Traveling Pointing Dogs

I woke up in the motel, in the middle of the night, worried about the dogs. I checked the temperature on my phone and it showed 10 degrees about 2:30 am. There was nothing I could do, anyway. When I got up, at 6:00 am it was 6 degrees. I grabbed some breakfast and drove out to an area to turn the dogs out and check on them. They all were fine. I gave them some water and they all ran around until I loaded them back into the truck. My dog boxes keep them warm, anytime.

Mann pointing wild quail.

Sally pointing wild quail.

Mann honoring Sally’s point.

With the temperature at 6 degrees, I was able to drive some mud roads, that at warmer temperatures would have been impassible. Last year I had hunted this place and found 3 coveys, in a short time. Last year the row crops had been soybeans but this year it was wheat stubble. The pasture and CRP around the wheat stubble was in good condition.

I turned Abby, Sally and Mann out with GPS collars and Sally and Mann had e-collars. We started though the pasture around the wheat field. There were a couple of short draws running into the wheat field and Mann went down one of these and went on point. When I got close Sally was honoring him. I walked in front and nothing flushed so I said, “okay”. They both started trailing but never came up with anything.

The dogs checked all of the draw then went back into the pasture. Mann and Sally were ahead of me over a small hill when the GPS handheld vibrated. It showed Sally on point about 150 yards ahead of me. As I started to her Abby went over the hill toward them. Pretty soon Sally was no longer on point and Abby came back really excited. Shortly behind her Sally came down the fence row and stopped, giving me a dirty look as if to say, “can’t you control her”. Later I thought I heard a single quail flush.

When we got to the end of the pasture beside the wheat stubble we went farther into the pasture and went back the way we had come. I really enjoy hunting this area. You can see the dogs for a long way and can let them run.

As we got close to the south edge of the wheat stubble the GPS handheld vibrated. Mann was on point over 500 yards south east of me. The day before when Sally had pointed at over 500 yards away, late in the day, I had to decide whether I was going to walk to her but early of the day it’s like, “Alright, I’ll be right there”.

When I got close I saw that he had crossed the road. Both sides of the road were walk-in so we crossed over. He was in a large plum thicket. As we started through it Abby came in front of me and went on point. At first I wasn’t sure she was on point. She’s young and sometimes she stops, with style, as she looks but this time she was slowly opening and closing her mouth as she smelled the bird. I walked back and forth in front of her out to about 10 yards. She didn’t move. I went back and tapped her head.

I checked the GPS handheld and Mann was close, but moving. Abby trailed about 30 yards and went back on point. This time I remembered I had a camera and took a picture. Sally saw Abby and honored. As I started in front of Abby I heard a pheasant flush on the other side of the plum thicket. I never even saw it.

Abby’s second point on wild birds.

That plum thicket was huge, maybe 5 or 6 acres and I had several points but the pheasants could run through the thicket much easier than I could walk. I saw 3 different pheasants but nothing close. I was able to wend my way through the plum thicket by following deer trails. I do wish the deer were taller so I wouldn’t have to bend over to get through.

We came back toward the truck through some CRP that had some areas mowed for hay. When we got back to the road I sent the dogs down a short hedge row then we returned to the truck. Last year I had found 2 coveys and maybe 3 in less area than I had covered today. I loaded the dogs and we drove to another place.

When I came by another area, on this place, where I had found birds last year I thought it had been grazed down too much, to hold quail, so I checked some other walk-in. I came by an area that was wheat stubble with what looked like milo mixed in with the wheat. I’m no farmer but it looked to me like the farmer had harvested the wheat then planted milo that didn’t make very well. The milo didn’t have a lot of seed but it had fallen over giving cover. There was also sunflowers that came up volunteer, I guess. The heads were small but they were above the wheat stubble and milo.

Sally pointing a covey of quail.

This place was a quarter of a mile wide and a mile long. As I walked it I noticed turnips had planted, also. This was a mile long by quarter mile wide food plot. To the west, next to it was a pasture that had been grazed but not over grazed.

