Follow the stock truck!
Connecticut
DEEP truck showed upto realese pheasants and they had a train of hunters in tow.
Do these guys wait on the side of road by pheasant farm to follow the stock truck???
I am an avid pheasant hunter with a self trained champion bird dog and it sickens me to see what happens out there. They might as well just shoot them as they are released. Its always someone who knows when they are stocking and pass the word. Its really quite disgusting in my humble opinion. I know we have to stcok here in CT but why not make it a little challenging!!!
making it a challenge would take the fun out of it
Yeah but the funny thing is the people stocking don't just set the birds out, they send them into orbit and on re entry they are three towns away, I watched that one day and I was in tears, there were a lot of pissed off pheasant swatters that day.
I listen to all the yahoos out there in the game reserve shooting all weekend.. It sounds like every single one of them has a saiga with 25 round drum mags....with out exaggerating 100s of shots..lol
Worst day bird hunting.
My dog flushed a pheasant, I shot and missed, but it flew towards another hunter without a dog. My dog knew exactly where it landed, I hustled to keep up with him, he flushed it again, but it flew towards the other hunter who shot right at the bird AND me. I was sprayed with pellets but not hurt. I was screaming at him as he shot, he didn't care, he wanted that bird.
Same day - I'm in my car on RT 72 leaving the hunting area, and a cock pheasant comes running out of the woods and runs down the center of the road right at me car, then a dog appears and then the hunter who proceeds to shoot 3 times at the bird flying over my car!!
This is why I only deer hunt with a bow now and by myself. These guys are NOT hunters, they are slobs!
they should release them at dusk or night. A couple of years ago I hunting an area in Simsbury. I forgot it was small game season when the stock truck showed up. with in 2 minutes after they left a bunch of trucks showed up and minutes after that it sounded like world war II. it was crazy.
Just go to a market and buy a couple of phesents its safer.I go up state ny and do some ruff.grouse hunting with my dog,A you have to worry about tick as much and the pressure is little or none.You can make it to some good WILD bird hunting in about 3.5 hour ride.Great day to get away with your dog.Plenty of state land just above Lake George,And still hunt-able population of ruffs.
BBB,
Did that happen in Naugathuck state forest by any chance?
I went hunting with my two kids opening day a few years back and the same thing happened to a guy hunting with his dog. He got peppered and was yelling at the shooters. One guy was screaming as if he got shot.
We grabbed our dog and went for breakfast. That was the last time I was pheasant hunting.
Damn BBB, be careful out there.
That stuff drives me nuts. If it's by accident fine, but if your following fish or bird trucks... Your not a sportsman for sure.
What's an accident... well, I was fishing under a bridge on a local stream about 10 years ago, swinging wet flies. I was on the upstream side and letting the fly swing through a nice deep run. I hear a big truck stop on the bridge - on the far side. I'm wondering what's going on, when suddenly it's raining fish!
I left. Had I been on my own, I'd have stayed and kept fishing. But within about 3" of the truck driving off, 5-6 guys descend on the bridge and start trying to catch those fish. What had been fun, now sucked, so I went to another area.
That stuff is lame.
CT Crow, that was me that got peppered a few years ago at Naugathuck! My dog was on point, I flushed the bird, drew a bead, and someone shot me! CRAZY!! Yes I did get shot, yes it did hurt, and yes I did almost shoot back! I almost chewed they guy up. However my pointer made the retrieve and I ended up with the bird! I don't live in CT anymore and grateful I have a much better state to hunt in!
back in the late 70's my pops his friend and myself and our german shorthair goerge used to bird hunt indian valley on the pequonic river in trumbull..we got a late start one day,when we pulled into the spot there where about a dozen guys there with a couple dozen birds on the ground,." you shouldve been here earlier,the stocking truck was here today".. what a slaughter.i dont think these guys went farther than 100 yrds..we made our way through a swamp up to a field..the dog was doing his thing when we heard someone on the fire road above yell theres something moving down below..BAM,BAM,BAM,it was raining pellets on us..my pops mustve had a flashback of monti casini or something cause he turned and yelled "U SUMENA BITCH U SHOOTA MY DOG" and laid down some serious suppression fire..lol..ive never bird hunted since,bird hunters are nuts!
BBB,
my kids and I were wondering when they were going to find your body. I'm glad you made it.
P.S. you scream like a little girl :-)
P.S. #2
LOL
BBQBuck, I thought I was talking to Bigbuckbob. You still screamed like a little girl though.
