How to Hunt Pheasant

Pheasant hunting has been a popular sport for decades in the United States, especially in the Midwest. To hunt pheasant successfully, you will need to learn a bit about the birds and their habits, use some strategy and bring along a friend to pass the time with.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Hunting license
• Ammunition
• Rifle
• Hunting dog

Study the Habits of Pheasant

1. Visit a website such as the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' to learn about the life of pheasants (see Resources below). Learning about how pheasants live will help you find and shoot them.
2. Read that pheasants roost (nest) in medium to long grasses, and they rise before the sun to begin to look for food.
3. Find that upon rising, pheasant often go to roadsides or other areas where they can find gravel. Pheasants use grit and gravel to help digest their food.

Find Pheasant

4. Use your knowledge of pheasant habits to locate them while hunting. Typically, by the time hunting is allowed, pheasant are feeding. Head for grain fields where the birds like to feed.
5. Watch the outer edges of cornfields that have already been harvested. Pheasants often feed in these areas in the mid-morning.
6. Avoid hunting in the late morning. Pheasant head for very dense cover during this time and will not emerge again until the later afternoon.

Hunt With a Strategy

7. Force the pheasant into the air. Most pheasant would rather run than fly, so forcing them into the air puts you in control.
8. Walk with a hunting buddy along a field that has a dead end at the rear. Once the bird is backed into the corner, prepare to shoot as he flies up.
9. Use a hunting dog. Follow an "S" shaped path through a field with your dog a few yards away from you. Watch for your dog to "point" towards the bird it has seen. When the dog rushes up to flush out the bird, prepare to aim and shoot.
10. Try hunting the fringes of the hunting areas. Some hunters swear that by staying away from the most popular pheasant hunting spots, they can bag more birds and have more fun. Just be careful to always remain on land where the hunt is legal.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't shoot more pheasant than your hunting license allows. Fines can be steep, and you could lose your ability to get another license.
• Only shoot into the air. Birdshot scatters, and shooting at the ground is a sure way to injure yourself, your dog or a friend.