North Dakota Pheasants

[scout88305]

Jack and I Waited until late season to head west for Ringnecks. Many midwest small towns are dying on the vine. They lose the school due to consolidating, then goes the hardware store, the elevator and the cafe. Bars seem to be the last holdouts. Anyway, in Reeder N.D. they have converted the old school to a community center that provides rooms for $37.00. Classrooms are the bedrooms and the industrial arts room our kitchen. A shack to clean birds. A Basketball court is just waiting for us after the birds are cleaned and supper finished. A library for the readers in the group. What a cool idea. We had a blast!! All the history in the facility is preserved for visitors to view and appreciate. As for the hunt, birds were all bunched up. A flock shoot so to speak. Good numbers on the better farms with cover. Generous friendly people all around and a true highlight of all my fall hunting this year. The dogs did well. Lots of photos here but I just gotta share the hunt.SHORT MOVIES

[cubdriver2]

Never would have guessed that you were a cheerleader, Looks like a good time thanks for sharing

Glenn

[S2D]

shame when they close those schools and all the memories disappear. Nice to see they found a way to keep it open.

[Iflylower]

Wow, a subject near and dear to my heart....pheasants. I usually hunt a bit North of there.

Great pics. Glad they're making use of the school. If those walls could talk. Looks like a lot of history. Same thing happened in the eastern side of North Dakota where my mom grew up and I used to spend summers on the farm. I used to think of it as a half ghost town. Now, I'm not sure ghosts live there anymore. But, I guess they didn't end up needing a town every 10-15 miles like they were set up in Horse and wagon days. Americana.

[Torch]

Those are some great pics. I sure wish I was there hunting birds with you. Looks like a great place to live.

[WWhunter]

NICE!!! Great hunt.

[S2D]

that lodge in the 13th picture down is where they let Eaton stay when he goes hunting.

[Bill Ingerson]

Great pictures and at the same time sad to see the schools closing. I listened to a guy on the radio today that said after world war two the U.S was the leading manufacture of goods in the world and held it for 40 - 50 years. Now some of the other countrys are growing in leaps and bounds and if we are lucky we will be in the top 10 for Manufacturing. That was only if we improve our schools and education of our kids. I hope they get to hunt like your doing and wish I was there to help you bag some of the birds.

[Scouter]

Great post Eric. Messing around in taildraggers and shooting birds over a fine dog are equal fun for me. I think of my old Brittany almost every day, him pointing grouse and him rolling his eyes when I missed. Sure was a long old ride home from the vet on his last day. You call me next year and I will meet you in ND

Jim

[wateredown]

I've been away from this site for a time but this post made me comment. It looks like home.... well I'll be darned, it is! My graduation pic is hanging in that room somewhere. The runway is just 5 miles north of that school if ever needed.

[S2D]

waterdown

You know any of the Donners over there?

[SteveE]

that lodge in the 13th picture down is where they let Eaton stay when he goes hunting.

Cant stay there anymore,,, seems some Montana boys let their portable meth lab blow out the windows.....

Great pics Eric...

[wateredown]

Yup, all of them. They don't look like you.

[Mark Cav]

The Bakken Natural Gas field is booming so quick, they can not build housing fast enough,aswell as filling positions. in NDakota. My nephew, has been building wind mills there and Iowa all summer. I will tell him this weekend about this.He likes to hunt Phesants also.

[aktango58]

I am green with envy!!!!

Thank you for letting us share...

[S2D]

Yup, all of them. They don't look like you.

Ha. Neil is the Pharmacist here. Just talked to his folks not too long ago. thought his stepmom said they closed the airport in Reeder.( What there was of it)

[wateredown]

There used to be a couple of 201's based there but that was a long time ago, wheat is the occupier now. I was in school with Neil's brother Bruce. I used to love to stop at that little diner in Wibaux, the only thing they couldn't super-size and then charge half price for was an egg.

[Doorgunner]

waterdown

You know any of the Donners over there?

I know all the Donners. Dale is still on the farm near Regent. I have hunted on their farm for several years off and on. Missed this season. Last season was great.

Lee, Dalhart and Howard live in Texas. Lee lives a few blocks away from me.

