Traveling Pointing Dogs

Luke pointing Dolly honoring.

Tur Bo on a pigeon.

Blaze pointing a pigeon.

On day 2 I hunted near Marysville, Kansas. It’s hard to remember to take pictures when I’m hunting wild quail so I’m using pictures that I’ve used before. That’s the reason some of the grass is so green. The first of these pictures was taken when Luke and Dolly went off the walk-in property and Luke pointed.

The first place I hunted was an 80 acre farm on a hillside that fell off into a creek. It was near 60 degrees with a strong south wind to start the day. There were several wide draws that ran out into the harvested soy bean field. I turned Luke and Dolly out with Garmin GPS and Sport Dog e-collars on. I also, turned Rocky the 5 month old English Cocker Spaniel out with them. We went along the bluff that dropped into the creek and ran up one side then back down the other of each of the draws. We were almost back to the truck when the GPS said that Dolly was on point about 125 yards ahead of me.

When I saw her she was pointing at the head of one of the draws. When I got to her Rocky ran up, licked her in the face and ran circles around her. She gave me a disgusted look but didn’t move. He smelled the birds and went toward them. They flushed from the very bottom of the draw in the thickest cover and went out the other side. I shot one time and missed. I have shot around Rocky but I didn’t want to over do it. He was chasing and didn’t act like he even heard it.

I got both dogs to hunt toward the bluff where most of the covey had flown but I couldn’t tell even close to where they had flown. Only the direction. We hunted most of the cover on the walk-in side of the property without finding them and started back to the truck. As I got close to the truck, I checked the GPS. Luke was on point across the road off the walk-in property. I could see him standing on the edge of a draw according to the GPS he was 158 yards away.

In the strong south wind sometimes the birds don’t hold so I stood watching for a little while. Just a few seconds, really. I put my shot gun in the truck and started toward Luke. Dolly came in front of me, saw Luke and honored. Without a gun in my hands I could take pictures. Rocky was still with me and went in front of Luke but the quail didn’t flush until I was in front of Luke too. When the bird flushed I whoaed Luke and he didn’t move. I petted him telling him what a good boy he is then tapped him on the head for the release.

We started back to the truck and again I checked the GPS and Luke was on point. He was behind me about 35 yards. Rocky and I went back. He was on point in some giant horse weeds in the bottom of the draw. Rocky was still hyper from the other quail and went the wrong way. He was behind me when I got to Luke. As I got to Luke’s side after fighting my way through the horse weeds the quail flushed. Luke took a step but stopped when I whoaed him. I stroked his sides and told him he was a good boy. I tapped his head to release him.

I loaded the dogs when we got back to the truck. Neither of those birds would have offered a shot if I had of had my gun with me but I felt really good about getting to work the dogs on them.

I went to a larger farm next that I had seen a lone hunter on earlier. He was gone so I turned Blaze, Rocky and Lucky out. This is a larger farm with CRP on the north with a harvested soy bean field in the bottom and it rises up from a creek to a hillside to the south. We went along the soy bean field, in the edge of the CRP to the road on the west then south and turned back to the east side along the hill side. Along the road there is a long draw that goes all the way to the south road. As I started east I checked the GPS and it showed Blaze on point 258 yards to the south. I waited to see if she might move. Sometimes the GPS shows them on point when they are getting a drink or pooping. She wasn’t moving.

I walked to her. When I got close I could see her standing pointing into the draw like Dolly had been on the farm before this one. Rocky and I went in front after he ran a few laps around her. Nothing flushed. I released her and she started trailing down into the bottom of the draw. Lucky came up and pointed near where she had been standing then started trailing down into the bottom of the draw. Rocky even got some scent from birds and started trailing. We were close to the edge of the property and never came up with anything. I believe a covey ran out and flushed.

We continued on east. We were almost to the road on the east when I saw 2 quail flush far enough ahead of Blaze that she never saw or heard them. They landed about 50 yards in front of me. I called Lucky and Blaze in and we went toward them. We got close to where I had seen the birds light. Rocky came right in front of me, almost at my feet, and flushed a quail. I didn’t shoot because he was too close. Lucky pointed and 2 quail flushed before I could get close but they flew back within 25 yards of me. I shot at the last one and it dropped but wasn’t hit very hard. I got all 3 dogs in where it went down hoping that it would run from Rocky so he could get fired up about chasing them. But Lucky chased it down about 15 yards away and brought it to me.

