DULUTH, Minn. - Here are some ideas that might make you a better pheasant hunter. Understand, most of these tips were discovered the hard way, after my partners and I were outsmarted by quite a few roosters. We still get humbled on a regular basis.

Be stealthy. Pheasants, especially those on public lands, get wary fast. Be ready to load and go when you get to a field. Load shotguns and unload dogs with a minimum of conversation. Close doors quietly. Move quickly into the field.

If at all possible, own and train a dog. You'll be amazed at how many more shots you get and how many more good shots you get. And you'll lose far fewer birds if you have a dog that retrieves.

Don't unload the dogs until you're ready to hunt. Dogs often start hunting the moment they're on the ground. If you aren't ready, they may flush birds before you're in position.

Most pheasant shots are not that long. You don't need a full choke on your shotgun. An improved cylinder choke is very effective. Go no tighter than a modified choke. If you shoot a double-barrel shotgun, an improved-modified combination is excellent.

Stay close to your flushing dog. It does you no good to be 20 yards behind a flushing dog if a rooster flushes 10 yards ahead of the dog. By the time you're ready to shoot, the bird is moving out of range.

For safety purposes, when you're hunting in a group, make sure everyone knows the plan before starting a hunt. If someone is unfamiliar with the terrain and cover, draw the person a quick map. If hunters are going to be posting a field, make sure everyone knows the posters' positions, and make sure the posters don't change their positions during the hunt.

Wear more blaze orange than is required. Minnesota, for instance, requires only that one article of clothing above the waist be blaze orange. Our group usually wears blaze-orange caps and full blaze-orange vests.

If a bird goes down and you're hunting with a partner or two, it works well if the shooter moves quickly toward the fallen bird and the others stand still and keep their eyes on the spot where they saw the bird fall. Often two other hunters can triangulate the shooter right to the bird.

If you're alone and you've dropped a bird, keep your eye on the spot where you think it went down. When you get there, take five or 10 more steps ahead. It's easy to underestimate the distance to a downed bird.

Talk to each other as a matter of safety. If you're in heavy cover where it's difficult to keep track of each other, call out frequently to let others know your position. If you don't know where every other hunter is, you can't take a safe shot at a flushing bird.

If you can hunt just one hour of the day, make it the hour before sunset. It's probably the most productive time to hunt. The temperature drops and humidity rises, making it easier for dogs to track birds. Birds are likely to be moving that time of day, heading for roost cover.

Sometimes, you can "listen up" a bird. If you hear a rooster cackle, especially in heavy cover, mark the sound, hustle directly to the spot and stop. You'll be surprised how often you put up a rooster.

It's a cliche in hunting, but it's true: Work the edges. Work the edge of grasslands along a corn or soybean field. Work the edges of cattails. Work the edges of willow bottoms and tree lines.

If you don't have a dog, look for narrow pieces or small pockets of cover rather than large expanses. With a partner, work through the cover in a zig-zag pattern, stopping occasionally. Birds often get nervous and flush when you've stopped.

Believe the dog. Maybe you think you've already hunted an area and think the dog is on old scent. Don't count on it. It might be a fresh bird. Likewise with cover that appears too light to hold a pheasant. If the dog thinks a bird is there, a bird is probably there.