2017 Heroes Hunt - Hosted by Linn County Pheasants Forever

October 22, 2017 by TINA ELWOOD-GEHRKE

KCRG News Video with Linn County Pheasants Forever Heroes Hunt

LINN COUNTY, Iowa (KCRG TV9)-- On Sunday, about 50 veterans had a chance to be part of a special pheasant hunting excursion.

It was the fourth annual Heroes Hunt. The Linn County Chapter of Pheasants Forever hosts this event, it’s also a partnership with Highland Hideaway Hunting.  The hunting guides took veterans out in groups of four or five. For a few guys, it took a little while to get back in the swing of things. "Tall grass going through up to ankles and knees and it was wet but as the morning went by it got better,” Michael Marlin said.  Marlin served in the U.S. Air Force during Vietnam. Like many veterans in the fields Sunday, he grew up hunting.  "Being from Keokuk, I've hunted almost all my life: deer and pheasants."  But it's been decades since he's been out, patrolling the fields.  "94 I think was the last time I hunted. So it's been a long time,” Marlin said.  The guides show veterans which areas of land are best to search.

The Linn County Chapter of Pheasants Forever wants veterans to feel comfortable on the fields. That's part of the reason they offer these free hunts each year.  "We get to see people that haven't hunted in a long time and get to say 'Yeah this is how I remember it,'” Chapter President Doug Wyman said.  Organizers also wanted to veterans from various generations to meet, and gain a sense of comradery.  

"I just like to be around veterans,” Marlin said.

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