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Sharing the love of the hunt

Lyon County Pheasants Forever hosted its annual mentored pheasant hunt on Saturday

Photo by Deb Gau The 2018 mentored pheasant hunt brought together new hunters, like Piper Mellenthin, at left, and local mentors like Loren Peterson for a day in the field.

LYON COUNTY — The tall bluestem grass was waving all around as the group of hunters made their way across a piece of public land south of Marshall. It was tough to see the pointing dogs that mentors Loren Peterson and Kevin Mayer brought along, so everyone was listening for the sound of the dogs’ beeper collars.

Even with the electronic beeps pointing out where a pheasant might be, the birds were still unpredictable. One pheasant hen flushed out of the thick grass almost at Lincoln Mellenthin’s feet.

“That hen was really close,” Mellenthin said. While no one bagged a bird during the morning hunting session, Mellenthin and other new hunters said the experience was exciting.

“It’s exhilarating, when those pheasants fly up,” said Matthew Holm, one of the new hunters taking part in Lyon County Pheasants Forever’s annual mentored pheasant hunt.

Sharing the thrill of the hunt was the whole point of the mentored hunt. Inexperienced or new hunters were paired up with local mentors, who brought their knowledge and hunting dogs into the field.

This year, there were a total of 17 new hunters taking part in the mentored hunt, said LCPF member Mark Peper. “It’s a few more than we had last year.”

Peper said there were nine hunters under the age of 18, as well as adults who were new to pheasant hunting.

Several participants in the mentored hunt had come all the way from the Twin Cities metro area for the opportunity. Noelle Nelson, a Minnetrista resident, said she had only been pheasant hunting a couple of times before.

“I’m totally a learner,” she said.

Over the course of the day, groups of hunters walked over more than 2,500 acres of land. Peper said that total included both public land, and private land that owners had given permission for the groups to hunt.

There were some special events worked into the day, too. Hunt participants had a chance to try trap shooting, learn about the pattern of their shots, and learn how to clean a pheasant. And after the morning hunt, everyone got together for a “South-Dakota style” line hunt, walking across land at the Redwood River Sportsmen’s Club.

Being a mentor for new hunters was a fun experience, Loren Peterson said.

“I like it. It gets the kids excited, and hopefully it gets them hooked on the sport,” he said.

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