Nice day today except

D

duckn66

Well-known member
Today I saw more quail than I ever have on a hunt. Probably 8 covies in 4 hours. Really lost count. Big covies too. Also witnessed the poorest display of shooting by anyone in my entire life. Me!! This new side by side will be put away.

Now on another note. I let bob out first and he found 3 covies in the first spot. Skittish birds would not hold very well for some reason. Let's just make this a bob paragraph. Next time out he was hunting away from me and I stepped on a big covey. Didn't shoot in to them because I want to shoot only birds my dogs find so let them go. About 75 yrds down bob working into the wind. Stops all the sudden and I bet 40 birds get up no kidding. They didn't sit long. Missed them with both barrels. Go across the road and bob is rolling down an edge and wheels about and literally crashes through this covey. Not sure what he was thinking or not thinking.

Now let me talk about Obie. Obie did very well but my god I gotta get some sort of handle on him. Today he was in another zip code. He found lots of birds and didn't bust any to my knowledge. But, when the GPS says he's on point at 600 and 700 yrds its tough to get to him. Some I would watch flush from a distance and I could see him staunch as could be so know he wasnt busting them. And he just doesn't slow down, at all. I did get some shots at birds over him but again missed all.

All in all a good day for birds and bad day for dog work and its my fault for not working these young guys more this past summer. The weeks in between hunts will be dedicated to brushing up on some things with these two.
 
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I have seen quite a few quail this year. At least in the eastern half of the state. I have also seen some serious running quail too. They are fun to chase but even seeing them go back down after a flush and then disappear over the next hill can be frustrating. Lol
 
Radar these birds definately had some legs on them. These birds had not been hunted yet this year either but were already like veterans.
 
If you find yourself under surveillance on your next quail hunt, that will be me. ;) Wow, you are quite the quail locator. Very impressive report.
 
Even a blind squirrel can find a nut some days BC. I was lucky. Trust me, I grew up waterfowl hunting and it used to be my passion until it turned into such a competition. Now I quail hunt and the first year I did so full time was in 2011. Boy oh boy did I learn a bunch that first season and am still learning a lot. I'm NOT a bird locator by any means.

I also learned to never, ever, brag on your dogs. Because the second you do is the time they will have melt downs like yesterday. I don't know what kind of drugs Obie was on but whatever they were I hope he never does them again. He was out of control, out of the county, his feet never touched the ground and he would take off and all of the sudden at 700 yrd he's on point. I don't like walking that far only for the birds to flush in a way you can't get a shot. Then he would get off on ground that I don't have permission on and he would be on point. Nothing I can do but wait him and the birds out. It was the best/worse day ever. I'm just glad I was alone and noone else had to watch all this go down, from poor shooting to dogs that acted like they were on meth.

BC come go with me but we will take your dog, you shoot, I'll guide. I can't have anyone witness what yesterday was like. Not even my photograper (wife). Gosh late last season Obie did so well and this year Bob was coming along so nicely early on and even last spring. Now it's like I am starting all over again! Grrrrrrr!!!!

Anyone else have a bad day? HA HA!!!!

I did find a mess of mallards that I may hunt to take my mind off of yesterday. My old pointer was laughing at me when I got home last night. Saying "shoulda taken me buddy, we would have been ok" LOL.
 
dogs and people both have occasional bad days and scent is something we cant understand so I wouldn't worry about the dogs


is it legal in kansas to leave your gun on the other side of the fence and then go get your dog unarmed? I think it is in ND
 
I don't think it is. I think that no trespassing means no trespassing. I didn't wanna chance it and get yelled at by an angry land owner. Although I am sure they would understand. Also this was one of those far, far away deals that I would of had to of hiked to. I had already had two hikes to him in that same area so another was not going to happen. Once he came back to check in I figured I would just meet him at the truck like I always do because at that point we werent far from it. He went right on by apparently and I had to run him down in the truck 1/2 mile to the west.

