ShopPosts Tagged ‘Omaha’
What to Expect at Pheasant Fest
Wednesday, January 26th, 2011
Check out this short video for an idea of what you can expect this weekend at Pheasants Forever’s 2011 National Pheasant Fest at the Qwest Center in Omaha, NE. Hope to see you there!
Where Would You Go Pheasant Hunting in January?
Thursday, December 16th, 2010
Pictures like this get me thinking about a late season trip to chase roosters in January.
The other night, I received a phone call from my dad in Michigan. He requested I contact one of his buddies to provide guidance on where to hunt pheasants in January. While bird hunters in Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska aren’t even ready to call it mid-season, my personal 2010 pheasant hunting opportunities are quickly disappearing under two feet of a white Christmas here in Minnesota . . . not to mention mounting Pheasant Fest 2011 obligations. Consequently, day dreaming of a January bird hunting excursion was a fun exercise for me. In shorthand, here’s what I recommended to my dad’s buddy.
1. Nebraska: Our visit to the “Cornhusker State” was my highlight of Rooster Road Trip 2010. Basing our hunting out of the McCook area gave us easy access to thousands of acres of public lands with new CREP plots enrolled in the state’s CRP-MAP providing the best hunting of our week-long adventure.
Season Ends: January 31, 2011
2. Kansas: A very close second was the “Jayhawk State.” In no other state can you bag 4 roosters and 8 quail legally in a day’s hunt. In my opinion, Kansas rules the upland hunter’s roost in terms of total birds harvested annually. On the Rooster Road Trip, we hunted out of Norton and I wouldn’t think twice about heading in that very same direction this January.
Season Ends: January 31, 2011
3. South Dakota: While Minnesota was getting pounded by snow last weekend, I was chasing roosters from Hitchcock, South Dakota’s Gun Shot Acres. Although the 40 mile-per-hour winds created white-out conditions on Saturday morning, only two or three inches of snow hit the ground. If you’re headed to SoDak, you should still find it to be the “Pheasant Capital of the World.” Focus on the cattails and the roosters will be there.
Season Ends: January 2, 2011 (a great place to celebrate New Year’s!)
4. Colorado: I can’t claim to have ever pheasant hunted in CO; however, I continue to hear that the eastern third of the state is the best kept secret in pheasant country. If I had a wild hair to explore new ground, I’d look hard at Phillips, Yuma, Kit and Carson Counties.
Season Ends: January 31, 2011
Remember to mark your calendars for Pheasants Forever’s National Pheasant Fest 2011 in Omaha, Nebraska on January 28, 29 & 30 . . . YES, you can still hunt Nebraska while you’re down there for Pheasant Fest . . . hmmmmm, interesting isn’t it!
So, if you were going to plan an end of the season pheasant hunt, what would be your destination?
The Pointer is written by Bob St.Pierre, Pheasants Forever’s Vice President of Marketing.
Rooster Road Trip – Nebraska Preview
Thursday, November 4th, 2010
Nebraska's CRP-MAP initiative opens private land to public hunting.
There’s little doubt that Nebraska is over-looked in the world of traveling bird hunters. Year in and year out, it makes the top five lists of pheasant and quail states. Throw prairie chickens into the mix and the “Cornhusker State” has more going for it than a resurgent college football program about to enter the Big Ten.
Chief among the state’s progressive habitat programs and partnerships is the CRP-MAP lands initiative. The Conservation Reserve Program – Managed Access Program opens private land enrolled in CRP and managed for wildlife to public hunting. During our visit to Nebraska, we’ll focus on these public CRP acres with the hopes of adding a few bobwhite quail covey flushes to our adventure.
I have fond memories of my only hunting visit to Nebraska in 2004. I bagged my first bobwhite on that trip and missed my first prairie chicken later that day. I also connected on one of my best shots ever during that visit as a rooster tried to escape at 80 yards. He tasted especially good next to a side of mashed potatoes. When the Rooster Road Trip visits Nebraska next Friday, it will be Anthony and Andrew’s first time afield in the state.
Nebraska Nuggets
- A non-resident small game license costs $81.00 plus a $20 Habitat Stamp equals a $101 total. The license is good through the end of the calendar year.
- The daily bag limit is 3 roosters and 6 bobwhites.
- Hunting opens daily 30 minutes prior to sunrise and closes at sunset all season.
- Nebraska has a little more than 1 million acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). More than 450,000 of those acres’ contracts are set to expire in the next three years.
- Pheasants Forever’s National Pheasant Fest 2011, the nation’s largest event for upland hunters, comes to the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska on January 28-30, 2011.
Road Trip Recommendation
Boyt Gun Case: How many soft sided gun cases have you ripped with your barrel bead? I rip at least one every other year. I won’t guarantee that your bead won’t rip this case, but it’s about the perfect solution I’ve found merging quality and price.
