A Tavola Pizza Bird Hunt

 

      When Nick and Jared Wayne of A Tavola Pizza first came to us about hosting a bird hunt for their managers, we were a little unsure since most of the young men had never done any hunting and very few had ever done any shooting.  After a bit of head scratching, we came up with a solid plan to give the guys a great experience while keeping everything safe and fun.  We decided immediately that Shags Run was the place to do it.  Leading up to the hunt we were all a bit apprehensive, but I think it is safe to say, everyone involved had a great experience.

       Instead of a normal upland hunt like those I normally host, we decided that an introduction to bird hunting might be a better solution.  That gave us a great foundation.  We agreed to begin the day with a gun safety lesson followed by clay pigeon shooting and a bird dog training demonstration.  Of course, the predicted forecast for the day was super cold.  Mark and I packed a bunch of extra clothes for everyone.

Greenie's turn

    We me the guys at the restaurant in OTR on Vine Street before we caravaned down to the farm.  When we arrived DD Gerwin had coffee, zucchini bread, and hot biscuits and sausage waiting.  We tore into the food.  It was a great start to the day.  We loaded everyone onto the wagon and headed out into the fields.

     

     After a bit of instruction the guys really took to the clay pigeon shooting.  They started smashing birds left and right.  We were all having a pretty good time.  Those that weren't shooting had a nice fire to gather around and warm their hands while they watched their companions.

      Once everyone felt pretty comfortable with the shotguns and understood a bit about hitting flying objects we took a break from shooting a spent some time with the dogs. 

       Billy brought out one of the puppies that was born in early September and we were lucky enough to see this young guys make some of his first points.  Billy explained to the group a bit of how he trains the dogs and what he is looking for in a young dog.  After a bit of time with young Henry we brought out a few of the more experienced dogs.



Even I found a friend

       By this time everybody was getting a bit hungry.  Miss Helen had arrived earlier and had a great table out for us.  Pork tenderloin, au gratin potatoes, green beans, Cole slaw.  It was one of the best lunches I have had in a long time.  After a lunch, I watched as another group of guys became total Buttermilk pie converts.  This pie is amazing as everyone from our dove shoots will tell you. 

     After lunch I think everyone was ready for a nap, but it was time to shoot some birds.  Billy got out a few of the dogs he has raised over the years.  One of the dogs happened to be one my favorites.  Billy calls her "Voodoo, Black Magic".

        In order to give everyone a good chance and to keep everything safe, we walked two guns up to each point while the rest of the group hung back and watched their friends either miss or hit the chukar as they flew away.

After several hours of hunting everyone had taken their turn and most had killed a few birds.  Everyone was pretty excited and Jared gave a pretty motivating thank you to his guys for their hard work.  We headed back to the farmyard where we sat around and drank a few cold beers while we told stories and laughed about the day.  There is so much more that could be written about this day, but I hope this suffices.  I believe everyone involved had a great time and hopefully it was a very memorable experience.  We appreciate A Tavola coming to us to set this up.  Thanks guys, can't wait to do it next year. 

For more pictures (there were far too many to share here) from the day, please check out our Facebook album at:

Bird Hunting with A Tavola Pizza 

-Luke