How was it?

Today I hunted in the morning, saw a bunch of roosters, unfortunately not where I could hunt them. Saw a hen fly into a marginal looking area, decided to see where she went. Found nothing, except 5 bucks and a bunch of does. On our walk back to the truck dog went on point, nothing there, she searched the are, but same result. I figured a bird was running on us. We had to cross a dry creek bed as soon as the dog jumped down into it a rooster flushed just out of range. Later we hunted an area that looked perfect, but found nothing until we hit some tumble weeds and found a rooster, my poor shooting led to him getting away. We took the afternoon off, but went out to a new area and explored. Found several WIHA that looked like my front lawn.
 
BirdGuy said:
alot of overgrazed cattle pastures enrolled in WIHA up in that area...
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Which may be good for hunting coyotes. Guys on here forget its not all about upland. A wheat field may be good for geese or deer, a bare pasture may hide a draw holding deer or coyotes. Or maybe a spot looks overgrazed and there is a strip of weeds along a back fence that hold a limit of roosters.
 
Just finished up day 2 of hunting in NE Kansas. We are quail hunting. 3 guys, 9 dogs (English pointers and 1 setter), most with quite a bit of experience. We saw one covey crossing the road while driving and found one 15 bird covey over the two full days hunting. We hunted 8 quality looking walk in areas/public hunting spots over the last 2 days, places that should hold at least one and actually more than one covey one in most cases. They just were not there. Wasn’t a matter of dogs not hunting. Scenting conditions were not great but were acceptable especially early and late. The covey we found was at noon today. As hard as they hunted they should have accidentally ran over some and/or we should have walked up some if there were many to be found and scenting was just bad. We also drove past a lot of properties that appeared to provide very little upland opportunities that were labeled as having quail and or pheasants. Understand they have other types of hunters but was really disappointed in some of the tracts labeled as having upland birds. Did see couple of really nice bucks. Not saying any of this to make anyone mad. Sure there are some birds around, but we are very disappointed. I thank everyone who messaged me. Does sound like areas much further west have some better opportunities, but we are heading home. Good luck to all.
 
fsentkilr said:
Which may be good for hunting coyotes. Guys on here forget its not all about upland. A wheat field may be good for geese or deer, a bare pasture may hide a draw holding deer or coyotes. Or maybe a spot looks overgrazed and there is a strip of weeds along a back fence that hold a limit of roosters.
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That’s a good point.
 
Quailguy36 said:
Just finished up day 2 of hunting in NE Kansas. We are quail hunting. 3 guys, 9 dogs (English pointers and 1 setter), most with quite a bit of experience. We saw one covey crossing the road while driving and found one 15 bird covey over the two full days hunting. We hunted 8 quality looking walk in areas/public hunting spots over the last 2 days, places that should hold at least one and actually more than one covey one in most cases. They just were not there. WasnÂ’t a matter of dogs not hunting. Scenting conditions were not great but were acceptable especially early and late. The covey we found was at noon today. As hard as they hunted they should have accidentally ran over some and/or we should have walked up some if there were many to be found and scenting was just bad. We also drove past a lot of properties that appeared to provide very little upland opportunities that were labeled as having quail and or pheasants. Understand they have other types of hunters but was really disappointed in some of the tracts labeled as having upland birds. Did see couple of really nice bucks. Not saying any of this to make anyone mad. Sure there are some birds around, but we are very disappointed. I thank everyone who messaged me. Does sound like areas much further west have some better opportunities, but we are heading home. Good luck to all.
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There maybe a few WIHA areas in the Northeast that’s hold Quail and Pheasants but since CRP contracts are few and far between in these areas , the most prevelant species are deer , Turkey and Furbearers , seems like if you get away from bean and corn rotation and to wheat and Milo and wheat rotation birds are more numerous .

Umdistured quality nesting cover seem to be a more important factor .
 
I would certainly agree with the “few” part. My buddies who have been coming here for over 30 years said it was the worst they have seen. They have hunted all over the state but last several seasons out had hunted in the south east. Had private ground access there. Farmer they had contact with said south east was bad this year and last so one of our group had made some calls before we made trip out and talked to biologist up in NE KS. The biologist stated they had as many quail as anywhere in the state. From this board and out experience up there I would now say that was incorrect. Sounds like there are some pockets of quail here and there with most reports coming from about 3-4 hours west of area we were in. Just wish we had known that before we started the trip. We would have went there to start.
 
Quailguy36 said:
I would certainly agree with the “few” part. My buddies who have been coming here for over 30 years said it was the worst they have seen. They have hunted all over the state but last several seasons out had hunted in the south east. Had private ground access there. Farmer they had contact with said south east was bad this year and last so one of our group had made some calls before we made trip out and talked to biologist up in NE KS. The biologist stated they had as many quail as anywhere in the state. From this board and out experience up there I would now say that was incorrect. Sounds like there are some pockets of quail here and there with most reports coming from about 3-4 hours west of area we were in. Just wish we had known that before we started the trip. We would have went there to start.
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There are certainly good numbers of quail in northeast Kansas, but it’s still a big area and things will vary depending on where you go. I do know that the quail had a great hatch down here in southeast Kansas. I don’t know where your friends farmer contact is, but I don’t think he’s correct. The horrible scenting conditions certainly didn’t help you either. I had a trip to South Dakota last year where we didn’t shoot a single bird, so I understand your frustration. Hope you still enjoyed your time in the field.
 
