Anyone else ever do preserve hunting?

[sxs]

This is how I celebrated MLK Day:

 

[Alea Jacta Est]

Not me. Not now. Not ever.

I can appreciate it works for some folks. Just not for me.

 

[Lanceman_1]

That looks like some fun. Go for it..

 

[PJDiesel]

Yup. I go to a place in NJ that stocks birds. LOTS of fun, and good eating too. If there were still upland birds in this area I would hunt them, since there aren't, I do what is available.

 

[sxs]

Yup. I go to a place in NJ that stocks birds. LOTS of fun, and good eating too. If there were still upland birds in this area I would hunt them, since there aren't, I do what is available.

Same here. I used to go to Pintail point about every 2 - 3 years. Also been to Native Shore. This hunt was at Caroline County Shooting Preserve. We took 19 of 20 pheasant and a carry over quail. Lot'sa fun....good eating...as you said.

Many years ao, there was pretty decent quail hunting in Maryland...no more

 

[ToBeFree]

That's been awhile

Many years ao, there was pretty decent quail hunting in Maryland...no more

I used to hunt both quail and pheasant in Montgomery, Howard, Frederick and Washington. Early 80's.

Love to wing shoot.

Miss them days!

 

[Marshmallow]

We do it to keep the dogs going during the off season and to keep our skills up. Good fun!

 

[engineerbrian]

where did you go?

 

[mark71211]

I would love to try some quail and pheasant hunting but never have the time.

 

[Chris]

I could see for birds but not for anything else. Many years ago (20+) at the Harrisburg show we met an "Outfitter" from Tioga Hunting Preserve, he stated they had over 150 acres fenced in for hogs and they were just running wild in that area. So up to the mountains we went. Long story short it turned out to be about 2 acres of fence. We took a pig looked at little wilder then a barn yard pig. The "Outfitter" said there are long horn rams in the fenced area also and that if we walk around a bit we might come up on some. The helper had disappeared and all of a sudden here comes three rams so I took one out only to find it still had hay on it's head from feeding in a near by barn. That's when I realized we were in an area a lot smaller then stated. I have always regretted that "hunt" as I could have gone into my own field and shot one of my livestock a lot cheaper. If it's not a wild/free range/no fence hunt, I don't talk to the outfitter at all. Chris

 

[fabsroman]

I've done it a handful of times. About the only reason I have done it is because it is a family event. My brothers prefer a bunch of shooting when they go out "hunting", so this works for them. Ends up being too easy for me and too unrealistic. The birds sit forever and flush slow as molasses. Last time we went was probably a decade ago when my dog was a pup. Just looked at the little bit of video I have from that day and it was way too easy to shoot the birds.

Willing to bet we will do a lot more of it once our kids are a little older.

 

[ebranger]

I've done it a handful of times. About the only reason I have done it is because it is a family event. My brothers prefer a bunch of shooting when they go out "hunting", so this works for them. Ends up being too easy for me and too unrealistic. The birds sit forever and flush slow as molasses. Last time we went was probably a decade ago when my dog was a pup. Just looked at the little bit of video I have from that day and it was way too easy to shoot the birds.

Willing to bet we will do a lot more of it once our kids are a little older.

I've found most preserves in and around Maryland to be similar. Even if cover isn't mowed into narrow strips so the birds won't easily escape, the birds have been raised to be too used to interaction with people and therefore don't flush easily. And when they do, as you mentioned, they fly low and slow.

I've been to a couple of preserves in the midwest, however, where you'd have trouble telling the difference from wild birds. Especially once you hit the thick edge cover, hunting for carryover birds.

 

[Marshmallow]

There's a place in New Jersey where we go(I'll get the name from my father in law) and their birds have total fear of people and dogs. I don't know how they raise them but they are pretty darn close to wild. They have a great hunting ground and it's always very impressive. I highly, highly recommend them.

