Duck Huntat Shepherd Lodge and Joy of Hunting
Joy of Hunting:
Our 340-acre property is situated on the bluffs overlooking the Yellowstone River near Shepherd, MT, where we enjoy over a mile of river frontage and grand views towards the mountains.
We provide accommodations in our home, which has the quality of an intimate hunting lodge, with large private quarters and separate bathrooms for a small number of guests. The lodge is situated in a park-like setting surrounded by mature trees. Our spectacular vista across the river is particularly fine with a glass of wine in hand. Our clay-target thrower is sited so guests can enjoy the view while honing their shooting skills. Our home chef prepares imaginative and delicious meals with a paleo, wild game focus.
Being next to the Yellowstone and with lots of wetlands and ponds on the property, we often enjoy excellent waterfowling, especially woodies early in the season. Geese and mallards are here throughout the season. Late season field hunts from our ground blinds can be productive, fun and comfortable. Contact us closer to the time to inquire about availability.
Our preserve season runs from 1 September to 31 March but, realistically, we don’t hunt until around 12th September when the weather gets cooler for dogs.
Duck and goose season follows Montana's regulations for Zone 2 of the Central Flyway. Every year there are changes but generally we have a split season that starts late Sept / early Oct for days; a 2-week break; then opens again till mid January (ducks) - late January (geese).
Anne Kania’s Joy of Hunting Wingshooting School:
Based at the Joy of Hunting Preserve, Anne offers coaching, primarily to women who want to learn to hunt from another woman. Anne is a qualified sporting clays shooting instructor and has a methodical approach to teaching hunting skills. She is very easy to get along with, will go at your pace and put your comfort above all. She offers lessons to complete beginners as well as seasoned shooters who wish to tune up their skills.
Not included: Preserve hunting licenses, bird cleaning. Available at an extra charge: gun hire (if available), target and hunting ammunition for 12ga, 20ga and 28ga.
The property is in Central Flyway Zone 2 for waterfowl.
Ducks:
The daily bag limit is 6 ducks.
Season: 10/1/22 - 10/9/22, 10/22/22 - 1/17/23
Coots:
The daily bag limit is 15 coots.
Season: 10/1/22 - 10/9/22, 10/22/22 - 1/17/23
Geese:
The daily bag limit is 20 white geese (Snow, Blue, and Ross's) and 5 dark geese.
Season: 10/1/22 - 10/9/22, 10/22/22 - 1/25/23
This property is managed tremendously well for strong pheasant populations every year. No doubt about it!
Kris Poirier
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LandTrust Field Rep
Land Details
Hunting Details
- Tree Stands (2)
- Ground Blinds (4)
- Duck
- Waterfowl
House Details
Available Amenities
House
Espressos, home-roasted coffee, all meals with accommodations.
Kitchen
We provide all meals for guests staying with us. Day hunters bring their own lunch and refreshments. We provide water and coffee.
RV Details
Frequently Asked Questions
Property Details & Ground Rules
- Check In: After 8:00 AM
- Check Out: Before 4:00 PM
- Nearby Interstate: No
- Nearby Highway: No
- Nearby Airport: N/A
- Campfires: Not allowed
- Pets: Allowed on property
- ATV's: Not allowed
- Parking: Yes
- Drive-in Access: Yes
- Walk-in Access: No
- Guests: 4 Allowed
Additional Lodging Availability
Landowner Rules: -Hunters must hunt with a trained bird dog, either theirs or ours. -Maximum number of birds included in cost per hunter per day: 6 (extra charge for more than 6). -Half-Day hunts available – 3-bird limit. -Hunting lesson hunt: 3-bird limit -We have a policy of resting the property between hunts to manage the pressure on birds. We may ask for flexibility if your preferred date is not available. Fishing rules: - Rigorous slot-limits are maintained. In general, we keep the big spawners and harvest the small fish.
Cancellation Policy: Refunds are only available within 48 hours of the landowner accepting your booking request.
