Pheasant Hunting at V1 Ranch

 I am a little conflicted writing this blog post because I really want to keep this place to myself, ha-ha. This Veterans Day we were able to take advantage of a great opportunity to hunt at V1 Ranch, located on Palomar Mountain just north of San Diego, California. Kit Fox Outfitters and Spool Tool sponsored the field guide and dog for Triple B Adventures, (a veteran nonprofit getting veterans and active duty hunting, hiking, fishing and camping). After all, what better way is there for veterans that hunt than to celebrate Veterans Day/Pheasant Season opening day!

From the beginning, this was a great experience. Tina was super helpful and attentive with us scheduling our hunt. This, from what I understand, was a large group for opening day. Their coordination was on point, right down to the morning of the hunt. We met at Mother’s Kitchen on Palomar Mountain and it was obvious who the hunters were. First impressions are an important thing and we were met promptly at 0730 by Rony. He arrived in the V1 Ranch truck and uniform and it was nice to be able to know who was who and quickly convoy down to the ranch a few minutes away.

The ranch is absolutely amazing, and the fall colors were in full affect. I almost forgot that I was in southern California. In the parking area they had a table set up, and we quickly knocked out our paper work. On a side note, I really liked that they made the documents available for download beforehand, so it was an easy process. After that we met our guide, Gerry, and had a quick safety brief.

We lucked out and our field was right across the way, so we walked down and loaded up. Coming through the gate we were greeted by an amazing field all to ourselves, surrounded by some amazing scenery. Rolling hills with two ponds and some interesting terrain features made for a fun and challenging hunt. Our package included five pheasants per hunter, on a large field made for a perfect bird to hunter ratio. I am looking in the mirror when I say this, a trip to bust some clays before a hunt is always a good idea too, ha-ha.

Personally, most of the fun for me is also watching the dogs work the field. Gerry and his dog were absolutely amazing! Hunting at a pheasant club with an experienced guide is worth it in and of itself; Gerry was a wealth of knowledge and contributed immensely to our successful hunt and a great day. As luck would have it, Gerry was a fellow veteran and Navy retiree, just adding to the theme of a great Veterans Day hunt! And if the world wasn’t a small enough place, it turns out we had hunted some of the same fields at the same time, but that’s a whole other story.

Our field was large enough that we were able to hunt, head back to the cars, take a break and grab some water. Tina and Rony dropped by and checked in to make sure we were having a great time and we were. After we were rested up we headed out for the rest of our birds. At the end of the day we did pretty good, getting seven of our ten birds and enjoying every minute of it. Before we headed down the mountain we had a great lunch with Gerry and Gino (thanks for lunch Gino/Spool Tool) at Mother’s Kitchen before heading back to real world.

I was pleasantly surprised to find such an awesome hunting experience in my backyard. V1 Ranch is a pinnacle hunting destination. My only regret from this hunt was that I didn’t get a chance to stay at their amazing lodge and take advantage of their hospitality, although I am sure I will be able to remedy that on one of my next hunts and will definitely report back to you on that. We thank you again for taking the time to check out our articles and hope if you are looking for a great hunting experience you check out V1 Ranch. And as always, we look forward to seeing you on the trail or in the field Getting The Fox Out There!