I just knew if there were any birds in the country they would be in this food plot. I turned Sally and Josie out and we started into the north wind. Sally hunted the food plot along the fence line and well out into the food plot. She made it to the very end and I was within a couple a hundred yards of the end and we never saw anything. We crossed over into the pasture and started back.

The pasture had plenty of cover for birds but we were almost back to the truck without seeing anything when some cows came to watch the dogs. There was a small water way through the food plot so I took the dogs to it.

As we came down the water way the GPS handheld vibrated. I saw Sally standing but her tail was wagging. As I got close she started moving and some meadow larks started flushing. She knew they weren’t quail but they were better than nothing. The meadow larks started flushing all around. There must have been more than a hundred in just a small area of the food plot. I thought they would be good for Josie so I started walking to where the larks were landing.

Josie was acting like she didn’t see them to start. But when she saw them she started chasing. This is good. Just one more bird that she can’t catch. I felt the GPS vibrate and it showed Josie on point. Just as I looked she started chasing a meadow lark that flushed several yards in front of her. It wasn’t long before she had that end of the field cleared of meadow larks. I loaded the dogs and started home.

Mann on point and Sally honoring.

This area had a bad winter last year and the birds are pretty spotty. A lot of the places that had birds last year don’t this year and there are a lot of hunters. This late in the year most of the public areas have been hit hard. I haven’t taken the puppies much this year but this trip was good for them. They learned a lot.

Abby got to point her first wild bird and Josie chased a lot of meadow larks. They both were good citizens in the dog box although they don’t like to load. No whining and no barking. We are going to have to work on that “honoring thing”.

I started loading dogs before 4:00 am to go to west central Kansas. The older dogs will go right to the truck for me, to load them, but the two puppies don’t like to ride. I loaded the older dogs and went back through the light rain to get the puppies. I put them on a leash and tried to lead both of them to the truck. I know better than this. I should have made two trips but I had both of them pulling on me. The grass was wet and slick. When I got close to the truck the puppies went from pulling ahead to lagging back.

Sally on point 144 yards off the walk-in. I set the camera on the fence corner post.

Mann honoring Sally.

Abby’s second point.

All of this is my fault. I should have worked them on leading and heeling. More than that they don’t honor. Not only do they not honor they think everything is for their pleasure. When a dog goes on point they run up and lick it in the face. All of this is my fault. I will start them on heel and whoa in the next few days as the weather gets a little better.

I drove what felt like forever. I drove by several walk-in hunting places before settling on a large, 40 acres or so, a corner that was a wet weather creek with CRP on both sides. Around this area, on 3 sides, was harvested cornfields. Across the road to the south was a harvested soybean field.

Luke has been retired because he no longer will stay with me but I couldn’t leave him home. With the GPS I know where he is and I can do whatever I need to do to find him. I turned him, Mann and Abby loose. They all had on GPS collars and Luke and Mann had an e-collar.

Abby thought she could stay with Luke and they started to the north. I kept Mann in close, mostly with-in two hundred yards. It wasn’t long, Luke and Abby, were about half a mile away. Soon Luke came back close and then went back to the south. Abby was still to the north as Mann and I hunted the CRP.

I have the GPS handheld in a holster on my belt. As I walk I hold my gun in my left hand and the GPS handheld in my right. I no longer can hear the handheld beep but I can feel it vibrate. It vibrated and it showed Mann on point just over 200 yards to the north, near the north boundary.

It is nearly always uphill when these dogs go on point. I chugged up the hill and I could see him standing, regally, on point. But he was honoring the white sign on the fence to tell me that the other side was private. I had to say, “okay” 3 or 4 times to get him to continue hunting.

We had gone up the west side of the CRP and we went back on the east. From the top of the hill I could see an SUV near my truck. The GPS showed Luke at the truck. Then I saw the SUV go to the south and Luke was going south, too.

Mann honoring Sally.

Abby was still off to the north as Mann and I started back through the CRP. When we got to the road, east of where we parked the truck, Mann went on point but left it before I could get to him. As Mann came by me he would stop then roll on the ground. I couold smell the odor of a skunk. Not real strong but I could smell it. The guy in the SUV drove to us. He thought I had lost Luke and he had caught him for me. As I thanked him we talked for a few minutes and he said, “wow, someone got into a skunk”.

