Iowa's Premier Shooting Experience
Upland Hunting
Old fashion bird hunting is what Big Springs does best. Whether you're hunting pheasant, quail or chukar, the experience is of utmost importance. Our highly trained and knowledgeable guides will offer as much help to the beginner as needed, while giving the experienced hunter time to enjoy the great outdoors with proficient dogs and fantastic customer service.
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Our fully guided field hunts consist of one to five (maximum) hunters accompanied by a guide and his or her team of well-trained bird dogs. Your guide’s dogs will consist of Pointers, English Setters, Brittany Spaniels, German Shorthairs, Labradors, or any combination of these fine dogs.
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Each upland hunt will last for 3 hours, and involves walking through some of the most beautiful scenery Iowa has to offer, including creeks, hills and native grass type cover. There are few things as exciting and enjoyable as watching a brace of well trained dogs course through endless native grass and food plots, pointing a quail, pheasant or chukar. The old wives’ tale that Iowa is flat is untrue in the central region of this beautiful State.
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IOWA PHEASANT HUNTING
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Your field hunt will start with our guides picking you up at the Linden House at 8:30am for a morning hunt, or 1:30pm for an afternoon hunt. On your way to the fields, your personal guide will give a safety briefing to your party to insure all guests are ready for the task at hand. Our guides have the final say as to what is and what is not a safe hunting practice, and will be the ultimate arbiter in conducting a safe and enjoyable field hunt. At Big Springs we take safety very seriously, and pride ourselves in our safety record.
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Our qualified guides will make every effort to ensure that each hunter understands where they may and may not swing their gun and they will try to position you for safe, productive shots. The safety of our gun dogs is just as important to us as the safety of our hunters and guides. Your guide will also make sure all understand the importance of never shooting at low flying game.
Proper clothing is essential to the enjoyment of the sport. Big Springs has a required Blaze Orange policy as well as eye protection for all shooting activities. We require all hunters to wear a blaze orange hat or vest, preferably both, at all times afield. The Iowa weather can change quickly and dressing in layers is recommended. A comfortable pair of boots will be needed, along with brush pants or chaps to help turn away the Iowa briars and brambles, a favorite hiding place for upland game. Waterproof boots are a necessity in the winter if there is snow on the ground or if it has recently rained. In cold weather, a coat to carry your shells and game is a necessity, and it should have blaze orange on it for safety.
In warm weather, you may only need either a front-loading hunting shirt and a shell belt, or a hunting vest, again with blaze orange for safety. When hunting upland birds, it is extremely important to be highly visible to both the guides and your fellow hunters. Upland bird hunting requires the hunters and guides to be close to each other, and during covey rises and flushes birds may fly in all directions. Safety, communication and visibility of the entire party and dogs is the main role of our guides. Our upland bird hunting is a sport that can be an extremely rewarding experience when done properly, and it is our goal to make your hunt safe and enjoyable with memories to last a lifetime.
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To fulfill your hunting experience, please call Kelly Bryan at 641-623-8511 for hunt package pricing.
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Note: Our Hunting Preserve Address differs slightly from the range address. If you're coming for a hunt, please drive to this address:
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Big Springs Hunting Preserve
476 485th
Searsboro, IA 50242