Starting to get excited

[Hombre]

As a kid one of my favorite times of year was pheasant season. Every year we'd pack up and spend 3-4 days in northern Kansas on the chase for pheasants. There were generally 10-12 people that rotated over the years, some from Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and a few other places. I started those years carrying a BB gun and at that time my dad and uncle walked the fields with us. As the years went on my cousin and I and our friends took over the walking and our dads blocked (with still quite a bit of walking). I have such great memories from those times. Waking up, not wanting to get out of bed, but smelling Grandma's homemade biscuits and gravy, sitting at Pooches (local bar) and playing pool from the time I was 6-7 until I was old enough to drink, and the general camaraderie of the field.

Friday my son and I will pack up and meet my dad and cousin in White Lake, SD. We'll hunt Sat, Sun, Mon, and Tue. This is a trip I've been looking forward to for months White Lake has a lot of the same qualities of where we use to go. At 375 people you can eat at 2 places the cafe or the bar. It has some great hunting and I'm sure we'll make some great memories. I know I've told this story before but really getting excited to get back in a field and in a small town atmosphere.

[Thumper]

Cool beans man! I know you’ll have a great time. I used to pheasant hunt with a group of friends every year in Ohio. We were always successful and would knock down a ton of birds, but the social part of the hunt is what was treasured the most. I can totally relate to your excitement. Have a good ‘ern!

[Hombre]

Totally with you on the social aspect.

[BarryBobPosthole]

Sounds like a great time, Boh. Don’t forget to raise a glass to absent friends.

BKB

[Chicken Dinner]

Heck, I’m excited for you because that sounds like a blast!


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[Hombre]

Sounds like a great time, Boh. Don’t forget to raise a glass to absent friends.

BKB

We most certainly will not. In fact we managed to get Paul's SBE shotgun that Cade will be carrying.

[BarryBobPosthole]

That’s awesome.
Bkb

[Bwana]

I am excited for you and a bit jealous too. Our season opened last Saturday but due to rain nearly all day, we punted and stayed home instead.

To make my sob story even worse, I have only shot a whopping one pheasant in the past two years combined and with the extreme drought we had this year the measly population we had last year is down by 25-30%! Going to have to really work at it to find me a rooster this year!

Have fun Hombre!!

[Hombre]

Thanks all!

Bwana - That sucks the numbers are down. I can remember several of those KS years walking the field for 2 days and never shooting, still great memories and time spent in a field with friends and family is never wasted.

[Penguin]

Hombre, this post kind of hit me like a baseball bat when I read it.

From the time that I was a kid my father dreamed of exactly this hunt. Spoke of going out there and chasing pheasants in kind of a reverent tone. Sadly when he finally retired and had the time and money he was already two heart attacks in. He just wasn't physically up to that kind of hunt. Or much of any hunt to be honest.

So get after them buddy. And if you think of it, lift a drink in honor of doing something so many dream of. Good luck.

Will

[quercus alba]

My dad would never take me hunting, he said was afraid he'd mistake me for the ass end of some wild critter and shoot me then mom would never fix biscuits for him anymore

[Chicken Dinner]

We’ll need a full trip report with pictures!


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[Hombre]

We’ll need a full trip report with pictures!


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Yes, sir. Now my full trip reports will be judged by Archer standards and not Thump.

[Chicken Dinner]

Ha! That’s a pretty wide range…


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[Thumper]

I'll speak for Archer, as well as myself .... Bite Us!!

[BarryBobPosthole]

Ha!

BKB

[Thumper]

Hey!

(I’d almost forgotten that one) :D

[Hombre]

Wow what a trip. We had a great time, and shot a lot of birds but the memories are the best. Cade and I left Friday night at 11:53PM and landed in Sioux Falls at 9:30am on Saturday.

My dad picked us up and we headed west on 90. We made a quick stop at Cabelas and off to White Lake. On the first day our guide picked us up and we hit the field. Tate, our guide, was a guide and in hisis off time trained dogs. He had a couple of Vizsla that were great pointers. We ended up that day with 11 of the 12 needed for a limit.

