I want to find enough quail, within about a 3 hour drive of home, to be able to work my dogs. I don’t care if I shoot any although I would like for my dogs to retrieve, so I have to shoot some. I went back to the same area to check out some of the properties that I saw after it got too warm, last time.
My 5 pound F.P. Baker 20 gauge that shoots 21/2 inch shells.
Working Tur Bo on the backing dog.
Abby pointing a pigeon.
I drove around a walk-in place to make sure there wasn’t anyone else hunting it and stopped at a weedy, grown up water way running into a harvested soy bean field. As I put the e-collars and GPS collars on Sally and Mann a farmer stopped to see if I had trouble with my truck. I asked him if he had been seeing any quail. He said, “we haven’t had any quail for a lot of years”. That’s probably a bad sign. The last few hunts I haven’t shot or at most once or twice. I decided I needed a lighter gun to carry so I brought my 5 pound, English made, Baker shotgun that shoots a 2 1/2 inch shell with 3/4 ounce of shot, out.
Mann and Sally led me around the water way. The wind was out of the south west and we went up the east edge across the north end then back to the truck on the other side. When I got into the water way I realized that the cover was too thick for quail. We hunted on back to the truck without seeing a pheasant or quail. I loaded the dogs and drove to another walk-in property.
The next area I hunted was a big milo field on both sides of the road where I parked. On the back side of the first field was a good hedge row running between the milo on the walk-in and more milo off on the private side. Sally had been stitched up and had only had her stitches out for a few days so I didn’t run her anymore. I turned Mann and Tur Bo out with the e-collars and GPS collars.
I started to the west through some CRP next to the milo field. When we got close to the hedge row we turned to the south. Mann decided to go to the north. I hit the tone button on his e-collar and continued to the south. He kept going to the north. I hit the tone button a couple of times but he didn’t come in as he usually does. I hit the tone button then held the button on the transmitter down, for a couple of seconds, on low 2. He started toward me but when he got close he turned and went back north.
I moved the e-collar to level three and toned him then held the button down, on low 3. He came toward me then turned back to the north. Tur Bo at least was staying with me. I toned him again and held the button down on medium 3. I had worked down the hedge row and crossed a small part of the milo field to a good draw that ran into the milo field. Mann came close but continued to the south down the hedge row.
I toned him again but didn’t hold the button down. Finally, he came in and was happy to see me. Part of the time he had been gone he had been looking for me.
We went around the draw then back up to the hedge row and followed it to the end. We crossed through more CRP to the road and crossed over. The other side of the road looked just as good as the first field we had gone around. There was a creek flowing along the edge and some more pools of water in the fields. The area hadn’t had rain for a while but there was plenty of water for the dogs and birds. We hunted a large area on both sides of the road without seeing a bird. I loaded the dogs and started driving again.
The line of retrieving dummies.
There was a walk-in property that I had hunted last year, close. Last year the Conservation Department had acquired this property after the Hunting Atlas was prepared so a lot of people never realized this property was walk-in. The first time I hunted it I found 3 coveys of quail. I hunted it again and found 2 coveys. I usually got dog work without killing many birds.
Mann, Tur Bo and I started down the fence row on the east side. There are a couple of draws that run from the east fence line to a large draw that runs from north to south on the east third of this property. The second draw is really thick and when I fought my way through it the dogs were off the property to the north. I called them in.
We went across the north end then back down the draw. The draw is about 30 yards wide with lots of brush and large trees. We were within 200 yards of the road when the GPS showed Mann on point about 50 yards south east of me. I went along the edge of the draw until Mann was straight east of me then went into the brush. I saw him on point 20 yards in front of me with Tur Bo backing. I went in front of him and kicked the brush. On the third or fourth kick a single quail flushed flying to the east through the trees. I fired a shot but knew I was behind when I shot.
Josie pointing a pigeon.
I had the dogs search the area but we never moved another bird. It was about 1:30 pm when I got to this property so someone may have hunted it before we got here. We went to the road along the draw then turned back up the draw on the other side for 3 or 4 hundred yards. We hunted back to the truck. The one quail was the only bird we saw. I loaded dogs and headed home.
On the days when I don’t go hunting I have been working the dogs on retrieving. I started out putting seven or eight dummies in a large circle. I would heel the dogs around the circle until we got close to a dummy and I would tell them to fetch. When they brought the dummy to me I would drop it behind me and continue around the circle. Tur Bo after a few times when he brought me a dummy would just go after another. I just stood still and he retrieved all of the dummies. The next time I put them in a straight line and I stood in one spot and sent the dogs.
Labrador retrievers or any retrieving dog would figure this out easily. Not so fast with pointing dogs. All 3, Mann, Sally and Tur Bo, do well on the first 4 and sometimes 5 dummies then they go off the side and I have to move closer to get them to stay in a line. I think with enough reps they will get this but they haven’t so far. They do enjoy the attention they get from retrieving.
Mann pointing a covey in blackberry and thorn thicket.
For the puppies, Abby and Josie, I have been turning them out of their kennel into the big pen. In front of the kennels I have a lane about ten feet wide. I put a check cord on the pups so I can catch them and throw a paint roller cover against the gate. They pick it up and sometime come to me and sometime try to get by me. Either way, I pet them until they drop the roller cover, then throw it again. I only throw it about 5 times each.
I have worked the puppies on pigeons quite a bit and will continue to do this but when I start consistently finding birds I will start taking them. I don’t want them to run all day without finding birds. I don’t even want to go all day without finding birds.
I left Luke home this trip but he looked good in this picture.