Blog--Our Two Cents from Twin Creek

Prairie Dog Madness

June 30, 2011---J.Way

Twin Creek Ranch hosted two very special groups of prairie dog hunters during the last week of June.  Our first group for the year was sponsored by Smith and Wesson with Robbie Robbins in attendance.   During the two days of shooting this great group of guys put plenty of rounds down range at prairie varmints with their Thompson Center tricked out guns.  

Our second group was sponsored by Browning, Winchester and Bushnell Optics and included some heavy hitters in the outdoor writing world.  These included Wayne Van Zwoll, John Haviland and Ron Spoomer.  These guys can more than write about it they can shoot.  The longes recorded hit was well over 600 yards documented wit hthe new Bushnell range finding bino.  If you are needing a pair of laser range finding binos give these a serious look.  They really impressed all of us.  Good shooting, lots of targets from 100-700 yards and great food by guest chef Tiffany Rodway from Los Angles capped a stellar week.  Between the two groups we figure we shot almost 8000 rounds.  What a place!

Spring Birds

April,5,2011----J.Way

By now I am sure everyone in the upper third of the country is completely over the La Nina version of winter.  Here is Central Montana La Nina gave us a winter to remember.   Currently, we have 200% of average snow and I can't remember a day that was above freezing all winter.   Although snow and cold are minor inconveniences to many, they pose a serious risk to survival of native Hungarian partridge, Sharp tailed Grouse and Pheasants. 

 A healthy population of all of these birds is what makes Twin Creek great and we are committed to seeing our feathered friends through the winter.  Wild game birds can easily sustain during the worst weather if three key components are close at hand.   Cover, available feed and grit to help digest the feed.  Here we leave miles after miles of native grasslands intact.  We even plant and irrigate areas to produce extremely thick snow resilient cover for wither survival.  This winter holding cover is strategically planted next to feeding and grain fields.   This makes it easy for the birds to "hole up" when ole man winter shakes his fist at the ranch.

                As we harvest grain, alfalfa and barley we intentionally leave a few rows on the outside of each field next to cover for the birds winter feed.  The real danger is that the snow becomes too crusted and the birds cannot dig down to get what they need.  To alleviate this problem we systematically place barley bales in the winter to supplement the feed for both pheasants and the large deer herd on the property.   These impromptu feed stations on the edge of thick winter cover are the gathering place for wildlife in the winter and give our favorite birds the little boost they need to make it. 

                Another problem with hard crusted snow and ice on the fields and roads is that pheasants cannot get to the grit they need to process the food they are getting.  Each week we have taken a scraping blade and worked up the edges of the local roads to expose the small rocks that serve as grit for pheasants and other game birds.   It is amazing, one hour after running the scraper down the road the roadside is lined with birds picking up the much needed gravel. 

Although these steps may sound labor and machinery extensive as well as financially costly with the price of diesel at over $4 we have a profound commitment to provide the healthiest completely wild bird population in the west.   When we see the smiles from our hunters the long days in the tractor during the brutal La Nina winter of 2011 are all but a memory. 

Welcome and SHOT news.

This is our first blog for the new cyber home of Twin Creek Ranch.  The new website is up and running and looking good.  As you can see we have greatly refined the website and have made listings for our new offerings.   Take a look and let us know what you think.  We are always trying to refine and simplify so our hunters have the best cyber experience.  

We just returned from the SHOT (Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Tradeshow) in Las Vegas www.shotshow.org.  Wow, what a show it was.  With over 50,000 of the industries movers and shakers in the same place showing off their wares and doing business this is a must do event.    If you have never been to the SHOT show you owe it to yourself as a hunter to go at least once in your life.  It is almost as good as hunting plus a lot warmer this time of year.   

While we were at the show we took note of all the new products out on the market this year.  Here are a few of our favorites.  The new Beretta shotgun A400XPLOR Unico is by far the best, lightest and most attractive new shotgun on the market today.   Check them out at www.berettausa.com and you can bet I will be shooting one next fall for wild roosters.   As for clothing, Browning and Pheasants Forever have teamed up for the Browning Bird'n Lite Strap Vest.  A portion of sale goes to Pheasants Forever so its and easy sell, check them out www.browning.com.  This is a must have for those log walks through Pheasant cover.   One little product we found and cannot believe someone has not made until now is the Skull Hooker www.skullhooker.com.   The skull hooker has a bracket that mounts on the wall and then to your European style mount for display.   A great new product that will class up any trophy room.  

Back at the ranch the team is gearing up for a coyote hunt in mid-February.  We will post pictures as soon as they become available.  We are also looking ahead to planting and finalizing out deer hunters for the upcoming season.   Old man winter is still in solid control of Twin Creek with snow and ice the norm.  We have been scraping the roads so the birds can get some gravel, putting barley bales out in cover and basically seeing the wildlife through the winter.  

Till Next Time.