Southern Woods Quail Hunt

Hunters gathered at the Southern Woods Plantation for the 7th Annual Songwriters Quail Hunt, near Sylvester, Ga.

The hunt is hosted by Elite Series pro J Todd Tucker. (Pictured on the right).

Before the hunt begins hunters moved to the skeet range for a bit of shooting practice.

Elite Series pro Jacob Powroznik was one of the first shooters on the firing line.

Powroznik is the 2014 Elite Series Rookie of the Year.

Powroznik provided shooting tips to Erick Arnoldson with Livingston Lures.

It was an event to re-kindle old friendships.

Elite Series pro Hank Cherry waits for his turn at shooting skeet.

Powroznik decides to try another gun.

Powroznik laid down his semi-automatic and goes for the bit more stylish over and under.

The familiar smell of gun smoke was in the air as hundreds of shells were directed down range.

Hank Cherry fires a shotâ¦

â¦and decides he needed to practice some more before moving into the field.

J Todd Tucker made sure there were plenty of shotgun shells and brings another case to the line. He gives a full box of shells to Phoenix boat owner Gary Clouse.

As host of the event, J Todd Tucker wore many hats during the event. Here he organizes the hunters into four man teams.

Tucker introduces Bassmaster.com writer Steve Wright to Nashville songwriter Donny Lowery.

For safety purposes all hunters were advised to wear an orange hat during the hunt.

Hunters begin to organize into teams and take their seats in the jeeps that are used to transport hunters to the shooting grounds.

Hank Cherry was making sure he wouldnât run out of ammunition.

The dogs were ready to do what they do.

After being organized into teams hunters are transported to their first hunting locations.

They exit the hunting vehicles and the hunt is on.

The dogs were anxious to get to work.

The jeep is parked, the hunters load their guns and move into Georgia pines to hunt for quail.

The first covey rises quickly and the shooting begins just yards from the jeep.

The team of shooters make their way through the woods, looking for a point from the dogs.

They form a line and follow the dogs.

One of the dogs goes on pointâ¦

â¦and Gary Clouse moves in closer for the burst of quail from the cover.

It was a very warm Georgia day and the dogs took advantage of the many water stations along the way.

The dogs never stopped moving unless they were on point.

A quail bursts from the cover and tries to escape into the trees.

However, a true shot stopped the quail in flight.

One of the downed quail landed in a pond, but was retrieved with no problem.

J Todd Tucker spent the morning with his fellow Elite Series pros and Erick Arnoldson with Livingston Lures.

A successful morning hunt left smiles on everybodyâs face

Jacob Powroznik, Hank Cherry and Erick Arnoldson board the jeep and move to the next course.

J Todd Tucker joined Nashville songwriter Donnie Lowery for an afternoon hunt.

Donnie Lowery holds a puppy that will one day do the work at Southern Woods.

The pup was too young to hunt, but was good company during the jeep rides around the property.

The team of hunters enjoyed the ride to the next course.

Phoenix boat owner Gary Clouse spends a few minutes shooting skeet.

A throng of hunters gathered outside for the afternoon hunt.

Hunters are paired with their guides for a three hour afternoon hunt.

After the pairings the teams are off to the woods.

This is the 7th annual event of this kind hosted by J Todd Tucker and Southern Woods Plantation.

Thereâs lots of work to be done before the hunters come back in from the morning hunt. Auction items and S.W.A.G. are organized for the hunters when they return.

J Todd Tucker prepares the auction and giveaway tickets.

The second day of hunting provided clear skies and cool temperatures.

A break in the hunting provided J Todd Tucker time to sit down with some of his key sponsors.

After breakfast and taking care of a bit of business, it was time for Tucker to organize the morning hunt.

Another pup would get his initiation to quail hunting at Southern Woods.

Jeeps began to pull out and move to their first hunting locations.

The hunters are pulled deep into the Georgia pines.

The last group of hunters drives away.

The quail have abundant cover in the pines.

Some of the cover is nearly waist deep.

What every quail hunter is looking forâ¦a dog on point.

Gary Clouse reacts quickly to a covey riseâ¦

â¦and is obviously pleased with the results.

Hunters make their way through the towering pines.

J Todd Tucker and Jacob Powroznik hunted together during the afternoon session.

The two Elite Series pros have become friends off the water.

The hot temperatures in the afternoon left everybody looking for something cold to drink.

Guides kept the hunts organized and fresh dogs on the ground.

Donnie Lowery watches closely as the dogs work close to a pond.

Time to walk back to the jeep and move to another course.

Several ponds are loaded with fish on the Southern Woods property.

J Todd Tucker visits on the porch with Nashville songwriters Craig Wiseman and Donnie Lowery. Both writers have written multiple number one country songs.

Dinner on the last evening was an always popular shrimp boil.

The sun sets on the last night at Southern Woods Plantation, but the night was not over. Inside three of the best song writers in the world were about to entertain the guests.

The moon begins to rise above the Georgia pines.

In the evening guests were entertained by three of the best song writers in the history of country music.

Jacob Powroznik was enjoying hearing the song writers perform.

Rodney Crowell begins to settle into his chair and a night of playing music.

After tuning their guitarsâ¦

â¦and making sure there was a cold beverage nearby, the song writers were ready to begin.

There was picture after picture takingâ¦

– â¦of the three incredibly gifted song writers.

Young and old gathered to hear them play and sing.

Craig Wiseman got things underway, singing songs he had written that were recorded by such country music stars as Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Leann Rimes, and Kenny Chesney.

Guests began to gather around the songwriters and one great country song after another was performed.

Donnie Lowery has been a guest of the hunt for several years, and wrote a song about the event entitled âCovey Riseâ.

One of the more popular moments during the evening performances, was Donnie Lowery performing âOld Flameâ, a huge #1 hit recorded by the band Alabama.

Lowery smiles at the reaction from the guests when he finishes the song.

Rodney Clawson visits with J Todd Tucker before he begins to sing.

Clawson looks through his phone to find the words to the first song he would sing. Clawson was named the 2013 BMI Songwriter of the Year.

The trio sang one great country song after another. All they had written.

In 2009 Craig Wiseman was named âSongwriter of the Decadeâ by the Nashville Songwriters Association International.

Donnie Lowery hams it up with his fellow song writers.

This was a special night and the performances were recorded by multiple cameras and smart phones.