Blanco, Rey, & Cutter | Upland Hunt at Orapax Hunting Preserve

“No perceptive shooting man needs to be told to cherish a dog with the gift of a good nose, for dog work, together with the mysteries of scent, add up to enchantment on an autumn afternoon.”
- George Bird Evans

It was a winter afternoon for us, but enchanting just the same. I joined Orapax guide and Pro-Trainer Neal Kauder, his dogs Blanco, Rey, & Cutter, and the men from Chesterfield Trailer and Hitch, on an upland hunt this month.

A difficult task for bird dogs is to remain perfectly still while dogs encroach, birds begin to move, and the handler passes by to take possession of the bird.
Field English Setter Black Hawk’s Classy Cutter (“Cutter”) and Llewellin Setters Jordana Blanco (”Blanco”) and Jordana Peggy Sue (“Rey”).

It was a very new experience for me and I was left in awe of these bird dogs. They are well trained, well loved, very well taken care of athletes. They don’t hunt because they’re forced to, they hunt because they love to. These dogs were born and bred for birds and it shows; it’s in their DNA.

Blanco retrieving quail.

Cutter on the scent of quail.

You can just see Rey’s intensity before the flush of chukar.

Cutter is the definition of an enthusiastic bird dog. Here he is steady on new scent even before returning with a retrieve.

Llewellin Setter Rey flushing a male bobwhite.

We spent our time flushing quail and chukar from the Keyhole Field, a gorgeous piece of land right next to Lickinghole Creek before following the Setters on the scent of pheasant through the woods into the most expansive area of the preserve - the 66 acre Center Field.

Blanco with a rogue pheasant tracked for 500 yards before flushing.

Situated on almost 700 acres in Goochland County, Orapax Hunting Preserve is Virginia’s largest public upland hunting preserve offering Quail, Chukar, Pheasants, and Duck hunts, along with private dog training lessons.

The best thing about this little slice of paradise just outside Richmond. . . it’s open to the public! Preserve owner Jane Dykers Kauder has grown Orapax each year for the past six seasons and is proud to all anyone access to Orapax for hunting, fishing, or outdoor events. She says “there is no exclusivity, and no membership required; we want anyone who is interested to enjoy this RVA recreational resource.”

You can follow all of Orapax’s adventures on their website, Facebook and Instagram

Full Gallery