Weekend of clays and quail
 

A group of us got together at Drake's Landing this past weekend for a half day of sporting clays and a full day of quail hunting. It was a lot of fun. We had me, David Dwyer, Buddy Marson and Jimmy Hall. Also joining us were Mike Smith of Fox and Mike Harris and John Liles of LC Smith.

Several of us got doubles on quail. I got a double on the last two birds of the morning hunt and it was a real charge.

Looks like a great time wish we could have been there. More pics would be great... (ask Mike I'm sure he has a few) !

I did not get many pics, unfortunately

Ok, this is totally unfair:cool:We are getting 12" of snow tomorrow, an spring is still a distant thought:banghead:You guys are sooooooooooooooooooo lucky:bowdown:

What a great time. Jim Hall and I hunted together and ran our dogs together all day. What a difference the temperature makes. In Georgia the weekend before where it was 70 degrees, the dogs were spent after walking off one covey. On Saturday in the cold they went for hours on end, and all the hunting I've been doing with them has paid off. Couldn't be happier with my boys and the work they did. I can't decide what was better, Sam holding a point for 10 minutes by himself while we took care of a separate bird that Diamond had pointed, or watching him stop and point another Quail on the way back from a retrieve with one in his mouth. Diamond went from earning some time on the check cord down in Georgia to a near flawless performance on Saturday. Jim ran Caroline for only her second ever bird hunt and she got some experience flushing and even pointing some birds. It was great to see her point, flush and retrieve her very first bird all on her own. Our guide said the only time you can brag on a dog without them making a liar out of you is to wait until they are dead. :) I'm going to settle for after the hunt.

Drake Landing was awesome as usual, the birds flew well, and the company couldn't have been better. Great happy hours with some fine bourbon at the hotel discussing the days hunts, followed by some excellent meals. Hopefully we turn this into an annual event. Posting the only pic I have from the day, Jim and I with our excellent guide Ryan in the middle.

Mike

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4623/...1c22f7c4_b.jpgDrake Landing Quail Hunt by Mike Smith, on Flickr

That little Boykin sure catches my eye !

Hey you guys wanna live up there in Yankee Land then deal with the weather !

All my BS aside I feel for ya !

Its cold here in VA but no snow . And I'm still jumping ship next week for a whole lot warmer climates :bigbye:

Thirty five degrees is cold for you Southern folks..... try high temps in the single digits.....:shock:

Come on Mike that's the only picture, that's really hard to believe ! I know you have some more pics of Sam and Diamond ! Glad to hear the dogs worked so well that weekend. Congrats

All Boykins catch my eye.

Very nice Mills. I have got to get to Drakes some time. Every year at the Southern I hear from folks about how great it is. I wonder what John Liles has in that mug, hmmmm ?? :)

Well Randy, come join us at this years Southern, we will be shooting Drakes all day Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings.

Yeah Mike what about those pictures???:whistle:
Mills is that a skeet gun your using?
Randy come to Drakes in April and shoot some clays with us. You'll be glad you did.

On a side note the trainer sent me pictures of Ike's first point on Quail. I have a good feeling about him. He will come home right after the Southern.

Always love to hear about the dog work but tell us more about the guns in your pic.

I will be at the Southern for the duration and I may just take you Gents up on that. Thanks for the invite. My apologies in advance for the ever so slight hijack Mills....

Funny you should say that ! In 1991 I went to Montana in early November most of the time it was 2-8 degrees and to be honest it felt no where near that cold . The Monday after I returned was the first day of deer season it was 35 degrees that morning and I thought I was gonna freeze to death . Humidity in VA vs MT is a big difference .

Yes, it is a skeet gun. I love it

Daryl, I shot my tight choked 20ga DHE with 30" tubes. I believe that gun is choked Full and Full or close to it. I know I hit the extremes with it this weekend, snap shooting a bird right in front of my face that we had to throw in the pond because there was nothing left of it. In the afternoon I made a shot with the left barrel that's probably the longest shot I've ever made on a quail.

Rich, I'm working on your pictures, don't worry.

M.

The gun of choice for me was a 28 gauge grade 3 repro.

Mine was a VH 28 ga 28" ic/mod
David

Mine was a smoking hot VHE 20ga, 30" F/F. Those poor birds never had a chance. Great fun. Great weekend. Great bunch of guys!
Buddy