This is a recap of week 2 of the 2024 pheasant season. Weather continues to limit when we can go out. It has been challenging to find days when it is cool enough for the dogs.

This week we were able to get out twice. The first day was to public ground and we lucked out with cloudy skies and a moderate wind to start. By mid morning, it was sunny and getting too warm. The second day was to private land. As before, it was cool enough at opening but quickly warmed up.

On day 1, we were able to harvest a bird and break the skunk.

October 23 - Day 1

This was our first trip to public ground. Where we planned to hunt had hunters so we switched to another WPA nearby. While we were getting ready we heard a rooster cackling north of us.

We intended to head north but Stella got birdy right out of the parking lot and lead us west. She lost the track so we went back to the original plan. Sure enough, she very quickly got birdy. She tracked the bird a couple hundred yards with us following her. The video captured her tracking and it is obvious by her actions that the bird was close. Eventually, she pointed and I flushed the bird. Kevin and I both shot at almost the same time. Stella did the retrieve and we had a bird in the bag.

We continued hunting and while Stella did get birdy several times, we did not see any other birds. As it started to get warm we headed back to the truck and swapped dogs.

Willow covered a lot of ground, despite the heat. She did find several hens.

October 26 - Day 2

Our second hunt of the week was on private ground. For the first time this season we had dew on the grass. It was very still. Stella got interested a couple times but never really birdy.

As it started to warm up we swapped dogs. Willow did actually find a couple hens and one, what we suspect was a young rooster. All, quite a distance away from us. By this time is was getting too warm so we hung it up for the day.

Video

The video contains a single clip of Stella tracking a bird to point and flush.

Summary

This was the recap of week 2. We harvested a bird, finally.

2024 Week 2 Stats
2024 Week 2 Stats

2 Comments

  1. I find the hunter miles hard to believe. Saturday was almost as much as Wednesday despite having 1 less hunter. It seemed to me that we walked further Wednesday. Certainly, it was more exhausting. Maybe more 2-track walking at Jerry’s.

    1. I was surprised as well but the numbers are accurate. On Wednesday, we walked 2.9 miles each. The cover was heavier and the walking harder. Saturday, we walked 4 miles each and yes, we walked a lot more 2 track.

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