I do agree scenting conditions were less than desirable. With that said, fewer coveys and smaller coveys this year in NE Kansas. The birds we did kill were small and very immature (indicating late hatch). I have been going to this area for a long time and very rarely did we not get our daily limit of quail. Dogs are getting some age, but lots of experience on where to look. Here is what was strange to us......... Hunting the same cover with feed in a five square mile radius had very inconsistent results. The weather didn't help things, but I still really enjoyed the hunt. As I get older, it is more about the experience and relationships with the locals in that area. I would have liked to have gotten the setter pup in a few more birds. He did point and retrieve a single. How do the WIHA's look down in SE Kansas?
 
John1743 said:
I do agree scenting conditions were less than desirable. With that said, fewer coveys and smaller coveys this year in NE Kansas. The birds we did kill were small and very immature (indicating late hatch). I have been going to this area for a long time and very rarely did we not get our daily limit of quail. Dogs are getting some age, but lots of experience on where to look. Here is what was strange to us......... Hunting the same cover with feed in a five square mile radius had very inconsistent results. The weather didn't help things, but I still really enjoyed the hunt. As I get older, it is more about the experience and relationships with the locals in that area. I would have liked to have gotten the setter pup in a few more birds. He did point and retrieve a single. How do the WIHA's look down in SE Kansas?
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I don’t have many in my immediate area, but the cover around here is thick as can be this year. I’ve been focused on deer hunting so far this season so I haven’t been quail hunting yet, but people around home have been having great success. I’ve been seeing lots of quail everyday, in big coveys. I’ll get after them when I shoot a buck or the rut is over.
 
Scenting conditions are on par with most years out here. Maybe a little better than most years. Still many draws holding moisture. It's western Kansas, it is supposed to be dry. 3 inches of snow tonite might help those dogs with clogged sinuses.
 
Hey guys--We have a group of four (with 6 dogs in tow) making our first trip to Kansas in January. After 7 years in SD we're looking for new adventure. The key attraction was ending our season here in MN and continuing on in KS. After a fair amount of research we settled on the Lucas area mostly because it was hard finding a house to rent via Airbnb that would allow dogs further west. We've shot A LOT of pheasants over the years but never a quail so I'd be just as happy if we got into some covey's but primarly hunting roosters. Appears we need to be mobile and not get bogged down in one spot. Reading these threads give me mixed emotions. Overall do you feel it will be worth the 11 hours drive? I've set this trip up for my son and two buddies so I feel a certain pressure for at least marginal success. Appreciate any comments..
 
I usually hunt South Dakota, but this year decided to try Kansas. The hard part was not knowing where to go. After years of going to South Dakota I know the area and where the birds might be. Based on my 5 days out there I would say it is worth the trip. The roosters are pretty smart and I think they have been hunted a bit. I can’t say enough about the quail. I’ve never really hunted wild quail and it was a blast. Coveys of 10-15 birds were common. I would go back just for the quail.
 
Byrdoglvr said:
Hey guys--We have a group of four (with 6 dogs in tow) making our first trip to Kansas in January. After 7 years in SD we're looking for new adventure. The key attraction was ending our season here in MN and continuing on in KS. After a fair amount of research we settled on the Lucas area mostly because it was hard finding a house to rent via Airbnb that would allow dogs further west. We've shot A LOT of pheasants over the years but never a quail so I'd be just as happy if we got into some covey's but primarly hunting roosters. Appears we need to be mobile and not get bogged down in one spot. Reading these threads give me mixed emotions. Overall do you feel it will be worth the 11 hours drive? I've set this trip up for my son and two buddies so I feel a certain pressure for at least marginal success. Appreciate any comments..
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Scott,

I sent u a private message.

Gary
 
Not seeing very many birds at all but when I do I have been making it count. Only missed one bird so far this year, and I pulled feathers on him. Shot this triple today, second triple of the season.
 
Just got back from my annual hunt in Norton and Decatur counties on a private farm. I have been going to the same place for over 15 years and this year was by far the worst. Very few birds and even fewer quail. I have a feeling the quail numbers are due to the massive hail storm. The habitat and conditions were excellent. A bit too warm for my taste on the last couple days.
 
Was finally able to make it back down to the SE corner of the state Saturday for a quick morning hunt on some ground we've hunted for years. Bird numbers appear to be very similar to last year. Got into 2 good sized coveys on a piece of ground we historically see anywhere from 2-4.
 
Saturday I saw 2 pheasants in an all day hunt. Shot both of them. I shot 1 quail on a covey rise. Also found a nice shed. Poor bird numbers, looks like I will harvest fewer pheasants this season than I have in any year in the last 20. I have shot at 12 pheasants this year and killed 11. This is the first year that my 5 year old female has got to hunt by herself. So in that sense it has been fun.
 
Wow these reports aren’t what I’m hearing from certain parts of the state or from what I’ve experienced. Granted I’ve only been out a couple of times but each time quail were better than last year in these spots. Dumb luck maybe because lord knows my setter probably couldn’t find a steak sandwich in his dog bowl but he did have some great points. May have to switch over to my retrievers but dang I like shooting pointed quail. Phez I like to watch my lab work em over.
 
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