Pheasant Hunting in Rushville

[clfergus]

Thinking about taking my father in-law up to hunt at Flat Rock hunting preserve. Anyone ever been?

The owner sounded really nice on the phone. Curious if anyone has feedback on this place

 

[AGarbers]

Been there last year. Enjoyed the hunt. A hawk came down and nabbed a chuker we had just kicked up so that was kind of cool. The walking is easy and the scenery is pretty. He plants good cover crops that hold the birds. Be sure to visit the covered bridge just down the road.

 

[sig shooter]

What kind of prices does he have?

 

[sig shooter]

I went online and checked the prices. Have you ever went to lost river game preserve. Nice people and nice property to hunt. Located South of Mitchell.

 

[Stubbleducker]

x2 on Lost River

 

[clfergus]

For the two of us with a dog...4 pheasants and 5 Chukars it sounded like it would be a shade under 200.00 bucks. You can add pheasant for 18 and Chukar for 15.

Lost river sounds good. Nice web site . It doesn't look like the packages come with a dog so you get more birds in the packages but when you add in the dog it works out to be the sa,e. Plus I live on the SE side of Indy so the gas savings alone I have to factor in.

So wjat do Pheasants and Chukars taste like? Chicken or Turkey?

 

[singlesix]

Two Thumbs up for Flatrock! I love watching the dogs work.

 

[AGarbers]

Since the birds are pen raised I think they don't have the gamey taste. I put my last batch in a soup that tasted good. Hunting with the dog is a treat. Half the fun is watching the dog work! Besides, the dog will find birds you would never see otherwise.

 

[Stubbleducker]

Cut the birds into cubes. Then mix up 50:50 Heinz57 and Honey (I know, sounds weird, but trust me). Dip the birds in the gunk, then skewer and grill. Add a few tomates and peppers (and BACON!). Serve over rice. Don't make for large groups of people, cuz you won't want to share them with anybody!

 

[birdhunter55]

Flatrock Preserve

I have hunted Flatrock a number of times. I do take my own English Setter before the wild bird season comes in for a warm up. I do know the owner and his guide very well. You won't go wrong chosing Flatrock for your adventure. As stated in an earlier response, for the best hunt, you will want to have a dog along.

 

[clfergus]

I have hunted Flatrock a number of times. I do take my own English Setter before the wild bird season comes in for a warm up. I do know the owner and his guide very well. You won't go wrong chosing Flatrock for your adventure. As stated in an earlier response, for the best hunt, you will want to have a dog along.

Thanks for the info. We are all set for 10/17. Gonna do 2 pheasants a piece and 3 chukars each.

Gonna do the dog as well. I think that will add to it for my father in-law. He seems pretty excited. Merrill suggested some #6 shot so i got 2 boxes of remington pheasant loads.

I just hope we don't kill all the birds in say and hour. I want to spend all 3 hours outside exploring.

 

[whipfinish]

Been there to hunt with Merrill and his great dogs several times. He is a classy gentleman and has a beautiful place. Take your time and enjoy the day. Few places are left in Indiana to spend a nice fall day hunting like he has at Flat Rock.

 

[AGarbers]

I just hope we don't kill all the birds in say and hour. I want to spend all 3 hours outside exploring.

I wouldn't count on getting all the birds. Once he releases the birds, thereis no guarantee you will see or hit any. Many make it sound like you’re going to be shooting fish in abarrel. That is not the case. You will have a great time but it is no more guaranteedto kill game that any other hunt. We gotthe same package last year and we got one pheasant and three chukar. The rest became bonus birds for laterhunters. Some of my friends prefer to golater in the season just for that reason.

You will have fun. It isbeautiful. And your dad will loveworking with the dogs.

 

[birdslayer]

+ 1 on the dog. Me and my buddies warm our dogs up pre-season on chuckars and usually go the late in the day route for half day hunts... ( for the pick up birds).

take your time take an enjoy...

 

[clfergus]

how many shells should we take....1 box a piece or split up 3 boxes

 

[clfergus]

Went for the hunt last Monday. Perfect morning. Merrill at Flat Rock Preserve was great. Super nice guy, laid back.

We killed all but 1 of 10 birds we bought. It took off when he released it and the dogs couldn't find it.

It wasn't as hard as I thought but it wasn't easy. The pheasant all required a follow up shot to bring them down and they still ran around before kickin the can.

I will make this a annual tradition. My father in-law loved it. He had so much fun. I got him a blze orange hat and vest with shells in it when I picked him up, treated him to Mcdonalds breakfast burritos.

Merrill's land is beautiful and his two german pointers were fun to watch. He said his birds come from a farm in Kentucky.

Cooked them the next day in cream of mushroom/sour cream over a bed of rice.

Pheasant tasted just liked chicken but was a little tougher. Chukar were tender but more gamey to me.

I would recommend the experience. Too bad its so expensive, I could get into it in a bad way.

 

[AGarbers]

I'm glad you had a good time. I was wanting to take my FIL but after his car accident he doesn't get around very well. Did you visit any of the covered bridges by there?

 

[clfergus]

I'm glad you had a good time. I was wanting to take my FIL but after his car accident he doesn't get around very well. Did you visit any of the covered bridges by there?

Yep...his place is off county rd. 500. If you go west on 500 about 1.5 miles or so you run into one back in the country. I think it said something like Eli Kennedy on it. Pretty cool.

We back tracked all the way to Arlington Indiana I think it was and came out on the east side of Indy. There sure are some large farms out in the rushville area. I can only imagine the deer running around out there.

 

[dbd870]

My boss did a hunt there recently - was very pleased with it.

 

[18Shooter]

My bro and I went to Lost Rivers Game Farm to hunt pheasant last Monday. We each got three nice ones.

All we had with us were handloaded #6's, 1 1/8 oz @ 1300 fps. My brother had a Mod. choke in his Lanber semi-auto, and I had a Lite Mod. choke in a Mossberg 500 pump. I got two one-shot kills, and one that took two shots. No complaints on loss of meat or too many pellets in the game. Just found one piece of #6 shot in the largest rooster as I put it in the pot. That bird was big and fast, and it took two shots to put him down.

I believe we could have done as well with 7 1/2's, plus we would have gotten more "surprise" quail. I missed 4 quail with #6 shot, and gave up on that species. We had practiced with Winchester AA 7 1/2 shot @1300 fps. I wish I had taken a couple of boxes of those to Lost Rivers. Next year I believe we will. AND/OR -- I might buy some #7 shot, splitting the difference. I've heard some hunters say they use #7 (which they say is Brittish #6) for pheasant, quail, dove, etc. I think it's worth a try.

Good luck to all.