THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 2, 1994 TAG: 9411020664
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, BEACON SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Long : 137 lines
The sun was rising beyond the treetops, reflected through drops of dew on the recently plowed fields like thousands of diamonds in the dirt.
This was going to be a gem of a day at Back Bay Sportsman Unlimited, a licensed hunting preserve owned by Mark Vaughan and his family just south of Pungo.
The hunting party approached the edge of a small plot that until recently had been home to towering corn plants. The air was fresh and cool, tingling the lungs with every breath.
All was silent except for the panting and rustling feet of Noble, a perky English setter who darted to and fro with enviable energy.
In the blink of an eye, Noble - whose full name is Noble Radar Birdman - had sniffed out something of interest. The 2 1/2-year-old bird dog had come to a statuesque halt - pointing, motionless, toward a row of brush.
Sure as shootin', there had to be birds out there. Bird dogs don't lie.
Vaughan and good buddy Joe Ficarra beat the brush for a few moments and then suddenly a pair of quail took flight.
In a split second, the air was shattered by the boom of a shotgun, then a second blast.
One bird fell motionless to the ground with Noble in hot pursuit. The other, with winged skill and a lack of shooting prowess on the hunter's part, managed to escape.
``Hunt dead, Noble, hunt dead,'' Ficarra barked to his dog, coaxing the animal to find the dead bird and bring it back to its master. ``Hunt dead, hunt dead. Good boy!''
One bird bagged, Noble returned to his tireless task of sniffing out another.
While many purists squawk at hunting preserves, they are becoming an increasingly popular alternative to diminishing wild lands.
``Land is getting used up pretty fast,'' Ficarra said. ``And farmers who have land don't let people hunt on it like they used to. And many people don't have the time to put into hunting wild areas for wild birds.''
While both require work on the hunter's part, preserves remove much of the guess work. But knowing the preserve owner has stocked the birds doesn't guarantee you'll find them, much less flush a few out.
Besides, many purists are closet preserve hunters - often opting to use the opportunity to hone the skills of both themselves and their dogs.
``It's good for diehards who might get a little rusty, it's good for teaching green dogs to hunt, it's great for people who just don't have much time and they want to get a good hunt in,'' Vaughan said.
``There are a lot of reasons why a place like this works.''
Vaughan's land has been in the family since the mid-1700s, when the King of England granted 1,200 acres to the founding members of the family.
It has remained a single tract, making it one of the largest continuous tracts in Virginia Beach. Over the years, the family has grown every crop imaginable, while also raising cows and hogs.
``We try to do a little bit of everything,'' said Vaughan, a 1986 graduate of Kellam High School.
Vaughan's father, Eddie, is the head farmer and gets help from several relatives.
Last year, Mark Vaughan persuaded his dad to find yet another use for 170 of the acres - a hunting preserve.
Called Back Bay Sportsman Unlimited, it now operates as the only public preserve in South Hampton Roads and one of only six in this corner of the state. The other five - Magnolia Shooting Preserve in Suffolk, Aberdeen Farm in Smithfield, Bacon's Castle Shooting Preserve in Surry, Point Farm Shooting Preserve in Eastville on the Eastern Shore, and Beaverdam Game Preserve in Toano - are private clubs catering only to members and invited guests.
At Back Bay, anyone can sign up to hunt quail and pheasant.
``I grew up hunting,'' Vaughan said. ``It was always a dream and desire to have a hunting establishment of some kind. I looked into this and talked to a few people and decided to give it a try.''
Starting a game preserve requires more than merely opening the gate, stocking some birds and having at it.
Vaughan spent almost a year trouncing through the red tape to open the facility - which by law must be licensed by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
``We've got an incredible amount of time and money tied up into this, and it's usually two or three years before there's any money to be made,'' Vaughan said. ``There is a lot of work to be done with the state, seed to be planted for proper cover for the birds, buying the birds themselves, lots of time and work.''
In simple terms, a hunting preserve is a plot of land, where the owner takes pen-raised birds to be hunted. He places the birds in the field a few hours before the hunting party arrives, giving them ample time to take refuge in the brush cover.
A hunting party arrives, with dog in tow, and proceeds to hunt just like they would on a farmer's land where wild birds congregate around leftover grains from harvested crops.
The big difference is the hunter's confidence in knowing that the birds are there. It's just a matter of the dog finding them, the hunters flushing them out and getting off a good shot.
It's not, however, as easy as it might sound.
Many birds are never found, and mesh themselves into the natural population of wild birds.
``It's hard work out here,'' Vaughan and Ficarra echoed.
The Back Bay facility - one of 72 licensed by the state - also offers wild bird and deer hunting during the state seasons.
The preserve operates for quail and pheasant from Sept. 1 through April 31. For $55, Vaughan puts out 10 quail for a party limited to three hunters and their dog. Four pheasants are an additional $60. If a party does not have a dog, Vaughan rents one of his for $10 an hour.
Bookings must be made three days in advance.
``Sometimes I'm the dog and the flusher,'' Vaughan said with a laugh. ``You come out here and work for these birds. It's not bang, bang, bang and you're outta here. This is just like wild hunting in the fields.'' MEMO: For more information on Back Bay Sportsman Unlimited, call Vaughan at
426-2293 (days) or 426-5562 (evenings).
ILLUSTRATION: Color staff photos by Mort Fryman
On the Cover: Joe Ficarra and his dog, Noble, trudge through a
cornfield at Back Bay sportsman's club in search of quail and
pheasant
Left: As Noble points out a bird's location, hunter Joe Ficarra and
land owner Mark Vaughan work to flush it out in the field off
Princess Anne Road south of Pungo.
With the help of ever-energetic Noble, a 2 and one-half year-old
English setter, Joe Ficarra takes a shot as a bird is flushed his
direction. The prize was one of two pheasants killed on the day -to
be taken home for dinner.
Happily displaying a quail, Joe Ficarra emerges from the wooded
area, wet from sweat and the morning dew that clung to every vine
and bush.
B&W photo
With Noble still keping a close eye after the hunt, Mark Vaughan
bands the birds as a method of keeping track of which ones were
killed.
by CNB