# Brushy Creek in Gosmer, Mississippi



## QOS (Dec 8, 2008)

Has anyone rode there? We have reservations for 3rd weekend in October and duh...just learned it is Bow Season. My cousin cancelled. I called there and the lady assured me they are booked solid and no bow hunters ever hunt there due to so many horses on the trails and the noise!! My cousin booked back the following week at Ebenezer but I can't go then due to having cakes on the calender for then. 

So has anyone been to this area in October?


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

I did some research, that forest seems to be ground zero for the slob hunter fiasco. MOst of it seems to be the slob dog hunters. Was interesting reading. I am fighting the same battles in VA. But feel I am alone here. Seems to be lots more people fighting it in Miss. Some new restrictions taking place at HNF. 
Even the local hunters dont like to be there. 
The good news is you are far less likely to have problems during Bow season. Bow hunting is tough and that tends to weed out alot of the lazy shoot anything that moves road and dog hunting slobs. However Id take a camp ground owner trying to get you money opinion with a grain of salt. Seems to be a pretty heavily hunted area.


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## QOS (Dec 8, 2008)

Thanks for the input Joe. This place stays pretty booked up and I was grousing to Honey Darling Precious that the best times for riding are being fricked up by hunters. LOL this from someone who is totally NOT into hunting. I don't begrudge their hunting but how about not all week? Half for hunting, half for other stuff like riding, hiking, biking? 

I called another place in Texas to make sure they had availability of a cabin (I so want a LQ!!!) and they do have a place for us when we can go. My cousin made reservations back in Ebenezer but I have that cake and cake pays for horses. Dang...I have been looking forward to going riding over there for months!


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

Another good thing about bow hunting -- arrows don't travel very far. A rifle bullet can go a long way.


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## QOS (Dec 8, 2008)

If we decide to go I will get us Orange Safety Vests and Orange material to go under their saddles to cover their saddle blankets in orange and I may order orange headstalls. I can go DayGlo Orange in a flash.

Anyone else have experience in riding ANYWHERE during bow season? I am asking about places where numerous horses would be out and about - not a single horse riding up in the woods sans trails.


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

get some sleigh bells.
Yeh that is why I am on the front lines of the Sunday hunting battle. Currently no hunting in VA on Sundays. Least have one day a week to ride. Really though I wouldn tbe that concerned with bow season. Put some orange on and some bells on your horse.


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## QOS (Dec 8, 2008)

I can do that Joe. LOL actually, Barry's Billy Cook Trail Saddle squeaks so much it is louder than any bells. OMG it is obnoxious. Very comfortable to ride it but squeaks to beat the band.

Some cow bells or jingle bells would be easy enough to add to saddles.


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

I ride all the time during hunting season, both bow season and rifle season. Most of the property around here is privately owned. It is either rented out to hunting clubs or hunted by the owner. I either stay on trails on our own property or a friend's property, or I ride dirt roads. There are horse riding trails that go onto public lands; however, they won't let you ride while there are hunters in the woods. The hunting season is limited in those places to specific times. No matter what time of year it is, it is not a great idea to trespass all over the neighbor's property. They get pretty frowny faced about it.

I wear hunter orange at all times during deer season. When I rode a grey (white) horse, I made him an orange thing to wear over his neck and one for his butt. Deer hunters see white and think "white tail deer". The only problems that I have is all the ******** in their pickups and on their 4-wheelers driving up and down the dirt roads.

Jingle bells would drive me crazy. Talking or singing would let people know that you are there. 

If you stay on designated riding trails or dirt roads, the hunters should have sense enough to know that there could be somebody there. Accidental shootings do happen, but often they are done by a hunting buddy that walked too close. 

Joe, we don't allow dog hunting for deer in Georgia. They use them for birds, rabbits, and raccoons, but those types of hunters don't tend to be out and about trying to annoy horsemen. They hunt raccoons at night. Rabbits and birds tend to be on private property.


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## AQHSam (Nov 23, 2011)

QOS said:


> If we decide to go I will get us Orange Safety Vests and Orange material to go under their saddles to cover their saddle blankets in orange and I may order orange headstalls. I can go DayGlo Orange in a flash.
> 
> Anyone else have experience in riding ANYWHERE during bow season? I am asking about places where numerous horses would be out and about - not a single horse riding up in the woods sans trails.


Rifle season - no way. We stay home. But bow season we go out.

