Kansas, Opening Of Quail Season

Posted on November 9, 2014 by windypointsj1s@aol.com
Some CRP with pretty trees in background.

Some CRP with pretty trees in background.

Luke on point in the CRP

Luke on point in the CRP

Today was opening day of quail and pheasant season in Kansas. I hunted walk-in properties near Emporia. The weather guy said it would be windy but that was an understatement. The white caps on the farm ponds looked like tsunamis.

I turned Tur Bo and Lucky out and hunted into the north wind. I had parked along the road near a draw that had a lot of trees and brush. We worked through the draw then over a hill to some hedge rows and CRP next to a wheat stubble field. I had found a covey of quail here while turkey hunting. We checked everything without finding the quail. We made a big circle and hunted back toward the truck. As we made this circle a young doe ran out of some brush and I thought that Tur Bo might chase but he wasn’t behind her. Just a few seconds later a nice buck followed the doe and Tur Bo was right behind him. I turned his e-collar up all the way and held the button down until he quit chasing. I never said anything. He stood there for a while watching me walk along. Pretty soon he was back in front of me hunting. We were about 75 yards from the truck when a covey of quail flushed about 35 yards in front of me. Neither of the dogs were even close to the quail.




I called the dogs in to hunt where I thought the covey had flown to. We started into the wind again and Lucky pointed with Tur Bo backing. When I got close the quail flushed and flew around a tree. I shot but missed. Tur Bo went into the bottom of a little draw but before he could point 2 quail flushed then another got up behind him. He was at least 15 yards from all of these birds.

We made a circle and got back close to the truck again and I checked my Garmin GPS. It showed Lucky on point about 20 yards from me. I found him pointing near a large cedar tree. When I got close the bird went out the other side of the cedar tree. We hunted that area for a few minutes then went to the truck. I drove to another farm.

This farm had milo that hadn’t been harvested but 2 of the fence rows were wide and real weedy. It also had a draw running through the middle. I turned Dolly and Luke out to hunt. Almost immediately they started pointing then moving up. First Dolly would point with Luke honoring then they would move and Luke would point with Dolly honoring. Luke went down the hedge row and Dolly stayed in that area. I checked the GPS and Dolly was on point 46 yards away. She was over a little rise in the ground and as I came over the rise I could see her. I was still 15 yards from Dolly when a covey of about 14 or 15 quail flushed about 30 yards in front of her and flew a circle just out of range around me. Most of them flew into the milo field but a couple were along the draw running through the field.


I was trying to get the dogs into the milo to find those singles that had flown in there and Luke came in front of me, along the draw that ran through the milo field and went on point. I walked up behind him and a quail flushed on the other side of the draw without me getting a shot. There was a CRP field on the other side of the hedge row that I knew was real thick and I didn’t think quail would fly into it. I was watching the dogs working the edge of the CRP and 3 quail flew into the CRP. I don’t know where they came from but the dogs didn’t flush them.

I started into the CRP and a quail flushed behind me. I turned, shot and the quail fluttered down about 35 yards away. It was not hit very hard. I called the dogs in to find the bird. Luke went straight to the bird and picked it up. I was afraid it would be hard to find. It was still alive when I took it from him. I started on through the CRP and checked the GPS and it showed Luke on point behind me about 80 yards. I wallowed my way through the CRP to get to him. He was pointing into a brush pile. I climbed onto the brush pile and started jumping and Luke went into the middle of it. Dolly had come up and I tried to get both of them to flush the bird but they would only move when I bounced the brush pile. Finally, a raccoon came out of the brush pile. That’s what he had been pointing.

I pulled the dogs away from the area and started for the truck. I hadn’t gone very far when I checked the GPS and Luke was on point 85 yards in the opposite direction. I turned and fought my way back to him. I started to go in front of him and a truck was coming down the road about 50 yards away. I waited for them to go by and there was another truck right behind that one. I just knew when the quail flushed they would fly straight at the trucks. The second truck wanted to talk but I waved him on. They went on and I walked in front of Luke and that raccoon shuffled off. Not only Luke was interested in raccoon but now Dolly was too. I finally had to light both of them up with the e-collar to get them to leave Mr. Raccoon alone.




When we got back close to the truck 3 more quail flushed ahead of the dogs. The dogs or I neither one were within 30 yards of those quail. We followed up but didn’t see any more. I ate lunch on the way to another farm.

