Alpine wrote:
Wondering if anyone here does western WA pheasant hunting?
Western Washington as mentioned in previous post have release sites scattered around Western Washington. The one I'm most familiar with are the ones around JBLM.
I stopped hunting about 15 years ago so this is old info...
Towards the end of my hunting I volunteered to release those birds. So it's mostly open ground. The pheasants are pen raised until they are released that morning. We would drive around scattering the birds near the start line - give the birds a few moments to get settled (in the middle of the night) a few hours before hunting began that morning.
Do know there are a few more "things" you have to do to hunt on JBLM - register as a hunter, register your firearm and call in every morning of your hunt. See any additional things you have to do now.
Hunting: you park in a designated parking area and line up on the hunting line, spacing out depends on how many hunters are there (they do have a limit on how many hunters per hunt) - typically the line is a road or something. When the magic hour comes... you start walking. Within 100 feet you'll hear shots going off. So it's basically over in 30-50 min. Some folks will sweep back after most the folks leave.
It's not like the "wild" of Eastern Washington but remember - habitat is expensive... Like saying you have a 100 acres in your back pocket expensive.
Check the Washington Hunting website for all the updated info.
A bird flushing 10 feet from you is still thrilling and amazing to watch. Just let it go out a few more meters before you shoot it (if you want to eat anything)... lol