smoke68 » Tue Nov 24, 2015 3:01 pm

I want to hear more about how your dog did. Did he flush birds? Quarter well? Or was it mainly flushing with men and the dog retrieved? How did the hunts go? Any difficulty identifying roosters/hens? C'mon man! Give us a recap! :lol:

"Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is... he's hard to stop" -Augustus McRae
Greenhead329
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Re: Anyone done a Diy hunt for pheasant and duck?

Postby Greenhead329 » Tue Nov 24, 2015 8:24 pm

Haha well smoke the pup did really really well. He honestly impressed me by the second day. The guide even commented on how quick he picked it up and his drive.
Cache was mainly the flush dog. There was enough action to keep him interested which helped tremendously . The guide's dogs would point and at that point.. I would keep my boy at heal until we closed the gap pretty close. Towards the end of the trip he figured out when the other dogs were working he figured out quartering the field, and would stay close to the pointing dogs. I was also impressed and the guide noticed as well that by the third day I wasn't having to whistle him in from being too far out in the food plots crashing around. At first he was trying to get out to fiffty ish...by the end of the trip he would barely venture beyond 30 before "checking in"

Once he flushed he would also retrieve. Couple of the days was really glad he was along. Some of my roosters thought they were ducks and landed in the middle of the ponds.

He did leave me high and dry one day :roll: ... Had a thin layer of ice on the water.. Once my pup started having to break ice.. He promptly said "no thanks" and I started singing Soprano

Took my old girl along for the ride / hunt as well. She didn't give 2 craps about a pheasant lol. First one she retrieved, she smelled it kicked dirt on him and came back to me lol. But because of her I did win the longest tail contest !! (Kind of like our big buck)

We passed a set of cat tails.. Guides dogs sniffed but didn't cue so we kept walking ... You could hear the water flowing and it was more than my old girl could take (she LOVES to swim) .. She charged headlong into the water and low and behold flushed out the last bird we needed for the last day. Clean kill too.. Tail feathers were 23 1/4"

I have more pics but my phone isn't cooperating. As soon as I can I'll post more.
All I know is... A wise rooster don't bury his head when a chicken hawk is around...he keeps his eyes on his chickens

Dude...Why'd you make the homeless guy pay for supper?
Greenhead329
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Re: Anyone done a Diy hunt for pheasant and duck?

Postby Greenhead329 » Tue Nov 24, 2015 9:51 pm

Picture of Cache flushing while the other dogs are on point


Working one of the food plots


One of the guide's pointers



My old girl Tiggy with her lucky find



Although she's not much of a pheasant dog. She's my baby, and has been one of the best duck hunters I could ask for. She'sI been by my side for the past 7 years. She belonged to one of my professors prior to living with me.
All I know is... A wise rooster don't bury his head when a chicken hawk is around...he keeps his eyes on his chickens

Dude...Why'd you make the homeless guy pay for supper?
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Smoke68
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Re: Anyone done a Diy hunt for pheasant and duck? (Updated)

Postby Smoke68 » Wed Nov 25, 2015 9:11 am

Now that's a recap! Thanks for the pics. Can't wait to get out there one day. As you can see by my avatar, I'm extremely partial to springers. My next one will be out of Southaven Kennels in Mathiston. The one I've got now is a good blood trailer, but loses drive quickly on retrieving and working birds. I had no idea what I was doing when I got him. His genetics are an example of what breeders should not do with dogs, mixing field and show. And she did it on purpose. Crazy lady.

"Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is... he's hard to stop" -Augustus McRae

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