Illinois Pheasant, Quail, Chukar Hunting

Whether you are hunting wild pheasant or at a pheasant and upland game preserve hunt, you are sure to enjoy an exciting time if you find the birds.  When the pressure is on in November, those Pheasant Roosters sure get smart.  Below are some things you can do to make your next Pheasant hunt a successful adventure!

Pheasant Hunting Gear:  Make sure you are properly outfitted for pheasant hunting.  You will need the proper camo for the area you are hunting, a blaze-orange hunting jacket with a game pouch, brush pants and a blaze-orange cap so your hunting companions can see you in tall cover.  You will also appreciate a pair of comfortable boots with good ankle support and moisture control hunting socks.  Also, keep in practice during the off season by shooting sporting clays.  It's the best way to be in good shooting shape come pheasant hunting season.

Well Trained Dog:  Your pro Illinois Pheasant Hunting Guide/Outfitter will usually have well trained dogs for you to use on your Pheasant hunting trip, but if you are hunting your own dog,  there are a few important details.  Obedience is the most important thing when training your pheasant hunting dog.  You need to be able to call your dog off the pheasant instantly.  The dog must be under your control at all times.  An over excited or disobedient bird dog can ruin your hunt.  It is also important to introduce the dog to a pheasant wing or dead pheasant at a young age.  Start young and maintain obedience.  There are may good books and videos available to help you through all the stages of training.  The bottom line is, without a well-trained dog, you might as well stay home.   

Push the Pheasant Into The Wind:  This will give your dog the edge on the bird's scent.  If you have done your part in training your pheasant hunting dog, this will make his job much easier. 

Patience on the Shot:  When a big rooster shoots from cover with a loud cackle, even an experienced wing-shooter can loose their composure!  If you rush the shot, your pheasant will probably fly away unscathed, but if you manage to hit the bird at close range, all you'll have is a pile of pretty feathers.  Safety is a concern as well.  Those pheasant burst forth and may fly right at your hunting buddy, so take a quick breath before you take the shot. 

Dog (and people) Hydration:  Keep your dog well hydrated so his mind will stay on the hunt.  Also, it may not be safe for your dog to drink from ponds and streams.  Sadly, dogs have died because of dangerous algae growing in the waters that occurs during certain weather conditions.  It is a smart precaution to take your dog's water bowl and bottled water with you for yourself and your dog. 

Pheasant "Blockers":  Pheasants are known for their running ability. They'll run away from hunters. Blockers are hunters stationed at the end of the field who get shots as birds break from cover. The presence of blockers forces birds to hold tighter, giving both walkers and blockers more shooting action.

Quiet, Please:  Not just in deer hunting is being quiet important!  From the moment you arrive on the field, be mindful of noise.  Don't slam the truck door, keep the dogs quiet, voices low.  Those wise old roosters have dodged a few bullets, and they know what preceded the shots!   High wind days are good days to hunt pheasant because the noise of the wind camouflages your movement. 

Know Your Pheasant's Routine:  Your pro pheasant hunting guide/outfitter will have intimate knowledge of pheasant location, bedding areas, feeding areas and scheduled movements, but if you are hunting on your own, you'll need to take the time to learn your quarry's routine. 

Under-Hunted Areas:  Sometimes, the best places to hunt for pheasant (when they are not where you think they should be) are not too obvious.  When the pressure is on, pheasant find places to hide.  Think about what every other hunter out there is doing and try something different. For instance if you have access to a boat, or your area ices up, try and hunt islands near the lake.  You may have watched pheasant sail to to these spots year after year when they get pushed from the heavy shoreline cover. Or if there is a specific area that never gets hit because it is just too thick, well, guess where the birds are. Even if it is too thick to shoot out of, post a couple guys at the end and draw straws to be the grunt for your buddies. The idea is do what nobody else is doing, not what everybody else is doing!

A Basic Guide to Pheasant Identification:  

A hunter needs to know the difference between a hen and rooster pheasant before he or she pulls the trigger. Most of the time, the identity of the bird flushing at your feet is obvious.

There are situations, though, where it is good to hesitate or hold back. Birds flushing into a rising or setting sun are often a tough call. It's not always possible to hunt pheasants with the sun at your back, but it's a good idea.

When your eyes can't make a positive ID on a pheasant, your ears might be able to lend some help. Rooster pheasants often crow or cackle when they launch. Hens are silent except for the rush of their beating wings.

 

These two roosters were both taken on October 10 - opening day of pheasant season last fall - within a mile of each other. Both are young-of-the-year birds. The bottom is obviously a juvenile. The top bird id fully colored. To tell whether the top bird is an adult or juvenile, you need to check the length and appearance of the spurs.

The latter bird flushed close to the hunter, showing enough color to indicate rooster, but the hunter wasn't positive enough to shoot until the bird made a feeble cackle on its way up.

Identifying the half-colored bird as a juvenile was easy. Adult roosters molt in summer, but they are fully colored again by early fall. The key to determining age between fully-colored juvenile roosters, and adults, is the spur located on each of the pheasant's legs, between the foot and knee.

All rooster pheasants have spurs, while hens don't. That's why a foot left on a dressed pheasant is adequate for determining sex.

Spur length can vary from just a small nub on a very young bird, to more than 3/4 of an inch (including leg bone) on adult birds. The general rule for determining a rooster's age is that if the spur is less than a 3/4-inch in length, including the leg bone, the bird is a young-of-the-year. If the spur is more than 3/4-inch long, including the leg bone, the bird is an adult.

If there is any doubt as to age based on spur length, Game and Fish Department pheasant biologist Lowell Tripp, Oakes, says spur appearance is the deciding factor. If the spur is dull-colored, and the point is blunt and soft, the bird is a juvenile. If the spur is black, shiny and sharply pointed, the bird is an adult.

In a normal fall, even without looking at the spur, a hunter has an 80 percent chance of guessing whether a rooster in the bag is a young-of-the-year or an adult. That's because, according to Tripp, in an average year about 80 percent of the pheasant bag is juvenile birds. Early in the season the ratio of juvenile to adult birds is even higher, up to 90 percent, Tripp said. Later in the season the harvest might include only 70 percent juveniles.

Biologists do not use pheasant wings to determine whether a bird is a juvenile or adult. Both juvenile and adult pheasants molt all their primary wing feathers each year, Tripp said, so the appearance or growth stages of the primaries can not be used to separate young and adult birds. However, pheasant hunters do send in wings along with legs. Tripp measures the growth of the primaries to determine the age (in weeks) of juvenile birds.