More Than 10,000 Pheasants Will be Released in Utah
Utah’s general pheasant hunt opens Nov. 4
If you enjoy hunting one of the most colorful upland game birds in Utah—the ring-necked pheasant—you have lots of reasons to be excited. The number of wild birds is up this fall, more than 10,000 pen-reared pheasants will be released on public hunting areas, and the hunt on private land will be longer than last year.
The state’s 2017 general pheasant hunt runs Nov. 4 – Dec. 3 on both private and public land.
Longer hunt
Starting this season, the pheasant hunt on both private land and public land will run for 30 days. In the past, the hunt on private land ran for only 14 days.
Jason Robinson, upland game coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources, says the longer season on private lands will not have a negative effect on the state’s pheasant population. And it will provide more opportunities to hunt. He says in the 1970s—during the heyday of pheasant hunting in Utah—close to 100,000 hunters went afield. Most of them hunted on private agricultural land.
“Biologists were concerned about the pressure the state’s hunters might put on the pheasant population,” he says. “Since then, the amount of farm land has decreased, but so has the number of pheasant hunters. Today, about 20,000 people hunt pheasants. Because there are far fewer pheasant hunters than there once was, we’re comfortable allowing a longer season on private land.”
Robinson says removing male pheasants does not affect the overall population of pheasants that are available the following year.
“Plenty of roosters make it through the hunting season,” he says, “so enough roosters are available to breed all of the hens the following spring. In addition to not having a negative effect on the pheasant population, making the season dates the same—on both private and public land—makes the state’s pheasant hunting regulations much easier to understand and follow.”
More wild birds
Deep snow and cold temperatures in parts of northern and northeastern Utah killed some pheasants this past winter, but the number of chicks born this spring more than made up for the birds that were lost.
“Chick production was likely above average this spring,” Robinson says. “Heavy snowfall followed by a wet spring provided the chicks with lots of vegetation. They had plenty of cover to hide in and plenty of insects to eat.”
More than 10,000 pen-raised birds
In addition to more wild birds in the state, more than pen-reared 10,000 pheasants will be released on 54 public hunting areas during the hunt.
Pheasants will be released before each weekend of the hunt. The one exception is the week of Thanksgiving. That week, birds will be released early in the week so plenty of pheasants will be available to pursue over the Thanksgiving holiday.
The DWR and Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife bought the birds from two private bird growers. The birds will be released in areas that have good pheasant habitat and good access for public hunters. “Birds will be placed on wildlife management areas, waterfowl management areas and Walk-In Access areas,” Robinson says.
You can see where the birds will be released, and how to get to those areas, by looking at an interactive, online map. The map is available in the Upland game releases section at www.wildlife.utah.gov/uplandgame.
On at least 11 of the areas—10 waterfowl management areas and the Utah Lake Wetland Preserve—you must use nontoxic shot (for example, steel shot) when hunting. Lead shot may not be used.
More information about Utah’s Walk-in Access areas is available at www.wildlife.utah.gov/walkinaccess.
Also, if you have questions about hunting pheasants in Utah, please visit the DWR’s ‘Common questions about hunting pheasant in Utah’ web page. The page is available in the Upland game hunting section at www.wildlife.utah.gov/uplandgame.
Birds released throughout the hunt
If you miss the opening weekend of the hunt, no problem: birds will be released throughout the hunt. “If you hunt after the opening weekend,” Robinson says, “you should still have a great experience and find plenty of birds.”
If you decide to hunt during the opening weekend, know in advance that lots of other hunters will be hunting too. You can still have a good experience, though, by being courteous and respectful to others.
“Ask other hunters where they plan to hunt and try to give each other space,” Robinson says. “Also, if you have a dog, make sure to keep it under control. Please remember that everyone is there to have a good time.”
And make sure to wear plenty of hunter orange.
“Even though it’s not required,” he says, “wearing hunter orange is extremely important, especially when you’re hunting in crowded conditions. You want to make sure other hunters can see you.”
More information
If you have questions about hunting pheasants in Utah, call the nearest Division of Wildlife Resources office or the DWR’s Salt Lake City office at 801-538-4700.
