Traveling Pointing Dogs

I am a die hard bird hunter. Actually, a die hard quail hunter but I’m getting old. Wow, that’s hard to write or even think about. Most of my hunting life I’ve been able to walk really well. Into my seventies I was still breaking trail for younger guys. Now I’m 81 and my hunting days are getting shorter. I can still do 4 or 5 miles but that’s not much for a quail hunt and it isn’t fair to the younger guys I hunt with. Vince Dye has some private ground that we can ride my side by side and Austin Farley has some also.

A nice sunrise.

Sally pointing a single.

Mann pointing.

Vince, my son Ryan and I took the side by side to one of Vince’s private places. Actually we hunted two places. The first place was about a 160 acre place with mainly CRP. Even with the side by side it’s not always easy. When I tried to get the side by side off the trailer it wouldn’t start. It was a really cold morning but with the jumper cables we got it going. Vince had his short hair, Allie and I had Sally, Stormy and Abby. We turned them loose and sometimes it takes a little while for a dog to understand what’s happening with their owner being in a vehicle but not Allie. My dogs had been run that way before. So no problems there.

As we followed the dogs Vince’s GPS showed Allie on point along an abandoned rail road right of way. When we got close the other dogs were honoring. We grabbed our guns and went to her. She was in some thick brush. Ryan was on my left and Vince on my right. The covey flushed and Ryan and Vince both shot but I was not able to get a shot. Ryan dropped one and Vince hit one really hard. We walked to where Ryan’s bird was lying and tried to get the dogs to retrieve it. I’ve seen this before: the dogs almost stepped on it but didn’t seem to smell it. Finally, after a couple of minutes Allie retrieved it to Vince.

We spent a little while looking for Vince’s bird but didn’t find it. As we were looking my GPS vibrated showing Sally on point a couple hundred yards from us. My GPS beeped also but I never hear that. We went to Sally and she was along the same rail road right of way in the brush. The picture above. Vince was on the other side and I told Ryan to try to find a place to shoot from and I would flush the bird. When I got close to Sally two birds flushed from the other edge. Ryan had no shot and I shot through the brush, where I thought a bird would be. No luck.

Sally pointing Abby honoring.

Vince went back and brought the side by side up where we were, since he was closer. Stormy hasn’t been run much this year and I thought she was just out of shape. She acted like she was having trouble breathing. We put her in the back seat of the side by side and she took a nap. When we got close to the truck I was going to put her in her box, in the truck. As soon as she hit the ground she went back to hunting.

We ran another draw that we had found birds in the past and through some more CRP without finding any more birds. We loaded the dogs and went to another place.

The next place was about 300 acres. Just my guess. A few years ago there was wheat growing mixed in the CRP on this place and it had lots of quail. The wheat has died out or something. We went to the back side where the CRP was next to a harvested soybean field. I had left Stormy in the truck. We had CRP alongside the soybean field for about a mile. The 3 dogs covered it well without finding anything. As we came back along a draw that runs through the CRP Sally pointed into the draw. Abby and Allie honored. Sally’s tail was not up and she was looking across the wide ditch. When we got to her she started trailing across the deep ditch. We got in the side by side and drove to the other side.

Allie and Abby honoring Sally.

All 3 dogs were trailing and acting birdy. Allie pointed but her quail flushed before we could get to her. We got out and followed the dogs. As the dogs trailed the birds we saw a few quail getting up several yards ahead of the dogs. The CRP was chest high and thick but the quail were scattered in it. Vince and Ryan got a few up in the tall weeds but no one got a shot. I think that they had run across the deep ditch, that had no cover, from Sally’s point and scattered in the tall weeds.

The dogs running in the tall CRP were worn out. Another thing that Austin brought up was, that with the side by side, we are going twice as fast or more and that moves the dogs along faster. But I can last a lot longer riding the side by side than walking. The tall CRP is hard on the two legged, also.

A day or two later I hunted with Austin. This time we walked. I told him about hunting from the side by side and he decided the next time we would try it at his places. On this trip I took Stormy with me and she was worse. She was gasping for air and I videoed her. I wanted to show it to the vet so he would understand how bad it was.

On this trip, our walking trip, Sally pointed a covey along side a soybean field. Austin killed two on the covey rise as I stood back trying to video him. I tried to get Sally in to retrieve but she was off looking for singles. Stormy came in front of me and smelled one of the dead birds and pointed. Before I could get a picture or even take a step she moved in and picked up the quail. I called her and she came close and dropped the bird and laid down. I petted her and took her to the truck.

Abby

I took Stormy to the vet and after he watched the videos he x-rayed her and said he lungs and throat looked good on the x-ray. He gave her a couple of shots and some pills for me to give her. If this doesn’t help we will go further. Hopefully this will do it but whatever it takes we will do.

