A Kansas Quail Hunt, 1/13/15

Posted on January 14, 2015 by windypointsj1s@aol.com
Lucky

Lucky

Blaze

Blaze

Dolly

Dolly

I met Don and Linda Hansen at Beto Junction, Kansas and we started south on 75 Highway looking for walk-in properties to quail hunt. I have 2 dog boxes in the back of my truck that will hold 3 dogs each. I had my 5 dogs in these and Don and Linda had their dog, Tigger, in the backseat of their truck. If my dogs ever unionize my truck will be full.

The first farm we hunted was a large bottom with a couple of water ways running through them. On the east side the bottom hit some higher ground that had some brush and tall weeds. Don put his Garmin GPS and training collar on Tigger and I put the Garmin GPS collars and Sport Dog training collars on Dolly and Luke. We hunted through the tall weeds on the higher ground then went down one of the water ways. The other water way split and I went down one and Don, Linda and Tigger the other.

We were only about 50 yards a part when I checked the GPS and Dolly was on point. I yelled at Don but an airplane was coming over real low and he couldn’t hear me. After trying several times to get his attention I went to Dolly. Her head was up high and she was looking way out front. I went about 20 yards in front of her and walked back to her. Nothing flushed. I tapped her head to release her. She started forward then dropped her head and started trailing. She trailed for about 20 yards then threw her head up like she had heard something flush. Because of the airplane I never heard the quail flush.

We continued on down the water way. Luke and Dolly both were trailing. Two or three times they went on point but then went back to trailing. I saw one quail flush far enough in front of the dogs that they didn’t even hear it. We hunted on back to the truck.



The next place we hunted was a soy bean field that was not very deep but ran along the road for about 1/2 a mile. On the other side of the bean field was a buffer strip of tall grass with some bushes. I turned Lucky and Tur Bo out with the GPS and training collars on and Don released Tigger. We made a round of the field to the back side and went through the tall weeds and brush then back to the truck without finding anything. Lucky had pointed in the tall grass but after trailing a ways he went back to hunting.

The third place we stopped looked about like the second place but this one had CRP at the back that rose up from the soy bean field. The soy beans were about 300 yards deep then the CRP ran for another 400 feet. We started on the east side and went along the edge of the soy beans then back to the CRP. We hunted the east side then turned west and went through the CRP on the north. We got to the west edge and moved down next to the soy beans and started back east. We were watching Tigger trailing when I noticed Lucky on point on a strip of unharvested soy beans.

Don and I walked in front of Lucky. We went about 20 yards in front of him with Blaze and Tigger honoring. Nothing flushed so I gave Lucky an okay to release him. All 3 dogs started trailing and pointing as we went through the left over beans. We had 6 or 8 points as we went through the soy beans. Finally, at the far end of the soy beans a covey of quail flushed and flew north into the CRP. (After we finished here, I came back and placed a GPS collar at the end of the soy beans where the quail had flushed from and drove back down the road to where Lucky was pointing. That covey of quail had run 247 yards before they flushed.) The quail were so far in front of the dogs they didn’t even hear them flush.

Don had not seen the covey all the way to the ground but they were real low when he lost sight of them in some trees growing in the CRP. As we got to the area where we thought they had gone down the dogs started getting birdy and trailed for a little way. About 50 yards farther into the CRP I saw 2 quail flush in front of Blaze. She followed them a little way then came back and in the same area went on point. Don and I walked in and scattered quail started flushing. Don was on my left and most of the quail flew his way but I heard some quail flush behind me. I turned to shoot at the birds behind me and looked right into the sun. Finally 2 quail flushed that weren’t into the sun. I missed with both barrels.



Don had knocked a quail down and we got all 3 dogs in to hunt dead. Lucky came through and acted like he was looking but he really wanted to go find some more birds. I made Blaze stay in and look. Tigger was also looking. Then Blaze pointed. I tapped her head to get her to move but she didn’t want to. I kicked in front and the quail tried to fly but had a broken wing. Blaze tried to catch the bird but lost it in the CRP. I made her come back in and hunt close to me. She pointed again. I tried to get her to jump in and catch the bird but she didn’t want to move. The quail ran through the grass again. Blaze wanted to leave and I called her in again. She pointed again. I tapped her head to get her to catch the quail and she finally pinned it to the ground. I took the quail from her. Blaze doesn’t have much experience with downed birds but a few more of these and she should get good. We followed in the direction most of the birds had flown without finding any more quail then back to the truck.

