NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/1323352
52 Nebraskaland • January-February 2021 ontrolled shooting areas have been popping up over the landscape for several years now, and hunters are taking advantage of the opportunities available at these places. Wanting to try it, our family made a trip to Camp George just north of Arnold. This trip was a good way to spend some quality time together while doing what we all love: hunting. Having never been to one of these areas, none of us really knew what to expect, but we were excited to see how a controlled shooting area works. Traveling to the area we had time to talk about the hunt and crack jokes about who was going to shoot the most, miss the most and burn the most shells. As we crested the hills leading to Camp George, I noticed the abundance of great habitat and cover on the property. It looked like a place that would naturally hold pheasants, quail and grouse. When we arrived, Lester and George Mills, father-son partners at Camp George, were there to greet us and tell us about the hunt. Lester explained that they have a variety of cover on the property including CRP, food plots and tree strips. There are large populations of wild pheasants, quail and sharp-tailed grouse along with pen-raised pheasants, quail and chukars at the controlled shooting area. Before we arrived, George had stocked pheasants and quail, which were the species we chose to hunt on that day. As we worked our way through the fi rst fi eld, we traveled slowly as I watched my dog become birdy; her nose was leading her to a scent, and her tail started wagging faster and in a circular motion. Seconds later came the fl ush of a rooster followed by a single shotgun blast from our son and my dog's fi rst upland retrieve. To see my dog bring back her fi rst bird was almost like watching a child's fi rst step, and I was feeling giddy at that point. As we worked our way through some shrub and tree groves, I noticed that small paths had been mowed, making it easy to walk in while keeping a very natural look and feel to the area with plenty of places for game birds to hide. I, for one, liked walking these cut paths; as an aging hunter, I still have a lot of hop to my step, but this sure made for easier walking. As we continued through several fi elds, my dog and my husband's dog got on many birds. A few single and double pheasants fl ushed, along with fl urries of quail, providing us with some great shooting and a little joking about missed shots. As we hunted, I couldn't help but think of how this was a Controlled Shooting Areas An Adventure Story Story and photos by Julie Geiser Camp George Controlled Shooting Area is located north of Arnold in Custer County. The CSA off ers hunters abundant populations of wild pheasants, quail and sharp-tailed grouse, in addition to released pen-raised birds. Camp George C