A Snowy Pheasant Hunt

Beauty in the Contrast: A Snowy Pheasant Hunt

Chasing pheasants in snow is pretty sweet! The scenery’s beauty increases. The iridescent colors of the rooster exploding from the white-dressed cover are breathtaking. The coffee waiting in the truck somehow tastes better, and the post-hunt celebrations and traditions seem to linger and stick a little longer.

Taking Advantage of the Snow

Later in the afternoon of November 28, 2025, Dale, a friend of mine, called me and said, “Snow is coming tomorrow. Do you want to go chase pheasants?” I needed to burn off some post-Thanksgiving calories, plus I love watching my dogs work birds. However, I don’t recall either of those realities forming my response. I’m pretty sure I said, “Did you really think you needed to ask?”

When I woke up the next morning, it was already snowing. It wasn’t Hallmark movie snow either. It was the kind of snow that made my wife say, “You’re nuts.” Fortunately, the forecasted wind wasn’t starting until midday. As I headed out the door, I said something to the effect, “Call me crazy, but I already know this is gonna be fun!”

The Morning

The plan was for everyone to meet up at Dale’s acreage, and then we’d head to the field. I was the first one to arrive. To be honest, I was kind of acting like a child on Christmas morning. Shortly after I arrived, Curt and his yellow lab pulled in. With the fresh commotion outside, Dale came out to start his truck and let us know that his son, Dominick, was the only other person joining us. Everyone else either got sick, had to change their travel plans due to the storm, or somehow got stuck in the comfort of their heated house.

The small hunting party didn’t bother me, but I knew we’d have our work cut out for us. The CRP we were hunting is roughly 80 acres. Not only is it a large chunk of grass, but it’s thick and hilly.  Our game plan was for the four of us and our five dogs, three mature Labradors and one nine-month-old Small Munsterlander, to walk out the food plot first and then make one big winding pass around the field with my buddy’s son posting out ahead of us to clean up our misses and contain any jumpy birds.

Starting the Hunt

To our surprise, there were just a few hens and only one rooster in the food plot. Dominick dropped the rooster, but after a long search, the dogs came up empty-handed. With no bird to return to hand, they all had a chip on their shoulders. They didn’t let another dropped bird get away that day.

The snow kept falling the entire hunt. As a matter of fact, it didn’t shut off until later that afternoon. We ended up receiving 9-12 inches of snowfall across our county.

Working the Field

As we followed the dogs methodically and stealthily working the grass, I kept thinking, “carrying a camera in this situation might be just as fun as carrying my Browning Silver”. Sure, it wouldn’t fill the hunting vest with birds, but it would’ve captured the pictures that I fought to etch into my mind.

As the cackling roosters burst from the bright white, snow-covered grass, their plumage shined and somehow managed to add beauty to an already beautiful picture. They were the icing on the cake.  Mother Nature on a snowy day is like a bride on her wedding day. The dress doesn’t make the bride pretty, but it draws your attention to her beauty.

Starting Slow

With a lot of ground to cover and just a few people to cover it, we spread out and worked the cover slowly. We wanted to give the dogs space and time to work. Not long after we left the food plot, the dogs were already on and working birds. My Small Munsterlander locked up; I made my approach to flush, “HEN!” I didn’t care that it wasn’t a rooster; I was stoked that she locked up and let me flush the bird. We’d have more chances to get her on a rooster yet that day. The veteran labs worked the field like it was second nature to them. They worked running birds into the air. They spun on dimes when the breeze shifted, or they caught scent as they passed by it. They were focused and alert. Not much was going to get by them, and it didn’t. Harper, my Small Munsterlander, was in good company.

Going for More

With a couple of birds in our bag, we were making our way back to the farthest corner from the field entrance. The dogs were already putting on a show. They still had the chip on their shoulders from losing the first bird. Determined not to let it happen again, it seemed as though they were ever more focused on getting birds in the air so that if we did our part and knocked them down, they could finish the task and bring them to hand. As we peaked the top of the first hill on our way to the back corner of the field, it was almost as though everything went into slow motion. All five dogs were working birds. Big, beautiful snowflakes were falling. Roosters were cackling. Pheasants were erupting and taking flight.

One at a time, our orange vests stopped and aimed their shotguns, each firing a round or two at their desired targets. Four roosters dropped. The dogs marked and recovered three simply. The fourth bird was being tricky. We had an idea where he dropped, and so did the dogs, but they were coming up short trying to pin down his exact location. Curt’s lab had already retrieved a bird, and she was back on the trail of the tricky rooster.

On the Roosters

My lab, Kona, was coming back to me with a rooster when suddenly she and Curt’s dog went full on warrior mode. I knew they’d located the tricky rooster, and I wasn’t getting the bird in Kona’s mouth until the mission was complete. Kona swung around, locked up, rooster in her mouth, and Curt’s lab dove in for the retrieve. They weren’t going to let another bird get away, period.

Dale, Curt and I finished the hunt with just one bird shy of our limit. We didn’t let many, if any, birds get away from us that were within shooting distance, and the birds weren’t nearly as jumpy due to the weather, so unfortunately, Dominick ended up going home empty-handed. We all went home thankful we were able to enjoy the hunt.

Introducing Pups to the Field

As I mentioned, I took a nine-month-old pup on this hunt with me. The cover was thick. Snow was falling, and there were multiple hunters. Truth be told, I wouldn’t have taken her on this trip if she hadn’t already had multiple outings earlier in the season. Even though I knew the conditions were going to challenge her, I knew she was up for the challenge. I also had realistic expectations for her. Birds make bird dogs. Birds are found in the field. Wild birds provide the best opportunity for pups and handlers to learn. Not only was I confident Harper was up for the challenge of the hunt, but I knew she was going to be in the presence of mature hunting dogs that weren’t going to let her act like a puppy. Plus, I believed she’d pick up lessons from them throughout the hunt. I was also confident that they’d fill any gaps that she had in her limited hunting experience.

Autumn Snow

Before this snowy day hunt in November, Harper already confidently worked cover, she wasn’t triggered by gunfire, she had a clean retrieve, she wasn’t distracted by other dogs, and she already had some wild bird hunting miles under her belt. Nonetheless, I always try to look at hunting scenarios with young dogs as training scenarios. When I know they aren’t in pursuit, I’ll occasionally work on recall. Even if they were the one to retrieve the downed bird, I’ll toss it back into the field for them to retrieve it. If necessary, I’ll work on helping them quarter into cover that I don’t want to walk through and/or the other dogs didn’t hit.

No matter the dog’s age, I strive to always trust the dog until it’s evident that we’ve exhausted our efforts and we aren’t going to recover the bird. If your dog goes in a direction that you least expect, especially if you’ve already worked the area, trust them. They have a reason. I’d rather follow them and end up empty-handed than not follow them and regret it.