the fork farm & stables

Four of us went Saturday of the past Thanksgiving weekend. It's a bit out there from Charlotte, but it was worth the drive. The grounds are beautiful. Johann, the Belgian manager of the skeet shooting operation (and maybe other things, too, but that's what I saw) is friendly, responsive, and knowledgeable. We met the owner, too, who seemed like a good guy.The course itself is 14 stations with two clay throwing machines each station. The landscape is beautiful and you're far enough away from other shooters so that it's not too loud -- there was hardly anyone else out there, which made it even better. $45 per person buys you unlimited sporting clays. We brought our own shotguns and shells, so we could have gotten away with only $45 for the day (plus around $25 each for shells), but we also rented a golf cart (only $20 for the day).If you do all 14 stations plan on at least 100 shells per person, maybe a few more if you want to do some extra shooting.

Nice stables; dressage and equestrianism events were great. They have skeet shooting and other activities too. Cons: a bit expensive for this area.

Came here for a corporate event, grounds were well taken care of and staff was very helpful. The event went well. I hope more folks get out there to enjoy it

Lodge was great. We had a shooting instructor on Saturday for my wife and I. Spent two hours with us shooting clay targets. Had a great time.

A wonderful place with a lot of classy touches which reflects the refined taste of it's owner Mr. James Cogdell. From the spotless Bed & Breakfast to Shooting and Hunting facilities, it's one of a kind and a gem.Me and my wife are always enjoy spending time there and I would highly suggest anybody who has a love for outdoors, flora, fauna and conservation to spend some time in Fork.You won't be disappointed.

We loved everything about this beautiful place. Historic, with understated Southern culture. Very restful and relaxing.

A more perfect place to host a Xc and horsemanship clinic could not be found. A total commitment to excellence!

In mid-September 2012, while shopping for target ammo at Dunham's Sporting Goods in Auburn, IN, I signed up for a drawing for a "Duck and Quail Hunting Trip", sponsored by Remington Arms. I won the trip for two to The Fork Farms & Stables near Norwood, NC.I hadn't hunted since 1978 when my first child was born. I decided to take a close friend, and soon to be deployed soldier, as my guest. We really didn't know what to expect, but were very excited.We opted to drive the 10 hours, rather than fly. We arrived at 6:30am, on November 30, 2012, in the misted of a dense fog. Caution, as you approach this secluded farm, follow the road signs, as most GPSs will try to send you down an old tractor path to a long ago abandoned rear entrance. As soon as we arrived we were greeted by very friendly staff, Debrah showed us the self-serve breakfast area, and our rooms. The rooms were extremely clean and nicely decorated. We slept until mid-afternoon, when Eric, the first Remington Representative arrived; he presented us with the Remington Versamax Shotguns that we would be using for the weekend, along with an assortment of gifts, including; a hunting vest, eye and ear protection, a couple boxes of steel pellet shotgun shells, two hats, and a nice ammo bag to carry all the gifts. We then went to practice on clay pigeons till dinner. The dinner was served in the hunting lodge, and prepared by an expert chef, who was super friendly, and knowledgeable of the area’s history. Early the next morning we returned to the hunting lodge, where we were met by Remington's second Rep, had a nice light breakfast, put on the waders the Farm supplied, and followed our guides. They took us on a walk, in a dense fog, through woods and fields, to a purposely flooded corn field, and our duck blind. As the sky started to light up to signal the approaching dawn, the ducks started flying, and one could hear shots from miles away. They tell us there are over a dozen and a half varieties of ducks in that area, we bagged about half. When the sun had been up for over an hour, the ducks stopped flying, and we returned to a large breakfast at the Lodge. It consisted of; eggs, venison sausage, hash browns, pancakes, grits,venson sausage and gravy with biscuts; all prepared by our chef from the evening before.We then were split up into teams of two, and were introduced to our quail hunting guide, and his two dogs. After another long trek, we arrived in a large valley, that had been planted with wide strips of corn, clover, natural brush, then open field, then repeated over and over. The dogs quickly went to work sniffing out the quail, then holding a perfect point on the birds, until the handler told them to "get the birds". The birds flew, and we brought them down, the dogs retrieved them, and we would move to the next set of strips and begin again. This continued until late morning when we returned to the lodge for venison stew. The sausage and stew were made from deer, taken, and then prepared on the Farm.The remainder of the day, we spent following trails through the hills and woods, stopping at each of nearly two dozen shooting stations on a "European" style trap and skeet course.Afterword, we took a tour of the nearly 1,800 acre Farm; in addition to the woods and fields, there were many fenced in horse pastures, all perfectly manicured. The stables, although filled with beautiful horses, were so clean; one would think they had just been built. We then returned to our rooms for a nap. As dusk approached, we met in a small, but cozy, room in the stables, were we were served appetizers, and cocktails, and then back to the lodge for a private dinner prepared for the four of us by our old friend the chef. A wonderful Chef’s Salad follow by, pan-fried quail legs & bacon wrapped duck liver as appetizers started our meal. We were then served; venison, roasted duck, and Porterhouse steak, asparagus, crisp sautéed green beans, twice baked potatoes, and an assortment of wines; topped off by a variety of cheese cakes, as our final meal together.I want to thank The Farm & Stable's employees and associates, Remington Arms, their Reps, and Dunham's Sporting Goods, for this "Once in a Lifetime" experience. I was so happy to be able to bring my friend along; he had served two tours in Afghanistan, and is preparing for another deployment late April of 2013, and very deserving of this wonderful R & R.On our return trip, we stopped a couple of miles due east, in the Bushy Mountains., at the Hiddenite Emerald Gem Mines, in Hiddenite, NC, where we prospected for, and found a great many, and large variety of Gems. (see my report for details)

