One would hope these are basic rules that we in the hunting fraternity live by, but judging from the blogs, apparently I am giving to much credit, I don't think this applies to any of us on the forum, but I am posting this and encouraging all of you to list some common manners of the field. Number one would be that it is rude to ask someone to direct you to a specific location where a fellow hunter has had success. if you are fortunate to be directed to a spot, or by chance be invited to accompany someone to a special place, it is unacceptable, to go back unaccompanied or invite all your friends to join you, without the host who invited you. Number 2, you never correct or attempt to control another persons dog, without permission from the owner. Number 3 Quail are not pheasants! Life style and requirements are dramatically different, hunting coveys late in the day, leaving scattered singles no time to regroup before dark, may sacrifice the entire covey in bad weather. We never shoot at coveys of 8 or less, this is the minimum number necessary to create warmth in severe weather. number 4, We leave the place public or private, better than we found it. Pick up shells, bird offal should be hauled home and disposed of, leave it like you would like to find it, wondering if anyone had hunted before. I'm sure there are many more, please chime in, these are just the ones that seem to be hot at the moment.
Hunting Decorum for Idiots
- Thread starter oldandnew
- Start date
BritChaser
Well-known member
Good thread and good advice. I invited a friend to hunt the opener several years ago. He showed up with one of his friends. In addition, his friend could not keep up with the rest of us. The following year this friend wanted to bring his friend again. I said, "If you want to hunt with x, take him hunting somewhere." Problem solved.
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Very good points.....
I am new here as my son directed me to this site and the last couple days I have enjoyed reading the forums. Upland game hunting is a passion of mine and I have been doing it for over 45+ years.
As a 4th generation farmer/rancher/landowner in western KS, if I may , I would like to add some points.
1. Close all gates both going into and leaving a field. I don't know how many times I have chased cattle after someone opened a gate and failed to close it after them.
2. Even if you have permission to hunt private ground, please do not do it in and around buildings, barnyards, dwellings, livestock and equipment.
3. Just because you know that you and your hunting buddies are responsible, don't expect the landowner/tenant to accept your word at face value. More often than not someone promises something and never follows through. Respect is earned, not given.
4. I would amend the above statement on quail to not take any out of a covey that is 20 or less. Winter kill is extremely high, not only in severe weather, but also in snow cover and extended low temps.
5. If someone tells you they have a lease on a parcel of ground and you can hunt it, ALWAYS check with the landowner/tenent to confirm this. This is a big time problem here, people claiming they have a lease and they do not.
Thanks and am looking forward to enjoying this forum.
Rusty
I am new here as my son directed me to this site and the last couple days I have enjoyed reading the forums. Upland game hunting is a passion of mine and I have been doing it for over 45+ years.
As a 4th generation farmer/rancher/landowner in western KS, if I may , I would like to add some points.
1. Close all gates both going into and leaving a field. I don't know how many times I have chased cattle after someone opened a gate and failed to close it after them.
2. Even if you have permission to hunt private ground, please do not do it in and around buildings, barnyards, dwellings, livestock and equipment.
3. Just because you know that you and your hunting buddies are responsible, don't expect the landowner/tenant to accept your word at face value. More often than not someone promises something and never follows through. Respect is earned, not given.
4. I would amend the above statement on quail to not take any out of a covey that is 20 or less. Winter kill is extremely high, not only in severe weather, but also in snow cover and extended low temps.
5. If someone tells you they have a lease on a parcel of ground and you can hunt it, ALWAYS check with the landowner/tenent to confirm this. This is a big time problem here, people claiming they have a lease and they do not.
Thanks and am looking forward to enjoying this forum.
Rusty
henhenROOSTER!!!
New member
That is the Cardinal "Unpardonable Sin" in hunting to me & the #1 reason I am very careful about who I ever take where and only introduce by small increments!!!
Have had it happen to me over the yrs in all kinds of hunting (deer, ducks, turkey, phez), but never more than once by the same person (
)...I know exactly where a bunch of incredible bang-up private spots are across several counties right this moment, but I NEVER go there without the folks who brung me & expect the same treatment in return! :cheers:
Ranger Rick
Member
Above and beyond all things, hunt safe. Wear blaze orange, even if just a hat. Be aware of your surroundings and hunting partners at all times. It drives me crazy when I hunt with someone the first time and they can't stop swinging the muzzle of their gun my way. Am I supposed to believe they won't shoot me when a bird flushes in between us? And then the guy talks about not getting a shot off because he saw the road coming up and turned his safety back on. [that was the end of my hunt that day. i no longer hunt with the friend who brought that idiot along]
We hunt with dogs and don't shoot things on the ground.
Don't you dare shoot my dog, or I may shoot you.
We hunt with dogs and don't shoot things on the ground.
Don't you dare shoot my dog, or I may shoot you.
OKIEGunner
New member
Old & New,
You hit the nail on the head on the basics. Rusty's additions add some landowner flavor as well. I hope this thread is received well by all who enjoy this sport.
1. One that always gets me riled up is hunters that will shoot birds out of the bar-ditch. (Road hunters)
2. There is always time to enjoy a beer or spirits after the guns and dogs are put up for the day.
Rusty Trigger
Member
Other hunters jumping in the field in front of you, or those that pile out of the truck to block what you are pushing. Always piss's me off.
