In general order of events...

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Been a really good season alright. Too hard loading photos here - some links to my diary

http://snuffitramblings.blogspot.com/2018/06/flipping-pheasants.html
http://snuffitramblings.blogspot.com/2018/06/a-quiet-walk.html
http://snuffitramblings.blogspot.com/2018/07/retracing.html
http://snuffitramblings.blogspot.com/2018/07/mist-not-rain.html

Pheasants love sunshine. With the recent freezing cold mornings it pays to find north facing sunny areas where they hang out, esp if there's food nearby. Trouble with frosty mornings is they generally mean still clear days so the b*ggers can hear you coming easily. So if you can choose a day, a nice gentle breeze is helpful to carry scent and cover up sound. I *try* to stay quiet as I can but my dog is trained by me  so sometimes needs a few encouraging words to do what I want her to. I've had some success on rainy days by hunting near ground cover. Apparently they don't like water dripping on them, no one does really. Hope that's helpful.

BTMO wrote on Jul 28^th, 2018 at 8:32am:



keep trying  i have seen guys walk like steam trains at full steam and i mean that its quite amassing to watch some people field chasing pheasant , i think its mostly they are trying to keep up with there half trained dog  keep your dog in close even if you have to put a long  15 to 25 meter rope on them  seen to meany people with dogs running out wide  to ever be bothered being on the ball  when thats happening


me im i wander  along working  the ground  if i come across a bit of good looking cover i will quickly get into the best possible  shooting spot usually holding the gun up ,

get into and work  some of the thicker cover and push in can work this late in the season  but not going flat out fast and pushing birds hard  look , think , work the corners,  stopping and just standing for a moment can upset birds and make them jump  when working some areas work to the limits of the area  like go as far as you can


also can if u see a bird on the ground walking of in the distance  stop and let him settle in some cover then do some  quite slow stalking if hes not pushed he may sit  but the opposite is true to moving quickly up on him may produce the goods ,  im old so the slow approach is my option    47 years i have been looking at roosters  i even got a few  love roosters


work the ground with positive moves  its all foot work with jumping roosters   but not overly fast stop ever now and then try not to make to much noise keep your dog close  wide ranging dogs usually push birds up well out of range  be ready for the flush  if  using a double for your shooting  its ok to keep the gun open  with rooster a double really does come into there own  what ever u do, play safe and  be ready

I had a rural property a bit north of Katikati for 17 years - never lived there - sold it in January - I created a safe haven for birdlife, the Pheasant and Quail prospered. I only hunted with a camera and have countless shots of Pheasants - I knew where to find them and what time of the day to expect them to leave their cover - the roosters would call all day from up in the bush but this time of the year they would come out about 3.30 to 4.00 - generally a few hens first and then the roosters. The most prolific place to see them was in patches of willow weed - they would scratch around for months on end. They also came out on the house site - every day. So go find yourself some willow weed - that’s where they will be.

Snuffit wrote on Jul 18^th, 2018 at 7:26pm:



Nice posts mate. great season for you.

Best recipe?