We had time for one more hunt before dark. We chose a place that was CRP along the top edge of a field then dropped off into a bottom with a harvested corn field. I turned Tur Bo and Blaze out with the GPS and training collars on. Tigger was tired but she was still going good. We hunted the CRP then went off the hill and down near the corn field. When Tur Bo runs through a corn field he sounds like a bull dozer so even if the stubble is tall you know where he is. A scattered covey of quail started flushing in between Don and me. They flushed in 2’s and 3’s going in every direction. I shot twice and missed both times. One of the quail I shot at had not flown far so we went in that direction.

We went into some scattered trees just out of the corn field. All 3 dogs were in close acting birdy. Tur Bo went on point about 30 yards from us. He was on point about 10 seconds and the bird flushed without either of us getting a shot. We made a circle through the CRP next to the corn field and Tigger pointed. Don and I walked in and 2 quail flushed. I hit one bird with the first shot but missed with the second. It kept flying. Don hit his bird with the first shot but had to shoot it again to put it down. We found his bird right away this time.

We were crossing the corn field to get to an area we thought some of the singles had flown to when we noticed Tigger on point in the corn field. Blaze and Tur Bo honored but I had to whoa Tur Bo. That may have been the first time he has seen a pointer on point. Don and I walked in and another covey flushed but didn’t get very high. I shot once without any luck but Don didn’t get a shot. Tigger is young but he is turning into a real good bird dog.

We went on across in the direction this covey had flown. We went along the edge of a water way that had a lot of brush growing in it. We were still on the edge of the corn field. We had come around until the water way made a point in the corn field and Tur Bo got real birdy but before he could point 3 quail flushed out of the corn field. About 30 or 40 yards out in the corn field about 10 more quail flushed with nothing close to them. This wasn’t a new covey. I think that the singles from the last covey that Tigger pointed had run ahead of us until the got together and flushed. They flew across the water way and it was getting late so we headed for the trucks.



This may have been the worst day of shooting I have ever had. As I wrote this I counted 7 misses and it very well may have been 9. Linda and I killed the same number of quail and she didn’t even have a gun.



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A Missouri Quail Hunt 1/10/15

Posted on January 12, 2015 by windypointsj1s@aol.com
Tur Bo

Tur Bo

Luke

Luke

Luke

Luke

Don Bowlen and I quail hunted near Carrollton, Missouri last Saturday. Usually I write about hunting on public hunting areas but this hunt is on a friend of Don’s farm. The first place we hunted was about 160 acres. The temperature was about 25 degrees with a strong south wind.

I put the Garmin GPS collar and the Sport Dog training collar on Luke and Dolly. I had an extra GPS collar so we put it on Don’s dog, Susie. Susie is a litter mate to Blaze and is a daughter to Dolly and Lucky. This farm had been planted in soy beans and when it was harvested there wasn’t much cover or food left. Today, when farmers raise soy beans there is no weeds or grass growing in the field. When the beans are harvested the field is really clean. This farm had a couple of hedge rows and a water way through it but a fence row that did have some cover in it had been bull dozed out.

We hunted to the north along the east side of this farm. There was a brush filled water way coming off of a hedge row almost to the very back. When I got to the north side of it I saw Susie standing in the brush pointing. I yelled for Don to come around. While I was waiting Dolly came by and backed Susie. Before Don got there Susie started moving and Dolly started trailing. Luke came in and also started trailing. We followed all 3 dogs as they trailed to the east. They trailed for about 200 yards then went back to hunting. I think a covey of quail ran out then flushed.



We hunted to the road on the east then across the north side along a hedge row and down a water way to the south. The Sport Dog collar has a tone that I have trained my dogs to come in on and I have been using it to hold Luke in but today I let him run. I checked the GPS and he was on point 336 yards ahead of me. I started a force march into the strong south wind. When I got to him, he was on the edge of the road, on the south, on point looking into the brush along the water way that continued across the road. Dolly came by and honored. I walked in front of him about 20 yards and nothing flushed. I gave him an okay and he and Dolly started trailing.

