Traveling Pointing Dogs

This has been a winter to sit by the fire. Not that, that is what we want to do. Hunting seasons are never long enough and with some of the nights getting down to 12 below zero, it’s too cold in Missouri. The first couple of nights I put the dogs in their boxes in the truck and parked in the garage. When I woke up each morning about 6 am or earlier I would let the dogs out for a few minutes. As soon as they did their business they loaded right back up. Even Boss who hates to ride or hates the box would sometimes be the first to load up.

Epitaph enough for anyone.

Mann pointing a covey in Oklahoma.

Boss honoring.

I’m not sure that bringing the dogs in is necessary. They have good houses with lots of hay. On the real cold days I change their water buckets twice a day. I only feed once a day but I mix water with their kibble to make sure they get plenty of water. Bringing them in makes me feel better about them, so it’s worth it.

But after just a couple of days I knew it wasn’t good for me either so I loaded up and headed to Arizona. I, probably, should have been an over the road trucker. From my home in Missouri, the first day, I drove to Las Cruces New Mexico. A little over 900 miles. By noon the second day I had my license and was looking for a place to hunt.

I wasn’t as prepared as I should have been. I didn’t have BLM maps and my Onx didn’t work right either. From being here 3 or 4 years ago I remembered a place where I had found 3 coveys of Gambles quail. There was a stock tank that kept the quail close and was a good place to get the dogs cooled off. When I got there 3 people were already hunting it. Well at least they were on it, eating lunch. A couple from Wisconsin, with a guy from Tombstone about 10 miles away. When I asked, they said, they had seen a few.

I drove down the road about a mile and back into another place where I had found a covey a few years ago. I turned the dogs out but the water hole here was dry and there were no tracks in the sand. We made a big circle down a dry wash and along a hillside and in about an hour we were back to the truck. It was good to get the dogs out but we needed to find a new area.

I drove into the mountains where there was a chance of working some Mearns quail. This area is a really neat area with scattered oak and cedar trees. Some type of tall grass covers the area. While I was close I did drive right along the barrier between Old Mexico and Arizona. It’s not much of a barrier. Just a barb wire fence and some iron bars running inside the fence.

From the mountains. The line is between Arizona and Mexico.

I turned the dogs out and we hunted into a strong south wind. There are deep draws every hundred yards or so if you are going east to west. Less draws if you go south but the dogs don’t mind the draws. Boss pointed and I had to cross one draw and then go a long way to the south. When I got close, the way the draw ran, he was back on the other side. When I got close he and the other dogs started trailing around. Evidently, the birds had run off. We never came up with anything.

We turned to the west then back to the north. At the head of one of the draws Mann pointed about 150 yards from me. I could see him on point, high on both ends, at about 75 yards. I got to about 50 yards of him, with him still looking good, and I heard a quail flush and saw another fly a short distance. It went down in a clump of brush. I got all of the dogs in to hunt the small clump. None of them even got birdy. I don’t know what happened to that bird.

I carried water with me for the dogs and it’s a good thing. There was no water to be had. We worked our way back around to the truck. I found a spot where I could tie the dogs and feed them before leaving. I loaded the dogs and went looking for a motel.

Sally honoring.

I was back out early the next morning. I had seen a lot of trucks with bird hunters the day before but this morning I never saw a one. I thought maybe, since yesterday was a Monday, a lot of guys had 3 day weekends. I turned the dogs loose in the mountains, again.

We hunted for a couple of hours with nothing happening. My altimeter showed that we were over a mile high and I knew I couldn’t hunt all day there. I decided to load dogs and see if we could find any birds back where I had seen the 3 people the day before. On the way out, on about 5 miles of main road, I saw 7 trucks with dog boxes. Most of the people park well off the main road, as I did both days. So this area is getting hit really hard.

I got back to the place near Tombstone and no one was hunting it. I checked to make sure there was water in the tank before we started, and there was. We started into a pretty good wind to the west. I came to a small dry, sandy creek bed and saw a lot of quail tracks in the sand. I got the dogs in but they must have been old tracks. The dogs didn’t act interested. We went on to the west and then I crossed a tough 6 strand barb wire fence. Just as I got to the other side my GPS showed Boss on point on the side I had just left. So back I went.

Abby honoring.

