Ray and Michael Williamson came out with their two pups, Evan (Human) and Ranger (German Shorthair). They picked a warm, windy January morning to hunt some pheasants. They tried the milo at the Tinkerfarm but the birds were still tough, ducking and running through the cover. They were able to get some birds and came back with some tired young hunters.
Dan Crunk and Cleatus Roy brought out some their English Pointers, including Millie, Flirt and Missy to run them on some quail. I placed some quail singles throughout the Clubhouse Field and they hunted them with a couple of braces of pointers. The warm, windy day had the singles on the move but the dogs sifted through the cover and found them all.
Larry Jones came out with his two English pointers, Bill and Julie and his two friends Jim Robinson and Mike Beckett. They picked a warm, windy January day, but the birds and the dogs behaved fairly well for the conditions.
Ken and Zaine Schwerman came out for an upland bird hunt with their friend, Arlon Long and his German Shorthair, Cooper. I stocked the Clubhouse Field with pheasant, chukar and quail and Cooper started the hunt finding the birds. Zaine started shooting a little slow, but was hitting all his shots by the end of the hunt.
Mike, Stan and Kyle Kuhns held their annual meeting with their two favorite veterinarians, Charlie Durbin and Tanner Kirby. Hog production was discussed over a breakfast of biscuts and gravy, eggs, hashbrowns and bacon. Then we broke off into two groups, with their friend, Jeff Powell guiding at the Cabin Field while I took Stan, Mike and Charlie to the Clubhouse Field. Great morning to be in the field and with those three shooting, we didn’t have to chase many.
Mark and Owen Peterson came out for a pheasant and quail hunt, before Owen headed back to school. I put out some quail mini-coveys and pheasants in the Clubhouse Field and got Sol and Mac to find the birds. The windy day had the pheasants up and moving so we chased them around getting some long tough shots. I changed out dogs for Curly and Yadi and we headed back out across the Sandy Run bottom after some quail and a rooster. The quail had disappeared, but the rooster gave us one last chance.
Brad Bickhaus set up a big upland hunt for a bunch of his friends. There were enough hunters we broke into 5 groups with each going after their own set of pheasants, chukar and quail. I guided Terry and Brian Knebel, Tom Hartman and a Josh Jenkins in the Clubhouse Field with Sol. Good job by Sol and the hunters and we came back in just a couple birds shy of what we put out. Back at the Clubhouse, Brad fried up a pile of crappie and hushpuppies for the end of great hunt.
Bob and Ricky Alverez got in one more hunt before Ricky headed back to school. Ricky’s buddy, Nick came along to soak up the action and carry some extra ammo and harvested birds. I put out some pheasant, quail and a couple of chukar in the clubhouse field and got Sol and Mac to go hunting. The wind was a little chilly, but the dogs worked well and the pair shot well also. Check out the nice job Ricky does backing up his Dad in this video.
Bob Dasenbrock picked a cold day to bring out his Setter pup, Flame for a pheasant and chukar hunt. Bob wanted to get Flame out when he could so he did a quick hunt in the Clubhouse Field. Flame did a good job and Bob did alright, I think the extra coat got in the way on a couple of shots. Still a nice day to be in the field.
I would like to introduce a new hunt available at Sandy Run Hunt Co., I call it the Southern Illinois Grouse Hunt. I have lived and hunted in some places that have grouse hunting, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Colorado and Virginia. I really enjoyed the challenges of grouse hunting, the quick birds, heavy cover and rough terrain all make for a fun day in the field. I designed a course through the timber, pine groves, locust thickets and prairie edges to simulate the type of grouse cover I have hunted in the past. Unfortunately, I do not have grouse available, so I use chukar partridge as a replacement. Although they don’t have quite the rise of a grouse, I remember the firs grouse I heard take off, it sounded like someone was starting a diesel tractor in the woods. But, chukar fly hard and can be a difficult shot in the dense cover.
Check out the video of me and Dewayne on the first Southern Illinois Grouse Hunt, it was a lot of fun, interesting shooting and really nice time in the field.
Here is a video of the first brave souls to do the hunt.