The preserve is actually our farm where
we have lived for over 25 years. We've always had a lot of pheasants and
done a lot of hunting with friends and relatives, since many of the farms
around us have little cover left after the grain harvest. Ours has a lot
of natural feed & cover,( river and drainage ditch banks, gravel pits,
wooded areas, hillsides with grass & brush) resulting in a migration
of birds to our farm. In 1996 we became a state licensed hunting preserve
and added a neighboring farm (Total of approx. 600 acres). We seeded our
pastures to prairie grass and started planting corn & sorghum plots
for more cover and feed. Since the state requires that we replace the
birds harvested, plus 20%, we add to the native population by releasing
birds that have been raised on a farm that has 80 acres under high netting.
Most people have a limited amount
of time to hunt and don't want to waste it in an unproductive way.
If you want to have some good hunting, and you aren't fortunate enough
to have exclusive access to good pheasant cover, you don't have a
lot of options.
1. You can try a public hunting area
(if you don't mind lots of company -- my luck is to arrive about the time
a large group has finished). OR . . .
2. You can knock on doors until you find someone willing to let you hunt
on their property.
Either way you end up sharing access and may spend a lot of time hunting
in areas that have few or no birds.
The third choice -- and often the best -- is a commercial hunting preserve.
Some people might say that preserves are just too expensive. They want
some good hunting that doesn't cost anything. Who doesn't? Usually good
hunting , like any other activity, ends up costing something -- in time,
effort, or money.
Our preserve offers something for everyone. A hunt can be tailored to rank beginners, physically handicapped, old timers, who can no longer handle rough cover, or to experienced hunters, who like tough and demanding hunts. Our goal is to duplicate regular pheasant hunting, but offer the advantages of the preserve. As a hunter myself, I find the hunting more enjoyable and just as challenging as it was before we became a preserve. (Our cover is much better and there are more birds) We've had hunters that were hesitant to hunt on the preserve, thinking it may be too easy, that birds would be tame, that it would not be real hunting. Their comments and letters, after the hunt, show that their concerns were put to rest, & they thoroughly enjoyed the hunt. (We would be happy to provide references upon request)
A preserve eliminates the uncertainty as to whether or not the birds are there. To meet the state requirement of replacement + 20%, birds are released each night (in the dark, so as not to disturb the numerous native birds already in the area) There is an added excitement of knowing that more than your limit of birds is in the area you are hunting. All you have to do is find them and, of course, down the bird when it explodes from the cover. On our preserve, you are not guaranteed birds, but you are assured of at least a sporting opportunity to shoot birds.
Other special advantages of our preserve include low license cost, longer seasons and increased bag limits. And there's another thing: On our preserve you aren't just tolerated; you are welcomed. You are a hunter among hunters in a hunting environment -- and that's worth a lot to many of us.
We hope that you will come hunt with us!!!
Reserve Your Hunt Today!
1-888-UGO-HUNT
(1-888-846-4868) Marv & Mary Stupka
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