Crow,
I certainly was yellling at the idiot that let off 3 shots directly at me and the bird, but I don't think I sounded like a little girl. I don't know any that say, "STOP SHOUTING YOUR STUPID @#$!%@$% OR I'M GONNA @#$%@#$% RAM YOUR #$@% UP YOUR#$@%@#$!!! BTW - this was at Bristol Fish and Game on the Bristol watershed off RT72.
How about this - I was bird hunting near the dog training area of Bristol F&G when an ambulance and police cars come vooming down the road. I guy got shot in the groin by his hunting partner!! OUCH!! His buddy said it was a low fly bird and he never saw his friend dress in orange just a few yards away???
Luckily the sappling were so thick and his canvas pants were thick enough that most of the pellets didn't reach the sensitive area involved, but boy-oh-boy, one pellet would be too much for me.
I hope he didn't need to have things in a splint:)
You guys are rough.
I have hunted stocked pheasants in CT for years, both public and private and haven't run into any of the issues you talk about.
When I take other folks with me, I only have three rules.
1) Don't shoot my dog 2) See rule number 1 3) See rule number 2
LOL BBB,
It was meant for BBQB.
It sounded like it hurt.
Thats why I head north to hunt wild woodcock and grouse. Much more of a challenge, and peaceful as hunting should be. Make it illegal to follow the stocker. Arrest them if they do.
There was a line of about 30 of us on opening day at Durham meadows a few years ago. As we're Marching through the field with birds flying everywhere, one bird doubles back about 5 ft off the ground. Guy reaches out and grabs It in mid flight. Everyone roared.
Aside from being shot I have seen just about everything above. I've been peppered more than once, and the one guy who shot directly at me was a kid whose father was screaming at him to SHOOT! I hit the dirt behind a tree and watched the leaves above my head vaporize. Last time I went out was in Robbins swamp and someone's dog got shot. Heard the dog yelping nonstop after being shot then a follow up shot rang out and that was it, silence. Never been out since.
This is how we do our pheasant hunting in our club. The birds are stocked on Friday afternoon and no hunting is allowed on Friday after noon. Our 4 properties are reserved by calling in a week in advance.Our properties are all over 100 acres in size and only the person who has reserved the property can hunt it along with up to 2 members or guests. Typically our properties have only one or two persons on it at any time. It is very controlled but also very, very nice to hunt that way. I also make trips up north to hunt woodcock and grouse. Forget hunting state leased areas!
Grizzly
what a sad story about the dog. Any of us who own, or have owned a dog know that we would rather take the hit than our hunting buddy.
I only let a couple of good friends and my brother hunt over my dog, but I always, and I mean always told them that if a bird is NOT higher than their head they better not even shoulder the gun or the day is done.
I had to put my dog on a leash more than once on state land when other hunters decided that to walk along side of us.
State land hunting is very dangerous,at Larsons Lot in colchestsomeone without a dog followed me and my dog I was going to ask if he wanted to hunt over my dog but as I walked to him his shotgun was pointed at me the whole time !!Some people just think because the safety is on they can swing thier gun arround.Another time someone I grew up with shot into the ground feet away...When I asked what he saw he said he awas checking if his safety was on!!!Never hunted with him again.Maybe its me but I now hunt alone.
It's too bad that the only real way to run bird dogs in this state is on stocked birds.
When I was a kid there were a lot of grouse around. There are still some pockets of woodcock but not many.
I driven out to MN twice hunting wild Pheasants on public WMA's. Definately a different world. Waist deep in water and marsh and battling through cattails and thick grass (still better than the prickers we have here though). I think in three days we killed 4-6 birds. Tough but fun.
I don't hunt pheasants anymore, switched to waterfowl but I have run into a few folks that caused me to change directions. Never been shot at either. Met some really nice folks out there and hunted with strangers as well. For some folks it's about the kill, wether, deer, turkey, duck, pheasant and I think that is a phase that all hunters go through.. You just want to be successful. Following the stocking trucks is something i would never due, but I guess as more and more places close to hunting and less birds get put out I can see why guys do that. I sure wouldn't enjoy 100 hours of hunting without flushing a bird, but I also wouldn't enjoy being done in 10 minutes either.
I've often gone out during the week whether they have stocked or not, i don't care too much, I just want to get out and roam with the dog. I usually don't see many guys at all.
But sometimes I have gone on weekdays and hit it lucky when they have stocked that day and the place is mobbed. How the hell does this happen?!?!
There are usually people who know the stocking truck guys and they tell a friend, who tells a friend and so on and so on! I had a call from a friend today who told me where they are stocking and I said thanks but did not go out. I do not like to know. If my dog finds birds and usually does ita a plus for me. If not its a day out for me and my pooch!
