As far as hunting spots in Minnesota, the range hasn't expanded any, which means all those spots that were productive in 2005 will likely have more birds in them in 2006. And 2005 was a very good year.

According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, favorable weather and nearly 2 million acres of grassland that were protected under farm conservation programs made 2005 one of the best pheasant hunting seasons in 40 years. Hunters killed 585,000 pheasants last year -- the highest harvest since 1964 -- well above the 2004 take of 420,000 birds.

"Landowners and conservationists put together all the habitat elements for excellent pheasant production, and in the last few years, it has all come together," said Dave Schad, director of the DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife. "Severe winters in the mid-1990s and cool, wet springs limited pheasant production in some of the past 15 years. But in the last several years, the weather has been favorable, and grassland habitat is abundant, thanks in large part to the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) and Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM)."

The number of active pheasant hunters increased to 111,000 in 2005 from 104,000 in 2004. Hunters averaged 5.3 birds each in 2005, compared with four birds per hunter in 2004. Last year marked only the fourth time the pheasant kill topped 500,000 birds since 1964 when Minnesota saw the last large-scale land-retirement program expire. Under the Soil Bank program, which began in the mid-1950s, pheasant harvests of more than 1 million birds were common. In two out of the last three years, Minnesota's pheasant harvest has topped the 500,000 mark.

"These are good times for pheasant hunters," Schad said, "but CRP contracts that cover some 1 million acres are set to expire from 2007-2009. If CRP is drastically altered, landowners will no longer have financial incentive to protect their most environmentally sensitive lands. Pheasants and other grassland bird species will decline."

So you should take advantage of the quality pheasant hunting while you can. The future of CRP and other federal programs doesn't bode well for the future of pheasant hunting in Minnesota, and this could be the last great year we have for some time if the doom-and-gloom forecasts concerning habitat come true.

Some of the benefits of hunting late season are easier access to private property now that the fair-weather hunters are done for the season, less competition for public hunting ground and the dogs work better in the cooler weather. The warm weather we've had the past few years during the early season has stressed some dogs to the point where they were lucky to survive. Some didn't.

Hunters need to trust their dogs in the late season. Not only will pheasants run before they flush, but if they hit the ground and they have an ounce of energy left, they'll run.

"These roosters that are left for us late-season hunters are tough," Kruse said. "You might get to the spot where you dropped one and that dog wants to move off. Let them. They're probably chasing that cripple, and you are thinking they just want to hunt a new bird. The dog can smell that bird and knows it's on the run. Let the dog use its nose to find that bird instead of bringing it back to that spot where it fell. The dog will always find the bird if you let it."

Minnesota hunters have been fortunate the past couple of years. During these peak-number years, the season has been extended for an additional two weeks up until the New Year. This has allowed many hunters to extend their time in the field to hunt one of the most popular upland game birds in the world.

Who knows, but with a little luck, maybe in 2007 we'll finally get to shoot three roosters instead of two. That would be a real treat for pheasant hunters. We can only hope.