4 Tips For Hunting Pheasant Without Using A Dog
Posted on: 24 November 2019
Pheasants, like several other large game birds, are best hunted using a dog. Hunting dogs are simply much better at finding birds than humans are due to their superior sense of smell and hearing—pheasants nearly always stick to heavy ground cover where they're difficult to spot, so it becomes very difficult to hunt by sight.
However, hunting dogs can be quite expensive due to the extensive training that they require. Thankfully, it's still possible to have a successful pheasant hunt without one. Simply follow the four tips below to boost your chances of success.
1. Hunt in Groups
While you can still find success as a solo hunter, pheasant hunting in large groups is a better idea when you're hunting without a dog. The reason for this is that a large group can cover more ground and work together in order to corral birds into a single area.
One tactic that works for group hunting is to have several members of the group work their way through heavy cover in a zig-zag pattern. Pheasants will slowly flee towards the edge of the cover, and you'll need another group of hunters quietly waiting there. Once their cover ends, pheasants won't have any choice but to take flight, which allows the second group of hunters to open fire.
2. Stay Still to Flush Out Birds
Pheasants have an unusual tendency to flush out when you stop moving for a while. When a pheasant hasn't heard you moving, it starts to panic because it no longer knows where you are.
If you have a feeling that you've managed to corner a pheasant in ground cover, try waiting quietly for five minutes. It may panic and decide to take flight, allowing you to bag it.
3. Retrieve Downed Pheasants Immediately
One of the major benefits of pheasant hunting with a dog is that a dog can find and retrieve pheasants once you've killed one. They also help to chase down pheasants who are wounded. It's easy to lose a downed pheasant in the ground cover of a meadow. As soon as you take your shot, you need to run to the area where the pheasant fell, search it and listen.
If you only wounded the pheasant, you may be able to hear it running through the ground cover. In this case, you'll need to quickly chase it down to prevent it from escaping—pheasants run incredibly quickly, even while wounded, and you don't want to let it get away after all the hard work you put in flushing it out.
4. Hunt at a Private Lodge
When you're hunting without a dog, a private pheasant hunting lodge is your best choice. It's even better if the lodge uses stocked birds—these farm-raised pheasants are less suspicious of the world around them, and so you can often manage to creep closer to them before they begin to run.
While pheasant hunting without a dog is much more difficult, it's still a very fun experience that rewards patience and planning as you slowly stalk pheasants and force them to flush themselves out. If you've never hunted pheasants before and don't have a hunting dog, remember that a private pheasant hunting lodge is the best place to start—you're much more likely to be successful.
For more information, contact companies like Ringnecks Hunting Lodge.
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