ORRICK, Mo – When Donald Potter first bought the Mudhole Duck Club, it was already established as one of Missouri’s top waterfowl hunting grounds. But its productivity took a major leap after Potter installed wells and valves that enabled him to flood areas at will for the best possible hunting.
Now, Potter is preparing to sell the Mudhole Duck Club – including its commercial hunting business – at auction, with Albert Burney Auction Company, Gadsden, Ala., managing the sale. The auction will be held at the property at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 2.
The numbers have made waterfowl hunters sit up and take notice – 927 ducks and 574 Canadian geese harvested in 2007 alone. The property even attracted the attention of hunting legend Jeff Foiles, who featured the property in his new “Fallin’ Skys V” video.
“For more than 50 years, this property provided excellent hunting for duck and geese, but like most properties, it was dependent on natural flooding. We decided to make changes so that we could have the water where we wanted it,” said Potter.
To accomplish that, Potter added two electric wells, with a valve allowing water to be controlled in different directions to create flooded areas for hunting. “That made the hunting spectacular,” said Potter, noting that the 2007 harvest of Canadian geese jumped 78 percent from the 2006 level.
Potter took things one step further by running underground pipes to two ponds, allowing him to warm them with water from deep underground and prevent them from freezing during extreme cold. “When everybody else in Missouri was completely shut down with frozen ponds, we were out there killing our limits of ducks and geese practically every day,” he said.
Individuals interested in additional information about the property and auction may contact Albert Burney Auction Company at 800.434.1654 or visit the company’s web site at www.albertburney.com.
Albert Burney Auction Company, headquartered in Gadsden, Ala., is a leading real estate auction firm specializing in developments, luxury homes, resorts and other high-value properties throughout the United States.