Join Us Afield for Readers & Writers Adventures

By Ed Carroll

Shooting Sportsman's Readers & Writers Adventures program returns for 2007-'08-our Lucky 13th season-with a pair of superlative wingshooting trips: a classic November pheasant hunt at Oak Tree Lodge, in Clark, South Dakota, and a January '08 bobwhite hunt at Wynfield Plantation, in Albany, Georgia. Both trips will be hosted by SSM Contributing Editor Bruce Buck, an extraordinary shooter and gentleman. In years past the limited opportunities to join us have been claimed quickly, thanks to the quality of the accommodations and the hunting as well as the excellent camaraderie of Shooting Sportsman readers.

Participants at Oak Tree Lodge can anticipate pheasant hunting and dogwork that are among the best anywhere. The lodge is situated on a 7,046-acre farm in the state's northeast, and guests enjoy accommodations in a renovated farmhouse and a spacious lodge built in the style of a barn in 2000. The land is managed extensively for ringnecks, and gunning takes place in food plots, such as standing corn; CRP grasslands; tree rows and marshy cattail sloughs. The extensive habitat not only sustains and shelters plenty of pheasants but also offers hunters and dogs a variety of classic drive-and-block opportunities as well as authentic wild places where wily roosters can hide. With 960 acres managed as a preserve where wild and released birds mingle, Oak Tree offers ample opportunities to find birds all day, every day. Top-notch dogs will help, as on-site Oak Tree Kennels specializes in training and breeding Labrador retrievers.

Our group will have a five-bird daily limit with use of the preserve. The cost of $2,090 includes all lodging, food and beverages; three full days of guided hunting; and transportation to and from the airport in Watertown. Guests will arrive October 31 and depart November 4. The only additional expenses will be extra birds, ammunition, game shipping, taxes and tips.

Wynfield Plantation, in southwest Georgia, was the 2005 Orvis Endorsed Wingshooting Lodge of the Year, and it boasts a combination of quail hunting, food and lodging that makes every visit extraordinary. From the numbers of bobs rocketing out of the sage grass beneath the Georgia pines to the first-class accommodations and table fare, this is quail hunting in the finest Southern tradition. Expect exemplary dogwork, as the on-site kennels put breeds from pointers and setters to flushing spaniels at the guide staff's disposal.

Our group will arrive January 9, 2008, hunt for three full days and depart January 13. Guests will have a daily limit of 20 quail and morning and afternoon hunts in which to savor them. The cost is $2,690, including everything except extra birds, ammunition, game shipping, taxes and tips. Transportation to and from the airport in nearby Albany is included.

For more information on SSM's Readers & Writers Adventures, visit www.shootingsportsman.com or contact Thierry Bombeke, 207-594-9544; tbombeke@shootingsportsman.com.

-Ed Carroll

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