Field Notes ....
Finally! The new bird season is upon us and I hope that you are like me and greatly applaud its arrival! It seems like an eternity since we loaded up the dogs and spread out across The Webb Farm looking for those wonderful covey rises we have all come to love seeing. And for me, as a guide at the Farm, it is a genuine pleasure seeing so many of our guests, who have become friends and family, returning to enjoy our little paradise here in the sandhills. Covey Call is off to another full season of reporting the happenings here at The Webb Farm. This season, we will continue bringing you news and photos from our hunts, plus some new features as well. In the last issue, we previewed a "What ever happened to" segment that features some of our retired dogs and the lives they have gone on to enjoy after leaving us. We will continue to tell you those stories. As well, I want to profile a hunter or two and let our readers read in their words why The Webb Farm is such a special place. On that note, if you have a favorite hunting at The Webb Farm story you want to relate, tell us and we'll put it in Covey Call for everyone to read. Just drop me a note at
Be sure and read the news in this issue about the new Fireside area that Debbie designed and is now under construction. I am sure you will enjoy this outside venue. I can almost smell the woodsmoke, and hear the stories being told around the fire kettle. Well enough writing for now. It is time to load some dogs, gas up the mules and get ready to hunt. Meet you at The Lodge!
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The Webb Farm in the NEWS
On October 4, 2012, CNN Travel featured The Webb Farm in its Travel Segment. Writer/producer Amanda Kludt included us in her article Hunting Heats Up: 6 spots in the US. Check out the piece here -- Hunting Heats Up 
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Plan a Hunt at TWF
It is simple to schedule a hunt with us. Simply check our online calendar for availability and let Bill know when you want to schedule your hunt It is really just that simple! And remember, hunts are already being booked for the upcoming season. Call and reserve your spot today!
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The Webb Farm does not sale or share our mailing lists. Your privacy is important to us.
Besides, don't you get enough SPAM already?
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Let's Go Hunting!
Put down the pen and grab your favorite shotgun, The Webb Farm is once again open for business as the 2012-2013 bird season is upon us. Like every year at this time, we want to welcome you to another season of fine bird hunting here in the Sandhills area of North Carolina.
Our calendar is filling up rapidly, but we will do everything possible to accommodate your specific dates. Take a look at our online calendar to plan the dates for your outing and give Bill a call. It couldn't be easier!
So whether you are a 'regular' with us, or planning your first time visit, we look forward to providing you with a premier hunting experience. Give is a call! Bill Webb
910.995.0207 |
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A Montana Bird Hunt
Jo was working the edge of wheat field stubble, wheeled, and locked up. A point pretty as a picture. We moved forward at a run, knowing the cover was thin and we had to hurry if we were to get a shot. The weeds adjacent to the wheat stubble erupted as a covey of Huns sped toward the far hillside. Raiford and I fired, but I was a little out of range. Raiford's bird folded and hit the ground.
For the first time in my life, I opened my bird hunting season not at The Webb Farm, but in late September in Montana hunting Huns and Sharptails.
At the invitation of good friend and Wilmington attorney David Huffine, I joined him, Raiford Trask also of Wilmington, and Bob England of Elgin, Oklahoma, along with two trailers of dogs at David's favorite ranch in eastern Montana just north of Big Timber to bring in the season.
It started out warm on Sunday, in the 70's, and in that weather birds moved little and dogs had to be watered a lot. But by the middle of the week a Canadian cold front came through, bringing much needed snow and rain to the parched cover of the plains of eastern Montana, and a definite improvement in scenting conditions.
My last full day of hunting on Friday saw us move 14 coveys of Hungarian Partridge and 25-30 Sharptail Grouse. I reveled in the points and flushes of wild birds in cover as pretty as I have ever seen, from thousand-acre wheat stubble fields to native grass creek bottoms, deep coulee's, grass ridges, and hillsides, all forming absolutely unparalleled vistas. It was a bird hunter's heaven all right, and David expected us to make the most of it. He kept a steady and strong pace as we covered 10-12 miles per day.
We were in a wildlife paradise. At dusk, after a great day afield we stopped on a gravel country road to watch 20 mule deer jump a fence moving to the next ridge, and huns and pheasant running down the road to their evening cover in a shelterbelt. The driving snow had run the sharptails out of the prairie grass and they sat in the trees beside the road, ready for the cold snowy evening, a sort of unsung truce between them and a hawk perched on a fencepost. A coyote moved on the north ridgeline. All of nature scurried for cover as the first snow of the season covered Square Butte to the north and the Crazy Mountains to the south. It was a special place and moment in time.
The plane lifted off of the runway at Great Falls early the next morning heading home. For me, it was an experience I will never forget and probably never be able to recreate. But as I flew into the eastern sunrise, I was already psyched up for our season, quail season. The birds, the dogs, and more importantly the good times with friends sharing the outdoors in the crisp Fall air is what this sport is really all about, whether in Stanford, Montana or Ellerbe, North Carolina.
Fall is here. We hope to see you. Bill Webb
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Pardon our Construction
Once again, expansion is underway at The Webb Farm.
Last year, our guests experienced the doubling of The Lodge, with the addition of The Roost, which added guest rooms and entertainment areas under our roof. This year, something entirely new awaits your enjoyment.
The Fireside is a stand alone area that includes an outdoor seating venue surrounding a fire kettle, a porch, and a locker room for day hunters.
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Debbie traded her chef hat for an architect pen and designed the perfect new venue for The Webb Farm.
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Many of you have suggested we have some outdoor seating and fire pit or fireplace area for socializing following a day in the field. The Fireside is just that! On great weather days, we might even use it as a location for our famous oyster roasts or even a barbecue.
So this year, after a long day in the field, sit back, prop up your feet, and enjoy your favorite post-hunt beverage while telling stories of solid points, covey rises, and doubles taken.... all around the fire kettle at The Webb Farm's new Fireside. We'll meet you there.
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The Legacy of Traditional North Carolina Quail Hunting
522 John Webb Road
Ellerbe, NC 28338 |
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