Home Forums Birds & Dogs Upland Game How far do you go for birds every week?

I've been considering getting more serious about bird hunting and found the legit bird areas in my state are 2 to 2.5 hours drive. That's not very far, but for me, it is a lot of driving to go several times a week. When I say "serious about bird hunting," I'm not talking about a couple weekends during the season. I work 11AM to 7PM so I like to go out for a few hours in the morning, but driving 4 or 5 hours round trip wastes that. I've been going out locally but birds are scarce. If I got a dog or two I'd want to be working them on birds pretty regularly year-round. Should I move or plan on driving on the weekends?

I drive three or four times farther for big game, but will probably make a 10 day trip out of it so it's worth it. 10 days on birds every year is not enough.

How far do you go to get on birds on a regular/weekly basis? I'm not asking what's the farthest you've driven or how far you drive once or twice a year, but if you're getting on birds on a regular basis are you doing it just down the road or driving a ways?

30-60 minutes, one way, twice a week on average.

I got to move to SD. My family has some land in Tripp County. That's where we're from. I lived there for a little bit back in '78, but was too young to appreciate the pheasant hunting. Now I don't know if I could appreciate the flatness. I would be more accustomed to the Black Hills. I'm presently between the Eastern Sierra and the ranges in the Great Basin. Was fishin' a blue ribbon trout stream on Thursday and skiing a backcountry meadow yesterday (after the storm on the weekend). If I was in SD it would be birds and well, probably tractor driving every day.

Like BK, roughly 15-60 minutes.

I drive between 90 minutes and 3 hours away to get into good bird hunting on the weekends. I'm out each day until my Brittany tires which is 5-6 hours of solid hunting.

Drove 400 miles to hunt quail in north Texas for a lot of years.

Sharp tail and Hungarian partridge a couple miles from home. Pheasant 75 miles from home.

I have driven from western n. c. to south Dakota, Vermont, Wisconsin, and to the UP probably a dozen times. week usually, 2 weeks in u p once nearly killed me.

2-4hrs one way every weekend of season except for 4-5 when I'm hunting deer or elk out of state.

Start of the season 1 1/2 hrs one way - 2 or 3 times a week. Mid to late season several trips that are 3 to 4 days as the one way drive is 4 to 5 hours. November trips trips I try to do a combo of deer and bird hunting.