When we got back to the truck I took the e-collar and GPS collar off Luke but I wouldn’t touch Mann. I made him jump into the truck and go into the box on his own. I didn’t take either collar off. Abby was about a hundred yards away and came to me when I called her. I loaded her into the dog box.

For everyone reading this I hope you live long enough to get old and forgetful. I hunted another place. I opened the dog box and made Mann jump down. I put the e-collar and GPS collar on Sally and a GPS collar on Josie and turned them loose. I have no recollection of this place at all. Needless to say, we never saw a quail or pheasant.

But when I loaded the dogs back into the truck the smell from the skunk was gone. Just from Mann running through the weeds, I guess. I still didn’t touch him but I couldn’t smell the skunk at all. This is the second time he’s been sprayed and both times it was so slight the grass wore the scent off. Thank God. I hope he doesn’t get to hating skunks and want to kill them.

I was pretty close to a place that Austin Farley and I had found 2 coveys of quail last year. When I got to it, it looked really good. It was only an 80 acre place but about half of it was in CRP. The ground with CRP wasn’t real good land so the CRP wasn’t real thick. It had a small milo patch in a low spot. The rest of it was in corn that had been harvested.

Sally on point.

I turned Sally, Mann and Abby out. I think Sally was getting tired of Abby trying to play with her as she hunted. In just a few minutes Sally was way north of me with Abby running with her. Mann stayed with me as we went to the north.

This place was about perfect for quail. Mann and I got to the north edge without finding anything. We moved over and started back. I was watching Sally on the GPS and she was a way off. I toned her e-collar and she started toward me. I felt the handheld for the GPS vibrate. It showed Sally on point 565 yards to the north west. I thought to my self, “I’m not going to walk that far”. I waited a couple of minutes and she was still on point.

I started up the hill through the cornfield. Did I say it’s always up hill. When I got to the corner of the walk-in, I could see her still on point, in the pasture, just off the walk-in. The GPS said she was 144 yards from the corner post. I set the camera on the corner post, to steady it, and took a picture. While I was taking the picture Mann honored her so I got his picture, too.

Sally honoring Mann.

I watched for a while then crossed the fence. I tried to get way out front of her to run the birds back onto the walk-in. When I got close Sally moved up a few feet and went back on point. I continued to try to get in front of her but she moved, again. Then a third time. Then her and Mann both started trailing farther away from the walk-in. I called them back and we got back where we belonged.

We went to the south along the west fence line then crossed back across the cornfield into the CRP. Just as I got to the CRP I got a phone call. I talked to a friend for maybe a minute. When I quit I checked the GPS and Mann was on point, in the middle of this place along the milo field. This time it was only a little way up then down to the edge of the milo field.

Just before I got to him Sally saw him and honored. Abby saw Sally and tried to get her to play. Sally was all business. Then Abby saw Mann and went to him but when he wouldn’t play she went on. Mann was standing under a honey locust tree. When I tried to get in front of him there were thorns everywhere. I came back beside him and kicked a small brush pile and nothing flushed. I said, “okay” and he moved a few feet and went back on point for just a second then started trailing. Sally came to help but whatever it was had run out on them.

I have tree leads for leashes and I like to find a good spot to tie the dogs to a fence and feed them before going in of the evening. I found just the right place and had all of the dogs tied out and eating. Josie was the last.

Mann on point.

I had her on a leash and her food pan in the other hand taking her to the fence. I’m color blind and there was some rusty woven wire crumpled up in the brown grass. We were almost to the fence when my feet got tangled in the woven wire and I fell almost on top of Josie. That really scared her and I got most of her food in my face. I went ahead and placed what was left of her food in front of her.

As the other dogs got through eating I put them back in the truck. Luke doesn’t eat very much on trips so I took what he had left to Josie. She started shying away when I got close thinking I would fall on her. She was happy with the food, though.

