Any recommendations for a good Georgia quail hunt? Looking for any and all options from day trips to multiday with lodging. Would consider South Carolina as well. Thanks.

Glad to help; pretty familiar with many of the options here in SW Georgia plantation country.

I shot here a couple years ago and thought it was the right balance of reasonably priced with excellent wingshooting (not that I am an expert). They even have a few coveys of wild birds bouncing around on the property. I did an afternoon hunt, stayed overnight, and then a morning hunt.

https://huntsouthwind.com/

My best friend and his wife always went to Quail Ridge in Dalton GA. Went at least once a year.

JOhn Boyd

Going to Dorchester Farms this year. Third time. Accommodations are great. Birds have ranged from poor to great, but you only pay for what you shoot, so I leave the low or slow flyers. We have gotten into wild coveys but it's clear to tell the difference, the wild ones are never very far from heavy cover and get back into in a hurry. We use their dogs, pointers and cockers for flushing. I meet friends and have a set package, 1 afternoon at clays then 2 days of chasing birds. Dorchester is about half way between Savannah and Jacksonville.

I've got some guys coming in this weekend from California to duck hunt Saturday morning and then quail hunt afterwards. They wanted to have another day on one of our many area commercial hunts on Friday and lined up a spot just south of me in near Bainbridge. They'll have a blast and kill a lot of birds, but no doubt will find the wild birds they'll hunt on Saturday to be a completely different game.

Here are some of the ones around me:

Hunting Plantations and Lodges in SW Georgia


There are a couple of places that will let you purchase a wild bird hunt, but it's a dramatically different price point. Wild birds simply can't handle the flow of hunting pressure that would come at a lower cost of entry.... We do have some public land hunting that often can be surprisingly good, especially if you're familiar with the areas.

One of my lifelong hunting buddies had a business relationship with the Gaskins which was paid off in hunts. I've been fortunate to enjoy Jerry's good fortune and have been a couple of times over the years. The Gaskins are great folks. As we are a short drive away, I've never stayed overnight, but the lunch is fantastic. Yes, there is a difference between wild and pen raised, but all in all, a good way to spend a morning or afternoon. Gil

I have been here twice and had a great experience!

https://www.sundownfarmsplantation.com/

Well run, clean, good food.............

Give it a look.

Thanks for the replies. Another question; why do some outfits discourage or disallow 12 bore guns? I would think a 2 1/2 inch 1 oz or 7/8 oz low pressure load from one on my English guns would not be overkill. For that matter would it really differ from a 1 oz 20 bore load?

I noticed that also on the huntsouthwind site.

A friend of mine was invited to shoot quail on a private plantation some years ago & showed up w/ his favorite 12 ga SxS grouse gun & 1 oz loads. The host would not allow him shoot the 12 ga w/ 1 oz or any other loads & loaned him a 20 ga Browning Citori O/U supplied w/ 3" 1 1/4 oz loads!

EDIT! Since posting this I had the opportunity to speak w/ the friend that experienced this & I had it slightly wrong.

The correct story is that both my friend & his wife were invited guests at a private plantation shoot & both took their favorite 12 ga grouse guns & 7/8 oz loads. The host allowed the wife to shoot her 12 ga O/U w/ the 7/8 oz loads but would not let my friend shoot his 12 ga SxS w/ 7/8 loads & gave him a 20 ga Browning O/U with 1 oz loads to shoot. My friend said that he mentioned to the host that he was shooting a 1/8 oz payload increase w/ the 1 oz 20 ga ammo but this fell on deaf ears & the host said nothing over 20 ga was the rule on the plantation but he would make an exception for a woman but not for him (Southern chivalry at it's best). His thought was that the host simply viewed anything larger than a 20 ga as unsporting for quail regardless of the amount of shot used.

I'm always amazed by small bore snobbery North or South.

Would be fun. But my biggest gripe is, you can't use your own dogs. I also don't need to ride in a buggy A nice breakfast is all I would need. And then the option to dine for supper.

Au contraire about use of own dogs, at least on Dorchester. I was able to use Abby both times and our course was foot travel. The guide wanted to buy her. Gil

The general reason for small bores when hunting wild birds is largely out of respect for the very limited resource that these birds represent. Killing as many as possible is about the absolute least of the objectives of any wild quail hunter, with the dogs and social graces of the experience being near the top.
Commercial hunts are a lot of fun and will be the closest that most quail hunters ever get to the pageantry of a true southern wild bird hunting experience, and that is certainly fine as absent such, so many of the great aspects of quail hunting, particularly the dogs and much habitat management, would be lost.
Of course a lighter load in a 12 gauge is equivalent to a small bore, and no doubt many private landowners would understand and appreciate such a gun and load, but the commercial spots are making every effort to recreate the wild bird experience for as many hunters as their business model requires. Their hunts are not regulated under the same seasons and there are no bag limits, but the effort to provide as near of a private plantation hunting experience as possible generally includes the preference for small bore shotguns, to often include no semi-autos.

Growing up we had plenty of quail around. These days my old stomping grounds are barren. Lost to urban sprawl and a lack of habitat. Golf courses don't grow quail. Even with many birds we only shot the covey rise, never hunted the singles. We always quit fairly early in the afternoon so the the scattered birds could whistle up before dark to roost. It was all about the dogs and experience as you stated. My experience puts me firmly in the conservation camp. I still thinks it's a little over the top to bar 12 bores with loads that are the equivalent of small bores. Kind of the wrong execution of the right idea so to speak, but I understand where they are coming from. It limits the use of some fine old quail guns. Using the old guns is part of the charm for me.

