High Noon Hunts

The Header at the top of this website at the moment features a photo of our group during a recent pheasant hunt at Weidenbach Ranch near Highmore, South Dakota. I was invited by Chuck Zimmerman of www.AgWired.com fame (orange cap in photo below). All involved were safety and rule minded and good shooters all around.

It was a great bird hunt, all seemed to enjoy themselves. From my perspective it was truly one of those rare hunt experiences where pretty much everything fell into place. All of the Weidenbach Family were great hosts and their “Honey Hole Lodge” was very roomy and comfortable. In the photo below the Ranch’s elder couple, Ester and Larry Weidenbach, enjoy a visit with Chuck at the lodge’s watering hole, which is always open for its guests by the way.

South Dakota is a long way from home. If driving straight through it would still take at least three long days of driving time from north central Florida. One thing I found interesting is that apparently many of the trees in this central part of South Dakota are a result of government supported private plantings programs years ago, which created what local folks call ‘hedgerows’. The hedgerows are basically rows of hardwood trees planted to provide windbreaks and cover for wildlife and birds during the brutal winters. While the trees provide some protection from the winds and snow, depending on the severity of the winters local folks say some birds and wildlife, and cows too for that matter, still die from exposure to the elements. Having been born and raised in a temperate south Florida climate, living somewhere in the Sunshine State all my life except for six months in Italy during college, it’s hard to imagine what life would be like to be isolated for days or weeks at a time on the farm while the snow piles up outside.

But as the photo in the header shows, bird hunting at Weidenbach Ranch in South Dakota in the fall is GRAND!