Hunting Washington Forum
Other Hunting => Upland Birds => Topic started by: BIGINNER on September 02, 2009, 01:16:24 PM
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is it possible to hunt upland birds without a dog? i currently live in an appartment where they do not allow dogs, so i don't have a dog, and i also want to do some upland bird hunting, (never hunted before) if possible, would it make things too difficult? (and i have no hunting buddies either, so can't borrow a dog)
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It would be tough without a dog, but you could get out there and do a bunch of walking and end up bumping into some birds. Not as much fun w/ out a dog, but not impossible to do either.
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I do most of my bird hunting without a dog and am still very sucessfull It is very doable try to stick to smaller patches of cover
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Walk, walk, walk, walk and then more walking and eventually.....birds will jump.
I hunt Chukar without a dog and I get birds.
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In my experience, without snow you can do well on chukars, pretty fair on quail. You can cruise farm country for huns and then hunt them up (FFTH or with permission) after you spot them - they'll flush. Wouldn't waste my time trying to hunt wild pheasants w/o dogs. Forest grouse are a hoot, no dog needed. If you can hunt quail, chukars and huns after a fresh snow, that is about as good as it gets w/o a dog - walk until you cut tracks, then walk them down.
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thanks guys that was alot of help ;)
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I'd have to agree with cackle. Stick to smaller patches of cover and keep your eyes open while your driving around. Sometimes you can spot them while driving by and have enough time to park your rig and get after them before they jam. Pheasants have been pretty wild for the past couple of years, not to mention few and far between, (at least on the Rez) but you should have some success with quail. Good luck man!
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Learn how to run..and flush..used to do it in college no way in hell could I do it now..It tough but can be done..you get scared more often from the flush though..you may need some extra shorts too. LOL
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Actually what you need to do is find a friend that has a dog ;) then you will be all set.
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anyone want to be my freind? :'(
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You might add your location to your profile so that people can see where you're from. You just might get some offers to tag along with someone who has a dog.
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Pasco huh. Might be over there sometime this year. Think you should be able to walk up some birds in that area. You could also head over the Vernita bridge area and try sidehilling for chukar.
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ya, i'll try, see how it goes, the fact that i never hunted anything at all in my life doesn't help much, i'm taking the safety course this saturday, so hopefully sometime next week i can try something out.
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Pasco huh. Might be over there sometime this year. Think you should be able to walk up some birds in that area. You could also head over the Vernita bridge area and try sidehilling for chukar.
vernita bridge has a public hunting area? north or south of the highway? what about the wahluke unit? any good places there?
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If you've never hunted anything, you might want to try some grouse hunting. It just opened yesterday. From Pasco you would have to drive quite a ways to get to good grouse areas but they're easier to hunt than other birds, especially without a dog. You could go west into Klickitat County or up into the Yakima area, or east into the Blue Mountains.
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thanks for the help man. ;)
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I have been bird hunting for about 3 years without a dog, I have to say that I see birds most days, but shot opportunities are here and there. Like the above have mentioned, get out and pound the fields, focusing on smaller fields and patches of cover that will isolate birds. Invest is a good pair of brush pants as well, you'll thank me later. For me, just getting out and hiking with a gun is the fun for me, if I happen to get into birds and shoot a couple, that is just icing on the cake...I am not ready to commit to owning a dog, especially a hunting dog :)
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You've gotten some good responses, it can certainly be done without a dog but once you hunt behind one you'll be sold. Being a new hunter you'll have fun just gettting out and getting some experiences with different areas/birds/partners. If you feel like driving a ways I would be willing to take ya up for some chukars later in the year but you have to be able to hike alot and willing to listen to my lecture about the rules of hunting behind my pup ;)
Send me a PM in a month or so.
Jake
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LECTURES DON'T BOTHER ME, AND LATER IN THE YEAR WOULD BE FINE FOR A LITTLE DRIVE TO GO HUNTING, (EXPECTING A KID ANY DAY HERE)
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Congrats on the kid. Chukars are a blast to hunt, tough terrain but alot of fun. Good Luck.
Jake
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we havent hunted with a dog in years, never seem to lose birds either just have to mark them well where they land. The trick is to not shoot again until you pick up a fallen bird. Two birds down in the sage brush make for a very tough scavenger hunt
