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Pheasant releases at Delaware State Park today

Wingman

Junior Member
37
0
Hey everyone...I see they are releasing a few hundred pheasant at Delaware today, and the hunting starts tomorrow...and have already released hundreds for the youth hunts there. Does anyone know exactly where they release them, or is that pretty much kept "confidential?" I would imagine it would be the fields on the east side of the reservoir, but even that is a large area. I've never hunted the released pheasants before, so I would welcome any advice/comments on this. Maybe I will call DNR to see if they'll give me the scoop on the locations of the releases. I think I will head out there tomorrow morning to get a jump on the weekend crowd. Curious how long they last, and if they tend to stick to the park or try to fly some distance from where they are released. Obviously these are not as smart as the wild ones I've hunted in North Dakota. If anyone wants to meet there tomorrow let me know. I don't have any dogs, so would just be jumping them myself. Also...what shell size do people like? I think I am going to try to stick with the #6 or #7 high velocity steel shot I've been using for dove since I have a lot leftover...but may have to go bigger.
 

Wingman

Junior Member
37
0
i talked to DNR and they just said they were being released in the wildlife area at Delaware...no specifications as to exactly where...which is what I assumed they would say. I think I will go for a drive right now and do some scouting there to see what I see. I will let y'all know what info I get.
 

Wmiller07

Member
1,132
30
Never been there but I have just gone to the spots they are released and start walking. I use #5 lead.
 

Wingman

Junior Member
37
0
Just got back from my scout at Delaware...and I saw at least 30-40 pheasants in numerous spots around the park. You'd have to be blind to miss them...and of course since they were probably fed by humans, they aren't very spooked at all. There were many that I could have shot at less than 20 ft. that were just standing there oblivious to their future demise. I figure I will have my four tomorrow within the first hour...at max. I think I will stick with the #6 due to the fact that you can get so close to them...maybe go with #7 in the chamber backed by two #6's in the mag just in case they take flight...but most of them just ran away on the ground. They are all male from what I can tell, so they stick out like a sore thumb...not sure about the reasoning for that. Hopefully it's not too crowded out there...could be dangerous seeing how they rarely leave the ground.
 

Wmiller07

Member
1,132
30
Limit is two roosters not four, but where I go they fly just fine. Its a smaller area though. I'm curious to how the rain will affect them.
 

Joel

Senior Member
3,049
113
Centerburg, Ohio
Good luck and be careful if you go. Looks like it'd be a lot of fun but last year I drove by and that place was absolutely packed.
 

Wingman

Junior Member
37
0
Crap...thanks for the info Wmiller...I don't know if any of you have experienced this, but it seems like when I check the "season dates and bag limits" on my phone versus my actual computer, I get conflicting info. I don't know why this is...maybe the phone is pulling up old info or something. For example...the rabbit season dates are different, and so were the pheasant limits for some reason. I don't think I was stoned or anything. Joel...I have a feeling you're going to be right, but hopefully by going tomorrow with rain forecast in the morning, the crowd won't be too large. I'm going to try to get there at least an hour before sunrise. They are still going to be releasing 450 more on two separate dates, so hopefully this will keep people from coming all at once. They released 800 already in the last week and a half for the kids..which seems like a lot. Wonder how many of those actually stayed in the park.
 

Wmiller07

Member
1,132
30
Well had a great hunt with a cool story. A dog got away from its owner and started hunting with me for a few minutes. She pointed and flushed a bird 10 yards ahead have me. After that I walked the dog back to her owner and he invited me to hunt with him the rest of the morning. I felt kind of bad but the owner was 100 yards away and he was really cool about it and just happy his dog did well.
 
Well had a great hunt with a cool story. A dog got away from its owner and started hunting with me for a few minutes. She pointed and flushed a bird 10 yards ahead have me. After that I walked the dog back to her owner and he invited me to hunt with him the rest of the morning. I felt kind of bad but the owner was 100 yards away and he was really cool about it and just happy his dog did well.

That's pretty funny!! Perhaps you now have a friend to hunt with??
 

Wmiller07

Member
1,132
30
That's pretty funny!! Perhaps you now have a friend to hunt with??

Ha-ha if I see him out there again. He asked if I wanted to tag along the rest of the morning so I did. We didn't see anything else but had a nice chat. I met two really cool guys out there today. I really enjoy talking with other hunters, most are very friendly and down to earth.