Return to Black River Plantation

 It has been a while since I have been to the Black River Plantation. My return to Black River this time is something that is a little different from the last time I had the privilege of walking these grounds.

 This time I am here as a volunteer for the South Eastern North Carolina Quail Forever Chapter. (SENC QF). The chapter is conducting a youth hunt and our host is Mr. Wendell Evans and the rest of the good folks at Black River Plantation.

  The morning started with everyone gathering at the preserve. A roll call of the participants was conducted to ensure we had all the young men and women that had signed up accounted for. After that a safety brief was conducted so that everyone knew what the rules were and what was expected so that the hunt was not only fun but safe.

  Shortly after the safety brief the hunters were teamed up with their guides. These groups spread out across the plantation in order to pursue the birds and have a morning in the uplands.

 I went with one group that was a mix of hunters that had some experience in the Duck Blind to some that have only shot on a range. So this is a great introduction to the uplands for a lot of new hunters.

 We stepped off and the guides shorthair did a nice job of covering the ground and hunting in an efficient manner. After a few minutes the dog goes on point and remains staunch until we are able to get to where he is.

 The hunters move into position, load their guns and are reminded of the direction that they are able to fire once the bird flushes. 

 Once everyone is ready the guide moves in and flushes the bird. It goes to the left and the shooter on the left makes a nice crossing right to left shot and kills the bird. This is the first one of the day.

 We continue this pattern for the rest of the morning. We continued to hunt for about three hours. There were more points and shots. Seems like there were more misses than hits but that doesn’t matter as everyone had a good time.

  After an exciting morning we break for lunch. Black River Plantation supplied the meal. The food was delicious, the conversation was great and it was a wonderful way to end a morning of bird hunting.

  After lunch the hunting was over but the day did not end there. The next event on the agenda is a demonstration of what different dogs are trained to do. There were demonstrations of different field trials and tests. NAVHDA, American Field and NSTRA all were represented. This representation of what the bird dog world has to offer was definitely a learning experience for not just the youth members of the chapter but for the adults that were accompanying them as well.

 All in all it was a great day. The future leaders of conservation were shown an exciting day in the uplands and learned about different organizations that can expand the activities that they can join in with their bird dog companions.

 

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