Opinion on Hunting Preserves

[mike_yorkPA]

so what do you guys think about hunting preserves?

I went to one today for pheasant with my grandfather and my 9 and 12 year old cousins. We wanted to take the little ones on a hunt and decided we would take them to the preserve to "hunt" so we know they would get something. Was kinda weird because they release them then you go out so its i guess if you wanna call it fake. It was still fun and spent good time watching the dogs work and fun times with the family

My grandfather and i spent days in the field at SGL's all over the place and got nothing even with dogs. Saw some and even went up and tried to kick it to fly and they just wouldnt fly just a leisurely walk through the grass. He was telling me about the "old days" when they were everywhere and they weren't the "dammed state stocked birds" as he said.

[XD40coyote]

Which place did you go to? I used to trap for the Hopewell place, but on some other land he owns that he does more limited hunt stuff on, plus dog proof coon traps down where they shot at ducks.

[Dredly]

I believe the PGC has said that there are very few if any pheasants left in the wild so the only place to shoot them is either on a preserve or on "stocking day"... I'd much rather take a kid to a preserve then try my luck with some of the idiots that are out on stocking day

[mike_yorkPA]

I believe the PGC has said that there are very few if any pheasants left in the wild so the only place to shoot them is either on a preserve or on "stocking day"... I'd much rather take a kid to a preserve then try my luck with some of the idiots that are out on stocking day

it was at Martz --> http://martzs.com/

this is the same thing i was thinking, at first i didnt like the idea of this kind of hunting but as i said earlier it was enjoyable. I figured the birds at the farm are also better kept and in better condition than the birds the state stocks

deer hunting on a preserve i dont think would be very fun, but thats just MY opinion

[A-5]

I am a hypocrite preserve hunting for large game (shooting them in a cage or letting them go down the trail from you and you shooting it) is a disgrace. But shooting stocked pheasants at a private place is not much different than what the PGC does every fall I'mall for it if you have the money.

[1iarrowking]

If you know a place in PA where you can hunt and find pheasants after stocking day that isn't a preserve you better make it your best kept secret. If I find out about it I'll be there. And if it's on the west end of the state I'll rent a room and stay all week.

[XD40coyote]

It is a shame that the wild ( despite being non native) pheasants have all but disapeared. They were still plentiful in the late 80's then it seemed within a span of 5 years they just disapeared. One idea was that this new pesticide called Furidan being sprayed on farm fields is what did them in. If it didn't kill them outright from them eating still alive bugs coated with it, it caused them to go sterile and unable to breed. Whatever was left over, the foxes and raptors killed off. Furidan was banned after a few years btw. During a time period while the pheasants dispeared, I had domstic geese that were infertile for a few years, but then recovered. Skunks and weasels in this area also declined greatly in #'s during this time- and the skunks STILL have not recovered, and weasels are still as scarce as hens teeth, though their large cousin the mink is in large #'s and doing quite well. Skunks eat a diet mostly of insects and their grubs, so Furidan likley did havoc on them. But why they are still scarce in just this small zone, is a mystery. I seldom catch skunks while trapping, and had quite a line out one season, I think I caught 3 then, to 81 foxes. I kind of don't mind since trapped skunks can be a PIA, but am still concerned.

[dkf]

Some are like going to the grocery store basically. Like the asshats on TV that sit in a blind drinking coffee waiting for the deer to come to the feeder to get shot. Some of these outfits (in PA) also introduce species into PA that should not be here.(Like hogs) Releasing phesants and hunting them isn't the same.

[sig22940]

I would never hunt big game on a preserve. I have hunted as a guest at Martz's and it was alot of fun. Whether or not you hunt the stocked pheasants on SGL or a preserve it is basically the same. Also it will help get the kids more interested in hunting with the extra action at the preserve.

[39flathead]

I used to sell tires to a farm that had pheasant, grouse and some other kind of bird hunts as aside business to the primary farming activities.

They used to put the birds half asleep somehow before dropping them off across the fields.
Always seemed wrong to me.

As for taking kids, IMO, that puts into their young minds that shooting "tame" birds is OK. Not for me.

Just my opinion and I have no ill will against anyone participating in capitalism.