I gave all of the dogs a little time to eat then put them all up. I knew that Josie was almost traumatized with me almost falling on top of her. I made a big circle to stay out of the wire. Danged if they weren’t some more wire and I fell again. Almost on top of her. Luckily she’s quick and got away. She may never be the same.

On trips, I like to be in bed by 8:00 pm but after a hot shower and a good meal, it was almost 9:00 pm before I got to bed. It had been a long day. In a few days I will put day 2 on the blog if I can still remember what we did.

Vince Dye and I went back to a place in northern Missouri, on private land, where last week we had found 6 coveys of quail. When I left the house at 6:00 am it was warmer than when I had fed dogs and cleaned kennels the evening before. The outside temperature on the truck was showing 55 degrees with about a 30 miles per hour wind from the south. Not ideal weather for a quail hunt.

Sally and Mann in the draw on point.

Vince and I stopped by the Hungry Mule café, in Lathrop Missouri, for their big breakfast, on the way to northern Missouri. Some people say breakfast is the most important meal of the day and the Hungry Mule has a good one.

Sally honoring Mann.

Vince had Ally and Indy, his German short haired pointers, as well as his English cocker spaniel, Maggie with him. He turned all 3 dogs loose with GPS collars on the two short hairs. Maggie’s casts aren’t usually big enough to need a GPS collar, yet. I put e-collars and GPS collars on Mann and Sally and turned them loose. As I got my gun out of the truck the strong wind was trying to close the door as I pulled the gun from the case.

Vince’s short hair Indy pointing wild quail.

We had driven toward the back of a large field of CRP. The last time we had hunted this field we had seen two coveys of quail. We made a large circle around the property. As we got close to a low wet draw I saw Sally go on point. I told Vince but when we got closer we saw that she was honoring Indy. Sally had moved, on a back, a few days ago, for some reason, so I stayed behind her while Vince went around to go in front of Indy. When he got in front nothing flushed. Sally didn’t move until Vince released Indy. Indy and Sally started trailing and went through the brush as if something (pheasant?) had run off. We never saw anything.

We continued on around the field and through a food plot. As we went around the field one of us would say maybe they are along that draw or tree line out of the wind. When we got to the draws or tree line or tall hill the wind was just as bad as it was on the open ground. The wind was relentless.

When we got back to the truck we loaded the dogs and drove across the road to another place we had found birds before. I stopped the truck near a food plot and we turned the dogs loose. Sally ran the length of the food plot as the other dogs went through the CRP.

I had seen some covey roosts in the CRP just off the food plot and we got the dogs in to hunt the CRP. There was a small pond and several draws running through the area that the dogs checked well. As we made a big circle and were going up a draw the GPS vibrated and showed Sally on point to the east about 250 yards. As Vince went on up the draw I started to Sally.

Mann pointing wild quail.

This CRP has some real thick spots but most of it is just about right for quail. There is very little fescue. Most of the CRP is weeds with seed heads to feed quail. There is a lot of lespedeza. When I got within about 100 yards of Sally I could see she was off this place. When I got near the fence line she came to me. Whatever she had pointed ran out on her, I think. She wasn’t really excited as she would have been if birds had of flushed right in front of her. We went on back to the truck and loaded dogs.

We went across the road to some CRP next to a corn field. We had found a covey near the corn field before. We had just got started when Steve Long drove up. Steve was supposed to go with us, it’s his hunting lease, but he had felt bad yesterday and this morning. He still had a head ache but he and his Jag terrier, Dracula, joined us. Steve didn’t carry a gun. He just walked with us.

The quail weren’t home or at least we didn’t find them. We went on to the south. This property is a mile long, north to south. We were still just off the corn field. Along a ditch I saw Sally go on point. Vince’s Ally honored her. When we got close the dogs started moving. We never saw anything flush.

As I was trying to get the dogs to check this area Vince said Ally was on point a couple of hundred yards away. I told him to go ahead but I started in that direction. He saw me coming and waited. When I got there I tried to go into the ditch and flush the birds out toward Vince. A single quail flushed and flew over me but right into the sun. I never fired a shot nor did Vince get a shot.

