The panhandle of Florida has the latest whitetail rut in the country, usually toward the end of January and even into February. Accordingly, the state’s wildlife department extends the hunting season through February 25th. For those of us with seasons that close in late fall or early winter, it’s a wonderful bonus to squeeze in a few more days of deer hunting, while everyone else has put their bows and rifles away until next year.

But what makes the situation at Hard Labor Creek Plantation unique is that deer hunting isn’t the top attraction. Owner Ted Everett is also turning the property into a quail hunter’s paradise.      “I realized after going to college and then selling commercial real estate that what I really wanted was to get into forestry and wildlife management,” Ted explained as we drove along a winding logging road. “I went back to school, got my forestry degree along with plenty of wildlife courses and came back to Florida with the ultimate goal of managing my Dad’s property.”       His father, a retired urologist living in Augusta, Georgia, owns several thousand acres of prime timberland just south of Chipley, about forty miles north of Panama City.  When Ted approached him with the idea of managing the tracts, not just for timber but for hunting as well, his father asked if he realized what he was getting into.  They both agreed that a lot of hard work and long hours would be required to make it pan out. “That's how the place got its name,” Ted smiled. “Hard Labor Creek.”