Michigan and the Pheasant
Things to Know about Hunting Birds in Michigan
Are you into hunting pheasants and other gentlemanly pursuits in life? Then, you should consider an upland hunting trip to Michigan. The Great Lakes State is famous for its inland lakes, farms, and industries. But, it also has some of the finest privately run bird hunting farms in the nation. Michigan bird hunting farms have everything you need to make the trip an experience you will want to repeat.
What makes Michigan a great hunting ground?
Michigan is one of the top destinations for bird hunting enthusiasts in the United States. This northern state has everything that makes it an ideal hunting ground – plains, hills, mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes, and forests. Glacial landforms dominate much of the state’s land surface. And, in the western half of the Upper Peninsula, there are some of the oldest mountains in the world.
Being so well-endowed by nature, it’s no wonder that Michigan has an abundance of wildlife. The state is especially rich in game birds that bird hunters prize, including pheasants, grouse, quails, pigeons, and doves. To make things easy, bird hunting farms breed these birds and release them into the wild just before hunting begins.
What birds can you expect to hunt?
Michigan has a wide variety of game birds. You can expect to hunt one or more of the following game birds of Michigan on a bird hunting farm:
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Pheasant, grouse, and allies: Ring-necked pheasant, sharp-tailed grouse, ruffed grouse, spruce grouse, greater prairie-chicken, and wild turkey.
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New world quail: Northern bobwhite
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Pigeons and doves: Band-tailed pigeon, rock pigeon, passenger pigeon, common ground dove, Inca dove, mourning dove, white-winged dove, and Eurasian collared dove.
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Ducks, geese, and waterfowl: Fulvous whistling duck, black-bellied whistling duck, Ross’s goose, greater white-fronted goose, snow goose, brant, Canada goose, cackling goose, trumpeter swan, mute swan, tundra swan, garganey, wood duck, American black duck, cinnamon teal, blue-winged teal, gadwall, northern shoveler, American wigeon, Eurasian wigeon, mallard, green-winged teal, northern pintail, redhead, and canvasback.
Among all the game birds, pheasants are by far the most popular. Before the hunt, farms release these birds into the wild. But, don’t think they’ll be easy picking. You will have to use your hunting skills and guile to get them. As experienced hunters will tell you, the fun of hunting is not in the killing but in the chase.
What equipment will you need?
Once you sign up for a bird hunting in Michigan package, the farm will provide you with a shotgun and trained dogs. You can use any type of shotgun you like. It can be a break-breach gun, a semi-automatic gun or another type of shotgun. If you have your own gun, you can use it. The best shotgun for bird hunting is a 16- or 28-gauge double-barreled shotgun. Make sure to remember this.
Will you be provided with gun dogs?
The gun dogs you will work with may be pointing breeds, setters, flushing dogs or retrievers. It depends on the type of bird you are hunting. These dogs will assist you to find, flush out, and retrieve the birds. They often work in pairs or larger groups. To be a successful hunter, you need to develop a good hunting partnership with your dogs. But, you don’t have to worry about that. Michigan pheasant farms train their dogs to do just that. They start to train them from the time they are 4 months old until they achieve perfection.
So, pack your bags and hit the road (or catch a plane) for the experience of a lifetime. A Michigan bird hunting trip will simply blow your mind away.
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