An Oklahoma Quail Hunt 12/8/14

Posted on December 9, 2014 by windypointsj1s@aol.com
I was trying to show how tall the shinnery oak is on the grasslands.

I was trying to show how tall the shinnery oak is on the grasslands.

More shinnery oak.

More shinnery oak.

6 quail from the first place I hunted.

6 quail from the first place I hunted.

I left my house about 4:30 am heading to Oklahoma, quail hunting. I stopped in Enid, Oklahoma to buy my five day out of state hunting license. While the guy was filling it out I told him I wanted whatever it took to quail hunt. Last February, I bought a five day license and quail hunted. The guy showed me in the book where you can no longer quail hunt on the five day license. I had to pay $142 for a yearly out of state for less than 1 month. It expires December the 31st.

I stopped at the Black Kettle National Grasslands office just north of Cheyenne, Oklahoma to get a new map of the available hunting land. There is 31,000 acres to hunt on in this area. If you need more there is Pack Saddle Wildlife Management area a few miles from here that has another 15,000 acres. The grasslands is not just one big chunk of land. The way I understand it, these are farms that the owners couldn’t pay the taxes on in the dust bowl days and the land reverted to the federal government. There will be a 160 acres here and down the road a ways maybe a 320. The properties are well marked and with the $10 map from the office you can find them all.

It was really warm, 64 degrees, with just a gentle breeze from the south at the first place I stopped. I had stopped twice on the way down to let the dogs out and when I got to the first place I turned all 5 out again. The boys, Luke, Lucky and Tur Bo came right back to load up so I put the Garmin GPS collars and the Sport Dog e-collars on Blaze and Dolly.



I had found a really wild covey on this farm, in February, along the road. So we went all the way to the corner then started into the south wind. I hadn’t gone far when I checked the GPS and it showed both dogs on point 15 yards behind me. They were in a large patch of shinnery oak. When I got close to the patch of oak the quail started getting up all around me. One started north and I dropped it then turned and dropped one going south. I started to the one that had flown north and Blaze found it just as I walked up. I called Dolly in to find the one that had flown south and Blaze went on point. I went to her telling her it was dead. She picked it up and dropped it in my hand.

We made a circle to a wind mill for water then back toward the truck. There was some good cover on the other side of the truck and I don’t like to always go straight to the truck. I often pass the truck so the dogs aren’t quitting as soon as they see the truck. Dolly started trailing and Blaze was getting excited in the shinnery along the road. A covey of quail started flushing behind me. They were spread out and not all got up at the same time. It was a big covey and finally one got up close enough for me to shoot at and I made a lucky shot. I picked my bird up and started following in the direction the quail had flown. They had flown to the other side of the truck.

Just past the truck Dolly pointed and Blaze backed. Before I got to Dolly about 30 quail boiled out about 30 yards in front. The birds I had flushed must have got with another covey. I shot both barrels and didn’t turn a feather. I was in awe of that many birds. That’s not why I missed, I missed because I didn’t pick out a bird.

When we got to area the singles had flown to, Dolly started trailing. Blaze was hunting back and forth. Dolly trailed for about a hundred yards then finally pointed. A quail flushed in front of me and one behind. I hit the one in front but didn’t have a shot at the other. Both dogs ran to the quail I had hit so I just stood there expecting them to bring it to me. They rolled it around and went back to hunting. It was out in the open so I guess they figured I could get the easy ones.



The dogs were out in front of me and I walked a quail up. It dropped at my shot and Blaze came in to find the dead bird. Dolly pointed in some real short shinnery and when I walked in two quail flushed behind me. I dropped one and missed the other. Dolly brought me the dead bird. She went about 25 yards and pointed again. When I walked in front of her a quail flushed in front and one behind. I shot at the one in front and missed. Twice.

These two dogs had been out for about an hour in 64 degree weather and were ready for a rest. We hunted back to the truck. I thought some fresh dogs might find some more of the singles so I turned Tur Bo and Luke out. Tur Bo hasn’t been out for a month since getting hung in a barb wire fence. They hunted really well but didn’t come up with anything so I loaded them up and went to another place.

