The kids and I have been doing a little pheasant project the last couple months. We have a small GQF Hovabator incubator and bought some pheasant eggs to hatch. Memorial day weekend, we hatched 37 chicks. We’ve since lost 2, so we’re sitting at 35 chicks now that just turned 4 weeks old. There is some land not far from here where we plan to release them and see if they can’t survive – at least till hunting season
We typically hatch something each year. When we lived in Texas – and even Utah, it was quail. We can fit many more quail eggs in the incubator than pheasant eggs, and it was more fun having more birds around.
But the rules in Montana are different, and according to the Fish & Wildlife department, we can’t release quail here (they wouldn’t survive the winters here anyway). But there are no problems with releasing pheasants, so our bird of choice this year was a no brainer. I think we’ll try Chukars next though – as they are legal to release in MT as well, and I’ve never tried hatching them before. Let me know if you have any good Chukar egg sources.
One problem has come up though. On a recent walk on the land where we plan to release the birds, we saw a family of foxes. Mom, dad and several kits. My thoughts now are that our birds would last maybe a week – and would be quite the delicacy for the fox family. Usually, a little predator control would solve the problem, but I don’t think my kids would let me back in the house if I exterminated a few cute little foxes. So, I’m currently looking for a new home. Fact is, I’m sure there would be predators on any piece of land I could release the birds on. It’s just that I’ve seen these foxes and know that they’re there. Maybe I’ll just keep these birds in the backyard and use them for dog training. At least then I get to eat them instead of our local fox family
I’m involved in my local chapter of Pheasants Forever (Gallatin Valley PF), and have met many great people as a result of this association. In fact, I’ll be chairing our annual banquet/fundraiser next February if anyone is interested in sponsoring. Anyway, one of the guys that sits on our PF committee is Doc Bradford. Doc’s a Michigan man who moved to Montana to retire 7 years ago. He got into shooting clay targets in his 50’s, and has since gone overboard. He’s a certified shooting instructor and has built a 9-station sporting clays course on his 80 acres of Gallatin River-front property. We just hosted a “thank you” event for this past year’s PF banquet sponsors at his place, and I must say his place is really incredible – but only if you like shooting and fishing and the beauty of nature Doc is about to open his range up to the public – Rising Spirits Sporting Clays is the name of his new business. I’ll have plenty of opportunity to get to know Doc and his range much better as I hope to be involved in the sporting clays league he is about to launch.
I’ll keep you posted on Doc and his venture – as well as my performance in the sporting clays league – in future posts.
I also received an email from a customer (Chris Pfadt) who bought some Crackshot Snake Chapz several weeks ago. I noticed his Three Forks, MT address when we shipped the order (just up the road from where we live in Bozeman 30-40 miles) – and we’re practically neighbors (by Montana standards). Anyway, Chris sent me an email once he realized we were neighbors as well and invited me to come and check out his operation. He runs the Grey Cliffs Ranch (www.greycliffsranch.com) – and after looking at the website, I had to wipe the drool off my chin. They’ve got upland hunting and trout fishing – and even some big game opportunities by the looks of it – all in a spectacular location. I can’t wait to get out there and check out his ranch. At the rate I’m going, I’ll never be able to afford hunting there – but it will be fun to go take a tour. I might need to bring my own snake protection though – apparently Chris is on a search and destroy mission for rattler dens.
Meeting new people and other upland businesses is a fun benefit of meeting people through Uplanders Warehouse. I’ll continue to post more businesses and interesting people as I encounter them!
I find it amusing when people comment about how many cupholders a vehicle has when shopping for some new wheels.This feature doesn’t even come close to the top of my priority list when evaluating a car or truck.
Yet, I hear the exact same comments when people are shopping for a new hunting vest (“I like how it has two water bottle holders…”). I hear other people comment on the size of the game bag being the most important feature.I’ve also heard that front-loading bird vests are an absolute must.Then there are those who will only wear the traditional style and won’t give a strap vest a second-look.So I thought I would throw these questions out to you and get your feedback.What are the most important features of a good hunting vest in your opinion?Take the poll below and share your opinions!
