Pooch, as noted above, you can find places with good pen-raised birds, but you can also find places with sorry pen-raised birds. Quail can be a particular problem. Sometimes released quail either don't want to or can't fly, or only flutter for 50 feet or so. I've found preserve pheasants and chukar to be much more likely to flush hard and fly well. But even with those birds, you'll see a difference. I hunted one preserve in KS that has a really good reputation for pheasants, and even they will tell you that what you get is pretty much the equivalent of opening day birds at best. That's about what you should expect from a good preserve. But if you don't have anything close by to hunt, it can be fun for you and the dogs. I won't use a 28ga on wild roosters, but decided to try on that KS preserve. 3/4 oz 7's in a double choked IC/M. Birds over experienced pointing dogs--mine or the preserve's. They flew well but they held pretty tight. That gun and load were just right for them.
Last edited by L. Brown; 06/01/13 04:34 PM.
