Posts Tagged ‘Rooster Road Trip’

Minnesota Recap: Getting Back to Where it All Began

Friday, November 1st, 2013













Low Brass is written by Rehan Nana, Pheasants Forever’s Public Relations Specialist. Email Rehan at and follow him on Twitter at @RehanNanaQF.

Too Cool for School, But Not for Pheasant Hunting

Thursday, October 31st, 2013

Nolan Benzing (left), 20, from Gilman, Iowa, and Brooks VanDerBeek, 19, from Oskaloosa, Iowa, head up the Iowa State University Pheasants Forever chapter in Ames, Iowa. Photo by Anthony Hauck / Pheasants Forever

Brooks VanDerBeek, 19, a sophomore at Iowa State University in Ames, wrote his paper ahead of the due date earlier this week so he could skip class, rope a buddy into doing the same, and join Pheasants Forever’s Rooster Road Trip for an afternoon of public land pheasant hunting in Iowa.

Brooks didn’t have to twist his friend’s arm too much. Nolan Benzing, 20, is also an underclassman at Iowa State, and he’d already been out duck hunting this morning. Both studying natural resources, VanDerBeek and Benzing are the president and vice president, respectively, of the Iowa State University Pheasants Forever chapter, which was the first college PF chapter to form in the country.

If VanDerBeek and Benzing had a Halloween party to get to later in the evening, they were already dressed for the occasion, though I get the feeling they pull this kind of stuff even when the Rooster Road Trip’s not in town. Hopefully your professor is a pheasant hunter, Brooks, and looks kindly upon you. But if not, you still get an A for the day in our book.


Nebraska Recap – The Best “Mixed” Success a Hunter Could Ask For

Wednesday, October 30th, 2013

Photo by Anthony Hauck / Pheasants Forever

Pheasants Forever’s Rehan Nana and his red setter, “Annie,” with a mixed bag found on Nebraska Open Fields and Waters properties. Photo by Anthony Hauck / Pheasants Forever

“What is your ideal mixed bag hunt?” For me, it’s an easy answer: pheasant and quail in the same field. Nebraska is known for being a mixed bag state, so I’ve been anxiously waiting to get to day three of the Rooster Road Trip, where Nebraska Coordinating Wildlife Biologist Jake Holt tipped us off there had been a good quail hatch.

Unlike many hunting “tips,” Jake was dead on, and the “Cornhusker State” didn’t let us down. In fact, after nearly five days on the road, it brought us up. How did we do?

This was the best day of hunting for the Rooster Road Trip – ever.

Seventeen birds ended up in the bag today. Wild, publicly-accessed pheasants AND wild, publicly-accessed quail.

Our first field was a 30-acre parcel with the perfect amount of diverse cover, which produced a diverse mix of birds. Two munsterlanders, my red setter, and Andrew’s Lab, “Beau,” all hit the ground running. Within the first 100 yards a ringneck busted out of range, but luckily, it wasn’t the only bird. Hens were darting left and right past us.

I let Annie range down the line of hunters and she cast over to Andrew. Even though Andrew owns a Lab, he must have some pointer-owner in him somewhere, because he confidently let Annie work and then called over “Point!” No sooner than he said that, two bobs zipped past our line and our shot. Thankfully, those were only the scouts. Immediately after, a healthy 15-bird covey made the grass shake, and we scratched two down.

“Where we have grass, we have birds,” Holt said.

Pushing the field out, pheasants started flushing like grasshoppers in August. A rooster crossed right-left (my favorite shot), and thanks to well-placed Federal Prairie Storm 4’s, it ended up in the pack. Within 80 yards, we put up another covey of birds, and I dropped a cock bird. So, thirty minutes into hunting Nebraska, I had my first Cornhusker ringneck and bobwhite, a sequence I’ll play over and over again in the off-season. Thanks, Nebraska!

Shooting a Browning Citori 725, I had the opportunity to pick and choose my shells/barrel. Knowing I was officially in mixed bag country, I dropped a 7 steel in the top tube and 4 steel in the bottom. Shortly before the end of the field, I managed to bag my second rooster of the day on another right-left crossing shot (Rooster Road Trip Roadies, do you agree with this shell combo? What would you have used in this situation?).

I wish I could tell you names and other shots taken, but truthfully, there was too much shooting and too many birds to keep it straight! What I can tell you is every field we hunted produced in a big way, and these are areas open to you too. The Open Fields and Waters Program is a joint project of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and Pheasants Forever.