This had to be a single from a covey that had flushed from in front of the Sally’s point a few minutes before. We never saw any birds but we hadn’t knowingly flushed any other birds in that area.

We checked the cover near this place without finding any other singles. We were close to the end of this place but there was one more draw running along the corn field. As we started toward the draw my GPS vibrated. Sally was on point 280 yards to the south east. We started to her.

Indy backing Sally who is honoring Mann’s point.

When we got close she was pointing into a small grassy low spot next to a draw. Maybe the one spot out of the wind. Mann and Ally were on a little hill honoring and Indy was on the other side backing.

Since Steve hadn’t carried a gun Vince had loaned his gun to him. The quail had run a little way in the grass and when Steve and I walked in she moved about three steps and went back on point. For those people that say style doesn’t matter, I say baloney. She was beautiful.

A big covey of quail erupted and I dropped one with the first barrel and missed one going away with the second. Steve had shot the same bird I had but he said it was dropping when he shot. Mann saw the bird hit the ground and he raced out, scooped it up and returned to me in a run. I knelt down and when he came to me I petted him for a few seconds then when I said, “give” he dropped it in my hand.

We had a few points along the ditch but when we got close the dogs would trail for a ways and then go on. I think the birds were flushing because of the strong wind.

We came back along side of a hill, near where the covey had flushed from, that had some scattered brush. As we were watching a single flushed as one of the dogs, came in with the wind at her back, got close to a honey locust tree. Vince had the gun back and we walked over to where we had seen the bird flush. When we got close another flushed. I shot and centered the honey locust and by the time Vince shot the bird was a long shot. Nothing to retrieve here.

Abby pointing a pigeon.

As we came around the side of the hill we saw a couple more singles flush with nothing near them. None of them were close enough to even shoot at. They weren’t letting man or dogs to get close.

We hunted on back to the truck and loaded dogs. Steve still had a head ache and shooting the shot gun hadn’t made it better. We talked a little while then Vince and I started home.

We were close to another place, that wasn’t part of Steve’s leased land, that we decided to try. We had found two coveys on this place last week. One of the coveys, we had had 4 points on and not killed a bird.

This place has the best lespedeza of any place I’ve ever hunted. Vince just turned Ally out but I turned both of mine loose. We went down a long draw that we had found a covey in before. Vince was on one side and I was on the other. We made it back to the road then moved over and went through the CRP back to the truck.

There was another draw on the north west side of this place that we had found a covey in so we drove close to it. I turned Mann loose and Vince only used Ally. We went up the draw and when we got to the end the dogs ran both ways on an abandoned rail road track. We then came back down the draw to the truck and loaded the dogs.

Josie pointing a pigeon.

We had hunted places where a few days ago we had found six coveys and then added in a place where we had found two coveys. We had only seen one bird and one covey. That has been my experience with the strong winds. I think with all of the weeds rattling in the wind the birds are nervous and flush before the dogs even get to them.

But any day with your dogs is a good day. And we did get some dog work. Several of the unproductive points would have had birds if the wind hadn’t been blowing, in my opinion. Ally and Sally had points with birds and Mann had a good retrieve. It was a good day.

Vince Dye had a dental appointment early this morning so I got to his house about 10:00 am. Normally, we have to drive a long way, to any of the places we hunt, so it’s usually really early when we leave. This was a much more civilized hour.

Mann pointing wild quail.

Sally pointing wild quail.

Vince’s short hair Indy pointing wild quail.

Vince has a friend that has several farms in north west Missouri and he lets Vince hunt them. Vince is gracious enough to take me along. For me, this isn’t a small thing. Except for this, all of the hunting I do is on public ground. It’s nice to know that there wasn’t anyone hunting the property just before we got there.

The first place we stopped was a long strip, maybe a mile long, of CRP next to a harvested soy bean field. Vince turned his two short haired pointers, Allie and Indy, plus his English cocker, Maggie, loose and I turned my English setters, Mann and Sally, out. We had parked in the middle so we went to the fence row on the north of the CRP and turned to the west. We made it all the way to the road and moved over and started back.

