Recent content by Vet_WingChaser

I second the NW Iowa area for tons of acres of public land. and I agree that the first two weeks of December might not be great for traveling to Iowa for pheasant hunting because of the deer season. I'm sure you could work around deer hunters, but you'll have to be WAY more selective on the...

I'm the odd man out here. I switched to Keen's a couple years ago. I had a pair of all leather Cabela's that lasted forever and were super comfortable all day long. Keen's fit my feet REALLY well and the waterproofing is superb! I have a light weight (almost tactical) style boot for early...

Off season dreaming and heard on a podcast that grouse can be found in NE Iowa, the driftless area. I'm pretty familiar with that area, as we camp up there and float the Upper Iowa throughout the summer. Has anyone seen grouse in that part of the state, or any other part of the state for that...

I'm heading to NW this weekend, which I do every year for the last weekend of the season. I have private ground to hunt on Saturday, but Friday and Sunday I plan on roaming looking for super thick cover. I'm hoping to put a few in the freezer!

Good luck! I was out that way last week found some nice tracks of public land. It was 30+ mph winds, so we didn't see much, but I found lot's of sign. beds, droppings, etc..

The collar I use has a vibrate setting and that works really well for my Otis. This is his first year as well and he's proving to be a great tracker, but he gets in a hurry. I'm always worried that he won't find the scent again when I draw him back to me. Though, he's pretty good about picking...

Seems like most of the conversation is about NW IA, so I figured I'd start a feed about Eastern Iowa. I haven't had a lot of chances to get out (work and weather). But here's what I'm seeing. Iowa River Corridor - Hunted a full day a week ago and didn't see as many birds as I was hoping to...

My opening day was last Wed. I hit the Iowa River corridor by Merengo. I didn't see as much as I was hoping to. Only rooster I saw, I shot. He was a young one. Ran for a short while, but Otis had no problem scooping him up. His first official flush and retrieve of a pheasant. (we've done a bunch...

John, thanks for the replies. That builds confidence!

Just wandering how the harvest is coming up in that part of the state. Thinking about making a trip up the 2nd weekend of the season.

I'm in Cedar Rapids and have had this discussion with friends. No one has seen much for dead animals from the storm. No dead squirrels (there are thousands and thousands of them), no dead birds. With as much damage as we had here, you would think there would be visible loss of wildlife. But...

Iowa river corridor At lunch with one in the bag and plenty of contact. I hunted this area a lot last year, but not on the opener. Not as many other hunters as I thought I'd see. Met and hunted with a couple guys who had an English pointer, beautiful dog. Him and my Brit met and that was it...

I know the frustration, i have a 11 month old Brittany that is as tall as a lab. the dude can cover some ground for sure. It's sounds like you have a good foundation built with him, hardest part is staying calm with a high energy dog. you've got at least 3 more years of that. I got a shock...

There is a big piece just south of Hwy 20 between Waterloo and Independence, I think it's called Cumbacher or something like that. Hunted it by myself xmas morning and found a few hens. It's a lot of ground to cover, but there is a ton of good bird cover. Snow is deep though, so be prepared for...

Luke and I took a friend and his lab down toward Marengo again today. Saw a few deer hunters, but we were the only ones out bird hunting. The first place we stopped at had a good sized patch of standing corn, but didn't hold anything. We headed down the road to another patch I've hunted before...