It is dry out and scenting conditions weren't all that great. I just couldn't believe the one dog wheeling down this line and almost flipping end over end only to dive into the hedgerow and bust out 20 birds. Maybe he thought they were further than what they were who knows. I don't know enough about pointers to know that.
 
duckn66 said:
Even a blind squirrel can find a nut some days BC. I was lucky. Trust me, I grew up waterfowl hunting and it used to be my passion until it turned into such a competition. Now I quail hunt and the first year I did so full time was in 2011. Boy oh boy did I learn a bunch that first season and am still learning a lot. I'm NOT a bird locator by any means.

I also learned to never, ever, brag on your dogs. Because the second you do is the time they will have melt downs like yesterday. I don't know what kind of drugs Obie was on but whatever they were I hope he never does them again. He was out of control, out of the county, his feet never touched the ground and he would take off and all of the sudden at 700 yrd he's on point. I don't like walking that far only for the birds to flush in a way you can't get a shot. Then he would get off on ground that I don't have permission on and he would be on point. Nothing I can do but wait him and the birds out. It was the best/worse day ever. I'm just glad I was alone and noone else had to watch all this go down, from poor shooting to dogs that acted like they were on meth.

BC come go with me but we will take your dog, you shoot, I'll guide. I can't have anyone witness what yesterday was like. Not even my photograper (wife). Gosh late last season Obie did so well and this year Bob was coming along so nicely early on and even last spring. Now it's like I am starting all over again! Grrrrrrr!!!!

Anyone else have a bad day? HA HA!!!!

I did find a mess of mallards that I may hunt to take my mind off of yesterday. My old pointer was laughing at me when I got home last night. Saying "shoulda taken me buddy, we would have been ok" LOL.
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I would love to join you on quail. My dog stays fairly close so maybe your wild one would take note - plus mine's 8 and younger dogs often copy an older dog. BTW, I did have a bad day yesterday. Headed up north and got out in the sticks only to notice I had a low tire. It was 16F and I did not want to change the tire so I went looking for air. Didn't find any until I get to Topeka so I just went home. :(
 
I don't know if it is ok to leave the gun and go get the dog, but that is what I do. If I not, Indy will not move until the birds are gone.

The dogs develop at different rates, and I have seen them loose thier minds at times ;)

The coveys we got into yesterday were pretty skiddish.
 
It may just be my dogs, but I haven't felt like scenting has been very good this year. Ive talked to several others who agree, and watched dogs that I know are solid have trouble.
 
smizell said:
It may just be my dogs, but I haven't felt like scenting has been very good this year. Ive talked to several others who agree, and watched dogs that I know are solid have trouble.
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Yep, save for the short stint with that little bit of snow this w/e, scenting has been tough for 'em. Even with the snow I think mine were running over birds left and right this weekend. There is a chance of rain in the forecast next week. We could sure use it.
 
I know when I get home and hit the shower, I am just covered in dust. Hell my socks, clear up my legs, my hair, and dust boogers in my nose, just covered in dirt.
 
If you need someone to come help you look better in the shooting category -- give me a holler.

Regarding the dog running over birds, I had/kind of still have a dog that does the same thing. He just gets fired up ... especially if we get into birds early into his first run. I had the chance to have dinner with Ronnie Smith a few years ago and I was having a LOT of trouble with this dog getting fired up and ripping birds. He said, run him into the ground -- wear him out. And when you open his box and he gives you that look like "Are you serious?" Get him out and hunt him again. I think this is especially true in what appears to be your situation -- where he can have a lot of success once he slows down and doesn't out run his head or nose because he will figure out that when he keeps his head, he gets to enjoy that sweet aroma. I can tell you that it has worked for me.
 
My dogs are always rusty at the beginning of the season. Couple that with tough scenting conditions and they usually don't look too impressive. They'll settle down and come around. At least you know there are birds to be found. I am really looking forward to this season. Things look really good down here in Oklahoma.

