I haven't hunted quail since the very early 90s. Those were wild quail on paper company land clear cuts. Nowadays, quail are few and far between.

Recently I got an invite to hunt a preserve in NC. I learned it was sort of a put-n-take sitation like some some trout fishing here in the state where I live. I was a little hesitant. Thought it would be kinda lame. I've changed my mind. It was actually pretty exhausting and the dogs worked hard to find the birds. The chukars and some of the quail were all released birds that apparently get released into the fields, and then the dogs and hunters have to find and flush them. We did flush two coveys of about 6-8 quail each that were wild, according to our guide, and got a couple of those. Anyways, it was a pretty neat experience and got a few birds with my Ithaca Model 37. This was me and my buddy's morning take, each of us getting about half of these birds. We had an afternoon hunt, too, and got about the same number.

Nice….sounds like a good hunt.

Sounds fine. Some of these are very good hunting.

Nice, I’ve been on some pretty good preserve hunts.

Some were old school with mule drawn wagons, guides on horseback, plantation style, others were flight trained birds. Of the dozen or so, I’ve never been sorry I went. I used a 28 gauge.

The most interesting was shooting pheasants released from a tower. They released 200 birds. It was a sponsored hunt by DuPont so was a freebie.

I used to go to DU and NRA banquets just to pick up a deal on a hunt.

Nice, 10!

What preserve? If you don’t mind sharing.

I recently discovered woodcock hunting here in SC. I could be into mixing a preserve hunt or two into the mix.

Quail hunting with an Ithaca M37. That was me in the 1980's to mid 90's. Sweet memories.

C Pierce Farms near Ahoskie, NC. Nice place. Great owner. Very good dog handler. About 1,000 acres, with about 600 of that cultivated. Best of my recollection, that hunt cost just under $400 for the both of us. We tipped the guide $50 each, and the guy who cleaned the birds for us $20 each. So $235 per person. I though that was a bargain. It came in lower than I had calculated. But it was my first time and I don't know what preserve hunts usually run.

https://www.cpiercefarms.com/

Very cool. Thanks for the link!
Seems very reasonable.

Hmmm. This place is just a couple hours from me. Blue Horizon preserve is just 30 min from me also. I like the fact of paying per bird. Blue Horizon charges for the hunt. Think I’ll
Check out C.Pierce before the season ends.