It must be a sign that I’m getting older because now, when I hear somebody mention that pheasant season will be opening soon, I have a tendency to look back to the “good old days” of pursuing pheasants.

I lived in western Pennsylvania until I moved into this area in the ‘70s. Western Pennsylvania was not known for having much of a pheasant population, at least not where I lived in the DuBois area. Other than a few stocked birds, a pheasant was a pretty rare sighting, but when I moved to this area, I was excited to find out that pheasants were much more common.

Not only were there some pretty good number of stocked birds, but there was also some natural reproduction going on in the surrounding and fairly abundant farmland.

Years ago, I actually remember seeing and hearing an occasional wild pheasant even around my home in the Muncy- Exchange area. I haven’t caught sight of a pheasant anywhere near my place in the past few years.

The bottom line is, if you want to hunt pheasants these days, you’d best check out where the Game Commission has been doing the pheasant stocking and arrive early since you will likely have company.

I was reminded of pheasant hunting when I noticed that the Junior Hunt for pheasants started on October 10 and runs until October 18.

The regular statewide pheasant hunting season runs from October 24 to December 24 and then again from December 26 to February 28.

Be aware that all adult hunters and some senior hunters who plan to hunt pheasants are required to purchase a permit in addition to a general hunting license or mentored permit.

Pheasant permits cost $26.97, and they must be signed and carried while hunting.

Be aware that senior lifetime resident hunting or senior lifetime resident combination license holders who acquired their licenses prior to May 13, 2017, are exempt from needing to buy a pheasant permit.

Junior hunters and mentored permit holders under 17 need to acquire a FREE permit.

Prime pheasant habitat includes farmland that has some nearby weed fields that may include blackberries, sumac, and honeysuckle patches. Swampy areas and marshy depressions and cattails also provide good additional cover. An added benefit would be nearby food sources that include thornapples, apples, skunk cabbage, ragweed, grapes, and especially waste corn left after harvesting.

I’ll admit that most of my pheasant hunting was done the hard way since I didn’t have a dog.

The hard way meant walking into all that thick cover and kicking the brush and hoping you could get that shotgun up and ready for a quick shot.

I missed my share of pheasants, but I did manage to get some as well.

I finally got smart and made friends with somebody that had a good pheasant pointing dog. What a difference!

Watching that dog work that thick, brushy cover as I stood in a ready position nearby was a real treat. When the dog went on point, I was ready to shoot.

Granted, I still missed my share of birds, but the hunting was a whole lot more fun and productive.

Hopefully you can get out for some of that pheasant hunting, but bear in mind you still have time to make friends with someone who has a well-trained pheasant hunting dog.