I took the side by side to Austin’s house. He brought Gracie and Okie, both English setters and I brought Sally, Boss and Annie. We turned them out on a place we had found a covey on the last time I had hunted with him. Austin’s dogs had no problem with him being in the side by side. Several years ago I had a dog that had a tough time figuring out where I was. Maybe she was just a dumb dog.

We moved along a draw just off a soybean field. We got to the back and Sally was on point across a deep ditch and in some tall CRP. We got out and started to her but before we crossed the deep ditch she was moving. Usually the dogs make sure you cross the deep ditches before they move but this one was better.

We worked on around and saw part of a covey flying toward us. We don’t know whether the dogs flushed them or they just decided to flush before the dogs got to them. About 6 quail landed just about 40 yards from the side by side. We got out and waited for our dogs to come to us. The dogs had probably been through this area and it was hard to get them back. Gracie, Austin’s young English setter, pointed right in front of us. Two quail flushed and Austin dropped his and I was about a foot behind mine when I pulled the trigger.

Annie pointing a pigeon.

Okie picked up Austin’s bird. He had hit it really hard and Okie thought it was his. Austin had to chase him for a while before he would give it up. After the shooting the other dogs came to us. I saw Sally go on point and before I could even say anything the bird flushed. We saw a few more singles flush without giving us a shot.

We went on around the CRP. Okie’s collar wasn’t working right so Austin got out and turned it off and then back on. It worked better. We went on around until we got back to the truck. We loaded the dogs and Austin noticed his phone was missing. He called his wife to give him a location on it but she was at work and he didn’t get ahold of her. He called his Mom in Arizona and she sent him a screen shot, to my phone, of where the phone was. When he got out of the side by side to turn Okie’s collar off and on he lost it.

We drove back to that spot and found our tracks through the tall CRP. We looked and looked. I tried to call his phone and it went straight to voice mail. Several times. Finally, I got it to ring and Austin could hear it. It was about 25 yards from where our tracks came through the tall CRP. Austin had not gone that far from the side by side. But he had his phone back. We went to another place.

The next place had CRP around a soybean field but this CRP wasn’t as tall and thick as the others. The dogs were easier to see and looked really good going around the edges. Sally will be 10 years old in June and I sat on a hillside and watched her circle about a 40 acre harvested soybean field. I roaded her and the other older dogs before season and this caused her to get in better shape and lose some weight. She’s covering ground now like a young dog. Annie also ran a good race on this place and Boss always does.

Abby pointing a covey.

This was a good looking place but we didn’t find any birds. We went to another place. Austin had taken his daughter deer hunting on this place and heard a covey of quail close to the deer stand. We turned the dogs loose and as we got close to his stand Sally went on point. Gracie honored. Just as we got out of the side by side the birds flushed. I saw 6 or 8 fly back past the side by side and Austin saw about that many fly across the ditch into some tall CRP. We crossed the ditch. As we stood waiting for one of the dogs to point several birds flushed. There were 4 that went out then 2 more then another.

We started back toward where the others had flown to. We got across the creek and were in the edge of the soybean field when I noticed my e-collar handheld was gone. It was a warm day and the frost was coming out of the ground making it muddy. Austin started on one set of tracks looking for the handheld and I went on the other. Austin saw Sally on point and I told him to go ahead since he was close. I never heard him shoot so I kept looking for the handheld. When we got close together Austin said Sally’s quail went out the other side of a cedar tree without giving him a shot. We kept looking.

Finally we had to give up. We got back close to the side by side and I tracked us across the field. Nothing. I got back to the side by side and looked in side. My handheld was between the seats. I thought I could remember having it in my hand as we were following those dogs. Oh well, I’m glad it was in the truck.

Sally honoring.

We went on around the field but didn’t find anything else. The dogs were tired but none of them quit. I was tired too but I could have gone farther. That side by side allows me to really enjoy the dogs.

This may have been the first time I have missed the opening day of quail season, in Missouri, in over fifty years. The Missouri Conservation Department, in their infinite wisdom or lack of, decided to have youth deer season on opening day. If the young people have their hunter safety class they don’t have to have an adult with them. I really didn’t want to risk my life or my dogs life to some really young hunters. In another state I saw where an adult allowed his youth hunter to shoot at a sound and they killed another hunter. Vince Dye and I went to Iowa on opening day of quail season in Missouri.

Mann on the right honoring Sally.

Abby honoring Sally with Boss way in the back honoring, too.

Sally pointing with Boss honoring.

I took these pictures in Kansas on one of my trips to hunt prairie chickens. I don’t really go where there are a lot of chickens but I use the season to check out some of my quail hunting spots. To be on walk-in property you have to be hunting. Several of the places I wanted to hunt on had soybeans that had not been combined. I try not to run my dogs around these fields because even they knock a lot of beans off.

