Pheasant HUNTING ADVENTURES
By Lakendra Lewis
While pheasants are not native to the United States, Texans took to hunting the bird just like country music and cold beer.
Pheasant hunting peaked in Texas in the late 1980’s with nearly 45,000 hunters harvesting nearly 122,000 birds annually. Since 2010 harvest has rarely exceeded 20,000. Today, drought conditions have shrunk the birds’ natural habitat and decreased acreage set aside for pheasant hunting has reduced shooting opportunities.
Despite the dwindling opportunities, Texas Parks & Wildlife estimates more than $500 million was spent between 2015 and 2019 on pheasant hunting. Below is a list of six options located within a reasonable driving distance to check out when planning your trip.
In the Panhandle and South Plains, the regular dates for pheasant hunting season are Dec. 7th, 2024 – Jan. 5th, 2025. However, some hunting preserves offer it year
round (Crooked Wing Outfitters is a preserve with year-round pheasant hunting).
A valid Texas hunting license and an Upland Game Bird Endorsement are also required to hunt turkey, quail or chachalacas and are both needed to hunt pheasant in Texas. Licenses can be bought directly from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) website or by calling 1-800-895-4248. You can also purchase a license through one of approximately 1,800 Texas-approved vendors across the state, including sporting goods stores, gun shops, department stores, discount stores, bait and tackle shops and grocery stores. To find a licensed retailer in your area, visit tpwd.texas.gov/business/ licenses/online_sales/find_re tailer.phtml.
License fees vary based on age, residency, and the type of hunting activity, and are valid from August 15th through Au
gust 31st of the following year. Texas residents can also purchase a lifetime license.
ABOUT THE WRITER: Lakendra Lewis is a freelance writer and book editor based in San Antonio, Texas. Her articles focus on the arts, including music, theater, television, and film. She also has a passion for telling other people’s stories. Lakendra’s articles have appeared in a variety of South Texas publications, including Edible San Antonio Magazine, Latino Leaders Magazine, The Texas Observer, and RIO Magazine.
JOSHUA CREEK RANCH OFFERS DRIVEN PHEASANT SHOOTING AND TOWER SHOOTS FOR GAMEBIRD HUNTING ENTHUSIASTS
JOSHUA CREEK RANCH
132 Cravey Road • Boerne, Texas 78006
joshuacreek.com
If you are a gamebird hunting enthusiast, Joshua Creek Ranch might be the perfect place for some driven pheasant or European-style tower shooting.
Nestled in the beautiful Texas Hill Country in Boerne, this ranch is a 3-hour drive to a prime wildlife habitat perfect for pheasant, quail, duck and deer hunting September through April, while Axis deer hunting is offered year-round.
For those who aren’t big on hunting, you can also indulge in kayaking and tubing on Joshua Creek and the Guadalupe River; do some trout fly fishing starting in November or hone your shot gun skills in some state-of-the-art clay target shooting. Lodging and dining accommodations are also offered.
IN PHOTO: THE GROUNDS OF JOSHUA CREEK RANCH — CREDIT: JOSHUA CREEK RANCH
COASTAL WILD WINGS Blessing and Midfield Rd Sargent, Texas 77414
coastalwildwings.com
HUNTING ADVENTURES
Rooted in European hunting traditions, tower shooting
allows hunters to take turns shooting at game birds, usually
pheasants, that are released from a tower. Trained dogs
then retrieve the birds to be cleaned and harvested. These
Located just outside Blessing, Texas on 900 acres, this rustic preserve is about a 90-minute drive from Austin County that has been called a hunting club with the “best birds around, and great guides and dogs,” all in a small-town setting.
From bird hunting to shooting clays, hunters will enjoy what Coastal Wild Wings has to offer in upland game hunting including pheasant, quail and chukar, from November 1st to March 15th. Another feature starting in November and ending in April is the recent addition of about 20 tower shoots, nearly 40 feet in height.
types of shoots are also designed to enhance pass-shooting skills and may include a lunch break or refreshments, along with other activities.
All hunts include a dog and guide, plus 25 rounds of sporting clays with every half-day hunt.
Morning hunts start at 8:30 a.m. while afternoon hunts begin at 1:30 p.m. Memberships are available upon request. For rates to schedule a hunt, license requirements or to find out more about memberships, visit the Coastal Wild Wings website or call Jim or Sandra Davant at 361-920-7758. You can also email [email protected].
