Bird hunting

[One_eyed_jack]

So is anyone else getting their gear ready for the upcoming bird seasons? I'm going crazy this year waiting. This weather does not help the craziness either! So what are you all doing to get ready; or suppress the madness?
[signature]

[lunkerhunter2]

I sold ALL my waterfowl hunting gear. I am going to buy all new this season, but it is the furthest thing from my mind right now. Got alot of fishing and big game hunts before duck season gets here.[]
[signature]

[HookJaw_Brimhall]

I'm pretty excited for the Grouse season this year. The DWR is proposing to extend the Grouse season from the first weekend in September to the end of the year. They also are planning on moving around the chukar, pheasant, sharpies, and sage grouse hunts.

As for Turkeys, SCREW THEM!!!! I never thought a dang bird would be so hard to hunt! I have hunted harder for a turkey the last couple of weeks, than any other animal I have hunted in my life. Everytime I go out, I find Turkeys, but they are sneaky little suckers. It's going to take a lot of patience for me to take a gobbler this year.
I have had gobblers as close as 50 yards but they will never present a shot. When I do get one, You can bet your britches that I'll be drop kicking his head into space!!! Dang Birds!!![mad][mad][mad]

Anywho, I am looking forward to the bird season. With the Grouse season moving up with the dove opener, I don't know that I'll ever hunt doves again. []
[signature]

[wiperhunter2]

Why do you think they are changing the grouse season, are there more birds this year or are there just not enough people hunting them? I guess I just got lucky on my first turkey hunt, I hunted them like deer and got one on the second day. I did not want to try a second time because of the cost of tag, seems kind of expensive for a big grouse[].
[signature]

[HookJaw_Brimhall]

I'm not sure why they want to extend the season. I don't think it will hurt the population. I'm looking forward to it.
[signature]

[HookJaw_Brimhall]

Here are the Proposals

Chukar and Huns- Change season dates to Oct 1st - Mid Feb[cool]

Sage Grouse- Change season opener to Oct 1st

Sharptail Grouse- Create new Cache County hunt, hunt dates will be Oct 27th - Nov 11th

Pheasant- Change season dates to Nov 1st - Dec 31
Statewide[cool]

Forest Grouse- Change season dates to Sept 6 - Dec 31st[sly]
[signature]

[bottomwatcher]

I fish as much as I can but when the ducks and geese are chasing each other around the lake it is hard not to think off the fall. I usually don't put my stuff together till the last few weeks. I do try to buy my shells and new decoys during the summer. Big game always takes precedence over the birds, but once the muzzy elk is over, I hunt hard until the very end.
[signature]

[wiperhunter2]

Thanks for the info. Looks like they are really extending the pheasant season, from 3 weeks to 2 months is a big jump. Adding over a month to the grouse season will make a lot of folks happy but in most years there is so much snow up high, where the blues are at, that they will be hard to get to.
[signature]

[cadresults]

Fishing and Big Game Draws are all thats on my mind now. However, I do plan on doing more bird hunting this year as my schedule permits.

I am now thinking of doing a few out of state pheasant hunts this year.
[signature]

[gshorthair]

I sat through a meeting this winter when these proposals were being discussed. The change in forest grouse makes our seasons similar to Idaho and Wyoming. The chukar hunt was pushed back to reduce the practice of people wiping out the local populations on water sources when we still have hot days. I think the pheasant hunt was so we matched up with sasons in the midwest. I think this is a big mistake on the pheasants because of the small size of the population. We don't have a pheasant population to match south Dakota. I was one of the few that opposed that change. I hope this helps. gshorthair
[signature]

[wiperhunter2]

Thanks for the info GSH, I was thinking the same thing about the Pheasants. I thought maybe the state was going to start planning pheasants to keep up with the number that will be lost during the extended season but it doesn't sound like it. WH2
[signature]

[tmas]

I don't know if any of you are bow hunters but I sure wish they'd bump the grouse season back until the bow hunts are over. It's so frustrating having all those dang bird hunters blastin around while you're tryin to get your sneak on! Dont' get me wrong I love grouse hunting but there's a better time to be doing it.
[signature]

[HookJaw_Brimhall]

I'm a big fan of both the Bow hunt and the Grouse hunt. I do agree that it can be pretty frustrating having grouse hunters blasting away while you are trying to deer hunt.
The majority of grouse hunters don't venture too far into the woods. Most of the blasting is done on opening day, then the hunters spread out quite a bit. I think If the bow hunters would avoid opening day of the grouse hunt, they wouldn't have as many problems.
Now If I had a LE tag and grouse hunters were balsting all over the place, I would be pretty mad. I guess it's kind hard for me to relate because I usually hunt the extended archery instead of the general season. I'm usually the one blasting away at grouse while people are hunting. oops!
[laugh]
[signature]

[bottomwatcher]

I had a LE elk tag a few years ago and on opening day of the grouse people started shooting in the top of a canyon and the elk I was watching shut right up and headed for the timber. I have heard stories out of differnt states that there has been problems with poaching when people have been caught shooting slugs out of the shotguns during archery season when the grouse season overlaps. I would understand if Utah wanted to push it back out of the archery season.
[signature]

[HookJaw_Brimhall]

I don't think they want to change that. They are moving the bird season forwar instead of back this year.

Up on the mountain of Cristo where I hunt:

General Archery Hunters will have a good two or three weeks before the opening of the Grouse season this year. So stick a deer before the bird hunters come around and there won't be any problems.

LE Elk hunters wont start their hunts until a week or two after the bird hunt starts, so that sucks.[:/]
[signature]

[gshorthair]

I think it is interesting to see new opions on the early grouse hunt. About ten years ago we had some serious discussion about moving the opener of forest grouse up so the archers could harvest some while chasing deer in august. The archers initiated the idea. They really didn't want the shotgun crowd out with them but they wanted to harvest the grouse. We didn't support it because any earlier than sept. 1 and the late hatch birds are still peepers. It would be easy to wipe out the whole brood.
If you don't like the new proposals go to your local RAC meetings and express your feelings. gshorthair
[signature]