New Mexico Gambels

S

Stelladog

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I am considering an end of season hunt in Southwest NM for Gambel's quail. What elevation should I be targeting? I have a little experience hunting them in Southeast AZ but in past hunts in SW NM I was not finding good cover or birds.
 
I hunted SW NM 2 days and saw 6 birds where in typical years I would see 100 plus
. Didn't have the heart to shoot one
 
Thanks for encouragement. We will give it a try. In any case, should help familiarize ourselves with the area.
 
Look for ungrazed state and federal lands that hold mesquite and or prickley pear.4000 feet, give or take.
Gambels likes scrub brush in washes and creek bottoms. That said brushy country with cattle means water sources , and possibly holds gambels. You may run into some blue quail, I did.
 
I did. Hunted some north of Deming, did not find any birds but did see a couple places where a covey had roosted. Must admit I did not hunt very hard though so not a great test of bird numbers in the area.
 
zia said:
I hunted SW NM 2 days and saw 6 birds where in typical years I would see 100 plus
. Didn't have the heart to shoot one
Click to expand...
My experience as well. Small coveys not ethical to hunt. found one covey of about 25 and took three. Good work for the dogs, though.
 
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Was a hit or miss year for my pointing lab and I...top day was 12.. low end was 2...birds tended to be around the very thickest, thorniest cover....imagine that. encouraging part in the lower middle Rio Grande valley was a harvest rate of about 75% juvenile birds all Gambles.
a quail call is very helpful on Gambels.
 
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