| Upland Bird Articles |
John N. Felsher's Quail Hunting Adventures
 | |  | |  | |  | |  |
P-Arrow Plantation gives quail
hunters a taste of Old South life
hunters a taste of Old South life
Daniel Felsher shows off some bobwhite quail he killed at the
P-Arrow Plantation near Livingston, Ala. Sportsmen at the
plantation hunt from mule-drawn wagons with two hunters at a time
stepping off the wagon when the dogs point birds. A man on
horseback works the dogs.
P-Arrow Plantation near Livingston, Ala. Sportsmen at the
plantation hunt from mule-drawn wagons with two hunters at a time
stepping off the wagon when the dogs point birds. A man on
horseback works the dogs.
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With mule-drawn wagons, P-Arrow Plantation near Livingston, Ala.,
offers old-fashioned hunts reminiscent of the Antebellum South.
“We try to recreate the entire experience of hunting quail in the Old
South of the 1800s,” said Drayton Pruitt, who owns the plantation with his
wife Zina. “When we ride into a beautiful fall or winter scene and watch the
dogs, mules and horses work, that’s a wonderful sight. When we find birds,
that’s a bonus.”
After a delicious breakfast in the rustic plantation house, my sons,
Daniel, Steven and I climbed aboard a specially designed wagon with
Drayton, Zina and their grandson, Chance Springer, for our trip back in
time. Pete Griggs secured several dogs into built-in kennels on the wagon
before climbing aboard a Tennessee walking horse to scout for us.
For more than 20 years, the Pruitts intensively managed 2,700 acres for
bobwhite quail. They plant hedgerows for cover and partridge peas,
Egyptian wheat, sorghum and millet for food.
“To create a bobwhite quail plantation, we must first create habitat,”
Drayton said. “We divided the plantation into areas of 10 to 15 acres. We
planted hedgerows with food plots between the rows. A bobwhite nests
within 100 yards of cover and 100 yards of food. We have everything a
quail needs to live and reproduce.”
In early October, Drayton releases about 2,700 quail to augment the
wild population. Many of these released birds join wild coveys and survive
over the winter. They begin hunting in November and finish by March 1.
“In addition to bobwhites, we release a few Tennessee red quail every
year,” Pruitt said. “Auburn in color, they whistle like bobwhites and weigh
about two ounces more. We see them in the summer, so we know some
survive.”
As the wagon plodded along the trail, we jumped two does. Later, we
also saw wood ducks, Canada geese and rabbits. The Pruitts also permit
deer and turkey hunting with trophy bass and catfish fishing on their
property.
“We are overpopulated with deer,” Pruitt said. “If we create habitat and
food for birds, everything else thrives. We harvest 150- to 160-class bucks
regularly, but we have a tough time getting people to shoot enough does.”
Soon after the deer bounded off, the pointer alerted on birds to our
right. Drayton allows two shooters per point for safety reasons. Daniel and
I took our positions on either side of the dog. Drayton moved behind the
dog to flush the birds.
“Don’t shoot at any birds lower than eye level,” he warned. “Don’t shoot
at any birds that fly behind us. We’ll see plenty birds. We cannot
compromise on safety.”
About 20 wild quail exploded from the thick wheat strand and scattered
in all directions. Three rocketed in front of me. After two shots, I downed
my first quail.
After trying to target singles, we climbed atop the wagon again. We saw
several quail rise from the second covey, but couldn’t take the shots. Swift
and elusive, wild quail offer challenging sport. Admiring our harvest while
riding the wagon, we moved to our next hunting area. With Pete
commanding it from horseback, a dog ran along near the wagon sniffing for
birds.
“We’ve got a point,” Pete shouted.
Daniel and I climbed off the wagon and loaded our guns as we headed in
Pete’s direction. The dog pointed into a thicket where we could see about
a dozen quail running on the ground. Wary of hawks, quail sometimes
prefer to run through thick cover rather than fly.
“Native birds run more than they fly,” Drayton said. “After the dog
points, they may run 100 yards before we get to them.”
Finally convincing these quail to fly, my son and I each unloaded three
shots into the covey without nicking a feather. However, Daniel redeemed
himself with a great shot on a single bob a few minutes later.
Drayton normally runs one or two dogs at a time. Some dogs perform
better solo. Others work better in pairs. As one becomes hot or tired, he
puts it in the kennel on the wagon and releases another.