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Pheasant Hunting Tips
Utah’s 2017 pheasant hunt runs Nov. 4 – Dec. 3
Few experiences in the outdoors will cause your heart to race like a rooster pheasant busting out of cover at your feet. The powerful slap of its wings and the loud, excited call the bird makes can scramble your senses, making it difficult to shoulder your gun before the bird flies out of range.
If you gather your senses and make a good shot, though, you’ll bring home one of Utah’s most colorful birds. And, while its meat is slightly tougher than a farm-raised chicken, it actually has more flavor.
Jason Robinson, upland game coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources, provides the following tips to help you find pheasants and take a bird this fall.
How to find birds
If you decide to hunt on private agricultural lands, please remember that you must have written permission from the landowner before hunting on his or her land. And don’t forget about public hunting areas in Utah; pheasants will be released on 54 of these areas before every weekend of the hunt. To learn which wildlife management areas, waterfowl management areas and Walk-In Access areas will receive pheasants, see the DWR's interactive, online pheasant release areas map. The map is available at www.wildlife.utah.gov/uplandgame.
The Utah Lake Wetland Preserve in Utah County is also a good place to hunt.
No matter where you’re hunting in Utah, Robinson describes what perfect pheasant habitat looks like:
· The center of the area will have a field of wheat or corn that provides the birds with food. The wheat or corn field will be surrounded by stiff, stemmed grass that provides pheasants with good nesting cover.
· Outside the stemmed grass, you’ll find a strip of sparse grass with lots of forbs mixed in. (Forbs are any herb that is not grass or grass like. Forbs are an important food source for pheasant chicks.)
· On the other side of the sparse grass, you’ll find thick, woody cover, or a wetland with cattails. This cover protects pheasants during the winter.
“The type of habitat I’ve described provides pheasants with everything they need to eat, hide, breed and raise young,” Robinson says. “Even if an area doesn’t have all of these features, it can still hold birds. But the more an area matches this description, the better chance you’ll have of finding birds.”
Hunting tips
Pheasants are excellent at hiding. Hunting with a trained bird dog can often help you find them. “If a pheasant has cover to hide in,” Robinson says, “you can be standing only a foot or two from a bird and not know it’s there. A good bird dog can make a huge difference in finding hidden birds.”
You can still find pheasants without a dog, though. Robinson suggests the following tactics:
· Walk slowly. Take your time.
The biggest mistake many pheasant hunters make is walking too fast. Simply slowing down, and stopping and standing still from time to time, can cause birds to flush. “Pheasants will often hide and wait for you to walk past them,” Robinson says. “Slowing your pace down, and stopping and standing still from time to time, makes birds that are close to you nervous. In many cases, they’ll think you’ve spotted them. That’s when they’ll try to get away by flushing into the air.”
· Driving and blocking.
A group of hunters is needed to execute this maneuver. One or two hunters are quietly placed at the end of a field to “block” any pheasants the remaining hunters (the drivers) push to the blockers. Then, the drivers enter the field on the opposite side from the blockers, and start walking towards the blockers.
Pheasants that are pushed by the drivers will often run to the end of the field, see the blockers and then hold tight until continued pressure from the drivers causes the birds to flush. When this happens, all of the hunters—blockers and drivers—can usually get shots.
“If you’re going to try this tactic,” Robinson says, “it’s absolutely vital that every hunter in the group knows where the other hunters are. It’s also vital that each hunter wears plenty of hunter orange.”
· Walking ditch banks.
This is a good strategy if you’re hunting alone or with a friend.
If you’re hunting with a friend, place your friend on one side of the ditch bank and you on the other. Then, walk together down the bank.
Robinson says it’s important to walk to the very end of the ditch bank, fence row or whatever cover you’re hunting. “Pheasants would much rather run than fly,” he says. “You might be pushing a pheasant ahead of you and not even know it. But once you reach the end of the cover, the pheasant won’t have any other place to hide. At that point, the bird will usually flush.”
More information
If you have questions about hunting pheasants in Utah, call the nearest Division of Wildlife Resources office or the DWR’s Salt Lake City office at 801-538-4700.
