Southern Comfort

Shooting Sportsman’s January Readers & Writers quail hunts have always been popular. No wonder. Would you rather be shoveling out your car from a snowbank in a howling blizzard or hunting quail in shirtsleeves with the warm sun on your back? Tough choice.

Actually, the tough choice is which of the many plantations in the Albany, Georgia, area to visit. Black’s Wing, Clay and Waterfowl lists 49 bird hunting operations in Georgia. SSM’s job is to find the best ones. In the recent past we have been to Rio Piedra (www.riopiedraplantation.com), Wynfield (www.wynfieldplantation.com) and, most recently, Quail Country (www.quailcountry.com). All have been first rate.

The very first thing I do when I visit a quail plantation is to check out the kennels. If they treat the dogs right, you can be sure they’ll treat you right.

Dogs are the heart and soul of quail hunting, and rightfully so. Gentleman Bob is far more respectful of our canine companions than sprinting pheasants or skittish grouse are.

In recent years the use of dogs on quail plantations has evolved. For a long time the drill involved raw-boned pointers pinning the quail and then the guide walking in and flushing them with a whip or thrown hat. Today most plantation quail east of the Mississippi are pen-raised, and the result of the guide’s effort often was just a hop and a skip on the part of the birds. Hardly sporting. A more urgent exit is highly desirable.

Some pointing dogs can find the birds and also get them up. A number of years ago while hunting near Charleston, South Carolina, we were assigned a big English pointer rent-a-dog named White Boy. The manager told us that he would flush if given just a little push on the backside when on point. Sure enough, the first time he locked up on some quail in heavy cover, we gave him a little bump on the rump. In he went, and out the birds exploded. Pointer purists will find this off-putting, but White Boy sure got the job done and we had great shooting.

Some of the Albany-area plantations SSM visits go one step further by using flushing dogs. The flusher stays at heel with the guide until sent in past the pointers that have located the birds.

When Bill Bowles managed Wynfield Plantation, he had an extensive kennel and favored marvelous little English cockers as flushers. They were very active dogs. When those little cocker scampered in to flush the quail, you could be absolutely, positively certain that those birds were about to fly for all they were worth. It made for great sport. The only downside was that the cockers were so irresistible and in such high demand that it was hard to keep them from going home with the hunters.

Bill recently moved to manage Quail Country Plantation, and he has established a stunning kennel and breeding-dog complex. On this past January’s SSM trip we saw pointers, setters, Brittanys, Labs, springers and, of course, little English cockers. Seeing as Bill was running the place, we were assured of first-class dogwork. Quail Country uses springers, Labs and English cockers for flushers, depending on the preference of the particular guide. I love them all, but the enthusiasm of the little cockers makes them my favorite flushers.

How about you? If you enjoy quail hunting, what types of dogs do you favor and how do they work?

That’s it for now. Boots off. Beer open.