From the pics it is not my type of hunt, but looking at the big picture: these hunters and preserves hopefully have to pay license and fees like all hunters, and lord knows our Fish/Game departments can use the money to continue to buy and maintain land and manage haitat! This in the long run can be good for us more traditional foot/dog hunters! I will give them a pass as many of them may have so many other obligations of time with family, jobs etc. that they simply cannot take time to scout land to hunt, raise dogs, vacation time etc. To each his own, as long as they play by the rules and contribute to the sport in the long run!
Here's pic from a SoDak harvest
- Thread starter onpoint
- Start date
unfortunately, i don't think anyone has perfected the "shoot and release" concept.
onpoint
Active member
This puts things into perspective. When I was a young man growing up and my dad went from being a police officer to pounding nails for a living. There was a sign near the Applevally, Lakeville boarder south of the Twin Cities. It was called Valley Park. They were building new homes and on the sign it said you could buy a brand new ranch style home for $26,000. Today people are paying 30-35,000 for a group Pheasant hunt. One doesn't have to wonder why our economy took a dump or why hunting is loosing hunters by the 10s of 1000s every year.
Preserve Perspective
Whatever you may think, it is a means of supporting the SD economy. I'd love to have the opportunities that many UPH members have. Unfortunately, I live in NC where there are really no wild birds anymore. Grew up in Pa hunting wild birds but they were mostly gone by the time I hit my twenties. Now, the only way my GSPs would normally get to see birds is to either pay to hunt preserves or pay to travel. For me, it is completely about my dogs, if I shoot 20 birds a year it's a lot. So in order for my dogs to do what they love, I have to accept I either pay in cash or pay in my own time. So, I guide on preserves here in NC -my main dog is 3 yrs. old, he's seen over 4,000 birds and has over 3000 shot over him. He's a machine and he's my pal.
Many of my clients wanted to set up a trip to SD, so that's what I did. I'll be there for 10 days, I get to shoot 1. My dad and I will guide for 9 other days and their groups will shoot. With family, bills and my real job, it's the only way I'd ever get to have the experience. More importantly, my dogs get the experience. So, be thankful you live so close and have these opportunities but don't knock the preserve crowd. For many of us, it's the only way for us to do what we so thoroughly love to do.
Whatever you may think, it is a means of supporting the SD economy. I'd love to have the opportunities that many UPH members have. Unfortunately, I live in NC where there are really no wild birds anymore. Grew up in Pa hunting wild birds but they were mostly gone by the time I hit my twenties. Now, the only way my GSPs would normally get to see birds is to either pay to hunt preserves or pay to travel. For me, it is completely about my dogs, if I shoot 20 birds a year it's a lot. So in order for my dogs to do what they love, I have to accept I either pay in cash or pay in my own time. So, I guide on preserves here in NC -my main dog is 3 yrs. old, he's seen over 4,000 birds and has over 3000 shot over him. He's a machine and he's my pal.
Many of my clients wanted to set up a trip to SD, so that's what I did. I'll be there for 10 days, I get to shoot 1. My dad and I will guide for 9 other days and their groups will shoot. With family, bills and my real job, it's the only way I'd ever get to have the experience. More importantly, my dogs get the experience. So, be thankful you live so close and have these opportunities but don't knock the preserve crowd. For many of us, it's the only way for us to do what we so thoroughly love to do.
Uncle Buck
New member
Torrey Lake Lodge is owned by a Sioux Falls business man who is big in Safari Club International. It is a preserve, but lots of wild birds. Lots of preserves let rootis only out of the pen. The owner has a lot of connections. These guys look like they may be from Texas. Not cheap, but I think he is known for running a decent operation.
moellermd
Super Moderator
15 guys whack 178 birds in one day, I bet there's more released than wild.