I took Lee and Howard deer hunting today on one of the ranches I manage. They both came out to the airport to check out my L-4B

[Biggen]

My graduation pic is hanging in that room somewhere.

Mine too! I'm pretty sure it's right above the microwave behind the pool table.

[S2D]

small world !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SteveE]

I bet they know your old girlfriends too.....

[aktango58]

and your boyfriends...


(Man Eaton, you just leave them open this week!)

[aktango58]

What is the season for Ringnecks there?

Eaton, we should meet up down there so I can buy you a beer and get a shooting lesson... I will stand behind you while you shoot lest you think payback


But what fun it could be to hunt farm fields like that again...

[SteveE]

We went to S Dakota the past couple of years. It's a hoot!! I met a few really nice Federal Wardens last year and with some quick Okie wit, got outa a jam; but that's a good story over a campfire.

[S2D]

nice Federal Wardens

Hmmmm, checked my memory banks and can't find reference to that adjective anywhere

[Mark Cav]

Doorgunner, do you let anyone Flyfish the pond,s on your property,s. I have a friend in Hamilton,Tx thats over the Wounded Warrior program, for Flyfishers in Texas. Mark

[Doorgunner]

Doorgunner, do you let anyone Flyfish the pond,s on your property,s. I have a friend in Hamilton,Tx thats over the Wounded Warrior program, for Flyfishers in Texas. Mark

Mark,
I do not own the properties I manage. Some of the owners are very liability conscious and have a problem with people they don't know coming onto their properties. I would have your friend contact me and see what we could do in the future. Right now, due to this summer's drought there is not much water in most of the stock ponds and small lakes. What water is there is sometimes stagnant.

Drop me a PM and I will give you my information so your friend can contact me.

[Kyle Wolfe]

Very nice, Eric! I do hope the oil expansion does not get that far south - I'm afraid it will ruin the things we love!

[ag-pilot]

Very nice, Eric! I do hope the oil expansion does not get that far south - I'm afraid it will ruin the things we love!

Then again we can just keep importing oil from people sworn to kill us... Just like the Alaskan pipeline ruined Alaska forever and always,,,,,NOT Oh and last week I was fishing in the completly ruined marshland of the Mississippi Delta in La. Wow, sure glad we shut off all the drilling in the Gulf so all those people lost there jobs.... Might have caught 2 or 3 more of the BEST fish I have ever eaten if not for that TOTAL disaster.....

Dave

[Kyle Wolfe]

Dave, not saying we shouldn't drill - but was at friends place in eastern Montana hunting pheasants over Thanksgiving. The newly drilled well just at the end of their driveway (not their mineral lease) was just lit. If you like the sound of a PT-6 running and the nice flicker of light all night long from the gas being burned off then you'd have loved their place. And a number of the CRP fields were staked for drilling rigs. Not to mention the truck traffic, high rental rates, and all the other fun things that come along with the progress. Surely you've seen that too around Watford City and Western ND. Unreal. But when the EPA get done with their decision regarding fracking it may all be for naught.

Sorry Eric - don't mean to highjack a really positive thread with negative comments.

Get back out there and use the 2nd half of your ND license!!!

[ag-pilot]

The only true new money ever created is from Mining, Agriculture or other natural resources. I'll bet your buddy's would be happy to put up with the light and traffic and everything else associated with oil development if they owned the minerals. NIMBYDs (not in my back yard) are killing this country.
just my opinion and I love hunting as much as anyone.
Dave

[Mark Cav]

Take A Soldier Fishing.org Is the program that started at Fort Hood.

[Redman]

Thanks for sharing. My brother was north in New England over the weekend chasing birds. I opted out to fly a PA-18 to CA. Kinda wish I could have done both after seeing these photos!

[scout88305]

[QUOTE=Kyle Wolfe;519833]Dave, not saying we shouldn't drill - but was at friends place in eastern Montana hunting pheasants over Thanksgiving. The newly drilled well just at the end of their driveway (not their mineral lease)

I asked this very question on the drive out. I am perplexed how mineral rights have been sold or forfeited over the years of land ownership. In more cases than not the land owner doesn't own the rights. If they want to drill they move right in. I saw a beautiful Juniper draw on the enchanted highway (very cool) http://www.enchantedhighway.net/
and low and behold they have a drill camp setup right in the draw. I'm like what the hell, of all places to drill they mess up what little cover is left out here. I see both sides of the coin.

