Hunting Washington Forum

Other Hunting => Upland Birds => Topic started by: troyspinetar on November 20, 2012, 05:42:13 PM

Title: Bird hunting without a dog
Post by: troyspinetar on November 20, 2012, 05:42:13 PM: Heading over Thanksgiving weekend for a solo bird hunt near Columbia basin. Thought about chasing chukar/Huns, maybe hitting a pheasant release site. Not really sure. My first time without dog assistance. Any tips or tricks to hunt with my own nose?
Title: Re: Bird hunting without a dog
Post by: KFhunter on November 20, 2012, 05:49:37 PM: toss big rocks into bushes - a lot :chuckle:
Title: Re: Bird hunting without a dog
Post by: Dhoey07 on November 20, 2012, 07:44:31 PM: Real ease sites aren't a bad bet. I'm pretty sure they release a handful of birds for the holiday
Title: Re: Bird hunting without a dog
Post by: BiggLuke on November 21, 2012, 09:06:08 AM: I've done this a few times.
It sucks without a dog, to be frank.... lol.

However, let me give you some tips.

#1: Remember, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
If you shoot a bird, concentrate on finding that 1 bird. Let the others go. Like if you flush a bunch of quail and hit 1, don't chase the rest till you pick up the first. Remember the hard part about not having a dog, is finding the dead or injured birds. Dead quail look just like sage brush and dirt and grass. Remember where they fell, and mark that spot.

#2: Go slow. Sneek up on birds, and use your ears to locate 'em. Like if you're walking aroung the field, listen for them running through the grass and sage. Then sneek up to 'em. You don't want 'em to flush out of range.

#3: Once you busted 'em or flushed some (huns are tough to get close to without a dog) chase after them like if you were deer hunting. Run if you have to.... lol. You never know when you'll see the next flock.

And don't be afraid to get dirty. Go into the thickest stuff you can find. Just think where you'd be if you were a bird. With a dog, they can sniff 'em out, you can't do that, so use your eyes and ears.
Good luck this weekend. You'll need it.
Title: Re: Bird hunting without a dog
Post by: troyspinetar on November 21, 2012, 04:14:40 PM: Thanks Biggluke for the tips. Hopefully I will find some, but I will definitely have fun regardless.
Title: Re: Bird hunting without a dog
Post by: BiggLuke on November 26, 2012, 08:04:33 AM: Hope you did better than I did this last weekend
Title: Re: Bird hunting without a dog
Post by: troyspinetar on November 26, 2012, 09:01:34 AM: I saw quite a few Huns. They flushed way out of range and were toying with me :dunno:
I ran through a pheasant release site and jumped one unexpectedly, and missed badly.
I did find my first antler shed while trolling around the chukar/Hun spot. I had fun even though I came home bird less.