When we got close to the truck we went toward the fence row. Before we got there I felt the GPS vibrate. It showed Sally on point. As we started toward her it vibrated again and I knew that Mann was honoring. When we got to them I could tell that the quail had run and now Mann was pointing and Sally was backing.

Vince crossed the fence as I took pictures. Indy was backing behind Sally and Allie was honoring from the other side of the fence. It’s nice when all of the dogs do their jobs. Vince started toward where the birds were and they flushed flying through the fence row. One quail came over me and I turned and shot as it flew away. Indy saw it fall and evaded me on the way back and took the bird to Vince. I like for Vince to carry my birds but I really didn’t train his dogs to retrieve my birds to him, no matter what he says.

The covey had flown toward the CRP and we followed. The farmer had mowed some strips in the CRP. As I crossed one of the mowed strips into the taller weeds Sally came in front of me and went on point. She was only a few feet in front of me. As we watched she moved a few feet and went back on point. Then moved again. The single quail ran to the edge of the mowed grass and flushed. I knew when I shot that it was barely hit. Maggie and Sally both saw it fall and ran after it.

They were covering the spot it landed but the bird had run. Sally pointed 10 yards from where the bird had fallen. When I got to her I saw the bird in front of her. I encouraged her to grab it and when it tried to run she grabbed it. I called her to me and she stood in front of me with the quail while I petted her. I said, “give” and she dropped it in my hand. May be the start of a retriever.

We checked the CRP area out then went back along the fence row to the end of the place. We came back toward the truck along the CRP near the road. Vince yelled that we had dogs on point and I saw Indy standing on a mud road on point with Mann honoring. They were about 125 yards from me so I told him to go ahead. I had a good view.

Sally backing Mann.

Vince tried to get the dogs to go down in a deep ditch to flush the bird or birds. Mann left evidently because he didn’t smell a bird. Indy wasn’t leaving. She stayed on point. Vince tried to get Maggie to go flush and she went part of the way but came back. She couldn’t smell a bird either. Vince kept sending her back but she couldn’t get anything up. He got Indy to go down the bank a little way but she just went back on point. Finally, a single quail flushed down in the bottom of the ditch but it came out on the my side of the brush without giving Vince a shot.

I have seen this before. Indy has a good nose but it’s not superior to all dogs. Mann and Maggie have good noses too but Indy was in the right place to smell that quail. For some reason, I wish I knew more about scent and scenting conditions, Indy knew that quail was there and wouldn’t leave.

We hunted on back to the truck where we loaded the dogs and went to another farm. Last year we had hunted a place that the farmer told us he had seen a covey of quail near a gate in a cross fence. We had driven in and both of us said we didn’t think there were any quail there. As we drove through the gate a covey of quail ran into the fence row. That was last year. We turned dogs out near this gate but when we didn’t find anything close to the gate we loaded our dogs and went to another farm.

The next farm had a road on 3 sides of it with row crops off the place. The fourth side was an abandoned railroad track. The whole farm was in CRP with some of the best lespedeza mixed in with the weeds and grasses that I have seen.

Indy on point.

We went across the CRP toward a draw that ran into the field. Vince and I were still in the CRP when Vince saw Sally on point. About the time he saw her my GPS handheld vibrated. Indy saw Sally and honored her. When we got close she was looking into the draw. I went into the draw to try to get the birds to fly toward Vince. A large covey flushed and flew on up the draw without giving either of us a shot.

We followed them on up the draw. I was on the west side and Vince was on the east. A short way up the draw Vince said, “Indy is on point about 40 yards ahead of us”. As we continued on up the draw I saw Sally and Mann both on point about 5 yards apart. I thought they both had a bird because they were close together but looking in different directions. Vince was across the draw from me but I couldn’t see him. When I walked in front of the dogs Sally’s bird went on up the draw and Mann’s went back down toward the road. I couldn’t shoot.

We went on to the end of the draw and moved over into the CRP and went back toward the road. Before we got to the road Vince’s GPS said Indy was on point, down in the draw. When we got close she was in the very middle where it was really thick. When we got to her a single quail flushed flying through the brush. We both shot but never came close.

