Traveling Pointing Dogs

The last day of the 20/21 season is actually the fifteenth of January but the weather forecast was for really strong winds on the fifteenth. Forecasters were saying light winds on the fourteenth but when we got out it was blowing about 30 miles an hour with stronger gusts. It was also really cloudy and cold. But we were happy to be there.

Vince’s German short haired pointing quail.

Sally pointing a quail.

Boss and Abby honoring Sally. Abby is the black spotted one.

On the way up Vince and I stopped at the Hungry Mule Cafe in Lathrop Missouri. They have a big breakfast that consists of 3 eggs, sausage, bacon, hash browns and toast. We plan our trips around that breakfast. We were to meet Jim Needam in Polo Missouri at 9:00 am. We figured in enough time for a leisurely breakfast.

Vince and I had stopped by the man that owned a place we hunted on a few days before and he told us about the place we were going today. Another 500+ acres that he owned. Neither of us had ever seen the place, the owner had just given us directions to where it was.

We parked in a large milo field and turned our dogs loose. Jim had brought 2 pointers, Vince had both his short hair, Allie and his English cocker, Maggie. I had only brought Sally and Mann, my English setters.

The visibility was restricted by the clouds almost lying on the ground. We started up a draw that was close to where we had parked. We hadn’t gone far when the GPS showed Mann on point near the edge of the road. When I got close he was standing on top of a hill right near the road. We all walked in. I was down in the draw, Vince was along the hill Mann was on and Jim was on the other side. A large covey flushed. I just saw one quail for a split second and shot but missed. I heard Jim and Vince shoot but we didn’t need a retriever. The quail had flown through some brush and trees then across the road, I think. We never found a single, on our side of the road.

We had gone to the east trying to find some singles and in the wind we really had to yell to be heard. Mann went on point 480 yards to the east and when I told Vince we started that way but Jim never heard us. He went north. In the howling wind and low clouds we had a hard time finding Mann. We got close then he was moving. In the same area we had points from Sally and Allie, too. Each time the dogs would be moving before we got to them.

We gathered our dogs and started trying to find Jim. We heard him shoot a time or two, so we knew which way to go. As we were trying to make our way through a low spot near a creek Mann went on point. When we got close we saw he was pointing into a plum thicket. Sally was honoring then she ran in front and flushed the covey. She usually doesn’t do that but she did this time.

We didn’t get a shot. The covey had flown into some cover just a short distance away, we thought. As we worked back and forth I saw a single flush from in front of Mann and Allie. It flew over me and dropped into a small plum thicket when I shot. Allie ran to it. I told Vince to call her, thinking she had picked up the bird. She came to him without the quail.

Jim’s pointer pointing with Mann and Sally honoring.

Vince sent his English cocker spaniel, Maggie, in to retrieve. She’s totally business, when sent to retrieve. She went straight to the quail, scooped it up and dropped it in Vince’s hand.

We continued to hunt for more singles and even saw some get up in front of the dogs. The GPS vibrated, showing Sally on point near a plum thicket. She was only a few yards away. When we got there it was hard to see her. She was in some tall weeds, twisted into a circle, almost. Vince went in on her left and I was on the right. Two quail flushed out the other side of the plum thicket without getting very high. We didn’t get a shot. Vince said, “We’re going to have to get smarter about how we flush these birds”. I agree.

We continued on toward where we thought Jim had gone. With the low clouds it was hard for us to even know which direction we were going.

Sally honoring Mann.

We had been around a milo field most of the time but when we got close to a soy bean field we had several points. Sally started it but when we got to her she started trailing. All the other dogs started trailing. It may have been a flock of turkeys but, whatever it was, there was lots of scent.

We got the dogs away from that and started on. Vince’s short hair, Allie, went on point along the soy bean field. When we got close Mann was honoring. There was a small plum thicket by the soybean field and she was looking into it. A good covey of quail flushed, flying across the soybean field. I only had one shot but a bird fell when I pulled the trigger. Vince had pulled a bunch of feathers but his bird didn’t fall. Sally must have been honoring, too. She ran out, scooped up my bird and dropped it in my hand.

