Traveling Pointing Dogs

Dolly honoring.

Tur Bo and Dolly both on point.

Luke

I went back and read some of my bird hunting posts and have been thinking about the season that just closed. Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas did a lot of advertising about the quail being back. Some of the northern states were saying the pheasants were also at higher numbers than they had been in years. This brought people back into bird hunting that hadn’t hunted in years.

My second trip to Oklahoma, I saw more hunters than I’ve seen in years. One of the places we hunted on the Black Kettle National Grasslands was a 320 acre parcel and almost every where we walked we saw tracks from hunters that had been there before us. It’s good for this area as the drilling of oil wells is down but the cafes and motels are full of hunters.

Opening weekend in Kansas, Vince Dye and I saw a lot of hunters. Several of the farms we normally hunt had people hunting them when we first drove by. As we got our dogs ready to be turned loose on one farm we had 3 trucks drive by with hunters in each one.

In my opinion, with all of the hunters plus almost each day the wind was blowing really hard, most of the birds I found were really running. I had very few flushes with the quail flushing right in front of me. Some days, when I could find the singles, they would hold for the dogs and get up close to us.

With all of that, it was a great season. I was able to hunt in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. I keep track of the coveys that I see each day and I saw 50% more coveys this year than last. I seldom hunt the same place twice so most of these are different coveys.

The last few years there haven’t been enough birds for each of the dogs to get much experience. Last year and especially the year before there weren’t enough bird contacts for Blaze and Tur Bo to get much experience. I put 2 dogs at a time down and with few birds some of the dogs don’t see any quail. The first time I went to Oklahoma Blaze pointed more quail than all of the other dogs combined. The second trip Tur Bo stepped up. He wasn’t the top dog but he found a lot of birds.

Lucky is almost 12 years old. I use him and Dolly, who is 10 years old, when I guide. I used them last Friday morning then again Saturday afternoon. Lucky did a good job on Friday and for 2 hours and 45 minutes on Saturday. He pointed some quail and found a dead bird then came to me and laid down. I put a leash on him thinking I would just heel him until we finished. He wouldn’t even stand up. I tied the leash to a small bush and finished out the hunt with just Dolly. I put Dolly in the truck then went back after Lucky.

When I got back to him he hadn’t moved. I took the leash thinking a fifteen minute break would refresh him but he still wouldn’t stand. I picked him up and started the 500 yards to the truck. I took a break after about 200 yards then picked him up and started again. Roy Branson, who was guiding another group, saw me carrying him and came to help. He carried him the last 200 yards. When I got Lucky home he walked to the kennel. The next morning he was fine.

It’s hard to watch the dogs get old and no longer do what used to be easy for them. Hunting him 2 days in a row for that long is too hard at his age. He can still do a day now and then just not 2 days in a row. Lucky has been a good bird dog and is still one of my favorites to hunt with.

This has been a good season and with no more winter than we have had, with a good spring, the next year could be even better. Does that sound like a Chicago Cubs fan?

Limit of quail and my 20 gauge.

Tur Bo

Luke

Tur Bo honoring Lucky

Tur Bo honoring.

Lucky pointing.

I met Don and Linda Hansen near Emporia Kansas and we decided to hunt at Melvern Lake. Last year you could hunt Melvern Lake by filling out a card but they are no longer available. Now you have to go on line, KDWP.isportsman.net/signin, to hunt. You can use your smart phone and they have the directions at several locations around the area.

The first place we hunted was a large CRP field next to some small harvested soy bean fields. I remembered Dolly pointing a covey of quail in this area when she was just a puppy. She will be 10 years old in February. I haven’t hunted this area but a couple of times since then. For old times sake I turned Dolly and Blaze loose with their Garmin Astro and Sport Dog e-collars on. Don put Garmin Alpha collars on Tigger and Annie.

We went north between two soy bean fields, beside another, then followed a ditch that had some bushes growing in the CRP. We moved to the other side of the soy bean fields then crossed to the other side and came back to the trucks along side a draw with a lot of trees with out seeing any quail.

The next place we hunted was in the bottoms with hedge rows, draws and creeks. There were a couple of fields that were left to grow weeds without being planted in row crops. This area had harvested corn and soy bean fields. Don turned his pointers loose and I used Lucky and Tur Bo. We went along the road on the south side then down a creek and came back to the other side. We crossed to the north of the road and hunted some hedge rows circling back to the road. As Don, Linda and I walked down the road Lucky came in front of us and slammed into a point. Tur Bo came in behind him and honored. Then Annie and Tigger honored. Lucky was looking into the north wind but Tur Bo jerked his head around to the south like he heard some birds flush. We released the dogs and they got real excited on the south side of the road but never came up with anything. I did get some pictures.