 

[PJDiesel]

Game Creek is where we go. My uncle is a member and has dogs, otherwise I probably wouldn't get the opportunity.

http://www.gamecreek.com/

 

[Marshmallow]

That's where we go. Great place.

 

[ebranger]

Game Creek is where we go. My uncle is a member and has dogs, otherwise I probably wouldn't get the opportunity.

http://www.gamecreek.com/

I can tell just from the pictures that the cover there is far better and more natural than most east coast preserves.

And very nice to see the reduced per-bird cost for scratch birds. Although the highest quality places I have been don't charge at all for them. That is a pet peeve of mine. There's no reason in the world why they should be getting paid twice on a single bird. It's a total scam.

 

[fabsroman]

I can tell just from the pictures that the cover there is far better and more natural than most east coast preserves.

And very nice to see the reduced per-bird cost for scratch birds. Although the highest quality places I have been don't charge at all for them. That is a pet peeve of mine. There's no reason in the world why they should be getting paid twice on a single bird. It's a total scam.

There is two ways to look at that. A missed bird from a previous hunting party will usually go back to a call back pen later in the day or maybe the following day. So, they usually get paid the full price for the bird again when they put it out for the next hunting party.

Me, I just have a hard time getting my mind over paying for pen raised birds to be put out just so they can be shot. Might as well just buy a chicken at the grocery store. About the only way I can wrap my head around it is that it is a good way to train a bird dog. Now, putting out pen raised birds in the hope that they will multiply and become wild over time is a different matter.

 

[ebranger]

There is two ways to look at that. A missed bird from a previous hunting party will usually go back to a call back pen later in the day or maybe the following day. So, they usually get paid the full price for the bird again when they put it out for the next hunting party.

Me, I just have a hard time getting my mind over paying for pen raised birds to be put out just so they can be shot. Might as well just buy a chicken at the grocery store. About the only way I can wrap my head around it is that it is a good way to train a bird dog. Now, putting out pen raised birds in the hope that they will multiply and become wild over time is a different matter.

That's true and a very good point, but for some reason, that bothers me less than making someone who shoots more than they released pay for the extra birds. The only argument that I can see to support that model is to deter people from shooting a lot of extra birds, as the more birds there are out there, the greater the chance that people will find and flush the number of birds they paid to release.

And as far as paying for pen-raised birds, I do see your point. But in my opinion, if it is a quality-run preserve, it is an excellent way to train young dogs, introduce kids to upland hunting in a more controlled environment, and a good way to introduce new people to the sport of upland hunting, as it ensures that they will have some action.

 

[tomandjerry00]

There is two ways to look at that. A missed bird from a previous hunting party will usually go back to a call back pen later in the day or maybe the following day. So, they usually get paid the full price for the bird again when they put it out for the next hunting party.



Me, I just have a hard time getting my mind over paying for pen raised birds to be put out just so they can be shot. Might as well just buy a chicken at the grocery store. About the only way I can wrap my head around it is that it is a good way to train a bird dog. Now, putting out pen raised birds in the hope that they will multiply and become wild over time is a different matter.

I've done a fair bit of research on trying to get birds back on property. On our farm we have hundreds of acres of beans for food, about 50 acres of nice grassy terrain and 100 or so acres of woods.

Before we bought it, amongst other things it was used for upland hunting of farmed birds up until a few months before we got it. After thousands and thousands of birds being released on the property, haven't seen a single one even though it's a pretty perfect habitat.


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[xtreme43s10]

I've done a fair bit of research on trying to get birds back on property. On our farm we have hundreds of acres of beans for food, about 50 acres of nice grassy terrain and 100 or so acres of woods.

Before we bought it, amongst other things it was used for upland hunting of farmed birds up until a few months before we got it. After thousands and thousands of birds being released on the property, haven't seen a single one even though it's a pretty perfect habitat.


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Pen raised birds have a hard time surviving in the wild. They tried pen raised turkeys in the 70's I believe and it didn't work. Dnr ended up trapping and relocating wild birds and found out it worked much better.