May 31, 2017
John Flynn
Ruggs Ranch
I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for the great hunting experience at Ruggs Ranch last December. As an outdoor writer/photographer I’ve had the good fortune to visit numerous hunting lodges around the world. Many of those visits are chronicled in one of my books – Wingshooting the World. A title that includes visits to 17 countries and more than 30 lodges. While I only recently discovered Ruggs Ranch and they are not included in the book, they certainly would have been one of the lodges that I would have selected to showcase.
First and foremost I found the dog work simply outstanding, the dogs ranged wide, found birds with regularity and were steady to point. Gene Barnhart and the others who accompanied and his skill as a dog trainer and handler were among the best I’ve seen anywhere. We concentrated on chukar along with some pheasants and found a good mix of wild birds and released birds that were good fliers and challenging quarry. Further the accommodations were excellent and the lodge had a homey feel to it. The food was outstanding and featured a variety of gourmet dishes including wild game that I know many clients enjoy. Overall, I found the hospitality well above average. Ruggs Ranch is simply a top notch operation.
Sincerely
Outdoor Photo Journalist
www.GaryKramer.net
Christian was the best chef I have ever had. This was the best upland bird experience of 30 years. Don’t miss the hunting on horseback
Jack Nov 2018
The Ruggs Ranch staff created a first class hunting experience that will be remembered for years
Daniel Nov 2018
5 Star accommodations and food with hunting experience equal to the food and accommodations.
Greg Nov 2018
A great place to hunt with experienced guides and dogs, a beautiful lodge with very large bedroom and conformable beds, The meals are excellent and comparable to a 5 star restaurant.
John Nov 2018
Thanks For Your Support
Ruggs Ranch, As a member of the Heppner FFA, I can say that I truly appreciate the support that you have given our program. With people like you as allies to our program, we can continue to grow as leaders and succeed in whatever we set our minds to. Once again, thank you!
We had a wonderful time at the Rugs Ranch
Pete,
Here are the caps I promised you. I sent some extras for Gene, “Cookie”, and the guides. Once again we had a wonderful time at the Rugs Ranch and can’t wait for our next visit. I have enclosed my business card with contact information so keep in touch with any new events or offerings from the Ruggs Ranch. Thanks Again!
Sincerely,
Joe Webber
We are writing this review based on our ongoing business relationship over past 10+ years of experience with Ruggs Ranch in Heppner, OR USA.
We have been sending our staff members to Rugg’s Ranch for hunting retreats for a long time. We have been very pleased with their attention to detail, knowledge, customer service, and how capable they are at: adjusting the overall experience on the fly to make our employees happy. They meet special dietary requirements, understand younger children’s limitations, and much more.
There is too much to write online. You will have to give them a call, and experience it for yourself.
Thank you,
Team Cannon
My group and I had an excellent time at Ruggs. We were there for an upland bird hunt. They really make you feel like a high roller. I can’t say enough about this place. They have really good guides, dogs, and lots of birds. The facility is top notch and Cookie is a truly gifted chef / host. I can’t wait to hunt Ruggs Ranch again.
Will Howey
I cannot say enough good things about Ruggs Ranch. They are doing all the right things to make this ranch a “destination hunting experience”. From the moment you arrive they warmly greet you and every point along the way they accommodate your every need. Everyone has positive comments on the food and rightfully so – but the Upland guides (Jack and Rob) and their dogs (to numerous to name) are exceptional as was the hunting experience. The birds were strong and flushed fast – the hunting areas are well maintained for the game and the hunters. Their state of the art clay’s course is challenging and provides a lot of fun. Everything was done to make our visit the best it could be. We will definitely be back.
Milt Dewey
85,000+ acres of beautiful rolling hills and forest. Our team of 6 from Epath Digital harvested 74 Pheasant, Quail, Chuckers, and Huns on our 3 day hunt. The guides were very experienced, friendly, and informative, the dogs were amazing as well! Cookie toiled in the kitchen and made us incredible meals to keep our engines running, and the facilities and staff were top notch. They also offered a Skeet & Trap area with 20 shooting stations and 20 launchers that was best in class. We are going back for Turkey in the Spring. A+++ experience, highly recommended!
