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pheasant opener is today at 12:00. all the reports i have heard from the 'early-season' is that the birds are tough to come by...as far as i am concerned, that's ok, pheasants are more of a social event than they are serious hunting.<P>anyway, i'll be loading up a pair of labs that swear up and down they'll find birds. we'll see.<P>though i have heard reports to the contrary, i have seen quite a few birds, and i am not expecting much trouble in finding a few that want to get up in front of my dogs.<P>wish me luck, please! there'll be a lot of people watching my dogs, and i am hoping they give a good showing!

BT,<BR>Where are you hunting and did the labs find birds for you?.....I'm leaving AK tomorrow to drive to Sioux Falls and Platte etc...

we were hunting about 60 miles west of sioux falls.<BR>yep, the bird numbers are definitely down, but between the 2 dogs, they managed a few good flushes. birds are sitting very tight, so the dog needs to have a good nose. hera (my female lab) was a real joy to hunt over. she made 2 flushes after other people had already hunted a spot and said there were no birds in there.<P>anyway, yes, there are birds, but expect to work for them. your best bet will probably be north of platte in the pukwana/chamberlain area (i was in mitchell area). good luck!

Here in SW Idaho the pheasants weren't too good. I showed up at the ranch I normally hunt and learned they were closing the property to pheasant hunting. I was allowed on but was asked not to shoot any pheasants. It turned out I only had one opportunity at a running rooster and had no problem with passing on the shot. We're not allowed to shot hens but got a pair of beautiful points on separate tight sitting birds.<P>Quail hunting was another story. My GWP had only moved up the draw 100 yds before locking onto a covey of at least 50 birds. We broke those up and had a great day working the singles along with finding additional coveys. I turned around and headed home after shooting five valley quail, a dove, and two black and white long tail quail. It was a great day although too short.

I went back to SD for the opener myself, don't believe I've ever missed that one. The reports were that the birds were down, but I couldn't really see that where we hunted. VernAk, let me know how you did.. thems my home stomping grounds. Cowman

I got skunked on the Saturday opener. The weather was hot and the stick-tights were thick. Sunday I got one rooster just before sundown. Then today (Monday) there was heavy rain and that caused the birds to stay put. I got a nice rooster and Bart did a good job on the fetch. Here is a picture of me telling Bart what a fine job he did. <BR>Only 2 roosters in 3 days, but the field is only 100 yards from my front door. Can't complain.

Great pic!<P>Nothing better than a good dog!!<P>Mike

Cowman,<BR>I'm finally back to AK after a month of pheasants and whitetails....we started out pheasant hunt in the Brookings area 11/3...the weather was hot and dry but we had moderatly good shooting....we went to Platte for two days and it was terrible with way more deer than birds coming out of a thicket. After a week in SD, we went to NE and the birds there are not usually as good as SD but this year they were about the same as Brookings. Not a great shoot and difficult for the dogs in that dry heat.

Vern,<P>Welcome back to Alaska! And to some -30 degree weather! <P>Sorry you didn't do as well as planned on pheasant. But I didn't get any pheasants here at home!<P>Jim

Hi Jim,
I got back just in time to read your article in the Fairbanks News Miner....a very nice article.<p>We used Fiochi nickel plated lead this year with great results. My guns pattern them well and the results in the bird are just great. The nickel plated pellet doesn't seem to adhere to the feathers, consequently we seemed to have better penetration and the feathers aren't dragged into the breast wounds where they are difficult to clean out. Friends have been using their #7 [not 7-1/2] for sharptail and ruffs. <p>My farmer friend in NE had a 5 month Brittany pup that he bought for his grandson when visiting. The kid prefers video games. Anyway, he insisted we take the dog into the field when it didn't only know it's name. For two days it follwed me in high/heavy grass before he saw a bird flush and get knocked down in the open where the other dogs fetched. Within the week he was hunting diligently and retrieved two birds. We can't wait until next year....he is scheduled for Summer training.<p>I did get into a few coveys of Hungarian Partridge in SD.....a great little bird.<p>How are the ptarmigan this year?

Vern,<p>Glad you had a great time out there in the lower 48. Another year I've not been able to take such a trip 'cause of a boy off to college in AZ, and an 8 year old daughter who needed braces, a piano, a horse, and...well, you get the picture. <p>Ptarmigan hunting has been superb for my Brittanys and I up until this deep freeze and darkness. I hadn't hunted Murphy Dome for at least 15 years, but snuck up there one week day and found a lot of birds. Kept going back because it's easy and quick to get to. Got busy sometimes with a lot of camo clad hunters ( I wish they'd wear some orange!) sneaking through the willows and alders with auot 5 shotguns, and one of them told me he was going to shoot my youngest Brittany 'cause he looked like a fox, so I quit going up there. I'm now back to some of my old familiar and lonely haunts. I can't write what I told the guy about what would have happened if he'd shot my dog. I did point out what foxes look like, and how my dog 1. has no tail, 2. Is heavily freckled, and much un-like a fox, 3. he is wearing a blaze orange collar with a shiny gold name tag,4. he is also wearing a second blaze orange collar with a small black box on one side, and an orange beeper tower on the other, and finally...5.I asked how he'd explain the loud, obnoxious beeping sound he'd obviously heard coming from the "fox?" <p>Now just waiting for the weather to break until the dogs and I are back out there. <p>And thanks for the kind words on the article. Please excuse the eiditor's decision to change my 16 gauge into a 12 gauge. He also has seen fit to add "spaniel" to my simple and accurate "Brittany," in previous articles. He now knows well the history of the American Brittany! <p>Warm regards,<p>Jim