# Ashburn Hill Plantation



## coveyrise90 (Mar 18, 2008)

Has anybody ever hunted here? It seems to be just what I am looking for. Any feedback? Thanks

http://www.ashburnhill.com/

Adam


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## sticky28 (Mar 19, 2008)

I grew up on that plantation.  Jerry York is now operating the place after managing it for the past 30 yrs for the Pidcock family.  No wild birds but the atomoshere is good, the wood are beautiful and the food is great. I think last year they finally went up on their rates after keeping them down for so many years.  Still very reasonable IMO.  I will say this, tipping your guide is somewhat discouraged but well appreciated and I think makes for a better hunt.  Those guides work hard all year long and see very little side money so they are tickled to get a little taste.


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## coveyrise90 (Mar 19, 2008)

Thanks for the reply Sticky. I read an article and it mention that they found 2 wild coveys in one day. 

How well do the birds fly? Do they do early release? Do the birds get up as a covey or are they the kind that have to be kicked? 

The quality of the birds is my main concern. The food and lodging is important but the birds are more important.

The prices are very reasonable..... the cheapest I can find for a mule-drawn wagon and horseback hunt.

Thanks again. I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Adam


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## sticky28 (Mar 19, 2008)

The Birds are of good quaility.  But like anything else it is not a guarantee.  I would say the earlier you go the better, but not while it is still hot.  They use to do an early release in october and by mid dec those would be all but gone but they did make for a realistic covey flush.  I can guarantee that Jerry and Lamar ("Buddy") will do everything possible for your party to have a great experience.  They like to provide you with that old style southern gentlemen hunt and consutomer satifaction is what they strive for.

By the way they use to do the wagon every sat & sun and also a little during the week.  Since the driver "GOODY" pasted several years ago they don't do it as much.  But like I said they will accomodate your request.  Man just thinking about "Goody" brings back memories of riding on that wagon in the front seat beside him as a kid.  Sometimes I would look over there as we went through the woods, following guides and guest on horseback, and Goody would be asleep still holding a cigarette between his fingers.  There was a dog ramp right beside him where we let the lab ride.  When that dog would bark Goody would reach down beneath the seat and grab a wooden handle and wallop that dog over the head.  The dog would winced with pain and Goody would mumble something under his breathe all the while with his eyes closed!  And if you ever asked him why they called him Goody he would say "cause i'm so dam good."


When do you plan on going?


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## coveyrise90 (Mar 19, 2008)

Wow, that sounds like a great way to grow up. You were very blessed to able to experience that. 

Coincidently, I was wanting to go sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas so that works out perfectly. 

What is your full name? That way, I can tell Mr. Jerry that you referred me. 

Thanks again. I can't wait to go!

Adam


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## sticky28 (Mar 20, 2008)

Yea, I grew up on the backside of the plantation and rode my horse over there on the weekends.  That was almost twenty years ago.  I think they paid me $20 a day to do odd jobs, most of the time I rode with the hunting parties and helped with the horses and dogs.  Best years of my boyhood, i would have done it for free.
Spencer Murphy


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## Lane Morrell (Mar 31, 2008)

I could be wrong, but HAMMOCK is a guide at this place.  You may want to pm him and see if this is what you want.


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## Jim P (Jul 24, 2008)

I hunted there and it was great, great dogs-food- guides, I met Mr. Pidcock, real nice man. John Walton hunted there the week before I arrived.  The birds flew real good, paid my guide a few extra bucks and he showed us a few wild covies. I would recommend this pace to everyone.


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## KILLDUX (Aug 4, 2008)

Check out Jerry York's new place, he left Ashburn Hill about 8 or 9 months ago due to complications with the new owners. I can't wait to hunt the new place it is really coming together. I am having my rehearsel dinner there at the begining of October. 

morrisonpines.com


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## coveyrise90 (Aug 6, 2008)

Thanks for all of the replies, gentlemen. 

In the end, we decided to go with Pine Hill Plantation because they have a better release system and more wild birds.

http://pinehillplantation.com/

We will also hunt 2 days at Quail Country Plantation.

http://quailcountry.com/

I very excited about the upcoming hunts... which, which by the way, will take place in December. I will be sure to post pictures and a story when it's all said and done.

Thanks again!

Adam


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## Nitro (Aug 6, 2008)

You will enjoy Quail Country. Tell Bill Bowles hello. He is  a great guy!