I had to go into town and buy a Iowa hunting license but it really didn’t matter. When we got where we wanted to hunt it started misting. I’m not very patient. After just a few minutes I started driving. If I can’t get out and go, I would just as soon be driving and checking other places. We drove by another place we wanted to hit and with the mist getting lighter we had high hopes but when we got close there were three trucks already parked on it.

We kept driving until we found another area. We started around a soybean stubble field. Vince had a young short hair by the name of Allie and I had Sally, Abby, Boss and Mann. Vince was concerned about Allie not running. She is about a year old but her previous owner had gotten sick about the time he had bought her. She had spent a lot of time in the kennel. When Vince got her she spent a month or longer with a guy that worked her on call back birds. The guy had told Vince that she would point birds but she wouldn’t get over 60 yards away from him. Vince likes to see them run, as I do.

Immediately, with my dogs running as they usually do, Allie started to run better. Before the day was over she was running good. She pointed and also honored. She’s going to make Vince a good dog.

Boss and Abby being roaded at the house.

There was CRP type cover around the soybean field. As we started around the soybean field it started to mist again. We were a half mile from the truck. Too far to go back. I hunt with older side by side shotguns and don’t like to get them wet but they would be wet whether we went back to the truck or continued hunting. It stayed wet and foggy as long as we were out.

At a distance it’s hard to tell my dogs, except for Abby, apart. Abby is a tri-color. I saw two of my dogs on a point of a draw honoring another dog inside the cover. Vince and I started toward them and I saw both dogs throw their head up and start moving. I knew for some reason the birds had flushed. Vince or I never saw a bird.

Sally and Mann being roaded.

Just a few minutes later, along another hedge row, Boss pointed with the other dogs honoring. When I went in front of him a hen pheasant flushed. The dogs were really excited about this hedge row. We heard a quail flush out the other side. Then Vince said, “we’ve got a point.” I told him to go ahead and I heard him shoot. A single quail with Vince’s Allie retrieving.

There was a patch of CRP close and Sally pointed in it. She thought the bird was right under her nose and she was afraid to move. I kicked right in front of her and went several yards in front. Finally, she moved, trailing. Mann came through the area and pointed near where she had. Before I got to him he was moving. Something had been there but we never got anything to flush.

GPS showing how far and how fast I roaded the dogs on a gravel road.

We went on around the edge of the soybean field. The GPS showed Mann on point in a draw that was surrounded by the soybean stubble. When we got to him he was in a small clearing but looking into some really thick cover. The small saplings were about 10 feet tall and really close together. I went in front of Mann and he moved up. He pointed and moved several times. Vince and I were separated by about 25 yards but the cover was so thick we couldn’t see each other. We heard several quail flush with one flying behind me. I tried to turn to get a shot but my feet were stuck in the cover. It’s hard to shoot turning around without being able to move your feet but I tried, to no avail.\

We tried to go on down the draw. Once, my GPS showed Boss on point. I got within 9 feet of him, according to the GPS, and could not see him. Abby came in front of me and honored Boss. I knew where he was but still couldn’t see him or get any closer. About that time Vince said there was a bow hunter in a tree along this draw.

Abby and Boss at one of our water breaks.

That is a problem with hunting public land. There can be other hunters on the same area. One of my fears, while hunting, is not seeing a bow hunter in a tree and have a quail fly between me and the bow hunter. Being color blind I might not see a hunter in camouflage.

We tried to get away from the hunter without getting closer to him. He saw us trying to cross the thick draw and told us the only way across was almost under his stand. We crossed and went away from that area.

It started to rain again. We started toward the truck by going down a wide hedge row. Vince was on one side and I was on the other. He yelled that we had a dog on point. There wasn’t a good place to get through the hedge row so I just told him to go ahead. I heard a pheasant flush and Vince shoot.

When we got close together I asked Vince which dog had the point because by the time I checked my GPS the other dogs were honoring. Vince said, “one of your males”. He has trouble telling Mann and Boss apart but at a distance I do too. Vince said the dogs had pointed under a pin oak with low hanging limbs. He had to go under the limbs to flush the bird and when he tried to shoot his barrel hit a limb.

Sally and Mann at one of our water breaks.

As we came down the hedge row Boss pointed at the end. As the hedge row turned there was some CRP close. He pointed looking into the CRP but as I got close he moved. Vince’s dog, Allie, pointed. She was almost in the same spot that Boss had been. Then she moved about 25 yards and pointed again. Sally pointed just a little way away. Something had run around there but we never got anything to flush.

When we got back to the truck it was still misting rain so we loaded dogs and headed home. More than fifty years of hunting on opening day in Missouri was a hard one to stop but maybe next year I’ll start another one of fifty or so years.