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Fall is upon us and tickets are now being sold. This year the places where you can buy tickets is greatly expanded.( Seaforth , Goderich , Clinton, Hullett) Let's do our part to keep this release programme happening.
edited to fix the spelling of Hullett
I am just starting back after many years away- is this the kind of hunt I could be comfortable at?- looking to bring some young guys out who want to start as well?
How do you define comfortable? Oldest hunter I ever meet there was 82 hunting alone with a shot hair that looked older than him. Still had 3 pheasants in his bag. Sure timing was perfect hitting a release date at a time when the number of birds release was greater. Beautiful property will space to roam would be hard pressed to couver the entire property in one day. Thing is if you are going wanting to bag a bunch of birds I'd rethink the adventure however if you want to stretch your legs a if you get a bird bonus give it a shot.....pun intended.Quote:
Originally Posted by wannahunt
I'd love to hunt it but its so far away... come pick me up Sharon!
If you hit a fresh release it's like shooting fish in a barrel; otherwise you better tie your laces well.Quote:
Originally Posted by finsfurfeathers
I'd say it completely depends on one's attitude: Some (myself included) like it there and others - well there's a reason why you find empty parking spots.
Hey you just got married! I don't need any trouble. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Cass
edited for spelling
You know Hullet is so important for upland hunting and waterfowl, and we are so privileged to have it, I even think they should even put a $50 a year membership fee to hunt there at hullet,(And I still think that is really cheap for what you get), where else can you go hunt upland plus waterfowl at such a well managed place.
It would be a disaster if we ever lost Hullet
It's well run, because there are a few people there who care about it and some donate money to keep them running.
Way to many go there, because it's "free" which is pretty short sighted.
If one goes there more than once (to check it out), they should seriously consider supporting it!
All these guys are asking for is $25.
http://www.hullettmarsh.com/become_a_member_of_foh.html
Did anyone on here hunt the opener at Hullet?
How was it?
I am hoping to make it up there later this month.
I would rather see bird re introduction such as pheasant or grouse and put membership fees and other money towards habitat restoration at Hullet as well.
The habitat at Hullet is in great shape, YD, but reintroductions there won't succeed unless it is off limits to hunting, for obvious reasons. Simply too much pressure.
But if you tie your laces well you will always get birds.
Yes it is in great shape and have been to Hullet a few times last season.I wouldn't mind it closed down to hunters for a few years or longer and invest in Hullet financially along with fund raising for bird introduction. I believe its a gem with tons of potential. I really don't know how big the membership is currently and what the future plans are but would be willing to listen and get involved to tap into new financial resources.
I don't think the habitat there suits grouse. Of all the pheasants released every year + the pheasants released from the trial events, none seem to survive.Quote:
Originally Posted by yellow dog
Nothing needs to be changed with Hullet its the surrounding land that needs to be changed. Hullet is a wildlife oasis in the desert of heavily farmed land plowed under and left bare mile after mile. Take the fence row model of Hullet and transcribe it across the land and with little effort you see wildlife galore. Shutting down hunting a Hullet will not make a bit of difference. Quail hunting has not been allowed at Hullet yet never seen one. Over the years I've shot pheasant, cottontail, goose, a grouse, and even a jack rabbit oddly never got a duck however never really hunted for them.Quote:
Originally Posted by yellow dog
I hunt a similar landscape in Eastern Ontario for many years and it's loaded with grouse. Grouse Society got involved many years ago and proved to be very successful. I personally think grouse would do very well at Hullet after only walking sections and identifying plant species needed for survival. But it is heavily populated by hunters and many years with good conditions are needed for grouse survival. I was actually shocked i didn't see any grouse while hunting Hullet ! I was in awe how perfect the terrain and abundant plant life suitable for grouse survival.
I was there for the opener. It was excellent but got warm around 11 amQuote:
Originally Posted by Mount Sweetness
Was pups first outing in her first season
I bought one ticket for each pheasant we got
How were the birds Joe? Were they healthy flyers? Were they concentrated or spread out? How's the cover, thick and tall?
Sorry for all the questions. I'm heading there Friday morning.
The cover is excellent, very thick, bring chaps and a good dog.
The birds are flying fine, seems to be mostly hens left over for now.