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## coveyrise90 (Aug 7, 2008)

Bill is a great guy. In fact, he's the entire reason we are going. I first met Bill 3 years ago when he still owned and managed Wynfield Plantation. He taught me a lot about training my first Brittany. In 2006, I visited the plantation to shoot some clays and tour the plantation. I also met up with the head dog trainer (can't remember his name) who showed me a thing or two about training. I was able to watch one of the cocker spaniels work and also one of his setters. Beautiful place.... plus, I was able to shoot in a QU sporting clays fundraiser. I met up with Bill and the president of the QU chapter in Bill's office and talked for a bit about dogs and birds. I wanted to go back to hunt. When I called to book a hunt, Bill was gone. The gentleman who answered told me he moved to Quail Country. So, that's where we are going and I am really looking forward to it. I decided to go with Pine Hill for our wagon/horseback hunt because Bill said that was the place to go. 

Thanks!

Adam


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## Doc_Holliday23 (Aug 7, 2008)

coveyrise90 said:


> Thanks for all of the replies, gentlemen.
> 
> In the end, we decided to go with Pine Hill Plantation because they have a better release system and more wild birds.
> 
> http://pinehillplantation.com/



holy crap... they better fly strong for those kinds of rates...


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## coveyrise90 (Aug 7, 2008)

Yeah, it ain't cheap. At first we decided to go to Rio Piedra but it would cost nearly $1000 a day per person after you add everthing up. Pine Hill costs a little more but it's all inclusive. When you're spending $1000 per person per day, what's another $250? This was my gradutation present and my dad's first quail hunt so I wanted it be special. I can't wait.

Adam


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## Nitro (Aug 8, 2008)

You will have a blast. You only go around once in life, so if you have the means and the opportunity- Spend your money however you wish.

Enjoy your Quail hunting experience.


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## emtguy (Aug 11, 2008)

I have been a guide. Any plantation out there will tell you we have " wild birds" but they DON"T! They have released birds that did'nt get killed and grouped up and the guide had no idea they were in the area.
When we released birds on a course it went like this. Catch your 50 birds out of the irdhouse at 6:30am. Put em in your bird box on the 4 wheeler and then ride to yyour assigned hunting area. i would then take 5-8 birds out of the box, place em in a pillow case and spin the heck out of it 8 or 9 times. This gets the birds dizzy and you can throw em under a bush or sawgrass and BINGO they are there 3 or 4 hrs later. I knew where every covey was and when the dogs would point em. Thats plantation hunting at it's best.
Never saw a wild covey in 4 years of doing it, just missed birds that called each other up.
And the comment in the above post about tips being discouraged is CRAZY talk...thats the main income at any plantation for a guide.


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## MudDucker (Aug 11, 2008)

coveyrise90 said:


> Bill is a great guy. In fact, he's the entire reason we are going. I first met Bill 3 years ago when he still owned and managed Wynfield Plantation. He taught me a lot about training my first Brittany. In 2006, I visited the plantation to shoot some clays and tour the plantation. I also met up with the head dog trainer (can't remember his name) who showed me a thing or two about training. I was able to watch one of the cocker spaniels work and also one of his setters. Beautiful place.... plus, I was able to shoot in a QU sporting clays fundraiser. I met up with Bill and the president of the QU chapter in Bill's office and talked for a bit about dogs and birds. I wanted to go back to hunt. When I called to book a hunt, Bill was gone. The gentleman who answered told me he moved to Quail Country. So, that's where we are going and I am really looking forward to it. I decided to go with Pine Hill for our wagon/horseback hunt because Bill said that was the place to go.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Adam



Bill is no longer at Wynnfield...man the sky is falling.


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## coveyrise90 (Aug 11, 2008)

emtguy said:


> I have been a guide. Any plantation out there will tell you we have " wild birds" but they DON"T! They have released birds that did'nt get killed and grouped up and the guide had no idea they were in the area.
> When we released birds on a course it went like this. Catch your 50 birds out of the irdhouse at 6:30am. Put em in your bird box on the 4 wheeler and then ride to yyour assigned hunting area. i would then take 5-8 birds out of the box, place em in a pillow case and spin the heck out of it 8 or 9 times. This gets the birds dizzy and you can throw em under a bush or sawgrass and BINGO they are there 3 or 4 hrs later. I knew where every covey was and when the dogs would point em. Thats plantation hunting at it's best.
> Never saw a wild covey in 4 years of doing it, just missed birds that called each other up.
> And the comment in the above post about tips being discouraged is CRAZY talk...thats the main income at any plantation for a guide.




From the sound of it, you guided at a regular preserve... not a real plantation. If in 4 years you didn't find one wild covey, your shooting preserve didn't have the habitat. That is not "plantation hunting at its finest".... Not every place is like that. Do you honestly think that places like Pine Hill Plantation could charge $5000-$6000 a day if they were???? Of course not. 

I have seen a hunt at Pine Hill and the covies were indistinguishable from wild birds. Many places (those with wild birds at least) will band the released birds so they can distinguish them when the birds are in hand. I am not 100%  sure on the total acreage but it covers several thousand at least. 

