Best Bird Hunts and locations

[Europe]

My granddaughter is back in the states and I am currently the guest of some very old friends in Scotland. I dont hunt anymore but they will be hunting birds ( pheasant and partridge ) and Red Hinds. We had a enjoyable conversation last evening and thought I would share with you and ask you what are your favorite birds to hunt and where.

I chose Ptarmigan in Alaska and Ducks and Geese in Saskatchewan as possibly my favorite.

Doves in Argentina for pure volume I suppose, and Capercaillie in Sweden as the weirdest. To me hunting them was not "bird hinting". Chukar was my least favorite to hunt. But I also always enjoyed hunting what people in Kansas call prairie chickens, hunted a ton of Quail in Arizona and Pheasant in the Dakotas and Scotland were always enjoyable, but when they pinned me down I chose Ptarmigan in Alaska and Ducks and Geese in Saskatchewan

What type of bird hunting do you like best and where do you hunt them ?

 

[hunternyny]

please God, let me live the life of Earle, Dr Mike, SalmonChaser and April.

In my limited experience . Pheasants in South Dakota. We did enjoy Quail in Texas one year but our Pheasant hunt was quite an enjoyable hunt

 

[truck driver]

Pheasant, Quail, pigeons and Grouse were my favorite with the Grouse as #1.
All were hunt here in MD were I live till the bird flu and no till farming along with habitat destruction killed off the Pheasant and Quail the grouse are still around but hard to find a place to hunt them and the new bread of farmers don't like you shooting around their buildings so the pigeons are hard to find where you can shoot them.
I need to move west away from the east coast where I might have some more freedom.

 

[salmonchaser]

Well I certainly enjoy all of them.
Ptarmigan certainly are at or near the top of the list. I think the location has much to do with the appeal and it's a great break from guiding fishermen.
As table fare, when they are on berries, there is nothing better.
Chukar, in the breaks of Hells Canyon, or the Columbia, nothing in North America, offers a more demanding hunt.
I'm guiding pheasant hunts three or four days a week. A mix of wild and released birds. Quite frankly getting board with it. That being said a good pure wild hunt is great fun.
Quail with a .28 or .410, yep I enjoy that.
I don't hunt ducks much but I've a couple of spring pounds in the desert that can provide great shooting when everything else is frozen.
I love hunting upland birds but not to the exclusion of deer and elk.


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[Europe]

Salmonchaser, I also enjoy Ptarmigan as table fare. Sandhill cranes are also pretty tasty. The Cranes however can be a little tough on an inexperienced dog, but not bad table fare. Have you hunted them when in Alaska ?

 

[Blkram]

While my bird hunting has only included 1 goose hunt, hungarian partridge in Saskatchewan and Alberta a few times and upland birds locally (ruffed grouse, spruce hens, sharp tails, blue grouse and ptarmigan), I would have to say hunting ruffed grouse is my favourite, while the hungarian partridge and ptarmigan are more challenging. I have used the 22, the .410, the 12 gauge and the 28 gauge, and the bow to harvest these birds.

The 22 has proven the most effective over the years, and is a favourite, while the shotguns also work well, I prefer the 28 gauge. I have used the compound bow to harvest birds from 5 to 52 yards and the longer shots can be challenging, but the recurve is proving to be the most rewarding. So my favourite is the ruffie with recurve in norteastern BC!

 

[Europe]

Gil, now THAT is impressive young man! I have never hunted any type of bird with a bow. Well done!

 

[35 Whelen]

Oh stop it now ! For godsakes
Everyone knows that the Ruffed Grouse is the
" King of Gamebirds" besides the best eating, hardest to hit, most difficult to get a double on , most Regal......hardest for the dogs to handle....
Do I sound a bit biased????

 

[mjcmichigan]

I’m there on ruffled grouse, and love pheasant, but how could we not mention Turkey! Something to see one come charging in hard for a well done call!


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[salmonchaser]

Salmonchaser, I also enjoy Ptarmigan as table fare. Sandhill cranes are also pretty tasty. The Cranes however can be a little tough on an inexperienced dog, but not bad table fare. Have you hunted them when in Alaska ?

I have not hunted the Sandhills, but have eaten it. Ptarmigan is better
As to the whole grouse thing. They're easy, as long as you're elk hunting, armed with a fast .33 or similarly adequate cannon, no dog and possessing jumpy nerves, they'll be everywhere.


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[Anonymous]

I just returned from ptarmigan hunting on skis... a little slow, but still fun.

My favorite upland game bird is ruffed, followed by sharptails, then ptarmigan.

Any ducks or geese over decoys can be a good day, not the same as upland though.