I waited until Blaze and Lucky went back to hunting and threw the dead quail for Rocky. It was like, “alright a tasty morsel. I haven’t been fed for a month”. He stood where he was and started chewing. I went to him and petted him saying give. “Give”, on a retrieving dummy means something but “give” on dinner doesn’t mean anything. I pushed the quail back into his mouth and took it from him.

We hunted on to the road to the east and crossed the creek. There was a small draw that ran from the draw most of the way across the soy bean field. We started up it and I saw Lucky on point. It looked like his front feet had stopped and his rear end had slid around. He was almost lying on the ground. I wanted a picture but had left my camera in the truck. We got close and I started in front of him with Rocky in front of me. Down in the bottom of the draw 5 or 6 quail went out the other side through the trees. I shot but missed. Finally a quail flew out my side and dropped at my shot. Lucky scooped it up and dropped it in my hand.

Again, I waited for Blaze and Lucky to go back to hunting and threw the quail for Rocky. It was a repeat of the first time. I got the bird from him and we hunted around for any more singles in the area. It was getting real warm so we headed for the truck. I put Blaze and Lucky in the truck and threw the quail for Rocky again. On the retrieving dummies he is real soft mouthed but he chewed the quail again. When I said give he was reluctant but he did give it up this time.

I started home but remembered a small place that was south and east of here that I wanted to check out. Last year I had found 2 coveys and several pheasants on the 80 acres. When I pulled up it looked just like it did last year. I turned Tur Bo, Dolly and Rocky out. We had only gone about a hundred yards down the draw that ran from east to west along the front when Tur Bo pointed. I had heard him drawing air through his nostrils real loud trying to pin point the birds. Almost sounded like a hog grunting. The quail had run over the hill into the creek and flushed about 25 yards in front of him. I didn’t have a shot but that didn’t keep me from shooting one time.

As we went on to the west I saw a pheasant flush and fly to the north but land in the hedge row that ran most of the way down the west side. There was a wide buffer zone along side of the hedge row. If anything, the wind was stronger here than where I was hunting earlier. Both dogs were in the buffer strip and Rocky was going in from time to time. A rooster pheasant flushed behind me but in the strong wind I turned the wrong way. By the time I saw him a shot was marginal so I didn’t take it. Dolly was trailing around in the area and pointed a couple of times. When I got to her she would go back to trailing. I think there were more pheasants in the buffer strip but they ran away from us. We hunted back to the truck without finding any other birds. I loaded dogs and headed home.

I was saving quail for Thanksgiving or I wouldn’t have been as concerned about Rocky’s chewing. When I cleaned the 2 quail I had tossed for him they weren’t chewed up at all. It certainly looked like he was munching them but there wasn’t a tooth mark on them. If I have to I will force break him and that will take care of the chewing but I really think he will quit on his own.

Rocky the English Cocker Spaniel.

Lucky pointing a pigeon..

Dolly pointing a pigeon.

Tur Bo

Luke

Lucky

On a cool morning, I met Don and Linda Hansen near Emporia, Kansas to hunt some Kansas walk-in properties. Linda doesn’t hunt she likes to watch the dogs work. The first place we stopped was about 240 acres with harvested soy bean fields surrounded by CRP. Don turned his pointer, Tigger, out with a Garmin Alpha around her neck. I put a Garmin Astro and Sport Dog e-collars on Lucky and Tur Bo and turned them loose.

About 50 yards from the truck I saw Tur Bo point. As I got closer I saw that he was honoring Lucky who was on point in some tall weeds. Tigger came by and honored, also. Don and I walked in and nothing flushed. All 3 dogs went on. About 50 yards farther I saw Lucky point again. Don was about 30 yards to my left so I yelled, “point”. When I yelled a bird flushed. I shot and it came down. At my shot another quail flushed near the first one and 2 birds flushed inside some brush to Don’s left. Don didn’t have a shot but the second bird near me dropped at my shot. Lucky found my first bird and Tur Bo the second.

