The Most Wonderful Pheasant Time of the Year

The Most Wonderful Pheasant Time of the Year

By Kent Boucher

“It’s the most wonderful pheasant time of the year! There’ll be hunting parties for pushing and posting, the dogs won’t be roasting, and the birds will hold tight in the snow. There’ll be sharing of late flushing stories, and tales of the glories of December pheasant seasons of long, long ago”. Okay, okay, I’ll ease up and leave the music to Andy Williams, Eddie Pola, and George Wyle. Besides, their idea of the most wonderful time of the year is probably different from that of us cackle chasers. All goofing aside, there are several factors that make late season pheasant hunting the best time to follow your bird dogs.

During the earliest days of pheasant season the birds have had nearly a year to forget about the previous year’s army of home invaders that come trampling through their grassy domains. As a result of this forgetfulness, we hunters can more easily capitalize on less jumpy birds during the early season. But after a week or two of hunting pressure, the birds are well aware of hunter presence and will flush at the edge of our shotgun’s range creating very challenging hunting circumstances, and if the weather maintained these November conditions, the birds would be downright impossible to hunt by December. Old Man Winter is a friend of the upland bird hunter though, and the cold and snowy conditions of December provide a reset of sorts as birds fear the blustery conditions more than the intrusive nose of a pointer which creates much tighter flushing conditions and another chance at very killable birds. These tighter flushes allow for easier shots, shorter retrieves, and less shells spent per bagged bird.

Man’s best friend didn’t get her title by coincidence. The innate mutualistic bond that forms between canines and their owners is unrivaled by any other relationship between humans and other species from Kingdom Animalia. I firmly believe that there is no stronger example of this bond than between hunters and hunting dogs. I think this stems from working in challenging circumstances to accomplish a shared goal, and many times these challenging circumstances include some level of physical danger for the hunter and the dog. Here in Iowa, dog handlers don’t really need to stress over the hazards of venomous snakes, steep cliffs, large predators, or even porcupines, but we must be concerned with the threat of heat exhaustion and dehydration. Pheasant hunters can really rack up the miles in a day of hunting, but for a dog those miles can be easily doubled as they zig and zag through the bird habitat, and repeatedly recall and cast, to and from their handler. It’s not unheard of to have temperatures in the low 70s during the early season in Iowa, and this warm weather paired with the constant trotting will quickly wear down a bird dog and end the hunt earlier than desired. During the late season though, the opposite is true. The cold temps allow the dog to remain at a healthy body temperature, and work for a longer hunt. Of course, winter brings its own risks, but in the field warming up is less challenging than keeping cool.

Opening day of Iowa’s pheasant season is one of the most exciting days within the fall hunting seasons. A drive along Iowa’s highways will reveal numerous fields hosting blaze orange dots in the distance slowly moving along creek banks, and the few remaining fencerows and hedgerows. Seemingly every pheasant hunting Iowan will be out with their dogs kicking off the yearly tradition. As fun as this day is, the hunting can be very challenging if you are limited to ground that borders standing corn. In contrast, the late season funnels birds into a few primary locations based on the winter weather conditions, and the fact that the corn and beans have been harvested leaving a very limited amount of cover for the birds to find refuge from winter’s worst. Wherever you find this limited habitat you will find the roosters. I generally prioritize the following types of habitat in this order: tall grass, cedar or pine stands, and cattails. If any of these forms of habitat are in close proximity to reliable food sources their priority increases. The same can be said for habitat that has a significant amount of southern exposure. Be ready when your bird dog goes on point, there’s a high likelihood that there will be multiple roosters who have taken up residence within these limited pieces of habitat.

Cold weather is one of my favorite limiting factors for the late hunting seasons. Most folks are fair-weather fans, and this includes the bulk of hunters as well. The hunting crowd that’s pounding the public hunting areas during the first few weeks of the season will have dwindled to just the most dedicated hunters by the time the temperature has fallen below freezing. If you are willing to endure the frigid weather, you will be rewarded with more hunting ground to cover than any other point during the season. The trouble might just be finding a hunting buddy who’s willing to shrug off the cold with you.

Of course, Andy, Eddie, and George were onto something when they described Christmas as the most wonderful time of the year, and the best item on their musical list is spending time with loved ones. As a pheasant hunter who celebrates Christmas, I am quick to invite visiting friends and family to join me on a pheasant hunt. This is a great opportunity to introduce new hunters to the discipline. If you plan to work some hunting into your holiday plans, I suggest laying off the birds for a week before your new hunting partners arrive. Once you hit the field be sure to not set the hook too deeply for your new hunters, and limit your walk to just a few areas that offer the best chances of seeing birds. A brief sample of flushing roosters will get them interested in a bigger hunt in the future.

I look forward to opening day of pheasant season as much as the next bird hunter. But unlike a lot of other hunting seasons, pheasant season gets better as the season winds down. When that temperature plunges, load up the dogs, grab a thermos of hot coffee, and greet the most wonderful pheasant time of the year with an optimistic smile.