15 replies to this topic

[sxshooter]

Pen raised birds, etc... No matter what you call it, they're basically all the same in that the birds are not wild, but have been raised in confined environments.

There are a fairly large number of them in CA for more than one reason. Limited public land with the right environment for some species like pheasant is a big one. The regular cycle of drought conditions in the southwest is another.

But there are good ones and some not so good ones. Some really bad ones too.

I've hunted about 4 of them from Socal up to about the middle of the state. By far the best flying birds were at Ace-Hi in central CA near Helm. The terrain isn't much, but the birds are more consistantly good flying and will get up more like wild birds than the other 3 places I've been to. The owner tries to minimize the human exposure to the birds and they are raised in large flight pens. It seems to work to keep the birds wary enough to flush when humans or dogs get close.

A place we hunted at in Tehachapi a few years ago was terrible. You could walk up to all the birds and almost pick them up. My dog caught a good number of them without much effort.

I hunted a CA DFG "Family Hunt" near Blythe a couple times. Ol man Robinson at Robinson farms would host it on his alphalfa farm, maybe still does. The birds came from Ace-Hi the couple years I went, if I recall correctly. Here's a pic from one of those hunts back 5-6 yrs ago. The first one was fun since it took us a couple hours to get our birds, then the next one only took less than half an hour for 3 of us and was the last time I went down to that one.


In the end, when my friends, who aren't really dedicated hunters, want to have a good time, they want to go to Ace-Hi. I'm happy to run my dogs for them and sometime actually shoot too. It's a good time and my dogs will get on as many birds in one day as they might see in half the season otherwise. I can run my two dogs for half a dozen friends which adds up to a lot of birds at 10-12 birds per hunter. They're not the same as wild, but pretty close most of the time.

I highly recommend Ace-Hi if you just have to hunt a pen raised bird or need a workout for your dog. We drive from south of L.A. to central CA and back in one day to do this, because we know the birds are good.

[KNOCKED UP]

I gotta admit, Pen raised birds are tasty,
when cooked in their own melted fat.
Tom

[sxshooter]

That's why a Butterball tastes good.

[Yateswell]

I hunt pheasant at Robinson farm this part weekend, for some reason the birds in the field I hunted were all runners, they would run from one side of field to other side, it was a huge alphalfa field and with temperature in the middle 80s I got tired pretty soon, I did hot my bird in the air just like the picture you're showing. Poor man like me have no access to private land and can't afford a trip to North/South Dakota, this is as good as it gets.

[Bisley]

Poor man like me have no access to private land and can't afford a trip to North/South Dakota, this is as good as it gets.

Sadly, that is the truth. I used to be able to hunt them in Colorado as a youth on my grandparents farm. Unfortunately they are all but gone on the Western Slope now . And while the nephew thoroughly enjoyed himself this last weekend on our shoot, I just can't get that feeling of walking through foot high alfalfa with no dog and no warning as that big ole bird jumped up less than a yard in front of you and stopped your heart for a few beats. There's just no replacing that feeling after having experienced it. And it is not the fault of the clubs, they really do try, I know. But I just tell myself that I would rather do that than stand in a supermarket line. Besides, the kid had a ball, and that's all that really matters.

If that Ace-Hi were not so far away I might consider trying it. The dilemma is this though: by the time I drive there and back I spend a L O T more than a weekend trip chasing quail/chukar. The clubs here are around the corner, but may not be as exciting, and still have pretty much guaranteed meat for le$$ than a weekend desert hunt. So you can see where the dilemma falls. This last weekend I needed food and the kid wanted to shoot something with his recently passed grampa's shotgun, so it worked out alright. But to tell the truth, I missed the sound of chukar calling (even if I can't catch up to them) and I really missed the smell of sagebrush. I would have a sagebrush air freshener if they made one . But all the kid can talk about for the last two days was shooting the "big birds". These clubs do have a purpose, I just don't think I could do it much, but the kid wants to go there every day now!

[sxshooter]

Bob
Pen birds will never match a wild bird, that's a given. Going up to AceHi is a 0-dark-30 to past dinner affair. But given how poor the quality of the other places we've experienced was, we makes the drive a few times a year, sometimes more. It's not ideal but it's the best we've found for what they are. The cover most years is decent and closer to wild conditions than the other places and the birds are good flyers. The only club I've seen that was better around here was Tejon Ranch. But that place is in a different category money wise.

Like most of the folks here, I struggle to find places that have wild birds thru the drought years and havent been shot out in the few scattered good years. Seems like we have drought years about 3 to 1 good years and I spend a lot of money/time looking for wild birds in those drought years. These hunt farms just tide us over til we can get on wild birds. My dogs have a blast on them. That makes it a good time for me.

