We didn’t get out very early for this hunt. I left the house about 6:50 am which seemed pretty late for me. I really enjoy trying to find new areas to hunt and figure out where the birds are. We, being me and the dogs, drove for about 2 1/2 hours then started looking for a place to hunt. I drove by a lot of places that had really thick CRP. These may be good for something but not for quail, in my opinion.
Sally backing Mann with Abby close.
Mann on point.
Josie pointing a pigeon.
I noticed, on my Kansas Hunting Atlas, that I was close to an area that I hunted several years ago. I found 2 coveys of quail and a couple of pheasants on it the first time I hunted it. It’s only an 80 acre place but it has a lot of buffer along a creek and some more along a hedge row.
Luke has been retired and Sally has stitches so I just had Mann and Tur Bo with me. I put e-collars and GPS collars on both of them and turned them loose. We had a pretty strong wind from the south so we went to the north down the fence line to the back and turned west to the hedge row with a good buffer strip beside it. Before I got across the harvested soy bean field the GPS showed Mann on point along the hedge row.
When I got close he was trailing. I started down the hedge row into the wind. I checked the GPS hand held and Mann was on point again about 75 feet from me. The weeds were so high I had trouble finding him but when I did he was looking either way ahead or into the trees of the hedge row. I walked in front of him kicking the cover. When I turned and looked at him he was still looking into the trees with his head high. I said, “okay” and he started moving slowly with his nose down. He trailed for a few yards then went back to hunting. I think something ran out on us.
We hunted back to the buffer zone along the creek and down it back to the truck, without seeing anything. This place has some really good cover, food in the harvested soy bean field as well as weed seeds and water along the creek. Should be a perfect place for birds. I loaded the dogs and we drove to another place.
The next place was about 240 acres. It had a pasture, that hadn’t been grazed down much, with a soy bean field on three sides. On the other side was the road I parked on. The wind had changed to be blowing out of the west south west. We went to the east along a fence row next to a soy bean field that was off the walk-in. When we got in about a half mile there was a hedge row, running to the north, in the pasture. We crossed to the east side of the hedge row and started to the north.
Mann pointing a pigeon.
A friend called me when I was about a hundred yards up the hedge row. He owed me money and wanted to come by and pay me. I had to stand still to keep from losing the signal on the phone. I talked to him for a few minutes and told him I would see if June was home so he could pay her and call him back. As I called her I saw Tur Bo go on point. I talked to her then had to call him back to go on by to pay her the money. I still hadn’t moved, afraid I would lose the signal on the phone. I got that taken care of and started to Tur Bo.
When I got closer I saw that Tur Bo was honoring Mann. Mann was in a real thick spot along the hedge row. There was a real small brush pile, that ran under a honey locust tree, that he was pointing into. I got close and kicked the brush pile. Nothing happened. I said, “okay” and he moved about a half step and went back on point. He was now standing in the edge of the brush pile, on point. I kicked the brush pile several times and still nothing.
Abby pointing a pigeon.
There was only one thing to do. I went around the brush pile and bending over went under the honey locust, with it’s long thorns. Still nothing happened. I got close to the trunk of the honey locust, all bent over and a big covey of quail flushed on the other side of a small cedar tree. Not only did I not get a shot I couldn’t even stand enough to see where they went. I could only tell the direction some of them went.
We were near the north end of the hedge row so we crossed to the west side and started back down. Tur Bo went on point along the west edge, in the grass. When I got to him he trailed a short distance then pointed again. I went by him and kicked the cover and when I turned to look back at him he whirled like something got up behind him. I thought I heard a single quail fly away but never saw it.
We went to the south end of the hedge row then back to the north end on the east side. There was some good pasture grass and we went through this back to the truck. We never saw another quail out of that covey. I loaded the dogs and started looking for another place.
Sally pointing wild quail.
I found another place about like the last. It was pasture with harvested soy bean fields on 3 sides of the pasture. We went to the east along a hedge row. About a half mile in a draw ran across to the south through the middle of the pasture. There was water in the bottom of the draw and a lot of good cover. The dogs and I worked down this to another fence row/hedge row and back to the west then back to the truck up another small draw. We had good cover, food and water but no birds. I loaded the dogs and started home.
I was close to some walk-in places that I had never seen so I drove by them. Some of them looked better than what I had been hunting but the dogs were tired and it was a long way home but I will try to get back in that area next week.
Tur Bo on point.