For most of the year, Delp’s Hunting Grounds in Clarion County is quiet. For three days last week, the sound of shotguns rolled over the pastures.
More than 300 veterans turned out for a three-day pheasant hunt, courtesy of North Central PA Chapter 630 of Pheasants Forever.
“Everyone thinks we are just a bunch of guys who get together and hunt pheasants, but we are more like a conservation and education organization,” Pheasants Forever member and Cranberry Township resident Keith Miller said.
“We put them up for a whole weekend at a private hunt club. They can go horseback riding, hunting, shooting, fishing, or riding four-wheelers,” he said.
The chapter also hosted three youth pheasant hunts this year and a Wounded Warrior hunt.
“This hunt today cost us over $30,000,” Miller said. “If it wasn’t for the generosity of the people around here, we couldn’t do this.”
One of the biggest supporters of the hunt is John Delp, owner of Delp’s Hunting Grounds and Delp’s Game Bird Hatchery near Brookville.
“We put in about 1,800 birds for this hunt,” he said. The birds are sold to Pheasants Forever at a discount.
Support also came from the Redbank Valley Outdoor Club.
“The kids assist in stocking the birds, cleaning the birds, and assisting the veterans however they need help,” Redbank Valley Outdoors Club adviser Kody Wolf said.
Wolf said three years ago one of his students who was involved with Pheasants Forever got the club involved.
“I wasn’t real sure what I was getting into, but once I got down here and realized what it was we started coming every year,” he said.
“It is something the kids look forward to. A lot of these kids are hunters and this is a good way to get them outdoors. The administration at Redbank has been very helpful.”
There were 50 volunteers at the hunting grounds. They included dog handlers and the wives of the chapter members who did the cooking.
Knox resident Corry Decker brought Beau, his German shorthair, to help flush the birds. Decker worked Beau in and out of the tall fields using a combination of verbal and electronic commands. The dog retrieved six birds in under an hour.
“It is the biggest event in the state and possibly the country. We stock chukars and pheasants, and they get a handler,” Miller said. “They hunt for two hours, and when they come back we give them a meal. We clean the birds for them, too. The only thing they have to worry about is getting here.”
For disabled veterans, there are four-wheelers equipped with a chair mounted on the front.
Lenny Jamison, of New Castle, hadn’t hunted pheasants in years. “I really enjoyed it,” he said. “I just wish my knees were in better shape.”
The hunt originated from another veterans event.
“We participated in a National Turkey Federation hunt a few years ago and it was filled to capacity,” Pheasants Forever President Tim Rowan said. “Our goal in the first year was to do 50 veterans over one day. That year, we hosted 90 vets over two days. Now, we host 300 veterans over three days and that is about maximum.”
Matt Huhling, an Army veteran from Sigel, said this was his second year, and last year he met some men who were in his unit.
“I made new friends and renewed some old ones,” he said.