Choosing the Right Fields By Pro-Staffer Noah Faulkner

• By: admin
• On: 04/01/2010 21:27:35
• In: In The Field
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If you are just getting started in field hunting, choosing the right fields to hunt can be very difficult. Here are a few tips that I use myself, to help you narrow down a field to hunt:      

• The first item to take care of is to locate bodies of water in the general area you plan on hunting. It is ideal that the birds are using this field to roost at. A roosting location is a body of water where the birds feel safe, returning daily to spend the night on. These roosting locations can range from large lakes and quarries, to small farm ponds and creeks. You cannot just simply locate a body of water, you must be certain that the birds are returning to this location every night. Once you have located a roosting location, this is where you want to start narrowing down on where to hunt.
  

• The next step of the process after locating a roosting location is putting miles on the truck to scout for the birds. What I mean by this, is to wake up early in the morning and park some what close to the roosting location, so you can watch as birds fly off the roost in the morning. Once the birds start lifting off, it’s simply just following the flocks and trying to find where the birds are going to feed, or loft, for the day. I recommend having two people for this step because it’s not safe driving around by your self while constantly staring up at the sky, while trying to drive. Once you have located where the birds are flying to each day, you need to gain permission to theses locations.

• When trying to gain permission to hunt these farms, knock on the door and be very polite to the land owner. I usually will give them my full name and simply ask them if I can have permission to hunt their property. If they decline, simply tell them thank you for their time and move on. If they tell you yes, I like to give them my phone number, the season dates, and also license plate numbers of my vehicle and any one else who might be hunting with me. Even if you aren’t able to get permission to that particular field where the birds are going, try to locate another farm close by that the birds are flying over. This way, if you can get permission to what I call traffic farms, you still have very good odds at pulling birds to your spread

• Another option you have if you still haven’t gained permission to any farms, is to go to the PA Game Commission web site. Here you will find a link named Land Owner Programs. Click on that and it will bring up a couple of options. Choose the one named Cooperative Farm – Game Program. It will then bring a state map broken down by counties. You then select which county you plan on hunting. Then it will bring up the county map showing locations of farms enrolled in the program. This program enables farmers to allow people to hunt their property by, in return, receiving grants from the state to improve their current ways of farming, to become more environmentally friendly. You still must ask permission to let the farmer be aware that someone is hunting his property.