# Preserve hunting for pheasants and quail



## Crawl

Does anyone know of a good place to go to? We're talking about going this year and would like to know if any of you would reccommend a good place to go. Any info would be appreciated!

Jason


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## atrkyhntr

The only place I ever went to is now closed...
I'll be looking for post here too...
My friend use to raise birds so we always birds but after taking a new job that was taken away too UGH !!!


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## bigjohn513

cherry bend farms outside of willington is nice but can be very expensive


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## JohnBoat

We hunted at a place called Muscovy Run Farms last winter, it's up near Kinsman. Sorry but thats all the info I know


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## birdhunt

Both Elkhorn[Bucyrus], elkhornlakehuntclub.com, & Brier Oak [Bellevue] are good places.


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## Procraftboats21

Triple Creek Farms in East Sparta (15 mins from Canton) has half day hunts in September for $15 per bird and half day hunts through October through March its $17 per bird, they also clean the birds free. heres a phone number 1-330-484-3734


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## Star1pup

We also hunted at Muscovy Run near Kinsman. The hunting was good and the prices were very reasonable. The phone number is 330-876-0900.


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## Abu65

Elk Creek Hunt Club in Owenton,KY first class sporting clays released birds, service and facilitys they have a web page do asearsh for Elk Creek.


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## Action

Why is it that everybody on this site hates pay lakes, but paying to hunt fenced in game is OK. It doesn't bother me one way or the other, I'm just not understanding the difference. Could someone please explain where I'm missing the difference. Thanks


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## Action

by the way, I have pheasant and quail running through my yard all the time. Grouse too.


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## atrkyhntr

The HUGE diff is that paylakes take HUGE catfish (flatheads) from local resources using commercial fisherman for the most part and some say even sportfishermen who sell their catch to paylakes which is illegal...
I fished Medina Fish Hatchery when it was open for stocked trout which were raised not taken from local streams... The catfish that are caught by commercial fishermen then sold to paylakes is taking a resource from public waters for private use ($$ made for profit)...
Stocked birds are raised not caught from the wild...
Its pretty simple choice between the two...
Take a look at the catfish forum here and read all the post about thsi very subject...


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## Action

I see. If the people ate the cats, they would be gone anyhow. So paylakers and people who eat cats are kinda the same. I'm all for any kind of hunting and fishing for the most part, just curious what how other people think.


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## atrkyhntr

.. its not about


> If the people ate the cats, they would be gone anyhow


 eating


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## rustyfish

I was trying not to say anything. I agree about paylakes robbing natural fish, but there are lots of people who would still hate paylakes if they were farm fish. But i hope none of those people are on this subject, because that would be strange.

Just wondering, Where do the birds come from. I mean originally. Did all of the birds come from a few injured birds taken into captivity? That must be one massive cluster of imbreeding. lolol

I understand there are not many of those birds around here, but there are not many blues around here either. But if paylakes took a few blues from big populations down south and got fish from fishfarms i would be fine with me. Its just the local flatties that bother me. 

But those birds arnt hurting anything, so if you got the money kill on my friends. Like i say, its like a meat market that you get to kill (or catch) stuff yourself, sounds good to me.
No need to turn this thread into something it is not.


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## Lundy

Action,

The subject of paylakes has been debated without a clear winner for a very long time.

The compariosn of a hunting preserve (for birds)and paylakes that offer BIG stocked catfish is an apple to oranges comparison. 

Bird hunting preserves have only pen raised birds for the public to pay to harvest. In Ohio I don't even believe that you need a hunting license to hunt these preserves. I know that they have different and much longer seasons that the state sets on bird hunting and have no bag limits, just pay for what you shoot. The reason is that none of these birds are there at the expense of the of the Ohio public. Unlike wild birds that belong to everybody,this is a private enterprise where the owner absorbs all costs of operation, with no state or federal monies.

A paylake opperates in much the manner when they stock farm raised catfish or trout for fishing. No fishing license required, no state regulated bag limits. The BIG difference is when a paylake purchases fish (wild fish) that are a public resource and then benifits financially by stocking them in their lakes. The PUBLIC resource is being deminished for the monetary gain of a few. That is what most are against. I really don't think anybody has a problem with a paylake that stocks only farm raised fish, why would try.

If an individual catches a catfish and chooses to eat it that's his choice. That in no way affects the resource like commercial netting for the paylake industry.

Hunting preserves for birds use only farm raised birds, no public resources used.

Paylakes that purchase big cats use all public resources.

I personally have no ethical issues with shooting a bird on a preserve or catching a farm raised cat in a paylake for my consumption. There begins to be a few more ethical questions for me when hunting game animals in fenced preserves, but that's just me.