I was there for the opener, I think they were all hen's, we put up 4 hens, and who ever we asked as we passed by seem to all have hens or put up hens.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mount Sweetness
I apologize for the delay in my response they flew fairly well and we got all hands although a rooster flushed fairly wild about 80 yards out it was the only bird that we saw
I only herd of one small rooster being taken there on the opener. I got only hens.
6 birds flushed Saturday, 2 of them roosters, missed both. Some birds flew well, others not. Birds scattered.
I was told that bigger birds will be released as the season progresses. The first release was young birds from what I was told.
Right on. Going tomorrow and will report.
Sounds like a lot of pheasants have been released and people having fun. I will trying my luck tmrw morning as well.
Sounds like everyone is having a good time hunting the Hullett PWA for pheasants this year!
Thank you Sharon for starting this thread! I would like bring this back to the "Pheasant Challenge fundraiser to support the future releases. Please support us with ticket sales and/or memberships so that we can continue release pheasants. Details in the link below:
http://www.hullettmarsh.com/fundraising.html
The FOH would like to thank IDEAL SUPPLY for donating the prizes and supporting the pheasant release. It is your turn now as a pheasant hunter to provide financial support.
1000 pheasants will be released this fall. This number is the same as 2013 and 2014. 10% (100 birds) will be banded for Challenge prizes. There are fewer roosters for 2015 due to our budget this year and poor support for the Challenge last year.
You will notice that the property is in better shape this year thanks to our purchase of a large 15 foot flex wing rotary cutter as well as the many volunteers who weed whacked and painted the parking barriers. This mower purchase is a funded partnership that will allow us to restore and improve upland habitat as the property is getting overgrown. Over the next few years the mowing project will really show the benefits of this type of management.
The pheasant release in combination with a large crown property to hunt means so much to many of you....please give us your support!
Many thanks to those that are Friends of Hullett members and Pheasant Challenge supporters!
You have my support and I will continue to give support. This is a special place for us upland hunters, we really do appreciate all the hard work.
I drive 3 hours to hunt Hullet for a half day, I love it.
A big thanks to all the Volunteers!
please everyone, for $25 become a Friend of Hullet, for $10 purchase a Pheasant Challenge ticket. That's $35 for some awesome pheasant hunting, 2 birds would cost more at a game farm.
Well said sweetness if you buy one ticket for every pheasant you take it is still much less money than a game farm
Went today and we moved three hens and got two. I bought 2 challenge tickets during a mid-morning break and then went back out and got a banded bird! Cover looks great and quite a few people out hunting.
Just got back myself . Took the younger setter - an expert. :) As it was colder and very windy , we went into the deeper stuff east and west of Front Road. She put up 2 hens ( I can't shoot anymore.) , but that doesn't take away from the enjoyment of getting out. (Without a dog , those birds would not have been flushed.)
.....................
"I am just starting back after many years away- is this the kind of hunt I could be comfortable at?- looking to bring some young guys out who want to start as well? " quote wanna hunt
wanna hunt: Hope you have been able to get out. Here's a map . Anywhere in B section( except for the sanctuaries and private property marked in the legend ) is legal.
Didn't have time to get to the office Scott , but a cheque is in the mail- really. :)... 2 Challenge tickets and $5.00 for your coffee.
I was thinking of going out tomorrow but I have never been there on a Saturday in was afraid that it might be just too crowded I wonder if there are still a lot of birds out? And if it gets very congested on a Saturday?
It is a BIG place. I've never found it that bad on Saturday . Wear lots of orange and put some orange on your dog in case of idiots.
Well thank you I was there for the opener and it was not too bad at all and I always wear orange although Charlie does not like her vest
A bright orange collar will help a lot.
Good advice
She likes the fluorescent pink lol
Scott said approx 1/3 of the entire season's release birds are out and there isn't another release planned until late October. That's about 300 birds out there. Ratio of about 8 hens to one rooster.
Interesting, I had thought there were weekly releases
Thanks for financial support today Dilly and congrats on the banded bird! 1/3 of the birds are out there now but more will be released before Thanksgiving. The releases are staggered and the birds are well spread out in BZone. We do not release just before or during the Controlled Deer HuntsQuote:
Originally Posted by dilly
I stand corrected. Thanks for clarifying that. See you again soon.
Do they band hens as well? Or only roosters?
Yes, I have shot banded hens in the past.Quote:
Do they band hens as well? Or only roosters?
Thanks
Given the hen to rooster ratio you will find that most of the bands will be found on hens.