Simply put, the quality of the hunt varies as much as the hunters themselves. Sure, a lot of places put on hunts like the one you described... they are called shooting preserves".... just because the word "plantation" is in their name, doesn't mean they are a real plantation. 

Adam


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## emtguy (Aug 12, 2008)

Well i live a stones throw from ashburn hill and by you're definition it should be called a preserve also then...i know all the guides there and they put out birds the same way i just described as does Pine Hill plantation....don't be so nieave(SP?) 

Every pay place is like that, some may put birds out the day of the hunt and some may put out birds a week before BUT THEY ARE ALL "STORE" BOUGHT BIRDS!!!!

you sure you aint from the north???


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## emtguy (Aug 12, 2008)

Nobody bans the birds either, it would be to time consuming and when the breeder brings them to the plantation by the 500's no one is gone try to catch that many quail and band em just o they know where they came from.
I aint trying to start a fuss, just letting you now the real inside and out of plantation hunting...jut enjoy it no matter where the birds come from, they all eat the same.


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## coveyrise90 (Aug 13, 2008)

Apparently you don't know Ashburn Hill Plantation's other name.... Ashburn Hill Hunting Preserve.... Look at the address.... "A.H.H.P"
http://www.ashburnhill.com/contact.html

I have spoke with Jerry York and Ramsey Pidcock on several occasions. They never denied putting out birds on the day of the hunt. But they do an early release as well. They told me they have a few wild covies but the chances of a hunting party finding them were slim... especially later in the season. I believe they were being honest. I guess I am naive. 

Pine Hill Plantation's last owner, Jay Kimbrel, offered hunting for a combination of wild, early released, liberated quail. As the season went on, the plantation came to rely more and more on liberated birds. However, Doug Coe, a former client, purchased the place (and I believe increased the acreage, too) last year and the emphasis has changed to more wild birds and more early release birds with minimal day-releases. I never said they weren't releasing birds.

All the plantations with good habitat have some wild birds. Huntable populations?... most likely not. Most "run of the mill preserves" like the place you guided at, are good at what they do but they don't provide experiences that are "plantation hunting at its finest".

Place like Pine Hill provide a much more authentic experience. The released birds fly better because they are allowed to stay in the field longer. They have more wild birds because they have good habitat and they aren't hunted as hard and the covies aren't shot down as badly. Pine Hill doesn't have as many hunters coming through either. When we hunt there in Dec., we will have the entire plantation to ourselves. At most preserves, the hunting party will shoot as many birds as they can. It's more about quantity than it is about quality. Places like Pine Hill don't allow you take that many birds... besides, even if you wanted to, you couldn't.

As for the banding. I should have been more specific. The plantations I was talking about were private. One of my hunting budding was hunting a plantation near Thomasville that had wild birds but they did early release as well. They banded every bird they released so that they could see what was wild and what was released when the bird was in hand. They didn't do this every year, because of the work involved, but instead on a rotation to keep tabs on the wild bird populations and the ratio of the birds harvested. I have heard of several private plantations doing this. I once visited a plantation in SW Alabama. It covered approx. 6000 acres. They would band the early release quail with one color and band liberated quail with another (but they would leave the liberated birds out for a few days). When the hunt was over, they could compare and see how many wild birds they killed, how many early-released birds they killed, and how many liberated birds they killed. Some do it for research. Some do it for fun.

I have a few friends and hunting buddies who hunt on private plantations... I mean the real deal wild bird plantation where parties on wagon and horse find 30 plus covies a day. My neighbor owns several thousand acres in throughout southwest GA and north Florida that he manages for wild quail. I have hunted quail in SW GA and N FL (early release and wild) before but on smaller properties... "mini plantations" I guess you could call them.  

I am telling you this so that understand that I have a little idea about quail plantations. I have visited a few and talk with many plantation owners and managers. I have keep close tabs on the quail research that takes place on the plantation but these are private places. A whole different ball game.

Not every plantation is created equally... here's my perspective.

First you have your regular, "run of the mill" preserves. OK dogs, OK accommodations (if any),  guides vary, birds usually released prior to hunt. 

Then you have the next step up. Places like Ashburn Hill. Dogs good but still not the best. great guides. Good accommodations. Mostly day release quail with some early released birds.

Then you have places like Quail Country, Wynfield, etc. Great food and accommodations, great dogs and guides. You still have some day released birds but you get a lot more early released birds.

And finally, you have place like Pine Hill, Gillionville, Woodhaven, etc. Your party has the entire place to itself. The food, guides, dogs, etc are top notch.The birds consist mostly of early release with some wild and liberated quail. 

