Traveling Pointing Dogs

Ten years ago I went to Arizona to hunt the desert quail. I had called an Arizona biologist and he was really helpful. He not only told me where to hunt he even told me where to park my truck. After about 3 hours of pulling cholla cactus from my dogs and seeing the blood run from the places, I loaded dogs and headed to Kansas. But after reading a lot more about Arizona I knew there had to be better places. So I decided to try again.

This is the fence between Mexico and Arizona now where I was.

The line is the border fence.

Another picture from the mountains.

I drove from home to Deming New Mexico the first day. This put me within a few hours of Douglas Arizona where I got my license. You can buy a license for $20 a day for however many days you want to hunt or the yearly license is $160, I think. I got 3 days worth thinking if I wanted to stay longer I could always come back and buy more days.

Over the years I have saved information on states that have good quail hunting. Several years ago I met a man in South Dakota that was retired Air Force and lived in Arizona. He gave me some areas to try and I had marked them on an Arizona DeLorme Atlas And Gazetteer. When I read of other places I would mark them.

Then before I went I called the BLM office to get some more maps. The lady I talked to sent me an app called Avenza Maps. It is the best thing I did for this trip. Not only did it tell me the boundaries of the state and BLM land it showed, with a dot, exactly where I was on my cell phone. Some of the areas, the private land, is not marked very well and most of the private land owners don’t want you on their land.

I was in the mountains looking for a certain canyon, that was marked by name on the Atlas, but not on the Avenza maps. The road I was on was a narrow switch back mountain lane. I met a Border Patrol truck coming down the mountain as I went up. I stopped and rolled my window down and he stopped. I asked if I had passed the canyon I was looking for and we got to talking.

He was a quail hunter and he told me where to hunt the desert quail and that I still had a ways to go, to find the canyon I was looking for. He said the Mearns quail were way down and he wasn’t hunting them this year. I told him I wouldn’t shoot any but would run my dogs, only carrying a camera.

I missed the road to the canyon I was looking for but went to the fence with Mexico in another. Most of these areas are perfect for Mearns quail. He had told me to drive to the west along the fence and I did for several miles. Mexico across the fence looks exactly like Arizona on this side.

The area where I hunted Mearns quail. If you click on this picture you can see Sally on point with Mann backing.

I drove until I saw an area that looked like what I thought a Mearns quail area should look like. There was tall grass, straw colored, growing with scattered trees along the draws. The dogs had been in the box for many hours with just short stops to air out. I turned all 5 out. I have 5 GPS collars but only 3 e-collars. Most of the time I only use the e-collars for the tone signal anyway. Abby has been lost from me a couple of times so she checks in often. I didn’t put an e-collar on her or Luke. Luke goes where Luke wants, regardless.

By the time I found an area to hunt the temperature was in the low sixties with a south wind. I knew the dogs wouldn’t last long but they needed to be out. I had parked on the north end of a draw that was running toward the border.

Everything was really dry which you expect in the desert. The dogs were spread out and happily running into the wind. We only went about 3/4 of a mile before turning back toward the truck. It was too warm for the dogs. I had a couple of points but they were unproductive but just a few yards from where Sally had pointed, a single quail flushed behind me putting a tree between me and it, quickly. I couldn’t see what kind of quail it was.

A picture of the desert area.

When we got close to the truck the dogs were all ready for the water bucket to be brought out. I had a couple of bottles of water with me but they had used it, quickly. I loaded the dogs and we drove the mountain trails until time to feed dogs and quit for the day.

I wish I would have gotten the name of the Border Patrol Officer that gave me the information. The area he sent me to was a lot friendlier to the dogs than the area I had tried ten years ago. The ground was really rocky but there was very little cactus and the cholla cactus, I saw, was small.

I pulled into a place on state owned land. There was a cattle lot, empty, with some water tanks. I got out of the truck and walked toward the tanks to see if they held water. A large covey of scaled quail flushed. They flew to the west along a dry wash.

I think this is cholla cactus.

