We had our Christmas with the kids and grandkids on Christmas eve. My kids like to have Christmas day with their kids so I went quail hunting. Not much different than any other day. Vince Dye had already had Christmas with his family so we went to a Missouri Conservation area. It must have been a Christmas miracle because we found a Conservation area that had no fescue.
Sally pointing quail.
Mann honoring.
Tur Bo pointing. Sally honoring.
We drove around a Conservation area we had never been to, looking for a good place to turn the dogs out. Most of this one looked good and on Christmas day there weren’t many hunters. We only saw two other trucks and believe they were deer hunters. I think muzzle loader season is going on. If not there is some deer season most of the year.
We found a spot, parked the truck and put the e-collars and GPS collars on the dogs. Vince turned his German short hair, Indy, and his English cocker, Maggie, loose. I had Tur Bo, Sally and Mann. I turned all three loose. We started away from the truck through some tall weeds that was growing near a harvested soy bean field.
We hadn’t gone far when the GPS showed Mann on point about 50 yards away. I started to him and he was moving. He was close to a pond so I thought he was getting a drink. He went back on point so I went on toward him. Again he was moving. He came near and went in front, hunting. I still don’t know what he was doing. He didn’t look like he was excited as he would have if birds had flushed.
We went on through the weeds and shortly the GPS showed Sally on point. I called Vince and we went to her. The other dogs saw her and honored. When we went in a single quail flushed and flew my way. It never got very high but it dropped when I shot. Vince said he never watched the first bird. When it came my way he was waiting on the covey to flush. It didn’t happen. Mann ran to where my bird dropped but didn’t find it.
We got all of the dogs in to hunt dead. I found feathers where the bird had hit the ground but we never came up with it.
We went on through that field and around a couple more without finding any other quail. When we got back to the truck we loaded the dogs and drove to another area.
One of the better looking areas had a truck parked on it. It was probably a deer hunter but we went on past. A mile or so down the road was another good looking place. We unloaded the dogs. Vince left Indy in the truck and turned his German short haired pup, Allie, loose. I turned my three out.
We made a big circle and were headed back to the truck when the GPS showed Sally on point about 70 yards in front of us. Before we got there the GPS showed Mann honoring. Sally was looking toward a clump of brush. When we got close a big covey of quail flushed. One of the quail looked bigger, slower and closer. Vince and I both shot it. I then missed with the second barrel.
Maggie the English cocker retrieved the dead quail to Vince. We started on toward where the singles had headed. There was too much brush for us to see them all the way down.
As we went through the tall weeds a single flushed in front of the dogs. There was a small tree row running through the tall weeds so I went on one side with Vince on the other. I heard Vince shoot and a single quail flushed from the noise or I was too close. I hit it and it fell in a small clump of brush. All of the dogs were out front so I retrieved it myself.
Sally on point.
We worked on toward the end of the tall weeds then moved over and went back. We were standing in a small grassy area watching the dogs search. About 20 yards away a single quail flushed without drawing a shot. We walked close to where it had flushed from and another single flushed. I shot and it went right down. As I walked toward it another flushed and Vince shot it. Maggie retrieved his bird for him.
We got the dogs in to hunt this area but we had flushed them all. We worked down in some woods then came back through where we had seen the singles. We went back and forth then went on toward the truck. As I walked into the parking area I saw on the GPS that Sally was on point about 75 yards away.
We went to her. When we got close we still couldn’t see her. There was a tall patch of, maybe Johnson grass, about 10 feet in diameter. It was tall, above my head, anyway. Vince, from his side, could see her. She was in side this clump. He said he would run the quail out to me. He went in and a quail flushed coming my way. When it saw me it turned and went the other way. I couldn’t shoot and Vince was tied up in the tall weeds. He shot but the bird flew on. We checked that area then loaded the dogs.
There was another Conservation area about 10 miles from this one we wanted to try. We headed to it.
We got there, found an area and turned the dogs loose. Vince turned all three of his loose and I did too. We went along a weed patch next to a harvested soy bean field. On this Conservation area there was still lots of fescue. When we got to the back we went through a corn field.
Tur Bo onpoint. Mann honoring.
There was a jog in the land so we kept going deeper into the area. There was hedge rows around harvested crop fields. At one place Indy went on point. Tur Bo honored but Sally was over in the area that Indy was looking in and couldn’t see her pointing. Sally went on point 15 yards in front of Indy. I thought I heard a quail flush down in the woods. I never saw one and Vince didn’t hear it. When I thought I heard the quail flush, Sally started moving.
We checked the area but never came up with anything. There is more timber on this area than the other we were hunting. We circled some small fields on the way back to the truck without seeing any quail. We loaded dogs and went home.
It was a good day to be out. We hunted in shirt sleeves and there was plenty of water on these grounds for the dogs. We had killed 4 quail and had some dog work. That would make a good Christmas for anyone.
Mann honoring.
Sally on point.
Indy backing Sally.