We hunted in the direction that the two quail had flown without finding them. We went along the side of a soy bean field to the north until it hit some CRP. The CRP was split by a wet weather creek with a lot of brush growing along it. All 3 dogs were working the edges of the creek. At the very end was a brush pile. I was watching my dogs as we got to the end. I started around the brush pile and a covey of quail flushed behind me in the CRP. I missed with the first barrel but dropped one with the second. The covey spread out in the CRP but only flew about 75 yards. Tur Bo found the quail I shot.

We hunted toward the spread out singles and Tigger pointed. We walked in and a single quail flushed. Don dropped it. Tur Bo found the dead bird. We hunted through the CRP and about 75 yards from where I thought the singles had landed Tur Bo pointed. Don and I walked in and another covey flushed. I missed with the first barrel but connected with the second. Don dropped two. These two coveys were only about 100 yards apart or less.

We went back to the area the first covey had landed in. Lucky pointed. Don and I walked in and a quail flushed that came my way. I missed with the first shot but it dropped on my second. It really had flown right into the sun. I usually use this excuse on cloudy days but it really did this time. Tur Bo picked the dead bird up and dropped it. I called him back into the area. He found it and dropped it in my hand.

This CRP was real thick and it seemed like the dogs had to be right on top of a bird to point it. A couple of birds flushed out of range that we couldn’t shoot at. We worked this area then tried to find where the second covey had flown to but had no luck. Neither of us had seen where the second covey had flown.

We went on around the edge of the property and were going down a hedge row when Lucky pointed. He was looking into the CRP. Before we got to him a single quail flushed about 30 yards in front of him in the CRP. We were a long way from any other birds we had seen. As we discussed why a single quail was way out here we heard a covey flush on the other side of the hedge row off the walk-in property. Then a late bird flushed going behind us. We hunted back to the end of the walk-in without finding any thing.

We hunted on through the CRP to another wet weather creek with a lot of cover in it. We turned and hunted the creek. We had come all the way around the property and were almost back to the truck. We knew that there should have been more than 4 quail in the first bunch that we had got into so were working the dogs in the CRP close to where we had parked when I walked into a covey. I shot twice and a bird dropped at each shot but neither were hit hard. Don was in the wrong place. The birds had flown from me through some trees that Don was close to.

We got all 3 dogs in to hunt dead. After a few minutes Tigger pointed with Tur Bo beside her honoring. When I got close the quail hopped up and Tur Bo was after it. It got away the first time but he caught it the second. We looked for the second bird but the dogs were tired especially Lucky. He’s 11 1/2 years old and the CRP was thick. As a young dog he looked really good on point and he still does some time but a straight tail isn’t high on his list. I’ve had some pictures of him looking good but sometimes he looks like the picture above. I put them up and got Dolly and Luke out.

Dolly and Luke hunted the area for a dead bird without any luck. The quail had dropped at the edge of a patch of trees. We hunted through the trees to the other side then back down through them. Dolly was about 15 yards in front of me when she went on point. The brush was thick but I finally got close. She moved up and went back on point. I fought my way through to her again but she moved again. I got Luke in to help but we never came up with the bird. We drove to another place.

The next property was 80 acres of harvested soy beans with some draws and a small field of CRP. We went to the south to the property line then west to the road then followed a draw to the north east. We had been through the little patch of CRP and most of the cover had been removed other than right in the draw. I saw Tigger go around a point in the draw and go on point. Don and I started toward her and when we got close we saw that she was honoring Luke who was pointing into a small brush pile.

I walked up to the point of the draw and Don crossed the draw to come in behind Luke. The birds came up in 2 or 3 bunches. I heard Don shoot but the bunch that came by me were right over my head then into the timber. I shot in frustration although I didn’t have a good shot. I heard Don telling Tigger to hunt dead. He got his bird then came around to where I was. I had seen 5 quail fly into some brush about 50 yards away so we went that way.

Tigger was working down along the dry creek. I saw her go on point and 5 quail blew out ahead of us without us getting a shot. We went on down then turned and started back. The GPS vibrated and it showed that Luke was on point. When we got to him he was just across the creek from where Tigger had just pointed. When I got close he moved up and pointed again. Dolly came in front of me and went on point. She couldn’t see Luke for the brush. A quail flushed between them when I walked in. It went behind me and folded when I shot. Dolly retrieved it.