Of course not every place fits into these catagories but most would.


Look, all I am saying is that not ALL plantations put on hunts like the one you describe. This is the longest post I have ever typed and I probably haven't convinced you of a thing but I had fun trying anyhow! 

Just out of curiosity, what place did you guide at?

By the way, what makes you think I am a yankee. I was born and raised right here in the heart of Dixie!


Adam


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## emtguy (Aug 13, 2008)

gillionville, woodhaven and pinewood.

early released birds are not wild birds. 

What im saying is all plantations release birds. Some might be released that morning and some 4 months before the hunt but they are all released birds not true wild bobwhites...

Now granted you might see one wild covey of 4-8 birds every blue moon but it is rare, dont plan a trip on the hopes of shooting TRUE wild bobwhite quail. They are not here like they used to be thanks to fox, coyote and pesticides.


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## coveyrise90 (Aug 14, 2008)

If that's all you are saying, then what are we arguing over? I never denied the fact that they released birds. That's obvious. And yes, I agree, that early released birds are not truly wild but it sure beats the heck out dizzy liberated birds. All I am saying is that they run their hunts a little differently than the average preserve. 

As for the wild quail. Doug Coe told me that if we wanted to find wild quail, we could, but we would be hunting if the thickest stuff on the plantation. Most hunters, he said, would rather just not fool with it. Most hunters like to stay in the nice, pretty areas where it's easy walking and on a heavily hunted plantation, the open areas aren't the places to find a wild covey. That's why most never see them. Wild birds learn real fast where they are safe.  And to be honest, many preserve guides nowadays don't know how to hunt wild quail (and by that I mean that most don't know the daily routine of a quail, nor do they know all the habitat requirements... at least a lot of the younger ones don't.... why should they?), because they are so accustomed to pen-raised birds.

Adam


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## sticky28 (Aug 15, 2008)

Ashburn Hill just lost a bunch of acreage and has fired Jerry York and "Buddy".  Morrison Pines owned by the Carlton Family has emerged through all this and is being managed by Jerry and Buddy.  Their new lodge looks great and most of the old clients are going with Morrison Pines.  There is rumor that Larry Willis is managing Ashburn Hill now.  He is a great guy and knows all the old guest as well.  Best of luck to both places.


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## coveyrise90 (Aug 16, 2008)

I wonder why they fired him. Anybody know what happened? Hasn't he been there for 30 +/- years? 
Also, why did they lose acreage? Did Jerry own some of the plantation?

How far is Morrison Pines from Ashburn Hill?

One of the posts above mentioned that Ashburn Hill has a new owner. I don't think they do. I called them a few weeks ago and I spoke with Ramsey Pidcock's sister. She said that she was helping out and things were crazy. She didn't go into detail but I guess she was referring to Jerry's leaving. 

Morrison Pines looks to be a beautiful place.  I hope both places do well.

Adam


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## urbanplowboy (Sep 20, 2009)

I also grew up working/living on Ashburn Hill Plantation. "Buddy" Sauls is my dad. Hey Spencer!

Jerry York and my dad managed Ashburn Hill for decades, until a rift with the owner, Ramsey, happened a few years ago. I won't go into detail, but Jerry and my dad thought it was in their best interest to start their own preserve, which became Morrison Pines Plantation. They were not fired. In fact, most of the employees and much of, if not most, of the guests who had been coming to Ashburn Hill for decades as well, made the switch over to Morrison Pines. Morrison Pines had more hunters in their first year of operation than Ashburn Hill had over each of the past few years.

As for the land issue, John Carlton had owned a very large tract of hunting land that Ashburn Hill had been leasing. John Carlton partnered with Jerry and my dad to create the new preserve, so Morrison Pines now operates on that land, which is only a few miles from the old preserve.

In addition to quail hunting, the land Morrison Pines hunts is abundant with deer and turkey, so they offer those hunts as well.

Ashburn Hill is still operation as far as I know, and did have a great history of quail hunting, but the feedback that my dad is getting from long-time guests is that the real reason they enjoyed coming every year was because of the great people that worked there, and that is why they decided to stick with Jerry and my dad at Morrison Pines.

Here is a website with more info on Morrison Pines: http://www.morrisonpines.com/

Thanks,
T.J. Sauls


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## emtguy (Sep 20, 2009)

i heard ashburn hill sold their dogs and jeeps etc...think they kept a few dogs but im pretty sure they dont hunt anymore, i think the land is for sale????


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## littlerunner (Sep 22, 2009)

*Ramsey Pidcock-found dead*

http://www.moultrieobserver.com/local/local_story_264231848.html


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## coveyrise90 (Sep 22, 2009)

Rough stuff.... maybe Sticky28 can fill us in.

Adam


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