I can share with your from experience TYPICAL hunting patterns. of bow hunters. 

Bow hunters tend to get out to their blind (either up in a tree or a camo tent) very early in the morning, at least an hour before dawn, leave around 10am and return an hour before dusk. 

Their blinds are also more accessible to roads. Should the hunter harvest a deer, he needs to get it out of the woods. So they don't like to sit miles IN the woods because it is a long hike in and out, with or without a deer.

If the weather is MILD you may get a few yahoos who will stay in the blind all day. Generally speaking, they leave to eat/warm up during the hours when the deer are less prone to moving around and the odds of getting a shot off are even less.

Having sat in a deer blind, I can tell you the entire experience is about silence and lack of scent. A bow hunter will take 10 minutes to rearrange in his seat so that his actual body movement is undetected. MOST bow hunters will bath and wash in fragrance free detergent and they arrive to the blind an hour or so in advance to eliminate their presence as much as possible before the deer start to move through the area.

Now the deer are also very quiet. Even a walking deer is making minimal forest sounds. If the deer is hesitant, it can sound no different than squirrel running through the area. The more natural and unnatural noise you make, the less likely the bow hunter will mistake you for a deer. You could consider tying a small tinkle or jingle bell to your saddle. Even normal conversation between you and your riding buddy will be sufficient.

The wearing of orange is really only necessary during firearm. No bow hunter walks around in orange. They are dressed in forest appropriate camo, focusing on light browns or grays depending on the environment. So, during BOW season, you can choose any brightly colored tack and clothing to distinguish yourself from other wildlife through the trees.

Pay attention to your horse. He/she may catch the scent of the bow hunter before you. A bow hunter will attach metal platforms or seats into the crook of trees 20-30 feet up. Or they will be in a tent that is camo colored with screens. 

Of course, there are yahoos out there, but most bow hunters have a much calmer trigger finger. They HAVE to aim sure and hit the deer in specific locations to cause it to drop or drop in a short distance. And since their arrows don't travel as far, they don't release for anything beyond 25-50 feet. The further the projection, the weaker the arrow pierces the skin.

So, unless you sneak up on a bow hunter in dead silence and scare the beejeesus out of him/her, you probably won't have to worry about being hit by mistake.

Of course, if you jingle jangle your way past the blind where a 12 point buck was standing still perpindicular and within 10 feet of the hunter, you may get shot at if he is ticked off enough at you!!!! :lol:


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## QOS (Dec 8, 2008)

AQHSam I will make sure not to **** off the natives. I am really looking forward to going. They have a very nice place there - 3 beautiful cabins, loads of RV hookups, little lake, etc. Some of my riding buddies have been there and they came back raving about the place. Brushy Creek Guest Ranch 

I am hoping to see some fall colors even though this is pretty far south. They are north of IH 10 and I live just south of IH 10. It is a 4.5 hour haul from here so it is not next door but not that far away either.

I figured if we get up and saddle up around 9:30 and leave out we shouldn't annoy any hunters. I was planning on taking lunches and being back before 3 or 4 PM...way before dusk. I generally wear a purple Kool Vest and Biscuit has a purple bridle so we are pretty dang visable - but I think I might go for the orange just to be on the super safe side.


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## happytrailstoyou (May 25, 2012)

I have not been there yet but my friend has and she said that it is AMAZING! Beautiful trails, everything is very well manicured, nice nice place! The only thing is that there are very steep clifs and you have to cross water, which may not be a bad thing for you and your horse but just a heads up. Living down here in the deep south of La during hunting season we do wear a lot of orange when we trail ride, just in case, a lot of the land that we share for trail riding with other people is also available for hunting or four wheeler riding, unless you have a ton of property that you just own lol. Anyways brushy creek is a legend of beauty down here in the south, everyone knoes about this place, as far as hunting season goes, as long as you have your orange, I think you would be just fine.


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## QOS (Dec 8, 2008)

Thanks Happytrails. I heard about it last year at Kisatchie. Some of my riding buddies went there earlier this year but I wasn't able to go. I have seen many pictures of it. There are some steep hills at Ebenezer my horse goes up and down nicely and he will cross a creek easily...just good God...not a small puddle. That is cause for going all the way around or jumping over like a spastic.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

I have never been to Brushy Creek but RFD-TV's "America By Horseback" did a segment at Brushy Creek, so it must be pretty nice.