When I got close to him, Sally and Abby were honoring. Boss was looking straight down, almost, like the bird was right under his nose. When I got close he started moving. I think he was pointing a pack rat. I called him away and recrossed the fence. We circled back and I hit the dry wash in a different place and there were more quail tracks. In the sand a track will stay a long time and it’s hard to know how old they were.

I had given the dogs most of the water I was carrying and when we got close to the stock tank I called the dogs in to drink and I refilled my water bottles. Sally, Abby and Boss just got a drink from the tank but Mann jumped in and drank as he swam around. He is smarter than the others.

Every where I had hunted in Arizona showed signs of a lot of hunters. Everywhere I went there were either lots of trucks or lots of tracks as I walked through the fields. I know there are a lot of quail in Arizona but they have had a lot of pressure. Of the people I had talked to, no one was doing very well. I decided to go back to Oklahoma and give it a try.

When I left home it was 8 below zero and I was heading into a strong head wind. My gas mileage really suffered for a while then came back up some but on the way to Oklahoma I had a really strong tail wind that really had the gas mileage soaring. I drove from Sierra Vista Arizona to Elk City Oklahoma.

Boss pointing a single.

I was raised in Oklahoma but I didn’t start hunting western Oklahoma until 2005. The bird numbers have been down so I haven’t hunted Oklahoma in a few years but I remember some of the places. Oklahoma wasn’t in my plans when I left home so I didn’t have my normal array of maps.

I had bought my license before I went to the motel the night before. I drove around the first place I hunted without seeing any hunters or even any trucks with dog boxes. I turned the dogs out and started to the north into a strong wind. We hadn’t gone far when all of the dogs got really excited. I think a covey of quail flushed but I neither saw nor heard any.

About a half mile farther in, I saw Boss and Sally, 75 yards from me acting really birdy. I started to them, then saw a small covey of quail running from Sally and Boss toward me. About the time I saw them, they flushed. Only 6 birds so I didn’t shoot. I don’t know if this was all that was left of this covey or only part of it ran toward me. They flew over a rise where I couldn’t see where they went down.

We went on to the north edge of this property, turned east for about a quarter mile and started back south. I had parked near a frozen stock tank and when we got close, again the dogs acted as though a covey of quail flushed. Boss went 500 yards to the east and all of the dogs were checking everything out.

Mann on point.

I had used most of the water I carried with me so I found a 3 pound hammer in my truck and broke the ice in the stock tank. I refilled my water bottles and filled a pan for the dogs. We walked down the fence line about a mile south then moved over and hunted back toward the truck. We got into some big areas of prickly pear. I think the last few dry years have really allowed the prickly pear to flourish.

We got to the truck and I watered the dogs again. All except Mann. I checked the GPS and he was on point about 150 yards away. As I started to him the other dogs came along. By the time I got close Abby and Sally were honoring. I took some pictures then walked in front of Mann. A small covey flushed. Only 5 birds. Again, I didn’t shoot. This could have been part of some of the other quail that we had moved but this late in the year I don’t want to be the one that kills too many out of a covey. I would rather have birds to work our dogs on than a bird in my hand.

The dogs were hot and with all of the prickly pear maybe sore footed. I decided to drive to where I wanted to hunt the next day, about 30 miles, and look it over and rest the dogs for a while.

Bodie pointing a chukar.

As I turned the corner near where I was going to park the truck in the morning I saw 2 quail in the road. They were crossing off the property I wanted to hunt to a harvested corn field, on private ground. I tried to flush them to see how many birds were in the covey. I only saw 3 and a little while later another. But it would make a good starting place for the next day.

As I drove around I saw places where I had found quail in the past. I decided a short hunt in one of the places wouldn’t be a bad thing. A lot of years ago I had hunted this spot and only needed 2 birds for a limit. One of my dogs pointed and when the covey got up I killed one with the first shot and at my second shot 2 birds went to the ground. I thought, “now I’m over my limit”. I got the first bird and went to where the two had dropped and a quail flew off. I found my last bird and was relieved that I didn’t kill too many. I think the second quail thought the one I shot had just lit there so he did too.

I found a good way into this property and turned the dogs loose. About 50 yards in I looked and 3 of the dogs were about 5 yards behind me and one about that much in front. I thought the prickly pear had really worked on them. We went to the truck. Abby jumped onto the truck and when I petted her before letting her into the box my hand almost stuck to her. She was covered in sand burrs. I got my needle nose pliars and went to work on all four dogs. That was the reason they weren’t hunting. We went back to the motel.