Lucky was the only dog that hadn’t been out so I put him and Dolly out. It was late and I didn’t think we would hunt very long. Lucky was ahead of me about 30 yards in some shinnery when quail started flushing. I don’t know what happened but quail were flying. I had to wait for the quail to come around a tree before I could shoot. I missed and reloaded. A quail got up right in front of me and I dropped it. Another flushed but flew right into the sun. I didn’t even shoot. Lucky retrieved my dead bird.

I had seen a couple of the singles land in a low spot ahead of us so we hunted in that direction. Two quail flushed close to Dolly and I missed, twice. We continued on to the north until we ran out of the shinnery oak then moved over and started back. Lucky pointed then Dolly pointed but when I walked in front of them nothing flushed. About a hundred yards ahead a quail flushed about 25 yards ahead of me. I shot but missed then another flushed. I shot again but missed.



We came back through where the covey had originally flushed from and 2 quail flushed. I was far enough away that I didn’t shoot but I hurried to that area. Two more quail flushed from the shinnery and I missed again. I do better if the dogs will point these things. It was getting late so we headed for the truck. Seven quail in about 2 1/2 hours is my best hunt of the year, so far.

Did I say that Oklahoma won’t let me quail hunt on a $75, 5 day permit but made me pay $142 for twenty three days. Worth every penny of it.



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Kansas Quail Hunt 12/2/14

Posted on December 4, 2014 by windypointsj1s@aol.com
Lucky

Lucky

Luke

Luke

Luke pointing Dolly honoring.

Luke pointing Dolly honoring.

I have been hunting around Emporia, Kansas a lot so I decided to go to another area. I hunted around Marysville, Kansas a lot, a few years ago, but the bird population plummeted so I haven’t been there for a few years. So I loaded the dogs and made the 2 1/2 hour drive.

The first place I hunted was a full section, 640 acres. It has a harvested corn field on the south end and a soy bean field on the north with CRP in the middle. It looked like they allowed the farmers to bale the CRP but there was still a lot of cover in the draws. I put the Garmin GPS collars and the Sport Dog training collars on Lucky and Blaze. We started around the corn field. There is a draw that runs out of the CRP almost into the corn field that I find quail in often but today they weren’t there.

We took the CRP edge near the corn field to the road on the west and dropped south to follow the creek back to the east side. The corn comes to the edge of the creek and across the creek the land rises into a steep hillside that is too steep for the farmer to mow or plant in grass. It has grown into a tangle of saplings and trees. We started back to the east fighting our way through the tangle. We were within about 1/4 mile of the east road when I heard a covey flush. They flew to the east but only about 75 yards and went back down. Shortly after I saw the quail I saw Blaze. She was excited so either she ran through them or they got up in front of her.



We followed in the direction the quail had flown. Lucky was excited by the way Blaze was combing the ground or maybe there is some communication between dogs that we don’t know about. The area the birds had flown toward was sloping down hill into a ravine that ran into the creek. There was some mature trees but also good grass to hold the singles. I was standing on the side of the hill watching the dogs work. Blaze got within about 25 yards of 7 or 8 quail and they boiled out. They flew off the walk-in property. Blaze started to chase and I whoaed her. She stopped. I called Lucky in to check the area for any stragglers. He and Blaze worked it real well without finding anything.

We continued on to the east and just before we got to the road Lucky pointed with Blaze honoring. I walked in front of him and nothing flushed. I tapped him on the head to release him but he didn’t move. He thought the bird was right in front of him. I kicked right under his nose but still nothing flew. He started trailing then went back to hunting. I think one of the singles had sat there for a while then ran a ways and flushed. We hunted back to the truck without finding anything else.