 

[1100 Remington Man]

Wild Pheasant’s in Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Kansas all are fine with me a good dog and My Father & Son & Brother.
Second Waterfowl South Dakota
Third Quail Bobwhite, Kansas

 

[Bruce Mc]

Any bird when it's hunted behind a good pointer.

 

[35 Whelen]

Say speaking of "good pointers" ........
Did I ever mention :lol:

 

[Guy Miner]

Chukar on the high ridges above the Columbia is my favorite. What a challenge! And, they taste pretty darned good as well.

But I also enjoy a far more relaxed flat-land pheasant hunt with family and friends:

Those two characters above have been hunting pheasant together, mostly in the Sacramento River Delta, for 50 years.

Guy

 

[IdahoCTD]

I really like pheasant hunting but like Guy mentioned chuckar are pretty challenging and can be fun when you get into a bunch of them, especially if you jump them on top and have a ride from the bottom. :mrgreen: I know that almost never happens but I can always hope for it. Grouse seem to be hit any miss for taste and toughness. That isn't the case with chuckar. They are the best eating game birds around here IMO.

The most fun I've had duck hunting was when the Bruneau River flooded going into CJ Strike res. one year. We had a bunch of snow early and it warmed up in the 60's. The river branches into several fingers before it hits the reservoir and the massive amount of water pushed a bunch of silt right to the mouth of the fingers causing it to flood up stream. We were hunting on the reservoir and kept seeing massive amount of ducks diving in up the river. So we packed our stuff up and hiked through the brush and cattails. It was flooded timber just like you hear about in AR/MO. We had ducks hanging from trees and stuck in thorn thickets. Some would even hit the water so hard they would get stuck under brush that was flooded and you couldn't find them. It wasn't the fastest time to fill a limit but it was the most fun.

Quail hunting can be really fun but we don't have a lot of them around here and we hunt ducks more than anything so no one I hunt with has a pointing dog. Sometimes I get into them on the islands in the river where we duck hunt. I chase them around until the numbers peter out but 3" #4 steel is pretty hard on them.

I've seen Ptarmigan in AK numerous times but never shot any. I might have to next time to try them out.

My dad will be 71 this year and has been a chiropractor for about half that time. So his body is wearing out a bit from man handling people over the years. I know he really wants to go to Argentina to hunt doves so I'm going to try and make it happen in the next couple years. We are going to Hawaii to hunt axis deer this spring and he seems pretty excited about that. He had to take hunter ed again because he took it 60 years ago and CA didn't have records of it. Well HI requires a certificate. He did the online course and had his field day earlier this month with a bunch of kids. :lol:

 

[sask boy]

I started shooting waterfowl when I was 10 years old and really have shot so many that I do not really get excited hunting them :shock:.
As far as ruffies go we again shot so many while in Moose camp that we nicked named them Dumb Dumbs and we shot them with sling shots using small ball bearings.
However I do agree that ruffies are the best eating but as far as fun it is hunting wild pheasant over top of a good dog :mrgreen:.
Now this fall my son stated he would like to learn how to hunt waterfowl so I promised that next fall we will be taking our dozen upon dozens of decoys out of storage and will teach patterns that were taught to us when we were very young .
We will likely even try for the goofy white geese :lol:!!

Blessings,
Dan

 

[Europe]

Excellent posts

salmon chaser, I enjoy the challenge of the Sandhill, but also the taste, but your right Ptarmigan on berries is nice table fare

Gil, again--hunting birds with a bow, impressive!

Earle, Biased ? Maybe just a little bit

Mark, Turkey and Capercaillie dont seem like bird hunting to me, but you are correct about Turkey. Love a good Turkey hunt and my favorite is in Old Mexico. Those are beautiful Turkeys

Hodgeman, Hunting Ptarmigan on skis --you have to love this man. You should try the Capercaillie , as they hunt those on skis as well.

1100 remington man--hunting with a good dog and your father, son and brother. that would be a good hunt, no matter what your hunting

Bruce, Any bird with a dog for me--upland or waterfowl

Guy. Only someone who has had hard hunts for bad guys all their life ( a cop ) would enjoy hunting Chukar's LOL

Idaho , you and your Dad would love hunting Doves in Argentina, what an experience. Good luck in Hawaii

Dan, as you noticed one of my favorite places in the world to hunt waterfowl is where you live. Maybe I will have to take my old Connecticut out of retirement and come visit you. Of course I could come anyway and enjoy watching your son down a few. What dog breed do you you use to retrieve them Dan ?

Rodger, got your Pm. What about a vacation/hunting home/ cabin in the west ? That might work

 

[truck driver]

April I have thought about that also.

 

[salmonchaser]

April I have thought about that also.

This mornings action; six hunters, 8 dogs; 2 guides, 64 pheasants.



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