I'm working on a wild bird hunt lease up north out of state. If it comes thru, next year I'll spend a lot of time on wild chukar up there.

[bunktheclown]

I have experienced much of the same thing with some of the Pheasant farms around the area. Too many birds just stand there and let the dogs maul them lol. And if they do fly most don't get more than a few feet off the ground. This year I became a member of a sportsman's club in sac that is a co-op of sorts. They do release pen raised birds into the fields throughout the season to supplement the wild birds. Not sure where they get them but man are they hard fliers and act very similar to wild birds. Not to mention I can shoot as many as I want for the season (obeying the daily limit of course) for one price.

-jb

[sxshooter]

JB,
Quite possibly, the birds you guys get come from Keith, who owns Ace-High Adventures as well as a bird raising business. His family actually were turkey ranchers and he turned it into game bird ranching. He supplies birds to all over the country. Still, direct human contact with the birds or repeated proximity to humans and dogs will make the birds poor game for hunting.

Sounds like your club is doing it right. Tejon Ranch is managed similarly.

[bretmoua]

Anyone know of any place for Pheasants in the Fresno Area. I'm tired of hunting the Mendota Wildlife Area for no birds. Been hunting the big area for 4 years for only 2 birds. The area is too big with lots of hunters and their dogs. Oh and the entrance fee is ridiculous as well. If you know of a spot close to the Fresno area or an hour drive away, please be kind and tell. LOL. You can also pm if you don't want your spot to be shown on the site. In return, I can give you spots for turkeys that are an hour drive away. Help me and I'll help you. )

[sxshooter]

Bretmoua
Ace High Adventures http://www.acehighad...om/Hunting.html is close by Fresno. Throw down $160 for 5 pheasant and give it a whirl. Better yet, get a group of 4-6 guys together, one of which has an old lab, get the same number of birds each, and the action will closely resemble South Dakota.

[bunktheclown]

Pheasants will run you ragged in the alfalfa fields when it's warm out!! We have a couple alfalfa fields in our club and I only hunt them in the morning when it's nice and wet. They seem to hold a bit better when it's wet from the morning dew.

JB,
Quite possibly, the birds you guys get come from Keith, who owns Ace-High Adventures as well as a bird raising business. His family actually were turkey ranchers and he turned it into game bird ranching. He supplies birds to all over the country. Still, direct human contact with the birds or repeated proximity to humans and dogs will make the birds poor game for hunting.

Sounds like your club is doing it right. Tejon Ranch is managed similarly.

These planters get smarter and smarter each time they get shot at. Not sure if all planters are this way but ours have a hole in their nose where the tag / hood is located.

Hunted hard to scratch out 2 on Friday and 2 more yesterday. 3 of the 4 busted wild just as the dogs started getting birdy. The last flushed quickly just as the dogs locked up 50 yards from us. Lucky the wind was blowing in our face and that bird flushed right at us for an almost too easy 30 yard left to right shot. Below is a pic of the last one.

-jb




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[bretmoua]

Bretmoua
Ace High Adventures http://www.acehighad...om/Hunting.html is close by Fresno. Throw down $160 for 5 pheasant and give it a whirl. Better yet, get a group of 4-6 guys together, one of which has an old lab, get the same number of birds each, and the action will closely resemble South Dakota.

Wow. That's a pretty penny I'm not willing to pay. LOL Thanks anyways.

[sxshooter]

Sorry. You never know what's within someone's comfort zone til the number is on the table. Still, at about $32 a bird (and there's no assurance you'll shoot all 5 especially without a good dog) that ain't terrible when you consider how much gas it takes sometimes to get wild pheasant.

[clampdaddy]

A buddy of mine belongs to a club in the delta area and takes me once in a while. The first time I went, I was feeling uneasy about how many hunters were allowed to hunt in the same field and I let two birds fly off without shooting at them because the poor devils sat there and looked me in the eye until the dog got them up. My buddy could tell that I wasn't having fun so he asked me what I wanted to do. I told him to take me to the furthest reaches of the property where they don't actually plant birds. We ended up bagging four powerful flushing roosters and two of them were actually field hatched birds.

[bretmoua]

I think I will just go and buy two pheasants at our local chicken farm. They sell one at $10. LOL MMMMM....Yummmmm

[sxshooter]

Chickens are about $5 at the market and you don't have to clean them.

But, as soon as you decide to bypass KFC and the market, you take all logic out of the equation.