RFDTV

As far as hunting season - I'd like to know why there is NO Sunday hunting where I am originally from (OH/PA border); I now live in The Bible Belt and they allow Sunday hunting:shock:

I come from a hunting family so I can say that nobody needs to be hunting on Sunday, give the rest of us one day to enjoy our outdoor sports. If you can't get your limit from Monday thru Saturday, you've got aiming problems to begin with and don't need to be in the woods on Sunday

Our road is remote enough that folks tell me I should have speakers along the way playing Deliverance music - that means I won't even road ride during hunting season - not even if I wallpapered myself and the horse in orange:--(


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## QOS (Dec 8, 2008)

Thanks WalkintheWalk. I checked it out and it is actually at a Brushy Creek in Missouri and I am going to one in Mississippi.

Two ladies where I board went there this summer. They absolutely loved it and we are hoping to make a ladies trip there next year. We discussed it today and they said it was fabulous. I am so excited about going!


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## Radiowaves (Jul 27, 2010)

QOS said:


> Has anyone rode there? We have reservations for 3rd weekend in October and duh...j..........hen.
> 
> So has anyone been to this area in October?


One of my riding buddies goes and rides there on a regular basis and has done so for some time. She speaks very highly of it and has encouraged us to go. I've never heard her mention hunters but hopefully I'll see her this weekend and will ask about the hunter situation and will let you know....

The "shoot anything that moves" group is why I quit deer hunting years ago.... Bird hunting, the worst I have to worry about is getting peppered with bird shot but a 180 grain round from a 30-06 or equivalent can really ruin things.... ;-)

We're inside the city at our boarding facility but there are still bow hunters and we wear vests during the season. It would take a moron to shoot a horse/human while hunting deer but there have been confirmed moron sightings in many areas of the country.... 

Hope the trail ride works out! I'll let you know what I find out...
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## QOS (Dec 8, 2008)

Thanks RadioWaves. I have heard NOTHING but good things. My barn buddies thought it was fantastic. 

There are morons afoot and ahoof : ) but hopefully I won't get my butt shot!!


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## Radiowaves (Jul 27, 2010)

QOS said:


> Thanks RadioWaves. I have heard NOTHING but good things. My barn buddies thought it was fantastic.
> 
> There are morons afoot and ahoof : ) but hopefully I won't get my butt shot!!


Well, I'm sorry but my riding buddy was gone to a show this weekend and I have not been able to ask her specifically about the hunter situation but I will as soon as possible.

If you're at all concerned, I'd recommend an orange vest, though. We wore them yesterday on our trail ride. Thank the Lord nobody got shot. I had forgotten to put mine on before mounting up and my wife brought it to me.....I think that for a moment my horse thought some orange thing was eating me but when he realized that I was OK with it, he decided it must be OK.... 

Everything I've heard her say about Brushy Creek has been very very positive though....

Hope y'all have a great time!


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## QOS (Dec 8, 2008)

I am going to get us orange vests to wear and I may get off of my backside and make orange covers for our saddle pads!!


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## Radiowaves (Jul 27, 2010)

QOS said:


> I am going to get us orange vests to wear and I may get off of my backside and make orange covers for our saddle pads!!


Now that's an interesting idea! An orange covered saddle pad or even an orange patch that would partially cover the pad might be cool. 

Seems like something like that might be available at a tack dealer somewhere but a quick check of online dealers didn't turn anything. Hunter's vests work fine though....

Hope you have a wonderful/safe time there!


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## Radiowaves (Jul 27, 2010)

QOS said:


> I am going to get us orange vests to wear and I may get off of my backside and make orange covers for our saddle pads!!



OK, just heard from my riding buddy who goes there often:

She said that hunting is legal there but is highly discouraged. There are so many riders that it would be quite irresponsible for anyone to be hunting deer there. (of course, it's the irresponsible moron that concerns us!)

She said that she has been going there for many years and has never seen a hunter nor heard a gunshot. She did recommend orange vests just as a precaution and I do think that's a good idea. We're doing that on our trails right now as well.

Overall, it sounds like you should be fine!

Take care and have a wonderful trip!


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## QOS (Dec 8, 2008)

Thanks Radiowaves!!! I can't wait! I wish my cousin was going with us but she was a little put off by the bow season.