A few more tickets were sold yesterday at the Hullett Marsh, thanks for the support!
Please remember that with very limited staff on site you can also get your Pheasant Challenge tickets from 6 different Ideal Supply locations (our sponsor)....Exeter, St Mary's, Goderich, Mitchell, Stratford and Wingham.
Tickets are also available at Timbers Outfitters in Seaforth, Donks Sporting Goods in Goderich and Braeheid Management at 56 King St in Clinton.
Thank you for the great work you have my support
Thanks Sharon,Quote:
Originally Posted by Sharon
I received your cheque today...many thanks.
I mailed you 2 tickets and the extra $5 will also go into the Pheasant program.
8 prizes have been claimed at this point from the banded birds.
I put in around 8 hours of hunting at Hullet over the past 2 days. A good challenging hunt, prime pheasant cover, prime land.
Kicked up around 3 birds per day, worked hard for them. Took home 4 birds.
Bought a few Pheasant Challenge tickets and actually shot a banded rooster.
Did not see any woodcock, but a few other hunters did.
Met a lot of good guys and nice dogs.
Gotta love Hullet!!
Attachment 30976
Yes Hullet is a great place to hunt for both upland game and waterfowl, every one who hunts there should support it, or we could lose it.
Glad you enjoyed your hunt, Logan told me an Essex hunter had purchased a few tickets and then bagged the banded rooster!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Mount Sweetness
Also your comments on the cover and land are so true and that's what makes a treat for upland hunting...the woodcock should start moving through soon.
Flushed a woodcock yesterday in Alvinston.
I'm not sure if they've released more pheasants since the opener. Most hunters that I spoke to had to work very hard to see one or two birds. If they have released more birds, I can't see it being very many. Made for a challenging hunt, which I did enjoy very much.
3/3 on pheasants this morning (one rooster, 2 hens). Birds were well scattered. But evidently new birds have been released, as it didn't take too long.
1/5 on woodcock ... pretty much par for the course with what I've found the last few trips. But I only hit about half my woodcock spots as it was getting warm. Still, these are either local birds or a few migrants trickling in. Early days yet.
Very few people out. Seems that's been the case every time I've been up this year. FOH left a membership form under the wiper but no-one at the office so I'll just have to mail in my renewal. :)
We were out this morning too. Only moved two but got both. I agree with you Welsh. The birds were scattered and there is lots of walking between contacts.
Went to Hullet this afternoon and not one bird to be found. Looked like a herd of elephants went through the bush where we were hunting.
We were there today only one bird put up walked about 12 Km. Didn't look in to bad of shape. The new cuts are nice to see. I haven't hunted hullet in quite some time.
We were there on Friday and put up 4 birds and managed to get all 4. Also had 3 birds sitting at the side of the road in different spots as we were re-locating between parking lots. It certainly seemed like there was more birds than previous years or we just lucked out. The dog was on fire, probably the best he's ever done.
thought I'd stick this in here. Reminder to be safe!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeHrj_-SSOM
(What error are the gunners making? )
What are they doing wrong? Using setters of course LOL :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Sharon
And the Olympic long jump over the creek with a loaded gun .
We managed 5 today. Two were roosters. Birds flew pretty good today. Got another banded rooster but nobody was at the office today. Can I claim it on another date? That'll be two for the two tickets I bought...might have to buy more :D
I was out there yesterday as well and shot a banded rooster. I found the same office closed but in years past I have claimed them on other date with no problems.Quote:
We managed 5 today. Two were roosters. Birds flew pretty good today. Got another banded rooster but nobody was at the office today. Can I claim it on another date? That'll be two for the two tickets I bought...might have to buy more :D
Congrats on the rooster and thanks for the info.
Our last release contained more roosters and many of which are banded. With very minimal staff it is quite hard to have someone at the office all the time as well as getting the field work done.
Please email your band #, date of harvest and name to us and we will hold the prizes for you.
Just click on our email right on the home page.
http://www.hullettmarsh.com/
FOH would like to thank all hunters and non-hunters who supported the Pheasant Challenge by purchasing tickets in 2015. $2120 was raised in 2015 when compared to $1570 in 2014. Over 30 of the 100 banded birds released were reported to FOH in 2015. The pheasant release costs the FOH $8000 plus labour, administration and license costs.
The Ideal Supply hunter orange hats were very popular in 2015 as band prizes. Once again Ideal Supply was very generous to FOH by supplying the Grand Prize as well as selling tickets at 6 of its local stores.
