Hunting opportunities in Manitoba...

[PPinQC]

I am heading out to Manitoba this fall for deer hunting. I'm curious what kind of upland game will be present. I'll be about an hour north of Winnipeg.

I would assume there are pheasants, but what are some of the other game birds in the area? Huns? Grouse? Chuckar?

[RyanGSP]

A search on googled revielded alot of Migratory bird hunting out that way as well as some Turkey's, Grouse (Ruffed, Spruce, Sharptail), Ptarmigan, and Huns. I didnt see a season for Pheasants.

http://www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/wildlife/hunting/gamebird/upland/seasons.html

[PPinQC]

Thanks Ryan. The dogs are definitely coming then. I can get plenty of migratory birds here, but it's tough to find spruce grouse here and forget about sharpies and huns. Should be great fun.

[Sportdog]

I was there last weekend for the grand opening of Cabela's and met alot of hunters from the area. They have alot of birds to hunt, ruffed grouse, huns and sharptails. Everyone one I met in two days except for two guys were duck and goose hunters. They pretty well said upland bird hunting is wide open for who ever would like to do it. I made a few contacts and think I will plan a trip this fall if everything goes well.

[Junior]

I didn't know that Manitoba had a strong population of Huns? I have to assume the best Hungarian spots are near the Saskatchewan border? I go to Saskatchewan every year for Huns and wouldn't mind trying Manitoba if there is a decent population to hunt. It's a lot easier to fly to Winnipeg than Regina(very limited direct flights) with WestJet from Toronto. I am curious if anyone can comment on the Hungarian population in Manitoba vs. Saskatchewan or Alberta?

[RyanGSP]

Where I hunt huns is on dryland farming with rows of Cirriganna. Our Population is through the roof but I have seen alot of huns in Sask.

Trick is going to be finding the proper habitat. You go around here to some of the open prairie and they are hard to find but like I said before start on the edge of canals there it meets the dryland farming and its non stop.

Really fun to shoot birds over one dog while the other dog is another 200 yards ahead locked up on another covey.

[Junior]

Ryan, we hunt the same way in Saskatchewan and last year was a great year for huns. However, if my GSP puppy will range out I will try some open fields and see how he does. My Vizsla is a 100yard dog max so I hunt the carragana bushes. I just booked my trip to Saskatchewan for the opener and I am looking forward in seeing how the pup does who will be 8 months old at that time. I would love to hear from anyone who has hunted Manitoba huns to see if it is worth a trip there or should I contine going to Saskatchewan.

[RyanGSP]

Junior if your near the Sask AB border give me a shout. I am only 2 hours from there and would love to have you guys out or could join you for a day.

I run a GSP who casts about 250 in the wide open and runs 100-150. He will run bigger if there is other dogs who are running that big. He's broke and gets along great with other dogs.

[Junior]

Ryan, would love to hook up with you have a PM.

[BdBHunts]

I have been trying to find bird population numbers in Manitoba, my wifes uncle grew up on a farm that was pretty much on the border with ND. I have wanted to hunt out west and would like to try that area as I can look into getting info on places to hunt.

[Junior]

Jeremy, are you looking at hunting sharptails or Huns or both in Manitoba? My understanding from speaking to some locals that they have a decent population of sharptails, ruffed grouse and spruce grouse but the huns are not as popular unless you catch them in the right area. If I could find at least 3 or 4 Hungarian coveys a day it would be worth a long weekened trip for me to get my pup into as many wild birds as possible. On a side note I will be at Peter's place on Saturday afternoon doing some training maybe you can stop by.

[Junior]

I did some research on Manitoba and found out that you can hunt on Sundays for upland which is another added bonus because I can't in Saskatchewan.

[Whytey]

Went out and hunted waterfowl in Manitoba fall off 06. We stayed near Arborg and while out scouting we shot a few sharptails and ruffed grouse. The sharptail is quick and doesn't hang around, a lot of fun to hunt. Good luck.

[Fraze]

Good luck with the hunting. Where are you going to hunt? I am from Manitoba but now live in Ontario. There are lots of public options for hunting birds near Winnipeg. We would hunt in the Sandilands forest that is east of Winnipeg but there is lots of area's north of Winnipeg as well. There is not any pheasants but lots of spruce and ruffed depending on the year as they really tend to cycle and the coyotes and fox #'s have been REALLY high the last couple years. I will be there Oct 31 - Nov 8 and the goose hunting can be really good around that time as well.

Good luck!

Jamie