Ray Rudy and his son-in-law, Willie Bone, came out for an upland bird hunt. I stocked the East Bottom Field with some pheasant, chukar and quail and Mark Pottorff brought out his Golden Retriever, Star, to find and flush the birds. The warm, sunny afternoon had the pheasants on the run and gave the hunters just a few quick chances. The quail and chukar hung tight in the milo strips giving them plenty of opportunites, of which they took advantage.
Don Schymick brought out his young English Setter, Abby, to get her on some quail. Don and Abby were unable to find any wild quail on opening weekend, so he brought her out to get her on some birds. Abby covered the south end of the Tinkerfarm Field nicely, always hunting and hunting through all the prairie strips and fencerows. She found many of the quail and got a taste of what to find in the wild next hunt.
Bill and Billy Greenwald came out Billy’s setter, Justice to hunt some quail and chukar. I set out some chukar doubles and quail mini-coveys in the prairie and milo strips around the south end of the Tinkerfarm Field. The warm morning got the small quail coveys up and moving, giving them mostly some scattered singles to shoot at. The chukar held tight and Justice did a nice job finding a pointing the doubles.
Shaun and Dustin Lance and Brian Clark brought out their german shorthair, Remmington and pointer, Skeeter for a pheasant hunt. I filled the milo strips at the north end of the Tinkerfarm Field with birds and the dogs did their job. They got all but one pheasant that escaped into the thick cover on the west edge.
Chuck Gurkin came out with his friend Gene Hodge to hunt some pheasant and chukar behind Gene’s shorthair, Addie May. Warm conditions were not optimal for pheasants, they were on the run from the start, but Addie found every one and nailed down all the chukar. She may have even found a stray quail or four. Great start to her hunting season.
Joe Belongia came out with his brother Dan and his wife Mary Ann for a pheasant and chukar hunt. Mary Ann came along to document the hunting action in the Clubhouse Field. I got Doo and Curly to find and point the birds and we set out into the warm afternoon sunshine. The pheasants were up in moving but they got shots at almost all of them. The chukars dug in deep and gave some nice shooting opportunities. After a trip around the field, I got three fresh noses, Sol, Ava and Mac from the kennel to look for some more birds. We found a pile of quail in the fencerows and brought one back. 30 degrees cooler would have been nice, but still fun times.
CJ Spener set up a pheasant hunt for some of his family and friends. I set out a bunch of pheasant all around the Tinkerfarm Field, in the food plot strips and prairie edges. Steve Sanders brought out his three pointers to guide the hunt. Mike McKee came along with his gun and lab, Tucker to help flush the birds out of the thick cover. The weather was a little too nice for pheasant hunting, but they found almost all their birds and knocked down most. They even found and tried to harvest a few quail scattered in the fencerows.
Rich Humphreys brought out his new brittany spaniel puppy, Mason, to get his first taste of live quail. I set out some quail in light cover and Rich let Mason find and flush them, such fun. After several flushes and chases, Rich knocked one down for Mason to find and retrieve. Great work for the puppy.
Kevin Diekroeger brought out his new shotgun along with his two dogs, Ina and Penny for an early morning quail hunt. I set out some nice sized coveys and grabbed my own over and under to help with the harvest. We found all the coveys plus a couple of extra coveys and a couple of stray pheasants. My shooting was definitely off, missing several quail and the last pheasant. The dogs did a nice job and Kevin must have hit a few because he left with a bag full of quail breasts and legs.
Bill and Tony Warix and Alan Feezel came out with their German Shorthairs, Whip, Ginger and Harley to hunt some pheasant. I filled the East Bottom Field milo strips with birds and they released the dogs. They found them all plus some quail plus some more pheasant and even with the warm, damp weather the dogs had a great morning in the field finding, pointing and retrieving the birds.