doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Wild bird Limits ....Good or Greedy?

Chuck, it was the lack of game that changed my shooting interest.
The quail population was just not shootable.
My area, and my property I hunt has an abundance of lakes and ponds - and just 10 miles from the Missouri River as the crow flys. So, I'm right in the middle of the Alantic and Mississippi flyways.
The ducks and geese are in and out all season long.
I became a fowler(I leave the little birdguns to others) with three Labs and a cabinet with only 12s - I found this to be a new page in my book, and the best yet.

The only upland bird limit I don't like is KS on pheasants. 4 roosters is too many to carry. Since pheasant hunters shoot only roosters and since one rooster will mate with multiple hens, I feel that by taking as many as I feel like, the survivors will thank me, come mating season. And of course if you're hunting pheasants, you never have to worry about birds for your dog to work. You can't shoot the hens anyhow.

I'm glad that many Iowa deer hunters take more game than they can use, and that there's an active program of donating to food kitchens, etc. I don't hunt deer, but every one of those critters someone else shoots is one less I have to avoid on the roads.

Woodcock . . . Ted, where I do most of my woodcock hunting (Michigan's UP), I've been seeing more birds in recent years--as have most of the other hunters with whom I've spoken up there. Good thing too, because the grouse cycle is still down. I know quite a few people who don't shoot woodcock because they don't like to eat them, which is certainly an ethical stand. On the other hand, I do like to eat woodcock, and have even been known to trade grouse for woodcock. That may be one reason I never have any trouble finding grouse and woodcock hunting partners . . .

When I lived in Morocco, the daily limit on quail was 50. I thought that had to be a misprint until I really got into the quail one day and killed 15 in something under 2 hours. Ran out of shells, but it was pretty much immaterial anyhow. Don't think I ever could've brought myself to shoot 50.

When I was younger, shooting limits of chukars was important to me. I would shoot 7 birds and spend a couple of hours trying to find that elusive last bird to "fill out".

I frequently hunt areas where there are both huns and chukars available. That makes for a 16 bird limit. Even in those days when I was bloodthirsty, I couldn't fill both limits, except rarely. Having that kind of opportunity put limits largely out of reach.

Now, I am 20 years older and other things matter more than packing out a full gamebag. Don't get me wrong, because in 70+ days of hunting this season, I shot plenty of limits, but I often quit with 4 or 5 or 6 birds and didn't push to find those last birds.

I now spend more time sitting for a few minutes looking around, watching the dogs work and generally being greatful for being there than putting my head down and madly searching for the next bird.

I think that for me the years have been kind and have made me appreciative.

Marty

Larry,
Good news, if you are an Uper. When I bought my home, circa 1988 or so, the road had yet to be paved (or, the city water run out to it, and a few other modern things, but that was then and this is now) and I would wait for the first hard rain of September to see perhaps several thousand woodcock feasting on worms on the side of the road in front of my home-you couldn't hunt them, but, it did my heart good to see them. I haven't seen a woodcock, save a few that persist in nesting in the slews around the perimeter of Jane's field (the Anoka airport) in my neighborhood, for most of a decade.

I had a secret spot on the Red Lake WMA where, just behind a hill, I would post with my Gordon in the hour before sunset, and lots would fly over the hill to get to the edge of a damp slew right up to twilight. At the time, I could hunt the Red Lake and not see anybody for most of a week, it is pretty far out into nowhere. When I say lots, I mean thousands. I didn't feel too guilty about taking five out of the mass, but, the last time I tried it (1999 or 2000, I don't remember) zip, nada, zilch. I have shot perhaps three since then, that the new dog has handled well. She usually doesn't. But, it is irrelevant if I don't find them these days, anyway.
My self imposed limit is imposed by more than me, in this case.
Best,
Ted

When I started hunting, my Dad told me this: Hunting is like eating your favorite meal. Sometimes you eat so much you don't have room for dessert, killing a bird is dessert. My Dad was a bird hunter first and foremost. I've followed that advice and taught my children and grandchildren the same. Right now I'm hungry and grouse season closes the 31st.

Ted, couldn't have been any more recently than 96 if you were shooting 5. That was the last year before the feds dropped the limit to 3. I remember it well, because I ran into a bunch of doodles on my last Iowa woodcock hunt before pheasant season opened, went 5 for 5 with a newly-acquired Brit 12 (which, of course, I no longer have). I don't mind being limited to 3 these days, especially if there are some grouse around as well. But I would like to see more than a 6 bird possession limit. I go out of state to hunt and I have to find some way to cook up a bunch of birds at least once--and I'd just as soon take them home.

The last time I tried the spot was 1999 or 2000, Larry. And the limit 'coulda been zero, as there were NO birds. Woodcock, anyway.

I didn't make the Red Lake yearly, but was there a lot in the 1980s-early 1990s-it is about 5 hours drive one way from Mpls. I haven't been there in recent years, too much good hunting much closer to home to drive that far. At the time, I would ask for permission to camp on the WMA (don't know if they will allow that, anymore, but, they used to) for three or four days, and rent a shack in Waskish for one or two days to get cleaned up. Life was good. My then boss was sympathetic to my wanderings in the fall.

Five bird limits are a thing from my paying customer past, and I didn't do that after 1992, or so. Two grouse, two pheasants (the limit here all my hunting life) or two woodcock had been the norm for a LONG time, but, now I don't see the woodcock. It is a bummer.
Best,
Ted

I have most often seen limits abused in waterfowling. Let's face it, duck hunting attracts a lot more of the techno gadget budweiser shoot 'em up crowd. Worse yet, I have known guys who won't eat ducks but love shooting them, so they try to give them away. I think a lot of the duck hunting shows promulgate this attitude as well. It's all about killing lots of ducks, and I have never seen them hold back voluntarily, let alone focus on the romance of the sport, as opposed to the shooting end of it.

As for limits on upland birds, I think they are harder to get even if you wanted to, so I don't think that is as much of a problem. Besides, when I think of a limit of quail in my gamebag, I think of two words: quail fettucine. Yum.

Improved modified, check your PM. I sent you some info on 2006-07 Utah chukars and my phone number. Don't want to bore the audience with local details.
Fred

Lowell,
I can understand your reasons. I haven't had to worry about quail populations except year to year fluctuations which are dependant on rainfall and predators mainly. My goal is to get water out on the property and maintain these tanks for the quail. Their feed is plentiful. We're in a bit of a drought this year, even though it rained a bit today out there on us.

BTW, the 3 of us took 4 birds total. I took 2 with the 410 including a really long crosser in an open field. I also took a cottontail with the 410. That's it. We were cold and wet, but had a good time trying like heck to shoot a limit. It took serval miles of walking to just find birds in the rain and cold. We were disappointed not seeing any birds for the first few hours, but once we got into them, it was on. We were really having a good time shooting the junipers up and only getting 4 birds