On a side note a rooster and hen were spotted (not together) at Hullett Marsh this week. Nice to see a few make it which is not very common with the hunting pressure and natural predators.
cost: $8000.00
income : $2120.00
I'd be worried if my budget looked like that . Is there a future for the Pheasant Challenge programme?
Sharon , think positive it appears UP from last year, BUT still rather dismal and disappointing that we has hunters can not support the program better. Hats off to the Friends of Hullet for this program.
Dick
I think most of the money for the pheasants comes from the fund raising dinner.
Good point Sharon, the math does not add up but as BDH said ticket sales were up for 2015 over 30% so this is an improvement over 2014. This also shows some direct hunter support for the release program as upland hunters purchase a high percentage of the tickets.
Memberships, cash , services and material donations are other ways to support us as well. For example a donation of yellow paint saves cash within our maintenance budget that can be used elsewhere. All donors receive a charitable tax receipt.
Our annual spring fundraising dinner/auction has certainly saved cutbacks to the pheasant release as fishhawk has noted. We are hopeful that this dinner will be successful once again in 2016. Details can be found in the link below:
http://www.oodmag.com/community/show...er-Bayfield-ON
We could use help in the collection of donated items and prizes...this support is huge! Items can be almost anything from a gift certificate to a gun case to artwork.
We now have early bird prizes for those purchasing dinner tickets in advance.
Anybody attend the last couple of Hullett dinners? I'm thinking of going. Wondering how the meal was etc...
In each of the last 2 years all people attending raved about the meal. The Albion Hotel closes its doors to the public for the event and plans a special menu. The owner always has a few surprises such as craft beer donated to try. With only 60 seats it is very intimate and many wives attend as well. The reception is fun as people mingle around the silent auction tables. The live auction takes place after the meal.Quote:
Originally Posted by dilly
A big thank you goes out to OOD forum member Dilly for his donation of an awesome handmade turkey box call for the auction!
We are still collecting items for the Dinner/Auction as well as selling dinner tickets.
Hullett Pheasant hunters have a chance here to ensure the continued pheasant release by supporting this dinner, this is your chance to help!
This year we are offering 3 early bird prizes for tickets sold by April 1st. A one night stay at the Albion Hotel and 2 OFAH memberships.
Can you post more details on this fundraising dinner please.
http://www.hullettmarsh.com/fundraising.html
( That's a beautiful hotel . If I go, I'm taking my husband and sleeping overnight.)
edited for spelling
Thanks Sharon...I have also posted this link on OOD
http://www.oodmag.com/community/show...er-Bayfield-ON
A night at the Albion is an early bird prize!
Gourmet food, fun and a free Hullett membership is included as well!
Hullett Marsh Hunters:
If you care about the future of Hullett and programs such as the "Pheasant Release" please show some support and purchase a ticket or two for your hunting buddy or husband/wife!
Gourmet meal, Friends of Hullett Membership and a great line up of auction items for 2016 including 2 shotguns and even a diamond necklace for that special lady in your life.
The early bird prize cut off is April 1st.....2 OFAH memberships and a one night stay at the Albion hotel with breakfast.
We need you help...thanks for considering.
The Hullett Spring Dinner/Auction is now sold out, the event becomes more popular each year!
Thanks to all who have supported by attending the dinner as well as donating items.
OOD forum members Sharon and Dilly have both donated items towards the cause.
We are hopeful to continue the Pheasant Release once again this year.
"Pheasant Challenge" tickets will be printed soon and available for sale, hunters supporting the challenge show solid numbers and $ towards the pheasant release.
Let's make 2016 a year to show your support for the pheasant release and allow to release 1000 birds again.
Hello FOH,
If the pheasant hunters were able to sell more tickets or raise more funds - would you release more birds?
I can't speak for FOH, but I'd like to direct you to his earlier post:Quote:
Originally Posted by mainlymallards
I would suggest that a lot more money would need to be raised to justify increasing the number of birds released. If the pheasant hunters could sell more tickets or raise more funds, it would justify continuing the program in the long term. As it stands this program depends on funds FOH raises from other sources.Quote:
Originally Posted by FOH
Glad to hear the dinner tickets all sold. I missed out on getting one. I hope my call brings a few bucks at auction. For those going, have a great evening.
That's great that the event is sold out! Good work Scott. :)