Susie came by and started trailing. All 3 dogs were headed south down the water way. I waited on Don. While I was waiting I checked the GPS and it showed all 3 dogs pointing. I started toward the dogs. The first one I saw was Luke on the other side of the water way on point. I crossed a small creek and when I went up the other bank I saw that he was honoring Susie. As I started to Susie I saw Dolly on point about 35 yards south and west of Susie. I thought Dolly would hold if her birds would hold for me to work Susie’s birds first. I got about 10 yards in front of Susie and a covey of quail flushed about 40 yards north of me. I hit a bird with the first shot and as I changed to another bird I saw the one I shot continue to fly. I missed with my second shot.

As the quail flew north another covey flushed with them. Then the covey that Dolly was pointing flushed. That was 3 coveys of quail within about 100 yards. The area that Susie was pointing in was soy beans that had been left in the field. The farmer had left an area of soy beans about 15 yards wide and 200 yards long maybe because it had too many cockle burrs. The area he had left was right next to the brush filled water way so the quail could move from the water way into the soy beans and feed without exposing themselves.

All three coveys had flown back to the north. Don brought the truck around to the road on the south side of the farm. The dogs pointed then moved in the water way just before the road then crossed the road. A quail flew toward me, into the wind, but was going so slow I didn’t recognize it as a quail until it turned and flew with the wind. All 3 dogs pointed in some CRP on the west side of the farm we had permission to hunt but the quail were not holding. We got our dogs to come in and I put Luke and Dolly in the truck.



I put the collars on Lucky and Tur Bo and Don left Susie out. The 3 dogs and I started back to the south on the water way. All three dogs were in the brush trailing. Tur Bo and Susie were really wringing their tails as they went through the brush. I got about 100 yards down the water way with the dogs well out in front of me when a quail flushed deep in the water way. I called Tur Bo back to hunt in that area. Before he got to me I heard at least 4 different quail flush. I only saw one of them and not long enough to get a shot.

Tur Bo and I crossed the water way and checked the area where the birds had flushed from. He trailed trying to locate a quail but they had all flown. I checked the GPS and Lucky was on point about 150 yards southwest of me. I went to the road on the west then south. When I got even with Lucky I crossed the water way and before I got out of the brush a covey flew to the south off the property we had permission to hunt. These birds were also close to the soy beans that had been left in the field. That made 4 coveys in about 200 yards of each other.

I got the dogs in front of me and started back north. We got close to the road and all 3 dogs got real birdy. I was watching the dogs deep in the brush and a quail flushed right in front of me. I made a lucky shot and Tur Bo saw it fall and retrieved.

There was some cover along the road to the east and I took the dogs down one side and back the other. The dogs were in the brush as we came back the other side and a quail flushed real close. I heard it real well but I never saw it. We hunted back to the truck. Most of the quail were in the CRP that we didn’t have permission to hunt or off the place to the south. We decided to go to another farm a few miles away.

Blaze had not been out of the truck so at the next farm I turned her, Lucky and Tur Bo out. Tur Bo and Lucky hadn’t hunted very long at the last place. This farm had corn and soy beans stubble with about 40 acres of CRP on the north west corner. I started south around the edge of the CRP with the dogs in front. We got to the corn field and turned west still staying in the edge of the CRP. I checked the GPS and Lucky was on point about 190 yards ahead of me.

I watched the GPS as I walked to him. Sometimes the dog is getting a drink or something instead of actually being on point. When I got about 75 yards from Lucky the GPS showed Tur Bo and Blaze honoring him. When I got to them, Lucky was pointing into the area where the corn field hit the CRP and a hedge row on the west ran down to the corn. Tur Bo was in the corn field on his left and Blaze was in the hedge row on his right. I walked about 20 yards in front of him and nothing flushed. I released them and they all started trailing. Lucky pointed again about 10 yards in front of me with Tur Bo honoring. Again I walked in front of him without anything flushing. All 3 dogs trailed on to the west but I didn’t have permission to be on that property so I called them back.



We hunted to the north along the hedge row in the CRP. We went to the corner then east back to the truck without finding anything. I had only one bird out of 4 coveys and I believe at least 2 more coveys ran out and flushed that I didn’t see.

The wind had blown at about 20 miles an hour all day and I think this makes the quail run and flush, usually before the dogs even get to them. But I knew it was going to be cold and windy before I left the house. It’s still better than sitting at home doing nothing.



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A Kansas Quail Hunt, 1/9/15

Posted on January 11, 2015 by windypointsj1s@aol.com
Blaze

Blaze

Lucky

Lucky

Dolly

Dolly

After 8 days of it being too cold and windy to hunt I went to Kansas on a cold windy day. The season is winding down and I’m not ready for it to be over.