This covey had flown into some really rough cover so we didn’t even follow them. We started on and Jim found us. Just before we got together a rooster pheasant flushed way out in front of Jim. He shot but it was a long shot and he missed.

Jim had seen two coveys while we had been separated. We headed back where all of the dogs had been pointing earlier to see if we could come up with some birds. Now we had 5 pointing dogs and 1 flusher.

Mann on point.

We crossed a creek and started back toward the trucks. There were several draws that ran into the milo field and we were trying to check most of them out. Vince and Jim stayed on the upper edge and I dropped down along the bottom. As I walked along I felt the GPS vibrate. Sally was on point and in just a few seconds Mann was honoring.

Before I got to her I waved at Vince to let him know that she was on point. Before he got there I saw Mann wagging his tail. That was unusual. Then before Vince got there he went way around Sally and went back to hunting. Usually, he is really staunch on his honors.

Vince got there and told me to get ready he would run them out to me. I got where I could shoot if they came my way. Sally was still looking good when Vince went in front of her. Then he yelled, “It’s a huge raccoon. It must weigh 40 pounds. It’s huge”. That must have been the reason that Mann hadn’t stuck around when he backed her. He knew it was a raccoon. I called Sally and she went toward the raccoon. I hit her with a medium 4 from the e-collar and she came away. She went back to hunting.

Vince with Mann going one way and a pointer going the other.

Every once in a while all day it had rained a little. Never very hard but just before we got to the trucks it started to sleet. Hard. It hurt when it hit our face. Vince and I decided it was time to quit but since it was the next to last day and the last day was going to be terrible, Jim decided to hunt a Conservation area, that was close, before he quit for the season. He’s tougher than Vince and me, we went home.

I hunt a lot with Vince Dye and he also coyote hunts. He stopped to ask a man if he could coyote hunt on his property and he said, “sure. And if you want to hunt quail, you can do that too. And bring your buddy.” That almost sounds like a dream. But it happened to Vince.

Mann on point.

Sally, tired but honoring.

Mann on point.

When we got there Vince turned his German shorthair, Ally and his English cocker spaniel, Maggie loose. I had only brought Sally and Mann so I turned both of them loose. We weren’t 50 yards from the truck when we saw quail flying back over us. The dogs hadn’t smelled them or at least gave no indication of them that we noticed. Vince knocked one down and Maggie retrieved it for him.

We thought the birds had flown across the road but in just a few minutes Mann was on point on our side of the road, looking into a plum thicket. Ally honored. One quail flushed and Vince knocked it down. When the bird flushed Mann went left and Ally went right. Ally went on point on the west side of the plum thicket.

A covey flushed and Vince knocked two birds down. I came over to help him find his birds. Maggie had retrieved the first for him but he was looking for the second. Just before I got to him I walked a quail up and shot it. Sally made a good retrieve. We looked for a long time for Vince’s other bird without finding it.

We went on down the hedge row to the west. Vince had hunted this place for a couple of hours a few days before but we weren’t sure of the boundaries. We came to a gap in the fence. It was a gate that didn’t look like it had been closed in years. We weren’t sure whether both sides belonged to Vince’s friend or not. We turned to the south down the fence line.

As we went down the fence line the GPS vibrated. Mann was on point about 150 yards in front of us. Mann was looking into the grass away from a line of brush. Vince was well over to my right as we walked in. A single quail flushed from under my feet flying toward Vince. It was in the brush without drawing a shot. Mann hadn’t moved so I knew there were still birds in front of him.

About that time a large covey flushed. I got on a bird and pulled the trigger and the gun snapped. I went to the back trigger and the bird floated down. It was hit but not very hard. When I opened my side by side I noticed that I had taken the empty from before out but hadn’t put another live shell in. Old men do strange things.

Vince hadn’t scored on this partly because the birds that went his way were in the trees, quickly. We went to where my bird had floated down and got the dogs to hunt dead. In just a few seconds Maggie was in hot pursuit of a wounded bird. She ran it down and was a happy girl when she brought it to Vince.

Vince and his short hair, Ally.