The last place we hunted was a large CRP field with draws and a creek running through it. I turned Luke and Blaze out with Don’s pointers. We made a large circle then went to the other side of the road. I checked the GPS and Luke was on point 260 yards ahead of us. He was on the other side of a draw that was really hard to cross. I waited for a few seconds before crossing the draw but he was still on point. I checked the GPS a couple of times as I went across. Just as I got to the other side he started moving. He came by me a few seconds later and wasn’t very excited. If it was quail, they had run then flushed. If they had flushed where he could see or hear them he would have been excited. Then I had to re-cross the draw.

We hunted back to the trucks. We had hunted 3 different spots on Melvern Lake and had not seen a quail. Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas advertised that quail numbers were way up and I believe that brought more hunters. The added pressure caused the quail to run more and flush ahead of the dogs, in my opinion.

The season is winding down, it’s over in Kansas January 31, and I’m not ready for it to be over. I have to guide on January 29th and 30th so I went up near Atchison Kansas on the 27th of January. I turkey or prairie chicken hunted here before the season opened but haven’t been back.

The first place I hunted was a big harvested corn field with 2 draws running through it. The draws were separated by about a quarter of a mile of corn field. There was no way to hunt it all without going up one draw the crossing the corn field to the other. I put the Garmin Astro and Sport Dog e-collars on Luke and Blaze and turned them loose. We went up the first draw to the end then crossed the corn field.

Before I got to the next draw Luke was on point according to the GPS. I got within about 60 yards of him and he was moving. He went about 30 yards and pointed again. Blaze and I were going to him. Before I saw him Blaze got excited and started trailing. Then they both were trailing right in front of me. Lots of excitement but we never came up with any birds. We crossed the road and hunted back to the truck.

Over the years I have hunted several places in this area. I drove by and checked most of them off. A lot of these areas have had cattle on them and most of the cover has been grazed off. The last place I came by had just a little low spot in a harvested soy bean field that still had some cover. It had some cattails, weeds and a few small trees. It was diamond shaped with the wide part being close to the road. I still had two dogs that hadn’t been out of the truck. I turned Dolly and Tur Bo out.

We went up the east side of the cover with both dogs on the inside most of the time. We got to the end and they both ran to the end of a water way that connected to the point of this cover. I called them back and we started down the west side of the cover. Both dogs were inside with Tur Bo in the lead by a little. I saw his head come up and he slammed into a point. Dolly was just a little way behind and honored. Tur Bo was standing with a high head and a twelve o’clock tail in the tall weeds. There were 3 or 4 cedar trees, about 6 feet tall, that the quail were around. When I walked in I saw birds running on the ground then they flushed. I knocked one down with the first barrel but missed with the second. The covey flew south across the road and off of walk-in property. I got the dogs in to look for the dead bird and Dolly retrieved it.

To make sure the quail had all flown across the road I had the dogs go through the cover a couple of times. As I got close to the truck both dogs were trying to go into some CRP on the other side. I loaded the dogs in the truck.

I drove by some other walk-in properties but this late in the year there isn’t much cover left. I thought about how my priorities have changed over the years. Twenty five years ago I would have been upset to be going home with only one bird but today I felt good. The late season birds have been running and flushing in front of the dogs. My youngest dog, Tur Bo, had pointed a covey. Dolly had made a retrieve. All was right in my world. It had been a good day.

Tur Bo

Tur Bo

Luke pointing a single quail.

Blaze honoring.

Dolly honoring.

My new dog sculpture.

It snowed Thursday night so I didn’t leave the house, to go hunting, until about 9:30 am. I met Don and Linda Hansen near Emporia, Kansas and we went to some walk-in areas that Don knew of. We hunted 4 different places and of these I had been on two of them but not this year.

The first place we hunted was a CRP field of thick blue stem across the road from a harvested soy bean field. With the snow and strong north wind we thought the quail would be snuggled down in the CRP. There was about 3 inches of snow so it made for hard walking. Don put Garmin Alpha collars on Annie and Tigger while I turned Tur Bo and Luke out with Garmin Astro and Sport Dog e-collars on.

I had my AYA 16 gauge with two triggers. With two triggers I don’t like to wear heavy gloves so I was wearing thin brown jersey gloves. About half way around this field I knew that I didn’t have heavy enough gloves. We circled the CRP field and when we got back to the truck I dug out some hand warmers that I always have in my truck. We loaded our dogs and drove to another place.