It takes a while to put e-collars and GPS collars on 4 dogs and even longer when your hands are shaking with anticipation. I wasn’t the first to chase these little speedsters down this wash. There were human foot prints almost every where I went. I saw a couple of quail flush out ahead of the dogs but not many for the size of the covey. We went about a half mile to the west then we crossed the dry wash to the north and back to the truck. We sat around the water tank for a few minutes to cool the dogs then went toward the east.

We had gone quite away to the east and I decided to go back to the truck and try another place. I called the dogs then checked the GPS. It showed Mann on point 196 yards farther to the east. The other 3 dogs had come in when I called so we started to Mann.

Abby and Boss backed Mann before I could see him. He was down in the dry wash pointing into some trees and brush. Sally was off to my left and as we got close a single quail flew right over her back. She wheeled to watch it. Another bird flushed right in front of me trying to get over some brush. I could tell when I shot that it was pretty well centered. Sally retrieved it to me.

Sally on point.

I had heard other birds flushing but didn’t even know which direction. I thought they were on the south side of the dry wash so we went that away. I had one dog off to my right as we went down the creek and two quail flew right over the top of me. I didn’t see them until they were out of range. They flew the way we were going.

We continued on down the dry wash to the west of the truck with out finding any others. We went back to the truck and I watered the dogs before loading them. We went to the ranch to the east of this place. It was 62 degrees according to the thermometer on the truck so I was just going to try to find another water hole for the next day.

On the next ranch I drove down a two track for a long way. On the Avenza map it looked like I could drive out another gate onto a road on the south east. When I drove 3 or 4 miles the two track came to a water hole but it was surrounded by a bunch of cows. There was no gate to the road so I had to drive all the way back where I had started.

Just before I got to the gate I saw a scaled quail run across the road. I slammed on the brakes. Then the rest of the covey followed. About 15 or more birds. This area was grazed down to where there was no grass or weeds. I watched them until they had run to some trees and brush along the dry creek.

I didn’t even take time to put the e-collars on Boss and Abby, I just turned them loose. I had my gun but I really just wanted these two to get a nose full of scent. Abby saw one and started toward it. Then 3 or 4 flushed in front of her, flying back across the road. Then Boss got some scent and both pups were really busy. It was hot but they weren’t having any trouble with that.

My one male Gambles quail.

Most of these quail flew across a busy road so I didn’t even try to follow. I took both pups down the dry creek and we didn’t move any quail but they were both really hunting. When we circled back to the truck I loaded them after watering them. It was too hot for my dogs so I just drove looking for a place for the next day.

I wish I had of found this area ten years ago when I was out here. It’s rocky but my dogs feet are tough so that didn’t bother them. This area isn’t any tougher on dogs than some areas of Kansas and Oklahoma. The days start really cool and after seeing two coveys of scaled and a covey of Gambles I can hardly wait for the morning.

All of the weather forecasters were saying that on the first day of the new year, there would be freezing rain followed by heavy snows. Don Hansen and I wanted to get in a hunt before the bad weather. Sometimes weather fronts, like this one, has the birds moving more than normal.

Sally honoring Mann.

Mann pointing a single quail.

Don’s pointer Goofy honoring Mann.

The first place we stopped was three small harvested soybean fields separated by hedge rows, weedy fence rows and draws. Across the road was more walk-in with CRP. Ideal cover for quail.

Don had two of his pointers, Goofy and Tigger. I had only brought Sally and Mann. We turned our dogs loose and started to the north around a soybean field. I checked the GPS handheld to see where my dogs were and it showed Mann on point about 50 yards south of where we had parked the trucks. We had almost walked away from him on point.

As we started back to him the handheld vibrated and showed Sally was honoring. When I got to the fence on the edge of the property I saw Mann standing in the edge of the harvested soybeans just off the place but he was pointing into some cover that was on the next walk-in place. There is a funny property line right here. At the road there is 3 properties that come together. The property in the center is private.

We went to the road then down to the cover on the walk-in. Don’s two dogs honored Mann’s point. Before we got to the area where Mann was pointing the covey flushed. Four quail come my way but they were too far out for a shot and flew into the CRP across the road.

