Missouri Opener

The numbers may be up from last year, but look at them compared to the long term numbers - most of them are down 50% or more. I am hopeful that this is the start of the populations increasing and not just a little hump in the road. I have permission on almost 1000 acres that used to hold decent numbers of pheasants, and at least a few coveys of quail, but have only seen 2 pheasants on it this year, and I have yet to even see a quail there. This area has quite a bit of crp and crop ground, and a relatively small amount of pasture. I am hoping that once the crops are out, I will start finding birds in the crp, but am not willing to bet on it.

setterbud,
I used to hunt Whetstone quite a bit when I lived in Columbia and always really liked the area, seemed to hold lots of quail. It is the area where I killed the first limit of quail I ever shot over my last GSP, so it will probably always hold fond memories.

only,
I should be available the second weekend.

Jason
 
I would be able to join you on Sunday the 8th if that intrests you. Pointer where are you hunting for the Kansas opener. I will be out around Ellsworth and Sylvan Grove.
 
Hey guys, I don't know if any of you are going to be around, but I am planning to go to Bilby tomorrow morning to get my pup some work on pheasants. He does well on pigeons and pen raised quail, but I imagine a poodles would also with the amount of training he has had. ;) If the crops are out it should be a good morning to get some work on relatively unpressured birds without the distraction of trying to fill out a limit or tripping over 500 other hunters.

Jason
 
Have a good time in the field with your dog. I will be doing my one weekend of bow hunting to make my father in law happy. Let us know how the bird numbers look.
 
Well, 2 of us went out with our pups this morning, and saw a couple of birds, but not many. We saw almost as many deer as pheasants and quail combined. Part of the problem is that almost all of the crops are still in, so there is a ton of cover for them to hide in, and the pheasants can just keep running without the need to expose themselves. It looks to me like there will probably still be standing crops when the season opens, so it could be interesting until they get them out. We did have a couple of good points so it definitely was not a wasted morning, but I was disappointed with the number of birds we found.

Jason
 
I would not be too dissappointed, like you said with the crops in why would they be in the grass. I have hunted the property near St Joe many a times when the crops were in and barely saw a bird. Came back after the crops were out and birds were everywhere.

zeepo
 
Anyone interested in hunting during the week to avoid the crowds? I live down here near Springfield and am going to hunt around Bilby soon after opening. Let me know.
 
Pointer I intend on calling you to hunt some time. I am just hammered with work and schoolright now. I am trying to put out some fires before the season starts. During the week doesnt work for me except when public school is not in session.
 
only a pointer & Smizell,
I should be able to hunt Sunday the 8th. I just hope that the crops are out on Bilby and the surrounding farms. There are a couple other conservation areas that are not too far from St Joe / Maryville that I need to check out this fall also. Since Bilby will be packed opening day as always, maybe I can find a sleeper that will allow for a good unpressured hunt. I would love to find some quail for the dog (and for me) since he hasn't seen enough pheasants to figure those runners out yet. Let me know what your plans are and I will see if I can make it work.

Mo_GSP,
I don't know that I can get away during the week until possibly the week of MO deer season (after KS opener), but let me know when you are going to be up and I will see what I can do.

Oh, by the way, I have both a MO and KS hunting license, so I plan to hunt some walk in areas in KS also. If any of you guys know of hot spots in KS within an hour or two of St Joe please let me know.:D
Jason
 
I have hunted Kings Lake area and got into some birds there, and I have never seen another hunter there, also call the St. Joe conservation office and ask them. What areas in Ks are looking for help?

Zeepo
 
This will be my first year hunting in KS, so any info on public areas in the NE part of the state would be appreciated. I picked up a Walk In Atlas already so my current plan is to check out as many of those areas as possible. I have already checked out a few places in section 5 & 6 and found some promising (and some not so promising) areas, but if you have any places that you have actually hunted, or want some company hunting, please let me know.

Jason
 
its cool

i know just kidding call me any time and we will go whenever anytime i dont care i like going to knew spots even if it is public walk in whatever.
 
MWMOgsp, How much rain did you get your way, in the KC area we got around a 1.5 inches. How is the harvest coming, looks like alot of crops will be in for Nov 1st.

Zeepo
 
We got about the same amount of rain, plus it is supposed to start raining again tonight. I thought that the farmers might be able to get back into the fields this weekend, but it looks like they are going to have to wait a few more days. At this point it looks like only about 25% of the crops are out - pretty even split between corn and beans, so be prepared to hunt around standing crops for the opener.

Jason
 
Well I have had my dogs out fours times on two local CA areas and haven't seen a covey yet. last year i found two covies on oe and three on the other one in the locations i went too. going again this afternoon if the rain holds off

Kansas i am going there in the middle of the week nov 17-29, right now it looks like i am headed to norten wa area and camp there and and walk in around there, if don't do any good will head back toewards glen elder lake, am hoping to get into quail as well as pheasants. do you all think I am going in the right direction are is everywhere this year going to be good thanks

i have a email from the mo ca to share with you this was my question
I sent this on 10/09
Topic: General

Quail

on the Ca areas how do you determine what is considered a excellant, good, fair population?
is it the covey per acres?
and if so what covey count would make a excellant, good, fair rating?

next question at Whetstone Creek has the 1pm quiting time been removed?


thanks

this was my answer received on 10/13


Dear Mr. Hines: your questions were forwarded to me, and they are good ones. In my next email to you I'll provide a number of answers (I wrote an article on the subject of 'quality' quail hunting) to your questions, but first I'd appreciate your help answering a broader question about 'how many quail does it take to keep someone in the sport?' I ask this because of MDC's involvement in the National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative--this initiative will be asking MDC how many quail are desirable for private lands with the idea that a minimum number of quail are needed to support hunting.

