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t the back ofthe 3O-acrepond, a labyrinth of dirt roads splintered from the main drag. and headed in different directions. We had options, all of them good. We could call the dogs forward to climb the gentle rise of a hillside rimmed with pearl millet and edged with century-old oaksand pines. If we recast the dogs to the left. we'd work a field of broomstraw and millet that meanderedpast an old tobacco barn. A turn to the right would passby the lowlands created by the pond's outflow. Switch cane lined both sidesof the stream, and their knife-shaped,green-and-white leavespulsed with every gust of wind, no matter how slight. Bill Webb reminisced while we tried to figure out which way to go. "From the early 1900sthrough the 1970smy daddy leasedparts of the farm to a number of sharecroppers," Bill told me. "This particular sectionwas leasedby a man named Roosevelt.He'd grow cotton or tobacco, depen&ng on what fetched the best price at market, and in someyearshe even grew peaches.Seethat chimney on top of the hill? Well, one summer night a ffre sparkedand burned the whole houseto the ground. SPORTINC
a) Englishsetter,pointsa A\owdy, theauthor'sseven-year-old coveyin a thickstandof millet. Everyone from the homesteadsraced down here to the pond, and they filled and hauled buckets of water. They put out the fire, but the house and its contents were lost. About a week after the house burned down, Rooseveltleft the farm. All that's left is the foundation and the chimney, and it's been that way ever since." Bill Webb grew up here, and he not only knows every squareinch ofthe land, but he also has a story to tell about it. "I learned to drive when I was ten." he said. "I couldn't reach the clutch and gaspedals of the pickups, 'em in my mama's Corvair. It was but I could reach a three-speedstick, and I took full advantageofthat car. I had no businesstaking it into some places I did becausethe Corvair didn't have much clearance.Still, I'd run it through the dirt roads to whichever part of the farm folks were working. There are a lot of stories about that car that I'd best not mention, but it was a great thing for a farm boy." If you're patient, directions sometimesjust become CTASSICS
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clear.A beepertoned at the top of the hill and it soundedabout once a second,indicatingthat one ofour dogswas locked up on a covey. "What do you saywe head up and check on that dog?" Bill asked.Then he put the rig in gear and gaveit some gas.Somethings don't need to be saidtwice
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on the hills. When it rained,the basementsand barns stayeddry and the water running downhill irrigated the crops. Back then there was no shortageof bobwhite guail anywhere in Richmond County, North Carolina, and there were a lot of them at the Webb Farm. "Up through the 1960swe used an old Willyr jeep for hunting the property," Bill said. "My daddy and uncles were all bird hunters,and we'd tosssomedog boxes in the back and go for a ride. I wasjust a hd but we alwayshad a big time. "I started to seethe quail populations drop consistentlyfrom the 1970sthrough now, and that's sort of the reasonI openedWebb Farm in 2005.I figured that I could help keep alive a hunting tradition
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(!he Webbs | 9th-century-style farmhousefeatureseight bedrooms.Below:Bill and DebbieWebbhavecreateda home-away-from-home atmosphere at thefarm.
that is dear to my heart while doing something to help the remaining wild quail population. So far it's been working pretty good." Excellent habitat is the foundation of outstanding quail hunting, so Webb set about creating an initial land-useplan. He played around with burning, cutting, and dishng to clear the land, and then began planting food and cover crops that are native to North Carolina, and he'll mix and match to get the results he wants. If, for example,the pearl millet isn't responsiveon the north side, then he might try it on the south side to seehow it'll do. Or he might scrapit all together and plant Lespedezabicolor. Turning a working farm into a top-notch quail lodge isn't an easytask,mind you, and there were three ingredients that proved successful.The first came from Bill's knowledge of the past-drawing from a century of successes and failures."Keep a winning gameplan, change a losing game plan" goesthe football adage,true words for creating a solid agricultural foundation. The secondis to be open to new ideasand to implement them wisely. Bill varieshis farming, from burning one year to disking another, and on to rotating and managingcrops. Not every part of the farm is hunted everyyear as some areasneed time to become prime. One exampleof new ideascomes from the harshnessof this past winter. Snowweighed heavily on the soft grasses,so Bill planted a variety of strongerand hardier cover for next year. The third is people. Bill doesn't know the word quit, and as a result he attracts similarly minded folks. Danny Hawks, the farm manager,is representative of that attitude. Danny brings a tremendous amount of agricultural knowledge to the farm, and as part of strong team that works together, he alwaysfinds a (-[ASSICS
way to not only get it done but to get it done right. With that strong approerchit's rro surprise that the Webb Ferrlnteam won the coveted 2014 Businessof the Year North CirrolinaConserwrrtion presentedby the North CtrrolinirWildlife Federtrtion, the highest conselartion erwnrdgiven in the Old North Sttrte. for postWhile the ReclHills set the sterge Reconstnrctionplrrntirtionlife, hunting in North Cirrolinirfocusedsimply on larnd,dogs,trndbirds
wild quail just behind it. I think they coveyup in the slllr su,eetbriarsat night, and rvhen the early-arftel'nooll liits the fields,they come out to feed. Let's have a look and seeif they'rethere."