We started around the field to the south. As we got toward the back Don walked 3 quail up and farther down 4 more flushed at the same time and flew toward the CRP. Don has only been shooting at pointed birds. The dog has to do everything right before he shoots so there was no shooting on these birds.

We went on around the field and started into the CRP. The handheld vibrated and Mann was on point 200 yards south. He was off the walk-in again. I went back to the road and started down it. Don and Linda were walking through the CRP. As I went down the road the farmer that owned the soybean fields drove down the road. When I told him we had a dog on point he said he would stop and wait. I told him that the dog was off the walk-in and we wouldn’t shoot. He could drive on down and watch.

We talked about the bird hunting in the area as I walked down the road. I was about 50 yards from Mann when the handheld showed him moving. The farmer went on and I got with Don and Linda. Don said all of the dogs had indicated that there had been birds there. We were about 75 yards from some CRP that was part of the walk-in so we went to it.

My 16 gauge and the one quail we got.

The CRP was pretty thick and tall. We hadn’t gone far when Don saw Goofy on point. He was standing in the tall CRP with a high head and tail. Goofy always has lots of class when he points. Goofy was facing toward me and I thought if I would walk toward him I could make the quail fly where Don would get a shot. I know better than that. Quail are going to go where they want. You can’t make them go where they don’t want to go.

Anyway, when I flushed the bird it flew to my right putting me between Don and the quail. I shot and the bird fell into the tall, thick CRP. Goofy and Sally started searching. Both dogs had seen the bird fall and were looking. After a few seconds Sally picked the bird up and dropped it in my hand.

We kept the dogs in the CRP and went back around to where we thought the first covey had flown. We worked almost back to the trucks without finding anything. We checked the area where the first covey had flushed from originally. Then back through the CRP but a little farther to the east. Don walked another bird up. If only I could get him to point. We made it back to the trucks and watered dogs.

Don’s pointer Tigger.

Don was going to load his dogs and go to another place and I told him we pulled in to hunt the field to the north. We had not hunted it. He agreed and got his dogs out. I had seen Mann go down the edge to the north so I started to check the handheld but saw him on the north hedge row. He had already gone 400 yards north along the cover and had turned west along the hedge row. We stood and watched.

He ran the hedge row and started to the south down a wide brushy fence row. We had hunted this area before and knew the fence row cover got pretty wide. As Mann ran to the south he went into the cover where we couldn’t see him but I followed on the GPS. He ran to the south edge then along to the trucks along the south fence row. This was, probably, a 40 or 50 acre field. When he got to the truck I loaded the dogs and we went to another area. He saved us a lot of steps and it was a beautiful thing to watch. I know this sounds like bragging on my dog. Only because it is. I’m really proud of both of these dogs.

We drove about 7 or 8 miles to another walk-in. This one was about like the first. Harvested soybean fields with some pasture and some CRP. We went about a hundred yards when we saw a covey of quail flying. We got the dogs into the area where we thought the covey had flown. The dogs were really excited but we didn’t come up with anything.

Goofy backing Sally.

We crossed a dry creek into some CRP. As we started north I checked the handheld and Sally was on point 80 feet behind me. If I hadn’t had the GPS we would have walked off and left her. As I went to her a quail flushed, probably, her bird. Another step and one flushed in front of me but put a tree between us. I shot but missed. There were a couple more that flushed from the area without drawing a shot from either of us.

We went on to the north. This farm had several small fields along a creek with some cover where the land rose above the bottom ground. The ground rose sharply along the west side and had some cover. A couple of fields to the north Don saw a couple of quail come out of a plum thicket and fly to the north along the edge. I checked the GPS and Mann and Sally both were on point in that plum thicket.

As we got closer they were both trailing through the plum thicket. They weren’t excited as they would have been had they heard or seen the birds flush. They trailed to the edge of the plum thicket then went on. Had Don not seen those birds we wouldn’t have even known there was really a covey there.

Don started through some cover where he thought the two birds he had seen had flown with his dog, Goofy. A single quail flushed well out in front of him then two more. They didn’t even let them get close. We went on to the north.

Mann pointing into a huge cedar tree.

