For this installment of our Bucket List Series, we travelled to The Preserve at Crooked Run, an Orvis endorsed shooting and hunting destination located just outside the Town of Fincastle, Virginia, about 30 minutes from Roanoke.
Two days opened up on our early February schedule and a phone call later we were booked into one of Virginia’s most prestigious shooting and hunting venues. Owned and operated by locals that have a genuine love for their land and making their guests happy, The Preserve has quickly gained the reputation as a Virginia icon.
At The Preserve you’ll find an extraordinary 375-acre property consisting of fields, forests, streams, a lake and glorious mountain views of the Alleghenies and Blue Ridge. It’s set up for visitors to enjoy the shooting and hunting traditions as well as a premier wedding destination. During our visit we stayed in one of the Preserve’s pet friendly cabins with our Brittany spaniel that overlooked The Preserve’s private stocked lake. The accommodations were spotless, comfortable and modern and included a fridge and a microwave. Our cabin had its own shower and bathroom.
Our host was managing partner Tommy Spellman, a Virginia Tech grad turned developer with a number of revitalization and commercial projects under his belt in the Roanoke/Salem area. He and a partner acquired The Preserve at Crooked Run’s property several years back and immediately began transforming it from a church camp to what it is today.
“When we started our initial planning process, the facility was dated, and many buildings were in disarray, but we knew the potential was there to make something special and unique. We wanted to create a space where people could come and experience the hospitality and amenities of a 5-star resort, but also enjoy the privacy and exclusivity of a mountain getaway,” Spellman explained.
Projects they undertook to create the hunting, shooting and special event facility included logging, clearing and grubbing portions as well as relocating and refurbishing legacy cabins, building others, as well as construction of a general store/Orvis shop, main lodge and event hall with horizon pool all overlooking a stocked five-acre lake.
“As far as the upland side goes, I always enjoyed pheasant hunting growing up. It wasn’t until later on in life that I truly felt the bond that a day in the field could form. My Dad didn’t catch the upland bug until 2016, when he got his first bird dog. I was able to share his excitement in training, sharing stories and explaining why shots were missed for those final four years of his life. That time together not only brought us closer than we had ever been but became my purpose to provide a place for others to bond and create a memorable experience. I often find myself thinking of him out in the field, whether it be after connecting with a cackling pheasant or cussing after busting a knuckle hooking up a disc harrow, and how he gets to watch this dream slowly come to life,” Spellman told W2 when asked why he created The Preserve at Crooked Run.
I found Tommy to be one of the most grounded, humble, non-pretentious host/owners I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Shooting and dining with him was like spending time with a family member. In fact, all of his staff would fit that description – head guide Ed McCoy, assistant guide Cameron Abbott, and chef Lorna Vanostrand.
Upon our arrival around 1 pm on a Wednesday we were greeted by McCoy and Abbott outside the General Store. They showed us to our cabin and told us to meet them back at the shop when we were ready to hit the sporting clays range via a nicely appointed four-wheeler.
After changing into proper shoooting attire and assembing our guns, we reconvened at The Preserve’s General Store and Orvis shop. Guests meet here for shooting and hunting packages and can stock up on any supplies, shop Orvis apparel and choose one of the Preserve’s Caesar Guerini shotguns to shoot. I picked out a waxed cotton cap to replace one I’d lost recently, then it was time to shoot.
McCoy serves as head guide and shooting instructor with a long pedigree of certifications. Cameron joked he was a part-time, part-time owner. His duties at The Preserve are numerous, and he, too has shooting instruction experience. Both offered my wife and W2 Managing Editor, Chrissie, expert shooting advice at the first station that had her breaking birds quickly with the 20 ga. American Arms over and under we brought from our collection.
Chrissie has some tendonitis in her shooting shoulder, so her shot were limited, but I was happy to step in and run around 50 rounds through my trusty Weatherby Olympian 12 ga. as we travelled around the range.
