Iowa Pheasant Hunting

Nathan called me on Friday morning on the way into the office and said "Hey! Do you want to do something fun this weekend before things get too crazy around Christmas and we can't get away"? Well I thought perhaps it was a good idea...it's not like we've had much R N' R over the past 6 years. The business side has always taken priority. So I said "I'm all ears. What do you have in mind"?

Well it wasn't exactly what I thought he'd come back with. He said he wanted to go to a Paid Hunt Club for Pheasants. Now keep in mind we were both raised in a family where our Dad has been the Executive Director of The Mitchell County Conservation Board for almost 30 years (2008 will mark 30 to be exact) and all of us long standing members of Pheasants Forever. Paying to hunt? Perhaps to buy a license to go Elk Hunting in Colorado...but never just to get access to land. Not that it was forbidden, we were just raised with so much great public land that we didn't need to explore beyond that. So after a bit of guilt I gave in and agreed to give it a try.

Yesterday we went to Oakwood Sporting Resort just outside Sigourney, Iowa. About a 2 hour drive from Winterset on HWY 92. We couldn't have asked for better weather. Perfect morning just below freezing. Now keep in mind I was thinking Game Farm...like flocks of birds...bang, bang...couple hours...little walking and we'd be back on the road. I was pleasantly shocked. It was perhaps one of the best weekend hunting trips I'd been on in years.

We arrived around 8:30 to over 800 acres of exceptional habitat that pheasant hunters dream about. Beautiful rolling Iowa hillsides filled with top notch foodplots and brome grass. Way more than the 3 of us (Duke - Nathans Gordon Setter) could ever cover in just a day. We even had a chance to take a break in the clubhouse and watch a bit of the Extreme Bull Riding from Indianapolis.

As it turned out it was extremely enjoyable and well worth the few bucks it cost. We ended the day with 8 roosters (I won't mention how many we could have shot~we needed to visit the sporting clays first). We were back on the road heading home just after 3:30. Who knows, if there is enough interest we could make an annual USRodeoSupply.com Pheasant Hunt. If you are up for it...let us know and we'll get it booked and start planning.