Late Season Woes

W

-Wildcat-

Super Moderator
Got out yesterday for a quick weekend hunt. Started south of Osborne about 1:30 and ended the day with only one rooster, and one jumbo covey of quail seen. Hunted around Hill City today until about 2:30 when there were 30 mph winds and it was 56 degrees. Four hens seen all day... never even saw any birds flying into feed, although we hunted around milo all day. I did meet a gentleman at the hotel that had hunted the prior few days and was heading back home, but had some success. Maybe my dogs just suck! Hope other guys are doing better out there. They are expecting weather out west at the end of the week, and colder temps, but that's likely to change. I might go back out if the forecast holds.
 
I haven't been out that way this year but was thinking about hunting some private ground in mitchell county on Wednesday. Haven't committed to it yet but highly considering it!
 
My experience with the WHIA areas is I scout 4 or 5 and hunt the best of the one :

Some farms / cover are far better at a particular time of day : We have a quail hunting spot that we have hunted early in the morning and got into 2coveys :

Same farm hunted early to mid afternoon and moved 5 coveys :

Timing can make a big difference :

Hope you make it back out late season can be boom or bust :
 
I'm hoping to make it back out west one more time. Was out by Salina yesterday and could not believe the number of bird hunters I saw! The poor quail are taking a beating this year.

Found a nice pile of mallards I may check on when season opens back up.

Today I went to perry for basically a walk and to check on some goose hunting spots I have. Even saw bird hunters there! It's unusual to see anyone there this late in the season. I think they were just out for walks also. That place is the worse managed area for upland birds I've been to. Pathetic.
 
I’ve never seen so many hunters this late in the season. Most years late December when in Hill City only see a couple other hunters at the motel. This year it was full!!

Talked to a few at the bird cleaning station and most had little to no luck but i heard it several times...”we cleaned up on quail”! Makes me cringe ... I’ve seen it all over Facebook too. With these good numbers..Poor quail ain’t make it far
 
They didn't make it on public land that's for sure. I definitely don't like to
Hear how someone "cleaned up" on quail.
 
You guys may be surprised to hear how much time and effort the state , quail and pheasants unlimited are spending on our success. They spend literally thousands of dollars in seed in many areas as well as more than a few new young biologists that are really working hard on increasing bird reproduction success. This is 100% paid for by hunter dollars. The more hunters buying licenses , the better the cover and hopefully bird numbers. Dont hate on the quail hunters for the bird numbers being up. That is an excellent sign honestly.
 
That will be yet to be seen. I don't trust this states government to use that money where it's supposed to be used. I'll just leave it at that.

I don't hate on the OOS hunters. What I do hate on are hunters who take the populations for granted.
 
Quail are not the "best" public land bird. They are far too susceptible to every type of predation (human included) that the population can really be hurt locally by hunting pressure. Sure, many birds get smart and are more jumpy that others, but the immobility of bobwhites leaves them constantly being moved. More movement means more exposure. I think what the folks here are saying is that, too often, folks coming from out-of-state are on a limited calendar and often take the position that, "if I don't kill them someone else will" when they find a covey. As a result, they harvest numbers that don't give the covey the respect they deserve or the chance to survive that they would have had otherwise. I don't stray far from my own area of management, but each area has it's own challenges and limitations. The federal areas can be harder to manage as both the COE and Bureau of Reclamation have rules that limit our management. On many areas they control the prescribed burning, prohibit grazing and disking. As a result, our management is significantly choked down. Also, many of these areas were "designed" by wildlife managers under old designs that we have now found not as productive for bobwhite and sometimes pheasants. Changing that now may well not be possible. So too, many of these areas are surrounded by housing developments that also restrict our management. A million dollar house just downwind of a large expanse of grass makes that prescribed burn a lot more technical. Some of our managers in both the NE and SE regions have turned over recently. Some of them more than once. This change in managers sets back accomplishments as new employees take some time getting to know the area and the broad expanse of responsibilities that come with it. If you honestly have opinions about the management on an area, I would recommend you call and make an appointment to talk with the manager about what he/she is doing in that line of management and if there is anywhere you might aid in that effort. I rarely get volunteers contacting me. There are dozens of simple tasks that get put off because they don't outrank other projects. Further, be prepared to offer up praise with the concerns as every manager is getting some things done. I recently put a kayak/canoe launch in on my lake when I found out how hard it was to get my layout boat across the rip rap and into the lake. Have yet to hear any compliment on it though it is being used regularly. I guarantee you that there is no way for any manager to keep up with everything that needs done on his/her area. We are under staffed, under funded, and over obligated. As for funding, within the wildlife/fisheries realm, we are controlled by federal law where our funding may be spent. Somewhere I may have gotten off topic, but feel free to jump in. Hope I haven't stolen this thread.
 
