Private Land Hunting

Our organization exists for more than private land hunting, its existence is also for a narrow band of hunters along the larger range of hunter types that exist. That narrow range of hunters are those that understand there is a greater value in the hunt than what is in the bag. Those that have the singular focus of bag limits will not get past the first 30 seconds of our initial telephone conversation. It is simply that upland bird hunter membership applications have the highest rejection rate of any hunter discipline within the organization. That rejection effort is focused entirely against those that have a limited view on the true value upland bird hunts provide.

We offer an illustration that may more effectively describe what we mean when we address the self guided hunter that seeks the satisfaction of his dogs in the field over that of the hunter that simply counts kills.

Within the pay to hunt industry for upland bird hunts there are day hunt operations and then there is the way we operate for season long hunts. Day hunt operations attract the incidental bird hunter with or without dogs that generally seeks one or few hunts per year and the quality of the hunt is expressed in the number of birds killed. Dog work is secondary. Our approach seeks those hunters that find the bird hunts true value in the dog work achieved.

That dog work within this organization means that each upland bird hunter can hunt his own style working his dogs as he sees fit over a variety of habitat and between or combined in a wild pheasant or quail hunt. How to be successful within this advantage towards private land hunting is more simple than most initially believe.

The private land hunting access is secured by us and we, the Association staff, conduct all contracting, liability insurance and access control for that private land. The hunter simply hunts. To get that hunter hunting is easy.

All Association hunters long before leaving home will have talked to either John Wenzel or Jon Nee the partners that run the day to day and for that matter all operations of the organization. That talk by telephone will get each hunter to the region of the three states, Kansas, Iowa or Missouri, where we lease private land that has both the bird and habitat of preference. The hunter then using our local lodging listing or any yellow pages he may prefer, makes his own lodging reservations. At this point is where we cut that hunter lose.

The bird hunter then travels from his home using our provided maps to the private land we have leased, lets his dogs out and hunts. From this initial hunt the hunter then expands out to try different regions and habitat until finding that combination that most fits his dog power and upland bird hunting style. From trip to trip or season to season that hunter returns to pick up where he left off and continues hunting familiar as well as trying out new regions. It is at this point the changes occur.

That initial change first develops after a hunt or two when the new members comes to relax with the knowledge he has more private hunting land to access than time and the birds are there. He then settles down to a far more leisurely approach to his hunts knowing he is avoiding the public hunting lands hunter mentality of beating the next guy.

The next change is the discovery of not having to hunt the same fields each time out along with the extra bit of adventure of discovering new land. That discovery leads to the enjoyment of picking up on the nuances and subtleties of dog work that varies by bird and habitat.

While at this point in he reading it may seem unimportant that one day can be in tall grass, the next on brush filled draws and the next along crop edge wooded creek bottoms those that have read this article and have experienced such value will generally have agreement that habitat variety for upland bird hunts certainly contributes toward that special satisfaction of good dog on bird action. Those that have not yet felt this feeling are asked to give it a try before dismissing it.

Here is the bottom line. We lease only private land for our exclusive hunting access without sharing with any other organization, group or club. We further have a simple access system of a one time a year payment and telephone reservation system that separates hunters. The private land we lease does have variety beyond the hunter we seek to work with.

The advantage to hunting with us is of course simplified private land hunting of wild birds on natural habitat. A further advantage is a lot of the private land we lease comes to us in large acreage blocks from private corporations, investment land groups and bank trusts that only our collective purchasing power, well covered insurance liability coverage and asset of being a business rather than a social club entity provides. This allows us to lease tens of thousands of acres from other landholders that are more business operators than small farm operations. This is land that first finding the landowner or owners is more difficult than knocking on doors, will not consider any access outside of a business approach and absolutely seek to protect their core biasness from sideline issues.

The world of hunting has never been the same from one generation to another and those that think it should always be the way they want the world to be rather than the way the world actually is are living a foolish life. This hunter hypocrisy is further evident by those that say that knock on door free hunting land access is being taken away by large leasing operations such as ourselves. That is not true as we seek the large operator for the more acreage per contract keeps our administrative overhead costs lower and leave the small acreage owner to his own and the free hunting land access hunter. That complaining hunter that stays private land hunting access is unavailable do to our actions simply has not knocked on enough doors. That same hunter that wants another's land resource for free would probably argue that he would never give any of his own resources away for free but does have that expectation of others and their private hunting land.

There is more about our private hunting land and the controls we have installed to insure all have the private land hunt they expect. That expectation is non-competitive hunts, the right habitat with the region of the state that has a history of production and the ability to hunt as a self guided hunter. That is the private land hunting we offer and it does come at a price. That price when compared to other options is very fair and cheaper than the fuel costs, hours and gifts that are paid for by free hunting land access hunters spend by knocking on doors.