Guides

It is difficult for many to realize how many hours are spent training the hunting dog. Yes, they have instinct. But, they must be trained on what to do beyond scenting the bird! This takes an enormous amount of time.


Many love to hunt upland game, yet do not have the hunting dog to successfully do so. When you are paying for a hunt, it is especially important to have a hunting dog find those birds and retrieve them back to you after the shot.  We help out with this by providing access to guides that use their own well trained hunting dogs to help you bag your limit.


The guides are not on our payroll and they work independently for tips.  Many people ask us what to tip. As with any service industry, you may figure it by percent--  20%.  Or as I see most people do, they figure $20-$25 per hunter taken out in the group.  After you see how hard the dog and guide work for you, you will understand why people tip like that. But again, this is independent of us and is really up to you!  They appreciate whatever you can give them.

Mick Runk

Mick has worked at Cherrybend for nearly 15 years. Along with his English Setter, Bandit, he has guided many, many hunts here.  He is responsible for the kennel as well as helping in the off season with grounds maintenance, sporting clays, and bird raising. We appreciate all of Mick's help!

Jamie Knowles

Jamie has practically grown up on Cherrybend. He came here as a child with his father and helped collect eggs, raise birds, and learned how to guide.  Thirty+ years later he has several dogs that he guides with as well as competes in trials.  He has been seen on ESPN, Outdoor Channel, and Fox Sports. We appreciate his help in guiding our customers!

Gary Shrum

Gary is a Member of Cherrybend that has recently retired and began working with us. He assists us with bird raising throught the summer and also dog training and guiding. Gary is independently available for dog training to include basic foundation training, training over birds, and finishing. He also accepts dog for "tune-ups".

Nathan Honeycutt

Nathan has worked for us on a daily basis for over a year. He is responsible for day to day farm activities. He also has an English pointer that he guides with for us.

Misti Cook

Misti is a Member of Cherrybend with several dogs in training. She enjoys guiding for us with her English Pointer and English Setter. Misti has completed training with Rick Smith in the Foundation and Intermediate dog training courses.