Much Ado About Hunting

Story by Amanda Larch

Mountain Meadow Hunting Preserve offers unique hunting opportunities for everyone. Owner Brandon White started the business as a teenager and now is able to watch it grow with his family at his side.

Located in Monroe County, West Virginia, the hunting preserve is 800 acres of an outdoorsman’s paradise with fishing opportunities and a variety of native and exotic animal species, ranging from fallow and whitetail deer to buffalo and elk.

​Brandon and Cortney White, owners of Mountain Meadow Hunting Preserve, are dedicated to providing the best experience for all their guests, and they especially welcome veterans and adults and children with disabilities. 

​“Through the business, we have the opportunity to share hunting with disabled veterans and handicapped kids and adults, and that’s truly the most rewarding feeling,” Cortney says. 

​“People who are in wheelchairs, a lot of times they can’t go in the woods and hunt. At a business like this, they have the opportunity to do that,” she says.

​Hunters from all across the U.S. have also flocked to Mountain Meadow as Brandon says they may not be able to afford to travel outside the country to hunt exotic breeds.

​“We do a lot of exotic animals that aren’t native to the United States. Not everybody can travel to Europe to shoot a purebred Mouflon ram; most people could never afford to travel to New Zealand to hunt a red stag—that’s where they’re native to—but they can do it here,” Brandon says. 

​Additionally, while much of the hunting preserve’s clientele are self-proclaimed trophy hunters looking for the next impressive mount for their walls, the Whites say many hunters who visit are solely interested in the meat. Local butchers are available to offer their services for interested guests.

​“We get trophy hunters, and we also get a lot of people who are just looking to fill their freezer with meat,” Brandon says. “We get all walks of life; some of them just want a big rack to mount and put on the wall. Some of them are just here to get to kill a meat bison to put in their freezer.”

​“I guess you would call them meat hunters,” he says with a laugh.

​Mountain Meadow Hunting Preserve now also offers lodging on site, with three new options, including the Mountain View Lodge and Lake View Lodge for large groups and the Buffalo View Cabin for smaller groups. 

​“We’re continuing to grow too; we try to buy land all the time as it comes up for sale,” Brandon says.

Brandon’s father purchased the property that now encompasses Mountain Meadow as a family farm when Brandon was four years old.

​“For years, it was just a family retreat, where we would come and hunt and fish,” Brandon recalls. 

​Growing up with a love of the outdoors deeply instilled in him, Brandon soon realized his dream of opening his own hunting preserve and knew the family farm would make the perfect place. With the support of his family, he began turning the farm into a retreat for all hunters while still in high school. He was 15 when he began fencing the property, and his senior year, he officially opened his business. 

​“At that age, Brandon basically had a plan of what he wanted to do, to fulfill his dream,” Cortney recounts. “With his family’s support and a lot of hard work, and with the support of me too, he’s doing what he loves.”

​With the first official hunt occurring in 1999, Brandon says his first decade in business was a learning process, but his perseverance shone through.

​“He loves people, and when his first customer came here, just that experience, seeing a smile on their face, that’s really what motivated him to continue to turn this into a hunting preserve,” Cortney credits her husband. 

​“Because he’s always loved the outdoors, and he’s always loved hunting and fishing. He also knew that he wanted to stay here on this family farm and turn it into a business that consists of hunting and fishing,” she says. 

​The business has only expanded since then, and in 2020, the Whites continued that expansion by purchasing another property—just a few miles down the road—that is used for trophy elk, whitetails, and fallow deer, some of the most popular animals among hunters. Though that year reflected well for their business, personally, it was one of the most difficult for Brandon and Cortney, as their daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. Thankfully, they say she is doing well now.

​“For business, that was our most exciting year despite COVID, but personally, that was one of our scariest times of our life,” Cortney says. “Our brave girl got through that chapter in her life, and she’s an inspiration. It’s a miracle that we thank God for daily.”

​Mountain Meadow is a family affair for Brandon and Cortney, and the most rewarding aspect of their job is being able to stay at home and raise their children. 

​“It’s really rewarding working for yourself and making the place grow, making it look nice, and beautifying the property,” Brandon says.

​“I do more of a business part, but he’s a lot of hands on,” Cortney says. “We make a great team.”

​Cortney reflected on the legacy of Mountain Meadow Hunting Preserve. 

​“We want people to remember Mountain Meadow as a place that people can have lifelong memories, bring their families, and experience the great outdoors, and give people opportunity that are handicapped to hunt here in a place to enjoy themselves and have peace,” she says.