We knew the singles from the last covey had to be to the south of us and we went that way. We were following along a draw with a small creek in the bottom. I was out a few steps in the grass field and Vince was along the edge of the timber. He saw Maggie get real birdy and she flushed a single. He shot and as soon as it dropped Maggie pounced on it and brought it to him.

We got to a fence on the south and went all the way back north along a harvested milo field. Then we went along the edge of it to the south a ways. The other side of the road was part of this place to but from where we were we didn’t see a lot of cover. We started along the road back to the truck.

As we walked along I checked the GPS. Mann was on point 361 yards to the south east. When we had turned toward the road he hadn’t turned. We started back. I told Vince about the time we got there he would be moving. But he wasn’t. I walked in front of him and nothing flushed. I tapped his head and he trailed a little way and went back on point. We walked in front of him and nothing flushed. I tapped his head to release him.

Vince’s German short haired pointing quail.

He went a little way and went back on point. Ally and Sally were across the road. Vince said I’m going to see what they are doing. I told him that Sally had been on point twice while we were following Mann. He left and Mann pointed, let me in front and when nothing flushed I quit going back and tapping him on the head. I started saying, “okay” and he would move.

He pointed 8 times and then moved. We had covered probably 350 or 400 yards. Finally, from the top of the hill down to the edge of the creek I went in front of him and a single quail flushed. It dropped when I shot and Mann was on it. Both of us were really happy when he brought the bird to me. Mann won’t be 3 years old until April. He hunts like a much older dog. But I think him not getting excited and staying with this bird until it flushed was really good for him. This showed him the whole game. Point, flush and retrieve.

Mann and I went back to the road and I didn’t realize it but Vince was trying to get us to come over on the other side of the road. When I got to the road I was a little over half a mile from the truck. I went to get the truck.

Sally pointing a quail.

We went by the guys house that had let Vince hunt to thank him and offer him the birds. He didn’t want the birds but after talking to him a few minutes he said, “I have another 500 and some acres pretty close to that one you might want to hunt”. Well, yeah. He gave us directions to the other place.

It’s late in the season and we weren’t able to hunt this but one more time this season but next season we will be back.

I left Arizona before noon on January 7, 2021. The temperature was already 65 degrees and I was to meet my cousin, Jim Smith, in Kansas for a couple of days of quail hunting. It took me until about 10:00 pm to get to Tucumcari, New Mexico where I could drive on to Kansas, the next day. Kansas now sells hunting licenses that go from the day they are bought, for one year. I thought mine was still good but it had run out the seventh of January. By 10:00 am I was in the Walmart in Liberal Kansas getting another.

Sally honoring Mann.

Jim walking in on a point.

Jim adjusting Abby’s ears as she honors Mann.

When I called Jim he wanted to hunt an hour or so east of Liberal so we didn’t really get started until about 12:30. Jim hadn’t hunted with my dogs for a while so we just turned Mann, Sally, Abby and Boss out. We started down a fence row between a pasture that still had quite a bit of cover and a wheat stubble field.

We were doing more visiting than watching the dogs as we went down the fence row. I checked the GPS and it showed Mann on point out in the pasture just a short way. Before we got to him Sally honored. Mann was pointing near a plum thicket but when we got there he was looking into the grass and weeds. I missed with my first shot but connected with the second. The way the birds flew I blocked Jim off. He had to wait then take a long shot but missed.

Sally had seen my bird fall and ran out, scooped it up and brought it to me. Sally had moved on her honor of Mann and I wanted to work on that. Mann went just a little way and pointed, again. Sally, Abby and Boss honored. I told Jim to go ahead I was going to stand behind Sally and keep her from moving.

When Jim went in front of Mann another nice covey flushed. He knocked one down and Sally made the retrieve.

This pasture was about a quarter of a mile wide and a mile long running right beside the wheat stubble. Down the hill from the wheat stubble was a small stream with unfrozen water. We started to it to get the dogs some water. Mann pointed again.

