![\"Late-season](\"http:\/\/www.crosshairscommunity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/huntingmain2-300x178.jpg\")
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Washing the house the other day, it was hard to ignore the cluster of spider webs slung around the corner of our patio near a pair of spotlights that shine into the backyard.
\nThat was because each was filled with a variety of trapped insects waiting \u2014 paralyzed \u2014 for the inevitable hungry spider to eventually crawl its way down for a snack.
\nWe small-game hunters can learn a thing or two from the spider \u2014 one of nature\u2019s most proficient hunting machines.
\nYou can ask two dozen veteran hunters what the secret to success is during small-game season, and easily get 20 different answers.
\nIt\u2019s all in the gauge of the shotgun you\u2019re using, they\u2019d say. Or the size of the shot in your shells or the grain of powder used to propel the little lead BBs toward the unsuspecting pheasant or squirrel.
\nIt\u2019s about using a well-trained dog, some suggest. About scouting for signs, choke size, positioning in the field or after-shot follow-through.
\nAnd while all those elements \u2014 and many others \u2014 can contribute to a better hunting experience, perhaps our best advice comes from the spider. More specifically from its web and where it is located.
\nGrowing up on a small pheasant game farm\/hunting preserve outside of McEwensville, my brother and I had the privilege of learning everything about game species. Locally, pheasants once were everywhere and people used to flock to our region because of its ample pheasant population.
\nThere are numerous theories on what happened to the pheasant \u2014 from a sharp rise in predators to changes in farming practice. But at the core of that decline was the change in habitat.
\nThat seven-letter word is the key to successful hunting. With proper habitat, small game species have enough cover to elude the coyotes, hawks, foxes owls and other predators lurking in the outdoors. Proper habitat offers a smorgasbord of food, water and other necessities.
\nOn our game farm, which eventually fell within the Wild Pheasant Restoration program region of rural Turbotville, habitat was emphasized above all else. Certain stretches were left to grow to provide thick cover. Other patches were seeded with milo, sorghum and other pheasant-friendly food sources. A small stream wound its way through the center of our \u201cgulley field\u201d where much of the hunting action took place.
\nAnd our efforts paid off. Not only did the habitat accommodate the pheasants, quail and occasional chukkar we released, but we began to draw in small game from surrounding farms that were more focused on crop production and not wildlife habitat.
\nIn the spring, we\u2019d come across wild pheasant chicks and in the fall we\u2019d run into various coveys of well-fed, well-protected birds.
\nOur game farm is no longer in operation, but the remnants of our habitat efforts remain. There is a healthy population of various wildlife species, from deer and turkey to small game options.
\nUnfortunately, quality public hunting grounds can be hard to locate and heavily utilized by other hunters looking for the best possible place to track down a rabbit, dove or other small-game treasure.
\nWe do have the benefit of a few state game lands \u2014 one outside of Mifflinburg, another near Selinsgrove and a larger tract of land with quality habitat just outside of Allenwood near the federal prison complex. We also have thousands of acres of prime habitat \u2014 and small game opportunities \u2014 at the Montour Preserve public hunting lands near Washingtonville.
\nLike my backyard spotlights drawing in a buffet of insects and ultimately a few wily spiders, the public hunting lands with the best habitat are also best places to successfully come across whatever game species you seek to find.
\nFor those who kick around other less-public places to hunt, remember first and foremost to obtain landowner permission first and foremost. On these local farms, woodlots and other tracts of land, the key is once again to gravitate toward the best habitat.
\nWildlife is drawn especially to buffer zones between habitat types. Fencerows between fields of differing crops are one good place to look. Typically this is where rabbits create their burrows and a variety of species will duck in for cover in between feeding or watering runs to adjacent fields.
\nSome farmers harvest their corn, soybean and other crops later than others, and those that still have crops available later in the season will more likely have wildlife nearby. From an etiquette standpoint, hunters should stay out of unharvested fields unless given permission to walk through them by the landowners.
\nAnother hotspot for hunting includes small patches of woodlands scattered across various farms, especially those near food plots and water sources.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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