Rick Earwood owns and operates the wildly popular Rough Edge Upland Bird Hunts on a preserve between Holly Pond and Baileyton. He loves the outdoors and he loves to hunt. Here, we talk to him about both.
What is it about the outdoors and hunting that calls to you?
I guess it would be the closeness that my dad and I shared at an early age. I’ve always felt more comfortable and complete in the outdoors. As an elementary boy I read “The Call of the Wild,” and it was if I were in the pages. Many outdoor adventure stories would follow until I was able to make my own.
Do you see hunting as more sport, tradition or lifestyle?
I see hunting as all of those things. I have used all of those words to describe hunting. It has been our heritage and use of survival for thousands of years.
What’s the biggest challenge in quail hunting — the birds or the patience required?
It’s definitely the patience required. There is no way of knowing where the birds will be or the direction they will fly when they explode out of the ground cover. It takes a great deal of patience to wait for the bird to fly away. The pattern of the shot from the gun determines when to pull the trigger.
Do you have a favorite bird dog story from the field that captures the bond between hunter and companion?
I would say retrieving is always the best story. A lot of dogs can point quail. It’s very important for all hunters to hit the bird that their companion finds for them. It’s a bond built over time between hunter and companion. When my companion goes out of sight to find the bird I’ve shot, he may stay gone for five minutes. The bond is in his commitment to finish what you both started. There is no greater joy than seeing them coming in view with the bird in their mouth. It’s a celebration every time. It’s a story every time.
What’s the best story you tell around the fire after a day in the field?
I just had a hunt where I shot a triple out of a single covey rise. A best friend Joel McWhorter and I have hunted together our whole lives. I trust him with my life and I know he feels the same way. We were on a point and couldn’t find the birds. I was kicking around close to the birds; they flushed and I ducked to the ground as he shot over my head without saying a word. I watched the birds fall and winked back at him. Joel and I have been around one another in the outdoors for so long words aren’t really needed anymore.
roughedgehunts.com | rickearwood69@gmail.com | 256-620-0306
“When my companion goes out of sight to find the bird I’ve shot, he may stay gone for five minutes. The bond is in his commitment to finish what you both started. There is no greater joy than seeing them coming in view with the bird in their mouth.”