The only thing that topped the hunting today was the company. We were joined today by Nebraska Game and Parks Commissioners Mick Jensen and Lynn Berggren. On the ride over, Commissioner Berggren and I discussed his youth growing up hunting pheasants in Nebraska and how he passed his outdoor tradition on to his children. He mentioned how important pheasant hunting has been and still is to the communities in Nebraska, both culturally and economically, and the positive things that are being done, especially with getting youth involved, to carry on the traditions.

From the dog work, to the pheasant/quail combo to the camaraderie, today will probably be one of the best days afield this season. It’s always a pleasure to share the field with people who share conservation and outdoor ethics, and today was no exception. With the last field pushed and photos wrapped up, the Nebraska commissioners and biologists heartily invited us back for a late season hunt, and after the day we had, there is no doubt we’ll be back.

Annie’s Tracks according to the Garmin Alpha: 9.61 miles

My Tracks: 6.30

Rooster Road Trip Dogs of the Day: “Mojo,” “Chance” and “Jackson”

Tuesday, October 29th, 2013


This trio of German shorthaired pointers locked up on four roosters on a morning hunt at a South Dakota Game Production Area. Pheasants Forever has contributed to prescribed burns and tree plantings at this north-central South Dakota public tract. From left, Jim Ristau, Pheasants Forever Farm Bill Wildlife Biologist, and his dog, “Mojo,” Mike Stephenson, Pheasants Forever Regional Representative in South Dakota and his dog, “Chance,” and Justin Derga, Pheasants Forever Habitat Specialist, and his dog, “Jackson.” Back right is Andrew Vavra, Pheasants Forever Marketing Specialist.


Bismarck: The Bird Dog-Friendliest City in America

Monday, October 28th, 2013






The Single Most Important Thing I’m Bringing on the Rooster Road Trip

Sunday, October 27th, 2013


Photo by Anthony Hauck / Pheasants Forever

Despite a full-size SUV full of pheasant hunting gear and nice shotguns, the most important thing coming with me on this year’s Rooster Road Trip is a piece of paper. Printed on that sheet are the phone numbers and addresses for every veterinary office in the locations of each of the five states we’ll be hunting in the next week.

Last year as a first-time dog owner, my eagerness to hunt with my own dog, combined with my novice skill level, left me woefully unprepared for a dog emergency in the field. With a full offseason to reflect – not to mention a few summertime trips to the vet – I vowed this season to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

I’ve gone ahead and picked up a Sporting Dog First Aid Kit, but it’s not going to just sit in the truck. My vest pockets are now stuffed with the essentials to deal with minor issues and buy precious time if a major one arises.

And that’s where the paper in the glove box comes in. Whether it’s a slight sprain or a major cut from a barbed wire fence, the sooner you get your dog to a vet, the sooner professional treatment begins. In the vast regions of pheasant country we love to visit most, vet offices are frequently more than 30 miles from your location. Cell service is spotty. When minutes, maybe even seconds matter, you have to know where to go and who to call. We’ll be using technology to bring you the best of the Rooster Road Trip this year, but if the worst arrives, I’ll be counting on a paper trail.



Thursday, October 10th, 2013










Blackened Quail

Monday, November 26th, 2012

A trio of blackened quail breasts complimented by Brussels sprouts and mushrooms








1)      Brush the quail breasts generously with olive oil

2)      Liberally sprinkle the breasts with Chef Paul Prudhommes blackening seasoning







The Quail Quest Starts in Nebraska

Monday, November 5th, 2012








New Indiana PF Member Wins Rooster Road Trip Citori

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

David Schager joined Pheasants Forever during PF’s Rooster Road Trip 2011 last month. The Carmel, Indiana resident’s name was randomly selected as the grand prize winner from the online event’s membership drive for a Browning Citori 12 gauge shotgun.

David Schager, a new Pheasants Forever member, proudly shows off his new Browning Citori, which he won by following along and becoming a member during PF's Rooster Road Trip.

Pheasants Forever’s Rooster Road Trip 2011 visited five states in five days, including lands that Pheasants Forever has played a significant role in opening up to public access; either through land purchase, restoration or legislation. The effort focused on how important pheasant hunters that are Pheasants Forever members are to creating and improving publicly accessible habitat.

Special thanks to Browning, one of the sponsors of Rooster Road Trip 2011, for providing Browning PF hats to those who joined Pheasants Forever during the event, and the grand prize. Congratulations David, enjoy your new shotgun, and thanks to you and all members who signed up during the Rooster Road Trip for supporting Pheasants Forever and wildlife habitat conservation.

If you’d like to join Pheasants Forever, the nation’s leading upland conservation organization, visit No organization does more to improve wildlife habitat for pheasants and quail, and we can only do it with your support.
