By Nick Simonson

So many late season memories in the field are tied to the holidays and all the things that wrap around them.  The cold air, the white landscape, and the connection with friends and family on a winter walk for pheasants has always been a hallmark of the season for me, and I’m sure many other hunters as well.  While things have changed with the passing of the firearms deer season and the turkey and mashed potatoes of Thanksgiving, the joy of a pheasant hunt is magnified when against this exciting late season backdrop.  With those changes too comes some adjusting to where birds are now, and sharing those tips can produce some real holiday gifts in the form of exciting flushes and full game pouches in a favorite vest.

Silent Night…er, Days

Foremost in late season, silence is golden.  Rooster pheasants are far spookier than they were at the start of the season, and one bird flushing means the rest likely aren’t far behind.  The slightest noise can set off a cascade of beating wings a hundred yards away, so making sure that truck doors are closed gently, conversations are kept to a minimum, and communication with dogs (and people) comes down to hand signals, light whistles and at most a whispered word here and there are all key in keeping those flushes closer in late season.  Even the crunch of compacted or refrozen snow can put birds in the air, so step lightly where you can.

Wrapped Up Tight

Like hunters, pheasants are looking for extra layers to stay warm this time of year as winter descends upon the landscape of the upper Midwest.  This means the birds will seek out that deep thermal cover which remains on the landscape, especially for the chilly overnight hours and when snow has filled lighter cover such as grassy areas or CRP plantings.  Look for roosters to hole up in the deepest, thickest cattail sloughs and densest stands of brush, where they can utilize the compacted reeds and grasses to bunker down and preserve their body heat.  Each late season hunt, especially those that begin in the morning or on days where the high temperatures don’t get out of the teens, should target these spaces right away, and then venture out from the heavier cover as the day warms up.

Falalala-Longer

Roosters do tend to get up earlier and get moving a whole lot faster in late season.  The young birds that have made it this far into the season are warier, and those long-spurred veterans of a second autumn of hunting are even more so.  Thus, it’s likely that many shots will be a bit longer than what those less-conditioned roosters provided for hunters in October.  Adjusting both chokes and shotgun shells can help connect with these farther-flushing pheasants.  Move up from an Improved Cylinder to a Modified or a Modified to a Full if you find yourself flushing more birds at a distance and consider changing shotgun shells that deliver tighter downrange payloads. Just make sure to  pattern a few shots with the new adjustments to make sure everything is in line for a late season hunt.

Be Present

Finally, the late season is a time to be shared with others, especially those new to upland hunting.  While October may have given them a high-target environment, the final month of the hunting season provides the opportunity to understand more about the birds and learn new tactics for finding them when conditions change and how those factors influence their behavior.  Share a late season hunt with a novice hunter and use these tips and the ones you’ve picked up along the way to give them the gift of understanding in the uplands.  Odds are it’ll make them a better hunter and you a more seasoned mentor as you walk alongside them and take in their trip up the learning curve.

As the fast-paced holiday season rolls along, and hopes of a white Christmas are looking like much more of a reality this year, use the snow and the cold to your advantage and pick out those places where pheasants can be found. Adjust your equipment and outlook accordingly and share an outing in the field with friends old and new, for an experience that is one of this season’s greatest gifts…in our outdoors.