On days 2, 3, 4 we ended up paired with another group. I think the great thing about these trips is getting to meet the people. You run into a lot of like minded people. After a little bit if initial awkwardness a few cocktails in the cabin Sunday night loosened everyone up. The coolest story from the trip was courtesy of our new North Carolina friends. They hand an older gentleman with them (85) and he had prostate cancer, but this trip had always been on his bucket list. He couldn't make it on a plane die to bathroom needs. They all decided to rent an RV and make the trip with him. Probably one of the nicest old men you'd meet, and not a bad shot.

One of the highlights for me was Cades shooting, safety and quick pic up if hen vs rooster. On the second day we didn't get out of field 2 before he had his 3 bird limit.

We spent a lot of time at night enjoying a cocktail, telling stories and generally having a good time.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211020/8855eb14e705e79d01c0b2b77196bdbd.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211020/d39dd44460ec9180b04cd124f20db339.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211020/e5f8569f1158e495b0b48f41f503d0c2.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211020/05a04dd82cab2ca100a8a6fa1a0482e0.jpg

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[Hombre]

.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211020/d837561d7c324bcc7568c8102443aba3.jpg

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[Penguin]

Ah man, that looks like a great hunt!

Did you sit around a grill and fix up your birds after the hunts? I'll admit that I have seen Benny Spies pheasant hunting episodes where they did that and they made me extremely jealous. :)

Will

[Bwana]

Looks like a GRAND time filled with memories never to be forgotten.

Thanks for sharing!

[Chicken Dinner]

That’s some lifetime memories right there. Thanks for sharing!


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[Hombre]

The ending to this trip wasn't fun. Cade and I showed up to Sioux Falls airport (FSD) two hours early. Our flight was at 10:30 so we were right around 8:30, no agent at the counter until about 9:00 who seemed disgusted that she had to check us in. We got the guns checked and our luggage and headed to security. Around 10:30 they let us know that the incoming plane encountered significant turbulence and had to be checked over for safety. Around 12:30 they got someone to start checking it. After 2 hours of checking the plane the pilot came off and I quote "The guy checking the plane sees some stuff he doesn't like but we're not confidant in his abilities. The airline wants their own people to review the damage so we're having our maintenance guy drive in from Minnesota. The crew and I are headed to the hotel, we can't say if we'll fly today or not but I'll let you know". Clearly he was not going to let us know as he just said he's headed to the hotel, I have yet to see a crew come back from the hotel and they generally have some guidance on the amount of hours they can be on, which he already had complained about getting their at 9. I told Cade A) I don't want to fly on that plane and B) I'm doubtful they take off on that plane tonight. So we headed back through security and to the front counter again.

There the lady informed me that there was only one of us she could get out tonight, so I sent Cade, he needed to get home for work and school. I was told that the system had already auto booked me on the same flight for tomorrow and just be sure to be 2 hours early. On the way to the hotel I called American with the plan to complain about covering my own hotel but had to leave a call back number. Around 7PM that night American called back the lady on the other end of the line informed me that I was not rebooked and had no flight. I pretty much lost it. Why would you offload my bags (which I'll need to get guns back through TSA) tell me I was rebooked, cancel the flight without rebooking me? Long story short it took an escalation to get back on the flight I was suppose to be on the next day. When I showed up of course nobody was at the counter until 9 again. The last bit of fun took place in Seattle where they lost my guns. I made some comment about how its ironic them being militant to make sure everyone is masked up and protected but they lose track of firearms inside and airport. The lady let me know that those comments aren't helpful, and I let her know that being helpful wasn't my intent and that left around 9am this morning. Either way they did, after an hour, find my guns and I'm home.

[Bwana]

UGH, air travel can be SUCH a pain in the butt as we are totally at their mercy with little opportunity for recourse. Take it or leave it sucks.