Boss pointing a single.

The next morning when I got up it was 16 degrees and the wind was from the north at 25 miles an hour gusting to 40. Not going to hunt and not going to hang around a motel. I headed home. With the 25 mph wind and gusts of 40 head wind, my gas mileage, that I had built up with the strong tail wind, plummeted. Oh, well. I had missed a lot of the super cold weather that had settled on Missouri and most of the United States and I got to spend 6 days with my dogs.

I had to recycle some pictures. My server was busy. Whatever that means.

The snow has chased me into the house. My neighbors must think I’m senile at the very least. Before the snow got really heavy, I was mowing the leaves in my front yard. My neighbors can’t see what I was doing but they can hear the mower running. They probably don’t think I’m “all here” anyway and that just confirms it. Oh well. I had a couple of good hunts this week.

Austin going in to flush a single that Boss has pointed.

Mann pointing a single.

Austin and a couple of quail. We did have permission.

I hunted in northern Missouri with Austin Farley. He has some private places to hunt and is working to get more. I met him about 8:30 am and we drove to the first place. A corn field with a creek running through it and some other cover along the fence rows. A hundred yards or so in the GPS vibrated. Austin was on one side of the draw with me on the other. As I told him Sally was on point, he said, “there they go.” He said that there were dogs on point and another dog ran through the covey. We aren’t sure what happened, but the birds flew behind us, along the creek.

As Austin walked along the other side his English setter puppy, Bess, pointed. Just as she pointed a single flushed right in front of her and fell to Austin’s shot.

I crossed to Austin’s side and we went back along the creek. Boss went on point in the edge of the corn field. I took some pictures as the other dogs honored. Austin went around to flush the quail into the open where he could get a shot. Most of the time, the quail has already got it’s mind on the direction it will travel. This one flew straight toward me before turning and flying through the trees along the creek. Austin shot but the bird already had distance and several trees in his way.

The dogs checked everything as we went back close to the edge. We started down a fence line and Mann went on point. When I got close he had his feet crossed and his tail was low like he was afraid to move anything, or the bird would flush too early. I crossed the fence to run the bird out for Austin, which worked this time. Austin made a long shot and Sally came back over a terrace with the quail in her mouth. I thought she would give it to Austin, but she bypassed him and brought it to me.

We went on down the fence row to the end of the property then back down the creek. The dogs were birdy several times but we didn’t get any more quail up. When we got to the trucks, we loaded dogs and went to another place.

Mann pointing a single.

They had cut hay on the CRP on the front part of this property, but the back half was still standing. We walked back to it along the fence row. The property next to this, that we didn’t have permission to hunt, had row crops along with some pasture and CRP. When we got to the tall CRP Sally and Austin’s puppy Bess, went on point right in front of us. Then they moved a few feet and pointed again. They did this several times without ever actually staying on point. Then off to my left and behind me a rooster pheasant flushed. By the time I got into action it was too far, but I shot once anyway.

The GPS vibrated showing Boss on point. We got as close to him as we could, but he was on the property next door to where we had permission. After just a few minutes we saw several quail flush back onto the property we were on or close to it. I think a covey was spread out in the harvested soybean field next door and had flushed back into the CRP on our side.

As we came around the end of a draw the GPS vibrated showing Sally on point. We were still quite a way from her when Austin saw some pheasants in the air. Then she was moving according to the GPS. We worked the dogs into areas where we thought some of the quail had flown but never came up with anything.

Boss pointing a covey. Abby honoring.

Austin had stuff to do in the afternoon, so we headed back to the truck. We only hunted about 2 1/2 hours and had seen 2 coveys of quail and several pheasants. Not a bad morning’s work.

A few mornings later I decided to go to Kansas for a hunt. I didn’t leave very early, 8:00 am, because of the fog. I didn’t know that it was even worse in Kansas. On the two-lane roads it was hard to see cars coming even with their headlights on. And I saw a couple of people driving with only parking lights on. Talking about living dangerously.

I don’t do sit and wait, very well. So I kept driving. A couple of times, trying to turn on crossroads I pulled into people’s driveways. Visibility was not very good.

Sally pointing a single.