(rvhich is r,r,hythe property is called Webb Fann insteerd of Webb Plnntation).But rvhatdifl'erentirrtes hin-rrrnclhis ftrrm is that Bill Webb is trn indepenclent thinker. Ratherthnn rvork strictlv off nrofit-zrnd-lost reports,he r.nrrkes decisionsthat will best recretrte North Carolinrrquail hunting ersit wrrsyeilrs elâ‚Ź]o. A strerngernright eirsilyconfusethe berrristerfbr er ftrnner, but tliat is preciselywhertm:rkeshr-rntingirt the fan.nso gretrt. "Seethat birccerberrnover tl'rere?"Bill tisked. "Ever since I can rerlernber there hersbeen a coveyof
"My wife, Debbie, and I hervetr huge ridgebtrck naned Doc. He's i,rboutthe sizeof erpony, and in the springrve'll terkehirn on rvalksthrough the {arrr. Wouldn't you knorvthat he's sliowingsorneinterestin quail? M,ryb" we're on to sonething . . . I don't know." Although he will experimentrvith different dogsau-rd apprecitrtesrr lot of their qualities,rntrkeno mistrrke: Bill Webb is rt pointer nrur. "I guessI like pointers bectruseI grervup rvith 'en, apprecitrtetheir rernge,arndthe wtry they work. They're trll businessin the fielcl,and thart'snot to strythirt other
s much of rr f:rnirtic trsWebb is for his land. he's even crrrzier:rboutclogs.One klok zrthis kerrrrel irndyorr'llseepoirttersartdsettels. shorthairsand Vizslas,springersand cockers, Irish ltrbs,anclwho knorvswhertelse.
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dogsaren't.I love all bircl clogs,but pointers,rvell, thevjrrst occupvir specinlpltrcein mv hetrrt.NIaybe it's becirusether"re the traclitirlnitlS<xrthemorritil 'enr." dog, I don't k,rorr,,but I jrrst love Bill velled{br his rlogs,Ctrssiethe pointer irncl Bubbrithe setter."IIev Cassie!BLrblxr!In helel That Cassiesurehasa greatnose.She'sgot a lineagethat u'e all dreanr about anclu'on a rrrrr.nber clf field-trial cltrrnrpionsltips in her clar,.I got her rrfter she u'rrs retireclfrom the circuit, trnclslre h,rsbeer.rone of rly
finrlins bircls." Sureenough,they clicl.I didn't seeu.hichdog pointeclfirst, but I rvtrsa setter r.niurin the c<ln'rptutv of' rrpointer miur. "I'r.rrsrrreCrrssiesot the point," Bill laughecl,"but it u,ouldn'tsurpriserne i{'Bubbu got there first." The covevu'trsbig, nriwbe 30 or 40 bircls,and rvhenhe tunreclthe Irish lab loosethe rrutrilsctrtterecl evet1t4tere.Thev erupteclat the sanretinte iurcl wrrsteclno tinre flying hrrrd in clif{'erentclirections.