The stations simulated all kinds of shooting scenarios, and each had a different theme from woodcock to rabbits, doves to quail, straight away trap shots to those dreaded skeet crossers. Ed would show me a bird/clay target and then let me try to break it, then we’d discuss how I did, and he would offer advice on gun placement and shot timing. I broke every bird or rabbit after his advice.
Near the end of the course, Spellman was able to join us. He also brought his German shorthaired pointer, Huck who was happy to tag along and investigate the occasional pheasant cackle that reached our ears from some of the heavier cover along the path. I rode with my host to several stations and our final stop – the 5-stand range,
Five-stand is similar to sporting clays, trap and skeet. There are five stations and six to eighteen strategically placed target throwers. Shooters take turns trying to break various combinations of birds. Cameron ran this part of our experience and also offered shooting advice. I broke out the 20 ga. again and enjoyed dusting many targets.
I must note that the sporting clays range is one of the best I’ve ever seen with well thought out stations and traps that simulate many types of wing shooting and small game. Views of the mountains are incorporated into many of the stations and our visit to the 5-stand range culminated with the setting sun.
With many rounds through barrel, it was time to head back to the cabin, freshen up and head over the main lodge for drinks around the fireplace and a chef-prepared three- course meal that included a pear and feta garden salad, homemade bread, seared tuna and a generous piece of chocolate truffle layer cake with strawberries crafted by chef Vanostrand.
Back at the cozy cabin, Chrissie and I snuggled up in a warm, comfortables bed. I started a book entitled High On Hogs sent to me by author John Shtogrenwith with good intentions of at least a chapter, but quickly fell sound asleep.
At 8 am the next morning it was time to walk the extensive hunting grounds with McCoy and his English Setter Sky and our Brittany Birdie in search of pheasant and quail. Scent was heavy and the dogs worked well together as their bells combined to create the upland music we all love to hear.
The first bird we encountered was a beautiful male pheasant Birdie pointed and I dropped going away with one shot to the head with the 20 ga. I won’t lie and say she retrieved it, but she did mark it and into the game bag it went.
We were hunting the prodigious fields of natural broom sedge on The Preserve’s hunting grounds. It was a very healthy chest high crop that hide the birds and the dogs. We had to listen carefully for when their bells went silent with a point.
Quail were numerous in these fields, not just singles and doubles. There were those shots, but we also had plenty of covey flushes. We had two pheasants and 10 quail by the time Spellman joined us around 11:30 am.
Spellman and I took a turn around a preserve perimeter loop trail where young forest cover left growing along ditches harbored pheasants. We flushed a wary half dozen with the dogs, but none fell to our guns.
We chatted like brothers as we turned back toward the lodge. Birdie went rigid several times and Tommy showed off his shooting skills deftly dropping a quail that flushed as I advanced on the dog.
There were more shots and misses as we made our way to our next destination – a beautiful spring that flowed forth from under a great sycamore tree next to the creek bed that meandered down to the lake. Tommy led us to this natural phenomenon, and I saw water striders enjoying the constant spring water temperature.
We made our way out of the woods, and I was surprised to see lunch waiting for us – Spellman’s homemade Brunswick stew and hearty bread cooked over a fire enjoyed on a lakeside picnic table.
Talk about a perfectly curated experience! My wife and I were treated to a truly special getaway that I think many outdoor-loving couples would enjoy. Heck, if you wife doesn’t shoot, grab a few of your better-mannered, yet still stinky hunting buddies and book a visit. The collection of small batch bourbons alone available at dinner should entice them!
After lunch we said our goodbyes to our incredible hosts, packed up and headed back to W2 headquarters in Louisa, Virginia, eager to write this Bucket List tale. And that is where you find me now, at the computer dreaming of wing shooting with my beautiful wife by my side and a helpful bird dog.
The Preserve at Crooked Run offers upland hunting through March and into April, pending the weather. The sporting clays range and 5-stand are nearly always available for visitors to shoot. For more information visit www.virginiapreserve.com.
