what cover do you hunt quail in

Bobwhite quail more than any other bird lends itself to a good pointing dog. I have seen retrievers and spaniels do a good job, but It's the pointing dogs niche. having said this in the hope that you will be accompanied by dogs, because without dogs quail hunting is just not a complete sport. The dogs will get you opportunities you would not ordinarily get, but more importantly, watching the dogs is an integral part the sport. Compared to pheasant hunting, quail hunting is a relaxing walk in the park, you follow the dogs, the dogs actually do the hunting. To answer the question on habitat, pheasants and quail are found in much the same cover, quail are birds of edge habitat, that cover between woods and field, first and some second stage succession habitat, annual weed field, grassy, weedy cover in waterways of ag fields, and field borders, Think plum brush, and ragweed,find healthy ragweed, and you find quail. Sure hope you are bringing dogs, to find and retrieve, otherwise you will have a hard time finding birds and you will loose a bunch of the dead or wounded.
 
Elk- where abouts in central kansas? ill be heading to North central kansas as well! Hunting Jewell, mitchell, and cloud counties for quail specifically maybe get a bonus rooster or two.
 
Whreabouts

Im going to scott city kansas.... we went last year and it was great to excellent hunting. We got 13 birds with a group of 6 we should of all had our limits though.:10sign:
 
Elk, you'll find quail in weedy fencerows and hedgerows, the wider the better 30 or 50 wide hedgerows with thorny grapevine type cover from hawks etc are great especially when they border a grain field and even better if one side has CRP grass. You'll also find them early morning in CRP grass at times and anytime thru the day in the grass or grain stubble.Milo, wheat, corn etc. Often times mixed in areas good for pheasants.
Quail often only fly 100 to 400 yards and that's when good pointing dogs will find and point a few more singles. Quail also will uaually hold very tight and give you plenty of time to get to the dog. I've had a dog on point for 5 or 10 mins on a covey when we couldn't find the dog and backtracked only to find it locked up on a covey. Very Fun.
 
Used to hunt a lot of quail in eastern KS (Linn County). Timber, hedge rows, creek bottoms, you name it. Good times are over for now though. As far as pheasant country, we've flushed quail in CRP, timber and just about everything else. We don't really look for them when we are pheasant hunting. We just shoot a few here and there when we see them.
 
I busted three 20 bird + coveys opening day in Cloud county, and a few smaller coveys. Primarily, I found them in grass patches or edge cover next to feed. One covey was in a 30 or so yard wide tree line, that was heavy with undergrowth.

As a rule of thumb, the thicker the cover, the better for quail. They love everything from thickets to grass patches, and in between - thick waterways, overgrown fence rows, shelter belts, etc.

Enjoy your time in the field. You should end up with a decent mixed bag of pheasant and quail. The elusive prairie chicken seems to be doing well up that way this year as well, so you may end up with a few of those in your bag. Just make sure they're not hen pheasants prior to pulling the trigger ;)
 
Looked in the Webster's for "quail habitat" and here is what I found-:)

stick11Jan09A031.jpg
 
Maynard, is that a photo of you? Just curious ;) Most people think of Kansas as a flat, "plain" State, but I honestly believe there is real beauty here. I've taken photos of sunsets in Kansas that could easily compete with those taken in Hawaii. Fortunately, most of the people who visit this forum appreciate the "hidden" beauty that lies in the Midwest.

On a side note, I find your "location" hilarious - for personal reasons. When I was younger (say around 20), I knocked on a farmer's door, in order to ask permission to hunt. I introduced myself, and my companions, and kindly asked if he minded if we could hunt his property. His first question was "where do you boys hail from?" I was speechless at first, while I searched my vocabulary. Just one of those memories...
 
Gosh, Wildcat, you flatter me, thinking that tall, young, good looking fellow with a sweet sixteen gauge Arrieta was me. Nope, not me, but I stayed at the Holiday Inn once.:):)
 
M. R. Byrd said:
Gosh, Wildcat, you flatter me, thinking that tall, young, good looking fellow with a sweet sixteen gauge Arrieta was me. Nope, not me, but I stayed at the Holiday Inn once.:):)
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Hahah! I'm amazed you could identify the gun by that photo. At least your eyes are young!

A good buddy of mine has one of those sweet sixteens - it was his Grandfather's gun.
 
-Wildcat- said:
Hahah! I'm amazed you could identify the gun by that photo. At least your eyes are young!

A good buddy of mine has one of those sweet sixteens - it was his Grandfather's gun.
Click to expand...

Oh, I can't see it, but he let me hold it while he adjusted his fancy britches, so I know what it is. He is one of my tall Texas buddies.
 
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I just returned from 3 weeks in KS quail hunting & it would seem that as the weather gets cooler the priority for quail shifts from cover to food. I found birds on the edges of grain fields where very little classic cover was available. I also felt that Milo was preferred over other grains. Any one else have similar observations?

RogerWYO
 
RogerWYO said:
I just returned from 3 weeks in KS quail hunting & it would seem that as the weather gets cooler the priority for quail shifts from cover to food. I found birds on the edges of grain fields where very little classic cover was available. I also felt that Milo was preferred over other grains. Any one else have similar observations?

RogerWYO
Click to expand...

I agree that they seem to like milo more than other grains. However, some of my better hunts have come around soybean fields.....typically we have beans or corn to choose from on this side of the state. When those are the only options, beans have always been better in my experience.
 
I'm anxious for this report (hometown), I happen to be in KC for the w/e, but I go next door to Lane to some walk in that we found quail, chickens, & pheasants.
 
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