The GPS handheld vibrated and showed Mann on point about 75 yards north of us. He was across a creek in some heavy cover. Our side of the creek was a gentle slope but the other side was a steep bank. Sally honored and as Goofy came up the bank and saw her he honored. Tigger could see Goofy from the creek and she honored him. This trip I had brought the camera so I took some pictures.

I clambered up the bank and waited on Don but he said to go ahead. I walked in and a single quail flushed. I swung on it and when I pulled the trigger a big hackberry tree took the full load. the quail flew on but the tree did show how big the pattern was at that distance. I should have taken a picture. It was a good even pattern.

We were almost to the north side so we went back toward the trucks through some heavy cover. We were almost to the truck when I checked the GPS and it showed Sally and Mann both on point. They were just east of where we had just been.

Abby in Kansas.

We got to a harvested soybean field and we could see Sally just inside a hedge row on point. As we got closer I could see Mann behind her honoring. When we got closer Goofy saw Sally and honored. Don said that a couple of years before he had fund a covey exactly where Sally was.

This hedge row was wider than normal and Don decided to go to the other side. I waited on him to get where he wanted to be then walked in. I got a little way past Sally and saw a hole in the ground with a young ‘possum right in the opening hissing or growling, whatever they do, at Sally. I said, “no”, loudly but she didn’t move. She did turn her head and look at me but didn’t move her feet. I grabbed her collar and led her away.

When I turned her loose she started back. Mann had went on when I told him no. I bumped Sally with the e-collar on a medium 2. She went back to hunting.

When we got back to the truck it was only about 1:30 but we decided to quit. The forecasters were talking about a serious winter storm coming in and we didn’t want to stress the birds. They had plenty of time to feed and find a warm place to sit this storm out, hopefully.

With Christmas and all of the high winds we had last week I haven’t been hunting in almost a week. The weather Monday was supposed to be a little iffy but it turned out to be a great day. The temperature was about 30 degrees with a slight north wind. Just about perfect for the dogs and me.

Abby pointing a quail.

Sally honoring Abby.

Boss, with a cut tongue, backing Abby.

I had hunted this Missouri Conservation area the first part of the season, a couple of times and decided to go back on Monday, December 28. Usually, there are a lot of deer hunters on this area but not many quail hunters. I drove by the parking lots on the east side and there was no one parked in any of the lots. Not often I have it to myself.

I parked along the road rather than in the parking lot. I had turned Sally and Mann out with their e-collars and GPS collars on. My e-collar transmitter only runs 3 e-collars so just to keep her used to getting an e-collar I put a bark collar on Abby, but the GPS collar worked. The bark collar has prongs that should feel like an e-collar. I seldom have to use the e-collar, other than the tone. I use the tone to bring them in.

As I was putting the collars on Abby, with Mann and Sally to my right, a big covey of quail flushed on my left. I watched as they flew over a small rise in a fallow field. After I got the e-collar and GPS on Abby and Boss we started after the covey, through the fallow field. It had been milo a year or so ago but now it had waist high giant foxtail and cockle burrs with just a little volunteer milo.

When we got to the top of the small hill I saw a draw that had scattered trees that ran into the field. It was in line with where I thought the quail had flown. All 4 dogs were working the draw on my right when the covey flushed on my left, about 50 yards away. This time they scattered in several directions.

I had seen some fly down close to an edge of the woods. We went in that direction. As I walked along the edge, a single quail flushed, right beside me, only down in the woods. I got the dogs in to hunt close. I was watching the dogs to the west when I noticed Sally wasn’t with them. I looked behind me and I had walked past her. She was on point.

Sally was right along the edge of the woods. As I started back to her Abby and Boss saw her and honored. Mann was coming around over a little hill and couldn’t see her. He slammed into a point. His bird was about 20 yards from where Sally was on point. Since I was closer to Sally I went to her. When I got close a single quail flushed down in the woods. I shot a really nice elm tree. When I shot Mann’s bird flushed, too.

We hunted most of the more open cover. English setters and cockle burrs get together easy and there were a lot of cockle burrs. This was the first time in a long time that I have seen quail on this side of the road. We worked our way back to the truck and went on the other side.

