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Riflemeister
PostPosted: Tue Sep 28, 2021 7:08 am  Reply with quote
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Tomorrow I pick up Dan, my year old GSP from the trainer's and drop off my 12 year old Bode with his vet for boarding and hook up my travel trailer for a zero dark thirty on Thursday departure for my fall bird hunting trip with my seven and one year old GSP's. First stop is South Dakota to hunt sharptails and prairie chickens south of Pierre. This will be the first time on prairie chickens, so I've got a couple of questions for those with experience on those birds.

Earlier this year I phoned an outfitter who was already booked up, but we had a nice conversation where he mentioned he didn't use dogs for hunting prairie chickens, but I've seen pictures hunters have posted of dogs on point with prairie chickens. My two dogs will point any fowl, so that is not an issue, but is there something special about prairie chickens that I should know before trying this hunt?

I've talked with a couple of my friends who have hunted prairie chickens and they said the birds were the fastest birds they had ever hunted and tended to flush pretty far out. What has been your experience with the prairie chicken?

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An elderly gentleman, his faithful dogs, and a 16 ga SXS. All is right with the world.
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MSM2019
PostPosted: Tue Sep 28, 2021 7:23 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 04 Mar 2019
Posts: 1819
Location: Central ND

Prairie chickens can successfully be hunted with a pointing dog. Just like all other wild game birds, in the early season they hold better than they do in the late season. Expect to wear out some boot leather.

If you have been successful with sharptails you will have the same experience with prairie chickens.

No secrets, same ammo, same choke(s), hunt similar places to find them.

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revdocdrew
PostPosted: Tue Sep 28, 2021 8:07 am  Reply with quote
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Location: Glendale, AZ

Both Sharptails and Prairie Chicken usually have a "lookout" bird (in Kansas often in the nearest tree to the feeding flock). The "lookout" squawks and the flock flies over to the next rise, while you and the dogs stumble down into the draw, through the plum thicket, then up the side of the next.
About the 3rd or 4th flush you might get a shot at a lazy bird.
As MSM said, it's tough hunting, but beautiful country.

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Brewster11
PostPosted: Tue Sep 28, 2021 10:59 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 08 Feb 2009
Posts: 1301
Location: Western WA

President Abraham Lincoln famously told a story about an impoverished old bird hunter who was unusually successful with Prairie Chickens. When pressed to reveal his secret to success, the old hunter said “Hide in a fence corner and make a noise like a turnip.”

Good Luck!
B.
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Hootch
PostPosted: Tue Sep 28, 2021 2:43 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 28 Mar 2008
Posts: 1460
Location: Eagle, Nebraska

I have hunted chickens (and sharpies) for decades, I wouldnt hunt them without a dog.
Yes, if they have been bumped a couple times, they might be a bit jumpy, but no reason in hell not to use the dogs, they can cover more ground than you will. AND you WILL need to cover some ground.
They must stink pretty good, cuz a dog will pick them up from quite aways out.
If in real short grass, they will be jumpy too.
In afternoon, dont shy away from lone bit of brush or thicket, they wll use the shade!
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Riflemeister
PostPosted: Tue Sep 28, 2021 4:47 pm  Reply with quote
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Thanks for the responses, great advice and insights. Me and my 7 year old GSP have hunted sharptails successfully, so I'm going in with a bit more confidence. I hope the pup learns a lot on this trip, his first experience on wild birds. That walking stuff has me a bit concerned, I turned 80 years old a couple of months ago and I know I'm not as strong in the field as I used to be, just hope I'm good enough. I'll probably use my old marathon running strategy, start slow and taper off. Looking forward to a great hunt.

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Riflemeister
PostPosted: Sun Oct 03, 2021 4:43 am  Reply with quote
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I saw my first prairie chicken yesterday, I think. My 7 year old GSP, Rebel went on point in brushy tree covered ravine where the setup looked a lot like trying to get a rooster out of grown up fence row when hunting by yourself. While tying to position myself where I would have at least a marginal shooting lane, the sneaky bird flushed and all I got was a 50 yard getting the hell out of Dodge glimpse. It was about half again bigger than a sharptail and didn't chuckle on the flush, so I'm claiming my first prairie chicken encounter. Going back today to hunt another part of the walk in area. The pup, Dan got to see his first sharptail when he crossed a fence to some posted property and bumped the bird in some Russian olive trees. I didn't get to pull the trigger yesterday, but at least I got the dogs on wild birds.

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artesian01
PostPosted: Sun Oct 03, 2021 5:29 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 28 Mar 2005
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hen pheasant?????
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Riflemeister
PostPosted: Mon Oct 04, 2021 5:23 am  Reply with quote
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No, much bigger than a hen pheasant. Not as big as a sage grouse, but closer to that than a pheasant. Rebel found a couple of roosters yesterday and they were a lot smaller than what I saw.

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artesian01
PostPosted: Mon Oct 04, 2021 5:30 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 28 Mar 2005
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sharptails are what I am very familiar with, though I did clean some chickens one time for some hunters, and the chickens were with sharptails they shot as well...they were all the same size, and considerably smaller than rooster pheasants, perhaps as big as an adult hen pheasant, but not bigger...
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S.davis
PostPosted: Mon Oct 04, 2021 5:59 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 14 Sep 2016
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Location: KC,MO

I'm not by any means the be all end all expert, but I've never known chickens to hang out in brushy cover. They prefer an open escape route to flush. They don't do much running or burrowing to evade predation. Mostly its just flushing.
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Riflemeister
PostPosted: Mon Oct 04, 2021 11:07 am  Reply with quote
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I finally got on birds in a walk in area a few miles north of Lyman. Rolling prairie with knee to waist grass. Rebel found and stayed in contact with the bird and when I flushed it, it was definitely not a sharptail or pheasant, so I had the pleasure of bagging my first prairie chicken. Great work by 7 year old Rebel to give me a good look and shot. I've got pictures on my phone and camera but don't know how to post them on this tablet that is all I have with me. If someone who is a lot more tech savvy than I am would PM me their phone number, I could text them some pictures to post on here.

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artesian01
PostPosted: Mon Oct 04, 2021 3:40 pm  Reply with quote



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nice!!!!
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Riflemeister
PostPosted: Tue Oct 05, 2021 1:12 am  Reply with quote
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After cleaning the bird yesterday, it doesn't look much bigger than a sharpie once I shucked it out of all that plumage. The place where the bird hit the ground seemed to have a lot more feathers than most birds I've shot. Maybe they have their winter plumage on already despite the 80 degree temps.

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win7stw
PostPosted: Tue Oct 05, 2021 5:10 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 30 Jul 2012
Posts: 316
Location: Central, ND

Pics for Rilfemeister


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