Vince Dye and I met our friend Steve in north Missouri. Steve had invited us up to hunt on his deer lease. During the firearms deer season he had seen several coveys of quail. We knew going up that it was going to be tough on the dogs. This place has a lot of thick CRP and we haven’t had any rain for over 30 days. Plus it was warmer than usual.
Bodie pointing a pigeon.
Boss pointing a pigeon in the tree above him.
Mann on point.
After eating a quick breakfast in town we drove out to the deer lease. Steve has a Jag terrier male (I think), Dracula, and Vince had brought his English Cocker spaniel, Maggie, and his German short hair, Ally. I left Bodie the puppy and Abby, who is in heat, at home. I had Sally, Mann and Boss with me.
There is a lot of heavy, thick CRP on this place that surrounds row crops. The row crops were mostly harvested soybean fields. There were several large draws running through the soybean fields that were wide and deep. Steve knew the best places to cross as they were too hard most places.
As we went south I went down a hedge row while Steve and Vince followed a fence row, about 50 yards to the west of me, down. We came to a large draw and I walked over to where they were. Vince crossed the draw and as Steve and I waited for him to get across a covey of quail flushed just a short distance from us. Actually in the fence row that they had come down. Steve had one shot and made good on it. The quail had flown back to the north, the way we had come in.
Vince crossed back over to where we were. Before we even took a step Ally was on point just 35 yards to the north. I figured it was a single so I just watched Vince flush the bird. It got up along the fence row without giving him a shot. We continued on to the north. Vince crossed to the other side with Steve.
As we walked down the fence row a couple of quail flushed well ahead of me. I took a shot at one of them but missed. We followed the fence row to the end then turned back. When we got close to where the covey had originally flushed, one quail flushed but no one got a shot.
Vince and Steve crossed to the other side and we continued on to the west. After a quarter of a mile or so they came back to my side and we started up another draw to the north west. There was a grassy water way coming off this draw and Vince was on the east and I was on the west side. We had about decided to go back to the draw when I noticed Sally on point just behind Vince. I told Vince to shoot that bird for her. When he got close a quail flushed and dropped at his shot. Maggie, the English cocker, made the retrieve.
Sally pointing quail.
We went a little farther down the water way and Boss pointed about 50 yards ahead of us. It too was on Vince’s side but it was in a big clump of multi-floral rose. As Vince was telling me there was no way he could get in to flush the quail it came up where Vince couldn’t even see it. The bird crossed the draw about 35 yards ahead of me and I shot twice. The bird flew on but I thought I may have hit it. We went on to the end of the water way then went back to the big draw.
As we got close to the draw I told Vince that we might find that bird I had shot at. We hadn’t gone far when Steve said, “Maggie just picked up a dead quail”. I wonder how many birds a year are killed that people have no idea they have hit.
As we continued on to the west there were more draws. We got to the west edge and started to the south. Ahead of us along the fence row we saw a covey of quail flushing in twos and threes. The fence was a good woven wire fence that was hard for the dogs to cross. Steve shot a quail that dropped on the other side so he got his dog Dracula over the fence to find it. He wasn’t having much luck so Vince and Maggie went to help.
I was close to a big weed patch with Sally. Mann was on down the draw and Boss got across the woven wire fence, someway. I saw Sally trailing through the weeds. A quail flushed about 40 yards in front of her. A few seconds later she pointed. Before I got to her another quail flushed and when I shot, it dropped in the harvested soybean field. Sally saw it fall and retrieved to hand.
Since she’s been in heat Abby throws her tail to the side when she points.
Maggie found Steve’s bird and they all came back. We started down another big draw. There were fingers running every which way off the main draw and we got separated. The GPS vibrated and it showed Boss on point over 350 yards from me but about where Steve and Vince were. The last hunt we had put my GPS collars on Vince’s handheld so I knew he would go to him.
Vince told me about Boss’s find when we got back together. He said when they got to him his back feet were in a low spot and he was stretched out with his front feet on a small rise. The birds were over the little rise and Boss did a good job but the birds went through the woods without giving them a shot.
I crossed to their side and started to them. Steve was close and said they were coming down toward where I was so I waited. While I was talking to Steve, Sally went on point in some really thick bushes. I told Steve I would try to drive the bird toward him but I probably wouldn’t have a shot. When I got close to Sally the bird came my way and dropped straight down when I shot. Steve saw it fall, I didn’t. It had gone behind a tree.
I got Sally in to hunt dead then Boss and Mann showed up, also. The dogs searched really hard but we never came up with the bird. I think that Boss, who doesn’t retrieve, picked the bird up and carried it a little way then dropped it. He was gone a while then came back and really started hunting dead. That’s just a guess.
Mann honoring Sally.
We went on down the draw and Mann pointed not far from where the dead bird should have been. I fought my way in to him but couldn’t flush anything. Before I got out of the cover Sally pointed a bird. Vince and Steve went to her and shot that bird. Sally retrieved it to Vince.
We hunted on down the draw and worked our way back to the truck. Just before I got to the truck the GPS showed Sally on point over 200 yards from me. Vince and I loaded our dogs in the truck and drove down the road toward where Sally was on point. When we got out we saw Sally moving. It had taken several minutes for us to load dogs and drive to her. Either the birds flushed before we got there or about the time I stopped the truck. Sally was off the property we had permission to be on, anyway. It was warm and the dogs were tired so we loaded Sally.
We ate a good lunch then drove on home. It had been a good day. We had seen 3 coveys of quail and if Sally had been pointing quail, at quitting time, that would have been 4 coveys. These days just getting dog work makes the day a successful day.
We did this hunt on Monday so I wanted to work Abby and Bodie on Tuesday because they hadn’t got a chance to go hunting. I put three pigeons out and ran Abby. She found all 3 birds with no problem. Abby has always pointed with a good tail but now that she’s in heat she throws her tail to the side rather than straight up. I hope this goes away when her heat cycle is over.
Bodie pointed his first bird and I took pictures. I started toward him and he took a step so I flushed the pigeon. He chased for a pretty good distance so I shot the blank pistol. The shot didn’t bother him. He hunted to the back then went to the neighbor’s side.
Sally on point.
Bodie pointed the next bird. I didn’t think he was getting the scent very well so I tapped his head. He moved a little closer and pointed again. I watched him for maybe a minute then tried to walk in front of him. He started toward the pigeon and I flushed it. The bird only flew a short distance and lit on a limb about 5 or 6 feet off the ground. Bodie went straight to him and jumped as high as he could jump. When he came back down I heard a sound like someone breaking a large stick. He yelped when he hit the ground.
My first thought was he had broken his tail but when I got to him I knew it was a leg. I know better than to put my hands on him when he’s first hurt, so I waited a few seconds. Still when I reached for him he took my arm in his mouth but didn’t bite very hard. I picked him up and carried him back to my side then set him on the ground. I got the 4-wheeler and hauled him to the truck. I put him in the box.
Mann pointing a covey of quail.
I went straight to the vet. Dr. Becker x-rayed him and he had broken his leg. It wasn’t shattered but it was a long break. He put a cast on him and said in 2 or 3 weeks he would be fine. Being young is a big help. I was going to shoot some chukars for him then start taking him with us on hunts. This will slow that down but in January I should be able to take him.