What is the status of Wild Pheasant in the Panhandle? Is it worth a drive from Houston to Spearman? Thanks

Long drive to fire 3 shots and get 3 birds. 1300 miles round trip, if you hunted 2 days and got 6 birds -------== 200+ miles per bird.

Sounds like there might be some birds this year.

Why do you hunt at all if you have to justify the mileage and the cost. You sound like an old woman. Just go to the super market and buy a chicken or a duck and go home, Jeeze!!

Just the fact that truly wild pheasants are alive and reproducing in our home state of Texas is a thrill to me. Chasing truly wild pheasants in the Panhandle and watching 25 or 30 wild pheasants flush completely out of range is worth more to me than 10 tame pen raised (slow motion flying ) pheasants in the bag, all of the time.

I understand that everybody's hunting philosophy is different.

I am getting reports from quail hunters, that hunt south of Childress that they occasionally flush long tail wild flushing wild pheasants along the Red River, they don't shoot them but they are glad to see them. This is really a good sign, it shows that the truly wild pheasant genes are expanding their range eastward. I wish the TP&WD would trap wild pheasants from out west and release them along the Red River to speed up the expansion. Thats just my two cents.

Read more https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/land/habitats/high_plains/upland_game/pheasant.phtml

my sentiments, I figured every time I went fishing (not the coast) each fish cost me about $20. and that's 30 minutes from home.

Great article thanks for sharing. A great deal of hard work years ago went into getting wild pheasant started.

The article talked about "several varieties or hybrids" the true ringneck pheasant subspecies they are talking about is the Afghan White- Winged pheasant ( also called the Bianchi pheasant ) this is a predator wary, agile and alert wilder pheasant it was the crossed with wild trapped ringneck pheasants. Their offsprings were released in counties mentioned in the article above.

All of the counties along the Red River from Childress to the north of Dallas have the potential to support wild pheasants. I wish they would start releasing them again to expand the wild pheasant range and make the drive shorter.

Turkey Texas Hotel is a great stop if you make it up there. Many quail hunters stop in there, so you might get some advice / tips.

*And sometimes they have a great band in town.

Last year we got limits every day. But I ain't sayin where.

We had a good hatch around Petersburg.

S. Dakota recently reported a 47% increase in the pheasant population this year over last. It's a long way from Texas but could mean an increase all the way through the southern plains as well. Here's hoping!

I grew up hunting the panhandle for dove, quail, and pheasants. Haven’t been in years but have a trip planned this December in Dallum county. Back when, if the quail were plenty, so were the pheasants.

Heard from the land owner this weekend that it should be a good pheasant crop this year.

Either way, I’ll be blocking somewhere.

Doesn't S Dakota report a population increase every year ? I hope the numbers continue to increase in the Panhandle. I haven't been pheasant hunting in Texas in about 15 years.

There will be some to shoot at no doubt. Seeing them every morning and evening in the bar ditches all over the northern panhandle from Texline to Follett.

Well, that is music to my ears! Just hope the coyote population is not too high...

I rarely post on this forum but this is the type of mistaken information that has to go away. The only way to increase bird populations is to focus on increasing the amount of good habitat. Blaming coyotes for pheasant numbers being down is sticking your head in the sand. The reason pheasant numbers are down is the number of acres of good habitat goes down every year. There is all kinds of research out there regarding coyotes and upland birds, you should read it. Some of it even suggests that a healthy coyote population increases upland bird hatch success. Dale Rollins or Pheasants Forever would be two good places to start.

I live on the southern end of the pheasant counties in Texas (Hockley/Lubbock area), our numbers out here are gonna be bad. Almost no rain all summer = very few birds. Hopefully it's better the further north you go. Around here if you have rain you have birds if you don't well better luck next year.

Yep, you sure you aren’t my dad? Lol Of course, personally, after making that drive, I stay a few days.

Seriously, I have heard from some friends up there, the birds have been spotted regularly. Last year, this was the case, as well. Unfortunately, last year, the coyotes and owls did a number on them before season opened and we walked a lot of normally good ground for sparse number of birds. But hey, I go every year, regardless, because you just don’t know, until you get there!