I drove around to the north side of the section to the bean field. The wind was blowing really hard from the south and this field had a creek on the south and the land on the other side was about 60 or 70 feet higher than this bottom ground. I was hoping that this would block some of the wind. I put the collars on Luke and Dolly. This soy bean field didn’t go all the way to the road on the west it only went to the creek that crossed the road on the north. We started down the creek with Luke on the west side and Dolly on the east side. The creek ran south for about 1/4 mile then turned east and ran to the road. When we got to the road we started back to the north in some CRP. Part of the CRP had been mowed for hay but next to the field was a strip that hasn’t been mowed in a long time. There were a few plum thickets but mostly it was just thick, tall grass. We hunted back to the truck without finding anything.

I ate my lunch on the way to the next farm. I drove quite a ways south and east to find the next farm. I was going to drive by some and make up my mind where to go but the first place I saw looked good. It was only 80 acres but it had corn and soy beans that had been harvested. A ditch ran from east to west with CRP on both sides with some brush and trees. There was a good hedge row on the west with a buffer strip about 50 yards wide. Luke and Dolly hadn’t been out very long on the first farm so I used them again.



The wind was still really strong from the south so I crossed the ditch and started to the west. Dolly and Luke worked to the edge of the ditch and both pointed into the wind. I started to them and a hen pheasant flushed across the ditch. They started on down the ditch and another hen flushed. We came to a patch of brush and trees. The dogs were on the outside edge and Dolly pointed with Luke backing. They were looking into this tangle of brush so I went inside to flush the birds out. When I got close to her she moved about 30 yards and went on point again with Luke honoring. I was still inside the brush so I came on down and walked in front of her. A covey of quail flushed and flew toward me. It was like station 8 on the skeet field. I took a shot and a quail dropped at about 15 feet. I must have caught it with the edge of the pattern because it didn’t destroy it. Dolly retrieved it and I gave her the head.

We worked the CRP to the west then all the way back to the east edge of the property without finding any of the singles. The east fence row had some cover so we started to the north along it. We got to the back without finding anything and crossed the back to the west where there was a good hedge row with a buffer strip. We started south into the wind and the GPS showed Luke on point about 30 yards from me. I watched the GPS as I went toward him and I saw Dolly honor.

There was a small island between a ditch and a little creek with no trees, just knee high grass. Luke was standing in the middle with a high head and a twelve o’clock tail. Dolly was honoring with a lot of style, also. My camera was at home. All year long the quail have been running out and flushing way in front of us. This time I walked about 10 yards in front of Luke and the quail flushed at my feet. I threw my gun to my shoulder and picked out one bird. I had on gloves and didn’t get the safety off. All I could do was say, “good boy, Luke.”

The quail had flown into the strong south wind and we followed. Luke pointed at an old brush pile that had some large trees growing out of it. I pulled my glove off and walked in. About 5 quail flushed and I knocked one down in the brush pile. I called Dolly in to hunt dead. She came in front of me and pointed. I kept telling her it was dead but she wouldn’t move. There was a log lying in between us that was too high to go over and had a lot of brush below that made it hard to go under. Luke came in and without seeing Dolly went on point on the same bird. I tried to get him to get the bird but he wouldn’t move either. I broke my way through the brush under the log and tapped Dolly on the head. She moved and the wounded bird ran toward Luke. He laid down and the bird was under him. He was afraid if he stood the bird would get away so he rolled around until he got the bird in his mouth. He dropped it in my hand still alive.



As we worked the area for more singles a rooster and another hen pheasant flushed across the ditch from us. It was getting late so we worked our way back to the truck. When there was lots of quail, a lot of years ago, I would hunt until dark but now I quit well before dark to let them get together. It’s more important to have wild birds to work our dogs on than to have a full game bag.



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Kansas Quail Hunt 12/1/14

Posted on December 3, 2014 by windypointsj1s@aol.com
Blaze

Blaze

Lucky

Lucky

Dolly a few years agop

Dolly a few years agop

We have Century Link for an internet provider. It went down on Thanksgiving and they said it would be back up at 3:00 pm Friday. At 3:00 pm Friday they said it would be back up at 3:30 today, Monday. At 3:30 today they would only say they would have it up as soon as possible. About 8:00 pm today it finally started working. If we could have any other provider we would.

