Game Farm

S

sloth5202

New member
I just called another game farm in Minnesota and they aren't taking any non-member hunters. This has been the case at 3 other businesses and I know of quite a few more that state it already on their website. These places must really be busy/doing well. How is a potential new member supposed to check one of these places out prior to investing good money to become a member.

Are the rest of you experiencing them same thing? I don't even know if it is worth it for me to buy a membership because I do enjoy a good wild hunt now and again and I would use the game farm to supplement my hunting and give the dogs a little bird work when things get slow.
 
You might try Major Ave. Hunt Club - Glencoe. They may allow you to try the facility for a day; it is a ways from Cottage Grove.

Glendorado, Princeton: hunted there in 2014. They didn't require membership at that time.612-210-6000

Also there's a facility at Watertown, MN. Can't recall the name, they didn't require membership, but did require a minimum number of birds used. Found it...Wings of Watertown - visit their web site.
 
I called Major Ave and they are full and considering moving to members only on the weekends which would be tough.

Just emailed Wings of Watertown so hopefully that works out. Seems like a pretty small operation but everything looks solid about it.
 
I know Sand pines and golden meadows are both open to anyone. I prefer the birds at golden meadows compared to sand pines. I plan to go there at least once or twice yet this year.
 
Wings Of Watertown is a small operation - good cover. I scratch hunted a few years ago, during the week, to exercise and train my young dog.
Sand Pines...a group of us on this site hunted there spring of 2014.

The owner of Major Ave. just passed away so I'm sure they are in a bit of a turmoil...the facility has been for sale for years...$1.2 million?
 
Sand pines cover will be fine right now. I just think it gets hunted so much it gets trampled down. If you are looking to walk some really nice natural cover and don't mind the drive like you are going pheasant hunting. I'll 2nd zeb about heartland preserve. Not a huge fan but have you tried caribou?
 
Yeah I've been to caribou a bunch of times. It's hit or miss there.... I've watched them plant birds and half of them fly off.... Which is kind of understandable sometimes but I also feel a little cheated. I do like that they have always been very available.
 
sloth5202 said:
Yeah I've been to caribou a bunch of times. It's hit or miss there.... I've watched them plant birds and half of them fly off.... Which is kind of understandable sometimes but I also feel a little cheated. I do like that they have always been very available.
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If you know how to plant bird and that's all you do 0 should fly off. If they do that's their fault and not yours. Like I said not a fan but I can plant birds and they won't fly off. I think that's just people being lazy and not caring about their job. But I think that's what you get when you have a bunch of kids doing half the time.

Season is open right now any reason you don't want to just head out west?
 
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Tbear said:
If you know how to plant bird and that's all you do 0 should fly off. If they do that's their fault and not yours. Like I said not a fan but I can plant birds and they won't fly off. I think that's just people being lazy and not caring about their job. But I think that's what you get when you have a bunch of kids doing half the time.

Season is open right now any reason you don't want to just head out west?
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Yeah I think you are right on about the laziness.... Oh well live and learn.

The biggest reason I want to hit up the game farm is time. I would much rather do my own thing but spending the entire day away from family is tough to do so spending a half day not to far away would make more sense at least every now and again. My older dog is nearing the end of his career so getting him on a lot of birds is the least I can do.

Do any of you have any idea what the pricing is like and what the minimums are at Orlando's. It doesn't look like they have a website.
 
I hunt at Wings of Watertown many times a year. Although its a small operation, the attention to detail is really good. Field B is my favorite.

Give Orlando Game farm a call too, they are a good operation and a short drive from CG.
 
Tbear said:
Season is open right now any reason you don't want to just head out west?
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It is a haul and it takes time to develop a series of productive spots and back up spots (needed if weekend hunting). I continue to explore and develop places ... albeit sometimes it is difficult to drive past places that have been productive last week or last year(s). I have hunted and killed pheasants in at least 22 MN counties. I now focus on two separate areas of about 3 counties each - that is a lot of land.

This time of year you can spend 6 hours driving "west" for 8 hours of daylight hunting time (9AM - 5PM). My experience right now is you get 4-6 "walks" in per day depending on size of area, etc...

Then you get a day like yesterday where forecast was SE 5-15 winds and you end up with 20+ sustained gusting to 30 and it can make for a tough day especially when you are into the season by more than 30 days.

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I bet on your average day there are 5 to 10X the number of groups at MN hunting preserves than hunting across MN's prime pheasant range. Most of those preserve regulars do not post on this site.

I am fortunate enough to have a flexible schedule, many of my friends and family not as much. Preserves certainly have their place especially for many Twin City metro hunters.
 
Try calling Traxler's. They let you hunt as a non-member once or twice a year depending on availability. The owner is a super nice guy and their fields and birds are solid. They also have nice bar/restaurant in the clubhouse that makes for a good post-round hangout.
 
Check out Pheasant Ridge in Ogilvie MN. They are great to work with up there. No need for a membership but if you want to buy one it is only $150! It lasts from the day you buy it till the same date next year. Tell Mike I sent you.

Joel
 
jonnyB said:
You might try Major Ave. Hunt Club - Glencoe. They may allow you to try the facility for a day; it is a ways from Cottage Grove.

Glendorado, Princeton: hunted there in 2014. They didn't require membership at that time.612-210-6000

Also there's a facility at Watertown, MN. Can't recall the name, they didn't require membership, but did require a minimum number of birds used. Found it...Wings of Watertown - visit their web site.
Click to expand...

Major Avenue is a nice place that offers great/challenging hunting opportunities for game farm On the plus side, right across the street is a nice WMA that runs right into a WPA that you can find a wild bird on as well.
 
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