When we got there, there was another nice covey and I knocked one down at about 30 yards. Sally saw it fall and made another nice retrieve. I told Jim that he had seen two of Sally’s best retrieves. Up to this hunt I’ve had to walk toward her or stand and call her to me. She had, with nothing from me, grabbed two dead birds and brought them 25 or 30 yards to me.

We went on to the south. We were almost to the end when Sally pointed in a low spot near the creek. When we walked in a single quail flushed flying through the trees without drawing a shot from us. About that time a couple of quail flushed about 30 yards out. I shot twice missing with both barrels then the covey came up all around us. I was standing with an empty gun. We both had struck out.

Sunrise in Kansas.

I had not refilled my shell pockets but so far this year that hasn’t been a problem for me. When I reloaded there was only one shell left. We should of had singles everywhere. We were headed back up the field toward the truck when Mann pointed, again.

He was pointing looking into a small tree. Jim came up on one side and I was on the other. The other three dogs were honoring. Boss was straight in front of me and when the covey flushed one bird flew from my right to my left with Boss on the other side. I waited until the quail had flown about 15 yards past Boss and shot. The bird crumpled. Mann saw it fall and ran out, grabbed it and brought it to me.

I was now carrying an empty gun. We went back to the truck and put my dogs up and got Jim’s out. Dotty, Babe and Bay Lee. I also got another box of shells. We should of had a bunch of singles. We started back through the pasture.

Babe pointing and Bay Lee honoring, I think.

We hadn’t gone far when Jim’s Dotty pointed but the birds didn’t hold. With all of the dogs pointing and honoring the covey just flushed. I saw where about 4 quail went down along the little creek. We went toward them.

When we got close Bay Lee pointed with Babe honoring. We got right to the edge of the creek and about a dozen birds, scattered out, flushed. Most of them were close to me and I dropped one on the other creek bank and another in a small plum thicket. One of Jim’s dogs retrieved the first one but we never found the one in the plum thicket. Jim and I both marked where it fell but we couldn’t find it.

As we started toward where most of these birds had flown I walked a bird up that flew pretty low straight away. Jim said, “shoot, shoot”. I said, “there’s a dog right in front of me, I think”. He said no, I think they are off to the left”. About that time Dotty broke through the brush right about where the quail had flown. Very quietly Jim said, “Thanks”.

Jim’s Dotty and Mann’s mother.

We were following the creek to the south when we saw Babe on point with Bay Lee honoring. We walked in and a single quail flushed. Jim shot twice and I shot twice and the bird just came floating down. Neither of us heard but one shot from the other so one of our shots was at the same time. But long story short, with four shots we wounded a bird that the dogs had to run down. But we got it.

There was supposed to be a storm coming and I think the birds were getting nervous or maybe they had more pressure on them than we knew. We saw several points but before we could get to the dogs the birds flushed. Most of the time we could see the pointing dog and they didn’t move. We hunted to the end then back to the truck.

I like to quit early, especially, if a storm is coming. It was about 4:00 pm when we headed for the motel. Tomorrow was another day.

Bay Lee

Jim and I both are early risers. The next morning we had to sit and drink coffee for a while to not get to the first field before the sunrise. But we like to visit anyway.

We went to a field that was CRP but it joined some row crops on two sides. Luke had not been hunted much in Arizona and not at all in Kansas on this trip. He’s old and won’t stay with me anymore so I’m afraid I will lose him. Even with a GPS he’s hard to keep up with but I feel sorry for him, occasionally. I turned him loose with the rest of my dogs.

We were starting on the south edge of the place we were hunting. Luke went a half mile south and when we were almost back to the south edge of this place he came to me. Then a few minutes later he was a half mile to the north. When we picked up the other dogs I had to drive a half mile north then a half mile west to get him. He’s always happy when I find him. If he goes on point he will stay until either I get there or the birds flush. He’s been a good dog but he’s retired. I don’t need that kind of excitement.

We went through the heavy CRP to the north edge, moved over and came back to the south. We had a couple of points but when we got to the dogs they trailed a while then went on. When we got back to the truck we loaded dogs and went to another place, after I found Luke.

Abby.

