Association hosts youth pheasant hunt

About 40 young hunters will gather at Alder Creek Ranch near Sisters on Saturday, March 11, for the Second Annual Youth Pheasant Hunt, sponsored by the Bend Chapter of the Oregon Hunters Association, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Alder Creek Ranch.

“The event is intended to bring new hunters into the sport, help them learn hunting and gun safety and have fun in the field,” said Dan Ramming, Bend Chapter OHA Youth Pheasant Hunt Coordinator. The event is for ages 10 to 17.

The program begins at 8 a.m. when students will receive basic safety instruction followed by a sporting clays course, which will allow them to hone their shooting skills. At 9 a.m. the students will move into the field and hunt pheasants and chukars in small groups accompanied by instructors. The students will also have the opportunity to hunt with trained bird dogs.

An ongoing barbeque will also be available to participants. The event will end around 10 a.m.

The Oregon Hunters Association and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife are providing instructors, food, safety equipment and the sporting clay course and related equipment. The birds are being donated by the Canyon Creek Hunting Preserve and Don Wallace. Alder Creek Ranch, located off Cloverdale Road near Sisters, is allowing the use of its property for the event.

The Bend Chapter of the Oregon Hunters Association has about 520 members. The chapter is involved in a variety of wildlife habitat improvement projects throughout Central Oregon including meadow and wetland restoration and developing new sources of water for big game, upland birds and other wildlife species.

The Oregon Hunters Association has about 10,000 members. Its mission is “to provide abundant huntable wildlife resources in Oregon for present and future generations, enhancement of wildlife habitat and protection of hunters rights.”