I will put the afternoon hunt on the blog tomorrow. I feel like it has been too long since I have posted something. I think the reason the quail were so spooky and not holding for the dogs is because of the strong winds. The weeds are rattling against each other and it’s hard for the quail to hear predators coming so they flush at any sound. That’s just my opinion.



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Why Do Dogs Do That

Posted on November 6, 2014 by windypointsj1s@aol.com
Luke

Luke

Maybe a better title would be Why Don’t Dogs Do What We Want. A friend and I were talking a few nights ago about our dogs and about dogs we used to have. We both have had some that would do every thing in the yard but when we went to the field it was like they had never been exposed to any training.

Luke is a good example, he will point pigeons in the yard and will not move when they are flushed. I shoot blank pistols, throw pigeons in front of him and he is absolutely steady. You can’t move him with a pry bar. I took him to another field with quail hidden in the tall grass and snapped a check cord to his collar with a half hitch around his flanks. The first quail he pointed he hit the end of the check cord real hard. The next one he only tightened the check cord and after that he was steady. Later we turned all 3 dogs out to hunt the birds that hadn’t been shot and when a bird flushed in front of him he chased.

One of the reasons, that Luke is hard to break from chasing, is that he has been allowed to chase for 4 years. I have never tried to get my dogs to be steady to wing and shot with the exception of a pointer that I wanted to run in field trials. She was fairly easy because she was young and didn’t get to chase very much. Before she was 2 years old she was steady to wing and shot but she wasn’t

hunted very much.

Lady pointing Wendy backing

Lady pointing Wendy backing

Lady, the best retriever I have ever owned, was a natural retriever but she quit the last day of her first season. It was a good year for quail and she had retrieved all year. On the last day she ran to the first quail I shot, picked it up then dropped it and never even came in to hunt dead the rest of the day. If I got her to come in she wouldn’t pick the bird up even when I threw it for her. She was the first dog I ever force broke to retrieve. In about 3 weeks she was totally force broke and I thought that it was easy to force break a dog to retrieve.

Lucky was also a natural retriever and after his first season I was working him on some pigeons. He pointed a pigeon and I flushed it. When I shot it he ran out, picked it up and spit it out. He never retrieved again until he was force broke. He was the hardest dog I have ever trained. I worked with him on the retrieving bench for about 6 weeks and I don’t think he learned anything. I quit for about a month then decided it had to be done. Everyone says if you stop before you get them trained it is harder the second time. I believe it. I finally got him force broke after about 2 months the second time but most of those days I worked him twice a day. Now he will retrieve.

Whitey

Whitey

Whitey, a litter mate to Blaze, was force broke and would do everything on the bench or close to it perfect. I worked her on the retrieving bench with retrieving dummies, tennis balls and frozen quail. She ran down the bench and brought them all back with a happy tail. I put her on the ground and she retrieved them like she was happy to do it. When I took her hunting she wouldn’t pick the birds up. She would hunt dead but not pick the birds up.

I put her back on the bench and we went through all of the retrieving dummies and frozen quail. She did it perfect. I thought maybe she didn’t like retrieving birds that were still limber or maybe had some life left in them so I got some quail and put one in a sock and worked her on the bench with it. She did it perfectly. I put her on the ground, threw the bird in a sock and she retrieved it perfectly. I took her hunting and she wouldn’t pick the birds up.

I have force broke several dogs before Whitey, and Blaze at the same time, and they retrieve fine. Why, I couldn’t get through to Whitey is beyond me but it happens. If I still owned her I would try again. Most dogs after they retrieve for a while really enjoy it.



Sometime, things work really well and it’s easy to get through to a dog. Emma, a litter mate to Tur Bo, wasn’t honoring. We worked her 2 sessions on the backing dog, then brought in Molly. Molly pointed twice and Emma backed both times.

What will work for most dogs won’t work for all dogs. You have to have more than one way to train. If you are not getting through try something different.



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Training Dogs On Quail

Posted on November 4, 2014 by windypointsj1s@aol.com
Luke

Luke

Tur Bo

Tur Bo

Gailen Cooper, a long time friend that had bought Jack, a litter mate to Tur Bo, and I bought some quail and used the 4-wheeler to hide the quail for our dogs. We worked each dog on 3 or 4 quail while the other two were tied so they could watch. Tur Bo and Luke do a good job pointing pigeons and their style is not always the best but on these quail they looked great and I forgot to bring the camera.

