Pheasants as bonus birds?

[crackehelmet]

So the last couple weekends I've been duck hunting an upland grassland WMA dotted with ponds. There is a Pheasant rooster who's shown up in the same strip of brush/grass across from my blind. He hangs around in that area for quite a while and makes a fair bit of racket crowing/chuckling (whatever it's called). Our pheasant season opens this sat and I picked up a stamp tonight because I'd like to give bagging that bird a go if he's there again this Saturday.

Tips and tricks for bagging Pheasants?

[Lockdown]

Get him before he's educated

The biggest piece of advice I can give is don't walk in a steady strait line. They're smart and know if you'll walk past them or not. Stop for 5 seconds every 20-30 yards. Zig zag. That makes them nervous and they flush. I'm pretty sure I've walked by more pheasants than I've flushed. I've had many jump out right at my feet. That's why all serious pheasant hunters use dogs.

[crackehelmet]

Get him before he's educated

The biggest piece of advice I can give is don't walk in a steady strait line. They're smart and know if you'll walk past them or not. Stop for 5 seconds every 20-30 yards. Zig zag. That makes them nervous and they flush. I'm pretty sure I've walked by more pheasants than I've flushed. I've had many jump out right at my feet. That's why all serious pheasant hunters use dogs.

Thanks! I'll zig zag the area he's been in in the morning.

Unfortunately I'll never be willing to take a dog to public land. There is a law here that if a dog is seen chasing a deer it is legal to shoot that dog. There's always that one guy who just wants his chance and that'll end badly for everyone.