Don had seen where some more birds from the covey had flown so we went in that direction. When we got close the quail started flushing. One of those quail went over some trees that were 60 foot tall or better. We were near the property line so we knew they didn’t stay on this farm. We had educated them.

One more bird and I would have a limit and I had lost one. It was only a little after 1:00 pm but it was a good place to quit. We had moved 5 coveys of birds and all of the dogs had pointed and most had found dead birds. It had been a good day.

My 16 gauge AYA and 7 quail.

Dolly

Tur Bo honoring Luke

Luke pointing a single quail.

Tur Bo pointing a covey in Kansas.

Lucky on point.

Vince Dye and I were at our first choice of the walk-in properties early on opening morning of quail season and were surprised that no one was there before us. Our dogs had been in their dog boxes all night so we let them out to clean out and get a drink. I put Tur Bo and Luke back in their boxes and put the Garmin GPS and Sport Dog e-collars on Lucky and Dolly. Vince turned his pointer Buck and English Cocker Spaniel, Maggie, out. Buck had Garmin GPS and Sport Dog e-collar on.

This farm is a large pasture next to a harvested corn field. The pasture has a lot of plum thickets, yucca plants, cactus and sand burrs. Perfect for quail. To hunt this place we had no choice but to go to the north with the wind at our back. We had only gone about 200 yards when Vince said that Buck was pointing. When we got to him he was pointing into a large plum thicket. He started trailing when we got to him. Vince started around the plum thicket one way and I went the other.

Lucky came in front of me and went on point. He was only about 5 yards in front of me. I told Vince he was pointing and waited. When he got there we had the covey between us. They flushed with some going his way and some flying back past me. I shot both barrels and was behind on both shots. I forgot how fast wild quail are. Vince had shot twice and missed also. Opening morning jitters or slow, old men.

The birds that came by me had flown to some scattered trees. We went toward them. As we came through the trees Vince’s GPS showed Buck on point about 50 yards from us. Vince was on the south side of the line of trees and I was on the north as we went toward him. We were still about 20 yards from Buck when a quail flushed at Vince’s feet. He didn’t shoot. He wanted to shoot over Buck’s point but when we got to him he started trailing. The quail Vince had flushed must have run from Buck.

It was really hot and dry and I hadn’t brought any water with me. We were close to the truck so we watered the dogs and put them up. I got Luke and Tur Bo out. Vince put Buck up and got Jack a brother to Tur Bo out. I loaded down with water and we went back.

We went through the area where the singles from the first covey should have been without finding any. We were working the fence line close to the harvested corn field next door. Luke, Tur Bo and I were working through a hump with a lot of cedars and other brush on it when Vince said a covey had just flushed near him. As I went to where Vince was a rooster pheasant flushed about 30 yards ahead of the dogs.

We started toward the place that Vince had marked some birds down. We got to the top of a little rise and a quail flushed at my feet. It dropped at my shot. When I shot another bird flushed and it fell in a large plum thicket. I had been between Vince and both birds. He took Maggie, the Cocker spaniel, to get the one in the plum thicket. I called Luke and Tur Bo in to find the first bird. After about 5 minutes Maggie found the one in the plum thicket but we never found the first bird. This area is really dry and the warm south wind doesn’t help. I hate losing birds but after about 15 minutes we gave up.

We went a little farther north but the heat and lack of water was hurting the dogs. I had brought 3 bottles of water with me and used them all. We moved to the east and started back to the truck. Tur Bo ran to a small plum thicket and went on point with Luke honoring. I told Vince and we walked in. A quail flushed and flew my way. It dropped and the rest of the covey flushed at my shot. I swung on another and when I shot I knew that Vince and I had doubled on it. Vince shot at another as it went around a cedar tree. He hit it but I saw a quail fly on. Tur Bo retrieved my bird and Maggie got the quail that we had doubled on.

Vince said we needed to check on the bird near the cedar and I agreed. I had seen a quail fly on but when we got close to the cedar Tur Bo picked up a quail and brought it to me. It always pays to check.

We went the way some of the covey had flown. As we came over a small hill I saw Maggie wagging all over and going in circles. I told Vince to watch her and sure enough a quail flushed right in front of her. I shot but missed and the bird flew around Vince and back behind us. Vince threw a couple of shots at it without connecting. At my shot 2 more quail had flushed behind us. We checked the area without finding any others. We hunted back to the truck. We ate lunch then drove to another farm.

