[Bowman89]

Not stuffy at all; you hit that tiny bobwhite with a 12 gauge and there won't be much to take home; here in Florida, most folks do not use a 12 for dove either - 410, 28, 20, and a smattering of 16s (typically in a classic SxS) are what you see; again, dove aren't hard to kill, but they are easy to mangle and make them inedible.

I appreciate all the help and recommendations from you. I’ve found a couple I’m going to check in to this week. Rio Piedra says they discourage 12’s so I’m going to actually call them and ask if they prohibit them for sure. Also Southern woods plantation gives the price of 12 ga ammo so I assume they have zero issues with them.

 

[oneounceload]

I appreciate all the help and recommendations from you. I’ve found a couple I’m going to check in to this week. Rio Piedra says they discourage 12’s so I’m going to actually call them and ask if they prohibit them for sure. Also Southern woods plantation gives the price of 12 ga ammo so I assume they have zero issues with them.

As I said MOST (not all) discourage 12s. Face it, a Bob is MAYBE 8 ounces....on a good day; and if it is a wild one, even less.

 

[Multiflora]

Choke and shot load would seem more the issue than gauge....I'm guessing more is involved with the 12 gauge and the customer's use of one on a Preserve.

 

[oneounceload]

Choke and shot load would seem more the issue than gauge....I'm guessing more is involved with the 12 gauge and the customer's use of one on a Preserve.

On the plantations where they use pointers to find them and English cockers to flush them; shots can be fairly close - so smaller payloads and fairly open chokes seem to work the best

 

[Hesser]

Go to Georgia Outdoor Network, GON.com and sign up for free, hit the chat rooms, they have everything on hunting in GA. Good Luck in finding your perfect place to hunt, and BTW a nice 28 gauge will do quite nicely in hunting quail and will be easy on your shoulder.

 

[springhill]

I live right here in the middle of SW GA quail country and am glad to give you some insight into most of our area commercial plantations. I manage and hunt for wild birds, but have hunted on most of the better commercial places through the years and can give you plenty of options.
The small bore thing is primarily a respect thing for our wild birds as how many you take is about the lowest objective when hunting this special limited resource. With quail preserves, you really aren't running into the same scarcity issue, but the idea is to help the hunters there come as close as possible to experiencing what it's like on our wild bird plantations.

 

[hunterdcb]

Ok thanks I’ll check them out, Soutgwind didn’t have prices so I was going to call them this week. So far out of what I’ve looked at, Pine Hill is the only one that I’m not willing to pay for. At $5,400 per person I can go elk hunting that price can’t be justified to me.

I’m in northeast ga so I’ll be staying somewhere for the night but most I’ve looked are in the $1,000-1500 per hunter range. I was just trying to not pick blind. I’ve never done any bird hunting before and wanting to get my feet wet.

Pine Hill is pricy,but great flying birds and lots of them. Since you've never bird hunted before, try Wynfield Plantation near Albany. You will get great dog work and plenty of birds for a good bit less dollars. And in my opinion better food.

 

[Scatergun71]

Bowman89,
Oneounce gave you some good places to visit in GA, I also like Running Creek Ranch in MS for both Pheasant and Quail. My favorite lodge other than the old Nemacoilin set up here in Pa, which is now gone, is the Winghaven Lodge in Kentucky. IMO one of the finest Quail hunting set ups in the USA.
Any of the Orvis & Shooting Sportsman recommended shooting destination lodges are usually top shelf, remember the price will also be equal to what is provided. Ask for current prices and what to expect on the hunts.
Have a great time!

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Wing-haven and Southern-Woods are great places for Quail and I only use 28-gauge with 7.5-shot for quail, Chukar, grouse, etc. over Springers. But those days are over for me, been there, done that, distance, cost, walking far, but I have things to remember and that's enough. But you have to do something in order to have memories.
Hunt-em-up. Mike
PS: While down there from SC to MS you might need to speak or understand another dialect. And never tell anyone you didn't understand them the third time, that's a declaration of war!

 

[Gator89]

Wing-haven and Southern-Woods are great places for Quail and I only use 28-gauge with 7.5-shot for quail, Chukar, grouse, etc. over Springers. But those days are over for me, been there, done that, distance, cost, walking far, but I have things to remember and that's enough. But you have to do something in order to have memories.
Hunt-em-up. Mike
PS: While down there from SC to MS you might need to speak or understand another dialect. And never tell anyone you didn't understand them the third time, that's a declaration of war!

Yep, y'all need to mind your manners down here.

