Chasing Roosters w/ Infinite Outdoors

November is here, and with that so is your chance to get out in the field, watch the dogs work, and hopefully get a shot at some pheasants. We at Infinite Outdoors have a combined 50 years of experience hunting and guiding pheasants across Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska and its safe to say it is one of our favorite things to do. Infinite Outdoors started as a pheasant club in Eastern Colorado bringing access to private lands in a more organized and profitable way for landowners. From there we have brought on over 30,000 acres of great pheasant country for our users to enjoy throughout the season in Colorado and Kansas.

Before the season officially kicks off across the west, we wanted to give you a few things to remember and some insider tricks on how to have a great pheasant season this fall.

Pheasants are a bird known for their progressive knowledge throughout the season, their deceivingly quick flight, and their beautiful colors. They often prefer to use their legs to gain an advantage, and other times sit so tight that you nearly step on them. In order to be successful when chasing ring necks, here are a few things to remember.

How to plan out your hunting day: Pheasants will typically move between different types of cover throughout the day. They have an instinct to roost, feed, loaf, feed, and roost throughout the day, typically in that order. Knowing that can help determine your plans to hunt throughout the day and how to be sure to find birds in each field. By hunting thicker roosting cover early and late in the day you will help find higher numbers of birds that are often roosting or preparing to roost together. As mid-morning approaches, look for birds to shift into feeding mode. Things like wheat stubble, corn, or milo can produce birds throughout morning. Although shooting and bird numbers may not be as high, those mid-morning ag fields will typically produce good shooting opportunities. One of our favorite hunts that often gets overlooked is the lunchtime or early afternoon thick cover areas. Birds often move to “loaf” mid-day in thicker cover. Look to target smaller, thick cover spots like kosha weeds, tall grass and areas out of the wind. You may be surprised when finding big numbers of birds in their mid-day loafing areas. We then typically like to move back into hunting feeding areas and end the day in a roosting area that we haven’t already targeted mid-day or earlier that morning.

How to set up in a field: There are several ways to hunt a pheasant field, ranging from a reverse flying V, a standard blocking set up, surround and send the dogs in, and more. Whatever you pick here are a few things to remember. Always be aware of where your hunting partners are set up. Keep your shots high, passing on a bird is always better then peppering your hunting buddy. When walking in a reverse flying V, make sure your hunting partners on the edge are in line with the dogs. Wild birds will tend to run before they fly so having people out in front of or equal to the dogs will always help increase shot odds. Look for easy escape areas for the birds. Pheasants are experts at splitting the gap between hunters so make sure to keep your buddy within 80 yards of you. That way you can make sure you each have quality shots when that rooster tries to split the gap.

Make it fun: A little friendly competition always makes the end of the day a little more fun. Try throwing in a few bucks in a pot for longest tail feather, longest spur, or first bird of the day. At the very least, this leads to some good trash talking at dinner that night.

We at Infinite Outdoors hope everyone has a safe and successful pheasant season. If you are looking for a spot to hunt by yourself, with your friends, or with a large group, reach out to anyone on our team and we can get you on the best ground possible. Happy hunting and good luck!