It was after 1:00 pm before the fog lifted enough for me to turn dogs out. By this time, I was a long way into Kansas. In an area I was unfamiliar with. I had driven by an area earlier and put a question mark on the map. This was a good time to try it. There was a harvested soybean field close to the road with a pasture next to it. I turned all 4 dogs out, Sally, Abby, Boss and Mann.

We had only gone a little way around the edge of the soybean field when the GPS showed Sally on point. Before I got close I saw Abby honoring her. Sally was standing in some scrub brush near a cedar tree. when I walked in 3 quail flushed, one at a time. Each one flew through the cedar tree without giving me a shot. With there being only 3 birds I wouldn’t have shot anyway. I don’t know whether someone else had hunted this earlier and had flushed a covey or if there were only 3 birds.

We did check the area to see if we could find any others. The dogs got birdy but never came up with anything. We went on around the edge of the bean field to the south edge, turned east and went to the center of the mile long property. I found a harvested corn field with a lot of good cover along a waterway and the fence rows. We turned to the north along the fence line.

Mann honoring Sally.

In between the corn field and a soybean field was a hay field. It was, probably, CRP that the farmer had been allowed to cut the hay for his cattle. There was some good cover along the fence row but Boss saw a little clump of brush in the middle of the hay field. I was watching him when he checked it out and went on point. As I went to him Abby honored from about 50 yards behind. I turned and Sally and Mann were behind me honoring, also.

I took pictures of Boss and Abby but the other two were too far. When I got to the clump, I put the camera up and kicked the edge of the brush 3 times. Nothing happened. I backed out and crossed behind Boss and came around to the other side of the little clump. On my second kick a covey exploded. I shot and one quail fell in the hay field. An easy retrieve for Sally.

There was a thick draw about 75 yards to the north and all of the dogs were in it, birdy. Boss pointed again and when I got close I saw him move up. I cautioned him. As I got closer, he moved again, and I saw 2 quail flush from the other side about 20 yards in front of him. He chased and I yelled, “whoa”. I normally don’t say anything to the dogs. Shouldn’t have on this one. Those birds ran out and flushed. If they would have held, he would have.

We worked on down the draw to a larger one. The GPS vibrated and showed Boss on point at about 200 yards. When I got to the larger draw Boss was on the opposite side on point. He was still 65 yards from me. That’s how wide the draw was. I started across and it had to take me more than 5 minutes to get across. When I got to him, I could tell that the bird was gone. But I had yelled at him for moving when the last birds got up, so he wasn’t moving. I tapped his head and we went back to hunting.

Abby and Boss honoring Sally pointing a ‘possum.

When we got to the north road we went through a really good-looking area with lots of cover between two crop fields. We didn’t find anything but it was close to a road so it could have been hunted before I got there. As we came around the end of the cover the GPS vibrated. Sally was on point. By the time I got close the other dogs were honoring. Sally was inside a clump of brush but her tail wasn’t even, even with her back. I said, Sally, “I bet you’re pointing a ‘possum.” Sure enough, when I passed her I saw a ‘possum about 15 yards in front of her. Sally has done a skunk before and I don’t want her doing fur of any kind. Some places I hunt have porcupines. I don’t need them either. I tapped her on the rump and said, “no”. We left.

We worked back along the fence line near where Boss had found the covey but didn’t pick up any more singles. It was getting late, so we started across a pasture toward the truck. I don’t like to move birds real late. The pasture hadn’t been grazed way down. There was a good stand of blue stem or some tall grass. As we crossed the GPS vibrated and it showed Boss on point just 79 yards south of me. I could see his tail and part of his head sticking above the cover.

He looked really good, so I took several pictures. We were close enough to have a single quail from the first birds Sally had pointed but when I got close to him a rooster pheasant flushed. It didn’t get very high and I didn’t make a good hit on it. I knew it would hit the ground and run but Boss was right on it. He was holding it to the ground when I got to him. Sally tried to take it but he whirled around. I grabbed his collar, but he still didn’t want to give it up. I blew a puff of air into his ear, and he turned it loose.

From an earlier hunt in Kansas.

We started on toward the truck and Boss went about a hundred yards and pointed into a little clump of brush. This was close to where Sally had pointed the 3 when we first got here. Sally and Abby were honoring and I tried to get pictures. The sun was all wrong and I couldn’t see him. finally, I gave up and started to him but he wasn’t there. He had moved.