A buddy lets me hunt his property with my 2" 12 gauges that are by shell size limited to 7/8 oz. All guns must be sxs or o/u and usually smaller than 12. Gil

Yes, the concept of limiting a hunt to a SxS or O/U in small bores on quail preserves, upon closer examination, makes little sense, as in actuality, the birds are released, there is no limit, there is no deterrence or hesitancy to overkill for the benefit of spring nesting, and the birds put out will all pretty much be dead within a few days from either other hunters or predation. Some places will put out loads of birds and simply charge for the excess, on which there's some degree of profit margin. Others have self-declared daily limits, which I'm sure is a function of bird availability.
When it comes to using the 'proper" guns, as they say, "Image is everything."

As a follow-up to the plantations on the list below, while I haven't hunted all of them, I have hunted quite a few and am familiar with most. A couple on the list that aren't available anymore include Covey Rise, that was owned by my sister-in-law's family (they sold it), and Southpoint, which is owned by the fellow that rents the row crop farming on my place.

Hunting Plantations and Lodges in SW Georgia

On this list, which is in the heart of Georgia's quail country, a few that I'd recommend would be Rio Piedra (owned by a retired guy that worked at Coca Cola), Riverview (owned by Cader C-o-x and being managed by the 3rd generation in their family), Southern Woods (has hosted the QF execs and run by Benji DeLoach; they do a good job), Southwind (haven't hunted there but has a very good reputation, Quail Country (was owned by Dr Paschal Brooks, a great guy from Blakely and now run by his family) and Wynfield (owned by the Leach family's trust; lots of great small private cabins/houses for accommodations and really well run).

I miss quail hunting. It "went to pot" around here when the textile industry went away, and everyone planted pine tree orchards. I guess it doesn't make much difference now. I can't follow a bird dog anymore anyway. I still miss it though.
Mike

I have hunted quail since I was about 9 years old and still prefer it to any other kind of game hunting. I love to eat quail. Like someone else mentioned, I always shot only the covey rise and maybe a couple of close ones who did not get the word to get the hell out of there! I had all the quail on my farm in NC that I could ever want to hunt. Now there is hardly a covey remaining. Lots of good memories of quail hunting as a kid and my mom fixing them for me. Days gone by. Oh well. I now have to pay to hunt, but what the heck, I am still shooting and get to eat a few quail as the reward. They have just gotten a lot more expensive!!

First re Dorchester, I believe you can bring your own dogs, although they can't stay in the cabins as those are owned by individuals letting the Operation rent them. I used both a light 12 and a 20 last year and no one said a word, both were SxS and I do believe they limit use to O/U or SxS. Some of this is safety related. Put yourself in a guides shoes, seeing new guests every coupe days and not knowing how safe they are handing a gun.
Birds are released all through the season , not planted. We actually found a nest and quail eggs inn the field. They do use a jeep to get you out to the field but we walked the rest of the time.
The 12 vs 20 and smaller debate. About 15 years ago I was invited to hunt customers private plantation. The first year I brought a little J Dickson boxlock 12 and 7/8 oz loads. I was gently reprimanded. I tried to explain the light load etc and it largely fell on deaf ears. I think the perception is if you are using a 12, you are concerned about taking a lot of birds, whereas if you are using a small bore you understand it is NOT about the numbers of birds shot but rather the experience. The next time I was invited I brought a 20 O/U and in the end left it with the 2nd in command. Funny part of the story is, we hunted on horseback and as the only Yankee that had been allowed on the plantation, I was given the biggest damn horse you ever saw to ride. It was a chore getting on and off him all day.

Here's a good video that came out a few days ago from Tall Timbers that discusses hunting our wild quail and some of the safety aspects hunters should know. It also mentions the issue of why using a SxS or O/U is preferred.


[video:youtube][/video]

Where are the beautiful side by sides? Bobby

Are they really hunting wild quail in the video? Looks more like released stuff.

OWD

I think you're right in that there were some released quail in the video to some extent. You can pretty much tell when you see the birds are having to be flushed in a relatively open spot. Wild birds rarely let you get that close in such a situation. You'll also see Kevin Kelly in the video. I know he shoots on some of the commercial places fairly often. Of course Tall Timbers owns the about 11,000 acre Livingston Place (formerly called Dixie Plantation.) It's covered in wild birds, but using some stock footage may have been convenient for the production.

I'm looking forward to going to the Georgia-Florida field trial on Monday. Few things like it in the upland hunting world. It will be at Blue Springs Plantation, a beautiful spot along about 7 miles of the Flint River. I've hunted there a couple of times; has as many wild birds as you'll see anywhere. The last time I went to this field trial it was at a plantation adjoining Blue Springs, which is owned by a pretty interesting character. Should be a fun day.

You sure don't need someone with a stick beating the ground to flush wild quail. Gil

That field trial looks like a great time.

Have a good trip.

OWD

I hunted quail a few weeks ago in Kentucky.

Wild coveys, scattered on old Farms, and protected by lifelong Kentucky quail hunters.
We only take one on the covey rise.

They do hold pretty tight and you can be quite close to them when the covey goes up, but certainly no stick swishing required to get them to fly.

I always try to approach the Covey in a fashion that will make them fly in the most advantageous way, though I’m not always successful.

When I think I’m getting close, I do make swishing sounds.