Ask most any deer hunter who still hunts and you usually find someone who does a lot of sitting and thinking. I’ve heard many such hunters describe their hours spent high in a tree waiting for “that” deer to come along as time spent meditating. Things may be slow at times but they get exciting when that big buck comes sneaking down the trail under your stand.

A recent day spent in the central part of Virginia “meditating” over a large tract of mature hardwoods brought about thoughts of the people who had walked through these rolling hills many years ago. One such place that is part of our Civil War history is near Appomattox, Virginia which is said to be “where our nation was reunited” many years ago. I didn’t hear or see any ghosts during a recent deer hunt in this part of Virginia but local hunters swear that they so see these apparitions from time to time.

The site was on the 3200-acre tract of land leased by the Sailor’s Creek Outfitters in Rice, Virginia. Much of the land we hunted on was the site of one of the last battles of the Civil War where General Robert E. Lee began his retreat to Appomattox where, three days later, he surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia to the Union Army.

Hunting camps (lodges) are not anything new to this area of the south. Many of these lodges have some pretty fancy buildings in which the guest can sleep, eat and fraternize with friends. These modern hunting lodges are nice but sometime they lack “character.” When a hunter might be looking for accommodations that give one the flavor of the old south, you really need to find something like the Sailor’s Creek Outfitters has to offer.

General Manager Chris McClellan set up a partnership with local farmer Jimmy Garnett and converted one of the older homes on the farm as a lodge for visiting hunters. The “green” business is a bonanza for hunters who not only like to go for whitetail deer, wild turkeys and mourning dove but are history buffs as well.

The hunting lodge is rustic but comfortable with about every amenity that a hunter could want. Heated by wood stoves in several rooms the unpainted wood in much of the house maintains the smoky air that many country homes of that age are noted for. A modern kitchen supplies all the needs of the hungry outdoorsmen and guest while a spacious living room (complete with mounted deer heads on the wall) gives the guest a place to sit around and relive the day’s activities.

Chris McClellan spends much of his time scouting down the territory for deer and turkey signs. There are numerous high tree stands situated at sites that he determined were “hot” for big bucks. For the less ambitious hunters who weren’t comfortable in the elevated stands, there are also ground blinds that are ideal for hunting with youngsters.

The availability of these stands recently came in handy for a three-generation group of hunters who were in the area from Pembroke, Virginia. Grandfather Don, son Shawn and grandson Caleb Hash. Don, having some knee problems chose a good ground blind that was large enough for eleven-year old Caleb to be in as well. Being situated in a modern waterproof and somewhat wind resistant blind at ground level gave the two Hash’s a great deal of protection against cold wind and rain and let young Caleb move around without alerting nearby deer.

The interspacing of mature hardwoods and pastureland made for ideal whitetail deer habitat and the size of the mature bucks in the area was impressive. Many deer hunters are out there for trophy bucks and this area seems to have their good share of bucks that would fall into that category.

It’s obvious that all the surrounding countryside also has a good population of wild turkeys. Cruising the roads on the property with Chris McClelland late in the afternoons, we observed several nice flocks of the big birds out feeding along with Black Angus cattle.

Several dove fields on the property are planted with millet to attract dove and the outfitters plans to open a quail shooting preserve later this year.

The Sailor’s Creek Outfitters, 2319 Saylers Creek Road, Rice, VA 23966 can be reached by phone at (434) 392-8616 or at Chris@sailorscreekoutfitters.com.

Their website is www.sailorscreekoutfitters.com.