The next place was a large property with only about 10 or 15 acres of cover. There was a creek that started in a drainage that was covered with tall grass and weeds. The cover was next to a busy road and Don had never seen anyone hunt this. I had never noticed it although I had driven by several times. Don turned his pointers out and I used Dolly and Blaze this time.

We had just crossed the fence when I saw 2 quail fly over us. I looked ahead and saw some singles settle into the tall grass off to our left. The last month this is what most of the quail have been doing to us. Flushing ahead of us then running out of the country. I saw exactly where some of the singles had flown and started to them. They had settled around a small bush that was growing in the weeds. Before we got close Blaze came in front of me and tried to go on point. A single got up behind me and flew back toward the creek. When I shot it dropped and another one flushed in front of Don. Annie saw Don’s drop and went to retrieve. As Don was waiting on the retrieve another bird flushed and he got it, also.

I had to call Dolly and Blaze in to look for my bird. Blaze found it right away. I went over to make sure Don had found his birds and while we were standing watching the dogs work another quail flushed. It went down at my shot and Annie retrieved it. That was 4 quail out of this covey and Don and I decided we wouldn’t shoot anymore out of this covey. We went to the other side of the creek and worked back to the truck.

There was a few sumac bushes growing on the other side and as we passed them a quail flushed without drawing a shot. We called the dogs in to hunt the bushes and another flushed out the other side. The dogs were working along the creek and another quail flushed down in the brush.

When we got close to the road Don saw Annie on point in the fence row. The other 3 dogs came in and honored. We took pictures then Don flushed the quail and we watched it fly across the road. There were 12 or 14 birds in this covey and we took 4 of them. Neither of us will hunt this property again this season. If we don’t leave some to raise the next generation pretty soon they will all be gone. It’s important to have birds to work our dogs on.

The next place was also a CRP patch across the road from a harvested soy bean field. I turned Lucky and Dolly out with Don’s pointers. It didn’t take very long to circle it without finding anything so we loaded our dogs and drove to another farm.

I turned Dolly and Lucky out again on the next farm with Don’s pointers. This was a large farm with CRP along side of a harvested soy bean field. There was a water way running through the CRP that we started working up. We were about 150 yards into the field when Don noticed that Tigger was on point behind us. When we got close to him he started trailing. Annie came by and started trailing, also. Soon all of the dogs were trailing. We never came up with anything.

We went on north and the GPS showed Lucky on point about 200 yards ahead of us. When I got within about 50 yards of him the GPS showed him moving. Then Dolly was pointing in the same area. When I got to them they both trailed for a while then they went on. The wind was strong from the north and we decided maybe the birds went with the wind by flying south. We worked all the way back to the snow packed road. As we went toward the trucks we saw where a quail had crossed the road. We got the dogs in and they trailed for quite a distance but we never came up with the quail. We loaded the dogs and called it a day.

That is my normal experience with quail on new snow. They usually run and flush when anything gets close to them because their camouflage does not work. Sometimes, after a few days and especially after some of the snow melts, giving them some areas that they can hide in without snow, they will hold.

I’ve hunted Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma and almost, all year the quail have run instead of holding for the dogs. The snow may have made it worse but not much but anytime you can get out with your dogs is a good time.

Luke

Tur Bo

Blaze

Luke was pointing a covey of quail. Just as I took this picture he took a step and went back on point. I wanted to show the red duct tape on his tail.

Tur Bo and Dolly both on point.

Luke pointing Dolly honoring.

Vince Dye, Jim Needham and I were hunting the Black Kettle National Grasslands in western Oklahoma. After the dogs spent the night in the dog boxes we let them all out to clean out and get a drink then drove to the first parcel we were going to hunt. Vince turned Buck and his English cocker spaniel out, Jim turned one of his pointers out, and I turned Lucky and Blaze out. All of the pointing dogs had Garmin Astro GPS collars and Jim and I both run Sport Dog e-collars. The first place we were hunting was 320 acres, 1/2 mile by a mile.

We had parked on the south side and worked the dogs into the north wind. We were almost to the north side when Vince said the GPS was showing Buck on point about 150 yards to the north west. As we went to him I noticed that Lucky was on point about 75 yards to the north. I went toward Lucky but before I got to him he was moving. He moved about 25 yards then went back on point. I followed but he moved again before I got to him. He crossed the fence to the west off the property and I tried to call him back. Normally, he comes in when I beep his e-collar but this day he wasn’t responding. He is near 12 years old and doesn’t hear very well but he usually hears the tone on the e-collar and comes to me. He started toward the truck so Blaze and I headed that way.

