Nebraska hunt so far

[adamsredlines]

Got here Sunday night for pheasant season.
Saw 10 birds on Monday. Dad shot one...it folded...never found it. I shot one and it dropped like a stone...had it for dinner tonight. Lots of hens...nice to see but gotta let em fly.
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were a total bust...didnt see a single bird.
Saw two hens today...so we ended the week with a single rooster.
Saw dozens of deer and turkey...would have been shootig fish in a barrel.
Hopefully the deer stick aroud as a farmer friend gave me permission to hunt deer season.
I wasnt prepared for that so am making due with what I brought with me to play with...my M1A and 1886. M1A will be my primary as Ive got much more time on it...and its got better sights and is flatter shooting.
Looks like I get to verify/set zero to some hunting ammo and give it a try.

 

[dennishoddy]

Man, that totally sucks that you didn't see pheasant.
I've heard glowing reports from that area.

 

[adamsredlines]

Sounds like they are further west than here.
I remember 10-15 years ago limiting out in the matter of minutes from a single field...or days when my dad, grandpa, uncle and I would all limit out before lunch. Hopefully numbers keep going up. About 4 years ago dad was here by himself for a week and didnt see a single bird.
I was here for two different weeks last year and oonly got a single bird each week. That's the way it goes sometimes.

 

[dennishoddy]

It could be the area for sure.

 

[Deer Slayer]

It could be the farming practices and no cover for the birds to roost in.

 

[ElkStalkR]

I wish you woulda got a hold of me. I can tell you just how bad the pheasant hunting is in most of our state. Sure as he'll isn't worth a trip from Oklahoma!!! Good news is I am in Omaha and have plenty of scoped rifles to spare. If your nearby I would gladly let you borrow one for season. Just pm me.

 

[DRC458]

Sorry to hear about the birds. Maybe the deer will make up for it, and it sounds like ElkStalkR has got your back!

 

[adamsredlines]

Its a combo of a few things but mostly habitat. When corn prices hit $8 a few years back the farmers took advantage of most every inch they could. Old homesteads they farmed around were bulldozed...low areas they avoided filled in....CRP wasnt worth doing...fence rows removed and farmed across, etc etc. Couple that with a few bad years weather wise (drought then a blizzard)...and the wildlife suffers. I hope with corn normalizing the farmers will consider going back to some CRP land. The main guy we hunt is running for legislature here so maybe we can plant the bug to push for some CRP again.

I do appreciate the offer to use a rifle but will give it a whirl with what I have. I always thought it would be fun to hunt with these and theres no time like the present.

 

[ElkStalkR]

Yep that green ethanol. Push every stitch of habitat down and plant corn. Man that stuff sure is environmentally friendly!

 

[quigleysharps4570]

Hope the rest of your trip gets better.