White Oak Plantation - Part III
A day-by-day hunting overview
by Kevin Lee McIver
Have you every thought about what it would
be like to hunt at a famous lodge? What type of services they provide? Is
the hunting really that good?
I recently had an opportunity to
participate in an Alabama whitetail blackpowder hunt at one of the top
lodges in the United States, and I can tell you there is nothing finer.
Located near Tuskegee, Alabama, White Oak
Plantation is well known for excellent turkey, rabbit, quail and deer
hunting. After spending three good days of hunting at this sportsman's
paradise, I must agree.
Owned and operated by the Pitman family,
White Oak is pure Alabama hunting at its finest, with 16,000 acres of
wide-open hunting lands and one of the best wildlife management programs
around. Add it up, and you will discover there are ample opportunities to
harvest many quality whitetails at this hunter's haven.
Normally, you must do all the work when it
comes to hunting, but not at White Oak. Here they have a full-time crew
which caters to your every need -- leaving you time for some serious
hunting.
Deer hunts at this Southern benchmark
include rifle, pistol, archery and muzzleloader -- with hunts ongoing
throughout the Alabama deer season. These 3- and 4-day hunts have a
maximum of 16 hunters per trip, allowing the hunter to hunt, and the staff
to assist each and every guest as required.
In accordance with White Oak's trophy
whitetail management program, hunters are permitted to harvest one buck,
8-points or above (or 16-inch spread), during any hunt. In addition,
hunters can bag one doe-per-day -- and ample opportunities exist to take a
deer.
During my 3-day blackpowder hunt, a total
of 12 hunters participated in the adventure. Morning hunts were setup
inside hardwoods bordering fields or swamps to catch deer moving off of
nighttime feeding areas and last about four hours. Afternoon hunts, which
are also about four hours, saw us at the edge of planted fields to
intercept deer as they moved into the fields for nighttime feeding.
To give you a better idea of what a hunting
experience at White Oak Plantation is like, here is a day-by-day overview
of my hunt at White Oak:
The first morning I hunted the edge of a
thick pine plantation bordering a good stand of mature pines. It was a
good location until the wind shifted unexpectedly, but I still saw one
nice buck and one antlerless.
The second morning activity increased as I
hunted the edge of a swamp. Here I had 10 whitetails, to include a 5- and
6-point buck, within 40 yards of my stand.
The final morning I hunted a draw along an
gradually sloping ridge and saw four healthy does. Thought for sure I
would see a nice buck as my stand was a few yards from an active scrape.
Afternoon hunts along planted fields were
equally as exciting, and during three afternoon trips I had 11 whitetails
in my sights, including four mature bucks.
Seeing more than 20 whitetails within gun
range over three days of hunting was truly exhilarating. I must admit that
I failed to take a deer due to my own hesitation, and not due to the lack
of fine animals.
As this was a blackpowder hunt, I showed up
with open sights on my rifle; whereas if I would have arrived equipped
with a rifle sporting optical sights, I could have taken one of the big
bucks my first afternoon hunt, if it wasn't for the cunning of my quarry
which resisted the temptation to step out onto the planted fields until
the last few minutes of legal hunting light. Which of course at that time,
I couldn't see with open sights. Next time he won't be so lucky.
Overall, I have to rate my blackpowder
hunting expedition at Alabama's White Oak Plantation as "tops."
If you're looking for an exciting hunting trip, where you can relax, hunt,
and let other's do the hard work, then a trip to White Oak is the ticket.
For more information, contact Hilda, Robert
or Bo Pitman at (334) 727-9258 for the hunt of a lifetime.
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