Kevin and Tom Diekroeger came out for two day hunt.  The first morning we started out in the woods with a Southern Illinois Grouse Hunt.  Ina and Penny found the birds and Kevin and Tom got most of them.  The chukar action ended a little early with a big covey of quail in the hidden field south of the Cabin road.  We chased them around the south side and then headed back for lunch.  That afternoon I put some quail coveys around the Cabin Field and the four of them found them and came back with most.

John McIntosh and Brad Wood came down for a bird hunt on a cold, windy day.  Brad brought along his German Wirehair puppy, Cooper, to get some new experiences and a little bird scent in his nose.  John brought two of his English Setters, Lil and Mickey, and I set out some pheasant, chukar, and quail in the Clubhouse Field.  The wind and sunny day got the pheasant up and moving, but we eventually tracked them all down.  The quail and chukar were more cooperative, giving us some nice points and rises.

Larry Kleiner came out with his buddies, Doug Hayes and Denny Kirkham for a quail hunt.  They chose to hunt around the old pond bed at the Tinkerfarm so I set out some coveys in the prairie and milo strips.  Larry brought his German Shorthair, Trigger, Doug his Setter, Daisy and Denny hunted with his Drahthaar, Jake.  They worked the coveys through the fields and fencerows, finding all but one and coming back with almost all of those.

 Terry Knebel brought out his hunting buddy Roger Well and his German Shorthair Sadie for a quail hunt.  Nice weather but a little muddy in the open fields, so I put some quail coveys near the edges of the Clubhouse Field.  The quail were not cooperating and ended up scattered throughout the field and fencerows.  After some fun hunting we ended up a pile of quail and a couple of spare pheasants.

We held our second Continental Pheasant Shoot  on 2 7 2015.  Great attendance and incredible weather, sunny and warm, ideal for sitting out in the field.  Little on the windy side, keeping the birds flying one direction and then the next, until finally going with the wind most the later rounds.  I saw many birds get enough air that they were tough to shoot.   Some nice dog work and good shooting and the group brought in a bunch of pheasant, before getting to munch on chili and smoked chicken.

Dan Crunk brought out his pointer, Millie for a quail hunt on a chilly, breezy day.  I set out some quail in the Clubhouse Field and Millie went to work searching, pointing and retrieving the birds.  Dan lost his handkerchief on one point and while waving the white flag the bird flew away in a act of extreme cowardice. 

Scott Joyner and Lonnie Melvin came up for a quail hunt.   They wanted a mix of open shooting and timber edeges, so I set out some coveys around the edges of the Clubhouse Field.  Scott and Lonnie were sporting, bringing only a couple of double barrel .410 into the field.  They had taken a few years off wing shooting, but by the third covey were knocking down more than a couple of birds on the rise.  Perfect weather and a more than pleasant day chasing quail behind some nice dogs.

Larry and Nathan Jones along with Jim Robinson and Brian Lewis decided they wanted to try the new Southern Illinois Grouse Hunt.  They were up for some fun shooting in the woods, so I set some chukar in a big loop in the Cabin timber.  Bill and Julie, Larry’s English Pointers, had never hunted chukars before but they did well finding and pointing the birds hunkered down in the brush.  The guys did well too, nailing every chukar they got a shot at.

Luke Holthaus put together a hunt for his dad, Mike and friends, Larry and Andrew Beyers and Jason Koons.   Luke brought his young German Shorthair, Judd to find the pheasant and chukar I stocked in the Clubhouse Field.  The chukar stuck around for Judd to point, but some of the pheasant were on the run.  It all ended nicely with a nice rooster double on some leftovers that didn’t get away.

Terry Knebel came out for a quail hunt with his buddies, Lou and John Stamm.  Terry brought his German shorthair, Sadie, fresh off the disabled list to find the birds.  Terry wanted some open shooting for the hunt, so I put out some mini-coveys of quail in the milo strips at the north end of the Tinkerfarm Field.  They did pretty good, coming back with all but one bird and chasing a wily pheasant that they couldn’t get in range.