Bill Warix and Alan Feezel started off the new game preserve season with a pheasant hunt with their two German Shorthairs, Whip and Harley. Warm weather and thick cover made the bird finding a little tough, but the dogs were able to track most of them down and give the pair some shooting opportunities.

Jeff Marshall bred his Derby Dog of the Year, B, with Brad Hire’s Roundabout.  What came out is a nice litter of setter puppies, some tricolors and orange and whites.  There are 5 females and 2 males still available and they approaching seven weeks of age soon.  Some nice looking pups, check out the pics and give Jeff Marshall a call 217-370-6176.

Homestead’s B

Roundabout

John McIntosh came out for the last day of the season with his elder setter, Elsie, for a quail hunt.  Eighty degrees and sunny, not ideal for dog work or bird flight, Elsie still had some nice finds and points.  John knocked a few down with his 16 gauge, LC Smith, double barrell for an enjoyable finish to a great upland bird season.

My cousin, Joe Blythe, came out to hunt some pheasants on a beautiful, warm spring afternoon.  Not ideal pheasant hunting conditions, but there was not much wind and the birds behaved fairly well.  We started out chasing some down the fencerow  and then out into the Clubhouse Field to find the rest.   One hen disappeared into the Pasture Field, hopefully to find some cover and a rooster.

Dwayne Ritchey came out for a late afternoon pheasant hunt.  I set out some birds in the unburnt half of the Clubhouse Field and got out Curly and Doo to find the birds.  We found them all plus a couple extras running around the field.  Only let one get away flying off into the warm, spring evening.

Gary McMillin came out with his buddy Joe Smith and his two shorthairs, Gabby and Gizmo for a pheasant hunt.  I put out some pheasants in the Clubhouse Field on a cold, but gorgeous April morning.  The pair of dogs did a nice job finding and pointing the birds , while Joe and Gary did their part, teaming up on the birds to down them.  Awesome April pheasant hunt.

Mushroom Fest 2016 will be held on Saturday, April 23rd at 6 pm at the Sonnemann Cabin, one mile south of the Sandy Run Clubhouse.  Come and enjoy some mushrooms, crawfish, corn, tators, chicken, fish and more.  Bring and chair, what ever you like to drink, a couple of shrooms and a dish if you want.  Always a great party, chance to meet other hunters and enjoy some awesome food.

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Brad Wood brought out his wirehair, Cooper, for his last pheasant and chukar hunt of the season.  The rooster pheasants were tough, using their magical powers of disappearance only to show up later to run and fly.  The chukar stayed home as well as a hen pheasant to give Brad some nice shots.

Kevin Diekroeger took a break from turkey hunting to do a little quail hunting.  I set a big covey down in the West Bottom Field and got out my three setters, Mac, Doo and Ava to point the birds.   We ran into a couple of pheasant on the way to the covey as well as a stray quail.  On the covey rise, Kevin knocked down two, just missing his third bird and I missed my chance at a double, barely hitting my first bird and missing the second.  Fun, quick hunt with some nice points and a few good shots.

Larry Jones brought out his new pointer, Ike,  for some work on some quail singles, while his young Brittany, King, got some backing practice.  After a bit of dog training, Kenny Arnold got out his two pointers, Dottie and Susie, to help out finding some quail coveys in the Clubhouse Field.  Jimmy Robinson came along and helped out with the dog work.  They had a nice long hunt, worked the field and timber edges hard and came back with all but two of their birds.