New Members

Five members and one first time guest (six total participants) had a great time at the 2/18/06 Upland Game Hunt with Upland Bird Hunting Inc., a shooting preserve located between Lampassas and Burnet. They have over 800 acres of land, a clubhouse, and a wobble trap and 5 stand field (additional clay target fields are still under construction). The preserve is managed by Mike Tyson, a Christian man who uses the club as a ministry (Victory Youth Ranch and Camp Agape), and who participated with us in our Operation Orphans donations at the end of 2005.

I just wanted to tell you guys about the incredible experience I had today with Mike Tyson and company at the upland bird hunt. Those guys are first class all the way. I have been on many guided hunting and fishing trips over the years but nothing even comes close to today's hunt. Not only did they charge us membership rates of $200 instead of the standard $325 because we were with FCS but they also included a free 5 stand shoot and a delicious quail and sausage gumbo lunch. They took two of us hunting again after lunch (we were the only two who could stay that late) and didn't charge us anything extra. They treated every one in the group with great respect and got to know us as people, not as customers. I hope this hunt will be included in next years calendar but even if it is not I will go on my own and gladly pay full price because it is well worth it. Also this club does an amazing ministry with bereaved kids and they work strictly with volunteers. If there is anybody in the club that can donate time or even money to the camp it would be greatly appreciated. They need everything from being a counselor to helping with the grounds. I plan to donate some Saturdays as well as charitable contributions throughout the year to the camp. I hope that others can help out too. Once again thanks for putting this together and if you get the chance go on a hunting trip with these guys.

Josh Hamilton got the first pheasant only minutes after the hunt started and earned a reputation of being a good quick shot. He ended up the day with 2 pheasants and 3 quail. I believe his dad (Frank) came in with 2 pheasants and 4 quail. Guest Jere Fletcher got 2 nice pheasants and a bunch of quail; like most of us he did not count them. As a group we shot 35 quail and 10 pheasants in the morning hunt. Some lucky guys had the opportunity to stay and hunt the afternoon.

Upon arrival the outfitter had hot coffee and croissants ready for us while we had a safety briefing and watched a short film. We were then treated to a warm up opportunity on the 5 stand range. Despite the below 30 degree and howling wind we were able to break a few clay birds proving it would not be a total waste to go into the field.

Back to the warm fireplace and more really good coffee and then out to the field where we were organized into groups of 3 with a guide and a couple of dogs.

After the hunt we went back to a very good lunch of wild game gumbo cooked by a real Cajun. Great fellowship, an excellent hunt, and fine shooting was had by all.

I highly recommend this become an annual event for FCS. Like Ronnie recommended I would advise we look into other ways we could participate with these guys. They were gracious hostd and excellent guides with a beautiful ranch to work. They have a worthy ministry that we could perhaps help with. They are only an hour and a half out of Austin.

I think we all had a great time and experienced good Christian love and fellowship with this group. I would like to go back and will. Like Ronnie I felt that we more than got our monies worth. I also feel this could be the beginning of a great relationship.

Generally, it was a very good hunt, and fun. We should add it to our scheduled events; it is just over an hour away and should be a quality experience when they have the facility complete.

I especially appreciated Mike's consideration for me in his letting me work Buck, my young Brittany. During one pass he put up his dogs, except for one Lab, which they use both to flush pointed birds and to retrieve, and we hunted over Buck exclusively for about a half-hour. Also, I would say that their dogs, at least the ones that I had a chance to hunt over, were some of the best I have seen in a long time.

They have quite a way to go still to get everything up and running. The wobble trap is working, but the five stand array had just four traps functioning - more than enough given the weather. The early morning was miserable with temperatures in the mid-thirties, a guess, and a strong and gusty wind (guess I'm getting whimpy in my old age). Each of us shot a few rounds and then we all returned to the clubhouse. They are making steady progress though and should be ready for their summer camps (for the kids) and fully operational next season.

Thanks to Kenneth for leading this event.