I went on to the clump and saw him on the other side, on point. He had circled the clump. When I kicked the clump I just saw a quail flush low to the ground. It never got high enough for a shot. We went on toward the truck. I saw one more quail. I think Sally got one up close to the truck. But it was a good short hunt. In maybe 3 hours we had seen 2 coveys of quail and a pheasant. We had got a lot of dog work and I had taken several pictures. A successful day.

Last summer Vince Dye had to get rid of his bird dog. When this season got close I loaned him Bodie and he has gotten him into a lot more birds than I could have. He hunted with another couple of guys for 3 days a few weeks ago and they moved about 20 different coveys. Bodie pointed his share. When Vince asked me to go hunting with him and a friend, I jumped at the chance.

Bodie pointing a single.

Mann and Abby honoring Sally.

Sally

The place we were going to hunt was 550 acres of CRP. They had mowed some strips around it but it was still really thick. Seldom did the dogs find birds where we could walk these mowed strips. The cover was the normal CRP but there was really a lot of wheat interspersed with the normal grasses. The heads on the wheat were long and hanging down. Perfect for all of the animals, especially ground dwelling birds.

We turned the dogs loose in a mowed part and started toward the interior of the field along a wooded draw. We were about half way down the draw when we saw a covey of quail flush at the end of the draw but about 30 yards into the CRP. There may have been some dogs around them but I’m not sure. One quail came back by us and SL killed it with a long shot.

The covey had flown over a hill so we just went in the same direction. We checked most of the area then went on to the west edge then to the north. When we got to the north edge several dogs were on point. They were in the thick CRP and were hard to see. We had a lot of dogs out and several were pointing and some were backing. A big covey was spread out evidently feeding or going to feed. They flushed well out front of us in a couple of waves then I saw 2 that were probably 75 yards down the hill from us, get up. We all 3 shot but I don’t remember a bird falling.

This covey spread all over the area. We started to the east and the GPS vibrated. Mann was on point out in the tall CRP. We were having trouble finding him in the waist high CRP. According to the GPS we were 43 feet from him when two quail flushed. We didn’t even get a shot and still couldn’t see Mann until he moved when the birds flushed. Then another quail flushed and Vince knocked it down. We looked for it for a few minutes and Sally picked it up several feet from where we thought it was and delivered to me.

We continued to the east and some of the dogs crossed the road. Boss pointed, standing in a mowed strip, looking into the tall grass. A couple of dogs, Mann and Sally, honored him but when we walked in nothing flushed. A short distance away Bodie was on point. Vince and SL were blocked by a really large thicket. I saw him and started to him. Sally and Mann honored and I took pictures. I was waiting on Vince to come down but he told me he was blocked and for me to go ahead and flush the bird.

Even a Jag terrier can honor.

I started on toward Bodie and saw a little trash bird fly by close to his head. Then 2 more little birds lit in a bush right close to his head. He didn’t move. When I walked in a single quail flushed and dropped at my shot. Bodie didn’t see it fall. I got Sally in to hunt dead. She found the dead bird and dropped it in my hand.

We went on to the east and dropped south to a pond for the dogs to cool down and get a drink. Vince start around the west side of the pond and SL and I were on the east. Sally went on point south of the pond. When we got close Sally was pointing into some scattered trees below the pond. Boss and Mann were honoring. Sally was looking way into the timber. SL and I saw birds flushing way ahead of us down in the timber. When we got close to where the quail were getting up we could see why. There were leaves on the ground but no other cover for them to hide.

Boss

Most of the birds had flown south which was the way were headed. There was a draw to the east and we were going down a fence line with a lot of cover. About a quarter of a mile from where the last covey had been, Boss pointed. He was down in the thick stuff along the fence line we were following. When we got close the covey flushed flying down the fence line before coming into the open. I shot as did the other guys but we had almost no chance.

Vince was on the west and saw the direction some of these birds had flown. We started around toward them. SL had brought his young Jag terrier with him. He was recovering from a broken leg and it started bothering him. SL decided to take him back to the truck.

Vince and I went on around where he had seen the singles from the last covey fly to. Bodie went on point down along a creek in some really thick cover. Neither of us could get close to him but in a couple of minutes he started trailing and a single quail got up well ahead of him. Too far for a shot from Vince or me.

Boss pointing a covey.