The Pointer is written by Bob St.Pierre, Pheasants Forever’s Vice President of Marketing.
Annual Pheasants Forever Shotgun Review Kicks Off Pheasant Fest in Nebraska!
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
The 12 Gauge Beretta Xplor was one of the new shotguns tested in Omaha last month.
On May 13, the Pheasant Fest crew headed to Omaha. We were joined by 30 other Pheasants Forever members for PF’s annual new shotgun test event. We shot 17 new guns on a beautiful sunny (and yes windy) day just outside of Omaha at Werner Valley Shooting Complex on the banks of the Platte River.
First off, I have never shot at a more beautiful facility in my life. The lodge, sporting clays, and 5-stand were state-of-the-art with a leather-appointed indoor range to top it off.
We shot several new models and some slightly older models with upgrades. We shot guns from Beretta, Benelli, Remington, Winchester, Browning, Connecticut Shotgun, CZ, Stoeger, Ithaca, Weatherby, Fausti USA, Verona, Franchi, Ugartechea, Parker, and an optic from Burris. We also took full advantage of the beautiful indoor range and shot a DPMS Panther 5.56 and Kimber .45.
All of the guns performed great; however, there were two that when all was said and done, people wanted to shoot more. The first was the Benelli Legacy 28 Gauge, while the second most popular was the gun with the mounted Burris Speed Bead.
After the shoot, we all adjourned to the lodge to discuss the guns and talk about National Pheasant Fest coming to Omaha next January 28, 29, and 30 in 2011.
To learn more about all these fine guns look for your Pheasants Forever Fall Magazine for my article giving you the specifics!
Pheasant Festing
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010
- When 30,000 people come together, there are bound to be some interesting tidbits.
National Pheasant Fest 2010 is just days away. As you may imagine, it’s occupying most of the gray matter in my mind. Here are a few Pheasant Fest tidbits to help you win the random radio trivia contest or office water cooler face off.
- 111,272 people have attended the first five National Pheasant Fest events beginning with Bloomington, Minnesota’s 2003 event.
- Brett Favre was the 100,000 Pheasant Fest attendee in Madison, Wisconsin last year . . . just kidding, we actually have no idea of the true identity of attendee #100,000. To the best of our knowledge, Brett Favre has yet to attend a National Pheasant Fest.
- The first day Pheasant Fest was ever held in 2003 was my fifth day of employment at Pheasants Forever.
- Until 2008, Pheasants Forever held Pheasant Fest every other year.
- The very first Pheasant Fest Bird Dog Parade was held in the Des Moines skyway system in 2007. That year’s grand marshall was Bryan Karrick of KCCI News Channel 8, Des Moines’ CBS affiliate. Bryan and his black Lab, Chase, will return to lead the 2010 parade.
- Iowa boasts 104 Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever chapters; the most of any state. To grab the top membership spot away from Minnesota, Pheasants Forever volunteers in Iowa are striving to enroll 4,953 new members at Pheasant Fest in 2010.
- www.PheasantsForever.org experiences the most web traffic of the year during the week of National Pheasant Fest.
- USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack is scheduled to speak this Saturday of the Fest. Secretary Vilsack will become the third Ag Secretary to attend Pheasant Fest. Mike Johanns attended the Des Moines event in 2007 and Chuck Connor attended the Saint Paul event in 2008.
- Des Moines marks the first time Pheasant Fest returns to the exact same city and exact same venue (Iowa Events Center).
- Only one Pheasant Fest has been held during a state’s current pheasant season. Pheasant Fest 2005 in Omaha occurred during the final weeks of Nebraska’s pheasant season.
- Marian Gaborik (Former Minnesota Wild, current New York Ranger, and current Slovakian Olympian) checked out Pheasant Fest prior to the show’s opening in 2008 with a Slovakian television crew. No word on whether that footage ever made it to air.
- The daily temperatures of most of the previous five Pheasant Fests have not only been below freezing, they’ve mostly been below zero. BUNDLE UP!
- NFL Hall of Fame Coach Bud Grant attended the 2008 National Pheasant Fest.
- Tom Osborne, famed University of Nebraska football coach and former U.S. Congressman, attended National Pheasant Fest 2005 in Omaha.
- To our knowledge, no former American Idol contestant has ever attended National Pheasant Fest. We’re okay with that.
- Since 2005’s Fest in Nebraska, over 1,000 attendees have visited the Landowner Habitat Help Room. Pheasants Forever and partner biologists have evaluated 65,000 acres for habitat improvements during those visits.
- State Acres For wildlife Enhancement (SAFE or CP 38), CRP’s youngest practice, was officially announced for the first time at Pheasant Fest 2008 in Saint Paul.
What will be the interesting tidbits to arise during Pheasant Fest 2010 in Des Moines? Join us in Des Moines to find out. www.PheasantFest.org
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