Okie, well said, I will not put up with people that want to drink and handle fire arms. Just begging for trouble.
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I understand the reasoning behind not shooting a covey with less than 8 birds. There's some science to back that up.
So I'm curious to see some replies to a not-so-hypothetical situation: It has snowed 5-6" the last day, forecasted temps for the next two days are not to be above 40 with lows somewhere below freezing. You flush a "covey" with only two birds (or four birds). Do you shoot them or not?
Why not reduce them to possession and make use of the resource instead of them dying from exposure?
They have a less than optimal chance of survival anyway, right?
What are your reasons for not shooting them?
Curious from a state that doesn't have quail....
So I'm curious to see some replies to a not-so-hypothetical situation: It has snowed 5-6" the last day, forecasted temps for the next two days are not to be above 40 with lows somewhere below freezing. You flush a "covey" with only two birds (or four birds). Do you shoot them or not?
Why not reduce them to possession and make use of the resource instead of them dying from exposure?
They have a less than optimal chance of survival anyway, right?
What are your reasons for not shooting them?
Curious from a state that doesn't have quail....
Well you don't have Quail, so I'll cut you a break. Quail need to have several Quail/covey to live though bad condition. AKA body heat. They hump up at night to survive. The two you flushed were part of a covey that has been busted ,or is searching to covey up. NEVER EVER SHOOT QUAIL THAT FLUSH IN LESS THAN 10 birds. IMHO You'll just wipe them out.
JMAC, has it right. The reason you flush 1 or 2 birds is because that covey has already been broken up, you are pursuing birds trying to reassemble. Individual quail lack the body weight to survive long without the covey structure. not to mention the lack of extra eyes and ears to provide warning and evasion. Thanks for the question though! Your the audience I was hoping to reach. Someday soon I hope you get the chance to hunt wild bobwhites, you'll realize why we are so protective, apologies to pheasants, but to a pointing dog lover you can't match quail.
I guess for me the question hasn't been answered yet except for no matter what don't shoot at less then 8 or 20. But and here goes How do you know that the 2 or 4 are not the only ones left and they will die according to you guys so why not shoot them then? Or just in case they are not they will find the rest of the covey or just maybe they will. I may never get the chance to hunt quail but I would like to know too.
Quail have a very different lifestyle then pheasants. The home territory of a covey is very rarely over 40@ in size. This very fact makes them more vulnerable to hunting pressure. If you find a covey at a certain place, at a certain time, likely you will find them at that place and time everyday,unless they are pressured off the schedule. Coveys shot below the optimal number will attempt to join other coveys in the area. Sometimes leading to huge late season coveys. To specifically address your question , there is no such thing as a two or 4 bird covey, there may be two or 4 birds but they are in transition to either reforming with other birds in the covey or searching for another covey to join. So basically you are shooting stressed survivors, birds who if they are successful in surviving to breeding season, will repopulate the traditional range, rather than shooting the last birds who inhabit that home territory. With the habitat as fractured and fragmented as it is now, that particular area might not see recolonization from adjacent "fall shuffle" birds, or spring pairing birds, resulting in extermination of that covey, and another defeat in the battle to save the quail we have.
moellermd
Super Moderator
I would agree a very fair question. Is there a diffinitive answer to the smallest size covey of quail you can shoot at backed by science?
It's been widely studied and excepted by researchers that it takes 8 or more quail to survive winter weather and function as a unit. When we had lots of habitat, which overlapped it was not as much a factor, although it's a practice handed down from the previous generations which I have adhered to all my hunting life. For further proof of hunting affect on quail, search and read Covey Rise magaine this month, which sites research that debunks the long held theory that hunting pressure, and hunter harvest has no impact on the quail population. Similar studies by the Missouri Department of Conservation, indicates that in our state and areas of the same latitude, every quail harvested by any means,natural or man, after January 15th is a bird removed directly from the breeding population. Reasoning is that the surplus birds are available in the fall, the January birds are battle and weather hardened, a high percentage of which will survive till breeding season. So every bird you take out of the population at that point is potentially the loss of 6-8 burds next year. Current research is widely available on the internet, for those interested in the subject.
BritChaser
Well-known member
A two quail flush does not definitively mean there are not more birds in the covey whom did not flush. I have had one or two flush and then a bunch more flushes a minute later.
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Prairie Drifter
Well-known member
When approached by law enforcement, acknowledge their presence with a smile and wave, tell them you'd like to unload, turn away and unload your firearm while pointing it in a safe direction, then keep that muzzle pointed away-action open- or put your gun in a safe place while completing your conversation. Never lean a gun against a vehicle or fence, they are unstable and dogs are prone to knock them over. Never lay your gun in the road or on the shoulder, next truck will bust it in half or that's where you'll eventually remember you left it. Plan ahead. Keep your license on your person and know where to find it. Never clean your birds along the road. Non-hunters use these areas too and don't want to see birds inside out. Try to stay in lodging that has a bird room. Control your dogs. They should be in the field or confined so your peers or someone passing by is not hurt by running over them. If someone is already hunting a WIHA, go to the next one.