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.
Our annual Youth Pheasant Hunt hosted by the Cumberland Trail Chapter of Quail and Upland Game Alliance is coming up on Saturday, January 24th from 9 am to 4 pm. The cost is only $25/hunter, and each hunter will get to hunt for two pheasants, a door prize and food and drinks. Clay pigeon shooting will be available all day. This hunt has limited space, so please call to make your reservations for the time you desire to hunt. Participants must be 16 and younger, have a hunting license and be accompanied by an adult with a FOID card.
Check out some videos of our past youth hunts.
Frank Tellefsen set up an upland bird hunt for his family, Bradden, Justin and Josh and friend Alan Guehne. They all decided to give eachother a bird hunt for Christmas and everyone got a nice present. This was Bradden’s and Alan’s first time hunting for upland birds and they both scored. Frank’s Brittany pup, Annie started out the hunt with Sol from my kennel. They did a good job on the first half of the birds. Curly and Mac got to hunt the next wave of birds, but the pheasants were being elusive and the quail coveys were scattering before the rise. So we finished up with Doo and Yadi and found most of the wayward pheasants and some more of the quail.
Ken and Jon Torbeck came out for an upland bird hunt. They picked a great day to be in the field, so we hunted the Clubhouse Field for a mix of pheasant, quail and chukar. Curly got to start the hunt and we picked up most of the pheasant and chukar. The quail covey got scattered across the bottom side of the field so we went back to get Mac and Doo to clean up. They did the job, found the birds, even an extra pheasant. Jonathon had some nice shots on quail in the timber to finish up.
Chuck Johnson set up a hunt for his his buddy Jason Arnold and his boys, Lane, Jackson and and Kyle. Chuck’s friend Beau Parrish came along with his son Kegan for a pheasant and chukar. They picked a windy day and had a lot of birds to hunt so we headed to the north end of the Tinkerfarm Field to hunt in the milo strips with Chuck’s German Shorthair, Shed. The milo strips worked out well and kept the birds contained ’til Shed could find and point them and the boys would kick them up. Everybody, including the newcomer Lane, got their share of pheasants and chukar. The dads and Chuck even got a few spare quail.
Dave Diecker brought out his grandson, Connor for pheasant and chukar hunt on New Year’s Day. Greg Ireland came with Daisy to do the guiding while I placed some pheasants and chukar in the Clubhouse Field. Connor did a great job, knocking down a couple pheasants and chukar on his own. They were able to pick up a few leftover quail and came back with almost all their other birds.