The preserve operator establishes fields and other habitats on his acres, raises or purchases ring-necked pheasants grown on pheasant farms and releases these birds into the habitat. The hunters come along later and try to locate the stocked pheasants.

Comparing one preserve with another is almost impossible. About the only similarity is there is a fee involved and the hunting will be for pheasants. The amount of the fee varies. Some places allow hunters to bring their own dogs, while others furnish the dogs and handlers. Some preserves are large, while others are small. Some dress the birds for you, and offer sporting clays, overnight lodging and the list goes on and on.

If hunting on a preserve is something you'd consider, give several a try. If one doesn't suit you, chances are the next one or the next will provide exactly the combination of amenities to furnish you with a perfect day afield.

PUT-AND-TAKE HUNTS
Each year, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) turns a portion of seven of its fish and wildlife areas (FWA) and state reservoir areas (SRA) into shooting preserves, starting the Saturday before Thanksgiving and lasting until the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

These put-and-take hunts are different from hunting on private preserves in several ways. Most notably is that DNR hunts follow state regulations allowing only two pheasants per day to be harvested for a $15 fee (though it may go up to $20 this year). Most private preserves allow bagging as many pheasants as you want or can afford.

The premise of these hunts is simple. Go online to www.wildlife.in.gov and find the put-and-take pheasant hunt registration page. Sign up for a hunt at any of the available properties, pay by credit/ debit card when you sign up, and then print out your receipt. Show up at the property, trade your receipt for a daily hunting permit card and anytime after 9 a.m. that day, head for the release area you've chosen and start hunting.

Before the hunt, DNR personnel will have stocked the fields with a pair of pheasants for each hunter listed on that day's roster. Since these are pen-reared birds with no chance of surviving in the wild, both hen and rooster pheasants are stocked and are legal targets.

Hunt until you have your two-pheasant limit or have had enough hunting for the day. There's no guarantee, and unlike private shooting preserves, which are relatively small, the DNR areas are often vast. Even though the pheasants are farm-raised, they aren't pushovers. Overall success usually ranges around 70 percent.

CLEANUP HUNTS
If a put-and-take property releases 2,000 pheasants and the success rate is 70 percent for hunters, statistically there should be 600 pheasants left on the area once the paid hunt is finished. On the Monday after Thanksgiving (Nov. 26), any hunter with a small-game license and game bird habitat stamp is permitted into the pheasant release areas to "clean up" the remaining pheasants.

The cleanup hunt lets people who were unable to reserve a spot (only a limited number of hunters are allowed daily) to get in on the hunt. It permits hunters who didn't obtain their limit during an earlier paid hunt to get the bird they missed; but most of all, it puts the remaining pheasants to better use than allowing them to starve or fall prey to predators.

Again, there's near zero chance of survival for these birds, so either sex is legal in the cleanup hunt zones. The cleanup hunt lasts until the end of the statewide pheasant season (Dec. 23). Again, using statistics, the better chance of success comes early in the cleanup season when the maximum number of pheasants is available.

Put-and-take and cleanup hunts are held at Roush Lake SRA and Winamac, Willow Slough, Tri-County, Pigeon River, Atterbury and Glendale FWAs. Of these, only Willow Slough and Pigeon River have any wild pheasants in residence.

The ring-necked pheasant is a magnificent trophy regardless of where or how it is hunted. Moreover, it's one invasive species I hope sticks around forever!