The next place wasn’t as thick as the first place. It too was CRP that butted against row crops on two sides. Jim turned his 3 dogs out and I only put Sally and Mann out. With 5 dogs in a 160 acre CRP field, that held pheasants, we had dogs on point constantly, almost.

All of these dogs like to run and we would be a long way from them, when they went on point. Usually, they would be moving before we could get to them. We saw maybe a dozen pheasants but I don’t think we saw a single rooster. It was good for the dogs, though. There was bird scent everywhere.

When we got back to the truck, wet from the frost, I was ready to head home. I had a great trip but I had driven over 3000 miles in the last 6 days and hunted the last 5 days in a row. I was ready to get home and sleep in my on bed. I can not help but think, what a blessed life I have.

The morning of Day 2 in Arizona was really foggy and since it was below freezing I worried about black ice on the roads. On the morning of Day 3 there was a little fog but it was above freezing. No black ice worries. I had loaded all of my stuff so I could leave when it got too warm for the dogs. I wanted to hunt until noon but it worked out where I left about 11:30 am.

A grave marker I found in a field.

Two Gamble hens and a rooster.

Sally on point behind a tree.

I went on to the east of the place I had hunted on Day 2, where I turned Mann, Sally, Abby and Boss loose. I hunted to the west and we went all the way to a cross fence. About a mile to the west then cut over to the south and came back toward the truck.

There were some tall hills that I needed to look on the other side of, as we went back. As I came down the hill toward the truck a small draw led down to the dry wash that we had taken to the west. It led me a little way back west where I hit the dry wash. Since I had walked down the dry wash I crossed to the other side to go back to the truck.

It was just bare ground near the dry creek. There was a fence close and on the north side was knee high grass. As I started to this I saw some fresh quail tracks in the sand. I looked for my dogs and none of them were exactly in front of me. When I called the dogs a covey of quail flushed in front of me. One was close and when I shot it dropped. At my shot more birds were flushing. I hit another with my second shot that fell into the taller grass farther out.

I got the dogs in and Sally found the first bird and made a good retrieve. I got all of the dogs in to look for the second. It was really getting warm. The dogs would look for a few minutes then lie down in the shade. After a few minutes, I decided to go to the truck and let the dogs cool down. I watered the dogs and put them in their boxes.

About 15 minutes later I only let Sally loose. I only took about 4 shells and since it was really warm I left the hunting vest. It was warm enough Sally stayed with me. I had put my blaze orange hat on a fence post so I would remember the exact location of the dead bird. It’s a good thing I did. Even a blaze orange hat is farther away than you remember.

I had put another hat on at the truck so I had to carry the one that was on the post. Sally and I crossed the fence and I started saying, “hunt dead, hunt dead”. She started looking. She was out about 15 yards from where I thought the dead bird would be when she went on point. As I started to say, “He’s dead, get him” a bird flushed. I dropped the hat I had in my hand and shot. The bird fell in a bare spot and Sally scooped it up and brought it to me. It hadn’t flown like a wounded bird.

I don’t know f this was the bird that I thought I had hit earlier or not but I want to believe it was. I really hate to lose a bird. We need to try to find every bird we knock down. I, usually, look for a long time, if I don’t find it then, most of the time I will come back and try again. I’ve been known to come back several times.

An Arizona sunrise.

Several years ago Don Hansen and I were hunting Kansas and Don had knocked a bird down that the dogs couldn’t find. We looked for a long time and then went on. I told Don that Dolly was pretty good retriever and dead bird finder. She was in the truck so I turned her loose. We looked again. No luck but Don put a piece of trash where he thought the bird had fallen.

We hunted away from the place but I decided we needed to make one more try. We got the dogs in the third time. As I was trying to get the dogs to hunt dead, Don moved a clump of grass and the bird was lying right there, within a foot of the piece of trash he had marked the spot with.

Sally on point.

It was way too hot to hunt any more so I pointed the truck toward home. My cousin, Jim Smith, was hunting in Kansas and I was going to join him the next day, if I could get there in time. My non-resident Kansas hunting license had expired so by about 10 am I was getting another in a Walmart in Liberal Kansas. I will try to get the Kansas hunt on here this weekend.