Sporting quails and casinos: bird hunting: southern style

Quail After Lunch

After lunch it was time for another quail hunt, this time at The Willows, which is adjacent to the Grand Casino and Resort in Tunica. It was different to have great hunting within sight of a couple of glamorous casinos.

This time the dog was an exuberant German Shorthair named Roscoe who skillfully found the birds and just as enthusiastically brought them back. It was a windy afternoon and it made for some pretty challenging shooting. The birds flew exceptionally well and with the strong tail-wind demanded my complete attention. Once more. Grandaddy's Shotgun did good work and, in fact, this was some of the best shooting on released birds I've experienced. The Willows is a full service shotgun complex with two fully automated sporting clays courses, and golf carts are included. They've also got skeet, five-stand clays and trap, and if you didn't bring a gun that's okay too. They've got a nice selection you can use.

There aren't many places where you can still hunt as I did in my boyhood, but that certainly doesn't mean we can't hunt at all. You just have to look around. For example I typed, "quail hunting" into an Internet search engine and got literally hundreds of hits. And there are loads of people out there who'd be happy to help you along. For example, every state has a web site or toll free number to get you started, or you can narrow the search by looking for a convention and visitors bureau in the vicinity of where you'd like to hunt. For example, this adventure began with a call to the Tunica Convention & Visitors Bureau. They had information about the Willows and Beaver Dam Hunting Services and directed me toward the Mississippi Development Authority who knew about Fitch Farms. One word of advice: good places like these are often booked far in advance so it's wise to plan far ahead. Costs vary depending upon the location and level of service, but are far from prohibitive.

Contact information:

Beaver Dam Hunting Services, P.O. Box

983, Tunica, MS 38676, (662) 357-0279,

miboyd55@yahoo.com.

Tunica Convention & Visitors Bureau, P.O.

Box 2739, Tunica, MS 38676, (888) 488-6422,

www.tunicamiss.com.

The Willows, Grand Casino, Tunica, MS,

(800) 39-GRAND, www.grandcasinos.com.

Filch Farms, P.O. Box 610, Holly Springs,

MS 38635, (662) 252-8855,

wwm.FitchFarms.com.

www.visitmississtppi.org.

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