Posted on

Upland Final Weekend

I was able to get out for the final weekend of pheasant and quail season. I was invited along by an old friend from high school who I hadn’t seen in a while, nor had I ever hunted with before. He took us to some family land down in south central Kansas. And like what we had seen back in November on opening weekend, the birds were a bit few and far between.

But as the saying goes, it’s better to be out hunting than not. And we still had a great time. I came home with one pheasant and a quail. Two others of the group took 4 quail. Again, not a great hall, but typical for this season (due to the heat and drought of last summer). I hoping we don’t have a repeat of the heat again, or next season could be even worse.

I’ve also found my favorite way to enjoy quail and pheasant, Pheasant (and quail) Teriyaki. I got the idea from another hunting buddy who did something similar with Goose. Here’s the basic recipe, I don’t measure much, but it’s pretty simple.

I cut up the quail and pheasant in bite size pieces and marinated in teriyaki sauce for a couple of hours. Chop up some onion and garlic. I probably used a small onion and 2 cloves of garlic. Saute the onion in oil to soften, don’t brown it. Once the onion is soften up a bit, toss in the garlic and game with all the teriyaki sauce. Saute for a few minutes until the meat is almost done. I had about 1/2 cup of chicken broth left over from the rice, so I tossed that in with a few more dashes of teriyaki. Simmer until meat is fully cooked and liquid is reduced some. Server over rice or noodles.

Yumm!

I’m grateful for good friends and good food. Thanks Alan for taking us out for one last chance to get some game.

Keep your powder dry.

Posted on

Kansas Quail and Pheasant Opening Weekend

I was able to make it to the opening weekend for pheasant and quail this year after missing it in 2010 (which was a banner year, right guys?). The reports weren’t good for western Kansas due to the heat and drought we had over the summer. But this year, it was about more then just going hunting. Keith had beat cancer and was finally back home. This year was a celebration, hunting was just the vehicle to celebrate with.

 

The usual crew was there, minus a couple of friends that couldn’t make it. We only saw 5 roosters that Saturday, but we got into 3 large covey of quail. The quail was a pleasant surprise as I expected to see even less of them. Of the roosters, only 1 was in range for a shot, and one of the Nate’s took it. Lots of quail were taken, not sure of the final count. My daughter Mariah ended the day with 3, I managed to drop a couple.

Keith even managed to accompany us to one of his favorite spots, the infamous “tail water pit”. That was one of the spots we busted a covey of quail at. Keith even managed to drop one. I think that was the highlight of his weekend.

I was excited to see quite a few deer all three days were were out there and am looking forward to deer season coming up in December. My wife is as well. This will be her second hunt. We’re going to set up our stand at an old ranch south of Meade thanks to Jason Edwards. Keith and I had scouted that back in 2010, but we never made it out there to hunt, so I’m looking forward to setting up on a new piece of land. I’m hoping that the wife and I both get a shot, we definitely need some meat in the freezer.

All said, it was a great weekend and we’re all relieved of Keith’s outcome and glad to see him back home. We had lots of great food, lots of great discussions around the bonfire. We feasted on elk stew and the ladies made some great dutch oven cobblers. And of course, the traditional visit to the Duck Inn for a burger.

I hope everyone had a great time out. Looking forward to getting in the field again. Keep your powder dry.

Posted on

It’s Pheasant Time

Can’t wait! Heading out tomorrow to see the guys and walk some fields. I’m taking my Grandfather’s old Winchester Model 12. Hardly any blue left on, it’s longer than most shotguns these days, but dang if it ain’t a sweet old 12 gauge.

Good luck to all the Kansas hunters this weekend.

Posted on

Kansas 2011 Pheasant and Quail Season Opener

Quail and Pheasant season begins next weekend here in Kansas. The forecast hasn’t looked good for many parts of the state due to the hot, hot summer we had. The western half of the state, which generally has the best pheasant hunting, looks to be non-existent this season. The reports I’m hearing is that the cover, along with the water, just dried up.

I’m going out there anyway, as well as most of the opening day crew that goes there. It’s more for our buddy Keith, than it is for the hunting this year. We’re going to celebrate Keith’s beating cancer and finally getting back home. And really, that’s way better than the best pheasant opening weekend ever.

Anyone else going out next weekend? Where are you headed? Let us know in the comments beloww.

Posted on

Hunting Season Begins

So the traditional start of the hunting season here in Kansas kicked off over the weekend with Dove season opening up on September 1st. I went out with a co-worker and good buddy Tim to see what we could find.

We made it out on Sunday afternoon and took a look at a few sunflower fields that were set up on some public hunting grounds. The sunflowers looked a little worse for wear from the summer heat and lack of rain we’ve had. We picked a field but still had a few hours before the dove would really start flying so we decided to do some scouting for a possible place to deer hunt during muzzleloading season coming up in a couple of weeks (since I won’t be heading out west as I’ve normally done the last few years).

We found a nice looking field and made note on my map and decided to head back to the dove field. I grabbed some vitals and decided to sit in some shade and watch the field for awhile since it was still a little early yet. One thing that had bothered me on our way out there was the lack of birds we were seeing on the power lines and roads. Way unusual. So as I’m eating my snack, I’m just not seeing anything flying around outside of songbirds. I’m starting to get worried.

Another group of hunters pull up and we chat a bit and work out where everyone is going to sit off the field so as not to interfere with each others shots.

Well, needless to say, the rest of the evening was pretty much the same. We saw a couple of birds. Heard the others guys take a few shots. But the birds just weren’t there. The opening hunt was a bust for me.

Towards sundown, we’d had enough of nothing and decided to go watch the field we like for deer hunting to see what might show. We were rewarded with a couple of does wandering out to feed about 30 minutes before sundown. So at least we know that deer are using the field. So the trip wasn’t a total bust.

I did feel sad that I won’t be spending this year’s muzzleloading season with Keith, it almost feels wrong. But he is doing better a little bit every day. So keep the prayers up for him.

So let’s hear it from the rest of you, did you make it out dove hunting and how’d you do?

Posted on

Is it deer season yet?

There’s only 124 days until Monday, September 19, 2011, the opening day of muzzleloading deer season. It’s going to be a long summer, feels like.