We hope to see you there!

Bird Hunters United sanctioned field trail to be held in Higginsville, MO on Saturday, February 4, 2012

Calling all bird dogs and their owners! Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever will be hosting the National Bird Dog Classic for Habitat on Saturday, February 4 at K & L Kennels in Higginsville, Missouri. The goal of this trial is to raise awareness for National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic, taking place this February 17, 18 & 19, 2012 in Kansas City, and to raise funds for Pheasants Forever’s wildlife habitat mission.

“We are very excited for this event to be taking place in concurrence with National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic,” says Ed Holland, Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever National Board Member and event organizer, “Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever do more for upland conservation than any other organization, and I am thrilled to lead an event that combines my love of bird dogs with the organization’s habitat efforts.” Proceeds from the National Bird Dog Classic for Habitat will be donated to Pheasants Forever in an effort to improve wildlife habitat and carry on the nation’s upland hunting tradition.

The Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever National Bird Dog Classic for Habitat is a Bird Hunters United sanctioned event, and will include Open Pointing, Open Flushing, Doubles, Hunter, and Youth divisions. Each dog and their handler will have a chance to test their skills in the Bird Hunters United trialing format; a timed course in which a 3 bird set, consisting of quail, are placed prior to the competitors entering the field. Once released, the dog and its handler compete against the other competitors’ times. Trials will begin promptly at 8am and last until 5pm.

Winners of the Youth, Hunter, Open Pointing and Open Flushing divisions will win a new shotgun and dinner admission to the National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic Banquet taking place Friday, February 17, where the shotguns and trophies will be presented in front of a crowd of guests. Winners of the Doubles division will win admission to attend the banquet as well as other exceptional prizes.

The event is expected to draw over 140 participants. Entry fee is $125 for the Open and Hunter division, $150 for Doubles, and $75 for Youth. The entry fee will include one three-bird run, one Quail Forever Annual Membership, a weekend pass to National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic in Kansas City on February 17, 18, & 19, 2012, along with one banquet ticket for the Friday night awards banquet. Registration applications are available online here.

Also involved are the Warrensburg Missouri Boy Scouts, whom will be selling lunches to the public for six dollars in an effort to raise funds for their troop. Volunteers will also receive a weekend pass to National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic, plus lunch provided by the Boy Scouts.

If you would like to volunteer, there will be a meeting held in the Kansas City area at 6pm on Thursday, January 12, 2012. Visit K&L Kennels for directions to the trialing grounds. For more information regarding sponsorship opportunities, please contact Jordan Martincich, Pheasants Forever’s Eastern Kansas Regional Representative, at (785) 242-3175 / Email Jordan. For information regarding event details, please contact Elsa Gallagher, Quail Forever’s Regional Wildlife Biologist for Missouri, at (573) 680-7115 / Email Elsa.

Pheasants Forever, including its quail conservation division, Quail Forever, is the nation’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to upland habitat conservation. Pheasants Forever and Quail Foreverh ave more than 130,000 members and 700 local chapters across the United States and Canada. Chapters are empowered to determine how 100 percent of their locally raised conservation funds are spent – the only national conservation organization that operates through this truly grassroots structure.

Hope to see you at both events!

Over the past few years at our event, John has mentored literally hundreds of young shooters. While there is a lot of competition for his time, John has a way of making the few minutes that you are able to spend with him have a real and substantial impact. While he’s not a miracle worker, I’d argue that watching a youngster who has never broken a single clay in her life, walk away from John’s session with a big smile on her face, having just broken five in a row, a bit of a miracle. And John cranks out smiles and broken clays like it’s his job.

With this in mind, I asked John at our last Pheasants Forever Banquet if he’d mind giving my dear old Dad a shooting lesson. My Dad grew up shooting rifles at rabbits and squirrels. He put the guns away when it came time to raise a family, and it wasn’t until a decade ago when we moved to Iowa and caught the pheasant fever that my Dad picked the gun back up in an effort to spend time afield with his boys. But my Dad has never quite been able to get comfortable with his 20 gauge.

After a few phone calls, John, Dad and I met up at Powder Creek Shooting Park for a lesson. We looked at eye dominance, gun fit, shooting stances. Under John’s expert tutelage my Dad traced targets with his finger, worked on keeping both eyes wide open, and took shots at all sorts of flying targets. And within 90 minutes, under John’s guidance, my Dad transformed from a 20% shot into an 80% shot, and on more than one occasion he allowed Powder Creek to live up to its namesake as he powdered clay pigeon after clay pigeon.

Now, my Dad is a lot older than 13, but as we drove home from our lesson he had that same look in his eye and that same smile on this face that the youngsters have at the Youth Hunt. It’s a look of confidence. It’s a look of excitement. And it’s a look that John Francis has a habit of causing.

On September 18th, you’ll find us at Powder Creek during the CZ-USA event featuring Tom Knapp. We’ll have a booth and we’ll run a geocaching course. There will also be plenty of shooting and fun as legendary shooter, Tom Knapp and CZ partner to put on a show to remember. We’ll see you there!