I grew up sleeping in a Springbar brand tent.I still own a Springbar and absolutely love them – they are nearly indestructible (trust me, I have 4 kids).I’ve slept many nights in my Springbar, through rain and snow storms, and severe winds – and made it through unscathed in all kinds of sketchy weather.
So I was a little skeptical when Aaron Hill – a good friend of mine – told me he was going to get into the tent business and build a tent that’s better than a Springbar tent.But sure enough, he’s done it.Not so coincidentally, his new tents have the same basic frame technology as the Springbar tents.But he has upgraded and added several features to his tents that I like much better than the Springbar tents.Aaron called his company Kodiak Canvas Tents and has now been in the tent business for a few years.You can get his Kodiak Canvas tents in several different retail outlets now as well (Cabelas, Sportsmans Warehouse, etc.) – but obviously I prefer if you buy it from Uplanders Warehouse
He’s been bugging me for a while telling me I need to sell his tents on Uplanders.com.I kept resisting, thinking that it wasn’t really a product that bird hunters would use.Well, this past fall, guess who I went hunting with, and guess what we slept in?We called it “bird camp.”Turned out to be a great hunt in central Utah chasing chukkars around and up and down mountains.Given that I actually used his tents on a bird hunt, I could no longer argue that the product wasn’t for bird hunters.
So now I offer them to you.Kodiak Canvas tents truly are wonderful tents.Being an owner of both a Springbar and a Kodiak Canvas tent, I have to tip my hat to Aaron and his tents – in my unbiased opinion (still being a Springbar lover), he has a better tent.
Mind you, these tents are not backpacking tents.These are serious “bird camp” (or deer camp if you prefer) tents – or what other call “base camping” tents.The materials used (heavy-duty canvas) are not light by any means.Which is partly why you feel so safe and secure when sleeping in them – they are the ultimate heavy-duty tent.
You may have noticed that there are some new articles in The Roost section of Uplanders Warehouse (www.uplanders.com).We just did a deal with Family Fish & Game magazine where they are providing us with some new articles for our Roost and we are promoting their magazine.They also provided us with a special offer for Uplanders Warehouse customers – only $9.95 for 12 issues of their magazine.Being a family man with a wife and 4 kids, I think it’s a great publication.There is a little in there for all of us – and I’ve noticed my kids enjoy reading through it (and looking at the pictures as much as I do.I think you can see by the few articles we’ve posted that the magazine has some quality writers.
While I pulled out a few articles that were upland related, the magazine covers all types of hunting and fishing.And like myself, I’m betting that birds are only one of the many species you hunt.Give it a look, and give the magazine a try.I’m betting you get more value out of it than the $9.95 it will cost you for a full year.
Wow! What a week we had! 7 states in the last 7 days (Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Colorado). February 4th we left for Pheasant Fest in Madison, Wisconsin. We had great weather the whole way out there – and when you’re driving a truck pulling a trailer, you pray for good roads. The ride home was a different story. We had a good stretch of white knuckle driving across South Dakota. Rain in Minnesota turned to snow in SD, and that last stretch of 100 miles to Rapid City took quite a while at 35 mph. We were a bit more fortunate than the 4 vehicles we saw that slid off the road. After a detour to Mt. Rushmore (we had never been there before – and were highly impressed), we finally made it back to Montana Tuesday night. Just in time for me to fly to Denver at 6am the next morning on other business. Right now, I don’t care to travel for another year – until we leave for Des Moines and next year’s Pheasant Fest!
Anyway, the show was great. We made several new friends and met tons of great people. The show was a success and we stayed pretty busy all weekend. There are literally hundreds of new people now sporting our “i chase tail” t-shirts and hats. It just warms my heart to see it
Here’s a shout out to a couple new friends from the show:
The Kratzke’s and their metal sign business called Metalcraft (www.metalcraftbyk.com). It’s a family business (Jim, Cathy, JJ, Michelle, etc.) and they have a great product. They make and sell some cool signs for your yard or business. Their signs are wind-powered and have some animation (like a pheasant taking off). Neat stuff – go visit their site and put a sign in your own yard (and tell them that Jared and Dixie sent you).
