Pheasant opener CO

[isonychia]

It is coming! I know there are a lot of reasons why the opener can be less than wonderful, but it will be my first pheasant hunt and am very excited! Just hoping not to run into too many beef heads out there. Going solo with my dog to the burlington roundup! Anyone else getting pumped for pheasant here in CO?

[Birddawg]

Going just a bit further than you into KS. Goodland walk in areas. Be there tomorrow about 8am from Colorado Springs.
Have fun

[isonychia]

how did you do?

[Deets]

Let me know how the Rooster Round-Up land looks this year. I did it for the last three years, but was a bit disapointed last year, so I am hunting the Kansas walk in access around Goodland this year. While you are out there you should check out the Colorado WIA on road G & 60. It is a large CRP field with a dry creek running throught it. It has been a great spot the last few years. They hayed half of it this summer, but the west half should still be pretty good.

[Birddawg]

Saw about 40 pheasant, around 10 of them roosters. Only shot one. They acted like they had been hunted for weeks already. Couldnt get close to them. The one I did get to shoot at was the only one that held. I saw my dog point him about 40 yds from me and got up to him as fast as i could. Will be going again over Thanksgiving.

[isonychia]

I didnt see a SINGLE pheasant (hen or cock) the first day at the rooster roundup on some CRP land. Saw about 10 - 15 total (even ones WAY out) the second day, killed 2 and missed/crippled 1. The rooster roundup land is total bull &*$%! ...95% of it is only huntable with an army. I ended up killing my roosters on tiny patches of cover on the Rooster Roundup land, but saw more roosters on WIA and liked the WIA much more. Next year I'm going to spend a week in YUMA county and just use WIA if the numbers are good. Unfortunately I only have 1 dog so that means I need to find someone to go with that has a dog and swap em' out or take a day off and invest in some boots for my dog. Grouse hunting is much easier on his feet than those fields, crp or otherwise.

[Deets]

That is why I quit the Rooster Round Up, to many cut corn fields and not enough CRP, not to mention they increased the cost this year. I am very impressed with the WIHA in Kansas. Only about 20min east of Burlington, but there seems to be alot more birds, and it is all CRP. We only got one rooster, but my dog did get a few good solid points on hens, which is all I can ask for since it was his first hunt.

[Birddawg]

I think you guys should drive just a bit further and at least give Kansas a try. Im excited about going again over Thanksgiving. We will go to different areas so hopefully we will see more birds. We will try South Central, and North Central Kansas.

[Deets]

Birddawg,
I was rather impressed with the WIHA around Goodland. If you head further into Kansas, let me know how it is. My gut feeling is that the hunting will get better the closer you get to I-35.

[Birddawg]

I will do that. We will be staying at my brothers who lives just a few miles off of I35.

[Birddawg]

Well we went North of Wilson Lake. Conditions were horrible,,,,wind was howling all day, my guess is that it was in the 40 mph range for most of the day. We shot 2 roosters and 2 quail. I wont go back again this year. I will hope for a better year as far as moisture goes in Kansas. The birds were just too few and far between.