Methods of winter hunting for wood grouse

March 9, 2020
Hunting
Makarova Kristina

Many novice hunters wonder: how can you catch a pheasant alive? In order to answer this question, it is necessary to understand, firstly, where this bird lives, and secondly, what are the features of its behavior. It is also necessary to have information about what fishing methods exist that do not cause absolutely any harm to the pheasant.

Some recommendations for hunters

It is very important for every birder to remember that under no circumstances should there be any gun, as well as a trap or a hunting dog. Don’t despair, there are quite a lot of ways to catch pheasants, you can just use all sorts of tricks. Moreover, they have already proven themselves well.

To begin with, you need to clarify the following points:

What does a pheasant eat?
Where does the bird live?
What time does she sleep and when is she awake?
What are her habits?

The answers to these questions are quite simple:

The bird prefers to drink plenty of water, so there should be a body of water nearby.
The pheasant prefers to live in dense thickets. It is there that he builds his nests.
These birds are different in that 1 male can be with several females at the same time.
In the daytime, pheasants love to hunt. Therefore, it is very problematic to meet them during the day. But early in the morning or in the evening the female is always near the shelter. As for the male, he may be nearby, or he may go far in search of food.
Pheasants prefer to nest on the ground. At the same time, they carefully cover their home with branches and grass.
Pheasants can be classified as a very cautious and timid species. As soon as you get close to the bird, it will freeze, and it will be quite difficult to detect it.
In winter, pheasants live in flocks, and in spring and summer - in pairs.
The nests are holes covered with dry vegetation and feathers.
Males scream very loudly, and females sing along with them.
The diet includes plant and animal foods: various seeds, grains, berries, fruits, fish, insects, as well as mice, snakes, mollusks, worms, snails, etc.
Making nests is the responsibility of females.

Weapons and the right shot

Many people know that a comfortable shooting distance is 25-30 meters. Shooting is carried out with shot No. 1, 2. One rule will help to eliminate the appearance of wounded animals when shooting. You can't shoot a bird from behind. You need to aim at the side, under the base of the wing. You can hunt a rooster in winter with rifled and smooth-bore weapons.

Any hunt for upland game is considered difficult. You need to walk more than one kilometer. Therefore, it is better to take a weapon for hunting that is not heavy, the weight of which does not exceed 3.3 kilograms. The legendary IZH-27 or TOZ-34 shotguns are perfect for this.

Among semi-automatic weapons, foreign brands have proven themselves well:

"Beretta".
Benelli.
“Urika.
"Browning".

As for clothes. It must be appropriate for the season. No rustling or restricting movement. Shoes must be selected taking into account covering long distances. Wear a sports cap on your head. Do not forget about the methods of your own disguise and weapons. Other equipment

Among other equipment, we will highlight devices for determining the distance of a shot: range finder, binoculars. To avoid getting lost in the forest, take a compass with you. Today you can hunt comfortably, take food and water, burners, and so on. This is all loaded into a car or snowmobile. And away from the hustle and bustle of people, in nature, you can cook delicious food.

How to lure them

In order to lure a pheasant, you can use a decoy. It is based on extracting sounds that resemble the calls of pheasants. The decoy best imitates the sounds of a female during the mating season. Thanks to the decoy, pheasants are often distracted. Therefore, they can be detected faster.

For this you can use:

Wind decoy. It is the most budget-friendly, simplified option. It was actively used by our distant ancestors. A wind decoy is a device that works like a whistle. Its main disadvantage is the weak sound signal. Birds can only hear this sound at close range. Well, in order to accurately imitate the cry of birds, the hunter must have excellent skill and hearing.
Electronic decoy. This device is a modern device. It runs on a battery that needs to be pre-charged. The main advantage of this device is the ability to imitate the calls of pheasants very well and clearly. The main disadvantages of an electronic decoy are its relatively high cost, significant size and weight, as well as the constant need to recharge.

How to catch them

Some hunters ask: how to catch a pheasant? What traps need to be made for this, and also what does every hunter need to know in order to catch these birds?

The following principles must be followed:

Observation. After a bird has been discovered, it is necessary to trace its further path. She can help lead the hunter to her relatives.
Patience. Very often a hunter has to sit in ambush for several hours.
Caution and accuracy. If this principle is not followed, the bird may get scared and fly away.
It is necessary to learn how to set traps accurately and correctly.
Hunter's clothing should be light and durable. Thanks to this, his movements will not be constrained, and he will be able to pursue the bird faster.
Hunter's shoes must be comfortable.

