After over a week of being inside because of the cold weather gripping most of the nation Austin Farley and I went back to Iowa. Austin had seen some new walk-in places on his phone that we hadn’t been to. The snow was deeper and it’s colder in Iowa than where we live.
Luke pointing quail.
Sally pointing quail.
Luke on point almost sitting down. Sally honoring.
Austin’s uncle, Fred Bennett, owns a farm. in north Missouri, that we were going to hunt on but he had to work until about 1:00 pm so we went on to Iowa.
I had only brought Sally and Luke today and Austin had brought his pointing lab puppy, Ember.
The first place we hunted looked like a harvested soy bean field but after we walked around in the 5 or 6 inches of snow we figured out it was just a mowed weed field. We walked back in a half mile then moved over and hunted back to the truck. Although there were deer tracks, there were no quail or pheasant tracks, that we saw. We loaded the dogs and went looking for another spot.
As we drove around the next walk-in place we saw what we thought might be a food plot. We looked through the binoculars and still couldn’t tell for sure. We turned the dogs out and got close it was standing milo that had been left for the animals. I don’t know who plants the food plots but several of the Iowa walk-in properties have had them. These are good for all of the animals in the area. We saw a lot of song birds, some rabbits, some pheasants and the deer tracks were thick.
On the snow, even with the GPS, I have trouble keeping up with the dogs. White dogs and white snow. We had just entered the food plot when the GPS said Sally was on point at 65 feet. She was closer to Austin and he saw her first. As we got close Ember honored Sally for a moment then went ahead of her. A rooster pheasant flushed right in front of Ember. Austin and I shot all of the shells we had in our guns, Austin had an over and under and I had a side by side, but the pheasant went down. Ember followed the flight of the bird and retrieved it to Austin. When that rooster flushed pheasants were getting up all over the food plot. Somewhere between 15 and 20 pheasants flushed. Most of them flying to the west.
We went on through the food plot then to the west heading back to the truck. As we looked to the west we saw another food plot. We were close to the truck so we loaded Sally and Ember in the truck. Luke was to the west and didn’t want to come in. After calling him we decided to go on to the food plot and he would come to us. He was fairly close to it.
When we parked the truck and turned the dogs loose I checked the GPS and Luke was on point a long way, 500 yards, east of us. In pheasant country I didn’t think the bird would hold until we got to him so we went on to the food plot. About 30 yards into the food plot I checked the GPS and Sally was on point and we had walked past her. When we found her, Ember went on point, right beside Sally. When we walked in both dogs started trailing and running their heads under the snow covered weeds. Sally went left and Ember went right and a rooster pheasant flushed right off Ember’s nose. It’s a good thing Austin and I aren’t hunting with single shots because we, again, emptied our guns but the pheasant went down. Ember made another retrieve.
Luke pointing a single.
As we went on through the food plot I kept watching the GPS and Luke was still on point. After we hunted the food plot out without seeing any more pheasants we loaded the dogs and drove back closer to Luke. He was south of the road about 150 yards. We went toward him and when we got within about 35 yards Austin saw a rooster pheasant flush too far for a shot. Then a hen pheasant flushed about 25 yards from me and another bird went out farther away. Luke wanted to stay in that field and hunt but Austin’s uncle was waiting on us. We loaded Luke up and headed for Missouri.
It was after 2:00 pm when we got to Fred’s house and he was ready to go. He had what every bird hunter would like to have. The ability to go out the back door and go quail hunting. Fred is a serious deer hunter and has food plots for the deer as well as growing the regular row crops. He had left soy beans, had a clover patch as well as a field with turnips. Some of the place was in CRP but he regularly burns it where it doesn’t get too thick. What is good for the deer is good for all of the animals.
Just a short distance from the house we started down a fence row and Sally went on point. When we got close she started trailing. Luke and Ember went into the fence row and acted birdy. Fred said he often saw a covey of quail in that fence row.
We went down the north side of the food plot with the dogs birdy and trailing. We came back up the south side and started away. I checked the GPS and Sally was on point on the south side of the food plot and behind us. We had walked away from her.
Sally pointing a quail.
On the south side of the food plot there was a buffer zone that had some cedar trees growing in it. We were about 15 yards from Sally when Austin saw or heard some quail flushing well out front of Sally. Fred and I were about 10 yards to Austin’s left and we saw 7 quail flush about 25 yards ahead of us. On the snow the quail weren’t holding.
Most of the quail had flown to the east and we followed. Austin was in the buffer strip, I was in the edge of the buffer strip and Fred was in the edge of the food plot. Well out front a single quail flushed ahead of the dogs flying across in front of us. Fred made a really good shot and the bird dropped. None of the dogs paid any attention and Fred had to make his on retrieve. Austin and I have taught the dogs that it takes a lot of shots to down a bird.
As went back through the buffer strip to the west we had several points from Sally and Luke both but when we got to them they would start trailing as if the birds had run off. Fred and Austin heard quail whistling right where the dogs were hunting but we never came up with anything.
As we went on to the north Austin saw Ember point then flush a single quail. Fred and I both shot at it but it flew on. As we walked through some CRP Austin flushed a quail that flew off to the east. Sally and Ember both pointed at a small cedar tree. It must have been where the quail had flushed from.
Luke pointing a quail.
Sally pointed again in a water way in the middle of a corn field and couldn’t believe there wasn’t anything there when I walked in. The other dogs acted birdy when they came through. We crossed to a creek and hunted back to the house.
We had, probably, more points today without a bird right in front of the dog than we’ve had all year.
We had, probably, more points today without a bird right in front of the dog than we’ve had all year. Quail seem to run more on snow.
Sitting here thinking about some things. Is it still a quail hunt if you have 2 pheasants and 1 quail in the bag? Why are quail really spooky on snow but pheasants seem to hunker down and hide? As I think about Lucky and Dolly, in the twilight of their years; why can’t dogs live longer?
Sally is backing Luke.
Luke pointing quail.
Luke pointing a covey of quail.