good job, grew up hunting the ringneck north of Cimarron, was totally different hunts back then

Sounds like a fun trip. One thing is sure....memories were made!!!!! What is all about is t it?

Spent my youth hunting ditch parrots with my dad around Colby and Hays. Shot my first with an old single shot 20ga. Good memories.

I saw on the local weather report that they were having white outs up there. I hope you beat that home.

Oh no we in the thick of it. Drove right through some nasty stuff. Saw 5 different jackknifed semis and some cars and trucks in the ditches. The Waze app saved us. It tells you how to route past road closures and where not to go. We started near Scott City and worked Colby and worked west almost out of the state. This morning we were snowed in but I must be st work tomorrow so we drove through. We are in Abilene now and should be home by 12.

Close to dark the first week in December we had 25 birds fly out of a wheat field into a 15 acre patch of CRP that we were about to hunt, pheasant gods smiling down on us we thought. There was scraggly calf high grass on the back side and wheat on the other two sides of the corner. We got about 10 points, one hen up and the rest disappeared into thin air (and thats on a piece of private land that hadnt been hunted all year). They are pretty dang smart, frustrating as hell, challenging, long legs give them the upper hand, but still fun to hunt (for me a max of twice per year is about my quota). You dont get a whole lot of "poetry in motion" moments chasing pheasants like you do quail, even with dogs that hunt close with long noses.

Sounds like a great hunt to me.

Sounds like you need some blockers and flankers in the field with you. I'd sure be ready to volunteer for next time!

Your story is not unusual. I have hunted the Goodland area for 15 years. I am blessed that my daughter, while we lived in Colorado married a fine young man from that area. I must say the birds there have unbelievable hearing and sprinting ability. The locals who understand these attributes hunt in large numbers with drivers and blockers. Almost all have German short hairs who are mainly retrievers as the birds almost never hold. Even on opening weekend before the birds have been conditioned holding is a rare occasion. You had a good trip for 2 guys at this time of year as the surviving birds are experts at evasion!!!!!!!!

When we were in Goodland or near there we ran into thes two old guys. They had a basket on their Jeep and a limit of Pheasent on it. It was a little weird how they were displaying them so I instantly judged them as yahooos but we parked next to them and talked for 40min and they were really cool guys. They hunted private to get their limit but were so open. They told us were to hunt and how....mostly how. They explain how is more important then where. They also said something similar to your remark about the birds at this time of year being survivors.

The three birds I shot were trophy’s in my book. I’m not sure if I’ll return next year so late. Late season hunting is a whole different game.