ABOVE: A GROUP OF HUNTERS READY FOR A SHOOT - COASTAL WILD WINGS
LEFT: COASTAL WILD WINGS OFFERS EUROPEAN TOWER SHOOTS979-201-5551
TOP-FLIGHT HUNTING PRESERVE
1164 County Road 102
Columbus, Texas 78934
topflighthunting.com
A 30-minute drive from Sealy, this licensed pre serve established in 1989 raises its gaming birds, including pheasant, on 400 acres that are divided into five hunting areas consisting of a carefully maintained combination of brush land and open field that according to the Top-Flight website, provides an ideal terrain for their upland birds hunting season from mid-September to March.
In addition to providing catering, dog boarding and hosting corporate events, Top-Flight also offers lodging that can accommodate up to 12 people, tower shoots, sporting clays courses, and guided hunts in other countries such as Argentina, Brazil and Alaska. Or if you prefer to have a hunt in your backyard, Top-Flight can provide the guides, dogs, vehicles, and birds.
Hunters can choose between guided or unguided hunts and can even bring their dogs and hunt unguided. Professional guides and a variety of trained dogs ranging from retrievers to English Pointers are provided for guided hunts, as well as decoys. The hunts are priced per person and do not include ammunition, license, bird processing or gratuity.
IN PHOTO: A HUNTER AIMS AT HIS TARGET CREDIT: TOP-FLIGHT HUNTING PRESERVE
CROOKED WING OUTFITTERS CONDUCT THEIR PHEASANT HUNTS NORTH OF LUBBOCK CREDIT: CROOKED WING OUTFITTERS
CROOKED WING OUTFITTERS
Contact: 713-855-1015
crookedwingoutfitters.com
Considered to have the best guided hunt in Texas, Crooked Wing’s pheasant hunts are conducted North of Lubbock in Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) fields, lake bottoms, tree rows, and edges of grain fields, according to their website.
Hunts are offered year-round and feature English pointers, German shorthairs, and Labrador Retrievers that are used to point, flush and fetch birds. The hunts start at 7:30 am and run until either lunchtime or limits are reached. A pheasant/quail combo hunt price is $325 per gun, with a required minimum of five hunters. Lodging also is available. Be sure to check out the website for more details.
T&T GAMEBIRDS AND HUNTING PRESERVE
3570 King
Anton, Texas 79313
ttgamebirds.com
Established in 2016, this hunting preserve is located 20 minutes outside of Lubbock and offers guided and unguided pheasant, quail, and chukar hunts on 1,400 acres of CRP. But what makes T&T Game
birds unique from other hunting clubs is that it is the only membership-driven hunting program in West Texas that allows hunters to hunt as often as they wish in the preserve’s seven varied hunting fields, six days a week. Hunts run from October to February. Formal gun dog training also is available throughout the year.
ENJOY PHEASANT HUNTING AT T&T GAMEBIRDS HUNTING AND PRESERVE
CREDTI: T&T GAMEBIRDS HUNTING AND PRESERVE
THE GROUNDS OF TWO CREEKS RANCH IN HONDO. CREDIT: VENATURA EXCURSIONS
VENATURA EXCURSIONS
AT TWO CREEKS RANCH
2530 Farm to Market Road 2676
Hondo, Texas 78861
venaturaexcursions.com/two-creeks-ranch
If you are looking to hunt in style and luxury, look no further than this luxury events center.
Sporting three properties, Venatura Excursion’s flagship wing shooting destination, Two Creeks Lodge, is according to its website, “a haven of sporting luxury surrounded by acres of outstanding bird hunting.”
Features include a five-course, chef-prepared dinner, accommodations in dogtrot-style lodges and custom Critter Gitter vehicles. Upland hunts include flushing hard-flying quail, chukar and pheasants (trained pointing dogs included), as well as a five-stand shooting range, an entertainment area that seats 80, a large fire pit and outdoor bar, and a game room, gun room lounge and skeet range. Visit the website for reservation details.
Fun Facts
Originating in Asia, pheasants are not native to the United States but were brought to the US in the late 19th century.
Pheasants were introduced to Texas in the 1930s at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge outside Austwell, Texas.
The Ring-Necked Pheasant is prevalent in the Panhandle and is the most hunted upland bird in America.
The first Texas pheasant hunting season consisted of two-weekend hunts in the Panhandle region of Dallam County in 1958, with a bag limit of 2 cocks per hunter and four in possession. The current daily bag limit is 3 cocks per hunter and 9 in possession.
Although they are mainly runners, pheasants can obtain flight speeds of almost 40 mph.
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