General Advice Needed for Grouse and Quail??

L

ladhilbluesband

New member
Greetings!

I know us out-of-staters can touch a nerve but I swear I'm only coming for a few days and I'm not bringing friends!

I'm an Oregon resident and will be staying in Billings, MT for 6-8 or so weeks starting in October this year and I was hoping I could add a new species to my bag.

If I plan accordingly, how realistic is it for me to do a focused hunt for chickens? Montana has plenty of sharpies and pheasant so I'm most interested in Chickens and possibly even quail if there's a huntable population.

Second part of the question, if I wanted to focus on chickens and quail, what part of the state would ya'll suggest? What's a good hub to land in for 3-4 days? I don't mind doing a little driving each day (1hour+). I've hunted enough out of state to be comfortable managing through public access but I've heard chickens can be really difficult to pin down. I will be bringing four dogs so if they're in the area, hopefully we'll find 'em!

I appreciate any advice here.
 
Nebraska and Kansas would probably be a better bet on Bobwhites. Kansas has scaled quail in the far SW. Kansas also has lesser prairie chickens if you really want to press ...

Don't forget about sage grouse ... MT or WY ??
 
I'm not really aware of any good quail population in SD. If you really want a mixed bag like you describe, NE is probably your better bet. Quail, pheasant, sharpies and chickens. All harvestable within relatively close proximity of each other.

Kansas I've heard the same but I have no experience hunting there.
 
I’ve hunted sw Nebraska and got pheasants, quail and at least saw either chickens or sharps. Most likely chickens but I can’t tell the difference unless I’m close. These flew over me in a corn field and landed out in stubble.
I think your out of luck on Quail in Mt.
 
Yeah or South Central Nebraska. Maybe more like SouthWest Central Nebraska. An hour or so north of there and you're in much better Chicken and sharpie territory. But still close to good pheasant and quail country.
 
I was going to be surprised if there was huntable quail populations. I don't know why they're even in the regs. Thank you all for the advice so far!
 
Native far southeastern Kansan here and I can tell you for a fact the quail numbers have been horrible for the last 15 years, however things are lookin brighter
 
BRITTMAN said:
Nebraska and Kansas would probably be a better bet on Bobwhites. Kansas has scaled quail in the far SW. Kansas also has lesser prairie chickens if you really want to press ...

Don't forget about sage grouse ... MT or WY ??
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Better go a lil farther south for scaled for scaled quail
 
Lointer man said:
Better go a lil farther south for scaled for scaled quail
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I was fortunate last season and put up 3 coveys of scaled quail and bagged quite a few of those buggers. They were really fun to hunt. I've never even seen a wild Bob or prairie chicken so those are what I'm after this season.
 
I've shot bobs in Nebraska, Kansas, and eastern CO. Never saw one in SD, heard rumor of them in Iowa and also heard rumor in Wisconsin. Thinking for quail head south, the farther the better. For chickens I would follow others advice and head for Nebraska or Kansas.
 
North Central Kansas has both but I could not get within a half mile of the chickens with dogs when I was there. Locals said that finding a field they were using and setting up early (almost like field hunting ducks) is the best way to hunt them late season. I have seen some (chickens) in Nebraska but not as many as Kansas. The only shot I have ever had at a chicken was in Nebraska but did not realize what it was until it was 70 yards out. I am no expert but I would think you would have to be very lucky to kill a chicken over dogs after mid October and quail season does not start until November. Most of my hunting in Kansas and Nebraska has been in January so maybe that was why they are so spooky??? I would love to get one or two to mount one day.
 
ladhilbluesband said:
Greetings!

I know us out-of-staters can touch a nerve but I swear I'm only coming for a few days and I'm not bringing friends!

I'm an Oregon resident and will be staying in Billings, MT for 6-8 or so weeks starting in October this year and I was hoping I could add a new species to my bag.

If I plan accordingly, how realistic is it for me to do a focused hunt for chickens? Montana has plenty of sharpies and pheasant so I'm most interested in Chickens and possibly even quail if there's a huntable population.

Second part of the question, if I wanted to focus on chickens and quail, what part of the state would ya'll suggest? What's a good hub to land in for 3-4 days? I don't mind doing a little driving each day (1hour+). I've hunted enough out of state to be comfortable managing through public access but I've heard chickens can be really difficult to pin down. I will be bringing four dogs so if they're in the area, hopefully we'll find 'em!

I appreciate any advice here.
Click to expand...
 
ladhilbluesband said:
Greetings!

I know us out-of-staters can touch a nerve but I swear I'm only coming for a few days and I'm not bringing friends!

I'm an Oregon resident and will be staying in Billings, MT for 6-8 or so weeks starting in October this year and I was hoping I could add a new species to my bag.

If I plan accordingly, how realistic is it for me to do a focused hunt for chickens? Montana has plenty of sharpies and pheasant so I'm most interested in Chickens and possibly even quail if there's a huntable population.

Second part of the question, if I wanted to focus on chickens and quail, what part of the state would ya'll suggest? What's a good hub to land in for 3-4 days? I don't mind doing a little driving each day (1hour+). I've hunted enough out of state to be comfortable managing through public access but I've heard chickens can be really difficult to pin down. I will be bringing four dogs so if they're in the area, hopefully we'll find 'em!

I appreciate any advice here.
Click to expand...
Last year best day I’ve ever had sharptail hunting. Me and a friend shot our limit. Only time in 26 years of hunting them. It was a great day to be in the field 1C44A367-E4AD-4350-829B-360AA4984867.jpeg
 
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