At the first farm, I put the Garmin GPS collar and Sport Dog e-collar on Luke and Dolly. We hunted into a strong north wind. About 150 yards from the truck I saw 3 quail fly into the CRP across the road from where I was hunting. I went on into the wind and when I got to a buffer strip down a fence row next to the milo field I saw both dogs trailing. Evidently, the quail had run a long ways then flushed in front of the dogs far enough that they didn’t see or hear them get up.

I had only seen 3 quail and I thought some may have flown into the buffer strip or a water way that ran through the milo field. Dolly came in front of me and started trailing like quail had run through the area. I was watching her and a quail flushed from behind me. With the strong wind blowing it was hard to tell where the bird was. By the time I got on him he was too far but I shot anyway. We checked the area without finding any more quail.

We continued on to the north around the milo field then crossed over and went back to the south through the CRP. I was circling around to the truck when I checked the GPS and Luke was on point about 150 yards away in the CRP. When I got to him he started trailing. He and Dolly both started trailing with the wind. First one then the other would point. Both dogs went back to hunting and were about 75 yards to my right front when about 8 quail flushed to my left. The quail were about 40 yards from me when they got up then about 8 more flushed. The whole covey flew into some brush along a creek.



We followed the covey and hunted our side of the creek. One quail flushed ahead of me, in the brush, too far ahead for a shot. We crossed the creek into more CRP and hunted along the creek without any success. I moved out into the CRP field and went back into the wind. Dolly went on point in the edge of a plum thicket. Before I got to her Luke came near and backed her. I walked in front of her and nothing flushed. I released her and she started trailing. She trailed for about 25 yards then went on point. I hurried to her and when I got in front of her a quail flushed. It dropped at my shot and Dolly retrieved. We went back and forth without seeing any more quail.

I went back across the creek and as I came up the bank a quail flushed in the brush. We went up and down that side of the creek and moved out into the CRP. We hunted back to the truck without seeing any more quail.

I drove a few miles to another farm and put the collars on Lucky and Tur Bo. This farm had a good draw running through a harvested soy bean field. We started on the south side and hunted into the strong north wind. We had gone about a half mile down the draw when I checked the GPS and it showed Lucky on point about 120 yards ahead of me. When I got close Tur Bo saw him and honored. I went in front of Lucky but nothing flushed. I tapped his head to release him and he moved up then started trailing. He went about 40 yards into the wind and pointed again. When I got to him he started trailing again. He trailed about 20 yards then went back to hunting. I think a covey ran out on him then flushed. We hunted to the end of the property then crossed the draw and hunted back to the truck.



Just down the road a mile or so was another walk-in property with a covey that starts flushing before I or the dogs even get close but I decided to try it. Blaze was the only one that hadn’t been out so I put the collars on her and Lucky. Lucky and Blaze were about 75 yards down the south fence line when I saw 5 quail flying ahead of them. This property was only 1/4 mile deep and the quail flew across the fence off the walk-in property. In case one of the quail stopped short we hunted to the fence then turned north up the west fence line.

We had gone most of the way to the north when I saw Blaze whirl into a point. She was about 50 yards in front of me and I hurried to her. She was pointing into a small clump of multi-floral-rose that was just off the fence line. Lucky saw her and honored. I walked between Blaze and the rose bushes but nothing flushed. I went around to the other side of the roses and a covey of quail flushed right in front of me. They flew directly into the sun. Finally one turned out of the sun and I dropped it. I shot the other barrel but missed.

Neither of the dogs saw my bird drop. I called them in to hunt dead. Lucky made one pass and wanted to go find another bird to point. I kept calling both dogs back. Finally, Blaze pointed. I tried to get her to grab the bird but she didn’t want to move. I kicked the grass and the quail tried to fly but it had a broken wing. Blaze thought it flew and chased but the bird was still there. I called Blaze back and she pointed again. This time the quail had dug into the grass and Blaze reached in and grabbed it.

The covey had all flown to the same corner the first birds had flown to and crossed the fence off of the walk-in. The dogs and I hunted all of the available cover on our side of the fence without finding any singles. We hunted back up to where the birds had originally flushed from then back to the truck.



