Birds in Iowa?

The winters have been tough and the springs wet. Needless to say, Iowa’s pheasant population has been hurting. If you ask anyone about the bird numbers you get the same shrugged shoulders, crinkled frown, and a “Just aint the birds there used to be”. You talk to farmers about the numbers and you get countless stories about the old days when the last few rows of corn combined held an abundance of these beautiful birds. Now most farmers will tell you they hardly see a bird. With more CRP coming out everyday, the situation is not getting better.

Having been raised in Iowa, Pheasant hunting is something I have always done. It started when i was old enough to walk along with my dad holding nothing but a B.B gun, and grew to be one of my greatest passions. There are few things that get my heart racing like the eruption of a pheasant wings as he busts under a good dog’s nose.

With all the bowhunting we’ve been doing lately my dog has been rather down. Every morning when I leave in the dark, camo, bow in hand, he looks up as if to say “honestly, again?”.

With Iowa’s Gun season in full swing, Bowhunting temporarily closed, and my gun tag filled, It was time for a little pheasant hunting….If we could find um.

I hooked up with Pro-staffer Kyle Balik and we headed out to see if we couldn’t throw some lead. I firmly believe that the harder you have to work for something the more rewarding it is. This couldn’t have been more true today.

There are still a few birds in Iowa!