Tuesday, March 2, 2021

Pintail Partners in a Pandemic

On Saturday, February 7th, Camp Woodie hosted the 7th annual Pintail Partners hunt at the SCWA Wildlife Education Center. With this year’s Pintail Partners happening in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, this hunt was a little different than any other Pintail Partners hunts in years past. With the safety and health of all participants as the top priority, the quantity of hunters this year was a fraction of the mass of people who are normally gathered at the Wildlife Education Center on a Saturday in early February. Each attendee received a health screening upon arrival and enjoyed the day with socially distanced hunting and fellowship.

The Pintail Partners hunt is a partnership between the South Carolina Waterfowl Association, SCDNR, Delta Waterfowl, Ducks Unlimited and the Harry Hampton Foundation to provide young people with an outstanding duck hunt on one of several stellar properties with the hope to get these youth involved in waterfowl and wetland conservation. Boys and girls of all different ages arrived on Saturday to participate in this much smaller, albeit much anticipated, youth hunt. These young hunters were bursting with excitement to get out to their hunting blind, and their parents were just as thrilled, if not more-so. The day was a success, with 65 ducks made up of 6 species harvested between the 26 hunters.

Parents had this to say about the Pintail Partners hunt.

“My hunter and I thoroughly enjoyed our experience Saturday. You guys did it right. Thank you.”

“This is the 3rd time my grandsons have attended, and this was the best and smoothest effort we’ve enjoyed. Really appreciate all the hard work involved.”

Pintail Partners would not be possible without the amazing organizations, land owners, staff members, guides, waterfowl hunting supporters, as well as parents and youth, who come together to make it happen. You are making a difference.

Thank you so much to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Delta Waterfowl, Ducks Unlimited and the Harry Hampton Foundation for donating the funds and materials to make this hunt successful. Thank you to all of the organizations’ staff members who put forth their time and effort to help the event run efficiently. Thank you to the hunt guides who volunteered to spend their Saturday leading and educating these young hunters. Thank you to the landowners for allowing their properties to be used for this youth hunt. Thank you to the parents who registered their children for this hunt to get them involved in the outdoors.

The South Carolina Waterfowl Association hopes that through this hunt and more Pintail Partners hunts to come, we can instill a love and appreciation for waterfowl and wetlands conservation in the hearts of the youth, so they can perpetuate it for generations to come.