09/20/2026
As we wrap up the first part of our 2026 dove season, I’ve been sitting here thinking about just how much went into making all of this happen.
This was our first year really opening our dove field up to the public, and there was a whole lot more behind it than just showing up on hunt morning and shooting birds. There were countless hours on the tractor, a lot of diesel fuel burned, a lot of money spent, a whole lot of crop work, mowing, planting, burning, watching the weather, watching the birds, changing plans, and trying to figure out what worked and what didn’t.
There was definitely a learning curve.
We ended up hosting two paid hunts that averaged around 30 people each, and we also had our Reload Ministry hunt on Labor Day, where we were fortunate enough to get around 15 guys and kids out in the field that morning.
And looking back on all of it, I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.
Were there things I would do differently? Absolutely. There are a lot of things I already know we can improve going into next year. But that’s probably one of the things I’m most proud of. Every single hunt got better. Our system got better. Our timing got better. We learned something every time we opened that gate.
What has meant the most to me is hearing from people who have hunted a lot of different dove fields and being told how well organized our hunts were, how they felt taken care of, and how much they enjoyed being here.
That means a lot to me because that is exactly what I want Horse Swamp to be.
It was never just about how many birds hit the ground.
It was seeing people sitting around eating breakfast and talking. It was the fellowship. It was watching kids get excited. It was meeting people we had never met before and watching them leave feeling like they had been hunting with us for years. It was everybody seeing the ducks working around the property, the geese flying over, checking out the preserve, talking about our other hunts, and getting to see a little bit more of what we’re trying to build here.
There were a lot of birds killed, but there were even more memories made.
And that’s what makes all the tractor time, the late nights, the money spent, the stress, and everything else worth it.
When I started building this place, the goal was always to have somewhere people could come spend a day in the field, enjoy good food, good hunting and good company, and leave already looking forward to coming back. Our normal bird hunts can only accommodate so many people at one time, so these dove hunts gave us an opportunity to open the place up to a much bigger group of people and let more people experience what Horse Swamp is about.
To every single person who came out and hunted with us this year — thank you.
Without y’all, all the work would have just resulted in a dove field sitting there with nobody hunting it. Y’all are the reason we get to do this, and seeing people enjoying something that we put so much work into is probably one of the best feelings I could ask for.
We are considering doing some later-season dove hunts once I get back from North Dakota, so we may not be completely finished yet. But as far as the beginning of the season goes, I’m extremely thankful for how year one turned out.
We have a lot to learn from, but we also have one heck of a foundation to build from.
This was year one.
And if this is what year one looked like, I can’t wait to see what year two, year three, year four and year five look like.
We have every intention of doing this again, growing it, improving it, and making the 2027–2028 dove season something special.
Thank y’all for believing in what we’re building, supporting Horse Swamp Hunting Preserve, bringing your families and friends, and spending your days in the field with us.
That’s exactly what this place was built for.