We started on around and wound up back close to the pond where the covey had run away from Sally. The other time we had followed the fence row south, this time we took the draw. Vince was on one side and I was on the other. Bodie pointed on Vince’s side two or three times with the singles from one of the coveys we had moved. Each of them flew down the draw, through the trees, not even giving us a shot.

We crossed a large draw with the intention of going to the west along the draw then turning south back to the truck. We started down the draw and I checked my GPS. Boss was on point about where we had crossed the draw. We went back. We couldn’t see him. He was in chest high weeds. Just before we got to Boss two quail flushed flying through a gap in the timber. An easy shot for both of us but we managed to miss with both barrels. Vince said, “How did we miss. That was an easy shot”. But we both did.

Abby on point.

Vince and I were on the same side as we went to the west along the big draw. Bodie went on point ahead of us. When we got close a quail flushed crossing the draw with no shots. A little farther a single came out on our side and tried to fly back to the east. It was out in the open and dropped when I shot. Sally saw it fall and ran to it. She picked it up but only carried it a few feet and dropped it and laid down. I told her to fetch and she picked it up but only came a couple of steps. Usually, she’s pretty good retriever but she was hot and tired. It was like she was saying, “I’m tired. You can come a few feet”. So I walked over and picked it up.

We worked our way back to the truck. We had moved 5 coveys, killed 5 quail and had a lot of dog work. Vince said we could go to another place but I thought for me and all of the dogs had had enough. It had been a good day.

This will really be about two hunts. One in Kansas and the other in Missouri. The day after my wife got out of the hospital, I went quail hunting. Don’t feel bad for her. She line dances for exercise and she went dancing the day after she got out of the hospital. From not doing much the 8 days she was in the hospital and the two days before that we were driving to Oklahoma and back, my back started bothering me. I didn’t think it was too bad and I always think that no matter what ails me can be solved by lots of walking.

Mann

Sally

Boss

There was some snow on the ground when I got to the area I wanted to hunt in Kansas. The snow should keep the temperature down and give the ground some moisture to make scenting conditions better. I turned all 4 dogs, Sally, Abby, Boss and Mann, out. The Conservation Department are doing a lot of work on this area. Removing the trees and leaving wide grass strips between the row crop fields. This should be really good for the quail.

We had circled a couple of small fields when the GPS vibrated showing Boss on point in an area where the guys had removed some trees and the equipment hadn’t left much cover. There were a couple of small brush piles. When I got close Sally and Abby were honoring. As I came real close Boss started trailing. I could see a lot of quail tracks in the snow but I never saw a bird. When he moved Sally and Abby trailed, too.

I think these birds had flushed before Boss got there. Where they had sat left enough scent for him to point. We circled another field then started working our way toward the truck. Again, the GPS vibrated showing Boss on point. He wasn’t very far from the truck but he was only a couple hundred yards from his other point. This made a good photo op. Sally and Abby honored and before I could get to him Mann showed up to honor, also.

By the time I took the pictures Boss had let down a little. When I walked in front of him nothing flushed but again I saw quail tracks in the snow. All 4 dogs trailed but again we found nothing. Sometimes, quail are really wild with snow on the ground. I loaded the dogs and went to another area on this Conservation area.

I had been able to walk in harvested soybean fields in the first place but this was CRP type grass around the grain fields. With my feet dragging through the tall grass it really started working on my sore back. I was going even slower than normal to ease the pain as much as possible.

Abby

The GPS vibrated showing Mann on point about a hundred yards away. He was almost straight ahead of me and when I started to him the other dogs were in front of me too. I was still 40 or 50 yards from Mann when Abby went on point. At first, I didn’t pay much attention to her. I was looking for Mann. Then it dawned on me that she was pointing. Then I saw Mann about 30 yards from her still on point but looking a long way ahead.

I walked in front of Abby but toward Mann through some heavy weeds and grass. I got ahead of Mann with nothing flushing. I released the dogs and they started trailing. This time quite aways ahead of the dogs I saw a couple of quail flush, not close enough to shoot at. Where they had run to was thick grass and weeds with scattered short trees every where.

Sally pointed a few yards ahead of me. When I got to her one quail flushed and got some of the short trees between us. Then Boss pointed about 50 yards away. when I got to him 2 quail flushed and they circled some trees but this time I tried a shot through the trees with no luck.

Boss in the bushes.

