2026 HuntTheNorth.com Outfitter Of The Year
Chris Colfack and Mike Zmek of Prairie King Wingshooting and Gobble N’ Grunt Outfitters
OUTFITTER REVIEW SCORE: A+
During the month of September we were able to participate on a once in a lifetime, World Class caliber native Prairie Chicken hunt in the sandhills of Nebraska with Outfitter Chris Colfack of Prairie King Wingshooting. During our hunt my partner and I flushed over 30 Prairie chickens each day and even harvested several Sharptail grouse to round off our 3 bird per personal daily limit. Everything about the hunt was exceptional, from Chris’s professionally trained pointers, to the lodging and meal package and to top it off we had a professional photographer with, for an incredible memory of the hunt. After everything was said and done, I was proud to announce Chris Colfack and Mike Zmek of Prairie King Wingshooting and Gobble N Grunt Outfitters as our 2026 HuntTheNorth.com Outfitters Of The year!
Chasing Prairie Chickens In The Sandhills Of Nebraska!
By Dan Wennerlind
The older I get, the more I appreciate the simplicity of a quality, well put together upland bird hunt. There is so much more that goes into the hunt than just pulling the trigger. The dog work, the companionship of a quality hunting partner and/or hunting outfitter, combined with a beautiful, peaceful morning walking a pristine prairie full of native grasses all add to the overall experience that is capped off by the flush of a wild bird!
When I find one of these unique expeditions that encompass all the aspects of a World Class caliber experience, I can’t help but get excited. I almost feel obligated to share it with the world, so more hunters like myself, can have the opportunity to enjoy the adventure I have been able to experience. Well, I recently found one I absolutely have to share…
It’s not very often that one finds a hunting outfitter that is not only successful, but also offers a hands-on experience and still provides a positive energy that produces a hunt that I would consider a World Class caliber hunting experience. Again, there is so much more that goes into one of these hunts than just showing up and pulling the trigger.
Hours and hours, if not years of hard work go into not only lining up the properties that can host such a hunt to ensure the bird numbers are high every season. In addition to maintaining proper landowner relations in the off season, training the dogs year round that are a necessity on a hunt of this caliber. Adding to that, making sure all of the other aspects of the hunt such as your lodging and meals are of the highest quality, combined make all the difference in the world. After that it’s the little touches that each outfitter brings to the hunt that can push a hunt from good to great. Like having a professional photographer along on every hunt to capture that moment you don’t ever want to forget. That’s what sets the good ones apart from the rest.
Well gentlemen and ladies, if you are a diehard upland bird hunter, I have found what you are looking for. Chris Colfack and Mike Zmek of Prairie King Wingshooting and Gobble N’ Grunt Outfitters located in the Sandhills of central Nebraska can provide you with the hunt of a lifetime.
Before I booked this trip with Chris from Prairie King Wingshooting, I have to admit, hunting Prairie chickens was not high on my list. But the more I learned about this hunt from Chris and the birds and the adventure behind it, the more and more I became intrigued. In fact, I learned that there are not many places left in the country, where one can actually have a chance to harvest one of our country’s most true and native upland birds in its natural habitat.
Upon arrival to the lodge, my good friend and long-time hunting partner Matt Roach and I were met by Chris himself. It was a breath of fresh air, when he was there to actually meet us at the lodge, and share with us what he had in store for us the next day. In fact, I actually felt like he was more excited for the hunt than we were. I was also excited to hear that his new 640 acre parcel of pristine native Nebraska prairie we would be hunting in the morning had not only never been hunted yet this season, as is Chris’s promise to all of his hunters, but to the best of his knowledge had never been hunted for Prairie chickens in the last 20 years. We would soon find out that all of Chris’s hard work in the off season would pay off big time on our actual hunt.
The next morning Matt and I were up and attem at the crack of… well let’s say 7:30am. We sure didn’t want to miss the home cooked breakfast Chris’s lovely wife had ready for us to be served at 8am sharp. Another bonus of hunting Prairie chickens in Nebraska. The actual hunt doesn’t start until 9:30am when the prairie grasses dry out. Chris explained there is no reason to get out there earlier than that as after years and years of patterning these wary birds, the dogs need a dry scent to track them down and the hunt goes rather quickly during the 3 hour time frame between that and when the sun gets too hot around 1pm for the dogs to run. If I have learned one thing over the years, its- TRUST YOUR GUIDE!
