I was invited for a pheasant hunt in Unadilla, Nebraska by my good buddy, Bo Don. It was his birthday weekend and he wanted to go hunting.
We got to the beautiful property at Beede Outdoors LLC, early and just ahead of the snow. Mr. Matt and his crew were there to meet us and had everything ready to go.
Of course, I was wearing my Treezyn gear and so was my paw-in-law. We were looking good and it was comfortable. We were prepared for any weather.
We had four shooters– Bo Don (my buddy), Walt (my Godfather), Paw Paw Elton (my paw-in-law. Yes! He has a real name), and me.
Bayne, our guide, and his beautiful bird dog, Tess drove us out to the field. He gave us instructions on the hunt. It was my first pheasant hunt and I wasn’t sure what to expect but it was clear that he knew what he was doing.
We had booked a box hunt and I was afraid it would be too easy but was pleasantly surprised to find it was not. We paid for five pheasants each with an extra five just in case. We bagged 18 and let me tell you it wasn’t as easy as I thought. We were guaranteed the pheasants would be there somewhere but not guaranteed we would shoot them.
At Bayne’s command, Tess took off into the tall grass. The hunters fanned out and began their walk. Within seconds the first pheasant flew up. I threw up and shot! BAM!!! I got it. Tess retrieved it. AWESOME!!! Whew!!! Adrenaline Rush! Gun jammed. DANG! Fixed it. Ready to go again!
Tess continued to work her magic. She ran all over the field pointing, getting the pheasants up, and then retrieving them after we bagged one. Walt and Paw Paw had never been pheasant hunting either so they were throwing up and shooting and usually at the same bird. We had a blast!!!
Bayne told us that Tess loves hunting and she never stopped the entire time we were in the field. She even hunted all the way back to the lodge. She was beautiful and a pleasure to watch. We noticed how the weeds scratched her up. When we asked him about it, he said that it takes him until September to get her tail healed up and the hair grown back, and then she is at it again. He said she doesn’t pay it any attention, she just loves to hunt that much. She sure seemed to enjoy it. She was jumping through the dead grass, in and out, tunneling through the weeds. She kept a smile on her face throughout the hunt, posed for pictures with us, and looked sad when she had to stop.
We all bagged one or two pheasants with me of course bagging the most. The others don’t agree on this. (I say with a big ole smile on my face). The guide told us, he was surprised at how good we could shoot. Guess they get a lot of people who aren’t as dedicated as us. We like to hunt and we like to shoot.
When our time was up, we headed back to the lodge. It had begun to snow and the temp was dropping. Bayne cleaned up the birds and bagged them for our trip home. We took pictures and talked about the hunt while we waited. Visited with a few other hunters and then discussed where to go for lunch.
You should know by now that we never go anywhere without trying out the food. We agreed to meet at Outback in Lincoln and headed out. Walt was in the lead. Somewhere along the way his Google maps had a brain blip and lead us to a residential area nowhere near the restaurant. We had all followed along behind him through the streets and back out again like a parade. Finally, we got the map to work correctly and took three different routes but we all ended up in the same place. Always an adventure!
We also stopped at a few more places along the way to eat and see the scenery. We loved the desserts at Misty’s in Lincoln and the mountains in Arkansas were beautiful.
Before we headed home we sat around enjoying the food and friendship. We discussed the hunt again and they gave me a hard time about who shot the most. We had a great time and it was a great hunt. Bo Don got what he wanted for his birthday and I got to shoot a pheasant. Win! Win!
If you want a nice pheasant hunt and are in the area Beede Outdoor LLC is a great place to go. Thanks, Mr. Matt, Bayne, and Tess for a great time.
