+1 to Hillside Shooting Sports for Pheasant Hunting

[teddy12b]

Yesterday I went pheasant hunting for the first time in my life. I went alone and had a guide with a pair of dogs. I ended up getting 10 birds and had a great time. Everything I got a shot at went down and now I have a bunch of pheasants in the freezer just waiting to be cooked up for dinner.

I was a little nervous because I've never gone hunting like this before and really didn't know what to expect. I ended up just putting on all my winter deer hunting clothes and I was fine. I carried my 11-87 with a box of Federal #6 game loads and it did the job like a champ. 10 birds went up, and 10 birds went down.

If you've never tried a pheasant hunt I think it'd be worth a shot to do it once in your life. I know I'm glad that I did, and I'm going to be going back again.

 

[raggedoutcummins77]

Where is hillside

I have always wanted to try it but never have. Glade you had a .

 

[teddy12b]

It's in Roanoke, just southwest of Fort Wayne.

 

[shooter1054]

What kind of cost was involved? If you don't mind me asking.

 

[teddy12b]

What kind of cost was involved? If you don't mind me asking.

Fair question. They have a 10 bird minimum and that's at $19 a bird.

10 Birds @ $19 each - 190
Guide with dogs - 20
Meat processing - 20
Tip for guide - (the guy said 10 is usual but I was alone so I did 20 because he did a great job and I didn't want him to get beat up.)

I had $250 in it total which for one guy is kind of salty, but I learned a lot about the sport and I got outside and actually did it. I half debated on placing this thread in the survival & preparedness or training sections because I really felt like it fell into those as well. I had the benefit of taking aim and shooting at 10 moving targets and the one on one training that came with a good instructor. I'm glad I went alone on my first time because I learned a lot and there wasn't any confusion on who's supposed to shoot when a bird went up into the air.

Next time I go that cost will be split in half and with two people hunting and then going home with 5 birds (if we make our shots counts) it'd be $125 which is a lot more reasonable. Take three people and it goes down even more, it just depends on how many birds you want to shoot at.

I can say I've gone pheasant hunting now and I was able to get out and hone my skills with my shotgun. The 10 pheasants will testify that I no longer suck with a shotgun.

 

[shooter1054]

Well done. Thanks for the info. I might have to look into this. I love going up to Hillside for their 1000 yard range. I might have another reason to go.

 

[mike4sigs]

Tell us more about hillside !
what kind of feilds/cover do they have and how do they release the birds !

 

[teddy12b]

The fields are basically just like any other fields. There's plenty of older harvested crops out there, and plenty of brush & cover. There was only one bird that I saw from a distance. He was crouched down in a field and I guess he thought he was being sneaky and being still. It didn't work out for him. The rest of them I usually didn't see until the dog pointed and I darn near stepped on them. Then they took off like a bat out of ......

Basically they drive out in the field with an ATV before you ever get out there and "plant" the birds. I learned that they tuck the birds head under its wing which basically knocks it out for a little nap and that's when they put it out there in some brush. The ones I got to first were wide awake, running and flying by the time I got there. There's also going to be left overs from previous hunts where guys missed and the birds got away.

We walked out into the field with no idea of where the birds were and we were 100% relying on the dogs. It actually was some good hunting, and I was nervous about that. It's not like you go to station 1 shoot a bird and then go to station 2 and shoot a bird. You have to find them.

 

[TTravis]

Welcome to the sport. Next you will talk your wife into getting a new family dog that just happens to be a bird dog like I did.

 

[teddy12b]

We've got a golden retreiver and he's the best dog in the world. I'm hoping that maybe I can get him trained up on some bird hunting and maybe he and I can turn into hunting buddies.

 

[teddy12b]

I went there again this last Saturday. I took a buddy who'd never been and is still learning the ways of the shotgun. We did pretty good and had a great time. Together we got 7 birds and had a great time.