It seems as though Interstate 435 has been having work done on it for at least 10 years but this year between Interstate 35 being worked on and Interstate 435 it’s almost impossible to go hunting in central Kansas. I met Don and Linda Hanson near Emporia about 9:30 am. If I leave before 6:00 am or after 8:00 am I can make it across the metro area without going stark raving mad but just barely.
A few quail and my W. R. Pape side by side.
Mann pointing a covey in blackberry and thorn thicket.
Josie pointing a pigeon.
We pulled to the walk-in property that we wanted to hunt. This property is about 240 acres with a road on two sides. I drove down each side before we got out to hunt to make sure no one else was hunting it.
Tur Bo has been moving on his backing. For some reason he has decided that he is the one that is supposed to flush the birds when another dog is on point. He will hold until I get there then he wants to go in with me. I put his normal e-collar and GPS collar on then added another e-collar to his flanks. I walked him up and down the road and held the button on the flank e-collar down and said, “whoa”. The instant he stopped I let off the button. He has been whoa broke but I wanted to make sure that he understood that what electricity he was feeling was because he moved not because of the birds.
Don turned his male pointer, Goofy, loose and I put the e-collar and GPS collar on Mann and turned him loose. The last time we were here the dogs were on point before we were even ready. This morning we went across a south wind to the west edge of the property then turned to the north.
On the north end of this property there is a nice hedge row that runs from a soy bean field next to the property back to the south. There is CRP on each side and we usually find a covey of quail near the soy bean field. We went down the west side then crossed to the east side. As we got near the end Linda almost stepped on a quail. I neither saw or heard it. We got the dogs in to hunt the area but never saw another quail in that area. Since we hadn’t arrived until about 10:00 am someone may have already hunted this place.
My side by side and a few quail.
We went back down the west side and crossed and back through the same area on the east without seeing another quail. We crossed to the east fence row. When we got there the dogs went to the north off the property along the harvested soy bean field. As we stood watching the dogs as they ran with the wind down the hedge row a covey of quail flushed behind the dogs and flew to the south back onto or near the walk-in property.
All the way to the south end of the fence line there was heavy CRP on the walk-in property. We went all the way to another draw then back to the west along the draw. We hunted back to the truck without seeing another quail. We loaded the dogs and went to another walk-in property.
When we went by the next property I was surprised when Don pulled over. To me the CRP looked too thick for quail. We hadn’t taken the e-collars and GPS collars off the dogs so we just turned them loose. The area we were going to circle was about 20 acres. Don and I walked the edge next to the road to the east. When we got to the area we were to turn south Don saw a single quail fly from in front of us out into the heavy CRP. As we watched twelve or fifteen quail flew into the CRP.
The quail had flushed far enough ahead of the dogs they neither saw or heard them. Don and I had watched these birds right to the ground. We knew where they were. We called the dogs back and circled around where we had the wind right for the dogs.
Sally pointing wild quail.
The dogs came in and hunted right in front of us. With the strong south wind it was getting hot for the dogs. Tur Bo went on point and Goofy honored him. A single quail flushed and flew toward the trucks until it was out too far to shoot at then turned to the west. We continued to hunt the field.
As we checked the field Don flushed a quail from right in front of him. Goofy is a young dog and Don isn’t shooting at anything that isn’t pointed. We thought we knew right where these birds were but that is all we found. We continued to the west edge of the CRP and came back through where we had seen them go down all the way to the east side where we had seen them flush from. Never saw another bird.
It was getting too hot for the dogs so we loaded them into the trucks. We haven’t had much rain in this area, lately. A good rain would certainly help the dogs. There are quail in this area but we aren’t getting much dog work on them.
The single that Linda had almost stepped on had come from a covey and with the covey on the north east edge of the first walk-in and this last covey we had seen 3 coveys and not fired a shot. The time before when Don and I had hunted together we had seen 3 coveys and only got one shot.
Winter will be here before long and it will cool down for the dogs and things will go better. I really like the late December and January hunting better than the early hunts. With the cooler weather the birds are in the cover, are easier to find and it’s better for the dogs. The dogs are the only reason I still do this.
Luke pointing a pigeon.