In addition, in order to catch a bird faster, you need to decide on the choice of fishing method. Moreover, there are currently a large number of them.

To do this, you can use regular traps designed for pheasants. Thanks to them, it is possible to catch the bird alive faster. This is beneficial for those hunters who plan to breed pheasants in the future.

Due to the fact that there are a large number of fishing methods and methods, every hunter can find one suitable for himself.

Corralling poultry with nets

Some novice hunters are wondering how to make a pheasant trap. Driving birds using nets is one of the most effective methods of catching them.

The height of the permitted nets varies from 6 to 8 m. Their width must be at least 300 m. This type of hunting is ideal for mass catching of birds.

It’s quite possible to make these pheasant snares with your own hands. It is recommended to install the trap in a dark place. Preference should be given to thickets to effectively camouflage it.

The nets must be attached with special poles. The poles should be driven directly into the ground. Then you need to secure the net at a height of no more than half a meter. This type of pheasant trap is best placed by more experienced hunters. This is necessary in order to install it correctly.

Well, in order to drive these birds into a pheasant trap made with their own hands, very often some hunters attract specially trained hunting dogs. In rare cases, hunters cope with this themselves. The ideal time of day for hunting is night or twilight. At this time, pheasant traps are less noticeable. And this is very beneficial for the hunter.

When pheasants fall into a trap, they begin to get entangled, and if the hunter is located nearby, he approaches and takes the birds out of there. They are planted in large baskets and then transported to their destination.

Disguise for traps

The catchability of traps increases significantly if they are carefully camouflaged. When hunting along the black trail, the best camouflage for a trap is to place it in the water. When installed at a depth of 5-7 centimeters on a natural water hazard or a swampy path, the trap can be tied tightly, and the predator will not leave with a chewed off paw. Large animals caught in a trap under water quickly get tired and either calm down or choke.

Hunting trap No. 5 for wolves

A hunter with many years of experience, Viktor Panchenko, sets traps for the trail in winter.

I once set traps for a wolf. To do this, you need to take a cow or horse carcass into the forest in the fall, says Viktor Alekseevich.

— When the snow falls, you go to see if there are any traces of a wolf around the bait. You need to find a path along which the wolves have passed several times. Next to the footprint, I cut out a small cube of snow with a wooden spatula. Then he raked everything out from under the snow and set a trap there. The cube was then put in place. You need to follow your own trail, covering up all your fingerprints. Yes, so that the snow surface remains perfect. The wolf is very attentive. It's best to sprinkle some snow on top.

Every hunter needs to know that when he sees someone’s bait in the forest, he needs to move away. Meat is left not only next to wolf traps, but also to bear ones. And traps for the owner of the taiga are much more dangerous.

“I made a bear trap myself,” hunter Viktor Panchenko continues the story. – I made it from improvised materials. We used two leaf springs from a UAZ, and welded two metal arches. The trap turned out to be powerful. She immediately broke the bear's leg up to the knee. If a person steps into such a trap, he will not get out of the taiga alive. Traps for hare and fox are much simpler. Small traps are used for them. Even smaller traps - loops - are used to catch partridges. There are animals in our forests that cannot be caught by any other means except traps. For example, sable. Commercial hunters set traps on the so-called “paths” where the animals pass. Bait is left next to the trap. Ermine and marten are caught in the same way. They are lured by pigeons, jays and even honeycombs.

Teen Wolf

Many novice hunters ask how to catch a pheasant. Almost anyone can build a trap with their own hands called a wolf cub.

This device is a cage. Its height is no more than 50 cm. The cub's frame is made of wood, then it is secured with a net and a pheasant trap is installed. As for the gate of this frame, it can be done as follows: it is firmly strengthened at the top, and, on the contrary, left free at the bottom. Such a pheasant trap allows birds to enter it, but the pheasants cannot get back out.

Most often, this device is installed at the bird feeding site. This is necessary so that they can easily and simply enter the cage without any fear, that is, they get used to it and do not perceive it as a danger. Slowness is very important in this process. Literally during the first few days it should be left without doors so that the birds get used to this design. And after a few days you can install the doors. After this, the bird will no longer be able to escape from this trap.