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## Radiowaves (Jul 27, 2010)

QOS said:


> Thanks Radiowaves!!! I can't wait! I wish my cousin was going with us but she was a little put off by the bow season.


So glad I could help! Hope y'all have a wonderful time...


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## QOS (Dec 8, 2008)

Radiowaves, we had a great time at Brushy Creek. It is gorgeous. I posted pictures on the how many miles did we go thread and my blog. 

We did hear about 10 shots Friday morning so we didn't ride until Friday afternoon. Friday we wore the vests and Saturday too. Sunday hubby said ixnay on the vest but he was wearing a white shirt and hat. I don't know what they were shooting at, squirrels most likely, but we didn't see any animals such as deer or hogs in the forest. 

Brushy Creek Guest Ranch was amazing. Super clean, nice stalls for my horses, a wonderful arena, nice wash racks. We will be going back in April. Can't wait.


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## Radiowaves (Jul 27, 2010)

QOS said:


> Radiowaves, we had a great time at Brushy Creek......



Well thank you so much for the report! I'm really glad to hear that y'all had such a good time and I have to say that your report on the facility is totally consistent with what my riding buddy has told us.... It sounds like a really cool place to go to ride.

I'm glad y'all had vests and sorry that there were shots close enough to hear. Hopefully it wasn't somebody shooting a high powered rifle in a reckless manner.... :shock:

Glad to hear that y'all are planning a return trip. We'll have to get down there one of these days. We're in the central part of the state so it wouldn't be a long drive....

Now I'm looking forward to passing your report along to my buddy!


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## QOS (Dec 8, 2008)

Dang, you need to go!!! It is a lot of up and down. Not alot of flat riding but it was nice. There were quiet a bit of rocks though down on some of the trails and of course crossing the creeks. Biscuit ended up pretty darn tenderfooted Saturday. His front feet had a little bit of red at the white line. On Sunday I put his hoof boots on. Sarge (hubby's horse) has feet tough as nails but I did notice when we unloaded him Sunday at home he seemed a little tender on one foot. Nothing bad though. When I go next year Biscuit will be in his hoof boots from the get go - he is kind of flat footed!!!


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## Jack Ryan (Mar 15, 2017)

Prior to the creation of the Pittman–Robertson Act, many species of wildlife were driven to or near extinction by commercial/market hunting pressure and/or habitat degradation from humans.[5] The Act created an excise tax that provides funds to each state to manage such animals and their habitats. Notable species that have come back from the brink since the implementation of this act include white-tailed deer, wild turkey, and wood ducks.[1][4][5]


The Pittman–Robertson Act took over a pre-existing 11% excise tax on firearms and ammunition.[7][8] Instead of going into the U.S. Treasury as it had done in the past, the money is kept separate and is given to the Secretary of the Interior to distribute to the States.[4][8][9] The Secretary determines how much to give to each state based on a formula that takes into account both the area of the state and its number of licensed hunters.[2][3][6][9][10]
States must fulfill certain requirements to use the money apportioned to them. None of the money from their hunting license sales may be used by anyone other than the states's fish and game department.[3][6][8] Plans for what to do with the money must be submitted to and approved by the Secretary of the Interior.[6] Acceptable options include research, surveys, management of wildlife and/or habitat, and acquisition or lease of land.[1][6][10] Once a plan has been approved, the state must pay the full cost and is later reimbursed for up to 75% of that cost through P–R funds.[1][3][10] The 25% of the cost that the state must pay generally comes from its hunting license sales.[1] If, for whatever reason, any of the federal money does not get spent, after two years that money is then reallocated to the Migratory Bird Conservation Act.[6][9]
In the 1970s, amendments created a 10% tax on handguns and their ammunition and accessories as well as an 11% tax on archery equipment.[1][2][3][8][10] It was also mandated for half of the money from each of the new taxes to be used to educate and train hunters by the creation and maintenance of hunter safety classes and shooting/target ranges.[1][2][3][10]



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittman–Robertson_Federal_Aid_in_Wildlife_Restoration_Act


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## Radiowaves (Jul 27, 2010)

What does all that have to do with Brushy Creek?


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## Jack Ryan (Mar 15, 2017)

Radiowaves said:


> What does all that have to do with Brushy Creek?


It has to do with WHY hunters get to use the ground, facilities, and public resource they paid for.


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

Radiowaves said:


> What does all that have to do with Brushy Creek?



Or a thread from 2012! :wink:


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