Quail Hopes

S

Sadie'sGun

New member
I've gotten on pheasants, i'm still green, but starting to understand that game.

I'm going to try some quail this weekend in the southeast and i'm unsure of the quail population or the ability to have success on the walk-ins but I won't know until i get out there. Main goal is to get my pup on something that sits a little tighter than wild pheasants.

I know to walk grassy tree lines, fence lines, etc. but are there any other recommendations for trying to track these things down over a weekend?

I know it's a pretty vague answer, but everything I've read online has been vague. Maybe it's just something you learn overtime. Any advice is welcome.

Thanks,
-DS
 
Just remember quail are "edge" birds. Meaning the most likely places to contact them will be on the edge of two types of cover. Whether it be some sort of grain field and a brushy draw or a timber patch they will be just inside the cover most likely within a few feet. Or, in a pasture next to some timber for safety or along a creek or draw within the pasture.

Hedge rows running down fields are another great place to find them. On sunny, cold days they like to hang out in plum type thickets and loaf in the sun where they are safe from hawks. Others will give you better insight than me. I'm new with the last 3 years to quail hunting very much.

Hope you get your pup into some birds!
 
Duckn66 was spot on with his post. I live in Kentucky....but grew up out west and have hunted wild quail in southeast KS since the early 90's. I've had good success working my setters in milo sutbble and been fields with weedy cover and overstory (trees) cover nearby. Plum thickets are always a good bet and if there is a bit of snow....work your dogs around all the plum thickets in a given field. Old farm buildings with lots of weedy cover are good covey HQ's....
Hunt the edges for best % success....however do not be surprised if your dogs point a covey in the middle of a grain field. Good luck.....Please post your findings!
 
Great advice. Only thing I can add is be patient with the dog or dogs. Their nose is better than ours. Give us some updates.
 
What Duckn and KG have told you is pretty spot on. I live in SEK and I can say that the bird numbers are up some this year but the problem with hunting public around here is that there just isn't much acreage available compared to what you find out west. WIHA in this part of the state is scarce so don't overlook the public hunting around a lot of the area lakes. If you don't mind wearing out some boot leather I would say that you've got a fairly good chance at finding some birds.

Not sure when your planning on going but I would make sure and wear plenty of orange for the next two weeks. Rifle season opened today and it sounded like ISIS had invaded when I was outside this evening. I'm actually planning on heading west on friday to chase pheasants. Hopefully the wide open prairie will make me a little more visible than a lot of the wooded areas in SEK.

As an aside I'm kinda freelancing this weekend, just me and the dogs, so if anyone wants to join in or recommend an area feel free to PM.
 
I will ad a little advice too. When you get a covey rise , don't just shoot into the covey , pick out individual birds. Nothing ever falls (for me) on a covey shot.
 
You guys are awesome. Thanks for the advice.

I'll definitely post some results good or bad (most likely). I'll be near a state lake/park so I'll scope out some of that ground as well as the limited wiha land.

Also having never shot at quail I appreciate that advice as well.

One more question, is there any reason to change strategy through the day morning vs midday vs afternoon?
 
yes quit hunting them at least two hours before sunset so they have a chance to regroup for the night they need to roost together to survive cold and predators

dont shoot a covey down below six birds for the same reasons
 
Maybe I missed it above somewhere, but if it wasn't said earlier.....I've had good luck finding them in the morning, say before 10:00 or so out in the open feeding. I always like to get started around 9:00 to 9:30. Seems like I have better luck after the frost starts to break.
 
You don't need to get started hunting quail at the start of shooting hours unless you really want to. Until they start to move around a little they are harder for the dogs to find. Also, after you have found a covey and they have flown off. Watch where they go, you can often find some of the singles . But an experienced dog on a day with good scenting conditions will find more of them than you should shoot out of a covey. Many days you will think where did they all go, when you only find 2 to 4 of the 15 bird covey.
 
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I never start hunting quail until at least mid to late morning. Rascals are tough to find if they aren't moving. I find most in draw bottoms.
 
Hi all,

Thanks again for the advice!

I had a friend of mine join me this morning. We started at 9:30 and finished around 2. It was a lot of walking and the pup did alright.

We had the most success in a thicket along a creek in a bottom area.

We had one covey (8-10 birds) flush about 15 yards away and both of us missed. First covey we've ever seen and they were quick little buggars. We tried tracking down the singles and only got back on one of them. I'm not sure how far they usually travel after they flush but these sailed about 50-100 yds, we tracked where they went down but couldn't get back on many of them. I'm assuming they run after that or do they just hunker down?

It was pretty uneventful, but at least we saw something. Maybe with a more experienced dog we would have seen more. What's a reasonable expectation for how often you see birds? One covey with over 3 hours of walking made it tough for us to focus and the dog started losing focus.

Anyways, thanks again for the advice everyone. I hope to get back out next week and have better success. Can I bank on that covey being around that same spot, how far will they range, ex. 200 yd radius?

-DS
 
When you find 1 single , focus around that area with the dog for a bit.
Will the run, yes. But if it is decent grass, the will often dig in. When the get down in the grass it is hard for the scent to get to the dog.

There is a good chance that covey will be in that area again
 
Sadie'sGun said:
It was pretty uneventful, but at least we saw something. Maybe with a more experienced dog we would have seen more. What's a reasonable expectation for how often you see birds? One covey with over 3 hours of walking made it tough for us to focus and the dog started losing focus.


-DS
Click to expand...

Now you know why all but the die hard loonies have quit quail hinting. Hard to justify keeping a dog and going out for so few birds anymore. I guess I'm a loonie myself.
 
This die hard loon with 3 young dogs managed to find 4 coveys and 6 roosters.
That was about a 3 hour hunt.
 
I think you are a bird dog man and a quail hunter or not!

All birddog men are half cracked. Just ask the girl friend who dumped you or your ex-wife! Point style, range, spectacular days, are all the blessing and awards of the "ice storm" days, frozen hands, low population of birds, etc. Heck I pay no attention to "just a few birds and justifications" There are no monetary accounting to having dogs, miles traveled, etc. Friendship, sites seen, great dog work are priceless rewards, some which are disregarded by "the have now generation", to much time, more shooting less outdoor lore! One of my favorite books is "quail hunting" by Charles Dickey. He states that after years and expense, having consulted multiple doctors, finally found one who advised him to hunt quail, for his health! A salute to the quail guys!
 
Setternut... I'm jealous :)

And oldandnew, thanks for the perspective!

I'm not complaining, especially considering we saw something! Now if I can only do my part, the pup might get some more feathers in her mouth.

One way or another, the pup and I both got some exercise and enjoyed a walk in the woods. I'm looking forward to many more of those, regardless of the success rate.

-DS
 
That's the attitude to have. The killing birds is anti climatic for me. Keep going and soon you will learn where quail are and when you do, remember those spots. I've found that haphazardly walking with the dogs is tough unless you know where birds are from year to year. And of course it doesn't hurt to have a big running dog that can cover some country and find birds. Saves many a mile on the legs!
 
When a quail gets up, focus on its head and shoot. You should be able to determine the sex of the bird before you shoot.
 
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