Hunting pheasant next week's. Need advice.

[Emu]

By first time in life I am going to a pheasant hunting at the beginning of November. We will use shotguns.

Would it worth it to take with me an air rifle to try to get one with air rifle or not?

Advice is welcome.

 

[Frito169]

Best check with laws in your state first. If it's legal why not if you have a nice light setup with a sling

 

[woogie_man]

Typically ground pounding pheasants isn't allowed, so I would read into the rules before you step foot in the field.

 

[Septicdeath]

Most states I believe, don't allow shooting grounded birds.

 

[Emu]

Thanks.

I will not bring an air rifle with me.

 

[dv8eod]

Thanks.

I will not bring an air rifle with me.

That doesn't mean other targets might not present themselves....

 

[Emu]

That doesn't mean other targets might not present themselves....

You've got a point .....

 

[beerthief]

sure would hate to miss a shot at a Pheasant from shooting a ground squirrel with a different gun

 

[Bladesx]

Toting another rifle while busting through the brush not a good idea. pheasants do not always blast off. a lot of the time they will run first, or freeze and hold tight, won't even know they are there, A good dog helps a lot. Even then sometimes the dogs miss them. Years ago 7 dogs , 4 guys - that wiley rooster held so tight in large patch of broom grass - no other cover for a doz yards 360 degs. 6 dogs nosed around in it couple of the guys walked through it about 5 ft dia. my one female brit was lagging behind. we were a good 50 or 60 foot from the patch, turnd back and called the brit. she was poking in that patch, sure enough a rooster came busting out of there like an Atlas rocket taking off, yep we all missed clean.

 

[woogie_man]

Check with your local game warden!!! Do not take ANYONES advice on here, YOU NEED TO ASK THEM YOURSELF!

Many states will not allow you to have another firearm on your person or with you if you are hunting something. I know up here in my state you are not allowed to carry a pistol while hunting deer with a bow, unless you are in bear territory. Make sure YOU KNOW YOUR LAWS! And honestly you should have been looking at the rules much longer ago rather than a week out.

 

[ba49]

I used to hunt alot of wild pheasants when I was younger here in Ohio. I don't think we even have any wild birds anymore. They used to take off right away. Now the penraised birds will usually just run unless you have a dog to flush them. I have a Seneca Double Shot I think would work ok for closer shots with some #4 shot. Works pretty good on crows out to about 35yds.
I know someone is making shotshells for the AEA Zeus and even a smooth bore barrel for it too. I know it's legal to take Grouse with an airgun in Ohio but I think firearms only for turkeys. I think the DNR should revise the hunting regs and make them more standardized for the whole country.

 

[JimD]

I suspect only shotguns are legal but it's always a good idea to check. I haven't pheasant hunted in at least a decade but used to do it yearly with customers. I liked my 20 gauge throwing at least an ounce of #6 shot. 3 inch magnums preferred in 20 gauge but not necessary in 12 gauge. I like my little 20 gauge side by side because it is so fast to get a shot off with. If you can catch a pheasant on the rise it is nearly stationary and much easier to hit than after it gets moving. Great game bird. Tasty too. One thanksgiving we couldn't travel as planned due to an ice storm. This was in Omaha Nebraska. We had electricity but no turkey. But we had a couple pheasants I brought home from a hunt. My late wife draped them with bacon and they were great! At least as good as a turkey from the store.

 

[0akhonor]

One situation where an air gun could help would be like at one of the refugees here in California.
Where are we parked the hunting fields are surrounded by high hills. On those hills are ground squirrels. The ground squirresl are devastating to those hills: burrowing deep within, and when it rains hard, the holes collapse, bringing the hill down further into the shooting fields.
From the car park in the field, we are allowed to shoot ground squirrels up towards the hill during a break or while they're planting more birds on our field.
We are not shooting in a direction that would endanger anyone, and it's just a great repast while waiting for our birds to be planted.

 

[beerthief]

I was at a party last night and hunting came up in conversation . One guy mentioned air gun and boars , right away one of the wife's said "that can kill IT IS
THE SAME AS A FIREARM ." and she was upset the rest of the night . That is my first encounter with anyone getting so upset over a "bb gun" .

 

[maxtrouble]

Bring the air rifle for secondary quarry / Camp Rifle. Pheasants require 12 gauge game loads. Think Road Runner meets Mad Max. Pheasants are bat poop crazy birds. Bring some good boots, you are going to need them. Pheasant hunting is awesome.

 

[ba49]

I pretty much stopped hunting pheasants when we stopped seeing wild ones in Ohio. To me the pen raised ones aren't even sport anymore. I don't like the fact that 9 times out of 10 a planted bird will just sit there and wait for you to walk up on them and kick them to make them fly. Then I would have to let them fly a bit before shooting. I used to do alot of field trials with my Weimaraner and enjoyed shooting the Quail and Chucker much better as they were much quicker. Grouse are even more of a challenge especially with a 28ga.

 

[AmosBurton]

I'll just assume all laws are followed and say that you need to lead them.
They fly dead straight after taking off, so if you lead them with a shotgun, you can hit them with enough lead to kill them.
Have fun!

 

[Bladesx]

dead straight fly away- not in WI. , course they like to land like the space shuttle in to the thickest stuff around. back in my much younger days used ride the tractor fender and pick them off as we harvested the fields. Opening day of Pheasant season out on the farm was a national holiday as far as we were concerned.

 

[Ezana4CE]

@Emu Will you be hunting in Mexico or the States? If you’re hunting in Mexico, what are the airgun hunting laws in regards to (what we refer to as) upland game birds.

 

[ba49]

When I was a kid growing up in the country the first day of hunting season about 3/4 of the boys from 10 yrs old on up missed school and nobody seemed to care. Your right Bladesx it was like a national holiday. I don't think we even needed an excuse from our parents. LOL. I sure miss those days out hunting with my Grandpa and The stories he shared with me. Really special times.