Opening Day Fall 2008

It was the Opening day for pheasant hunting fall of 2008. My brother Jim, my friend Brian, and myself were the only people in my hunting party. To make matters worst, it was a wet fall, so there was still a lot of corn left in the fields. We still went out the door with the hope of at least seeing some birds today.
We met up with Brian at his house in town and hopped into his truck. We drove around the country trying to spot birds at field edges. Around 8:30 we spotted one, but the field was way too big to walk with three guys so we let him go. Around ten that morning, we decided to check out a pond. The area around the pond was pretty much a marsh because of the recent rains. As we stumbled through it we heard a rustle. Right next to Jim, a rooster flew up. Brian had three shots off before my safety was off, and it was still flying. But that’s Brian’s motto, accuracy by volume. While the bird was trying to avoid Brian, I lined up my shot and took it. I dropped it. The next part was our biggest mistake.
When we should have been running over to find the bird, it got away. Instead we were having too much fun giving Brian a hard time. We found a trail of feathers but no bird at the end of it. To make matters worse, it was the only bird that we saw for the rest of the day. We were kicking ourselves for that one.
Although this day turned out to be bad, the late harvest made hunting around thanksgiving time a lot better. We did a lot better then and the weather was actually a lot nicer. Even though the day turned out to be a bad day for hunting, it was still fun because I got hang out with my friend Brian who goes to school up north and its always nice to be able to enjoy nature.

Pheasant Recipe: Pheasant and Rice

This is an easy dish to make. All you have to do is mix everything and put it in the oven. The end result is delicious. For those of you that have never had pheasant, this dish is a lot like chicken and rice. It taste a little different from chicken but it is delicious. It is a favorite of mine and I hope you enjoy it.


Ingredients:
-3 pheasant breasts
-2 cups of cream of mushroom soup
-1 cup of cream of chicken soup
-1 to 2 sliced sticks of celery
-1 can of whole mushrooms
-1/2 tsp. sage
-1/2 tsp. thyme
-salt and pepper, to taste
-3 cups water
-1 box Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice
-1/2 btl. white wine
-1/2 onion, chopped
-garlic salt
-Worcestershire sauce, to taste


Directions:
Mixed all ingredients together and put in the oven at 350 degrees, for about an hour, till done.

Recipe by: Bernie Pille

Hunting and WildLife Conservation Go Hand in Hand

When people think of hunters, they think of the stereotype, a guy in blaze orange shooting at anything that moves. The notion of wildlife conservation is nowhere involved with that stereotype and people laugh when it is mention. Most people don’t think hunting and wildlife conservation go hand in hand.

Hunters are a big part of conservation. You might be wondering how these two are related. Well in Iowa, according to the Department of Natural Resources website, half of their 4 million dollar budget comes from hunting licenses. Hunters have to buy these licenses to hunt almost everything in Iowa. There are also laws and regulations to how many animals can be shot and how many animals hunters can have in possession.

The profits made from hunting licenses also help reintroduce wildlife back into their old habitats. The Iowa DNR have released wild turkeys and Canadian geese back into the State, and now there populations are rising. This just shows that hunters are helping the environment out.

For you non-hunters out there, you are probably wondering how hunters have helped you. Have you camped at a state park? Gone on a bike trail through the country side? Hiked a trail? If you have, most of them were created and are managed by funds from hunting licenses.

Hunters are a very important part of wildlife conservation. They provide a lot for the wildlife and those not involved with hunting. Someday I hope the stereotype of hunters changes to a much better images, one of person helping out the environment. Without hunters we would not have the beautiful wilderness that we have today.

Work Cited
“How Hunters Support Conservation.” Iowa DNR Wildlife Mar. 16 2009.< http://www.iowadnr.gov/wildlife/files/huntcons.html>.

Pheasant Recipe: Pheasant Kabobs

Here's an tasty recipe for you pheasant hunters out there. Pheasant Kabobs! They are easy to make on the grill and are delicious.

ingredients:
-a pair of pheasant breast
-bacon strips
- a barbecue of your liking (I use Kraft masterpiece)
-kabob skewers

Directions:
cut up breast into cubes. Wrap each cube with bacon and use the skewer to hold it on. Smother them in barbecue sauce and place on grill. Cook until meat is done.

Additional:
If you want, you can marinade the pheasant breast, this will add to the flavor.

My friends and I enjoy this recipe and I hope you do to.

Pheasant Hunting and Me

I woke up at 7:00 AM this Saturday morning, but this wasn’t just any Saturday morning, it was opening day of Pheasant Season. I jump out of bed and got ready. With me were my brothers Joe and Jim, and also our friend Luke. We started walking terraces and water ways in a corn field. All of the sudden there was a rustle and then whoosh; a rooster flew up into the air. I lined up the bead on the end of my 12 gauge up with the bird, lead it a little and fired. It fell from the sky and landed in some tall grass. I ran up there to find the bird. BLAST! It was nowhere to be seen. I found some feathers and tried to follow the trail of them, but no luck. Dang! I guess I’ll have to keep trying.
Hi my name is John Grabner and the story above is and actual experience of mine. I have been hunting pheasants since I was 12 years old. It has become an important part of my life. It was more than sport to me. For me it was a time to spend quality time with my Dad and my older brother. It didn’t matter that I was a poor shot at this when I started. It just gave me another opportunity to spend time with them by having them teach me how to shoot. We would go buy bunch of shells and clay pigeons and practice. Eventually I became a better shot and started knocking pheasants down. Today, I barely get to see my other brother Joe, but he always comes home during pheasant season to go hunt with us.
Hunting is also another chance to enjoy nature. The sights, sounds and smells are just inviting. It’s just really scenic and beautiful. Now I’m in college in Ames, it’s nice to get away from the city and just go out and enjoy the country side. Pheasant hunting is a great time to do this.
And last of all, the great stories that come from hunting trips are always great. In my story above I didn’t find my bird. This is actually a curse that I acquired. When I was around the age of 14, every bird that I shot down, somehow we never manage to find it. As I got older, I went hunting less because of work and activities, but when I got the chance to go hunting, the same thing happened. It wasn’t until this last fall that the curse was finally lifted and I found all my birds that I shot down. It was truly my best day of hunting.
Overall, hunting is a great time to hang out with family and friends, enjoy nature, hear great or funny stories, and if you’re lucky eat some tasty pheasant.