(As I was writing this Vince called and reminded me of 2 coveys that I had totally forgotten, that we found on this first farm.)

We went to a farm that had a pond close to the road. I turned Lucky and Dolly out and Vince turned Buck loose along with Maggie. We went north about half a mile then moved over and started back to the south. I saw Lucky go on point about 50 yards in front of me. Vince was a little way behind so I waited for him to catch up. Two quail flushed in front of Lucky without him moving or anyone being close. They came by about 35 yards out from me with the wind behind them. I shot both barrels but missed.

Vince came on up and I saw Dolly point and 2 more quail fly to the south without giving us a shot. Several more single birds got up in front of the dogs as we moved into the wind. Buck pointed about 40 yards from us and we started toward him. Before we got to him Lucky pointed about 35 yards to the east of Buck in the edge of a large plum thicket. As wild as these birds were we decided I would go with Lucky and Vince would continue to Buck. I got close to Lucky and two quail flushed. The first one folded at my shot and I shot just as the second went around a cedar tree. I reloaded and took a step and a third bird flushed. It fell at my shot.

Dolly had been honoring Buck and his bird had run. Dolly came over and retrieved the first quail I had shot and Lucky got the last one. I wasn’t sure about the bird that had gone behind the cedar tree. We got all of the dogs in to look for it but never came up with anything.

We decided to go west along a tree line and on the way we could get the dogs in the pond again. Lucky, Dolly and Maggie got a drink and cooled down. Buck was behind us and Vince kept calling him. He said the GPS was showing him on point by the truck. Buck has some problems with his back and Vince thought he was just hanging around the truck. He said he was going back and I told him I would wait at the pond. When he got back he said that Buck was on point and a covey had flushed out the other side of some cedars. He didn’t get a shot or see where they had flown.

We went on to the west. Several hundred yards later the GPS showed Buck on point. We got almost to him and he started moving. He only moved about 20 yards and went back on point. Dolly came by and honored. We walked in front of him but nothing flushed. Dolly, Lucky and Buck all started trailing. After a little while they all went back to hunting. Buck’s back was really bothering him so we started back to the truck. I checked my GPS and Dolly was on point about 125 yards behind us. I started back to her but Vince wanted to get Buck back to the truck. Lucky was smart enough to go with him.

I got close to Dolly and she started moving. I saw the direction that she was going and got in front of her. She trailed on past me and I went ahead of her again. She pointed again then started moving. I caught up with her and she pointed again. This time I circled way out in front of her and started back toward her. A covey flushed behind me about 30 yards. By the time I saw them they were too far to shoot at. Three landed near a large plum thicket.

When Dolly got near the plum thicket she pointed. I walked in front of her and she started trailing through the plum thicket. A quail flushed out the other side without giving me a shot. We worked the area without seeing the other birds.

When we got back to the truck Lucky and Vince were lying on the tail gate of his truck. He had put Lucky on his tail gate and picked some sand burrs out of his feet. He said Lucky laid so still he thought he had died. I carried Lucky to my truck and put him in his box.

We were going to another farm but we decided we had a lot of quail close to the truck. We turned Luke, Tur Bo and Jack out. We went back to the north and came back south through where we thought some singles were. Luke came by about 40 yards ahead of us and pointed into a plum thicket. Tur Bo saw him and honored. I went into the thicket kicking the plum bushes but nothing flushed. I released the dogs and they both moved up and pointed side by side. I stepped in front of them and 2 quail flushed. One went by Vince flying with the wind at about 60 mph. He shot but missed. One flew straight away from me into the wind and dropped into another thicket at my shot. Tur Bo retrieved it.

We hunted back to the truck without finding any more quail but this was the best single day of quail hunting that I have had in several years. We think we saw 10 plus coveys of quail. Neither of us killed a limit but we had a lot of dog work. The birds are here. With less wind and cooler temperatures the birds will hold better for the dogs. I will be back.

I took my camera but it’s hard to take pictures while carrying a gun on wild birds. To put pictures in this post I had to recycle some.

I gave Tur Bo the whoa command.

Blaze

Dolly on point.