I hid 4 quail in the tall grass then put an e-collar on Luke’s neck and a check cord with a half hitch around his flank and the snap in the d-ring in his collar. Luke has pointed wild quail and is almost 4 years old but now I’m trying to steady him to wing and shot. When he pointed, Gailen would shoot and I would hold the check cord. I didn’t jerk on the check cord, I just let his movement put the amount of pressure according to how hard he pulled on the rope.

I released Luke to hunt across a strong south wind. When he pointed, I stood behind him with the check cord in my hand but with some slack in the cord. Gailen went in front of him kicking the tall grass. The quail flushed and flew toward Luke and me so Gailen had no shot. Luke hit the end of the check cord, hard then stopped. I set him back where he had originally pointed. I stroked his sides then tapped his head to release him.

He went toward the area where the bird had flown but I called him back. Luke is trained to come back when I hit the tone button on my Sport Dog e-collar. He came back in front of us and went back to hunting. He pointed again and again I stood behind him holding the check cord with some slack between us. Gailen walked in front kicking the cover. The quail flew and Gailen shot it. Luke just moved forward enough to tighten the check cord but he didn’t hit the end. I set him back and stroked his sides. I tapped his head and we went to the dead bird. Luke found the bird and pushed it around with his nose but didn’t pick it up. I handed the bird to Gailen and we went back to hunting.




He pointed the third quail. On the pigeons his tail curls a little but it’s always up but on these quail his tail is straight and twelve o’clock. I need my camera. I stepped up behind him and picked up the check cord. Gailen went in front kicking the tall grass. The quail flew right over the top of Luke and me so Gailen had no shot. Luke turned and watched the bird fly without tightening the check cord. I didn’t reset him, I just stroked his sides then tapped his head to release him. In my opinion, a dog should turn and mark the flight of the bird when it flies away. Field trial judges may disagree.

He pointed the fourth quail and again I walked up behind him and picked up the check cord. Gailen went in front kicking the cover. The bird flushed and Gailen made a good shot. Luke didn’t move. I stroked his sides the tapped his head and said fetch. He doesn’t know fetch but I said it anyway. He ran to the bird and picked it up. I put my hand out and said give. He dropped it in my hand. I have worked him on the retrieving bench and he knows give. He will retrieve on the bench but he hasn’t made the connection to the field. That is my fault. Maybe next year. I tied him back to the stake out.

I hid 4 more quail in the cover and Gailen brought Jack out dragging a check cord. Gailen wanted to be the one to walk in front of Jack and wanted me to just stand on the check cord until the quail flew then after the shot let Jack go. Jack hunted really well, covering the ground, rapidly. He pointed and I stood on the check cord with some slack between us. Gailen walked in front of Jack, flushed the quail and shot it. I restricted Jack’s movement just long enough for Gailen to shoot, then released him. Jack picked the quail up and took it to Gailen.

He went back to hunting and pointed his second bird. I walked up behind him and stood on the check cord. Gailen went in front kicking the cover. The quail flew back over Jack and me giving Gailen no shot. I stepped off the check cord letting Jack chase the quail. He chased a little ways and came back and started hunting again.

Jack pointed his third bird and I stood on the check cord. Gailen walked in front of him kicking the tall grass. He kicked for a long time before the quail flushed and Jack stayed on point without moving. He made good on the shot and I released Jack to retrieve. Jack picked the bird up but I’m not sure he was looking for Gailen to give the bird to. Gailen pulled Jack to him with the check cord and petted him before taking the bird from him.




It was about 70 degrees with a strong, maybe 30 mph, south wind blowing and the dogs were getting hot. Gailen decided to give Jack a break and put him back on the stake out. We had bought 12 quail but the guy we got them from had given us an extra. Since there was an extra bird, there was still 2 in the cage after I hid 3 for Tur Bo.

I put the e-collar around Tur Bo’s neck and let him drag the check cord. Gailen was the shooter and I was going to restrict Tur Bo at the flush long enough for Gailen to get a shot. He hunted across the wind and pointed his first bird. I held the check cord and Gailen walked in front kicking the cover. The quail flushed and Gailen shot it. I turned Tur Bo loose but he had marked the bird short. I walked to the area it had fallen and told Tur Bo to hunt dead. He found the quail and picked it up. He wasn’t really what you would call soft mouth but I petted him for a while before taking the bird. He wasn’t ready to give me the bird so I blew a puff of air into his ear. He went back to hunting.

