Cherrybend Pheasant Farm – Wilmington, Ohio
Each year around Thanksgiving, Tim Le Cras and his two sons, Matt and Sam, pack up their hunting gear and head to Cherrybend Pheasant Farm in Wilmington, Ohio. This has been an annual tradition for several years now and this year I was able to join them; capturing the images you see below. Matt and Sam, are both very accomplished shooters and thus the pheasants had little chance against their marksmanship.
With pheasants loose on the farm, Tim, Matt and their guide BJ head out in search of their game. As you can see, safety is a primary concern as everyone is donned in orange and shotguns in safety position. On the other hand, still wondering why I was asked to wear the jacket with a bullseye on it?
With a keen eye and sense of where to expect the pheasant coming out of hiding, Matt has achieved his first kill with a single shot!
At first I thought Tim was ordering takeout from a local pizzeria, but soon learned that he was calling Sam to be ready for this turn. Again for safety reasons, the boys take turns, each one working one-on-one with the Cherrybend guide.
Sam and Matt are obviously very much at home on the pheasant farm or anytime they have shotguns in hand. I quickly saw how both were very skilled and displayed a great sense of maturity. Their dad advised me this was due to excellent parenting! LOL
Sam is all smiles as he is truly in his happy place here on the pheasant farm with shotgun in hand.
The Cherrybend guide dogs find and lure the pheasants out from their hiding spots and are truly key to the success of today’s hunt. I was amazed at how well the dogs were cared for and their dedication to the task at hand.
I tried to capture them in different positions but it was difficult as things seemed to happen very quickly.
Unfortunately it was an overcast day and fairly dreary for late November so I did a bit of photo editing to make for better images. This one of Matt is a personal favorite.
Had an interesting moment as we couldn’t find one of the pheasants that surely was no longer among the living. I didn’t realize the bird at my own feet was what everyone was looking for at the moment. Clearly this was my first time on a pheasant hunting farm. LOL
The guide dogs were well trained and full of energy as they roamed the farm in search of the hiding pheasants.
Yes, the boys actually let their dad take a shot or two along the way. I assume that dad missed on purpose so that the boys would have more chances. LOL
This was another favorite shot of mine as the scene seemed a bit surreal as the Cheerybend guide BJ and his faithful companion lead the way.
Of course, being a photographer, I had to capture at least a few portraits of the boys but had to do so quickly as the autumn light was disappearing quickly.
As you can see it was a very productive day for the Le Cras men with 10 pheasants bagged.
Next stop is cleaning the birds making them ready to become dinner. Of course, I planned to stop at Wendy’s on the way home for a good old fashion chicken sandwich!
Until next time…
For even more photos of the 2016 Le Cras pheasant shoot, see the complete KPIX Photography gallery at 2016 Pheasant Shoot Gallery or video at 2016 Pheasant Shoot Video
For more information about Cherrybend Pheasant Farm including hunting and sporting clays, visit them at Cherrybend Hunting
KPIX Photography specializes in newborns, families, high school seniors, weddings, professional head shots and creative portrait photography.
Please visit us online at www.kpixpro.com, like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/kpixprophotography and now on Instagram at www.instagram.com/kpixprophotography
kpixpro.wordpress.com 