Travis Akin from RoosterTail Hunts in Mellette, South Dakota. Travis tells some great stories and has the pictures to back it all up. If you ever want to hunt wild roosters in South Dakota, check out Travis and Rooster Tail Inc. (www.roostertailhunts.com). He’s definitely on our list to visit next season!
Corey and crew from Sutton, NE. Self proclaimed "uplanders.com-a-holics"
Here’s another side note that made me laugh. On our drive out to Wisconsin, we got an email from one of our customers (Corey from Sutton, NE) who sent us a picture of him and his gang. He mentioned that he passed out our t-shirts to all of his buddies on their last hunt of the season. He said Uplanders Warehouse was his unofficial sponsor of the hunt – and sent us this picture to prove it. A self-proclaimed “uplanders.com-a-holic” and we love him for it!
Left to Right: Dixie, Gayle (our Benelli winner) and me (JT)
I also need to mention that we took our monthly product giveaway up a notch and we gave away a Benelli Nova shotgun at the show. The winner was a very ecstatic Gayle from Janesville, WI. I’ve attached a picture of us in front of our sign promoting the contest. Congrats Gayle! And happy hunting with your new Benelli. The contest was definitely popular and generated a ton of new leads for me to email A highlight of the show for us and definitely for Gayle. I’m pretty sure the shotgun giveaway will be back next year for any of you planning to stop by our booth in Des Moines.
Finally, I need to give a big thanks to my wife Dixie (who many of you met at the show). She put in a ton of work to make the whole show happen for us. She’s a great face for our business not only cause she’s a hottie, but because she’s an outgoing and fun people person (and a great contrast to me – the quiet one). Thank you and I love you!
The last few weeks have been rough ones.We just finished moving the family and Uplanders Warehouse north to Big Sky country - Montana!!!
I think my bird hunting prospects just increased 10 fold - and that must be the silver lining, cause moving has proven to be quite painful.The logistics of moving a family and business - let alone the kennels and dogs - is enough to cause migraines for weeks (and back aches for months).
Fortunately though, we’re here, getting settled in, and really enjoying the area so far.We found a great home here in Bozeman, and the dogs have a full acre fenced yard to run in.We’ve had a bit of Indian summer here as well, which has definitely helped the transition.
I’m working with our programmers right now to get all references to our mailing and shipping addresses on the website updated.These changes should go live any day now - just one hiccup in changing the shipping logic in the FedEx rate calculation, but that part should be fixed by now.
If you’re interested, and just can’t wait for the address update on our main site, here’s our new mailing address:
Uplanders Warehouse
PO Box 1829
Bozeman, MT 59715
All phone and fax numbers stay the same.
To all you uplanders in Montana: give me a call or shoot me an email (jared@uplanders.com).I need to figure out where to go hunting in this state.Tips and directions are always welcome – and good information is rewarded with free hats and t-shirts!
Let me start by saying I absolutely, unconditionally love my wife. We’re going on 15 years of marriage, and there is no better person to spend my life with.
That said, I do have one complaint. 15 years ago, while in the throws of love, I made a HUGE tactical error – one which has created conflict and grief ever since. Clearly, my hormones – not my head ruled the day we decided to get married on November 5. So typically, I spend my summer and early fall trying to figure out how I can both satisfy obligations to my sweetheart – treating her to a nice anniversary AND go pheasant hunting on the opening week in Kansas. Oddly enough, these often don’t mesh well.And unfortunately, I have made and learned from unwise decisions in the past.Cause if momma aint happy, aint nobody happy.
