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.