He pointed his second bird and I picked up the check cord. Gailen walked in front kicking the cover. He made Tur Bo stay on point for a while before flushing the quail. It flew over our head so Gailen couldn’t shoot. I released Tur Bo and he chased for a short distance then went back to hunting.

He pointed his third bird and I held the check cord with some slack between us. Gailen went in front kicking the cover. The bird jumped but didn’t fly. Tur Bo chased and it ran around on the ground. Finally he caught it. I squatted down, called Tur Bo and he came to me. I petted him for 30 to 45 seconds then held on to the bird and blew in his ear. He gave up the bird and went back to hunting.

He pointed his fourth bird and I picked up the check cord. Gailen went in front kicking the cover. The quail flushed and Gailen missed. He was shooting a 410 and had shot really well. Even pen raised birds are hard to hit and even harder with a 410. Tur Bo chased for a ways and hunted back to the stake out.

There was 2 quail left on the 4-wheeler and I hid one more for Luke. He hadn’t moved on his last bird and I wanted to let him think about that for a while on the stake out then have him point another. I turned him loose with the e-collar on his neck and dragging a check cord with a half hitch around his flanks. He pointed the quail and I picked up the check cord. Gailen went in front kicking the tall grass. The quail flushed where Gailen couldn’t shoot but Luke didn’t move. I let him stand for 45 seconds or so then tapped his head to release him.

I hid the other bird for Jack. He had only pointed 3 on his turn. Gailen had picked him up because of the heat. He ran down the edge of the cover and went on point. I stepped on the check cord and Gailen went in front kicking the cover. The quail flushed where he had no shot. I stepped off the check cord so Jack could chase.

We had released 13 quail and hadn’t killed very many so we turned all 3 dogs loose to hunt. Luke was the first to point with Tur Bo and Jack honoring. They were all 3 real close together and it would have made a great picture but my camera was at home. I walked in front of Luke and the quail flushed down wind. I couldn’t shoot until it was quite a distance from us and I missed. Then Tur Bo pointed just a few feet from where Luke had pointed with Jack and Luke honoring. When it flushed I knocked it down on the second shot. Tur Bo ran straight to it, picked it up and ran straight to me with it. Before he got to me I squatted down and called him. He ran straight to me and I petted him for a while then said give and blew in his ear. He released the bird and it was still alive. That’s a little more soft mouthed.

Luke pointed again but this time he was in a thicket and I went in to flush but could get close enough to get the bird in the air. Gailen came around the other side and the bird flushed. He knocked it down. When the dogs got close it was just wounded and it was running around. Luke and Tur Bo were right behind it but Tur Bo was the one who caught it. He turned and came right to me with it. I squatted down and petted him. I took hold of the bird and blew in his ear. He released it and it was still alive. With a little work I may have found the dog to replace Lady as my retriever.



Gailen was on one side of a fence row and I was on the other. I was on the down wind side and Jack came in front of me and pointed. Gailen could tell that he was a long way from the bird so he asked me to tap his head to move him up. He took about 2 steps and went back on point. His head was up and his tail was 12 o’clock. Did I say I left my camera home. When the bird flushed neither of us had a shot.

We didn’t kill all of the birds we had released but it was one of the best training sessions I’ve had with these dogs. All of the dogs pointed, backed and tried to retrieve. It was a successful day.



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Quail Season, Opening Day

Posted on November 3, 2014 by windypointsj1s@aol.com
Tur Bo

Tur Bo

Blaze

Blaze

Lucky

Lucky

Dolly.

Dolly.

Luke

Luke

Don Bolen and I have opened the Missouri season the last few years and we left my house about 7:30 to hunt near Bogard, Missouri. We had plenty of dog power with 6 English setters in the dog boxes in the back of my truck. The first farm we drove by didn’t have the crops harvested and we knew we wouldn’t see our dogs if we hunted here so we went to another farm owned by a friend of Don.