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absolutc.ly firvoritesto run. We go brrcka ways,her andme." My eveswere on Bubba, rr good-looking,all-rvhite setteru'ith a black nose.I u'rrtcheclhim rip throtrgh trclustero{'cockleburs,but at the errclof the clayhe neverpickeclnp nrore thtrn rr {'eu'. "Bubba is one of tlre verv best English settersI have everou,'necl," said Bill. "He u'on't slou'clorur,e\rc.non a hot cliw,and he is a bird-findingnrachine.He iurcl Cassies,ork s'ell together.Thev don't get competitive u'itl'rerrchother; thev just set rrltouttlre businessof t)ollllN(;
fhu nutho,swingson a fast-flyingquail while hisfriend, David Huifine, triesto get a betterview of the flush. Thehunters'setters-Cus, Albert, Doc, anc!Dottie-are alreadyrivetedon the bird. t \Vebb Firnn, u4tert votr're reaclvto lrrrng vorrr hnt fbr the dav, vorr'll finrl ir severrrl di{I'erent trccornmorlirtions.TIre first is rr conrfbrtallle, rvell-irppointecl I 9th-centuwsq'le firrnrhouse thirt s,arsconrPleted in 2006 turclerpancled in 2010. There ilre hvo u.ines u'ith eight {
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There is a bite to the moming bedrooms,eachwith private bathrooms.Leather couchesare air that burns off by midcorrfortablyarrangedaround the moming, and the soft weststonefireplacein the great roorn, northwest winds forecastthe and a fatscreen televisionmakes winter to come. Cold evening it easyto catch an after-hunt ball temperaturescoveyup the birds The dining area is adjacent nicely, and the dogsslam hard garne. to an open kitchen, and there is on point. Mixed cuesassociated a wide front porch with rockers with the early seasonare gone, overloohng the bird fields. and it's the beginning of prime Another option is the original time-the hckoff of another Webb farmhouse.Built in the wonderful hunting seasonthat early 1900sit's a three-bedroom will continue through February. home with heartpine floors and hand-hewnbeams.An extra e passedthe personor couple can stayin the burned-down Corn Crib, a small apartment houseand convertedfrom its original use continued our for holding silage. hunt in an If you like dogs,as most bird expansivefield of broomstraw hunters do, then be sure to visit and millet. The dog box in the withWebb Farm zuideWade back was filled with pointers and Meacham.Wade ii the owner setters,so we picked up Bubba of Sun Dog Kennels,and is and Cassieand out down Albert involved with the dog training and Rowdy.They're a good pair 'errr at the farm. Wade comesfrom a to walk behind so we let run long line of trainers;in fact, one while we hoofed it for a bit. Rateyhad the honorof shooting the first areamost guestswill hunt is near Sri", The warm breezecarried the quail ever pointed by Rebel,the author's seventhe old Methodist church where sweetsmell of grassthrough the month-old setter. PastorMeacham,Wade's daddy, field. We watched Albert caston preachedon Sundays.Anyone a left-to-right path while Rowdy who attendeda sermonfrequently enjoyeda pleasant ran againstthe grain. Albert easedup and rolled into a mix of dogs,quail, and the Word. point while Rowdy caughtup and honored. The two Innovaiion-must be an integral part of Richmond beeperswere music to my ears. 'lVanna County lifestyles,for Wade Meachamis well known shoot my gun?" I askedBill. "Don't mind if I do. I've alwaysbeen a side-by-side for introducing Irish labs to the area'sduck ponds and rolling quail terrain. He's a strong proponent of the shotgunfan." pointing dog-fushing dog combination, and after a The shotgunin questionwas my Parker VH 20 gauge pointer or a setter locks up, he'll send in an Irish lab. with very open chokesand a straight stock of highly Wade is pretty accessible,but you probably won't find figured walnut. Readersmight have seena piece on it him working dogson St. Patrick'sDay. It might be the Sporti,ngClassicsDai.ly, and I dropped a pair of RST 3/q-otnce,20-gauge best to call him a day or two before and certainly a day shellsinto the chambersand handed or two after, him the 2n. One ol Bill's cockersout the covevin the air. Man was ne of Carolina'snative sonsis Robert Ruark, it a big covey!There -rrist harrebeen21birds flying in who beganhis writing careerasa stringer in each compassdirection. Bill swungto the left and fired the nearby town of Hamlet. Perhapsone of twice. Two birds fell. "I could get usedto this Parker," he said. my favorite Ruark essaysis "November was "Don't get too used to it," I responded."It ain't alwaysthe Best" fronThe Old Man andthe Boy. If some Septemberyou havethe occasionto visit for sale." Webb Farrn and walk through the fields planted with We worked our way up to the end and then crossed a mixture of wiregrass,broomstraw,pearl millet, and the road to a wiregrassfield and hunted our way back to soybeans,you'll be smitten with their golderi hue. Come the buggy.We were about to rotate dogsagainwhen our October the hardwoodspaint their own panoramawith friends rounded the bend. stunning shadesof orange,red, and yellow. Duncan Grant, RussLumphn, and Brian Raleyof SI)ORTIN(;
