Quail Hunt For A Good Cause
This weekend I traveled across the state to participate in a Quail Hunt to raise money for Relay For Life. The hunt was put on by my good friend and fellow bloger Billy over at Blind Ambitions. The hunt was held at Quail Hollow hunting preserve in Caser NC with another one of my friends Chip Camp.
There was a bit of a chill in the air when everyone arrived shortly after day break but by mid morning it was very comfortable. I don’t know what the final number of participants was but it seemed to be 20 or more showed up for the good cause. There were many youngsters there some for their first ever hunting experience as well as some adults who had not hunted in a number of years. An outing like this is perfect to introduce someone to hunting as well as to refresh the old memories of past hunts for others. Most opted to practice their shooting skills on the skeet range prior to hunting the real birds.
Quail hunting in the south is in serious decline and a covey of wild quail is almost impossible to find. Hunting preserves like Quail Hollow that release quail are about the only place many can go to hunt quail and to work their dogs. Efforts across the south continue to restore the quail that has declined mainly do to loss of habitat including farming practices that use to favor the quail. A rise in the predator population has also had an impact. Conservation efforts by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission as well as groups like Quail Unlimited continue to try to reverse the declining trend.
It was exciting to see the dogs go on point and to see the retrievers work to bring the birds back.
A great day was had by all. Hats off to Billy for putting this hunt on to help raise funds to find a cure for cancer as well as give us all an opportunity to hunt some quail. I don’t think there is anyone who’s live has not been touched some how by this horrific disease.