 

[Bowman89]

Wing-haven and Southern-Woods are great places for Quail and I only use 28-gauge with 7.5-shot for quail, Chukar, grouse, etc. over Springers. But those days are over for me, been there, done that, distance, cost, walking far, but I have things to remember and that's enough. But you have to do something in order to have memories.
Hunt-em-up. Mike
PS: While down there from SC to MS you might need to speak or understand another dialect. And never tell anyone you didn't understand them the third time, that's a declaration of war!

I’m from Georgia and my moms family is actually from Bainbridge so I’ve got a good handle on understanding the dialect 😂. Southern woods is where I have landed on I think. I would hunt them with a sub gauge but every O/U I own is a 12. I didn’t realize it was blasphemy to hunt birds with a 12 until now.

 

[Red Bayou]

Sounds like a lot of fun, good times hunting with dogs!

 

[Gator89]

I’m from Georgia and my moms family is actually from Bainbridge so I’ve got a good handle on understanding the dialect 😂. Southern woods is where I have landed on I think. I would hunt them with a sub gauge but every O/U I own is a 12. I didn’t realize it was blasphemy to hunt birds with a 12 until now.

To the average hunter 12 gauge is not blasphemy. But the plantations don't cater to average hunters.

 

[Bowman89]

To the average hunter 12 gauge is not blasphemy. But the plantations don't cater to average hunters.

I’m quickly realizing that as the case.

 

[oneounceload]

It isn't "blasphemy" and they do cater to the avergae hunter. They prefer you not to destroy the birds. On most of these places, you are not getting the birds you shot, but birds from a previous hunter. I think their goal is to minimize the damage a large 12 gauge load could do to such a small bird. When I left Southern Woods, the birds I brought home were rock solid frozen - no way they did that in an hour or so,
Besides, you'll be walking a lot and a small, light 20, 28 or 410 is much nicer to carry - gives you an excuse to buy another gun - and that isn't a bad thing either!
Have fun wherever you go.

 

[Bowman89]

Yeah I’ve been looking at 28’s this week actually. So I’ll probably end up with one before I go. I bought myself and my dad matching beretta sp III 12 ga specifically to go hunt together with because I thought it’d be it’d be neat. Guess he gets another one now too lol.

 

[springhill]

If you wanted to extend your hunt while at Southern Woods, you could book a half or whole day at Agri-B. It's a good without a lot of the lush lodging frills and is popular with many of the locals. I hunted there this past season when a couple of doc buddies took me and my son; saw several other local physician friends also there that day. As a side venture, this place supplies many of the quail to other area preserves. Make sure you eat lunch while there; country cooking at its best.

 

[Robert70]

Southern Woods is a laid back friendly place


Yes, VERY common re: no 12 gauges
Most don't, especially any of the smaller ones where they only have wild birds. Around here the 28 is king, but 20s and 410 are welcomed as well. Most places include 12 birds on their initial daily fee and then charge per bird for any over that. If you go with a friend, they typically split the birds and the bill. Look at those extra fees. Southern Woods at the time was $7.50/bird extra and that included cleaning and packaging; others may charge extra for that. As a Floridian, I had to buy a license and, IIRC, there is a plantation "permit" as well issued by the state and they do charge sales tax - the Governor IS going to get his cut one way or another. We hunted all morning (using jeeps and several teams of dogs), had lunch and went back out after a long break for the afternoon. We flushed everything from 1 and 2 birds to small coveys of a dozen or so.
Lots of fun!

In my area of SE Arizona, there are no hunting outfits (private lands?) Just living here for 2/3rds of my life. I know where the birds are. On farms, I always get permission. If It's on farm/ranch land my relatives own, I give them a call, they've always say yes.

 

[oneounceload]

In my area of SE Arizona, there are no hunting outfits (private lands?) Just living here for 2/3rds of my life. I know where the birds are. On farms, I always get permission. If It's on farm/ranch land my relatives own, I give them a call, they've always say yes.

i spent 20 years in Northern NV so I understand that - LOTS of BLM and USFS land to hunt wild birds; a lot harder on the knees and lungs than a Southern quail plantation.........

 

[Pine Creek/Dave]

Gentlemen,
springhill gives good advise on Agri-B, a no frills great place to hunt wild Quail, and it gives you an opportunity to meet some of the local Shooting Sportsman. I agree with him 100% If you want a great wild Quail hunt ask springhill if he will let you hunt with him on his own property behind his fantastic dogs.
Good luck with that, you will need it.

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith

 

[Bingo99]

In my area of SE Arizona, there are no hunting outfits (private lands?) Just living here for 2/3rds of my life. I know where the birds are. On farms, I always get permission. If It's on farm/ranch land my relatives own, I give them a call, they've always say yes.

I am hunting with Robert Ogan this December on some property SE of Tucson. First time and I am looking forward to it.

Just saw your userid, maybe you are him haha