As we entered the field the next morning at 9:30 am sharp, Chris continued to explain the expectations of the hunt. First he said, on average if he can produce 15 – 20 flushes per day his hunters have ample opportunity to harvest a limit of 3 Prairie chickens per hunter. He went on to say that so far all of his clients this season have been successful on every outing, and he didn’t expect this hunt to be any different.
Now being a big dog guy myself, I had my two professionally trained Chesapeake bay retrievers in the truck with me. I do understand that Chessys are more well known for their waterfowl hunting accolades, however I have also come to find that Chessys can be excellent upland bird hunters as well, as my two accomplished dogs Brandy and Boone have been. However…. what I would come to find is that this was truly pointer territory. This is not a flushing dog’s game. As much as I enjoyed having my own dogs in the field with me, I found very quickly that Chris’s seasoned pointers ran the show. He started off the day with his seasoned girl Reign. It was so rewarding watching her run the prairie ridges up to 200 yards out, seeking the scent of our quarry. It didn’t take long once the prairie grasses dried out before she was on her first point of the day. Matt and I quickly followed in hot pursuit and right off the bat Matt dropped his first ever native Prairie chicken! What a thrill for everyone!!!
It didn’t take long before she was again on another point. This poor chicken was in for a rough end as he jumped up right in between Matt and myself and we tag teamed the beautiful bird. Again, I felt that Chris was even more excited for us than we were. The true sign of an outfitter who is passionate for what he does…
As the sun drew higher in the sky, we worked our way back to the trucks to switch out the dogs and give Reign a break. According to Chris’s tracker she already put on 12 miles on our first hike alone!
Next Chris broke out his main dog Storm and his old vet Zeus. Now these dogs looked the part. Full of muscle, piss and vinegar. Chris explained that at this point in the day the birds were probably in the alfalfa. We headed that way rather quickly as we saw a hawk jump a 6 pack of the chickens in the distance. Chris was spot on again. It didn’t take long before we had a covey of 8 birds in the air! They got out ahead of us, but we managed to drop another bird. Not ten minutes later we were into another covey and another bird went down. This was truly AMAZING!!! By the end of the day we counted a total of over 35 flushes before the dogs had enough with the afternoon heat. What more could a guy as for.
After a nice lunch back at the lodge the big question was…what do most of your hunters do for the rest of the day. Well Chris explained, after a hard morning of walking the prairie’s, many of his older clients are ready to call it a day. However, for those who haven’t had enough yet he is more than happy to add on an afternoon of dove hunting or prairie dog hunting. We chose the doves!
The afternoon dove hunt was everything we expected. We had doves working the grove we were in for the last two hours of the day. Chris told us we could expect a solid 10 – 30 dove shoot and that was exactly what we had. It was another fun and action-packed hunt and all we could have asked for.
The next morning Chris took us to one of his favorite properties about 25 minutes north of the lodge. Again, a property that hadn’t been hunted yet this season, as is his promise to all of his hunters. I’m telling you guys, it wasn’t 10 minutes into the hunt and we had birds down. That continued all morning long. Chris’s professional pointers Reign and Storm were all over these birds. We flushed over 40 birds in less than 2 hours. And again this was another property Chris hadn’t even hunted since last season. On top of everything we got into the Sharpies!!! Not the norm by any means but they were definitely there. We had three Sharp-tail grouse down before Chris told us to stop and wait for his call of the shot so we could at least finish with 3 Prairie Chickens to fill out the two man bag this day.
As the last covey of the day flushed directly in front of Chris’s dog Reign, I dropped a big male Prairie chicken, the pinnacle of the hunt for me. A bird that will sit upon my mantle for years to come, to remind me of this incredible hunting experience. Truly a hunt that dreams are made of.
At the end of our hunt, we set up for one final photo shoot with Chris’s professional photographer. At that point I couldn’t help but thank Chris again for an amazing hunt, the hunt of a lifetime! I shared with Chris how excited I was to name Prairie King Wingshooting and Gobble N’ Grunt outfitters as the 2026 HuntTheNorth.com Outfitter Of The Year!
Booking Information
Contact Information For: Prairie King Wingshooting
Outfitter: Chris Colfack
Phone: 1-877-493-5077
Email: chris@gobblengrunt.com
Be sure to ask Chris about his Premier Nebraska Whitetail Deer and Spring Turkey Hunts in addition to the World Class caliber Nebraska Prairie Chicken Hunts! And don’t forget to mention that you found him on HuntTheNorth.com!!!
Photos from our hunt with Prairie King Wingshooting