When the dogs and I first started my hands were really cold but in a short while they were okay. The birds were really wild because of the strong wind that was blowing or from the hunting pressure but whichever it is I’m just glad that I have wild quail to work my dogs on. A cold, windy day hunting quail is still better than sitting home doing nothing.



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Lost Guns And Other Forgotten Items

Posted on January 8, 2015 by windypointsj1s@aol.com
Benelli 20 gauge Montefeltro

Benelli 20 gauge Montefeltro

16 Gauge L C Smith

16 Gauge L C Smith

A5 Browning 20 Gauge

A5 Browning 20 Gauge

I have been guiding at Bird Fever Hunting Preserve quite a bit in December but I haven’t been hunting or training dogs to have anything to write about on my blog so I told Keith that I needed some time off. I have been off all week and the wind chill has been below zero each day. Too cold to train dogs or hunt.

A friend, Dennis Garrison, left me a message about a lost gun that he would tell me about the next time we talked. This got me to thinking about driving off and leaving my gun lying beside the road several years ago.

A lot of years ago I was hunting in Caldwell County, Missouri. Back in those days there were lots of birds but I don’t remember whether this was a good day or not but it was early afternoon when I was quitting. When I got back to my truck the farmer was pulling into the field, on his tractor, near where I was parked. Following him were 3 large dogs. I laid my A-5 Browning 20 gauge down in the ditch beside the road and loaded my dogs into their boxes so they wouldn’t get in a fight with the farmers dogs. I waved at the farmer and got in my truck and drove away.

I was stopped at a stop sign, about 20 miles down the road, waiting on a car to pass, when I reached behind the seat and squeezed the gun case. This is a habit I have picked up over the years because I know how forgetful I can be. Needless to say, the gun case was empty. I made a U-turn.



When I got back to the place I had parked I could see the gun lying in the ditch. Anyone that happened to look would have seen it. I was very lucky it was still there. This is one of the guns that was stolen off of me and I found it 17 years later. Go to October of 2013 to read about that.

A few years ago I was working on some reloads for my skeet shooting. I like to shoot 3/4 ounce loads, for skeet, even in 12 gauge. This saves money but the big thing it cuts down on recoil. The Missouri Conservation Department has a really nice skeet and trap range about 2 miles from my house so, although it was really cold, I decided to shoot one round to see how the reloads shot.

Usually the range is manned by volunteers but on this day, no one was working. As I was getting my stuff out another shooter showed up. Ray was going to shoot 3 rounds so we shot a round together. Then I placed my 12 gauge over and under in a gun rack by the skeet field and pulled for Ray. When he shot his last target, because of the cold, I got in my truck and went home. I park my truck in the garage so I didn’t notice my gun being missing.

A couple of days later I went to get the gun from my truck to clean it. My heart almost stopped when I felt the empty gun case. I drove to the skeet range and asked the volunteer, that was working, if he had seen my gun. He said he hadn’t seen it but it was at the office. Ray had taken it to the office when he found it after I left. I still hear about this from time to time.

In the late 1990’s I had a back operation but before the operation I was taking some really heavy duty pain killers. With enough pain pills I could still bird hunt. I was hunting in Marshal County, Kansas. I had belonged to a hunting club. After hunting the available cover on an eighty acre place I went across the road on some walk-in property. I was hunting a young dog and he made a point in a grassy water way. I walked in front of him and 2 rooster pheasants got up right at my feet. I raised my gun, a 20 gauge Bennelli, to my shoulder and pulled the trigger. It snapped. I had forgot to load my gun.

Later that month I was hunting near Hutchinson, Kansas on some club land. I had hunted the cover on a 320 acre place and came back to the truck to load dogs and go to another farm. I laid my gun on top of the dog box and loaded the dogs. When I got to the next place I reached into the back for my gun. When I felt the empty gun case I knew immediately what I had done. I rushed to the back of the truck and the gun was still lying on the dog box.



A few days later I woke up really early and as I got a pain pill I noticed a paper, with the pills, listing the side effects. One of the side effects was forgetfulness. As forgetful as I am I don’t need anything to make it worse. I quit the pills immediately and an operation fixed my back.

This is a few of the things that have happened to me in a long life of hunting. If I wasn’t so forgetful it could have been a lot longer story.

After I posted this, I got to thinking; Dennis Garrison and I have talked since his message about the lost gun. He forgot to tell me about it and I forgot to ask.



Posted in Hunts, It happened to me. | Comments Off on Lost Guns And Other Forgotten Items