Camp lejeune?

[Ofally]

Hey all, I am a marine stationed here in camp lejeune and I have a two year old Brittany spaniel pup who has some decent training in him from his previous owner. I am looking to get some help onto the subject of where around me I can do some quail hunting. I took him up to the croatans today to get him some time out in the field but all the fields were to over grown I think for him. I got him from my buddy's dad who breeds and trains Brittany's down in Georgia where the fields are a lot more well kept and not over grown. And advice or suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Tim.

[Escopeton]

Tim,

Don't worry about the fields being overgrown or bushy. You will encounter that almost anywhere you hunt. As far as hunting around Camp Legeune I am not familiar with that area; I was stationed on the west coast. Are there any Brittany Clubs or hunting dog clubs in the general area? Have you checked out the national forests or public land in the state? Good luck in working with your pup.

Former USMC 74 -78.

[Ofally]

Hey thanks for the reply. The only national forest I've tried was the croatan. It was way to overgrown with thorns. Rusty kept trying to get into it but couldn't because it was a tangled mess. Idk maybe I'm just used to Missouri quail seeking shelter by a fence post. As to the club's, I believe there is a quail forever chapter but I haven't really looked too much into it.

[Escopeton]

Hello Tim,

Have you checked out the NC game and fish site. It can give you some areas to hunt.

http://www.ncwildlife.org/Hunting/WheretoHunt.aspx

[NC Quailhunter]

Tim
There are a few members on here that are in your area. Some of us, me, are, a little stingy with areas until I get to know you. If you have the base permit the base is a good place to hunt. If not and you hunt game lands then go to Stones Creek. I know there are birds there. Holly Shelter is not nad either. Good luck and let me know how it goes. The areas are brushy here. Find areas that have a twp year olf burn on them.

[NC Quailhunter]

Tim,
I forgot mention that I am the Habitat Chairman for the local Quail Forever chapter. We are pretty active.
Talk toy soon, hopefully.
Brian

[Ofally]

Hey sorry it has taken me forever to reply but I just got out of a week long field op in this frigid weather. One morning I woke up and there was frost on my sleeping bag....it sucked. Thanks for the advice guys I might try to get out this weekend if the weather permits, having to sleep in this weeks weather in nothing but a sleeping bag has really made me sick of the cold.

[lugmastro]

As Brian told you there are plenty of places to hunt around Lejeune. The birds were great early in the year. I am sure there are some good coveys to be found in both the Croatan and down in Holly Shelter. I suggest looking for areas that have been burned in the past 2 years and then plan on doing some walking. I think the NC average is 1 covey for every 2 hours hunted. So don't think you are going to find wild birds in the first 5 minutes.
We have to be very careful with covey size. There are wild birds but not as many as we would like. I spend a lot of time finding coveys and not shooting birds out them more than once a year. I just like to watch the dogs work. If I come home with 2-3 birds I'm more than happy.

[lugmastro]

I feel your pain trying to find areas to hunt and birds in Eastern NC. There are plenty of birds, the start of the season was really good. On public land you are going to struggle especially before 1 Jan. I refuse to hunt Stone's Creek until after Deer Season is over. It can feel like you are in the middle of a fire fight in there when they are running deer dogs. I haven't found a lot of birds in Stone's Creek. I have had a little luck up north in the Croatan, and next year I am going to explore Holly Shelter. I am told that Holly Shelter holds some pretty good numbers. Most of the guys I know are either hunting preserves or releasing their own birds on private land. I try to stay away from it. The dog and I cover a lot of ground each season, but we find our fair share of wild birds. I think the WRC's estimate was 1 covey found per 4 hours of hunting public land last year. So don't plan on finding birds quick or even every time you hunt. It is an exercise in patience, enjoy working the dog and make sure YOU don't screw it up when you are on the birds.

If you have any other questions hit me up with a pm.

[USMC]

Darn!

Getting flash backs!

[Bluesky2012]

Yeah hunting on base you can find birds but it's very thick. Haven't hunted for quail off base because I spent the majority of the time deer or duck hunting. Next season hit me up if you want to hunt the area

[Scout0861]

I'm in Wilmington, I didnt hunt quail in the gamelands this year but I did run my pup and had some luck in both Holly Shelter and Stone Creek finding wild birds. I hunted out at Allen Brothers in Bladenboro a few times.

Joe
USMC
07-11

[lugmastro]

Scout,

The real question is where in Holly Shelter? It is so big I haven't wanted to drive an hour to try and pick through that much ground. I'm not asking for a 10 digit grid to your coveys, but a general area would be good.

[Bluesky2012]

Lug, I happened across quail after season in holly shelter as I was walking the area just checking it out for next years duck season (which I don't think I'll go there for).

You train in the lejeune area? I got too far into retriever training last year and when I'm back in the states I'm gonna try to start workin my pointer back into the ball game