Before you can have good habitat you need to pray for rain to get the habitat to grow up to be green and lush and full of insects and nesting and shade/hiding cover.
Predators play a part in eating some of the surviving young birds before December. Don't under estimate predators.

By far the best panhandle pheasant hunts were the two years following an out break of red mange, that led to the demise of a large number of coyotes...adequate rains that next spring made for some memorable hunts! And personally, I never underestimate predation.

If you think predators are the problem, this winter go coyote hunting, I think that would be a blast!! You better whack skunks and opossums as well though

https://www.pheasantsforever.org/Habitat/Pheasant-Facts/Effects-of-Predators.aspx

https://pheasantsforever.org/BlogLanding/Blogs/Pheasants-Forever/Like-Pheasants-Thank-a-Coyote.aspx

https://www.google.com/amp/www.mitchellrepublic.com/sports/outdoors/2038824-gfp-says-coyotes-not-blame-pheasant-decline%3famp

There are plenty more studies out there about what coyotes actually do eat. Too many to link them. It’s not pheasants people.

Bird hunters need to stop spreading incorrect information. You can be part of helping pheasant numbers.

Enjoyed reading your highlighted articles. I also understand that the primary mission of Pheasants Forever is getting landowners to increase pheasant habitat, rather than say focusing on predator control. From that regard, I would say, to each his own.

As a young subadult, we (my dad and I) raised and flight trained both quail and pheasants for sale. Our primary largest predation issues came from the following animals, in order from most bothersome to least bothersome;

1) domestic dogs/ cats
2) coyotes
3) raccoons
4) bobcats
5) mink/weasels
6) foxes
7) cougars

During season in nesting habitat, skunks, coons, foxes, and bobcats will up the ante. Yes, we need to bring back the fur trade to better manage these furbearer populations. However, to suggest that ole Wiley coyote has no affect on pheasant populations, and further, is a savior to pheasants, is well, nothing more than idle chatter. Kind of like saying socialism will help everybody for less money. I hear and read what you are saying, but doesn’t mean I agree with you. So, I will respectfully agree to disagree.

I’ve hunted pheasants in the Texas Panhandle for a long time. My best hunting spot was a big ditch between two irrigated circles. About wide enough for 5 people to walk. That section sold to a hedge fund 8 years ago and they plowed my half mile worth of pheasant habitat.

The problem is still not predators(even if crapicat has a hard time differentiating between facts and opinions)

All over the 806, the old tailwater pits have been turned into farm ground. They are farming cotton in the corners that used to be CRP. If I had taken a big map 15 years ago and highlighted all of the good pheasant hunting spots in my county then compared that to what is left today - it would be a lot easier to see why there are so few pheasants.

LOL. Yea, habitat loss is always the answer. So if you are really worried about pheasant habitat loss to farming, why don’t you go petition Congress for some more CRP money? That way Farmers/ranchers can afford to keep the land out of production, instead of using it to pay the taxes owed. Dwindling CRP money is a direct result of your perceived “problem” , so go take the Pheasants Forever bandwagon, petition congress and do something about it. Instead of all the “saving the coyote” verbage, maybe you could do some real good.

I understand your “platform” talk and the potential money and habitat you stand to gain by propping up poor ole Wiley coyote to the bleeding heart crowd, that doesn’t understand the reality of any situation. I also understand that we will never eradicate the coyote, even if we tried, however, like any thing, we can do our part to control over expansion of said coyote...Now, you want meaningful change, get your Pheasants Forever bunch to start a “Buy Fur” campaign, as well as petitioning congress for more (not less) CRP funds (or maybe y’all can pay for some set aside money for Pheasant habitat). It would help much more “progressive” than your bandwagon of “saving the hardest working employee I got” coyote. So, there are your facts, now go do something good for Pheasants...you have my blessing, as I love pheasant hunting and pheasant hunt more than most...