Late season roosters?



Tinesdown

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Just want to know if others are chasing the wiley rooster this late in the season.
Personally iv been on alot of birds but having a hard time getting in front of them for head shots. The birds i have been hunting are highly educated and the fly really fast once they are jumped. Having a hard time getting the pellets in the front of the birds. Thinkiing like 5 or 6 foot leads. Its the only chance on these ones.
 

Tinesdown

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I love late season roosters but they are few and far between for me latly. Im using kent 1. 3/8 ounce 5 but still seems slow 1475 fps loads fastest iv ever used. Still hard to catch up or are my shots off?
 

Tinesdown

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I mean i know im shooting beehind roosters il se the tail and the bird like shimy a bit think i need to lead a bird alot more. Im talking roosters are fling like 40 mph and the lead needs to beblike 6 feet out for the shot string.
 


Coldfront

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When a rooster gets up look at the bird as far forward as possible. Look for the beak, the eye or the red around the eye, the green head and the last part the white ring when pulling up and shooting the bird. If you are looking at the body or the tail feather you are going to shoot the back end or completely miss the bird when looking at the tail. I shoot Federal 1 3/8 ultra pheasant at 1500 ft per sec. this time of the year with a Carlson Improved modify choke. I have shot Fiocchi and Kent the 1485 Ft per sec. and I prefer the Federals. My opinion only.

Wiley they are. Friday and Saturday were tough. Friday wasn't as bad as Saturday, the road noise from the vehicle would send them running and the crunchy snow was worse. My friend and I did get a limit on Friday and 5 on Saturday. Maybe would have limited out on Saturday but the cable to unlatch my topper door broke and couldn't get the dogs out so we called it.
 

Wall-eyes

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Yes, they get very spooky late season, and a good lead and or fast shells help. Heck the 50 or more I feed on my land you can't even look out window or open door or pull up with vehicle they run, and they do not get hunted one bit.
 

snow2

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Late season my fav,usually hunt alone with pup,jumpy late season birds,one cough,door slam, dog whistle will have grouped up birds jumping 100+yds in front,one less possible mistake game over,actually finding a group pushing a cattail slough or crp field on a windy day i setup down wind a couple 100 yds,whack a couple birds pass shooting 12ga 3" 17/8 copper platted lead #4 sometimes during strong wind ill slide a 3" #2 in for 3rd or 5th shot when birds are bookin.
 


ktm450

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love late season bird hunting. less hunting pressure with public lang, more of a challenge when they are wild as all heck. shoot 3" 5 shot out of the 20 guage with full choke.
 

SDMF

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If you have to give your dog voice-commands vs. whistle/collar and hand signals, you're pissing a long ways up the rope. Don't go slamming doors or yacking w/your hunting partners outside the vehicle either. Shut your pie-hole and follow the dog, even if it means not following a "straight line".
 

luvcatchingbass

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I hunted a big tract of PLOTS that I have never been on before this weekend, started out where I picked where to go kind of by following a couple low ditches that go from one end to the other, no birds but found some old pheasant tracks at least, then wondered around a little then the dogs wanted to go a different way than me so I just followed them around till we hit the point where we had to make a turn, saw lots of tracks just didn't jump any. Working our way back to the truck just meandering behind the dogs kind of just letting them do their thing the one found a hen then the other found a rooster that I was too slow and too far on which was kind of my fault for not paying attention to what he was doing, then let them regroup and they found a second rooster which I was able to connect on
If you have to give your dog voice-commands vs. whistle/collar and hand signals, you're pissing a long ways up the rope. Don't go slamming doors or yacking w/your hunting partners outside the vehicle either. Shut your pie-hole and follow the dog, even if it means not following a "straight line".
 


Maddog

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When a rooster gets up look at the bird as far forward as possible. Look for the beak, the eye or the red around the eye, the green head and the last part the white ring when pulling up and shooting the bird. If you are looking at the body or the tail feather you are going to shoot the back end or completely miss the bird when looking at the tail. I shoot Federal 1 3/8 ultra pheasant at 1500 ft per sec. this time of the year with a Carlson Improved modify choke. I have shot Fiocchi and Kent the 1485 Ft per sec. and I prefer the Federals. My opinion only.

Wiley they are. Friday and Saturday were tough. Friday wasn't as bad as Saturday, the road noise from the vehicle would send them running and the crunchy snow was worse. My friend and I did get a limit on Friday and 5 on Saturday. Maybe would have limited out on Saturday but the cable to unlatch my topper door broke and couldn't get the dogs out so we called it.
Yep like when shooting at all flying birds .... concentrate on the head. And ignore the rest.
 

snow2

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Cant recall seeing a rooster's beck on a goin away flush,scatter gun with a slight 60/40 poi for goin away and rising up shot gets the job done,gets the blood goin as well... frankly I enjoy my new pup work and his excitement more than taking a bird these days, didn't take long to figure out his body language on hot sent,his tail tells the story.
 

snow2

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I let the GSP go, he seems to always hold one or two down until I get there. Wouldn't have it any other way.
Buddies all have pointers,its rare to lock up on dec birds some beechs run to get out of gun range pronto (so jumpy). Its all fun and what makes chasin rooster so darn much fun.

One thing I cant figure out is some how when pup is birdie working cover or a dirty picked corn field,all of a sudden pup breaks... birds run pup picks up on the intended escape,,clueless how pup senses birds on the run?
 
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