Late season wild ringnecks.
By Mark Sak
There was speculation several years ago about the negative effects of the late season hunting period for Ringneck Pheasants implemented by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Several organizations denounced it, including Pheasants Forever, of which I am a chapter president. The concern related to how these birds group in the late season, and how they would be easy to harvest, causing their numbers to plummet. Thus far, pheasant numbers continue to be about the same as previous years. It looks like the wildlife managers decision have been for the birds after all, or at least someone forgot to tell the birds their population will decline.
There has been much discussion about the significant decrease in pheasant numbers since the good ole days. The positive news though is birds have bounced back in areas where they had once disappeared, mostly due to intermediate sized parcels being bought from farmers who once farmed highway to highway. New homes are being built, but residents are not putting in 30 acres of lawn and pheasant habitat is popping up.
Many upland hunters are actually starting to exclusively hunt the late season period due to conflicts with bow hunting, fishing, and the fact that there is usually still too much corn and other crops standing during the early season. It is always tough stomping through a prime area where you bow hunt and know that a ten-point buck is lurking. Most bow hunters love to be on their stand during bird season because the deer move more.
Hunting late season ringnecks requires a little more preparation, but the rewards are often magnificent. Flushes of 15-25 birds at a time are not uncommon even by today's standards. Fact is, most times the birds will be together in groups, but stashed in a small area where one would least expect them. Cottontail hunters often are surprised by an explosion of cackling, feather-dropping, mass flushes that one would almost think was planned to give the hunter a massive cerebral vascular accident. Another challenge is the birds are like those old WWII movies where the Japanese soldier hides in the bush for twenty years without believing the war is over. Every possible form of hunting has pressured these ringnecks. The predator population is also at its highest of the year, and most of the cover crops have been harvested. They are wary and wired. They won't make too many mistakes this time of year.
The set up for this hunt involves leaving the very best cover for last. Preferably a small cattail swail that is dried up or frozen over will provide the best opportunity to hold birds if the cover is thick enough. If none is available thickets along a woodlot will be a top area. I constantly see pheasants run through the floor of my woodlot and they always head to the southeast corner where the crabapple and high bush cranberry grow. Blockers are usually vital as wiley ringnecks often wild flush, especially if they have been shot at earlier in the season. I often implement the old technique of sweeping quickly but quietly through the surrounding fields as I did when I was young and couldn't get our cow dog Jack to hunt. The idea was to keep these birds from running too far ahead and flushing wild, while herding them to an area where they may hold while the hunter can position for the shot. One nice thing about colder weather in the late season is snow. More than three inches and the birds have trouble running.
Clothing is tough to select this time of year, but waterproof boots are a must. Plan on lots of walking as the birds still move to different pockets of cover throughout the week. If hunt time is short though, bump and run the cattails. It's always important to practice conservation, as the basic principles Pheasants Forever focuses on with this hunt are valid. These birds can be vulnerable. Maybe a limit of one bird per day would be a good compromise.
The season is a short one, only ten days and runs from December 1-10. Hunting daylight is especially short this time of year but there are two weekends to hunt on.
Accessing property can be a challenge this time of year as well, especially if the landowners have a bad taste in their mouth from earlier experiences. A good tip here is to take him something when you ask. I always have a bag of walleye fillets in the truck when approaching someone new. I had an old farmer turn me down last year but I still gave him the fish. I'll approach him again this year. One elderly woman called me this summer to ask me if I would be hunting her property this year. She liked the fish and I always stopped by the house to talk. The contact was good for both of us and I now have a fabulous 80-acre parcel to hunt deer, turkeys and ringnecks.
There is another rewarding thing about hunting this late season. Mother nature offers us so many different looks throughout the year and the late season has a look of its own as well. The leaves are now gone, the woodlots are asleep until spring, usually to the objections of only the blue jays. Snow is in the air and if we are fortunate, on the ground as well, and you know, there is just something magical about pheasant tracks in the snow!
