[AndrewM]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

Within a few hours of being chased, most of the released birds have taken to heavy cover. At the sites that I spend my time at, many head for the trees, and you can walk the open fields for hours and never find one. The birds that do remain in the open fields often run, and you never see them. And if they don't run, you can still walk by within feet of them, and not see them.

Now if you show up right after they are released, many can be found in the open fields, and some just stand in the open confused, until they are killed or scared off. This is when most of the people that don't have dogs manage to kill birds. And if you cripple one, and don[t have a dog, they can hide very well, and many are never found.

Even a couple of hours can make a huge difference in whether the birds are easy pickings, or must actually be hunted. Many times, we show up with my dog, only to be told by other hunters that there are no birds around, but most times, we have no problems finding birds.

Sounds like it would be awesome with dogs. Shooting newly released stunned ones isn't my idea of fun. Hopefully the majority make it to a bit of cover!