My second problem started Saturday. I guided at Bird Fever on Friday and Saturday. On the way home Saturday a light came on and said service advance track or something like that. It’s done that before but when I switched it off it came right back on. I only drove a couple of miles Sunday but it kept saying service advance track. This morning I called the Ford dealer and got it set up for repair. The light went off on the way to the repair shop and hasn’t came back on. I canceled the repair but had them change the oil. I got home early so I loaded dogs and went to Kansas quail hunting.

I went back to the area around Emporia, Kansas. The first farm I hunted was about 80 acres of milo with a water way running through the middle. One side had a weedy buffer zone with a small patch of brush. We circled the milo and started down the buffer zone. The dogs were real birdy at the very end of the buffer strip. When I got to the end of the buffer strip I went through a patch of brush and a deer that was bedded down jumped up. The doe started to run and a covey of quail flushed. I shot once but I don’t remember picking a bird, I just shot.




I couldn’t see the quail all the way but I called Luke and Dolly in to go in the direction they had flown. They had flown toward a large CRP field that is really thick. We got out in the thick grass and Dolly started trailing. She goes real slow but usually comes up with the bird. Luke was doing what Luke does best. He was covering the ground. Dolly trailed for about 75 yards when I saw 3 quail flush about 40 yards ahead of us. I saw Luke and he wasn’t close enough to the 3 quail to even hear them flush.

Dolly continued to trail then she pointed. I checked the Garmin GPS and Luke was on point about 35 yards ahead of us. Dolly was closer so I went to her. Just as I got to her 4 quail flushed in front of Luke. He hadn’t moved they just flushed. I never got a shot. Dolly went back to trailing but the quail that Luke pointed must have been the ones she was trailing. When she got to that area she just went back to hunting.

Sometimes when Dolly trails like that it’s a real pain but sometimes she comes up with birds the other dogs don’t even know are around. We went back and forth in the CRP without finding any more birds. We came back through the area the quail and deer had flushed from, on the way back to the truck. A quail flushed from in front of me and I dropped it. It thumped when it hit the ground. I knew it was dead and I didn’t want to flush any others that were near, so I didn’t move. I called the dogs. Luke and Dolly came in and checked the area but that was the only one.



I went to pick up my bird and didn’t see it. I got the dogs in to hunt dead and they didn’t come up with anything. Dolly went on point just a little way from where I thought it had fallen. I kept telling her it was dead and she finally went in but it wasn’t there. We spent about 15 minutes looking but never came up with it. Since we were going to be hunting just down the road, at the next place, I marked the spot so we could come back to find it.

I had not hunted the first farm this year but the next place I hunted last week and had been here before the season opened. Usually I find turkeys here but this year I haven’t seen any but I found 2 coveys of quail before the season opened. I put the GPS collars as well as Sport Dog training collars on Blaze and Lucky.

This farm has a wheat stubble field surrounded by CRP. Last week there was a covey of quail close to where I parked the truck so that is where we started. We made a couple of passes but the quail were not at home. We started on around to the back and I saw Blaze running like she was chasing something. I don’t know if the quail flushed ahead of her or she ran through them but she was excited. We hunted in the direction that she was running but found nothing.

As we came back through a brushy area both dogs got birdy. Finally, Lucky pointed and Blaze honored. I went in front of him but nothing flushed. I went back and tapped him on the head but he didn’t want to move. I kicked in front of him and he moved up then went on. I suspect a quail had either ran out or flushed just before we got there. We hunted back to the truck.




I drove back to where I had knocked the bird down and released all 4 dogs to hunt dead. I liked the way all 4 hunted dead but we never came up with the bird. We spent about 15 minutes looking. I hate losing birds. To not make a good effort to find dead birds is disrespecting a great bird.

I had used Lucky and Dolly guiding at Bird Fever Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. They had Saturday afternoon and Sunday off but they were still tired so I cut this hunt short. I’m still finding quail most places I go so it’s a good year.



