Day 3 Of The Kansas Quail Hunt, 1/27/19

Friday, I had driven for 6 hours before starting to hunt which only left part of the day. Saturday I had quit early to go see Tur Bo’s puppies and Sunday I had told June I would start home about noon. Only three partial days but I had already had quite a bit of dog work and shot a few quail. I was happy with the trip but I knew where a place was, with some hunting, that was a long walk to get to. Maybe not many people hunted back there.

Because it was to be a short day of hunting I got to the place early. I put the GPS and e-collars on Luke, Sally and Mann. The wind was blowing pretty hard, from the south west, and as the day went on it got stronger. We were going in to the south for a ways then turning to the east. Sally and Mann stayed with me real well but Luke kept wanting to go to the south west. I called him back.

We were still going south when the GPS showed Luke on point to the south of me about 200 yards. By the time I got to him Mann and Sally were both honoring. When I went ahead of him a hen pheasant flushed right at my feet. The shot gun came to my shoulder but I never took the safety off. I did say, “bang, bang, bang”. Not bad for a double.

We were far enough south so we turned to the east. Everyone except Luke. I beeped him with the e-collar and called him. He got within about a hundred yards of me but went the wrong way. He’s almost 9 years old and it seems like he gets confused on directions sometimes, especially on windy days and the wind was really blowing.

Sally, Mann and I went to the east. I kept track of Luke on the GPS until he was over a mile away. I’ve lost him before and he goes back to the truck when he figures out that I’m lost.

It’s fun to hunt in flat country where you can see the dogs for a long distance. I was watching Sally as she hunted the plum thickets that were scattered all over when I missed Mann. I checked the GPS and it showed him on point about a hundred yards behind me. He was over a little hill. I went back.

When I saw him he was pointing into a small plum thicket on top of a small hill. When I got to him I saw the covey of quail running around in the plum thicket before they flushed. They came out the other side and stayed low. I shot but I really couldn’t see a bird for any length of time, until they were out about a hundred yards. I watched the covey to the ground.

I got both dogs in where I thought the singles were but the dogs kept going to the south. I, finally, went with them to the south and one quail flushed in front of Sally. She should have pointed it , probably, but she didn’t. That was the only bird we saw after me watching where they flew to.

We turned back to the east. Maybe a quarter mile farther I was watching Mann as he went from plum thicket to plum thicket when I saw a covey of quail flush about 50 yards ahead of him. He wasn’t close and he didn’t see or hear them. They flew to the east over a small hill.

With the luck I had on the covey I had seen go to the ground I didn’t have high hopes of finding these birds either. We went over the small hill and Sally went on point. Before I could get to her a single quail flushed from right in front of her. I shot and missed with the first barrel but connected with the second. Sally found the dead bird, picked it up when Mann got too close and dropped it in my hand.

We went back in the area where that bird had flushed from. The dogs were working the cover good when Mann went on point. He was about 35 yards from me and before I could take a step a single quail flushed right in front of him but flying from my right to my left. I shot and down it came. Mann ran to it and picked it up. He dropped it when I said, “give”.

We went back to the area where we had moved those birds and Sally went on point. Mann honored. I walked in front of her and a single quail flushed. I missed with the first barrel and another quail flushed. I missed with the second barrel and another quail flew off. The quail that Mann had pointed had been a really good shot promptly followed by two really bad shots.

Before we left Mann pointed again. When the quail flushed from right in front of him I centered it in the shot swarm. Mann picked it up and I took it from him. We worked the area some more but never saw another bird.

We went on to the east then back to the north. Several times the dogs pointed, even before Luke left us, and they would all trail after I walked in and nothing flushed. I really think this was quail and sometimes pheasants running away in the strong wind. I’ve never done very well during a high wind. With everything rattling and blowing I think the birds are more spooky.

When Sally points I can tell how close she is by her tail. The closer she is the straighter the tail. Mann points with a straight, twelve o’clock tail, most times. On one of Sally’s points I thought it was Mann when she pointed. Her tail was twelve o’clock. When I got to her they both started trailing.

I’m not sure which one pointed first or whether they had a divided find but they were about 10 yards apart and both looking into the south west wind when a rooster pheasant flushed too far away for a shot.

We started back to the truck but there was a lot of country to hunt on the way back. I checked the GPS and Luke was at the truck. Every once in a while I would check the GPS and it would show where Luke was and I would be going too far to the west. I would make an adjustment.

I had turned these dogs loose a little before 8:00 am and it was now noon. We had walked along way and I was wanting to see that truck. I had to adjust my route several times but when I saw the truck at a couple hundred yards, it looked good. When I got within about a hundred yards of the truck Luke came to meet me. He was as happy to see me as I was him.

I crossed the fence with Mann close but when I checked on Sally she was to the west over a hundred yards away on point. I started to her but then I saw her on a hillside. About the time I saw her she moved. She pointed several times then came to me when I called. I loaded the dogs.

I carry water for the dogs in a picnic water cooler. Over the years I have driven off and left them sitting on the ground. I left one near here on Saturday. I take the lid off and leave that in the bed of the truck. I set the water bucket on the ground for the dogs to drink directly from it. When I drive off and leave the cooler on the ground the lid is in my truck.

One time I came back in about an hour and the cooler was gone. This time I had left the cooler on Saturday about 1:30 pm and came back about 7:00 am and the cooler was gone. What would anyone want with a cooler and no lid. I have lost probably half a dozen of these and never has one been still where I left it. If you have a cooler without a lid let me know I may have a lid.