“Rootin Tootin” Rocky Mountain Roosters!

What a blast! Ok, pun intended!

I went pheasant hunting last Sunday afternoon with my husband, daughter Jenny, our manager Buddy and my daughter’s boyfriend Steven. Since we don’t live in a real terriffic area for pheasants, we drove about 2 hours to Rocky Mountain Roosters located just outside of Calhan, CO for the afternoon.

We arrived at the lodge and kicked around waiting for our  friends and guides Kyle and Melanie Schomaker. We noticed when we parked  a nifty wagon loaded with hundreds of colorful shotgun shell hulls and my first impression of the outside of the complex was, Yippee I am in Pheasant country!

I have hunted in several excellent lodges in this country and initially Rocky Mountain Roosters rated high in my book. I love LOVE pheasant hunting and am always on the look out for  great places to go. I have a fairly simple criteria… many pheasants, great dogs, and comfortable setting. Rocky Mountain Roosters seems to have it all!

We met up with Kyle and Melanie and their very capable assistants, Tyler and Courtney who are also their kids. These teens certainly know their way around the pheasant field and are great assistance to their folks!

We gathered everyone up making sure everyone had enough shells and warm clothes.  Kyle let the first set of dogs out. He has some great German Short-hair dogs! My favorite was Jasmine, or Jazzy for short. She was a special soul that loved her work. Hanna was sweet also as was Bear. Very dedicated well trained pointers all.

We took off and weren’t even out of eyesight from the vehicles and the dogs hit point.  The sky lit up! At least 6 birds got up from several little clumps of bushes.

Jenny and I hit our first birds and several more came down. I was excited that Jenny was having success since she hasn’t hunted pheasants much. She was loving it! I hit a nice rooster and the guys brought 2 or 3 down that time also.

We gathered everyone up and took off down the hill again. Jazzy stopped and pointed to a bush and Steven walked up to it where a couple more birds jumped up. This was the routine for the day.

We spent several hours in the field and everyone came home with their limit. The weather was perfect and the day was simply awesome.

The time outside with my family was precious and there was enough excitement to keep everyone interested and the kids all had a great time together… even the adult ones!

Thanks you  goes out to the Schomaker family for being wonderful guides.

When we finally got home the guys cleaned the birds and I stewed them for Gumbo.

The recipe is easy and very yummy!

Anne’s Pheasant Gumbo

I cook soups and stews in general measurements so you can eyeball these…

2 lbs cooked pheasant meat, deboned

1 lb Polish Sausage (I like Hillshire Farms)

1 small onion

1  small bag of mixed veggies

1 small bag of chopped okra

2 tbs butter

2-3 tbs flour

1 box of chicken stock or 3 cups of water and a little chicken bouillon.

Tony Chachere’s Cajun Seasoning

Cut the sausage into small bite sized pieces and brown them with the chopped onion. Add the butter and let it melt. When the butter melts, add the flour and stir  to coat the meat. Next add the pheasant meat and the rest of the ingredients. Be careful with the Tony Chachere’s seasoning  as it is spicy and salty. I usually add a tablespoon or so to the gumbo and then put it on the table in case people want more. Simmer until thick , usually 1-2 hours. I also put it all in the crock pot frequently.

Serve over cooked rice.

Anne's Pheasant Gumbo

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