Bob Dasenbrock came out with his English Setter, Libby for a chukar hunt,  that turned into a quail  hunt also.  I set some chukar in the milo plots in the East Bottom Field to get out of the wind, but on the way we ran into quail in the fencerow and field edge all the way down to the bottoms.  Libby found all the chukar, twice on a few and a bunch of quail to boot.

Gary Rogers brought down his pair of English Pointers for a quail hunt.  I set out some 4 bird coveys around the Cabin Field and the dogs pointed them out to Gary.  He did a nice job shooting, getting 3 doubles on the covey rises, not bad with an over and under.  The woods shooting was more challenging but a bunch of fun.

Shawn Garrett and Troy Williams of Resource One Advisors invited some friends and clients out for some upland bird hunting.  Among their guests were former St. Louis Rams center, Andy McCollum and MLB pitcher, Spencer Patton.   They hunted pheasant, chukar and quail from the south end of the Tinkerfarm to the Clubhouse Field and everywhere in between.  After the hunt, we shared some incredible brisket and pulled pork from Iuka’s Smoked to the Bone.  A little Q&A with the two athletes and an inspirational talk by John Brooks followed lunch, before a few headed back out to pick up a few remaining birds. 

Robert Gretens and Mike Collins came out to hunt Robert’s two young German Shorthair pointers on some quail.  Daisy won the coin flip and got to hunt first, she did a nice job, finding more than what I set.  Duke was next, but not quite as successful.  Robert’s cocker spaniel, Cruiser, got to come out to clean up the leftover quail, chance for everyone to have some fun.

John Cavaletto picked a cold, windy day to bring his pointer Burl out to hunt some quail in the Clubhouse Field.  I did my best to keep the quail sets out of the wind and Burl overcame the elements and found all the quail.

John McIntosh brought out his new English setter pup, Binks to find some quail.  I set a few singles out in light cover for Jinks to point.  She had a blast finding, pointing and chasing them around the field and into the thicker cover.  

Tom Lloyd came up with his hunting buddy, Dr. Angel Reyes from Florida, picking up their friend Butch Phipps in Kentucky on the way.  We started out the hunts with an afternoon quail hunt at the Tinkerfarm Field with Dr. Reyes’s German Shorthair, Lady.  Lady wasn’t sure what to do with the heavy and tall milo, prairie and fencerow cover, but she found all the coveys and they knocked down enough quail for a nice mess.  Pork steaks for dinner, omelets for breakfast and then out to hunt some pheasant and chukar in the Clubhouse Field.  Lady got some help from my kennel in the big, thick cover and we came back with a pile of birds.  That afternoon we were back at the Tinkerfarm Field for some more quail hunting, even picked up some of the birds from the previous afternoon’s hunt.  T-bones and fried tators for dinner, a nip of Buffalo Trace and biscuits and gravy in the morning.  It was all Dr. Reyes, Lady and me in the next morning, hunting pheasant in the milo strips of the East Bottom Field.  Lady got the hang of Illinois cover and we nailed all of the birds I set out.  I am glad they made the journey from the South, great hunt and fun times in the field and the lodge.

Alan Harris brought out his English setter, Roxy to hunt with Ted Ellis and his two pointers, Jack and Rip.  I set some pheasant and quail coveys in the Cabin Field for them to hunt.  Some nice dog work and shooting brought down most of the birds.  After the big dogs, Ted brought out two setter pups to work on some quail.  They both had a blast and are going to be some nice hunting dogs.

Brian Lohman set up a hunt with his buddies, Kenneth Wagner and Bill Segelhorst.  Bill brought out his young German shorthair, Jedi, for some work on the birds.  Jedi did a nice job finding the birds in the milo strips in the East Bottom Field.  The birds were flying well and they worked hard in some light rain to get all the chukar that flushed to the wooded field edges.

Kevin Diekroeger came down with just his wirehair, Ina to do some deer hunting and get in a quail hunt.  I set some nice sized coveys around the Tinkerfarm Field, Kevin’s favorite.  We wanted to get back in the deer woods for an afternoon hunt, so I came along to help with the harvest.  The last rise was the best, a single got up and Kevin emptied his over and under on that bird, then six more got up and he was empty and I nailed a double.  Good thing we got quail, no deer that evening.