I celebrated my 53rd birthday last weekend with my folks and all my brothers and sisters. They live down in Newark, and made the drive up to spend the day with my family. Both of my daughters came home from school, and it was great to spend some time with everyone. Some of them came up early, so we put out some pheasants and had a nice bird hunt before the party started. It was a perfect day, and once again it was my wife who was responsible for putting it all together and pulling it off without a hitch. After 29 years she is still the person responsible for making my life way better than I deserve.
January brings to an end most of the 2010 hunting seasons, but there are still lots of things to do outside. If ice fishing is your game, this year has been a pretty good one so far. The ice is good on most of the ponds and lakes around the state. I have been itching to get up to Lake Erie for some walleye fishing, and hope to make a few trips in the coming weeks.
Thursday I will be making my first trip of the year to my favorite hunting preserve down in Coshocton County. Its not the same as hunting wild birds, but in Ohio it is as close as we can get. My father-in-law and I have been shooting birds down there for years. The terrain is challenging, and the owner always provides us with top notch birds to hunt. This week, besides meeting my father-in-law there, I will be taking down some friends. Lucky Eddie, Birdman Bill, and Captain Mcnish will be traveling with me. Besides being my buddies they also have some pretty good dogs, so it should be a great hunt.
If you have never hunted on a shooting preserve you owe yourself the opportunity. Do some shopping before you decide on a destination, as the prices vary greatly from one to another. Some, like the one in Coshocton, provide a mixed six-bird hunt for as little as $60 per person. Others may charge as much as $200 for a four-pheasant hunt. I have hunted at most of the preserves around the state, and have found very few differences between the expensive and cheap ones. The higher price clubs usually offer a nice club house, well attired staff, and paved driveway. I have found the cover, birds, and dogs are about the same at all of them regardless of the price, and that is what is important to me.
Even if you dont own a bird dog, you can still have a memorable day in the field. One thing you will find at any preserve are top notch dogs. All preserves pride themselves on the quality of their dogs, and you have the opportunity to shoot over some of the best around. Most preserves offer hunts over pointing dogs, and this makes for a nice leisurely hunt, with plenty of time to take aim and harvest a rising bird. If you are interested in a fast paced hunt, and are a pretty decent wing shot, hunting over a flushing dog will certainly make for an exciting hunt. A lot of preserves offer either type of dog.
Catch you later, Rick
