2011 - A “Wild Experience”

November 8, 2011 • Voyageur Press

Most of the guys grew up in the area and graduated from Meadowlands High School in the 70s. The group of old friends had been talking about getting together for a hunt for quite some time.

Allen Vomachka organized the hunt. “I grew up a couple of miles down the road,” said Allen. “I kept talkin’ about doin’ and doin’ this and one night I just got on the phone and started calling people.”

“We have to do this!” Allen shared with his brother and friends. Allen managed to get his brother, John, Paul and Mike Mueller, Roger Maki, Mark Racek and a friend from Warroad, Kevin Maguson. 

“We all grew up together,” added Paul. “We are all from Meadowlands. Mark was an iron worker and he lives in Hibbing; Roger works in the Twin Cities; John is a retired principal, Allen lives in Warroad; and Mike is a plumber in North Branch.”

Allen shared that he doesn’t get to hunt pheasants too often, because he lives up north. “This has been a great day... fun day,” he said. “It’s a great time for a bunch of old people.”

Roger Maki agreed that it was a great day. He hadn’t hunted pheasants for many years. “We talked about doing this a couple years ago, and I usually come up every other weekend to see my mother,” he shared.

The group managed to knock down 23 birds and they were all cleaned and ready to go before they could finish talking birds and old memories. 

The fun didn’t stop there. Many of the guys attended the Halloween Party the Durovecs held that same evening.

A typical hunt 

The season goes from Labor Day to Memorial Day. “We are open in the summer, but just for training dogs,” noted Dar who is the organizer in the family. “No guns. We will put the birds out so you can go out and train a puppy. We don’t do much in the summer. It is just too hot for the dogs.”

One question that is often asked is if they are open during deer season. The answer is, “Yes, but they can’t shoot the deer,” Dar joked.

Wild Experience is a family operation. John and Dar, along with their children Nichole (30), Krystle (25), Samantha (24), Joseph (21), Jackie (20)and Molli (17) all pitch in and help. According to Dar, Joseph and Molli have expressed the most interest in continuing the operation. 

“Everybody does a little bit of everything,” said Dar. “Nichole will actually step in when I am gone and organize the hunt.”

Dar explained to process hunters go through when they arrive. “The hunters sign in and watch the safety and instructional video while other family members catch and release the birds in the fields. John, Molli and Samantha caught the 40 birds purchased by the Meadowlands bunch. Joseph and Molli released the birds.

Hunters can choose a large field or a small field. “It just depends on if they want to work the dogs or not,” said Dar. “Some people have older dogs and don’t want a long field for them.”

John has his dogs available for a guided hunt. John had his four English Setters out with the Meadowlands bunch (Todd, Dot, Yogi and Vixie). His lab Sugar flushed and retrieved the birds during the hunt. 

John and Dar are also interested in promoting youth hunting. First time youth hunters receive a free bird.

Once the hunters and birds return to the clubhouse, the hunters have a choice of having the birds cleaned by the Durovecs. 

The Meadowlands bunch wasn’t the only group out at the preserve on this particular weekend. Brad Iverson and Gene Pelletier of Esko visited Wild Experience Hunting Preserve. 

Brad and Gene enjoy hunting at the Durovecs. They enjoy the fact that the fields have plenty of cover, but more importantly, they enjoy the personal touch the Durovec’s provide hunters.  “I’ve been to several game farms and this place has a special vibe compared to the other ones,” said Brad. “It’s very down home and they try to cater to what you want out of your hunt.”

“The other preserves maybe have gotten too big and have lost that personal touch,” added Brad. “I hoping this one never loses that. We’ve had a great time here. John and Dar are great people.” 

History of the preserve

The Durovecs have been running the pheasant farm since 2003, with a short break in 2010.

The pheasant operation has become quite successful. This summer Wild Experience has guided over 60 groups at the farm. 

Dar still recalls the decision to start a pheasant preserve. “We just talked about whether we were going to farm or open a pheasant preserve,” Dar remembers. “I said let’s do pheasants. So that’s what we did.”

“John has always liked pheasant hunting and he used to go down to Iowa to hunt. It was then that he got his first dog, Copper. He just loved it and we have since bought more dogs.” 

The 3-generation farm is perfect for pheasant hunting. “I love it,” concluded Dar. “It’s a job though.”

There are a few advantages to owning a pheasant preserve—fresh birds available for most of the year. “Yep, we just had Pheasant Alfredo the other night,” concluded Dar. “It was delicious.” 

NOTE: The DNR requires that the Durovecs release 25 birds into the wild, for every 100 birds that are sold. The preserve emphasizes safety first and the hunters are strongly encouraged to respect boundaries.