After jumping a few more coveys, we stopped to eat lunch near one of
the plantation trophy bass ponds. Bass sometimes breaking 11 pounds
come out of these ponds. We watched catfish rise to the automatic feeder
before hitting the hunting trail again. We probably jumped about 30 coveys
of quail before sunset.
For information, call (800) 949-7990 or check out the website at www.
parrow.net.
offers old-fashioned hunts reminiscent of the Antebellum South.
“We try to recreate the entire experience of hunting quail in the Old
South of the 1800s,” said Drayton Pruitt, who owns the plantation with his
wife Zina. “When we ride into a beautiful fall or winter scene and watch the
dogs, mules and horses work, that’s a wonderful sight. When we find birds,
that’s a bonus.”
After a delicious breakfast in the rustic plantation house, my sons,
Daniel, Steven and I climbed aboard a specially designed wagon with
Drayton, Zina and their grandson, Chance Springer, for our trip back in
time. Pete Griggs secured several dogs into built-in kennels on the wagon
before climbing aboard a Tennessee walking horse to scout for us.
For more than 20 years, the Pruitts intensively managed 2,700 acres for
bobwhite quail. They plant hedgerows for cover and partridge peas,
Egyptian wheat, sorghum and millet for food.
“To create a bobwhite quail plantation, we must first create habitat,”
Drayton said. “We divided the plantation into areas of 10 to 15 acres. We
planted hedgerows with food plots between the rows. A bobwhite nests
within 100 yards of cover and 100 yards of food. We have everything a
quail needs to live and reproduce.”
In early October, Drayton releases about 2,700 quail to augment the
wild population. Many of these released birds join wild coveys and survive
over the winter. They begin hunting in November and finish by March 1.
“In addition to bobwhites, we release a few Tennessee red quail every
year,” Pruitt said. “Auburn in color, they whistle like bobwhites and weigh
about two ounces more. We see them in the summer, so we know some
survive.”
As the wagon plodded along the trail, we jumped two does. Later, we
also saw wood ducks, Canada geese and rabbits. The Pruitts also permit
deer and turkey hunting with trophy bass and catfish fishing on their
property.
“We are overpopulated with deer,” Pruitt said. “If we create habitat and
food for birds, everything else thrives. We harvest 150- to 160-class bucks
regularly, but we have a tough time getting people to shoot enough does.”
Soon after the deer bounded off, the pointer alerted on birds to our
right. Drayton allows two shooters per point for safety reasons. Daniel and
I took our positions on either side of the dog. Drayton moved behind the
dog to flush the birds.
“Don’t shoot at any birds lower than eye level,” he warned. “Don’t shoot
at any birds that fly behind us. We’ll see plenty birds. We cannot
compromise on safety.”
About 20 wild quail exploded from the thick wheat strand and scattered
in all directions. Three rocketed in front of me. After two shots, I downed
my first quail.
After trying to target singles, we climbed atop the wagon again. We saw
several quail rise from the second covey, but couldn’t take the shots. Swift
and elusive, wild quail offer challenging sport. Admiring our harvest while
riding the wagon, we moved to our next hunting area. With Pete
commanding it from horseback, a dog ran along near the wagon sniffing for
birds.
“We’ve got a point,” Pete shouted.
Daniel and I climbed off the wagon and loaded our guns as we headed in
Pete’s direction. The dog pointed into a thicket where we could see about
a dozen quail running on the ground. Wary of hawks, quail sometimes
prefer to run through thick cover rather than fly.
“Native birds run more than they fly,” Drayton said. “After the dog
points, they may run 100 yards before we get to them.”
Finally convincing these quail to fly, my son and I each unloaded three
shots into the covey without nicking a feather. However, Daniel redeemed
himself with a great shot on a single bob a few minutes later.
Drayton normally runs one or two dogs at a time. Some dogs perform
better solo. Others work better in pairs. As one becomes hot or tired, he
puts it in the kennel on the wagon and releases another.
After jumping a few more coveys, we stopped to eat lunch near one of
the plantation trophy bass ponds. Bass sometimes breaking 11 pounds
come out of these ponds. We watched catfish rise to the automatic feeder
before hitting the hunting trail again. We probably jumped about 30 coveys
of quail before sunset.
For information, call (800) 949-7990 or check out the website at www.
parrow.net.