I have no quarrel with preserves. In many areas it's all thats left. I think the thing that nags at those of us who practice the sport of wild bird hunting, is why in the world would anybody need to run a preserve in SD of all places, and why any real sportsman would travel a great distance to shoot pheasants under such conditions? I have been to preserves and participated in the shooting, and I am not offended by it any more than I am the local meat packing plant, or an international live pigeon shoot. I also, thank heaven for a lifetime of actual hunting, do not confuse any of the practices of a preserve with a real hunt. A preserve is frankly a mockery of, or at least a very poor substitute for an actual hunting. OK for dog training, young people learning the sport, but otherwise frequented by potentates, indian chiefs, oil shieks, captains of industry, and other dandified sports who masquerade as real sportsmen. I am forced to assume that in the case of preserves in SD, there is a certain preconcieved ingenuous intent in the travel to SD, only to shoot pen raised birds, but tell the world what great sports and Hunters they are. Why not shoot " pennies" in Virginia? or Florida? perhaps we can make Las Vegas the " pheasant" capital of the world. All it requires is fresh green birds, and lots of them, to keep the barrels hot, for the nimrods, challenges of strategy, terrain, working in concert with a good dog, take a backseat to the wine and bullshit session back on the veranda at the lodge, limits guaranteed, of course because the sports wouldn't comeback if they had to walk more than a couple of level 80's of perfectly quaffed fields. Just watch one of the ludicrous pheasant shows that litter the sports channels with their celebrity hosts, all world class shooters who regularly miss 20 yard shots at pen raised flying birds. Makes us all look cheap and simple minded, Before I call that pheasant hunting, not pheasant shooting, and delude myself that it's real, I take a hacksaw to my favorite double. Well, as Patton said, "Now you son-ofa- #$%^ know how I feel"
Well said oldandnew. These guys weren't hunting, they were just shooting. I will be traveling over 1300 miles to hunt SD. Why would I want to hunt pen raised birds there when I can do it at home and only have to travel 130 miles? I think for some it's just the preception that it is prestigeous to have hunted and shot a lot of birds in SD. Never mind a week spent hunting wild birds, or all the work it takes to get everything prepared. I don't express myself well in print, so I'll go back to what I said at the begining. That ain't huntin'!
moellermd
Super Moderator
Don't forget the strip clubs and bars.
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labsnslabs
New member
I have shot pen raised birds, and had a huge smile on the whole time. BUT i prefer hunting wild birds. But ask anyone that doesnt live in pheasant country, its cheaper to buy 10 pen raised birds then go on a three day hunt five or six hours away. We all do it because thats what we love and thats why I've only shot pen birds a couple of times, who is to say those guys are being wasteful with there money? From the smiles they obviously had a great time and probably had no problem spending that kind of jack. Who says shooting ten or fifteen birds is wasteful? If that is the only "hunt" they go on in a year i'm sure those birds get eaten. Bring somebody into your house from a third world country and they can probably point out a hundred different wasteful things we all do every day and never think about. Everybody lives on a different level it just so happens my income doesnt support a very big level.
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In Michigan we don't really have wild birds anymore. So I went on a preserve hunt my brother-in-law arranged for him and his daughter. They could have used a guide but wanted my "Toby" with them for the experience. It is far from the real thing but it got my pup some additional experience (probably some bad habits too) and my neice had a great time.
BRITTMAN
Well-known member
Agree completely and you said it well. You just saved me about 5 minutes of typing.
This is not hunting.
labsnslabs
New member
Its no more hunting then high fence operations in the south. What happens if your work doesnt permit you to have a week off of hunting, time to train a dog etc etc. It is still hunting by definition, it may not be what we all consider a sport or challenging but none the less its still hunting. Who are we to say its not fun or enjoyable for them or to take anything away from there trip. Its kinda comparable to fishing a pond vs. a lake, a pond is small and confined where a lake has a lot more area. If someone goes to a pond and catches 50 crappie and someone else goes to a lake and does the same. Do you differentiate between the two saying one really wasnt fishing more like just catching?
Calisdad
New member
Well said. And you didn't waste any words.
What no one has mentioned is this is a corporate hunt. These guys probably didn't even pay. Acme Inc did. Or was it their customers?
NOPLCLKNEB
Banned
getting stuffy in here....yet again.