Robb Frost set up a hunt for his friends, Brad and Clayton Ruckman. Robb and his German Shorthair, Suzie, like to hunt the milo strips at the north end of the Tinkerfarm, so I filled them pheasant, quail and chukar for the hunt. Suzie did a nice job and the birds cooperated giving the group some nice rises and coming back with pile of game.
Steve Henna set up a quail and chukar hunt for his son, Nathan, son in law Mitch Ashbaugh and his buddy Steve Knebel. I filled the Clubhouse field with birds, grabbed Sol and Mac and we all headed out to hunt. We got more than we expected finding some extra chukar and a bunch of pheasant in the field. After getting Curly and Doo some action, they had left a few quail but came back with more chukar and some bonus pheasants.
Dean Devall set up a pheasant and chukar hunt for his son, Travis and granddaughter, Chelsi. Travis brought along his two setters, Patches and Zip while Dean brought his two labs, Peaches and Gunner. I set out some pheasant and chukar in the Clubhouse Field and they all set out to find them. It took longer than usual for the Devalls but they came back with nearly all their birds.
Dale Timmermann and his son in law Greg Triphahn got together for an upland bird hunt to start the new year off right. I put some quail, chukar and pheasant in the Clubhouse Field and got Mac and Sol out to find and point them. They had a nice hunt getting most of the birds on the first round, but I still got Curly and Doo out for another round. We ran into a pile of quail right away and then continued to find a pheasant from earlier, fun day in the field.
Chuck Johnson picks New Years day every year to bring out a bunch of kids along with Jason Arnold for an upland bird hunt. Chuck brought out Shed, his German Shorthair pointer, to find all the birds I spread out in the Clubhouse Field. They had a lot of fun hunting the pheasant, quail and chukar and Shed covered the big field with just a little bit of help from Doo toward the end.
Eric and Jordan Ogden came out with their friends, Keith and Chris Morehead for an upland bird hunt. I filled the Clubhouse field and some more with pheasant, chukar and quail and got Mac and Sol to find them. They found most of the birds and after a bit, I refilled the field with more targets and got Curly and Doo out to find and point them. Another trip through the field with plenty of points and opportunities for more birds. Really enjoyable morning in the field.
Tommy and Kevin Diekroeger, got out Tommy’s new Brittany Spaniel puppy, Abby to work her on some quail. I set some quail singles in some light cover in the Clubhouse Field and Abby found and pointed them all. She even got to retrieve a few.
Kevin and Tommy Diekroeger chose a challenge for an afternoon hunt with their English Setter, German Wire Hair and Brittany Spaniel. They chose a Southern Illinois Grouse Hunt, so I spread 10 chukar throughout the woods (especially the dense parts) to simulate grouse hunting in the northern woods and swamps. Started out a little rough, having to find a couple birds twice, but then they started hitting them on the first rise. Great fun in the woods and they came back with 9 chukar.
Frank Tellefesen set up an upland bird hunt for his son, Josh and friends, Brian Gibson and Brian Goodiel. Steve Sanders brought out his pointers to guide the hunt and searched for the quail, pheasant and chukar in the Clubhouse Field. Vince, a pointer got injured, so Doo, my English Setter came in to help Rose with the hunt. A little damp, but a pleasant day in the field seeing Brian down his first pheasant.
Chuck Johnson wanted to get his pointer, Shed, out for some work after some time off for veterinary care. He brought along his friend, Nick Arnold to help with the harvest. There was some light rain but we braved the elements, all the birds flew well and Shed did a great job.