Upland Inn prides itself in providing some of the best wild pheasant hunting in the world. And with highest limit in the nation at 4 roosters per day, we can provide you 33% more harvested birds than a state like South Dakota. We invest extensive resources in our 21 CRP fields to provide everything a pheasant needs to thrive. This starts with the backbone of a pheasants habitat needs in well maintained native grass. We use controlled burns to prevent the native grass from becoming too thick and rank, strip disking to open up the ground for broods to use as bugging areas, inter-seeding to provide more forb and legume growth (that studies show increases insect numbers by 300%), and food plots to provide an excellent food source during fall and winter.
The goal is always to provide quality habitat for pheasants to use during all stages of their life cycle. Another benefit to our CRP fields is that every field has at least 2 sides that has pivot irrigated cropland. These fields are typically planted in either corn, beans, milo, or wheat. The constant moisture provided from the pivot irrigated fields provides moisture for the birds during the drier summer months, as well as some cooler vegetation to escape the summer heat. We believe that this is a key reason why our bird numbers remain so high even during the drought years. When mother nature provides abundant moisture like she has the last couple of years, the pheasant population numbers are amazing.
We recently set a record on our road side counts by spotting 307 pheasants in the 1 hour prior to sunset! Because we have 12,000 acres and 21 CRP fields, most of our fields only get hunted 2 or 3 times per season, ensuring that late season hunts are as good as early season hunts. Because we are much further South than the other pheasant states, late season hunting is typically quite comfortable. Average highs in December and January are around 45°, which is very comfortable as your walking through CRP grass. The fast action will keep your blood flowing as well. Some of our best hunts have occurred in January, as the birds will tend to flock to the best habitat, which our CRP fields provide.
Most groups arrive the afternoon before their hunt. If your group can arrive before 4 pm, we can take you on a wildlife tour around our properties. You will be amazed at the amount of birds that can be seen the last hour of sunlight as the birds go to and from our CRP fields to feed in the surrounding agricultural fields. Deer, turkey, quail, and many other wildlife species are also typically observed.
A typical day of pheasant hunting will start with a delicious breakfast of biscuits and gravy, ham/sausage/eggs, cinnamon rolls, or one of the other delicious meals our cook will prepare. We will typically head to the fields at around 9 am, and the average group limits out in around 4 hours or so. After getting your limits, we will head back to the lodge for an excellent lunch. For those that would like to shoot some more after they get their limit, we can take you out for a predator hunt (no charge) in that afternoon, or we can go trap shooting at the local range. Once back to the lodge, the fun continues with pool, shuffleboard, darts, Foosball, poker table, bow and arrow target shooting, ping pong, and many other options to keep you entertained. A dinner of prime rib-eyes, smothered steak, or one of the other great meals prepared by our chef will get the energy tanked filled for a night of storytelling about the days hunt. Homemade pies for desert will put that final smile on your face.
We use a combination of pointing dogs and flushing dogs to provide you with different experiences hunting behind different breeds. We also strongly encourage you to bring your own dogs as well, as there is nothing like the feeling of seeing your own dog get into hundreds of wild pheasants. Currently we have 6 English Pointers, 2 German Shorthairs, 1 Vizsla, and 6 Labs. Because of the thick cover in our CRP fields, and the fact that we don’t put much pressure on each field, we tend to get a lot of points from our pointing dogs.
We want to make sure we do all we can to provide you with your dream hunt, so if there are specific things you would like to see just let us know. If you prefer hunting behind a specific breed of dog, or if there is certain habitat types you like hunting best, we will make it happen. Around 90% of our groups re-book, which we believe shows how quality of a hunting experience we can provide. We are more than happy to provide you with references so you can talk to some of our previous hunters about their experience. I always enjoy talking to other hunters, so feel free to call me anytime at 316-250-3038. I’d be happy to visit with you in more detail about what we have to offer, and answer any questions you have. If your group makes it out for a hunt with us even once, we believe that you will be hooked on the experience you have.
