Sharpies and Huns?

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apsjodin
Rank: Just A Pup
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Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2018 2:18 pm
Location: Isanti, MN

Sharpies and Huns?

Post by apsjodin » Wed Jun 20, 2018 4:49 pm

Hello All,

I'm new to the forum but an eager to glean what I can from this collective body of knowledge.

I've been hunting birds from an early age with my dad. I grew up with labs and lab mixes. When it finally came time to get my own dog I decided I wanted a pointing dog. I got a Weimaraner when I was a teenager and trained him myself. I was quite proud of him. He was the best duck dog I've ever hunted with! I haven't had a dog in some time; however, I'm back in business with a new little girl. She is a Bracco Italiano that is very birdy and has a great nose. I'm eager to get her out for her first season (she is about a year old).

I live in Minnesota and primarily hunt ruffed grouse, pheasant, ducks and geese. I would like to go out to Montana or North Dakota to hunt some sharpies and huns early in the season to get my pup working out in those nice big prairies. Does anyone have any advice, in general, about hunting those two types of birds: where to go, when to go, what kind of cover to look for, etc.? I was thinking of going out in mid-September for the opener. I'd be grateful for any advice or insight.

Thanks,

Andy

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Cicada
Rank: Master Hunter
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Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2013 1:10 pm
Location: Genelle BC

Re: Sharpies and Huns?

Post by Cicada » Fri Jun 22, 2018 7:11 am

Knock on doors of the farm house next to abandoned buildings and ask to hunt those old homesteads. Huns love old buildings, derelict machine yards etc. Also do some road scouting in the evening when they gravel up.
Sorry I don't see a lot of Sharpies where I hunt so I will leave that to the other experts :lol:

Grant

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Gordon Guy
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Location: Boise Idaho

Re: Sharpies and Huns?

Post by Gordon Guy » Fri Jun 22, 2018 10:43 am

Sharptails - ND Fish and Game department has statistics about which counties produce the most birds. That would be a good start. Buy maps or get the PLOTS guide (If they still produce one) and look into those counties and the areas open to sportsman. Go early season, late September being my favorite time. as the weather is generally cooler. I look for alfalfa. The birds like to eat grasshoppers, grasshoppers like alfalfa. No alfalfa... I go some place else. Alfalfa grows in the mowed strips left by land owners who are trying to control the weeds in open CRP fields, if there are any CRP fields left...

Huns - Where I lived and hunted in ND I never had much luck targeting them specifically. I believe western ND is better for Huns as it's drier and the grass and weeds aren't as high. Huns, like Sharptails, want to see around them for safety reasons.

Don't confuse pheasant cover for Huns and sharptail cover. Those pheasant hunters hunting sharptails for the first time often focus on cover that is too thick. If the grass is over your knees find thinner shorter grass such as south facing slopes. If it's sunny try bushes as they tend to want to shade up during a warm day. Don't hunt to early if you can help it as the birds are out feeding and are hard to approach because they see you from a long way off. Wait until mid morning assuming the weather is cool enough.

Good luck
Tom

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deseeker
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Location: Blair, Nebraska

Re: Sharpies and Huns?

Post by deseeker » Fri Jun 22, 2018 11:58 am

Type -- utube sharptail hunting on your search engine. Utube will have videos of sharptail hunting. It will give you an idea of the terrain and areas they are found in. There is one video by bedly blaster that is in MT this year(hunting a narrow shelter belt). In that video you can hear the noise a sharptail makes when it takes off and flies (it is kind of a chuckle). Any way all the videos on utube will give you an idea of the cover--most of it pretty light. Good luck and get in shape for A LOT of walking :D

JONOV
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Re: Sharpies and Huns?

Post by JONOV » Mon Jun 25, 2018 10:23 am

I have limited experience, but the cover should be short...no more than knee height. Look for hillsides out of the wind on windy days, or south facing on chilly days.

mask
Rank: 4X Champion
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Location: Idaho

Re: Sharpies and Huns?

Post by mask » Mon Jun 25, 2018 11:14 am

We like hunting in Canada but we do hunt ND and Montana. If you are on limited time I would suggest SK Canada.

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bustingcover
Rank: Senior Hunter
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Location: PNW

Re: Sharpies and Huns?

Post by bustingcover » Mon Jun 25, 2018 12:16 pm

I only have experience hunting Huns in Oregon but I targeted them specifically last season and had a great year. My best times were later in the morning around 10-12 after they were done eating also later in the evening close to the end of shooting hours. I would find them in the short sage grasses on top of hills close to agriculture lands, they love cows because of the nearby water and all the seeds they can eat from the poop. I find them in grass so short that I'm sure nothing is there and the dog is false pointing but every time I doubt him they come rocketing up out of nowhere.

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