It is recommended that the wolf cub be under the constant supervision of a hunter. After all, even a predator can get there. Once a pheasant has fallen into this trap, it must be removed from there. Next, the bird should be transported to the desired location.

Snares and traps when hunting game

Hunting allows a person in the wild to provide himself with game - meat, protein food. You can hunt both small game and medium and large animals. There are two fundamentally different approaches to hunting: active and passive.

Active hunting requires the presence of weapons (firearms, bow and arrows, sling, throwing stick, spear, etc.) and an active search for prey. Passive hunting involves installing traps, traps, and snares , into which the game itself is caught. Today we’ll talk about passive hunting, snares and traps. The topic is vast and extremely interesting.

Traps for big game . I’ll say right away that in conditions of autonomous survival, it makes sense to hunt big game only in two cases: you are not alone, and you can manage to eat a lot of meat before it spoils; or you are parking for several days and you have the opportunity to preserve a lot of meat for a long time: salting, smoking, drying, freezing. In all other cases, you should pay attention to hunting for small and medium game. Since you simply won’t eat a lot of meat, and even if you kill a large animal, most of it will be lost - which is not good. In addition, catching a large animal is more difficult and dangerous than catching several small ones.

On a path where a large animal moves, you can dig a hole and install sharp stakes at the bottom, and camouflage the top with leaves and branches. However, this method has many disadvantages. First of all, digging a hole is difficult. Secondly, if the trap does not work, then you must remove the stakes and fill the hole so that a person or animal does not fall into it later when you leave.

trap is good for large animals . Parallel to the ground, at a height of 0.5-1-1.5 m, depending on the type of animal, a strong, flexible stick, up to 3-4 m long and as thick as an arm, is attached to a cleft in the trees. At its end 4-6 stakes, carved from strong branches, are tied. The stakes should be pointed towards the trail. The branch is pulled away from the path and fixed on a trip wire that blocks the path.

When the animal passes and touches the tripwire, the bent branch straightens and with enormous force directs sharp stakes into the body of the prey. A very lethal and lethal trap, just for big game. such barbaric traps against US soldiers and were very successful.

Medium game traps . A piece of heavy log is placed at an angle over the path. The upper edge of the log is held in place by a vertical support, an even stick of medium thickness. A tripwire is tied to the support, across the path (the second end of the tripwire is attached to a peg or bush on the other side of the path). When the animal runs along the path, it crashes into a tripwire located a few centimeters above the ground, the support breaks down and the entire mass of the log falls on the back of the game. As a rule, the prey dies on the spot or, at a minimum, is reliably immobilized until you appear.

Snares for small game . First option. A thick, strong peg is taken from a branch and stuck next to the animal trail. A self-tightening loop is made from fishing line, lace, rope, wire. Such a snare is installed directly across the path. If there are bushes on the sides of the path, then the edges of the snare are pulled over them. Or two thin branches are used as supports for the snare loop. The animal runs along the path, gets its head into the noose, rips it out of place, and moving on, tightens the noose around its neck.

This type of snare is also suitable for medium game. You just need a more reliable peg. And the snare loop is laid flat on the path, hoping to catch the game by the leg and hold it in place until you arrive.

Second option. The snare loop is attached to the end of a long, thin, flexible tree growing near the animal's path or to a specially inserted branch. At the other edge of the path, a small peg with a split at the top (or another type of clamp) is stuck into place. The branch is bent, the loop is pulled across the path, and the rope, just above the loop, is pinched in the clamp. When the animal gets caught in the snare's loop, it runs further, tightens the loop and pulls the rope out of the lock. As a result, he ends up not only in a loop, but also in the air, because... the straightened tree throws the prey upward, often killing it.

Any snares and traps must be carefully camouflaged . The animals are careful; if they notice any changes on their usual path, they can sense something is wrong and bypass the trap. In addition, animals have a very developed sense of smell, so you need to try to rid the trap of your smell. To do this, wipe the snare with moss or grass.

A special trap for squirrels and other small rodents. You need to place a thick piece of branch at an angle, leaning it against the tree trunk. This way, you will shorten the path, and the squirrel will most likely run along the branch, and not down the trunk. After all, it is always more convenient and faster to run along the hypotenuse than along two legs. A snare loop is installed on the branch. The squirrel gets caught in a noose, falls and hangs itself.