What I really needed 15 years ago was a friend with enough courage to pull me aside and knock some sense into me.So I plead with all of my brothers-in-arms… friends don’t let friends get married in November! Fall is a sacred time of year, yet anniversaries are even more sacred. Don’t cause yourself undue grief – and don’t put your marriage at risk by getting married in the fall… especially opening week of pheasant hunting.
What I need to focus on now is getting my wife addicted to pheasant hunting.Hopefully her involvement with Uplanders Warehouse will eventually help her catch the fever. I have dreams where she proposes the idea of going to Kansas for our anniversary to shoot a few birds. Oh sweet, sweet dreams…
But for now, come November 5th, I will raise a glass to all of you boys in the field, and toast my wife to 15 years of wonderful marriage (hopefully on a beach in Mexico).
I took my son out for the dove hunt on the opener this past Monday to a place here in Utah I hunted several times growing up. It was flat-out horrible. A rainy cold front came through Sunday evening, and nothing was flying on Monday morning. We sat around for a few hours in mid-40 degree temperatures waiting for the birds, but they apparently were hunkered down, wishing they had taken off for Mexico a day earlier. I didn’t fire a single shot.
Our family lived in Texas for several years, and the dove hunts we experienced there were dream hunts. Basically, we were shooting in self defense and the hunt lasted all of 45 minutes to get our 15 bird limit. Then it was back to the house for the annual opening day BBQ. I still haven’t called my buddy down there to update him on my Utah hunt. I know he did well in Texas, and I don’t want him to rub it in
Father & son after the 2007 Texas dove opener. Ohhh, those were the days...
I need to convince my wife we need to relocate the family and business to the midwest or southwest (Texas). I’m fond of Kansas – I hunt pheasant there every year, but I don’t know that the missus would go for it. If any of you have any persuasive ideas on getting the family to move, let me know. These days it would sure save me a lot of gas money too
I broke out my new Browning Prarielands Dove Vest for the hunt, but realized it was the wrong piece of equipment for the day. It’s a great vest, but made for warm weather hunts – it’s super light-weight and has a lot of mesh for breathability. On a normal September 1, it would be the right vest in Utah too, just not on this particular opener. (I don’t know that any manufacturer would make much money with a ‘cold-weather’ dove vest)
The hunt (if you can call it that) definitely left me wanting. I’m still hungry to get the bird season kicked-off and put some game on the grill. At least the college football season has arrived, and I got to go watch my team win its opener. I guess I shouldn’t get too greedy.
Until next time… -JT
PS – a quick note to remind anyone reading this, we have extended the free shipping offer at Uplanders Warehouse. It’s a great time to gear-up (even if you’re hunt’s a bust!). Use promo code FREESHIP when you checkout.
I must admit, this is a brutal time of year for me. I’m a die-hard bird hunter and die-hard college football fan. Both seasons are right around the corner, close enough where I can taste it, but far enough that the wait is painful!
Just yesterday I was trying to figure out the logistics of getting back down to Texas for the dove opener on September 1. A good friend of mine, Eric Henline, runs a hunting guide service called Big Sky Outfitters of Texas. I’ve hunted the opener with him for the past several years – and have had incredible success (and thankfully, he doesn’t charge me!). If any of you are looking for a good hunting resource in Texas, Eric’s your man – I can personally vouch for him. He has great setups for various hunts from big game to waterfowling (and dove).
Anyway, I have some conflicts this year that may make me miss the dove opener in Texas. I can always hunt locally in Utah – which can be good at times, but I have never experienced anything to the dove hunting in north Texas (I hear Argentina’s a kick, but that’s even further out of the question for me). Last year for example, me, Eric, our 12 year old sons and grandpa had 75 birds on the ground in less than an hour (15 bird limit each). I don’t know how it gets better than that.
By the way, I’ve got a great dove vest if any of you need a new one. It’s light weight and perfect for those warm dove days. It’s the Browning Prarielands Dove Vest (comes in olive or camo).
Let me hear where your favorite dove hunt spot is. I’m not asking you to reveal secret locations or anything, just give me general areas. And let me know if you’re as anxious as I am for fall to get here! -JT
