WRITER’S NOTE: When this story first came out, a statewide guessing game started as Mississippi outdoorsmen tried to name the camp. To this date, I have never revealed which camp it was. If you think you know, email me your pick, giving me the camp’s name and location.This month’s camp members graciously allowed me to write about their very special camp — provided I didn’t divulge the camp’s name or location, so I’ll just refer to it hereafter as “Mystery Hunting Camp.” You see, this is one of those exclusive camps where shares of stock start at six figures — like another such camp I know of where one share of stock recently sold for $400,000!
For many reasons, members of such camps don’t crave publicity and remain relatively unknown to other hunters.
Riding in my host’s SUV on an early fall afternoon, we drove over the Mississippi River levee somewhere between Memphis and Natchez, eagerly anticipating an opening-season bowhunt for Mississippi whitetails. Earlier, I had learned that Mystery was formed as a corporation about 20 years ago, and that the camp owned or leased about 10,000 acres of prime hunting and fishing riverland.
As we entered the gate leading into Mystery, I observed that the woods here had the familiar look and smell of many other river camps I had previously visited — lots of oaks laden with ripe acorns about to fall and brownish thickets of vines and willows.
After passing the residence of the full-time manager, we crossed a large, flat field with an airplane landing strip and skeet range.
When we entered the camp area, I was surprised to discover that there was no central camp house at Mystery, but rather a number or large private “cabins” that looked more like Colorado ski resorts. Mystery’s well-heeled less than a dozen members each had their own private lodges spaced amply apart. Several were multistoried or lengthy dwellings, with the smallest probably being over 2,000 square feet.
My host’s cabin had about 2,500 square feet of wood, glass and stone under roof, not counting the outside fireplace area — under roof — or the extended garage and work shop area. Inside the cabin was a large living/dining room with a vaulted ceiling whose walls were filled with deer heads (17), ducks, hogs, squirrels, game pelts, turkeys and a large elk. The warm photos ringing the walls dispersed generously among the game mounts told of countless hunts enjoyed and many friendships shared. The far end of the room contained a massive stone fireplace and large satellite television screen. There were four large bedrooms, two big bathrooms, washer/dryer room and a large screened porch that wrapped around two sides of the house.
But several other cabins at Mystery were even larger and more elaborate, such as a two-story lodge that had a custom door built to allow the owner’s four-wheeler to enter or leave in comfort. And it enabled its occupant to drive out to his comfortable shooting house, sit in comfort, slide open a plexiglass window, shoot a trophy buck, call the caretaker on his cell phone to come get the deer, climb down, mount his ATV and drive back to his cabin, touch the garage door opener, dismount, go upstairs, fix a favorite beverage and wait by the roaring fire for the caretaker’s call to get his photo taken with his trophy before it was skinned and hung in the cooler. Hunting here’s a rough job, and I just wish I had it!
The next day, I found that a nearby cabin was even more impressive with its built-in health-club facility, office and extra cabin across the road for the kids. This family compound had its own gate, fence and hedges, and its interior was a designer’s delight with various wildlife/outdoor motif rugs, paintings, carvings, artwork and in some cases, magnificent full-size game mounts such as lions, bears, cougars and Cape buffalo.
And they do take deer hunting very seriously at Mystery, having been on a trophy buck program for many years that allows each stockholder only one trophy buck per season, plus an allotment of does. The program is working so well that one member recently passed on a 180-class buck, hoping to get an even larger one he had videoed recently! Other game taken at Mystery include turkey, ducks, dove, squirrels and some mighty fine fishing.
To show that you can’t ever take game for granted, even at a plush place like Mystery, we all struck out while bowhunting during full moon phase in near record heat. Even so, the food and fellowship were beyond compare.
My hosts could not have been more gracious, and we all had a great time sharing God’s great outdoors. Many thanks to them for allowing me to be their guest and for allowing us to have an insider’s look at life at … Mystery Hunting Camp.
For autographed book copies of Mississippi Hunting Camps ($81) or Tales of Old Rocky Hill ($18), mail check/money order to: Bill R. Lea, P.O. Box 321023, Jackson, MS 39232. To schedule Lea to visit your camp, call 601-927-0006 or email billrlea@yahoo.com.
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