Landowner
Hello from Bruce and me! We're glad you found us and we look forward to welcoming you to our beautiful corner of Montana! We love making new friends through hunting on our Preserve. Here's a little bit about us, in case you're interested. I, Anne, began my hunting journey during my first visit to Montana in 2005. I am a meat-eater and wanted more connection with how my food gets on the table. I learned to shoot and to hunt from dear Bruce, with copious tears, frustration, mistakes and figuring it out along the way. I became proficient (not great) and it became my number one passion. One day I woke up and decided I wanted to teach women to hunt and Joy of Hunting was born! Bruce and I are a team when it comes to managing the preserve. He has an enormous amount of knowledge and experience in stewardship of habitat and other conditions designed to attract and keep pheasants on our property. He is a great bird hunter, always in the right place. And he rarely misses. He is intense, walks fast and always has a plan for the hunt. Me, I like to think I am more relaxed about it (actually, I can be pretty intense too!), aware of how difficult is can be for a new hunter to manage all the different facets of hunting and be purposeful about creating a comfortable learning experience and building up skills and confidence at the same time. Our canine support team is very important to us too. Violet is now our senior dog, a handsome Yellow Lab who is brilliant at retrieving runners; Reacher is a Brittany who is still learning the ropes but as a puppy had 44 pointed birds shot over him; and Rimu, our new Lab, 6-months-old as the 2020 season starts, is already an astounding, though as-yet undisciplined, hunter! Through hunting, I took up Sporting Clays for practice and fell in love with the sport! I became a certified Level 1 instructor under the NSCA program and took Montana State Championship (Ladies) in 2018. I love to introduce new shooters to Sporting Clays. And, for those that make the journey into hunting, I adapt my teaching to fit the art of hitting flying birds, coming out of nowhere with an unpredictable flight path, while knowing where the other hunters and the dogs are, being safe, not falling over or getting behind or in front, and having a good time! So if you feel like giving it a try, I can't wait to hear from you!! Anne
Hello from Bruce and me! We're glad you found us and we look forward to welcoming you to our beautiful corner of Montana! We love making new friends through hunting on our Preserve. Here's a little bit about us, in case you're interested. I, Anne, began my hunting journey during my first visit to Montana in 2005. I am a meat-eater and wanted more connection with how my food gets on the table. I learned to shoot and to hunt from dear Bruce, with copious tears, frustration, mistakes and figuring it out along the way. I became proficient (not great) and it became my number one passion. One day I woke up and decided I wanted to teach women to hunt and Joy of Hunting was born! Bruce and I are a team when it comes to managing the preserve. He has an enormous amount of knowledge and experience in stewardship of habitat and other conditions designed to attract and keep pheasants on our property. He is a great bird hunter, always in the right place. And he rarely misses. He is intense, walks fast and always has a plan for the hunt. Me, I like to think I am more relaxed about it (actually, I can be pretty intense too!), aware of how difficult is can be for a new hunter to manage all the different facets of hunting and be purposeful about creating a comfortable learning experience and building up skills and confidence at the same time. Our canine support team is very important to us too. Violet is now our senior dog, a handsome Yellow Lab who is brilliant at retrieving runners; Reacher is a Brittany who is still learning the ropes but as a puppy had 44 pointed birds shot over him; and Rimu, our new Lab, 6-months-old as the 2020 season starts, is already an astounding, though as-yet undisciplined, hunter! Through hunting, I took up Sporting Clays for practice and fell in love with the sport! I became a certified Level 1 instructor under the NSCA program and took Montana State Championship (Ladies) in 2018. I love to introduce new shooters to Sporting Clays. And, for those that make the journey into hunting, I adapt my teaching to fit the art of hitting flying birds, coming out of nowhere with an unpredictable flight path, while knowing where the other hunters and the dogs are, being safe, not falling over or getting behind or in front, and having a good time! So if you feel like giving it a try, I can't wait to hear from you!! Anne