Morrison Pines Plantation Quail Hunting 2015

DoubleDown · 02-09-2015, 04:07 PM

If you've never been to one of the many side by side events held each year, I would encourage you to find one that works with your schedule and attend this year. I love coming out to this forum every day and seeing what's here, and possibly corresponding with online friends, but nothing beats getting some of those same people together for an event like the one we just had at Morrison Pines. Getting to know the friends that accompanied me on this trip would not have been possible without attending these events. I now have the pleasure of looking forward to what I'm sure will be an annual trip for us, and something I hope includes more new friends next year. As Rich said before, this started over conversation at Dinner during the Spring Southern last year when he commented on wanting to escape the cold of Michigan and get out to do some Quail Hunting down south. Mills and Julia were quick to respond with a suggestion of Morrison Pines in Moultrie, GA, a place they have been going for years.

We posted this event on the PGCA forum, and while not everyone who was interested ended up being able to make it, there were seven of us who did, and we had a wonderful time. Jerry and Buddy do it right, and their hospitality, great food, and experienced guides made this a trip I'll never forget. This was a 9.5 hour drive for me, and much longer for Eric and Rich, but we managed to arrive within an hour of each other on Wednesday, and after a great lunch and a quick sign up for a Preserve license, we were suiting up and heading out into the woods for our first hunt. As you'll see from the pictures, we rode in style sitting atop the back of the dog boxes in what looks to be orphaned third row seats from old SUV's. It gave a wonderful view of the fine dogs at work, and there were padded gun boxes on the sides of the truck to hold our guns. We were able to experience many different guides, dogs, and terrain throughout the week, with all of them having their own unique styles. I took four guns, but ended up only shooting my 20ga Hammerless and 28ga Hammer Gun. I split time pretty much evenly between the two, and while I really had to keep safety in the forefront of my mind walking with that Hammer Gun, hunting with one was something I'd always wanted to do. On top of that I had my GoPro camera mounted to the barrels and hunted that way for all four days. Jury is still out as I haven't reviewed all of the footage, but needless to say, Quail are a lot smaller than Pheasant, and trying to see them against the backdrop of pine trees vs. clear blue sky means most of the video I've looked at so far is worthless.

I'll still edit the footage as it's a good representation of the hunt and the dogs at work, but you won't see the birds like you did in the last video I did. Oh well, you live and learn. I ended the week with four legitimate shots at a Double on Quail, having downed the first bird without question and at least hitting the second. You can probably hear me on camera walking up on the second bird saying “be dead”, “be dead!” but alas they lived to fly again, and if for no other reason than to make me come back to try again. By the end of the trip I think we had all decided that a double meant one bird and one tree. If that were the case I’d be sending in for a few doubles pins! Hope you all enjoy the pictures, and maybe we'll be rubbing elbows in the pine trees together next January!

Mike

Rich

Morrison Pines Quail Hunting

Morrison Pines Quail Hunting

Eric

Morrison Pines Quail Hunting

Rich

Morrison Pines Quail Hunting

Eric & Jason w/ Buddy

Morrison Pines Quail Hunting

Eric, Rich and Buddy

Morrison Pines Quail Hunting

Our Chariot

Morrison Pines Quail Hunting

Dropping Fresh Dogs

Morrison Pines Quail Hunting

Look dead center, there is a Quail there, I promise! (Gives you an idea of what the GoPro footage looks like 

Morrison Pines Quail Hunting

Morrison Pines Quail Hunting

The Rookie! (12 Weeks old, flushing and retrieving birds!)

Morrison Pines Quail Hunting

Veterans

Morrison Pines Quail Hunting

Jason and his 12 week old Cocker