The Fork Farm and Stables is located at the confluence or two rivers, the Pee Dee and the Rocky Rivers, hence the name The Fork. It was first inhabited by the Pee Dee Indians around 1700, who migrated north from the Charleston area up the river that bears their name. It was first settled by the pioneer Colson family in 1748, and they eventually built an Ordinary, (it was their home and also an inn where lodging, food and drink were available for travelers in the area). The Ordinary, a name that is still used today, was situated along the King’s Highway at that time. The new Ordinary is where shooters, hunters and visitors meet prior to going afield. It's where strangers meet and friends depart. There is much information and history on The Fork on their website. The Ordinary is where I and some others met the owner and general manager, Jim Cogdell, who proceeded to give us a tour of his 1600 acre facility. He first took us to the highest barn in the United States which is featured in a recently published book on barns in the United States. The reason for the great height is to keep the barn cool for the staff and horses located in or working in the barn. There are both equestrian Olympic riders and horses in training at the stables every year, along with regular riders and horse owners. They have several different riding arenas for different riding events and trails in all directions around the property with different types of terrain for training. You can also enjoy riding there should you be interested.Jim proceeded to tour us around in his favorite vehicle, a Suburban, and it was a two hour tour. He showed us the many fields of different grains for harvest and areas that are planted with a different variety of plants that give great cover and food for the quail raised on the farm. He also plants, and then floods, a significant area for duck hunting. Jim discussed the different types of earth and rock on the farm and how they interface with the different plants, and how the different plants and trees play their part in providing feed and protection for the quail and other animals living on the property. He showed us how and when they introduce the pen raised quail into the wild for optimum survival. The farm is all about farming, conservation, horses and riding and hunting. It quickly became apparent this is Jim's real passion in life. His knowledge of the earth, plants, trees and their interrelationships with the quail, deer and other animals and birds on the property made him sound more like the number one park ranger on the face of the earth. I have never met another man like him with his extensive depth of knowledge on just about every living thing on his property, be it mineral, plant or animal. I was totally astounded because of the time he devoted to make sure I had the knowledge to truly understand what he and his farm were all about. And it was about his love of the earth, the beauty of horses, the power of hunting, and the joy of the shooting sports. My only fear was that I was going to have to pass a written or oral exam. Thank God, I didn't.Before our farm and stable tour, we were shown the shooting facilities by Jim, and then we had the opportunity to shoot at the facility after our tour. We started on the FITASC course, a single parcour three peg course with six different traps set on the course where you would shoot singles and report pairs. This was the first shooting facility I've shot that had a permanent FITASC course set up for practice. I really enjoyed it, and prefer to shoot FITASC over sporting clays anytime. We spent a little extra time there shooting as it was so much fun and challenging. We then went over to the twelve station sporting clays course which is for large gauge, 12 and 16 gauge. It would be fun to shoot sub gauge there as well. But they also have a seven station sub gauge course for 20, and 28 gauge and 410 bore. We did look at the targets, but I sure wish I had brought my 28 gauge. Next time. They also have a twelve trap tower/flurry combination that throws fifty targets in a given period of time and requires four shooters and we only had three, John Wiles, my host, Elizabeth Lanier, an instructor that was running a class for women the next two days, and myself. I think it would have been a little too much for us with only three shooters. Four or five shooters is the norm. But we still had another place to shoot, the covered Five Stand. They had eight traps on the Five Stand with just about every type of presentation possible. It was great fun but got harder and harder, as the sun was setting by that time and the targets became hard to see. But we didn't retire that easily, as we wanted so see how dark it got before we finally had to quit. The Fork offers more variety in shooting than any other place I've ever visited in the United States, and you'll never regret spending some time there. It would also be a good place to do some shot-gunning and bird shooting in the same day. They have a pro shop wher you can rent a gun and buy all kinds of accessories including ammo.You could spend a week here, and every day would be exciting, new and different. Lodging and food is available there.The name is a little misleading, as it is much more than a farm and stable. There are a wealth of experiences to explore there, including history, and that just depends on what your interests are. You can go fishing, hiking, hunting, exploring, mountain bike riding, horse back riding and a variety of many other things or just relax. It's not a place you want to drive by as you'll miss a grand experience. It's an ideal family destination. I can't wait until I return again.