NEWSLETTER • January/February, 2009

UPCOMING EVENTS
Feb. 7, Saturday - Continental Tower Shoot & Hunt
Feb. 9, Monday – Start of Hunter Safety Education Course
Feb. 21, Saturday - Continental Tower Shoot & Hunt

PARTRIDGE SPECIALS
10 HUNGARIAN PARTRIDGE - $125
10 CHUKAR PARTRIDGE - $125
Get a chance at a prize for each bird shot!

In the Field
WE’RE BACK! Winter may have arrived early in Southern Wisconsin, but the pheasant gods must have decided enough is enough when mountains of deep, wet and drifted snow disappeared almost overnight this week. Like the Grinch who stole Christmas, hunters could only sit and watch as Old Man Winter made off with most of December. The Club is usually booked solid over the holidays- but not this year as the weather was just too much. Fortunately, flooding has been minimal as there wasn’t much frost in the ground.

The big thaw has been a real blessing. Hopefully, hunters will try to make up for time lost soon. All those birds that didn’t get hunted over the holidays will be “on-feed” just that much longer, and with feed prices running about 40% more than last year, that really hurts! Fuel prices appear to have settled down for the time being, and (knock on wood) there has been very little damage from snow load on flight pens. Most members will recall how the pens were flattened during a storm on December 28th last year. Thousands of dollars were spent last spring and summer on repairs, and for new netting that has already been put to the test in recent weeks. So far… so good.

Coming off a rough season last year, the last thing the Club needs is another bump in the road!

Special Thanks- Mark and Dick Thome & Todd Williams
Most years, the Club gets along just fine with the equipment it has for dealing with snow. There were some big drifts around back in ’84, and last year was one for the records; but, in terms of the wettest and the deepest, this past month wins hands down. As per Murphy’s Law, the Club’s plow truck was down for more than a week, the front end loader couldn’t get enough traction to cut trails, and the new “all wheel drive” Gator was out two weeks with transmission problems. ATV’s were useless without plowed trails.

As luck would have it, Dick and Mark Thome, long time members here at the Club, were able to help out. Mark owns MTEC Environmental Inc. (erosion control business) and stores his rubber-track Caterpillar here at Wern Valley. His dad Dick has a V-plow on his pick-up truck and between those two pieces of equipment and with about 100 gallons of fuel; countless miles of trails for stocking and hunting were made. Some trails filled up overnight only to be plowed out again the next day, depending on wind direction. Parking lots, access to bird pens and equipment also had to be maintained. Todd Williams took time out from his plumbing business to help out with his plow truck as well. They were a tremendous help and can’t be thanked enough.

The Club would like to thank everyone for their understanding during the deep snow and bitter cold. Hunting and just maintaining the status quo in those conditions is always hard on hunters, equipment, cover and staff. There are always a couple weeks each season that are lost to bad weather, but December was ridiculous.

Tower Shoots
The way things were going, it looked like the Club would have to throw a lot of birds off the tower to make up for the waist-deep snow and lack of cover that just about spoiled this season. There are a good number of tower shoot dates set aside for Club members to get in on the action during the coming months. Private tower shoots are also available and up to 30 shooters can be accommodated at one time. Cost is $150 per gun which includes lunch, bird cleaning and 10 birds (mostly hens) released per gun. The Club has tried adding other birds including ducks, pigeons and partridge into the mix, but nothing flies better than a hen pheasant. Roosters are just a little too heavy and a strong wind can add even more of a challenge. Most shooters would probably not expect to pull the trigger on 4-6 boxes of shells in a typical shoot, but once you’ve been there, you’ll see how missing is easier than hitting these high flyers.

Chukars and Huns
The always popular “Chukar Challenge” is back again. The deal is if you purchase a package of 10 Chukars (or Huns) you get a raffle ticket for each bird harvested. These tickets are good toward various prizes that will be drawn towards the end of the season. The Club still has quite a few Hungarian Partridge, so you can do the same thing with Huns as well. 10 Chukar or 10 Huns are both $125. Tickets are now available, so come on out and hunt some partridge!

Youth Hunt Day
A special youth hunt date has been set for Saturday, January 3rd. This fun event has been enjoyed by a lot of young hunters in recent years and is one of the activities members should participate in to encourage getting more youth involved in the outdoors. The 5-Stand Sporting Clays Range will be available at no charge to all youth age 12-17 from noon to 1:00 pm along with pizza for lunch. To reserve a hunt for the afternoon shift that day, you should have at least one youth in your hunting party and you do not have to add birds to the minimum release per gun as there is no minimum release required by the club for youth.

Club Events
For just about all the years the Club has been in existence, the Club has held special events during the hunting season such as Pheasant Championships, banquets, socials and other activities. In recent years these events have seen a decrease in participation until last year when the weather or perhaps other activities kept members from participating at all. The Club used to get over 80 entries in the Club Pheasant Championship and 150 at the banquet. If you would like to see these events continued, please let us know. Member input is important to the Club- we are here to serve you! Many members come out during the summer months for sporting clays, The Great Cancer Shootout and other special events. Maybe it is because of these events there are less members interested in winter events? Your suggestions and ideas are greatly appreciated.

New E-mail Address for Joni
Joni Knoll takes the majority of reservations here at the Club- many through her e-mail address. Due to some sort of virus, her address had to be changed. The new address is jonik@wernvalley.com. Please get us your email address if you are not already receiving timely reminders, updates and newsletters from the Club!

Hunter Safety Education Class
Another Hunter Safety Education Class is starting up on February 9th. It meets every Monday and Wednesday evening in the clubhouse until the last class on March 11th, followed by an “in the field” day on March 14th. If you are interested please contact Mike Walters at (262) 968-9668 to sign up.

Pheasants Forever- National Pheasant Fest and Convention
Pheasants Forever’s 2009 National Pheasant Fest and Convention is being held on February 6, 7 & 8 in Madison at the Exhibition Hall in the Alliant Energy Center. Everyone interested in upland game hunting, bird dogs, wildlife and habitat management will find something of interest at the Fest.

Wern Valley is the longest standing sponsor of Pheasants Forever in Wisconsin. Their Southeastern Chapter has many Wern Valley members and their banquets are always well attended. The Club will have a booth at the show and will be promoting the various activities and events it offers as well as the Club’s outstanding efforts on behalf of conservation. Go to www.NationalPheasantFest.org for more info. See you at the show.

McMiller Sports Center Ranges Open
Did you get a new gun for Christmas? The novice trap, sporting clays and rifle/pistol ranges at McMiller are open Saturdays and Sundays during winter months. For more information check out their website at www.mcmillersportscenter.com

NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
August - September 2008