Posted in Dogs, Hunts | Comments Off on Kansas Quail Hunt 12/1/14

Kansas Quail Hunt 11/25/14

Posted on November 26, 2014 by windypointsj1s@aol.com
Dolly pointing in a plum thicket

Dolly pointing in a plum thicket

Dolly pointing Lucky honoring

Dolly pointing Lucky honoring

Lucky pointing in a plum thicket

Lucky pointing in a plum thicket

I met Don and Linda Hansen near Emporia, Kansas at the first farm we were going to hunt. I have hunted this farm but not this year. This farm is really big and I don’t think many people get more than 1/4 mile off the road. I usually don’t spend much time along the edges. I hope everyone doesn’t think the same way.

Don brought Tigger a young pointer and I turned Luke and Dolly out. Don had the Garmin GPS track and train on Tigger. Luke and Dolly were wearing the Garmin GPS and Sport Dog training collars. This farm has a lot of CRP with some milo fields, also. The dogs circled some milo fields as we started toward the back.

We checked most of the places that we had found birds before without seeing anything. We were almost to the back, with all three dogs in front of us, when we saw a covey of quail flush. Most of them flew back in the direction that we had come from but we checked the other direction first. The dogs would get birdy and try to point and quail would flush in front of them. We never got a shot. We were close to a point of this farm that joined some land that wasn’t in the walk-in program so we checked it before going in the direction the covey had flown.

We fought our way through some thickets where we thought the quail had flown without finding anything. There was an old abandoned road with hedge rows on both sides that we went down to the end and started back. The dogs started getting real birdy and all three pointed at different times. They would point then move up, then point again. Don and I were a little ways in front of the dogs when 5 or 6 quail flushed then 5 or 6 more. They were getting up in the brush 20 yards from us. I shot and a quail dropped. I was between Don and the birds so he didn’t get a shot.


We saw where a few of the birds had flown and went in that direction. Tigger went on point in the edge of a milo field with Luke and Dolly backing. Four quail got up in the edge of some timber in front of us. Don made a good shot on one but I didn’t have a shot. Dolly picked his bird up and got almost out of the brush and dropped it. Luke did that a hunt or two ago and I crawled into a thicket and got it but this time I made Dolly go back to get the quail.

The second bunch of birds from this covey flew into a big tangle of plum thicket and cedar trees. We started into this and Dolly pointed at the base of a cedar tree and when we started by her we heard the bird flush on the other side. We started trying to get through the tangle and Luke pointed. When we got close his bird flushed without giving us a shot. We were still trying to get out of this tangle when Don said that Tigger was on point. She was out of the tangle, on the other side of a fence, in grass less than knee high. I crossed the fence and waited on Don but he couldn’t cross where he was at. He told me to go ahead and shoot a bird for Tigger.

I started toward Tigger and a quail flushed behind me. I whirled around and missed with both barrels. When I shot 4 quail flushed out of the knee high grass, right in front of Tigger and floated back to better cover. Luckily, Tigger hasn’t hunted enough to know what I was supposed to do or she would have bitten me.

We followed in the direction that the 4 quail had flown. The dogs were working the edges with Don and me in the middle. A quail flushed in front of me and I made a lucky shot. Dolly came in and retrieved the bird. She dropped it in my hand so I gave her the head. We saw some more quail flush ahead of the dogs without us getting a shot.

We came back to the milo field and started around the edge when I checked the GPS and it showed Dolly on point across the milo field. We started across with me checking the GPS often. Before we got to her Luke was backing. Dolly was pointing toward us as we walked through the milo field. A single quail flushed and we both shot. The quail dropped. Luke picked it up then dropped it. He doesn’t retrieve, yet. I got Dolly in to retrieve. She dropped the bird in my hand. I gave her another head. We went on around this milo field, crossed a creek and around another milo field without finding any more birds.



We ate lunch then drove to a small farm that had about 40 acre milo field on one side of the road and a larger field of CRP across the road. I had been to this farm earlier in the year and a covey had flown from the milo to the CRP and I only found one. Don turned Tigger out and I used Lucky and Blaze. Linda, being naturally smarter than Don and me stayed at the truck. We hunted along the side of the milo in a nice buffer strip. When we got to a draw that ran through the milo field and joined the buffer strip all three dogs got birdy. All three dogs were about 15 or 20 yards in front of us when I saw a single quail flush about 50 yards ahead of us. Then 5 or 6 birds flushed followed by 5 or 6 more. I shot twice without turning a feather.