I think this covey had started out near where Mann was on point. They ran east and were about 35 yards or so from Mann when Abby smelled them and pointed. Then what I saw of them turned north. I saw 5 or 6 quail flush and as we went back toward the truck I had several more points but when I would get close the dogs would start trailing.

I tried to work the dogs farther through the tall weeds and grass but strain on my feet was really causing pain in my back. Sometimes I was making some noises that I’ve never done before. I knew it was time to load dogs and head home. It was only about 11:00 am but time to leave.

The next day I drove to an area that had a walking trail. Thinking that walking would heal about anything I walked about 3 miles. When I got home, I put heat on the back. I continued to do this each day for 10 days before I felt like I could try another hunt.

I went back to a Conservation area in Missouri that I had hunted opening day. Opening day none of the crops had been harvested but with the weather we have had I was sure it was harvested now. Wrong. When I got there, there were less deer hunters but nothing had been harvested. Since this was a test to make sure my back could handle the strain I turned the dogs out.

I had brought all 4, Sally, Abby, Boss and Mann. The Conservation department had mowed a path to the east where I wanted to hunt. I started down the path. I was only a couple hundred yards from the truck when the GPS vibrated. Boss was on point just north of where I had parked the truck. I turned back.

I was about 40 yards from Boss when I saw him moving. He was really animated so I was sure a covey had flushed. Since I never saw them or heard them, I had no idea where the singles may have gone. There was a bunch of tall CRP looking grass and weeds close so we worked through this. This was a good test for my back. There were no trails so after a quarter of a mile with no back pain I knew I was okay.

I circled a few corn fields as I went to the east. A lot of years ago I had hunted this area, but it has been allowed to grow up in saplings. And the crops need to be harvested. The side I was hunting was a lot higher than the east side. I remembered some small grain fields over the bluff, down in the bottoms. I thought maybe if they were in soybeans, I would give them a try. When I got down the hill the first field was in unharvested corn.

Going down that steep hill or off the bluff was easy, getting back to the top was tough. On the way to the top Mann pointed just off the trail I was following. Sally and Abby were honoring by the time I got close. I walked ahead of him and nothing flushed. I released the dogs. They went about 40 yards and Sally pointed. She was looking way out front. It could have been turkeys, but I really think that a covey of quail ran away from us. I never got anything to flush.

We went by a pond to cool the dogs down and get them a drink. I walked the edge of a corn field above the pond. I was almost to the end of the corn field when I checked the GPS. Sally was on point down in the thick nasty stuff below the pond. She was only about a hundred yards away but it took over 5 minutes for me to get close. I could see her on the other side of a thick black berry patch. I had to have sounded as loud as a freight train coming through there. I finally made it through. Sally was looking way up the hill. She was in the edge of the heavy woods. The trees had shaded out most of the ground cover. There wasn’t enough for birds to hide.

Abby

Abby and Mann were honoring. I knew there was no birds right in front of her and as I stood there a single quail came from up in front of us flying through the trees. I released the dogs and they all were really looking, expecting birds everywhere. Where we were there was a short barb wire fence that I had to cross. As I worked up the hill through the woods another quail flushed out of a tree. We checked the area all the way to an unharvested corn field. Nothing.

Boss had got separated from us and was hunting close to the truck. I kept trying to get close enough to him to get him back. We started on toward the truck. We were getting close to the truck when I saw Sally go on point. She was pointing into a cedar tree in a hedge row along the side of a corn field. I went through the hedge row as Abby came in to honor. When I got close a single quail flushed putting the cedar tree between me and it. I shot through the cedar just out of frustration.

Shortly after I shot all of the dogs just knew there was a dead bird. Boss even joined us. I went on around the corn field when a quail flew right past me. About that time Boss pointed in the corn field just a couple of rows in. It, probably, was where the quail I had just seen had flushed from. I tapped him on the head and he moved just a few feet and went back on point but he didn’t stay long. He started trailing. We worked the area without finding anything else. Those quail had to be from the covey that Boss had pointed when we first got here. We went to the other side of the Conservation area.

Mann

This where there is a covey that Vince Dye and I call the phantom covey. It’s there every year but it usually beats us. The last time I had been here I had killed one quail out of the covey. But I had only seen 2. We hunted the whole area but we never saw them this time. With all of my wife’s problems and my bad back the dogs aren’t in very good shape. They were really tired when I got back close to the truck, so I loaded them up and we went home. I had walked a long way with no problems from my back, but I was tired too.