We got all of the dogs in to hunt the bottom of the creek. About 10 yards from where she had pointed the first one Indy pointed again. Before we got close a single quail flushed and Vince made a really good shot on it. Sally saw the quail drop and ran to it. She picked it up and I called her to me. When she got to me I petted her for a few seconds then she dropped the quail in my hand.

My Baker 5 pound 20 gauge side by side and a few quail.

We went on to the road then decided to go back through the draw. The dogs were hunting right in front of us as we slowly worked our way up the draw. Sally went on point about 10 yards in front of us. Vince was on her right and I came up on her left. I kicked in front of her and she turned and moved a few feet then went on point again. I went back to her front and a quail flushed from behind me. I shot and thought I had missed so I shot again and the quail dropped across a little creek. Vince said I had hit the bird both shots.

Sally saw this bird drop, too. She ran to it, scooped it up and started to me. Any time another dog got close she turned her back to them but she came right to me with the bird. I petted her for a few seconds then said, “give” and she dropped it in my hand. She’s starting to understand this retrieving thing, maybe.

We worked our way to the end of the draw then went over the hill through the CRP to another draw. As we crossed the CRP I felt the GPS handheld vibrate. It showed Sally on point 165 yards away, along the draw we were headed to. By the time we got close Indy and Mann were honoring Sally’s point. We were still 20 yards from Sally when we saw the covey flush out the other side of the draw.

This covey had flown toward the abandoned rail road bed. The only thing that had been done to keep the rail road bed open was the deer trails. The cover was really thick. We followed after the covey. When we got close to short draw next to the rail road Allie went on point right in the middle. As Vince got close to Allie a quail flushed almost under his feet and flew across the rail road. When it flushed the rest of the covey flushed, also.

Sally in the draw on point. Mann honoring.

Down the rail road a short distance was a CRP field that Vince had found some singles in last year. When we got close I saw Sally on point along a hedge row beside the CRP field. As I got closer I saw that she was really backing Mann who was on point 25 yards in front of her. Indy backed, too. Vince had come up the other side of the hedge row and when he tried to come through the hedge row two quail flushed. The birds had run down the hedge row then came through the brush. We both shot but neither of us connected.

Vince heard a couple of singles flush out of the CRP as the dogs hunted. After hunting the hedge row and the CRP we went back to the rail road bed. When we got near the end Allie went on point. When I got close Indy and Mann were honoring. Then Sally honored. Where Allie pointed it was really thick and Vince sent Maggie in to flush. Nothing got up.

We went on through to the other side of the rail road. We saw Allie and Mann on point. I think Allie was pointing and Mann backing. A single quail flushed before we started to them. Then another flushed from the CRP. We went back toward where we started on the rail road track then came back toward the truck.

I felt the GPS vibrate and it showed Mann on point about 150 yards ahead of us. When we got close I saw Allie on point just outside the rail road bed and Sally honoring her. When I got closer I saw Mann inside the rail road brush on point. Allie was honoring him.

Josie pointing a pigeon.

Vince was on the other side of the rail road bed and when we got even with Mann he started to him to run the quail out to me. As I stood watching the dogs I saw a quail run from in front of Mann toward where we had just came from. I wasn’t sure on the first one then I saw another one run. I told Vince they were running behind us.

I tried to get Mann to move but he just knew the bird was right in front of him. Sally started trailing and Mann reluctantly started trailing, too. Vince and I got in the brush and two quail flushed from way in front of us. If I had not seen those birds running on the ground we would have thought that was a false point. I don’t know how many times through out the year that happens but probably a lot.

We hunted on back to the truck without seeing anymore quail. We drove by another farm but it was getting late and we had had a good hunt, just the way it was. We hadn’t killed a lot of birds but we had a lot of dog work, which is what we are after.

Last winter was hard on birds with the ice staying on for a long time and then in the spring there were a lot of cold rains. It hurt the quail in most areas but these grounds were CRP with good cover. The hunt that we had last week just a short distance from here was the same. A lot of quail for the year we are having. That may be proof that with really good habitat the quail can survive and maybe flourish.