South East Kansas Quail
- Thread starter Bluskies
- Start date
Not to sound rude man, but read through the forum a bit. THIS YEAR SUCKS - it doesnt really matter where you go.
We had more days over 100 than I cared to count this summer. You will be doing a lot of walking and probably wont see much.
Instead of getting excited over a pheasant or quail in the bag...you get excited when you actually see a bird.
As far as SE KS - if you have nowhere to hunt I would not go there. Its mainly private land and there is limited public or WIHA. You'd do yourself a favor to drive to Eastern Colorado (My buddy has family ties there) and its been much better there than KS the past couple years or to SD or maybe even Nebraska than KS.
If you come here good luck. You'll need it.
We had more days over 100 than I cared to count this summer. You will be doing a lot of walking and probably wont see much.
Instead of getting excited over a pheasant or quail in the bag...you get excited when you actually see a bird.
As far as SE KS - if you have nowhere to hunt I would not go there. Its mainly private land and there is limited public or WIHA. You'd do yourself a favor to drive to Eastern Colorado (My buddy has family ties there) and its been much better there than KS the past couple years or to SD or maybe even Nebraska than KS.
If you come here good luck. You'll need it.
Man. Driving from Florida to come hunt quail around here. That's dedication. Well, I live in the Lyon County area and can tell you quail numbers.....are below average. Do you have access to private land? That would probably be your best shot, obviously. I also have heard reports of some quail when hitting the back roads on public ground along the reservoirs. Melvern has some really nice cover and ground, as well as John Redmond. There are also some walk in spots if driving between the two. Be warned though, I devoted two full days at melvern with a buddy, his son and my dog. We HEARD what we thought was one covey, no shots, and saw two singles combined for the two days. Went home empty handed. I hope you do better, and safe travels.
That would be close to my last destination in KS to quail hunt. Once upon a time that was a great area but that was more than just a few years ago. Numbers in that area have not been good since the early 90's and before. I've never had to hunt public land down there so I'm not even sure what all is there as far as habitat on public lands. But, I have access to what was once primo quail hunting land down there and I don't even bother going there anymore.
Do some looking around on here and you will stumble accross the better areas. Just don't shoot up and chase the coveys too much. We are all trying to save what few we have left here. :cheers:
Do some looking around on here and you will stumble accross the better areas. Just don't shoot up and chase the coveys too much. We are all trying to save what few we have left here. :cheers:
You find better quail numbers on public ground in the Florida panhandle then you will here. Yes there are cottonmouths, rattlers, gators there. But the season is usually through March 31st? I used to go there when you guys had tons of birds. My favorite cover was orange groves. Hard to believe it, but there were plenty of birds in those back then. You guys are suffering and well from habitat destruction, but I assure you will find more birds closer to home. If you want to see the scenery come on down. You can shoot what you find, trust me it won't break the bank!
Well in the last 40 hours we haven't pointed a single covey or single out here in the panhandle. I've switched over to hunting ducks with fair success. However I'll always be upland first. I know the numbers are way down and the birds are spooky, but I have hope we'll point a covey or two, if not we'll enjoy some open country and me and the dogs will get some good exercise. One thing is for sure, if I don't hunt em I won't find em.
kansasbrittany
Banned
My wife's family owns land there and I have a few other contacts. As another poster stated, it was stellar back in the 90's. I remember shooting a rooster nearly every trip and seldom taking fewer than 6 quail home with me. Often my wife's cousin and I would both fill our limit. HOWEVER, I haven't been back for 2 years now. It was bad 3 years ago when it was pretty decent across much of the state.
kansasbrittany
Banned
Well in the last 40 hours we haven't pointed a single covey or single out here in the panhandle. I've switched over to hunting ducks with fair success. However I'll always be upland first. I know the numbers are way down and the birds are spooky, but I have hope we'll point a covey or two, if not we'll enjoy some open country and me and the dogs will get some good exercise. One thing is for sure, if I don't hunt em I won't find em.
With this attitude you should be fine. I suspect that if you do find a covey, they probably haven't been hunted much. None of my friends or family that live there even bother these days. They've all transitioned to waterfowl hunting.
Toad
Active member
X2. I used to make one or two trips down there each year, but it was bad 3 years ago, terrible 2 years ago, and I just didn't have the heart to even try this season. The area I hunted has gone kind of waterfowl crazy. We used to hunt both quail and waterfowl on my trips, and we would have our pick of any number of ponds and rivers with no competition.
Now the farmers I know are in "quail protection" mode, and don't allow hunters without family ties to even hunt their quail. And everybody down there with a shotgun is a duck hunter now, so we've had to change our tactics a bit there too. Like getting there early as hail, instead of setting up a half hour before shooting time.
I really hope you are successful in finding some quail. Just make sure you leave plenty for seed.:thumbsup:
Like they say in the movie Taken "Good Luck"
I have lived in SEK most of my life,I'm 53,this is by far the worst year I can ever remember.Even the last couple of years we could find some birds,but as someone else has stated,the farmers have closed quail down to everyone.One of my buddies spent two days hunting West Mineral Public Hunting,and this guy knows where to hunt at,never saw a bird,roost mark,nothing.Unless the state try to repopulate the bobwhite,I'm afraid that they might be gone for good.
I have lived in SEK most of my life,I'm 53,this is by far the worst year I can ever remember.Even the last couple of years we could find some birds,but as someone else has stated,the farmers have closed quail down to everyone.One of my buddies spent two days hunting West Mineral Public Hunting,and this guy knows where to hunt at,never saw a bird,roost mark,nothing.Unless the state try to repopulate the bobwhite,I'm afraid that they might be gone for good.
fsentkilr
Active member
Im in Anderson county which is 2 over and 4 up from the se tip of Kansas and I have shot more quail this year than the last 10. I have shot several limits and average finding around 5 or 6 coveys every time out. My brother hunts a lot also, and his luck has been about the same as mine. So I guess it depends on what part of se Kansas you are hunting in. This is all on private ground, and most of the birds are coming out of crp strips along creeks and field edges. Yesterday morning my dad and uncle shot 9 and found 4 coveys. It is very hard to get permission to hunt them, and the farmers that do allow hunting get their ground pounded. One of my neighbors lets anybody hunt, and there are trucks parked on his farms every weekend.
I'm getting ready to leave tomorrow to head to west central Kansas to chase phez around the last week of season. Its looking like the temps are going to get pretty warm in the afternoons so I may just hunt in the mornings. My pups are coming along nicely, and I think they are really going to turn into good dogs.
I'm getting ready to leave tomorrow to head to west central Kansas to chase phez around the last week of season. Its looking like the temps are going to get pretty warm in the afternoons so I may just hunt in the mornings. My pups are coming along nicely, and I think they are really going to turn into good dogs.