Long Barrelled Guns

Two years have passed .... finally, I'm back to writing. I'm sure you've missed me ;o) .

My daughter and I went to the Living History Fair in Brookings, SD a couple weeks ago. We got to listen to Frank and Annie Oakley-Bishop during the lunch hour. Even got to see her trick shots. Learned about musket guns/rifles. Listened to a Cowboyography talk. Abe Lincoln was there as shy and honest as ever. People dressed in pioneer, civil war era, trapper, cowboy, and colonial clothes. It was a great time.

It was the musket gun man that got me to rememberin' though ....

I was raised in the cement jungle. People around me didn't always know about critters and guns. Save the Whales signs were the closest some of them got to wild animals. And guns belonged to gang members. No fault of theirs... just the culture they're in. But I had a memory listening to the musket man. He asked the kids why the gun barrels were sooooo long on some of the old guns and the answer was it was better for targeting. Well, in school as a kid I still remember the history teacher asking us kids why the gun barrels were soooooo long on some of the guns back in the day and the answer they told me was .... e v o l u t i o n .... mmm hmmm, evolution. Since I've never believed in evolution I knew there must be a different explanation but it wasn't until I came to a wildlife state, a haven of hunting/fishing/trapping enthusiasts, a place where history is still alive that I found out the truth. I still have the image of long armed men and women walking around the country... draggin' their hands on the ground ...

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

Visit our website www.swarmingpheasants.com Your favorite place to hunt!

South Dakota has pheasants ______ does not

We left South Dakota for 8 years. Yes, I guess we'd lost our mind for a bit... but we're back now! When we lived in the state of _________ we were told it was a great pheasant hunting state. Now when you're used to pheasants in flocks, pheasants on the roads, pheasants hitting your windshield and grill regularly that is sorta what you expect in a 'pheasant hunting state'. Our kids were young then but they noticed along with us that that is not how it is in that state. Very rarely would we even see a pheasant. Very rarely did we see a pheasant hunter. Even rarer was to see them together!! Oh yes, there was a pheasant hunter that attended our church in his hunting garb. He seemed more depressed during pheasant season than at any other time... too much disappointment I guess. We finally did see a pheasant in _______. We were driving down the highway and someone passed us. A dead pheasant was hanging from their front head lamp!!!! We all laughed ... the kids pointed and said "there's that _________ pheasant!!" Sorry, ____________ but I think the season just ended.

South Dakota Pheasant Hunting .... we have the birds!

Never Ever Kick a Bush

This is Isaiah, our 19 year old son. The one who always has a story to tell... always. Just like this one:

Isaiah went hunting with a couple guy buddies and a girl buddy. He brought along our old but happy English Pointer, Cassie. Now she could always point... she was good at that.... even in her twilight years. It was the smelling she wasn't so good at. There is a memorial to this fact out in the fields you may come across when you go hunting. It's a pile of clothes and shoes. You may want a picture for the scrap book!! Anyhow, Isaiah and Cassie are huntin' for pheasants and having a grand ole time when Cassie comes to point. She doesn't flush anything, just points. She doesn't move or wiggle....she just points. Isaiah approaches the spot, still nothing flys. He begins to wonder if it's a rock in the grass and if Cassie has lost all sense. So, he does the wisest thing a teenager can do in this situation ... he kicks the bush of grass. Bad idea Isaiah!!! Suddenly a skunk pops up and immediately sprays him ... oh the commotion of a teen young man having a fit!! What a sight. He immediately stripped, thus the memorial pile still in the field today. You won't find a tshirt in the pile though cause Isaiah didn't want to be completely nude in front of his buddies ... so he did the intelligent thing ~ he put his legs through the t-shirt arms and wore it like a pair of shorts with a hole in the bottom.. which I won't even get into talking about! He ran and ran. For some reason he figured it was Cassie's fault. But as I said... she was just pointing... she never said to kick anything!! Did he learn his lesson? I guess we'll have to find out next time hahahaha.....

~Gini

South Dakota Pheasant Hunting at its best

www.swarmingpheasants.com

Rooster Redfield - The Man - The Legend

Rooster Redfield ... man or legend? Both!! He's our hunting guide extraordinaire. No exaggeration.

The Rooster, aka C. Channing Redfield is from upstate New York; owner of Redfield Contracting. He's somewhat of a Pheasant Whisperer! The Rooster has been hunting and guiding for pheasants for over 50 years. N.Y., Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota, and Montana. He has two hunting dogs - a young Drahthaar and a seasoned Yellow Lab. The three of them make a Pheasant Hunting Machine!! A days hunt with the Rooster is an experience. He'll always put you in position for the shot. He's a master organizer, great story teller, and a good cook (I can vouch for that!!). Introducing the Rooster:

With the BEST spot in SouthDakota to hunt and the BEST hunting guide(s) you will have so many shooting opportunities you'll be overwhelmed with victory and success.

Visit http://www.swarmingpheasants.com/ for more info.

~~ Gini

Recipes Needed

Post your pheasant and deer recipes please. I will be forever grateful :o)

World's Greatest Husband!

I want to introduce to you, Mark Appel... the man behind Swarming Pheasants. If you go to http://www.swarmingpheasants.com/ you can click on a YouTube link for a very well done presentation on our place.

Now, I'll tell you about Mark, through my eyes... rosey as it may seem it's how I see him.

Mark is a handsome, strong, intelligent man... not tall, not dark. He is the hardest worker of all time... except for maybe his dad! His reputation and name are sacred to him so he bends over backwards to do things right. In his every day job as owner and operator of Orchard Roofing you see how this plays out. He cleans up better than anyone. Get's the job meticulously done. Uses quality materials. Doesn't charge an arm and a leg. He gets rave reviews by his customers. This is how he works for his business Swarming Pheasants also. He is most pleased when the hunter is pleased/happy. Mark is a wrestler. Once a wrestler always a wrestler... if you know a wrestler you probably said "yup" under your breath! He still wrestles anyone that even hints at wanting to... ages 1 to a 101 need only apply.

Here's a picture of the handsome man.

Talk to you later... ~~ Gini

Hello this is Gini, wife of Mark Appel the "owner" of Swarming Pheasants Hunts. I do the blogging because he is busy working, working, working. Since I'm new at this please bear with me for a few times till I get the kinks out!!

I am amazed at all the pheasants still in the field. After all this crazy cold weather and snow the birds are still out and about. Mark went in-field to see the bird situation and saw approximately 500 of them flocking together in the corn gleanings, sorghum, tree plots and rows, and grasses. They love it on "our" land. Actually the land the land is owned by Mark's dad. He's been a great conservationist these many years. He's planted acres and acres of trees. All sorts of them. Maple, almond, berry trees, cottonwoods, pines and etc... always rotating his crops etc.

Well, anyways... I'm going to give the blogging a try... I want to hear from you.

~Gini