Statewide pheasant hunting numbers anybody's guess

Photo courtesy of the Missouri Department of Conservation/ A successful hunter with a Missouri pheasant.

Nevada Daily Mail

The news from the Missouri Department of Conservation that the pheasant hunting season this year will be open statewide, doesn't mean that the numbers of the popular game- bird has increased.

Beth Emmerich, research scientist for MDC, said, "Having a statewide season on pheasants will eliminate some of the confusion regarding pheasant hunting."

There was a statewide pheasant hunting season in Missouri years ago. The main population of this game bird was located in the northern third of the state. Hunting season was allowed north of Highway 6 and later moved south to Highway 36 and in 2005 dropped down to Interstate 70.

When growing up in Carroll County, the conservation agent at the time, John Madden, told me that it would be alright for me to shoot a male pheasant should I run into one while hunting quail or rabbits.

There was a statewide season at that time. He said that pheasants had been stocked around the county several years earlier, but they didn't survive in our area.

MDC stocked pheasants in other parts of the state, but the birds never grew to huntable numbers. Pheasants are best suited to areas where they have a good food supply of small grains and good cover. Their numbers began increasing after the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) started in 1985, as acres of farm land were converted into good cover for nesting birds. Pheasants spend most of their time in an area of just a few hundred acres.

Dave Roberts, of Harrisonville, grew up near Springfield, and had never hunted pheasants before three years ago.

He said, "There were no pheasants in south Missouri. I always thought you had to go to South Dakota or Kansas to find them. A friend from Kansas City talked me into going hunting with him up near the Iowa state line. I think now that the hunting for pheasants can be good in Missouri. We both had our limits in a couple hours hunting. The birds seemed to be more colorful than I thought.

"They run like a wild turkey and can hide in very little cover. I remember the first ringneck that flushed in front of me and I thought it was a turkey it looked so big. The population of pheasants in the state seems to be growing, so this fall if you want a hunt that includes quail and pheasant, late season in northern Missouri might be the answer."

Emmerich said, "By expanding pheasant hunting statewide, it will simplify harvest regulations for hunters with limited impact to the overall population of pheasants. The birds like flat areas where there is a good supply of small grain like corn, oats and milo, and they also eat weed seeds and insects.

"Because of their habits and food needs, there are areas in the state where they will not thrive. Just like quail, when there were more alfalfa fields, the birds did well, but today there are fewer alfalfa fields. With more game-farms and hunting clubs today there has been occasions where pheasants have escaped to private land where a hunter might find them, but because of the hunting regulations, hunters couldn't shoot them.

"By having a statewide-season it would be legal to shoot them during the open-season. Also, other game have statewide hunting seasons, although their numbers are not found statewide. Game species including swamp rabbit, woodcock and quail have limited range."

For more information on hunting pheasants and other game, visit the MDC website at mdc.mo.gov.

The pheasant range in Missouri is limited to areas north of the Missouri River and Interstate highway 70. Emmerich said a person might see birds in places like Carroll, Audrain and Saline counties, most areas farther south are void of pheasants.

The statewide pheasant season this year will open with a weekend Youth Hunt on Oct. 24-25, followed by the regular season on Nov. 1 to Jan. 15, with a daily limit of two male birds and possession limit of four male birds.