Most of the quail had flown across the road into the CRP but a few had flown down the hedge row. We followed the hedge row to the end of the property then crossed to the other side and started back. Don heard a quail flush behind us. We went back a little way and the dogs came in front of us. Blaze and Lucky went on point almost side by side. They were right in front of me and I waited on Don to come over. Lucky could tell the bird was gone but Blaze hasn’t had enough experience. When Don came up Lucky went back to hunting. Blaze moved but she didn’t want to leave that area.

We hunted on down the hedge row then crossed the road and hunted the CRP. The CRP is really thick but we saw the birds fly toward it. We hunted up then back then went deeper into it and made a couple of circles without moving another bird. There was another farm not far away where I had found quail this year so we decided to try it.

Lucky and Blaze hadn’t hunted as much as Dolly and Luke had so I let them out again. Don had only brought Tigger so he put him out. About 200 yards from the truck I checked the GPS and Lucky was on point a little over a 100 yards behind us. Evidently he came out of truck, hunted about 50 yards and went on point. We had walked away from him. When we got to him his head was higher than normal and he was looking way out front of him. Don was on his left and I was on his right. Before we got to Lucky a large covey flushed. They had run about 30 yards then flushed. Don and I both shot but neither of us had a chance.


We started in the direction the covey had flown. When we got close to some thickets I thought I saw a quail on the ground. I took a couple of steps a quail flushed. I shot and the bird dropped into a thicket 20 yards or so in front of Don. Don retrieved it and wondered if hew got the head like I give Dolly.

We went on to a farm road and turned to go back through where the birds were. We hadn’t gone far when we saw Tigger pointing with Lucky and Blaze honoring. When we went in 4 quail flushed. I heard Don shoot and I hit a quail that flew my way. Lucky ran to my bird and retrieved it. He didn’t stay around long enough to get a head. He just drops his birds and goes back to hunting. I went to help Don find his bird.

Don said he had hit it hard and not taken his eyes off the spot. I got Blaze and Lucky in to hunt dead. Lucky really wants to go find some more birds and Blaze doesn’t know to hunt dead. We tried for about 10 minutes to find the downed bird with no luck. There was a plastic dish lying on the ground so I marked the spot with it. I told Don when we got close to the truck I would put Blaze up and get Dolly out. She hunts dead better than Lucky or Blaze.

We hunted back through the field and on past where the covey had flushed from originally without any more dog work. I put Blaze up and put the collars on Dolly. We hunted back to where Don’s dead bird was and I had Dolly hunt dead. We spent another 10 minutes or so trying to find the dead bird without any luck. We left that spot again and made another round back through where we thought the singles were located. It was getting late but we decided to make one more pass to see if we could get another single up.

When we got in line with where Don’s bird was we decided to make one more search for it. This time I wanted to go on past the spot he thought it had fallen in case it had ran. We got to the plastic dish we were using for a marker and I tried to get the dogs in to hunt dead again. As I got the dogs in Don parted the grass about a foot from the plastic dish and there the quail laid. The grass was tall and had fallen over. It was so dry that when I pulled on the grass dust came off. I really don’t know why the dogs couldn’t smell the dead bird but after three tries we had it. Don and I both felt better. We hate to lose a bird. That was Don’s second retrieve so he got 2 heads.



We walked a long ways but we moved 4 coveys of quail and had a lot of dog work so it was a good day. As I write this, tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day and I have a lot to be thankful for. The Lord has blessed me with good health and with enough to feed and hunt several bird dogs. He’s also blessed me with a good wife, good kids and grand kids. My life is complete. May the Lord bless you even more than He’s blessed me.



Posted in Dogs, Hunts | Comments Off on Kansas Quail Hunt 11/25/14