Remember! When the hunt is over and you leave the area, be sure to remove all snares and disarm traps. There is no point if animals get there when you have already left, carelessly leaving the traps. So much the worse if another wanderer or you yourself fall into some large and dangerous trap...

A loop

Before installing it, the hunter must carefully study the behavior of the pheasant. He must understand what route the bird takes every day. This is recommended in order to correctly calculate where to attach the trap.

The loop can be made from ordinary wire. It is best for it to be soft, but at the same time durable. This is necessary so that the bird cannot escape. The average length of such a wire is about 1.5 m. And to make it, you need to connect one end into a ring, and its diameter must be at least 8 cm. The other end must be threaded into the ring and secured to the tree.

Once the bird gets into the loop, it gets caught on the edges of the wire and thanks to this it can no longer fly back. To prevent injury to the bird, it is recommended to release it immediately.

How to make a partridge trap with your own hands

Making your own traps for catching partridges is not difficult. For snares of a simple design, you will need a sheet of plywood and fishing line (wire) with a diameter of 0.5 mm. Holes are made in the plywood with a nail or a thin drill bit every 10 cm. A piece of fishing line is threaded through each of them, a sliding loop is tied at one end, and a sliding loop is tied to the other end from the back of the plywood sheet.

As a result, we get a platform, on the front side covered with snare loops at regular intervals. At the bird feeding area, the plywood is laid with the loops up and covered with snow to camouflage it. The bait crumbles on top of it. Having discovered food, the birds begin to peck at it and get their paws entangled in the loops. When hunting, you can use several similar devices for catching partridges at once. The distance between them should not be less than 20-30 meters, so that birds caught in one trap, trying to escape, do not scare away the game from the other.

Getting a partridge without using a firearm is much more difficult and requires certain skills. Catching game birds using traps can be no less exciting and exciting than hunting with a gun. In addition, a bird taken alive can be used to breed your own partridge population in a household plot.

Hook and slam frame

This device is a square frame with a mesh stretched over it. It is best to place a pheasant trap directly above the bird feeder at an angle. The hunter must tie the rope to the peg. Then, you need to add raisins or any grain that the pheasant prefers to eat. After this, the hunters begin to wait. As soon as the birds fly up and are under the frame, the hunter pulls the peg, and the pheasant falls into the trap. After the birds calm down, they are caught and transported to their destination.

Cage fishing

This method helps to get the bird without damage. If you want to catch ducklings together with a female, it is permissible to use a trap that is a folding cage. To do this, you should place the structure on the ground and place a spacer inside.

Expert opinion

Zarechny Maxim Valerievich

Agronomist with 12 years of experience. Our best country expert.

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It is worth placing grains, crumbs or other food under the cage. You should attach a rope to the spacer and hide nearby.

If you choose the right place, the new structure will arouse the duck’s interest after a certain time. At first, the bird will approach the trap with fear. However, after a certain time she will get used to it and will eat the food. If there are ducklings, they will rush after the mother. Then you need to pull the rope, the cage will fall, and the bird will be trapped. This method does not cause damage to birds, so ducks obtained this way can be eaten or used for breeding.

Euthanasia

All of the above methods of catching these birds are traumatic, in addition, they have a bad effect on their nervous system. If the main purpose of catching them is for further breeding, then it is best to use a regular sleeping pill to catch them. At least this method is optimal.

To do this, the product can be sprinkled in feeding areas. Then you should mix it with the grain. Well, in order for the bird to fall asleep for sure, a sleeping pill can be placed inside the raisins. If the pheasant eats the tablet, after a while he begins to fall asleep. The main and main task of the hunter in this case is to find the bird as quickly as possible, since the effect of this medicine is short-lived.

The methods of catching these birds are quite labor-intensive and require patience. Therefore, to catch a pheasant, excellent skill is required. The experience of the hunter is no less important.

Hunting with a husky

The main types of prey for the owner of valuable fur include interesting hunting with dogs.

Practice shows that when hunting from the approach, huskies cope best with the task. They have good hearing, charm and excellent eyesight.

The dog's task is to find the squirrel and constantly monitor it. Don't let it go out of sight. The huskies, chasing the animal and driving it up a tree, bark at it. They give the hunter a sign.

The most successful hunting for squirrels with huskies is from the beginning of dawn to noon. You can start hunting in the evening: two, three hours before sunset.