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hadworked a few fields that morning SportingClassi,cs and our plan was to rendezvous and hunt together. Brian brought along AIIie, his fine Brittany, and I was itching to put down Rebel, my wife's seven-monthold setter. Rebel had cut his teeth on woodcockin the fall but he hadn't shaqpenedthem on quail. I was loohng to add bobsto his repertoire. We drove for a ways and stopped at a new field. Duncan and Russsat out this round so Brian and I could work our dogs.Dogs sometimesdon't cotton to one another,but for the Allie-Rebel brace,it was old home week.We walked and walked, and Rebel locked up on point. Allie honored. "Brian, I'd be pleasedif you'd shoot the first quail over Rebel,"I said. 'lMell, that'd be fine," he said."I was thinhng I could usea little pressurethis morning." We left the cocker in the rig, and I walked out in front of the pup's point. The whirrr of wings camewhen about a dozenbirds flushed. Brian picked a bird from the covey and dropped it so the pup could seeit fall. "Guessyou had a hand in selectingHemingway for one of the Sporti,ngClassicscovers,"I said."Grace under pressure.Thanks for that." After a while we swapped dogs again, this time with a pair of athletic pair of big running pointers.What's nice about the Webb Farm is that you can ride or walk, and whicheverway you prefer, you'll hunt over dogsperfectly suitedto eachstyle.And then there was the faint sound of beeperscoming from over the hill. There was no telling how long they held that point, and when we rolled to a stop, Duncan and Russgot into position. Wade breeds Irish labs,and Finn got the nod. Finn hasthat wonderfirl square head, big shoulders and chest,and small rest of the body, and he wastedno time in putting the birds in the air. It was tough to tell if Duncan'sParker VH or Russ'cat-like reflexeswere responsiblefor the downed birds, but when four were returned we had our answer. The next day Mike Gaddisjoined us, accompanied by his English cocker and a pair of Boyhn spaniels. One look at Mike and you know he's got his priorities straight.His faceis weatheredso you know he spends a lot of time outdoors,and his orangevest has more patchesand repairs than original cloth. His dogs are impeccablymannered,obedient, and all business.They heelunleashedat his sidewhile we walked, andwhen therewas a point, he'd send'em along. I'd hunted overcockersbefore but not Boyhns, and boywas I impressed.The dogsare unphasedby thick vines and briars, and they have a way of snaking their way through the tangleswhile moving at the speed of heat. I was a fan.I had hoped to see Mike's brace of young Shadow OakBo settersrun, but he left them in the kennel. I look forward to a next time. SPORTINC
memorableatWebb Farm.ThisHolland & Hollland double is owned by leff Sztorc, owner of Covey and Nye and The Dutch RiverClub.
fter retiring as a culinary chef instructor, Bill's wife, Miss Debbie, took over the culinaryportion of Webb Farm about three yearsago. Shehired ExecutiveChef Sam Richardson,and together they elevatedthe dining experience.Every meal is not only deliciousbut servedin perfect-sizedportions. Thelre enoughto fill up my gastank until the next meal but not so much that I overeatand need a nap. A breakfast might begin with free-range eggsto order, stone-ground grits with cream and three cheeses, and wood-smoked,thick-cut bacon and catheadbiscuits with sourwood honey. After the hunt, cocktailsand appetizersare served fireside, with buttermilk saut6ed quail lollipops with pan gravy and house-preparedfig glaze. Arelaxed dinner of grilled, beef tenderloin is carved tableside and accompaniedby a horseradishau jus reduction. After coffee and a three-berry Napoleon fresh-whipped cream or Irish cream cheesecakewith chocolate crumb crust, it's time to saygoodnight. That menu covers but one day, and if you're like most guestsat Webb Farm, you'll be curious as to what the next day might bring. Located a chip shot away from the farm is Pinehurst, the well-known and world-clasi golf retreat. There are a number of seasonalactivities and events,so if you're traveling with an entourage of family and friends with diverse interests,then Richmond County has everyone covered. For me and my family, we'll stick to worhng the dogs and hanging out with Danny, Wade, Dick, Amanda, and the rest of the gang. C'mon to the Webb Farm. You'll be glad you did. Y CTASSICS