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Early Season Pheasant Hunting

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Early in the pheasant hunting season there are a lot of factors to take into consideration when it comes to preparing for the hunt. First and foremost, off season conditioning for not only you but for your pheasant hunting dog. You must ensure for both of your sakes that you have stuck to a regimen of fitness during the off season. Practicing fetch and retrieve is fun for your dog, but a long walk and/or run everyday is crucial. A good season of pheasant hunting is just as grueling on the average Joe as it would be on a world class athlete. Most of us will walk anywhere from 3-5 miles a day in the field to find our quarry, and that is just in a straight line. Imagine how much ground your pheasant hunting dog covers!

Next, consider the weather. In most places in the Midwest, it could be 20 degrees and snowing, or like the South Dakota opener in 2003 where over 100 dogs died from heat stroke as the mercury soared into the mid to high 80's that weekend. Be prepared - both you and your dog. Bring layered clothing options and plenty of fresh water! Plan ahead by monitoring the weather either on the Weather Channel, via the internet, or calling ahead for updates.

Early season hunting also means more crops are probably still in, which may alter your normal hunting plans a bit. More walkers and blockers may be needed for larger cornfields, and pointers will be useless in the standing crops.

Finally, take into consideration the amount of hunting pressure any public land you may be planning to hunt on may have been exposed too. This could reduce the amount of birds seen and chances for taking home some pheasant for the freezer.