Designer Pheasant hunters

Status
Not open for further replies.
If not for the pen-bird joints, where else could you go to show off your Beretta 687 EEL Diamond-Grade custom 28 gauge O/U? Or your custom Merkel 20 GA SxS?

Two years ago, on a SD opener, a van dropped off a load of well-heeled shooters at the local cafe. They had a Cabelas patch on the left side or their hunting shirts, and some kind of "world championship skeet winner" type patch on the other side. None of them had any luck hitting wild birds, and soon demanded to go only to preserves.
 
Cabelas cowboys is all they are. They try and buy skills with gear and fancy guns and such. I was never impressed in the least bit.
 
Im new to hunting, and bird hunting in general. One day last year i had pheasant meat and loved it and decided i wanted to go hunting pheasants. Well my coworker pointed me twords hillside shooting in roanoke indiana, just 30 miles from where i live. They raise farm birds that are released to the fields. There prices are reasonable at $18 a bird for non members of the club. I wanted my first hunt to be done right, with a guide and dog who knew wth they there doing. Does this make me wrong, or designer or not a real hunter??

I have heard nothing but good things about the place im going to, but dont want to be hated by the other hunters. I dont make much money but can afford this hunt. Heck im even bringing 2 non hunters with me. My father and my father in law as christmas gifts. God i was so excited to start this hunt, but now im afraid of being a poser. I dont have many places i can hunt around NE indiana out side of the public lands. I have never hunted public lands and wouldnt know were to start.

I intend to take a winchester m1300 that i bought years ago for this hunt, and maybe a camo jacket and hunter orange vest..

Right now, im currently working on obediance with my beagle, so i can hunt rabbits with him next year. I am a late comer to the world of hunting, ill probably take my first pheasant be fore my first deer.

SO any advice is welcome, and i apprecieate any opinions as to wether or not to continue with the hunt on the club or what.

I was so excited, but now im worried about being hated by the other hunters for taking my first hunt on a farm/club/preserve.
 
Mordis said:
I was so excited, but now im worried about being hated by the other hunters for taking my first hunt on a farm/club/preserve.
Click to expand...

Don't worry about it. Go shoot some birds at the club and have some fun. If you like it, which I am sure you will, try a wild bird hunt in some low key area like SW MN or in IA. Guys just get upset, me included sometimes, when they see guys paying to take over a sport that was once free. I am sure you have seen the same thing happen with deer hunting in your area.

Shoot a bird, enjoy the sport and welcome.
 
I hope you have a great time and don't worry about what others think. I think a preserve hunt is a great way for individuals without a lot of experience to get out and experience hunting. I took my wife to a place for her first hunt and now she belongs to a hunt club so it worked out for both of us.

Go and have a good time and good luck!!!!!:10sign:
 
First off don't worry about what other people think. Have a great time on your first hunt. I have been to bird preserves and paid for birds. It is a great way to guaranty a young dog pheasants. Also the WI season closes in December and the preservers are open to middle of April. Good way to get that last fix before the long haul. From what I gather from this post is people are upset that clubs are buying land that was open to the public and are now charging people to hunt. I don't have a lot of extra money and can agree with how this is bad for the lower to middle class hunter but it kinda follows the american dream. Find a way to make money and run with it. Who here hasn't tried to think of a way to make more money and live the dream life?
 
Reading this forum and doing searches here, have definately given me a wealth of information. Im already thinking about which bird dog i want, but i wont even think of buying one for another few years. I wanna get my rabbit dog settled in, and a few hunts under my belt. I think ill take this opportunity with the guided hunts to shoot over a few different types of dog breeds..

I think i should start posting in other threads becuase i dont wanna derail this one.

i wonder how many of these designer hunters are like me in a way. I only get 1 week off for vacation a year and that is all i get. I wont be able to hunt much outside of that time frame. How many of them use that short amount time to hunt the season opener? Sure they will go to a pheasant preserves to maximise there short hunting scheduals.
 
It's way too late to ever change the direction of the pay vs. no-pay hunting scenario. Like it or not, it's here to stay. This tread has coverered most all aspects of what we like or dislike about how money (or lack of) has changed the sport over time. The best advice is to hunt as often as you can!

Regarding the well-heeled or wealthy hunters, we shouldn't let them spoil our fun. While some of these folks I've met in the cafe's etc. are really just down-to-earth folks that made a pile of money, there are many others that are very arrogant and condescending regarding middle or lower class folks. These are the one's that bother me.

As for flusher's vs. pointers, FLUSHER's WIN!!!
 
Don't forget that some of those "well-healed" or "designer" hunters might be someone totally new to the sport and trying to have fun. Also they are probably looking for someone to help show them the ropes a bit.

Just because a guys clothes are new and his boots aren't scuffed as much doesn't mean he isn't just as bird crazy as the guy with a ratted old vest and near worn through boots. He probably just isn't lucky enough to have had the time in the field.
 
To the newly initiated, Cheers!

Threads like this make me sad and just a little encouraged. Sad because we, me most of all are so full of vitriol that we forget there are new people out there, who want to join the fraternity. Somewhat encouraged by the fact that despite our poor ways, someone, much to our surprise, wants to join in! As a new person, a person with a new dog, a person in Indiana, where a guy might hunt the whole year for a couple of wild bird contacts, I wouldn't feel guilty one bit. It's not real, it's not classic, but perserve shooting is a good substitute for the real thing. Pheasant Hunting in the wild is like sex or being bit by a rattle snake, if you think you have been exposed to either, your mistaken, when it happens you will know it, and recognize the difference. I hope someone on here in your area will step up to give you a boost in the right direction and shorten the learning curve, but either way you will make it , determination is a key ingredient of success, and the journey is a lot of the fun. I read your post and and almost wish I was starting over again too! enjoy. give those perserve birds the business and report back.
 
Being "rich" or "well off" doesn't determine a hunter. Just like being "poor" or "scraping by" doesn't determine a hunter. It is how each individual hunter goes about the sport. I have seen arrogant "rich" hunters, and I have seen arrogant "poor" hunters. It is an arrogant comment to say "all" of these "designer" hunters come and shoot holes in the sky and don't really know how to hunt.
Having rags for hunting clothes, or having oiled cloth for hunting clothes doesn't make a damn bit of difference. How are you as a sportsman that respects what you hunt? How are you as a sportsman that is ok with not getting your "limit" every time out? How are you as a sportsman that teaches? How are you as a sportsman that represents the sport well? Are you a good liaison?
Why not worry about these things rather than what someone wears, drives, or shoots?
 
OK let's line 'em up and see. I think my 2 labs (78 lbs/74lbs) can take your pointers...........................
 
Ya here in Indiana Pheasants are making a SLOW comeback. That is why the dnr has the limit per day so low for public lands/wildbirds at 2 cocks per day. I am very excited, i cant wait to get both my fathers out there!(im especialy close to my father in law) My big problem right now, is i have never shot at a bird on the wing. I know to lead them, and get as close a shot as possible. Sadly the only time I have ever shot at a moving thing in the air i was 16 years old and i took a few shots at some clays that were tossed at boyscout camp.. That was 13 years ago, have only practiced my shotgun for self defence.

I really do want to shoot at some public lands and non preserve birds, but first things first, i need to get my feet wet in the preserve. LoL this preserve could get expensive seeing as i could pay for as many as i want, but i think ill keep it at 3-4 birds.

One question, i keep reading about a flusher and a pointer forum, but i dont see any in the forum listing. Are they a seperate forum? I Know i have a few years before i am ready to tackle another dog project, but i would like to start thinking about what i would like and the ins and outs of the various breeds.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top