When I got close to the truck Lucky was going back north so I put Blaze in the truck. I checked the GPS and Lucky was almost on the road to the north. I drove around to the north side and called him. According to the GPS he was only 76 yards away when I got there but he headed to the south. I beeped him with the e-collar and called him but he kept going south. I drove back around the road to where we had originally parked. When I got there Vince and Buck were there.

When I got out of the truck Vince asked if I had any needle nose pliers. I took him a pair and he told me about Buck having porcupine quills in him. Vince carries side cutters but they won’t pull quills and Buck had had hundreds. He must have run across the top of the porcupine. The quills were in him from his mouth to his testicles. He had quills in his feet, legs, testicles, belly and mouth. When Vince had thought he was on point he was just standing still because of the quills. To get him to walk to the truck Vince had to pull the quills out of his inner legs and belly with his hands. This was the second day and Buck was unable to hunt the rest of the trip. The morning after we got home he was okay.

I continued to call Lucky and he came within about 300 yards but turned and went back north. I started walking in to get him. I was a long way in when I saw Jim and asked about Lucky. He said that every time I called Lucky he would come to him. Most dogs think when they have come to someone they have done their job. I saw Lucky to the north a little way and started toward him. I beeped his e-collar but he didn’t seem to hear. I finally got close enough to get his attention and he came to me. I petted him for a while. I didn’t have my hunting vest or gun with me so I didn’t have a leash. I pulled my belt off and used it for a leash. We started to the truck.

I had gone about 200 yards when I thought I should see how far we were from the truck. I knew I would be writing about Lucky being lost so I wanted the correct yardage. I wear my GPS in a holster that is attached to my belt. When I pulled my belt off to use as a leash the GPS had dropped to the ground. Most of the cover on this place was about waist tall but I had been in a trail at the time. I hurried back like I thought someone would come along and find it.

The first trail or two I got on were the wrong ones but I finally got to the right one and found the GPS. The Lord has blessed me my whole life. It was 1000 yards to the truck. I put the GPS back on my belt and made Lucky stay with me. I checked the e-collar later and it was no longer mated to my transmitter so every time I thought I was beeping him, I wasn’t.

The next place we hunted was another 320 acre parcel. Before I turned Luke loose Vince held him while I put duct tape on his tail. He really cracks his tail when he runs and it bleeds until his sides are completely red. I had forgotten to tape his tail the first day but this tape lasted the whole trip. Jim turned one of his pointers out and I also released Tur Bo. Vince had Maggie with him. This parcel was really sandy but it had some waist high blue stem. We hunted from the south to the north fence line then moved over and hunted back. Almost every where we looked were foot prints from other guys hunting this parcel. We saw no quail.

We ate lunch then took a short break before going out again. Jim has 2 pointers that are litter mates, Petey and Casey, and I can’t tell them apart. Most of the time he only hunted one of them. I turned Dolly and Blaze out. We hunted down a hedge row to the north then moved over about 1/4 of mile to the east and started back. Jim and Vince were about 150 yards to my right when Dolly pointed. Most of the time the birds weren’t holding so I went toward her. Before I got to her I saw Blaze on point about 50 yards ahead of me. As I got near 3 quail flushed in front of Blaze. I had a good shot but missed. When I shot about 10 birds flushed from where Dolly was pointing and flew to the south. I watched them land.

Jim and Vince came over where I was. We started working the dogs in where I thought the covey had landed. Dolly pointed but before I could get to her a quail flushed. It was hooking around a cedar tree when I shot but it went down. Dolly saw it and ran to retrieve. The bird jumped right beside her and she almost caught it but missed. We never saw that bird again. As we were looking for that bird another quail flushed and Vince thought he had knocked it down but we never found it either.

I got the dogs back where I thought the singles were and Blaze went on point. Jim and I walked in and I centered the single when it flushed. Blaze saw it fall and ran to it but didn’t retrieve. Maggie retrieved the quail. Jim and Vince could hear some quail whistling to the north and went after them. They did some shooting and got 3 or 4 birds. We worked our way back to the truck.

We fed dogs, cleaned birds and headed in. It had been a long day. I had been down here about a month ago and there were a lot more birds. I don’t know if it has been the pressure or the deep snows that they had in this area but we aren’t seeing the birds I did a month ago. We ate supper in a diner with a lot of other hunters and they were all saying the same thing. We are seeing some birds but they are flushing ahead of the dogs and I’ve never seen them run so much.

Tur Bo backing

Lucky

Blaze honoring Tur Bo.