Mann pointing into a huge cedar tree.

On the other side there is a small pond with a lot of cedars growing along the lower end. Shortly after I crossed the road the GPS vibrated and it showed Sally on point, at the lower end of the pond. When I came over the hill I saw her looking into a big cedar tree.

Mann and Boss were well off to my left as I came down the hill toward Sally. Before I got to Sally Abby honored. I was still 40 or 50 yards away when the birds flushed. I could see both dogs and they hadn’t moved. I tried to watch where the birds flew.

Both of these coveys flushed before I could get close. There is a bad storm forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday. That may be the reason that they are so nervous. Or there may be a lot more people hunt this area than I thought.

I got the dogs in and followed where I saw the quail fly. I couldn’t see them to the ground but where they flew was toward some woods. The field before the woods were full of berry vines and wild roses. Seemed like everything had a thorn.

Abby honoring Mann.

We went into the woods a little way then around to a little pond where I broke ice for the dogs to get a drink. We worked back through the roses and black berries without finding any of the covey.

We went on to the north around a soybean field then to the east. There is a soybean field on the east edge of this place with some woods on the west side and a nice wide draw on the east. I went to the north beside the woods. Usually, I hunt to the back of the soybean field then cross to the other side and follow the draw back. Today I decided to go on to the north to see if there was any good quail cover that I hadn’t seen.

The Conservation department had mowed a trail to the very back but it gradually turned to the east. I followed this trail to the edge of the property. I could go either north or south. I decided to go to the south but the dogs went north. I went off the top of the hill to the north a little way and saw some row crops. I went on down a really steep hill. When I got to the bottom I found the Grand River. I couldn’t cross it to the row crops.

I had to turn around and go back up the steep hill. When I finally struggled to the top I went on to the south. Just a short walk and I was back to the soybean field I had come down. We went down the draw on the east side. When we got to the end the dogs didn’t want to leave the draw. I stood in the soybean field trying to get them to go with me. One or two would come by but go back to the end of the draw.

I had the girls with me and started away. The GPS handheld vibrated. It showed Mann on point about 175 yards to the south east. I thought he was along the fence row on the south end of the property. When I got close he was just off the place. The GPS showed him being 44 feet across the fence. There were a bunch of big cedar trees and I couldn’t see him.

Sally on point.

As I stood at the fence Boss was coming toward me when a single quail came across the fence and flew right over the top of him. He turned and chased a short distance. Then as I stood there quail were flushing one and two at a time. Mann was still on point according to the GPS but the quail had been running away from him and flushing. None of them got close to me.

A couple of the quail had flown back toward the big draw. I took the dogs back. This draw is about 50 yards wide and we got back about where I thought some of the singles went into the draw. Just as we entered Abby went on point. Sally saw her and honored. I walked in front of Abby kicking the leaves and brush. Nothing flushed. I said, “okay” but she didn’t move. I kicked the cover closer and still nothing flushed. I said, “okay” again and she started hunting.

She started around a cedar tree and I saw her go on point. When I got close I saw she was honoring Mann. He was pointing into a large cedar. I went on his left but he was looking to the right. There were two big cedars close together with their limbs entwined. I started trying to force my way through when I heard a quail flush.

We went on through the draw without finding any other singles. We hunted on back to the truck where I loaded the dogs. Boss had cut his tongue on some of the briars and I wasn’t going to put him out again so I took his collars off.

Boss on pigeon.

I drove to the west side of this place. I had hunted it both times I was here before without finding any birds but I had seen a quail roost, so I knew there were some around. When I got to the west side there was a father and son from Michigan getting ready to hunt deer with muzzle loaders. They were going to stay through next Saturday. The son had turned 14 on Sunday. I wished him a happy birthday and both a Happy New Year and headed home.

To a lot of people this wasn’t a successful hunt but for me it was. I got a lot of dog work and I didn’t even have to clean any birds when I got home. And all of these birds were still there for me to hunt again. Abby has made points before but this time she was tired and she learned that even when she’s tired she can find birds. She hunted hard all the way back to the truck after pointing the single although it ran out on her. To me it was a great day.