Minnesota Waterfowl Hunting

Hey guys, I'm kind of stuck here. I'm looking for a location that's within 45 min of the north metro that I could train my pup at occasionally. Joining a training group is out of the question because I do not have the consistent time or funds this year for it. I'm training at some local parks right now but I'm really in need of a place I could use birds and guns at. I would be willing to pay if the price is reasonable. I noticed the dnr gives free permits for this kind of thing but I thought I had read that wmas are out and I am unaware of any other dnr owned options close to the north metro that would be viable. I am not looking for a handout maybe just a suggestion that I can't think of. Thanks for the help.

Might be a bit out of your ideal price range but when I was curing my pup of being gun shy I took him to wings north in pine city a couple times. They gave me a crate of birds to place myself and let me work at my own pace, great place to work with but it was 5 birds each time, somewhere around $120.



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I always thought you had to be a member for all the game farms. That is a little spendy for me bit it might be worth trying out once. Sounds like fun.

$25 of the cost was for the "daily membership fee", Pheasants were about $18 a bird but they had others you could get cheaper. I think it was just a 5 bird minimum, so you could save some money by going with chukar or quail.

Another option is Trexlers game farm down south little longer drive can do ducks pheasant or chuckar. Ducks and pheasants are 20$a bird with a three bird minimum. Great food and time!

I know you said you don't want to join a group, but that's exactly what you should do. You'll get access to grounds, birds, and most importantly, HELP you.

Check out the local retriever clubs. The HRC club [url]llhrc.org[/url] has training most saturdays at various locations, including Kelley Farms and the AKC club [url]nfhra.org[/url] has training on Wednesdays at Kelley Farms. Both clubs offer the training days free for members.

I've had some luck just knocking on doors as well and asking for permission. Training dogs is easier for some people to let you on their land for than actually hunting. You can also purchase a training pass at Kelley and access the land anytime (4000+ acres), but that is much more expensive. I think $250 for the year last time I had a pass there.

Anyway, you probably already figured something out, or just got busy with something else for the summer...

I ended up making a deal with a friend of a friend that is a pro. He needed a bird thrower so he gave me a huge discount and I now have access to a couple different training areas and birds and lot's of advice.

That's the best way!

We both have pretty crazy schedules so our training afternoons have varied a lot. It's worked out really well for both of us. This has been a really fun summer to watch all the progress. I've now had help from two different pros and both have been awesome experiences.

GrayDuck wrote: You can also purchase a training pass at Kelley and access the land anytime (4000+ acres), but that is much more expensive. I think $250 for the year last time I had a pass there.

Could someone share how you obtain the training pass at Kelley?