Bill Baskin
We have hunted upland birds extensively through Oregon, from EE Wilson Wildlife Refuge to 5-star hunting lodges. Ruggs Ranch had excellent hunting opportunities, guides, dogs, and service. We brought our own pointers to hunt with Ruggs’ dogs; the dog facilities were clean, comfortable, quiet, and convenient. Their dogs honored our dogs’ points and worked well with ours. We saw three upland varieties new to us (Bobwhites, Tennessee red quail, African white-sided pheasants) as well as chukar, ring-necked pheasants, and huns. The lodge and office were comfortable with excellent wildlife decor. The meals were inspired by local fare–venison, chukar, pheasant, etc.–with novel twists.
Hayword Yew
The whole crew does a fantastic job. We had an excellent trip. The birds, cover, beauty, people and food are top notch. Thanks for a great trip.
Brian King
Boise
He also did a superb job on his two SH legs. My handler error with about 1 minute to left in a 30 minute run undetermined his excellent performance on Sat. He pointed a a back-filed bird right before we were done and I could not find it. The judges finally pointed it out so I was a bit stressed when I kicked it. The judges said they saw my stress transmit to Loki and he went with the birds. After a MH level performance, we were bummed. The judges were as well.
On Sunday his brace mate stole his point and that did not phase Loki… still rock solid. The other went up to leash his dogand crossed in front of Loki. That was okay, then as the handler was trying to pull his dog away from Lokki, he and his dog flushed the bird. Loki was rock solid on it all until the end. My handler error(not discharging my pistol fast enought) led to his disqualification. But his performance in both runs was excellent. He is just better than his handler! Your training with the flusher was just AMAZING! The jusdges were please at how well he held thgough all the provocations.
The chukar on a rope exercises have really helped both dogs immensely. I brought chukars with me so will continue to work them all week before we test again next weekend at the same venue. All i can say is THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU,
Best Regards,
Cynthia
Thank you so much for the hospitality and great time. I can not say this enough I enjoyed hunting deer and birds a lot. You were an amazing host and I hope that I will be able to come back again. This was probably one of the best trips of my life and I will never forget this awesome experience.
Sincerely,
Jackson Hirchag
Finally made it back to North Carolina from the West Coast. I wanted to take a minute just to say thank you to you and the rest of the staff at Ruggs. What a great outfit! My guide (Jeremy) was great, the food was fantastic and everyone on staff made me feel at home. As far as the quality of the hunting goes it was only exceeded by the effort of those wonderful dogs! I have a new appreciation for pointers and flushing dogs, especially my favorite English Cocker (Bella). The heart, stamina and drive to retrieve of such a small dog was really an eye opener for me. Bella helped me out more than once when my shooting was not as good as it should have been. Great to have that kind of support in the field.
Thanks again and best wishes to all for the Holidays and 2018.
Separately, if you could please send me a current price list I would really appreciate it. Never too soon to plan for the next trip…:)
Mike
EASTERN DOOR CONTROLS INC.
John,
I have been to almost a hundred hunting and fishing lodges in my television career, some good, some not, several abysmal and very few exceptional. The list of those who consistently deliver on their promise of excellent hunting and hospitality is short. Ruggs Ranch belongs in that top tier.
Over and above everything (actually, I guess it would be under everything) is the land. I have never seen such variety and sheer volume. One of the reasons my viewers cite for going hunting is to be enveloped in natural beauty. Ruggs has it in spades, from stately timber strands and hushed forests, to limitless vistas of sage and bunchgrass. Thank goodness your string includes cockers for the wicked-thick bunchgrass and riparian areas, and horses for the big-sky chukar hills.
That abundant and high quality habitat leads to incredible hunting. Wild chukars, valley quail and Huns in their native surroundings, elk, deer, turkey ghosting through the pines, and of course pheasants skulking in the CRP and crops. It only gets better when you hunt horseback.
Your staff is top-drawer, driven to meet the needs of guests. Guides go out of their way to help, Gene takes dogs to the highest level, Vicky in the office is relentless in her attention to detail, and of course, Keith’s food is to die for. I warn you every time I visit that you’d better count your cocker spaniels before I leave because someday I will dognap one!
As their leader you’ve instilled in staff a willingness to go the extra mile and strive for excellence. A successful businessman told me years ago that the key to success was to be ten percent better than one’s competitors. In every respect Ruggs is that, or more.
Every time we broadcast an episode at Ruggs, my viewers express awe at the vastness, the “westernness” of Ruggs Ranch. It is every hunter’s dream to “cowboy up,” explore the wild west, be part of our rugged bast. Nowhere but at Ruggs can one live the dream.
Sincerely,
Scott Linden
Creator/host
Wingshooting USA TV
