Pheasant Opener

Tomorrow morning, October 25th, here in Iowa, hunters and their four legged friends will be taking to the field in search for what is being considered the scarcely populated upland bird, the pheasant. Forecast for success by officials still has a positive outlook for those who put in a lot of time in their hunt. Presently, we are in a cycle where large groups are not apart of the landscape. Standing crops in fields may provide barriers to what could already be a challenge for the first day. Opinions heard from an avid resident hunter supported hunting as usual. He was going to take his dog out for some exercise with his friends to see if they could find a few of the Ring - necked Roosters. As for me this season - I only plan to listen for activity and observe. The general consensus of our immediate area is a serious shortage. The Iowa season runs from October 25, 2008 - January 10, 2009.

There is Hunting Happening Here

Visibility was limited this morning.The fog being brought to this neighborhood by changing temperatures. The guns started going off a little before 7:00 A.M. according to the clock. Early Muzzleloader started this past week and a second Duck season started this morning. I had the opportunity to make an acquaintance yesterday. Spoke with our districts Conservation Officer, Bill Fribley. He has a wide territory to cover in his responsibilities of enforcing the Department of Natural Resource's regulations. Made a contact with him because of some activity I felt was outside of the guide lines for hunting the Whitetail at this time. According to the renter of the property next to us he has only granted hunting rights to one individual, but the two individuals here this week didn't include that person. So, I am wondering today if that is the same scenario with the Muzzleloader activity that has taken place. I don't open up our timber to hunters from the outside because of past dealings. However, according to the law an injured animal may be retrieved off of our property. It would be best if those hunting on the bare field would let us know they were going to be there. Of course they don't seem to have the same train of thought... Sadie and I have been serenaded by gunfire on a few of our treks outside. The 11:30 A.M. jaunt seemed to herald in another barrage of blasts. The fog having lifted has left us with a cool and sunny day. It is now early afternoon, there is still a lot of time for both the deer and hunter to regroup to try everything all over again. When the day comes to an end we will go see how many of those blasts ended a deer that had to be field dressed,like the one on Thursday night, on the Timber Life side of the fence...;)