I by no means want to bash quail hunters or pheasant hunter. I do more quail hunting than pheasant hunting, as there’s really no pheasants in my area close to home. There’s a lot of knowledgeable quail hunters out there. It’s not a resident or out of stater thing to me. Some groups just need to kill, and when they’re out for pheasants and not much luck but get on quail I’ve found that many kill more quail out of a covey than they should. They’re a fragile bird that need multiple birds to survive. Just my two cents. It’s all legal tho, but i don’t like shooting bunches of them.
 
On a side note it’s good to hear there some young biologist out there working hard. I applaud them that’s what the state needs. I tip my hat to the hard working men and woman out there trying to help increase the bird numbers. Does anyone know if Kansas ever has like a 5 or 10 year management plan like SD does ?
 
Yes. They think much farther than that in their mgmt plans.
While Im not real impressed with the govt folks , the organizations such as PF , QF , NWTF , RMEF ,type organizations do much with limited funds and ks is doing a better job.
They have also estimated that due to many factors from baby boomers getting older or dieing off or NOT hunting , urbanization that we may lose 40% of our hunters in the next 15 years.
 
Radar said:
Yes. They think much farther than that in their mgmt plans.
While Im not real impressed with the govt folks , the organizations such as PF , QF , NWTF , RMEF ,type organizations do much with limited funds and ks is doing a better job.
They have also estimated that due to many factors from baby boomers getting older or dieing off or NOT hunting , urbanization that we may lose 40% of our hunters in the next 15 years.
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I can see exactly why that will be. When there is nothing to shoot at it makes it hard to convince someone the sport is fun so you can get to the point of appreciating the trip even if you dont see anything.

Habitat loss and ag practices are what I see affecting the upland populations the most here in KS - I'd assume it's the same in OK, NE, Iowa and other great plains states. Eastern half of KS and parts of the prairie in Western KS are turning into mini forests choke full of cedars. It takes a serious wildfire to wake anyone to the idea that it actually poses a danger to have all of those trees much less degrade your grass growth for the cattle. It's a string of things - until we put things into the farm bill that force folks taking govt money to do things that will be good for their bottom line as well as wildlife we are all just fighting a losing battle. I'm fully prepared the next 5-10 years or however far out it needs to be to move and relocate where there are wild animals to pursue in huntable numbers. AZ, NM, CO, and NV are all on my list as they would fit the bill having a decent sized town to live near - western KS only has Garden City and as soon as they drain the Ogallala aquifer that place will become a ghost town.
 
I have a 5 year management plan. Used to have a 25, not too practical.
 
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Well, it's going to be nearly 50 degrees on Sunday, so I'm staying home and finishing this basement project. I'll take a few days off during the week if I have to once it cools back off.

I try my best to not over pursue quail. If a covey only has 10 or so birds on the rise, I don't shoot. There's no magic number, but they need between 8-10 for the covey to maintain the ring and survive the colder days. Overshoot a covey and you may as well have killed them all...
 
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Sunday is going to be a nice day to hunt. Forecast is for 45 degree's, much more enjoyable than single digits. It won't hit 45 til mid to late afternoon.
 
Good luck gents! Personally I like it in the 20's at least, preferably with snow on the ground this late in the year but hope you find some success.
 
-Wildcat- said:
Good luck gents! Personally I like it in the 20's at least, preferably with snow on the ground this late in the year but hope you find some success.
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It will be in the 20's for most of the day, with a little snow on the ground. Should be perfect hunting conditions tomorrow.
 
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