AAA Pheasant Heaven - Presho SD Warning

[KurtR]

Most guys don't register as a preserve.

They sell you a hunt and tell you they are wild birds. VERY few operations are NOT supplementing their wild birds with $20 birds.

The operator goes to the preserve and buys $20 birds to release in his tree line right by his house. Where he knows the local kids are less likely to ditch hunt his investment.

Ya that’s not how they do it. Hawks and coyotes and farm cats would have them cleaned out in short order.

They are planted the morning in the food plots that are going to be hunted.

 

[spur60]

Ya that’s not how they do it. Hawks and coyotes and farm cats would have them cleaned out in short order.

They are planted the morning in the food plots that are going to be hunted.

Depends on how the birds are raised these days. There are plenty of bird growers that have large enough runs allowing for a heartier wilder bird. Very few guys would be able to tell the difference between the pen birds my buddy buys and the wild birds on his land. They flush well, are strong fliers, and go wild quickly. The average landowner buying birds for smaller groups generally doesn't plant them the morning a group is headed out. At least none of the landowners I know do it that way. Morning planting of birds is often more for the preserves and large corporate hunts/commercial operations. Back when I guided we did a mix of spring hen release, early october rooster release, and day of bird planting.

 

[jmez]

I'm friends with a guy that runs a commercial operation. He releases as needed. Usually every 10-14 days.

Sent from my moto g power 5G - 2023 using Tapatalk

 

[KurtR]

Depends on how the birds are raised these days. There are plenty of bird growers that have large enough runs allowing for a heartier wilder bird. Very few guys would be able to tell the difference between the pen birds my buddy buys and the wild birds on his land. They flush well, are strong fliers, and go wild quickly. The average landowner buying birds for smaller groups generally doesn't plant them the morning a group is headed out. At least none of the landowners I know do it that way. Morning planting of birds is often more for the preserves and large corporate hunts/commercial operations. Back when I guided we did a mix of spring hen release, early october rooster release, and day of bird planting.

When i was guiding we would go out and throw three or four per food plot. Shake the shit out of them and fire them in the weeds driving by. No one could ever tell the difference we were shooting 75% wild birds all year. At the end of the year if you knew what your looking at you could tell the dumb ones. Walk real slow at them and you could catch them when out in a open bean field. Wont have to worry about letting any go next year if we get through the rest of winter how it has been. There are a pile of chickens all over around here

 

[ladogg411]

Look for the holes in their beaks to identify a pen raised bird. From the blinder.

They get a little wilder with time, but it's usually pretty easy to understand why the birds don't flush until late when you see most of your harvest has a hole in beak.

It's fun to watch all the guys so proud of their marksmanship and their dogs - when they shot their limit in 2 hours. The operator buys adult roosters for $20/bird. He will gladly invest $60 (3 birds) of your $300+ payment in to rooster purchases. Gets you out of his hair in 2 hours so he can do chores. Most will make the group chase true wild birds some of the hunt. The group never puts it together that they found one area that was truly amazing. They think they just got lucky.

 

[KurtR]

Look for the holes in their beaks to identify a pen raised bird. From the blinder.

They get a little wilder with time, but it's usually pretty easy to understand why the birds don't flush until late when you see most of your harvest has a hole in beak.

It's fun to watch all the guys so proud of their marksmanship and their dogs - when they shot their limit in 2 hours. The operator buys adult roosters for $20/bird. He will gladly invest $60 (3 birds) of your $300+ payment in to rooster purchases. Gets you out of his hair in 2 hours so he can do chores. Most will make the group chase true wild birds some of the hunt. The group never puts it together that they found one area that was truly amazing. They think they just got lucky.

The two suppliers I know used around here dont put blinders on. Guys are having a good time and the dogs get to work so good for them. Wild bird pen raised bird the only people that care are the "purist" almost as bad as fly fisherman. I wish it was that easy spent many days from 10 to sun down watching people miss.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

I finished both of my bird dogs over pen raised birds. The local preserve sticks them into a 6" PVC tube with a handle that turns on one end. They cap the tube and then spin them for like 30 seconds each before tossing them into food plots or grass, etc.... They turn hunters loose 15-30 minutes later to give the birds a chance to recover and get their bearings back. In my experience these birds flush and fly dang near the same as wild birds, and I can't complain about their performance.

 

[spur60]

Look for the holes in their beaks to identify a pen raised bird. From the blinder.

Most operators will pay more for birds that never had blinders installed. Toe clipping or even cutting of specific primary feathers is used to identify the released birds in many cases. Blinder birds are for grinder hunts. 25 wide marching down the milo on the licensed preserve acres. Blast a ton of dumb birds ASAP so the clients can open their $100 bottles of bourbon, hit on the hostesses, and sit around smoking cigars talking about their hedge funds.