Quail hunting Tucson

D

Daisybuck

New member
My dad is heading out to Tucson for a couple weeks and is going stir crazy. (Mom drags him out there so she can make cards for Christmas) Anyone have some experience with a quail hunt operation in Tucson? There is NO WAY the labs are headed out there. Not going to watch Daisy or Buck die from a snake bite, because, God love them, they'd annoy the snake.

Heck, sometimes, they annoy me...
 
Daisybuck said:
My dad is heading out to Tucson for a couple weeks and is going stir crazy. (Mom drags him out there so she can make cards for Christmas) Anyone have some experience with a quail hunt operation in Tucson? There is NO WAY the labs are headed out there. Not going to watch Daisy or Buck die from a snake bite, because, God love them, they'd annoy the snake.

Heck, sometimes, they annoy me...
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I don't know of any Quail operation in Tucson. But there is plenty of state trust land to hunt around Tucson. all of it is posted a the gates small white sign. STATE TRUST LAND your hunting license is all you need to hunt this land. Bird #'s are down this year, do to lack of spring rain fall. Hope this is what your looking for.:)
 
J: OK, So maybe I have a year to figure out the deal and i can put aside my fears of snakes killing my dogs. Do dogs who can find grouse and pheasants figure out quail? I have flushers.
 
Daisybuck said:
J: OK, So maybe I have a year to figure out the deal and i can put aside my fears of snakes killing my dogs. Do dogs who can find grouse and pheasants figure out quail? I have flushers.
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No Snakes are still out sunning them selves by den areas. The snakes are the least of problem for running dogs in Arizona. The Scaled and Gambles are runners. They do not hold for dog. The cacti and Cholla and every other plant down hear isn't to dog friendly. The birds really like cholla to hide from Predators. Yotes and cats will not follow them into a cholla patch.

Mearns quail are a different deal. They will hold for dogs and like to hang out in much more dog friendly habitat. However there numbers are so low this year I will to hunt them. I am hoping more hunters will do the same and let them recover from the FIRES that hit there habitat hard this year.
 
I moved to the SE Phoenix area last Spring and have been hunting gambels NW of Tucson, up toward Florence. I've been pleasantly surprised at the bird numbers I've seen, but also unpleasantly surprised how un-dog-friendly those cacti are! I took my lab out a couple of times to different areas, but within a 1/2 hour or so each time, he was done. He and I have hunted a lot in SE CO with a fair amount of cactus, but nothing compared to the teddy-bear cholla. Doesn't help that he hates it when temps are over 50, which they pretty much always are. So, my take is, the birds are there and not too hard to find (or flush, much to my surprise), but leave the dog at home. I've seen videos of GSPs, etc. hunting that same terrain very enthusiastically, most without booties, and I just don't see how they can do it! They must be a new hybrid with titanium skin or something...

As far as the snakes go - haven't seen a one.
 
OK, Ok, I get it. Snakes in Tucson are like winter in Minnesota -- everybody hears about it but it's not as bad as it sounds -- until it is. I am not planning on bringing the labradorks anyway. Just thinking about getting the Dad -- aka Grumpopotamus onto some birds so he will leave Mom alone.
 
Daisybuck said:
OK, Ok, I get it. Snakes in Tucson are like winter in Minnesota -- everybody hears about it but it's not as bad as it sounds -- until it is. I am not planning on bringing the labradorks anyway. Just thinking about getting the Dad -- aka Grumpopotamus onto some birds so he will leave Mom alone.
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Grumpopotamus has figured that out a lond time ago. Don't waste my time. Just kidding :D However this is not play time.:thumbsup: I gave you an honest answer to your original question. Information about Arizona and around Tucson. We all have fun on here and you are welcome to have fun but please do not start a thread and end it with what is above here. If you are worried about your dogs being bitten by snakes don't take them out of the yard. I hope this does not offend you but this kind of post and what you have made this into belongs in the lounge and then everybody can play. Good luck to you with hunting in Arizona. I am done giving information about it.
 
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Dog feet issues

Daisybuck said:
OK, Ok, I get it. Snakes in Tucson are like winter in Minnesota -- everybody hears about it but it's not as bad as it sounds -- until it is. I am not planning on bringing the labradorks anyway. Just thinking about getting the Dad -- aka Grumpopotamus onto some birds so he will leave Mom alone.
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Daisybuck:

I took my 95 pound choc. lab down there 2 years ago and had a great time hunting Mearns and Gambels. It was Jan but the temps were in the 80s. I was told not to take my "northern" dog down there but did it anyway. The snakes were not an issue and the cactus wasn't a big deal. However, He did great except for his feet, every rock in AZ is sharp as no water had ever ran over them! LOL! In the end I made some dog boots out of innertube. I would have bought some but there isn't much for well stocked sporting goods stores in that area (and yes I was in Cabelas and Sportsmans, no dog boots in his size, and the help didn't even know the quail season was open). If you think you need it bring it with you

Carry lots of water. Also, I found the Gambels totally huntable with a flusher if I picked the right habitat (riparian).

Good luck
 
Sorry Jmac, no offense intended. Thanks for the information -- sincerely given and gratefully received. If I have given offense, believe me it was unintentional. I do think there are some guided hunts out there he may be able to try out.
 
Daisybuck said:
Sorry Jmac, no offense intended. Thanks for the information -- sincerely given and gratefully received. If I have given offense, believe me it was unintentional. I do think there are some guided hunts out there he may be able to try out.
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NO offense was taken Daisybuck. I am sure that guided hunts are available around the Tucson area.:)
 
I lived in Tucson for the entire hunting season last year. I was down there for work. Anyway, I took the entire family including my dogs. I own a GSP and a Lab. We got out hunting around a dozen times mainly for Gambles quail. I took all the precautions for snake avoidance but we never saw a single snake. The terrain was definitely a challenge for the dogs. It took a few outings but the dogs learn how to navigate the cactus. The dogs were definitely soar after each outing. The area I hunted was not rocky at all but certainly had it's fair share of cactus.
It was tremendous fun. I certainly miss it.
I found my GSP to be most effective in finding covies but the Lab had his place as well.
I to heard that the quail would do a lot of running, however, that was not my experience. I found that they held very well for my GSP.
 
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