Experts tips for hunting prairie birds without a dog

A dog provides a distinct advantage when you’re hunting prairie upland birds, including sharp-tailed grouse, Hungarian partridge and ring-necked pheasants. If you don’t have a dog, however, a spot-and-stalk approach can also be effective.

Try to locate birds moving between their roosts and feeding locations, then walk down on them. When hunting with a partner, focus on creek bottoms, hedgerows or coulees. As you walk toward one another from opposite ends of the cover, birds will often flush at the feet of one hunter while running from the other.

Farmland birds, meanwhile, often feed on waste or standing grain, seeking refuge in abandoned homesteads, willow patches and slough bottoms. Hunt that type of cover by walking parallel to your partner.

Sharptails and Huns, in particular, are notorious for flushing sequentially, so be prepared for late-flushing birds. If you miss them, pay careful attention to where they fly to; it’s often possible to flush them several times. Huns typically resettle near one another, while sharptails tend to split up.