I wanted to go quail hunting. Iowa was covered in snow and the deer season opened in Kansas. I checked the weather and it was supposed to be in the fifties for south central Nebraska. If they had snow it would be melting. I left the house about 4:00 am on 11/28/18.
Dolly honoring Sally.
Some of the plum thickets in Nebraska.
I had been through the thicket on the other picture. This picture was where I had to go.
I drove until I was tired of being behind the wheel and turned up into Nebraska. The dogs needed to be out of the truck, also. I wasn’t close to where I wanted to hunt but I drove by some walk-in properties until I saw something I liked the looks of. In protected areas there was still some snow.
I put the GPS collars and e-collars on Sally, Dolly and Babe and turned them loose. This first place was a large parcel, 160 acres, of CRP with big blue stem. They must have allowed the farmers to cut hay on the CRP. Part of this place was in pasture. We started around the edge of the blue stem next to where they had cut the hay.
The blue stem was about 4 feet tall and it was hard to see the dogs. I checked the GPS often. Pretty soon it showed Sally, on point, about 175 yards across the blue stem from me. Dolly is old and can’t hear very well so I had to make sure she was coming as I went to Sally. When I saw Sally she was looking into a clump of brush. When I got close to her she moved about 15 yards into the brush and went back on point. I heard a covey of quail flush way down in the brush. I couldn’t see them or in which direction they had flown.
There was some plum thickets in the clump of brush and they are impenetrable. I have never seen plum thickets like these. Some of them are about shoulder high and if the deer have been going through them you can use the deer trails. Some of the thickets are 10 feet tall. Even if you get on a deer trail without getting on your hands and knees you can’t get through. Deer need to be taller.
The dogs were all in the brush and I came around the outside. Dolly hit a fence row and as I watched her a single quail flushed about 15 yards in front of her. She never heard or saw the bird. As we came around the other side the dogs all got excited but we never came up with anything.
As we got back close to the truck there was a little thicket in the pasture that the cows had most of the cover eaten and trampled down. Sally went on point near the end of it with Dolly honoring. When I got within about 15 yards of Dolly a covey of quail flushed. I shot through the brush twice but couldn’t see whether I had hit anything or not.
When I got around the brush I saw Sally playing with a dead quail. She was just across a barb wire fence. I didn’t want to cross the fence then re-cross it. I kept saying, “fetch” but she didn’t pick up the bird. Dolly came by and I told her to fetch. She grabbed the bird and started toward me and Sally took it from her. Dolly went back to hunting. I reached over the fence with my gun and moved the quail closer. Sally picked up the quail and she was close enough for me to reach her. I petted her for several seconds then said, “give”. She dropped it in my hand.
Sally on point.
Sally stayed across the fence so I had to follow. She went to the top of a mound and went on point. Dolly came by and honored. I climbed the mound. When I got to her she started trailing. About 35 yards away about 8 or 10 quail flushed out of a brush pile and flew across the road.
I had seen a few of the singles fly back onto the property so we went back trying to find them but didn’t. I have been having some problems with Babe loading into the truck. Neither of the pups, her or Mann, like to ride in the truck box. I loaded Sally and Dolly. Babe was standing about 75 yards from me. I walked toward her but stopped about 25 yards from her. I called her and she started toward me. She started to lie down and I bumped her with the e-collar on a low setting. She came to me and we went to the truck. I loaded her.
Two guys were hauling the dirt, for lack of a better name, from their hog pens and piling it in their field. I pulled up the road a ways to make a sandwich to get away from the smell. As I thought about it I went back and asked if I could work my puppies on their side of the road. I wouldn’t even carry a gun. They gave me permission.
I turned Babe and Mann loose and they could smell the quail. As I watched them I saw the quail tracks in the snow. The quail were gone. Probably, when I pulled up there to make a sandwich the quail had run.
As I drove by another property I saw a man, on the side of the road, working on a 4-wheeler. I asked if he needed help. His house was just a short distance and I hooked my tow strap to the 4-wheeler and hauled he and the machine to his house. As I unhooked the strap I saw quail tracks in the snow. When I mentioned them he said the quail sometimes came into his yard. It took a lot of restraint not to just turn dogs loose in his yard.
Sally pointing Mann backing.
I drove back down to the corner of this 160 acre place and turned Tur Bo, Luke and Mann out with the e-collars and GPS collars. This farm was in CRP but next door was a harvested corn field. As we started up the edge pheasants started flying out ahead of us. Mann didn’t know what to do but he was doing it in a hurry.
I saw Tur Bo To my left as he slowed down. Just as he went on point a rooster flushed. At first I thought it was too far but when I shot he was hit hard. I walked toward where he had fallen. I saw Tur Bo pick up the pheasant and I called him to me. He came right to me and when I told him to give he dropped it in my hand. Wow. He acted like he liked retrieving.
We went on to the back, moved over and came back to the truck. I loaded them up and pulled to the west side of this place and turned the same dogs loose. We went to the back and moved over and came back to the truck. Mann came close but then went back toward the back, again. Across the road was another 80 acre place that was walk-in. Luke, Tur Bo and I went across the road. Mann was still on the other side.
We went to the back, moved over and started back. Luke went on point in some really thick CRP. He was 150 yards from me. After fighting my way through the CRP, with Tur Bo honoring, a hen pheasant flushed. We went back to the truck. I loaded Luke and Tur Bo but Mann was 750 yards north of me.
I put my gun away and started back toward Mann. As I was walking in my GPS decided to ask me a bunch of questions. I don’t know why but I just wanted to see where my dog was. Finally, it went back to showing the GPS collars. It showed Mann at 73 feet. I looked up and he was standing in the trail looking at me. I knelt and called him. He was happy to come to me. I hadn’t brought a leash with me but he went ahead of me back to the truck.
It was almost dark and I fed the dogs then cleaned the one quail and one pheasant before looking for a motel. I love being on the road with my dogs.
Tur Bo pointing a single.
Sally on point, Mann and Dolly honoring.
A pond with the trees reflecting off the water.