Lets hear some stories from some of the guys who had the chance to hunt Portland Landing.

I have never hunted at Portland landing. I have hunted at Hit-n-miss some. Portland landing was hunted by hammermill employees when I was going up there. Some of the best deer and turkey hunting I have ever seen.

I hunted there once woth 04Spoiler but all the timber had been cut. I met Doug Link last week while showing property. He used to manage it for Hammermill then IP. He told me some fascinating stories about the place

I got some land there now and more land 20 minutes up the road. I don't make it down there to hunt too much, the land up the road is just as good and it's closer to the house. Heard stories from folks that hunted there in the past but nothing that didn't happen at many other places around the area.

Hearing some of elkhunter's stories about the place was awesome.

Too many and too long!!!

Because of a relationship I had with a Mossy Oak VP, I got to experience and hunt PL as it transformed into a paradise for deer hunters. I never picked up a gun on PL as the area I hunted was bow only. My MO close friend was named Darrell and he and I spent many hours on that place. One day, after MO had had PL for three or so years, an approx 125 or 130" jumped across the road in front of us... Darrell looked at me and said, "Those bucks are a dime a dozen and I don't even note the location now unless the buck is around 140 or above."

I did shoot a 125" with my bow at PL and I was ecstatic and proud but oh man, I had some missed opportunities at some 140's and one that I really think would have been 150" plus. It was just unreal at the number of bucks on PL.

Darrell shot a typical 173" with his gun which I was there the day he first saw that buck coming to a biologic food plot and he killed it 5 days later.

Now PL was managed and it was habitat enhanced and MO planted way more acres than most clubs could afford. Darrell used to say that if you put the groceries on the ground, it'll show up in the antlers. Dr. Woods was there a great deal of time and I did get to pick his brain. MO never did do any "supplemental pellet" type feeding; just planted everywhere and did Arsenal spraying and stuff like that.

A lot of the timber was cut or I should say, raped by Lanier Edwards???... is that right. The man that bought PL several years ago. Anyway, IMO, he raped the timber and cut some huge hardwood stands that were located in swampy bottomland but he was able to get to them during a drought. Environmentally irresponsible, IMO.

HOWEVER, the dirt's the same and ultimately, that's what grew the monster bucks! And, with so many trees gone and so much bedding areas and natural browse now, there should be a great opportunity to grow some really large bucks there.

I have some stories but they're too long but I'll just say that PL was the best place in Alabama I have ever hunted. THE BEST!

I would love to hunter there again and be a part of a quality managed plan for the deer herd. PL is truly magical.

Thanks for sharing Bucktrot. When you get a chance share a couple of those stories with us. I'm sure they're some worth hearing.

I've never deer hunted at Portland but I've been hog hunting there a few times. It's a very nice place and we saw bucks just about every time we went hog hunting. Killed a good number of pigs to. I know a few people who have hunted on it and guided on it and I've heard the stories. It's an impressive place and its absolutely beautiful there.

I have heard so many good things about PL and know generally where it is located. Can someone tell me specifically where it is/was?

Just curious....

Go down Hwy 41 until mile marker 101 turn right on CR 403. When it dead ends into CR 225 take a right until you hit the gate. That takes you to the camp house. Basically, most of the land on the west side of 225 is PL.

I sure wish we could pull up a few of the old threads from 2007-2011. There were so many good stories posted then. And lots of pictures of the deer we were killing.

Guys, I sure wish I had my old stories somewhere. You just can't retell them years later and remember all the details.

There were so many, rattling up 9 bucks in one morning, duck hunt gator, driving the electric cart up on 5 P&Y bucks bedded down under 25 yards..with no camera, all the hog stories, the rainy day stalk of my 9 pt, all the big bucks we would get on camera and never see, the big bucks that were killed (I think it was 24 that I gross scored over 125 in one season), the gator stories, .....

Maybe Skinny has those old threads saved somewhere.

How many acres?

The first couple years I hunted there it was 6,300 and then they sold about 1,100.

I hit the biggest deer of my life in Portland right up from the mossy oak place...totaled my work truck .scored155 7/8. Biggest damn deer ive ever seen

Who owns the land now and what are they doing with it?

In 1971, a friend and I put his boat in at Portland Landing to go duck hunting. This was long before it became a private hunting estate, but it had lots of wildlife back then.

I don't remember getting many ducks, but we saw part of a dead deer floating in a creek that would have gone thru the land ya'll are talking about. We were curious about it, so we started trying to pull him out to tell what it was - it was a huge buck, think he had 11 or 12 points. He was still in pretty good shape, so we loaded him in the boat, carried him back to Camden, made up a story, and showed out trophy buck to everyone in town.

This is probably the first time the fraudulent nature of our "kill" has ever been publicly revealed.

I have been hog hunting there a good bit and my son has deer hunted it with a family friend. He killed a really nice OLD 9 point there a couple of years ago.

We have sent the pas 2 days there hog hunting. It has become over-run with them!!!! I think the 2 day total was 14 dead hogs. ANd we should have done a lot better. We had some catchdog goof-ups! LOL

There are some nice bucks up there, no doubt. I found a nice non-typical's skull and skeleton out behind a food plot yesterday that someone had probably shot at the end of season. I took a pic and sent it around to see if anybody claims it. He is pretty unique. So, they will be able to identify it. It was actually just South of Portland's property.

I'm currently hunting 1000 acres of the old Mossy Oak property a good friend of mine owns. They sold it off in 500 acre sections. Lanier Edwards bought most of it, about 5500 acres I think. He no longer owns it. I hunt the Executive tract and St Paul tract. Last buck was a 142" nine point... Amazing land.

We are just off 225 right before the gate on the East side... Next to White Oak Creek... Can't wait till this fall.

BCole, I bet you can't wait. I'm jealous and envious!!! You're on great property. A 142" nine.... great buck!!!

Good luck this fall.

Anyone ever seen a big black cat between 41 and the river along the pine barren creek?

I have from 1974- 1981

Also saw many tan 'cougar' cats from 41-89 junction to wilcox county line.

On the old mcmilan bloedell land across from the river side of pinebarren creek- my daddy shot a cougar.

Logging crews had just completed clear cutting behind the old black church/gravel pit on 41 opposite the river. I was serpentine stalking an SMZ while daddy sat in a hilltop. Well, he was yelling at me like crazy.... Stood up on the back if the truck and drew down in my direction. Fired! About 75 yards in front of me- about 300 from daddy- his 308 round hits a massive pine stump.

A huge tan cat runs out away from us.... Daddy empties the clip....

The cat had been circling me 30 minutes- set up the ambush behind a 4 ft massive pine stump....

We found blood and hair and trailed it to property line as darkness approached... All we heard was growling/moaning as we tan out of light.

Daddy said the cat had be circling me ad i serpentined in and out if clear cut/smz since he got on top of the truck....