[OLDCROWE]

Typically Mineral rights cannot be forfeited mostly they were SOLD or retained when ground sold and the seller retained the minerals and later sold them or passed the to others.

Having been and still being a little bit on both sides (working & revenue or mineral) of the oil business it is difficult but those minerals were acquired for a price often while the farm was in distress such as during the great depression which may have been tragic but often it saved the farm which surface owners have told me on some of our interests.

The real problem is that unless you want to go back to hoarse and buggy days and heating with buffalo dung absolutely none of us gets to gripe about oil and gas production.

As for the Balken Play, all I've got to say is Drill baby drill.. Just like I say here in Oklahoma and yes I've got interests in both locations.

OC

Ps. Did that juniper draw have crops on either side, if so the surface owner likely drove the location choice.

[aktango58]

do drilling and the environment have to be mutually exclusive?

Can we have ringnecks and oil?

My father used to work on his Aunt's farm every summer, (back in the 40's) in North East Montana. He talked about how he would kill hens working the fields with machinery. He always said that if the farmers would leave a 20' buffer between the fence and where they cut the harvest, they would save 90% of the birds, because the birds wanted to be near the fence/brush, but in the feed. Most farmers would not give up that bit of land, so killed birds.

We all have our habits that disturb others. at some point, we need to quit trying to run everyone else's lives. If we did, there would be far fewer 'wanabe' cubs

[180Marty]

He always said that if the farmers would leave a 20' buffer between the fence and where they cut the harvest, they would save 90% of the birds, because the birds wanted to be near the fence/brush, but in the feed.

Actually that's where the dirty words CRP(Conservation Reserve Program) come in. The gov't is paying me $83 an acre to plant native grasses like Canadian Wild Rye, Big and Little Blue Stem and several others. I used to have more acres but started farming them.

[OLDCROWE]

do drilling and the environment have to be mutually exclusive?

Can we have ringnecks and oil?

My father used to work on his Aunt's farm every summer, (back in the 40's) in North East Montana. He talked about how he would kill hens working the fields with machinery. He always said that if the farmers would leave a 20' buffer between the fence and where they cut the harvest, they would save 90% of the birds, because the birds wanted to be near the fence/brush, but in the feed. Most farmers would not give up that bit of land, so killed birds.

We all have our habits that disturb others. at some point, we need to quit trying to run everyone else's lives. If we did, there would be far fewer 'wanabe' cubs

Sure oil and farming/pheasant hunting can go together... I've been hunting ditch parrots on the same farm in Kansas for 33 years and the are producing wells on most every quarter. Birds love the weeds around the locations. As for a perimeter buffer thats a totally different issue, i suggest you look at some of the margins on farming (especially dry land small grain farms) then suggest to the farmer that he/she take land out of production but I'd suggest you do it from a moving vehicle.

[wateredown]

I've been watching the pheasant population around here for over 60 years. I maintain CRP has a minimal effect on bird numbers. It raises lots of coyotes and deer, but pheasants, not so much. If you want to find birds you walk fencelines. The ideal location is the weed/grass buffer areas next to crop land with tree rows every 40 rods or so and a source of water. There will be hundreds there. I have 320 acres of CRP across the road from my place and except for along the fenceline next to a wheat field, there are NO birds. The same is true for the CRP west of me a mile. I move cattle across that and they scare up almost no birds because there is little for them to eat out there. Now, you might find a few if there are enough hunters walking but nothing compared to unmolested strips next to grain. A shelter belt is good if it's not too large but a single row of trees will produce far better hunting then twenty. The highest bird population we've ever had was before CRP came into being. A long tough Winter or a very wet Spring would be far more disastrous then loss of conservation acres.

[180Marty]

Here's a couple of shots of my 13 acres of CRP. This is from a few years ago----the native grass is standing tall right now. I've been startled more than once when the birds are right up by the bridge next to the road. Notice the crop of beans next to the fence and corn the next year. Found an aerial from last year. CRP between creek and corn----pretty neat watching them fly and then drop down into 7 or 8 ft tall corn.
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