Richmond Hunting Club of Richmond, IL

Hi,

For years, I have driven past the Richmond Hunting Club with scenic images of freshly killed pheasants hanging while their owners have a meal.




Perhaps once a year, I would stop in hoping to have a meal, too. While there was a bar and restaurant on the marqee, I never saw much evidence of a restaurant.

This summer there were Burma-Shave type signs lining the approach to the hunt club advertising fried walleye sandwiches, smoked pheasant omelets and award winning meatloaf. Unfortunately their summer hours of 6 AM to 3 PM didn't work in my favor, because I always came by after their closing.

In early October, I purposefully took the Moms to lunch. We quickly learned this was a family operation with Grandma, Mom and Granddaughter working front of the house. The men appeared to be in the kitchen. The decor is floor to ceiling hunting trophies, which reminded me of Teddy Roosevelt's Oyster Bay, NY home:




The charming Granddaughter was our waitress who sold us on having hamburgers after advising they ground their meat on the premises. Mom2 and I went for their regular burger with bleu cheese, which we both liked quite a bit. Mom1 went for their deluxe burger on a Hoagie bun with mushrooms, grilled onions and such. I didn't find Mom1's burger to my taste, because I prefer a more compact presentation.



We returned today for lunch and catch up on the news. Deer hunting season begins November 1st. We learned they are now open seven days a week, instead of weekends only, for the season. There were quite a few hunters who came in after pheasant shooting. We saw two hunters and a very wet, happy dog walking past the picture window. We wondered if they would bring the dog in, which they didn't. We did see later there was a bank of kennels outside to park dogs.

Todays soup was pheasant and wild rice, which was uncannily similar to the turkey and wild rice soup I make after Thanksgiving:



Mom1 ordered their made-on-the-premises corned beef hash, which I double-checked was made there. While my Mom will eat corned beef hash in all forms, I won't. Unfortunately, I didn't find their corned beef hash to my taste, though Mom liked it.



Mom2 ordered their fritter-style French toast with caramel sauce and maple syrup. Mom2 really dug it evidently, because it was all gone.



I ordered something unusual for me: a meatloaf sandwich with fresh mashed potatoes, horseradish sauce and onion rings. The meatloaf was dressed in barbeque sauce and griddled to a caramel crust. This was a pretty good sandwich, which I liked more than I thought I would. I really was doing some mental juggling over choosing this, a walleye sandwich or the pheasant breast omelet. All summer long, I have been delightfully tortured by these options on their road signs.



The family running this restaurant are really making an effort for a pleasant environment with thought going into the food. I hope to make it back soon, though it may be a bit crowded for a while.

An upcoming event is their annual turkey shoot. Wild turkeys are raised and released for hunting. I was told quite often the hunters don't come back with the full number of released birds. Apparently some turkeys manage to hide very effectively.

Richmond Hunting Club Inc 5016 Il Route 173
Richmond, IL 60071-7726
(815) 678-3271
http://www.richmondhuntclub.com

Regards,

Thanks Cathy. Dogs, game, guns, booze - looks like heaven!

Used to go to Max Mcgraws http://www.mcgrawwildlife.org/main.taf?p=0,1 every year and they released pheseants, chukers and turkeys. Take it from me these are not wild turkeys and we never lost a one. They look like a wild bird but are very tame. You shoot them on the ground or roosting in a tree. Turkeys are not shot flying as you want a very good shot to bring them down.
I had to shot a wild 25# gobbler three times at 42 yds to bring him down. Even then he managed to take a lens out of my shooting glasses when I picked him up.
I've driven by the Club many times. Sounds like my kind of place! Glad you had a nice lunch.-Dick

Hi,

Some years ago when the wild turkey population was in serious decline. They mated wild with domesticated turkeys, whose offspring were as dumb as they come. This experiment was abandoned because they were not evasive and pretty easy targets. Is it possible this was the group you knew? I have the impression wild turkey hunting was suspended for some years to allow the wild turkey population to increase.

My Mom recently saw a group of wild turkeys walking along Sheridan Road in Lake Bluff recently. Wished I was there to see it myself.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:

My Mom recently saw a group of wild turkeys walking along Sheridan Road in Lake Bluff recently. Wished I was there to see it myself.

Wild turkeys are back out on my property, this year there is a pack of about 30 of them, up from last year when we had only about half that.

Cathy - if you get a chance to see the pens where they raise the pheasants, you will notice the roosters wear little "sunglasses" that are poked through their nostrils at a young age. This keeps them from fighting all the time. They are removed when the birds are taken from the pen to be released in the field.

I will plan to try this place when I'm next in the area - looks like a nice place to dine!

And like Budrichard, I can attest that the turkeys are not wild, though they resemble the real article. A wild turkey is one of the most wary birds on the planet. This spring I had a (wild) hen turkey ten yards off the end of my 12-gauge and, despite being totally camouflaged, she made me and was staring me down while the tom was working up to a full rage behind her as I called. You can't shoot hens in the spring, so I was waiting for the tom to come closer when a mosquito landed just below my right eye. When I squinted to try to get it off of me, the hen saw the movement and took off - along with the tom. Hunt over.

Davooda

Davooda,

Everyone whose experienced turkey hunting advised me on their keen sense of movement and color. They detect anything out of order and poof, they take off.

The turkeys were there last weekend. If I had only asked, I am sure I could have checked them out. Now that you mentioned the hats, I am even more mad at myself for not asking.

Regards,

I must have some dumb turkeys, and deer out in Marseilles, I can easily get within 10 feet of both on foot, and the turkeys dont like to move for my truck coming out of my cul-de-sac.


btw the food pictured above looks pretty darn good, If I am ever in that area Ill probably check this place out.

Cathy...Years ago the husband used to hunt here with some friends. I always looked forward to him bringing back a couple of their pheasant pot pies. Did you see any evidence of a store where you can buy those?

How far away is this place from the city? Do they have clays. Yes, I'm the vegetarian that likes to shoot. I haven't busted any clays since my father died. Somehow lock & load feels right looking at this thread.

pairs4life wrote:How far away is this place from the city? Do they have clays. Yes, I'm the vegetarian that likes to shoot. I haven't busted any clays since my father died. Somehow lock & load feels right looking at this thread.

http://www.richmondhuntclub.com/content ... x?tabid=55

A couple of other Skeet / Trap ranges in the are
Kenosha County Conservation Club "Bristol Ranges" in Bristol Wisconsin member/non-member friendly http://bristolranges.com/

Northbrook Sports Club in Grayslake member only
http://www.northbrooksportsclub.org/

Daniel

In most of the Midwest turkeys a couple of decades ago were gone. Wisconsin started introducing a wild strain from Missouri as many other states did and now they have taken off over much of the continental US. A real succes story. I hunt these birds in northern Wisconsin. In the spring the mating season takes some of the edge off the Tom's as with all species but you are trying to do something in reverse. Normally the gobbler struts, displays and gobbles to attract hens. While hunting in the spring you are sounding like a hen trying to make the gobbler come to you. The exact opposite of what actually happens but as with all males, common sense is frequently over ruled by hormones.-Dick

budrichard wrote:In most of the Midwest turkeys a couple of decades ago were gone. Wisconsin started introducing a wild strain from Missouri as many other states did and now they have taken off over much of the continental US. A real succes story. I hunt these birds in northern Wisconsin. In the spring the mating season takes some of the edge off the Tom's as with all species but you are trying to do something in reverse.

Wild turkeys are getting so common in Missouri, especially in the St. Louis area. I have seen flocks of turkeys down there that are similar to the flocks of geese that you see in Chicago. And they are getting more domesticated.