Don't know if you use an e-collar or not. I have hunted birds for years and just started using one on my dogs last year. One of my shorthairs is a bit stubborn and tends to hunt where he wants to hunt. Oh my, the headaches I could have saved myself from over the years had I started using one earlier.....

Doesn't take them long to know the warning "buzz" means you better get your ass back here. Has worked well for me and he's 7 years old. He responds quite well to it. The little pup requires a bit more stimulation. She's a hand full also. Gotta love those bird dogs. They can really test you sometimes.

I had a setter years ago that was stubborn, but OK. When I added another dog to the mix, she quit hunting with me. She would head the other direction when I let them out. I look back and wonder what I could have done with her had I done things the way I do now.
 
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Troutman I hope your right. He was just slowing down enough on most to indicate birds.

I do have an ecollar and all are collar conditioned but I generally don't run them with it. Guess I better re think that with them though.

If I could combine the one dogs ability with the other you would get near a perfect dog lol. Obie is really a nice dog and careful around birds but bob is not as cautious but likes to hunt for you more than Obie.
 
smizell said:
It may just be my dogs, but I haven't felt like scenting has been very good this year. Ive talked to several others who agree, and watched dogs that I know are solid have trouble.
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I agree. My GSP doesnt seem to be hitting points as hard as Im used to. Im a little relieved to see others in the same boat...not that I like seeing others having problems but to know it isnt just my girl. :rolleyes: She passed by 2 coveys this year that flushed when I went walking by. She just flat out missed em. I dont recall her ever missing big coveys like that....

On another note...this weekend I got into the biggest covey of quail I have ever seen in my 20 plus years of KS upland hunting. I dont know how many there were but i was able to reload 3 times before they all flushed. It took close to a good 45 seconds before all the quail were out and as you guys know, the action normally only lasts a few seconds. There were so many quail, that I could literally see them sitting in the brush pile on tree limbs! And that was after taking 4 shots! I shot one that fell deep in the brush pile so I had to set my gun down to get to it... no way the dog was making it in that deep and thick of brush. While climbing in, I heard another 3 or 4 go off. Quail flushing like Ive never seen before. There were so many quail I couldnt even decide what to shoot at. Ive never seen anything like it. It was like I was so mesmerized by the sheer number that I forgot to shoot! My dog actually started BARKING at the pile there were so many birds. In the 3 years Ive hunted her, Ive never heard her bark at birds period. I think she was in the same boat, wondering how in the heck there could be so many freakin birds in one spot. Unbelievable and amazing all at once. Ive never been able to reload 3 times and still have birds flushing. I hate to sound like a fisherman who "caught a fish this big!" but this is no exaggeration. It was by far the greatest single flushing moment of my life. Ill take that action any day of the week! :thumbsup:
 
That's good to hear!

Oh and speaking of barking. Obie the one who has had so many photos posted of him sight pointed a kill deer in a bean field to. After the bird flew he chased it around looking up in the air barking! Must of been something in the air.

Better quit this post because each time I read a response I think of something else they did! Lol. It's like reliving a nightmare! Ha! Ha!
 
Great to hear that there is an abundant amount of quail this year. Duck I feel your frustration with a bad day of shooting. I have bad days like that and Drake my EP just shakes his head at me. This is only my 2nd year chaising Upland birds and am still trying to learn the game. I'd be interested if any of you have pointers about what to look for in a field when trying to decide where to hunt.
 
I like milo then beans for ranking on a food source. Just remember quail are "edge" birds primarily. Although I do think late season quail do become more timber oriented.

You won't find many just hanging out in a CRP field like a pheasant. They will be close or in overhead cover. Your pointer instinctively knows where they will be. It is pre programmed into the pointer. Lol. Follow him to the birds.

There are others who are much more informed on quail hunting than I and are way more qualified to answer that question.
 
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