The farm we hunted had some corn that had been harvested and some soy beans that was yet to be combined. Don turned out his setter, Susie. and I put GPS collars and e-collars on Lucky and Tur Bo. We had parked by a pond with some cover around it and Susie went around the pond, through a bean field and over the hill. We think she got after a deer. Don waited at the truck for Susie to come back and went on around the harvested corn field and up a hedge row.

I checked the Garmin GPS and Tur Bo was about 300 yards ahead of me. I stopped and called him back. I run the dogs with Sport Dog e-collars that have a tone (so high pitched that I can’t hear it) and I have trained the dogs to come when I hit the tone button. Tur Bo came back and then went into the hedge row, checking every bush and blade of grass like he was expecting a bird to fly. I think he may have flushed a covey and chased it for 2 to 300 yards.

I made a circle around the corn field and came back toward the truck to check on Don and Susie. I was coming down the edge of the soy bean field near a wide draw with a creek running down it and both dogs in front of me about a 100 yards. A large covey of 12 or 15 quail flew out of the middle of the soy bean field and flew down to the draw behind me. The quail were about 60 yards from me when they flew and a several hundred yards from the dogs. If they hadn’t flown I would not have known they were there.

I went on back to the truck to check on Don and Susie. Susie was still gone. I told Don about the quail and while we were talking Tur Bo jumped onto the tail gate so I put him in the dog box. I think he had flushed some quail so I decided to just run Lucky on the birds I had seen fly.

Don and I went to the area where I had seen the quail fly. Lucky ran along side of the draw and went on point. I went in front of him about 10 yards and nothing got up. I tapped his head and he moved up about 15 feet and went back on point. I walked in front of him again nothing flushed. Lucky and I repeated this all the way across the draw to the far side. He was on point in front of me when Don yelled, “I heard some flush.” I thought I had heard some fly, also.




The field on the other side was CRP and Don and I started around it with Lucky hunting inside the draw as we went around. I checked the GPS and he was on point about 10 yards inside the draw. We walked over where we could see him and he was on point in a mass of black berry vines. I tried to get him to flush although he’s not been trained to do that. He did move up about 10 feet and went back on point but he was still inside the black berries. I kicked the edge trying to flush some thing without fighting the black berries. Finally, about 5 quail flushed and put a tree between us, immediately. I shot once but only out of frustration. I didn’t see a quail when I pulled the trigger.

When went back around the CRP field and back to the truck without finding any of the quail. When we got back to the truck Susie still hadn’t returned. Don put a jacket near where we had parked the truck and we started driving. We drove along the road looking for her and although we could see a long way we couldn’t see her. There was a trail on the other side of this farm so we started driving this trail looking for her. We went through a couple of low spots with no trouble then went into one and the truck just dropped.

It wouldn’t go forward or backward. Don and I picked up grass where the trail had been mowed and put that under the wheels trying to get traction. That didn’t work and we tried dead limbs and trees. That didn’t work either. As we were trying to put stuff under the wheels Susie came to us. She didn’t seem concerned, she wasn’t panting or thirsty. It was like she had been just let out then picked up.

Don was raised in this area and ever once in a while he would try to call someone to tow us out. We were probably about a mile from the closest road. After about the third or fourth call he finally found someone home. Henry Lindley pulled us out. We had spent about 2 hours trying to get the truck out. He wouldn’t take any money so when we go back we will take him a gift.

After being stuck our heart wasn’t really in hunting but I had 3 dogs that hadn’t been out of the truck. I turned Blaze and Dolly out. Don put the beeper collar on Susie and ran her. We made a pass around the area without finding anything. We drove to the south edge of this farm and I put Dolly up and put Luke out with Blaze. After another round without finding anything we drove over to pick up the jacket Don had left in case Susie returned to the area where we had originally parked the truck.




When we parked for Don to get his jacket I decided to run Tur Bo and Luke on the other side of the road. I told Don that we weren’t going all the way around it but I would check it to the top of the hill. This field is an 80 acre corn field that had been harvested. It’s 1/4 mile deep and 1/2 mile long. When I got to the top of the hill both dogs looked so good running that I went on to the back then south all the way then back to the road. I called Don and had him pick me up at the road to save a half mile walk with no cover for the dogs to work.

Although this opener had better weather than most the hunting was pretty typical for early season quail hunting. Even though we hadn’t found many birds and we had been stuck for 2 hours I still enjoyed it. Sounds crazy but if I can get a little dog work it makes my day.



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