There are many ways to ask this question...I assume you have bird dogs...how about...If I could find X number of coveys on the best day(s) of hunting, I would strongly consider buying another bird dog. So what I'm asking you is what it takes to keep you hunting quail. Maybe it would be easier to ask what it would take for you to quit (e.g., hunted 3 days, found only 1 covey...I quit).

I would appreciate any of your thoughts on worst and best quail hunting success. For example, if you're on the brink of quitting, please explain your expectations for hunting.

Again, I'll answer your questions in my next response--but I'd like to know WHAT YOU THINK.

Sincerely,

Tom Dailey

this was my response on 10/13

Dear Mr. Dailey, no problem answering your questions eccept I am 59
been bird huntin (carring a gun since I was 12) our family always had
at least two bird dogs, my dad always llike one of each that being a
pointer and a setter. so when one died we replaced it and my brother
and I have continued this except my brother (lives in Ky) and has as
many as 4 dogs. things have really been bad for him down there worse
than here, in the last 10 years, he has even come over here and hunted.
So no matter how bad it gets I will sill go, but I am planning a trip
to Ks this year.
I currently have two English setters, they are 3 and 5. so they
hopefully will last till I am to old to go.

I hunt probably 99% Ca ground, every year I see less and less bird
hunters, I go to Whetstone a lot, I actually met your there back when
you had the transmitters, I gave you three one day. Opening day last
season I was on the north side there were probably 6 vehicles, I always
see the same two guys there every opening day. After that maybe 2 or 3
hunters is all I see
Now to your questions. I would love to get another dog, we have like I
said two setters, and also I have a standard poodle, she is getting up
in age and the burrs just stick like crazy to her, she is one of the
best dead bird finders I have ever had.
what does it take to keep me huntin? as long as i can walk I will go
last season I found an average of two covies a day, went two times
found zero, best day was four covies once, three covies three times,
rest of my hunts either one or two covies., of course later it gets
especially at Whetstone they were smaller covies and the singles knew
where to go. overall I did better last season than I expected. Also my
setters are two of my best.

as to other people quitting I talk to these and the reason was in the
80's and 90's there were a lot more birds to be found, they were
easier, I hate CRP, birds could be anywhere, give be a bean field and a
ditch or fence row(remember them) they are all gone now, even on most
Ca areas. so when these hunters quit shooting (not finding) them when
their dogs dies are they give them away they start deer hunting more,
more deer, 25 differant seasons, why feed a dog and walk 25 miles when
they can ride a 4wheeler. so I think deer hunting atrchery, gun ,
muzzelloader and a combination of less birds have taken a lot of bird
hunters.

Best and worst - I hate it when the conservation dept tries to improve
an area. Two ares i will use
Sever lake - I have found as many as 8 covies there in a day, then the
ca changes the crops, plants some kind of grass so tall and thick you
couldn't walk thru, so the birds may have been there but you couldn't
hunt them.
I went back there in 2000,2001 walking was a little better, found a
couple of covies, with the higher gas prices its too for to drive when
there are better places closer.


Hunnewell lake - another favorite fence rows, bean, milo fields 4-5
covies easy, then no crops, CRP what was planted was not good, havent't
been there since 2000.

in 2000 a buddy from work got interested in bird dogs, I took him once,
he ended up getting a Brit, he has since got a GSP. he started going to
Moniteau Creek, it was new and had a excellant rating. I started going
there also and would hunt there a few hours then it other places on the
way home, Warrenton, so I started going to Davisdale, Franklin Island
and Diana bend, I never hunted there before because of the Columbia and
Jeff city hunters, but like everywhere else there was just less
hunters. I hunt a lot during the week, unreal to have 5000 or 2000 ares
to yourself or one other person. even now on weekends (except opening
day) there may only be 4 or 5 hunters,
Diana bend was a hoot, the warm season grasses were great, then it
started to get thicker and thicker could hardly walk thru it, found no
birds did not even go there last season

I understand why a lot of people quit maybe they just don't find any an
get to shooot .
My son would go early in the season when we could get a lot of
shooting, whenever we didn't he was ready to fo home, like fishing, if
their not biting he was done.

Now he would rather go set in a treestand.


So for me it is a tradition and the dogs.
My question came about as I was searching the areas and looking for
this years population, Moniteau I though last year was fair, and this
year is rated good. so I was thinking what was the differnace in the
covey count.

hopes this helps


still waiting for the answer to the orginal question
I think i made him mad about the ca areas going from good to bad after they manage them
sorry for the long thread just wanted to share this with you all as you ncan see from this forum there is only a handfull of us left
 
setterbud....Kudos to you my friend. I think it is pretty sad that this state has one agenda, deer. They could care less about upland birds. I wonder how many dollars they lose to hunters going out of state. Myself and my wife, we would rather go to SD or Mn to hunt. Maybe kansas this year too. I grew up hunting pheasants in southern Mn. And, like you, will do it till I can't anymore. It's obvious Mr. Daily does not want to answer your questions, but typical. Like I said, its all about deer in this state.
 
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