Bird hunting with a bow

[instinctivebowman]

I was wondering how many hunters out there have taken up bird hunting with a bow.  I have been hunting pheasant for about 7 years now. I hunt on a preserve in Illinois and have bagged about 50 or so over the years. I love it, We start hunting hard as deer season is winding down. We hit it really hard thruogh january and all the way to march. I have a product developed specifically for pheasant hunting. We are always looking for ways to improve our product and would love some feedback on how you hunt pheasant and the things you have learned from it.

[jmar595]

I would like to try it. I am in northern cal. There are alot of rice fields and there are so many ducks and geese.

[instinctivebowman]

jmar, i have a a broadhead getting ready to come on the market that were finishing 2 years worth of field test on that is waterfowl specific, let me know if your interested in becoming a field tester for it, we still need a few more test

[zipper bowss]

We are working on getting another pheasent hunt together for next month.It has been a couple of years since I have chased pheasents and that is just too long.Any concerns with using your broadheads along with retrievers?
Bill

[twitchstick]

I was duck/geese hunting yesterday that I might have a pic to post today. I have taken alot of grouse over the years and even a dove once. I would love to do a good pheasent but they are few and far between around here.

[Mike Vines]

As you can see from my avatar, I fully enjoy bird hunting with longbow and recurves.  When my dad/hunting partner died in 2006, I lost all interest in deer hunting and took up bird hunting exclusively.  I have taken many geese, pheasants, turkey and even a hen mallard over decoys.  

My boys (8&6 yrs old) have gotten me back into deer this year, but my love is bird hunting.  I took the tail feathers off of a green wing teal, and to me that is a huge feat, but have yet to connect on a partridge, but that won't keep me from trying.

If you have a new product, I'd love to give it a test drive.

I can honestly say in my own opinion (take it for what it's worth) the Snarrow point is flat out junk.  Judo points belong on the stump shooting course.  Broadheads are awesome as long as there are no dogs involved and everyone in attendance is OK with broadheads flying around.  The Ace Hex Head is one devastating head.  It causes huge amounts of damage, and as of right now, is my head of choice when hunting birds over dogs.

[Steve H.]

I might get some pheasant hunting in on Maui next week!  Mouflon sheep on Lanai is Priority 1 however.

[instinctivebowman]

Bill, We have never had any issues with dogs being hurt with the pheasant spear. We dont use "blade" heads for that reason, because of a possible impalement(did i spell that right?)

[PaddyMac]

I grew up in Pike County hunting rabbits with a Bear recurve but moved on to shotguns for bob whites, waterfowl and pheasants. Pike is pretty serious duck hunting.

Out here I've hunted lots of quail and grouse with a bow. I have tried ducks and geese, but haven't had good experiences. In fact my experiences have been flat awful. I chased a honker around a corn field the better part of a day until I finally killed him with my fourth arrow. Those were blunts and judos in a compound. Not fun. I don't know why it never occurred to me use broadheads... well, there wasn't a TradGang back then. Haven't tried preserve pheasants (release to the gun) yet, but there is a well run one near me.

I'm very interested in hunting birds with a bow because here in Washington everything is crammed into three weeks. The late season on the east side of the Cascades is pretty tough, the deer are out in the barest habitat they can find in the open units and it's very very hard to catch them close to cover. But it just happens to be good pheasant ground. So.... Carry 3 bird heads and 2 broadheads I guess.

The judo points work well on quail but they're awful light. I've broken lots of them. Ace heads are great on grouse and they have a 175 gr that matches my points and heads. I never go deer hunting without at least one ace blunt in the quiver.

But I haven't taken to shooting fluflus on flying birds yet. I'm just taking ground shots, which is doable here on waterfowl because there are corn fields with irrigation ditches in them that form natural pit blinds. If you're good with dekes and calls you can get them on the ground, more geese than ducks, tho. But I've called mallards in during the day to field shell spreads.

I like the look your  bird heads, especially the way the wires are connected -- sturdy -- and will be trying them.

Good luck, Jeremy

[instinctivebowman]

Mike, Wow!!!!  i hunt birds too, but you take it to another level. I cant hit teal with a gun!!!!!very nice. I came up with these products based on a need. I wasnt getting the results i wanted with the products i was using. And that is how my company got started. I have a broadhead you can put with your ace hex head(i love those!!!)
It is designed to dewing or dehead waterfowl. If you hit the bird dead center, my broadhead will slide down your arrow and let the ace hex head do its thing
send me an email about your arrow size, field point size, and mailing address

[instinctivebowman]

Pat, thanks for the info. Bird hunting extends my archery season by months, we just love it

[Jayb]

I'm interested too! I always have flu flu's for birds and a big water fowler now too.
Thanks

[americanhunter7]

Totally interested in this. Dying to go hunt birds with trad bows, and trying to figure out a head to effectively take a bird down with. Always like to see how new products are built and how well they work.

[Furseeker]

I have a great local population of Eurasian Collared doves around my place.  And in the winter time they form flocks that number in the hundreds at a dairy I hunt. I’ve been getting some flu flu arrows ready for some serious wing shooting sessions in the near future. Utah currently has no limit or regulations for hunting them and they taste great.

[wildgame]

I was lucky to have killed three pheasant with my recurve bout two years ago, and got two  quail last year.Were going back after pheasant in jan. I would love to try duck and geese but I was told by a warden it was illegal in ky to do so with archery tackle!

[captain caveman]

I am totally interested in bow hunting some birds.  Was thinking geese would be likely target larger than ducks and cut crop fields seem like they'd give me better chance to find arrows.  Thought a bow fishing type set up designed like the old game tracker systems would be slick to allow shots in open water and easier arrow/bird retrieval.  I also have a two year old setter I am training( at least attempting to train) and have some mechanical bird launchers.  Once she is a little further along in her training I plan on putting some pigeons in launchers and practicing bird shots with homing pigeons.  Great way to combine two things I love to mess with bird dogs and traditional archery.  Keep discussion going I'm vetch interested in hearing other trad hangers experiences with bird hunting with trad gear.

[kuch]

I would highly recomend bird hunting with a bow. Guys , don't be intimidated and think" I can't do that" you can and you will. I did and it's a blast .If I can kill birds out of the air .....anyone can. Total fun. Practice with nerf balls adn get the right tips for your arrows and make the trip... The guys i went with for 3 years in a row had a personal tradgedy and we haven't gone since. Such a good time and great memeories.I miss it. Just do it.

[Roadkill]

I hunted sage hens this year and got a few shots off.  Very windy that day and they were spooky. I had my flu flu fly sideways in the wind.  I take CA quail every year while bunny hu ting. If I can spot them before they fly I will shoot. They flush every which way

[Jeremy]

Only stocked pheasants here in CT, but tons of fun!