I like rustyfish's position, "It's like a meat market that you get to kill (or catch) stuff yourself" Works for me. I haven't eaten any pheasant in 15+years. I think I might go get a couple this year.

Kim


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## atrkyhntr

I couldn't agree more and wish I could have said it as well


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## River Walker

Tallmadge Pheasant Farm on Rt.30 a few miles west of Wooster is a nice place to go.Good hunting,and reasonable rates.Wooster Duck and Pheasant Club just down the road from Tallmadge is also a good choice.
The main difference to me regarding pay hunting vs pay fishing is I like pheasants,and I don't care for catfish and carp.Also,you can catch good numbers of carp and catfish almost anywhere in Ohio,whereas wild pheasants are becoming increasingly rare.


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## River Walker

Personally,I don't hunt preserves,I know of Tallmadge,because I bought one of my bird dogs from there.I used to go over there and let their professional dog handlers train her for a fair price.I don't hunt animals,never have,I've always enjoyed bird hunting though.I make a trip out to S.Dakota or Iowa every fall to hunt birds.I have no problem with the ethics of people hunting preserves,as far as pheasants,it's about the only game in town.Pay lakes are another story,I know of one in Morrow County that I've heard pays for flatheads taken out of the wild and then planted in their lake.I also know of one that I won't mention,that actually pays a couple of guys for perch and walleyes caught at Lake Erie and then stocked into their lakes.Other than the fact that these are obviously illegal going-ons,I would much rather go out fishing and catch my own WILD fish.


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## ARGEE

Reason May Be Is There Is No Place There Is To Hunt Pheasants N Quail Anymore...their Just Not There Unless Stocked By The State Somwhere...i May Be Wrong Though...


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## River Walker

There's still a few wild pheasants out there,but they're scarce.The best pockets of wild birds still seems to be in south-central Ohio.Areas around Washington Court House east towards C-Bus has always held some birds.As for quail,I know that Adams and Brown Counties have decent populations.


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## beatsworkin

Preserve hunting for game birds allows for folks to harvest birds that are either in short supply or non-existent in the wild. Your chances of getting some birds for the table are pretty much given, most places will give you frozen birds if you do not kill any on your hunt. For purists, it is not the way to go, but for most of us it is a great way to spend time with some friends or family and have a chance to take birds. 

There are 2 in my area: Hidden Haven near Sugargrove and Rushcreek Gamebirds near Bremen. Both offer different packages, Hidden Haven is a sporting clay facility first and hunting preserve second. Rushcreek is a bird hunting operation only and would be my first choice. I don't have rates but if anyone is interested, pm me and I will get phone numbers.


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## Action

When the farm raised birds get away, they're restocking the wild. Don't get that spillover effect from pay lakes to often. ( floods maybe )


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## stumpsitter

How can you be sure that wild birds aren't getting onto the preserves?


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## Shortdrift

Not mentioned is the fact that preserves must keep accurate records of birds raised or purchased as well as birds collected. They are also required to release more birds than they collect.  I can't remember what the percentage of released/collected ratio is but some of the birds do make it thru the winter (very low percentage) but it does help in establishing some additional birds in the wild. 
As far as hunt quality goes I believe it takes a pen raised bird about 10 seconds to adapt after being released and figure out what its legs are for. 
Those that survive the first flush also quickly learn that altitude is not a good thing. 
The last wild heasant and quail I collected was six years ago in Iowa. Since then it has been preserve birds, and I feel it is a good experience provided the preserve allows for fair chase and does not rock the birds. 
I'm very fortunate that the The Warden likes pheasant and requests that I get six or seven for the freezer.


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## TheKing

If you want to see a spare-time bird hunter paradise, then head to Cherry Bend in Wilmington Oh. Since the 1940's, the ringneck pheasant has been raised there for the sportsman. He even had a fly-in feature for those guys with general aviation single engine aircraft. His wife continues to run the business to this day and they have a pheasant buffet luncheon on many Saturdays throught the season. You can visit the hatching and holding areas for what used to be more than 70,000 birds raised each year. I have read that the Ringneck are not natural, but were brought from Taiwan. Though they can survive our winters, it is not a common thing and stocking is required. Imagine Ohio without the Ringneck. These farms are the reason they exist.
I have been there once each year for the last three years, and it has been the first experience of bird hunting for my son on these occasions. They have dogs (the professional grade ones that take "you" hunting and not the other way around) for use as part of the fee, which last year was $90 for three birds on the hunt, kids under 16 for free.


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## Star1pup

Star & I will be heading up to Muscovy Run in Kinsman tomorrow. The prices are very reasonable and the hunting was good when I tried it last year. I'll let you know how things go.


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