Traveling Pointing Dogs

On Monday, Austin and I went back to Iowa, quail hunting. We are learning new areas and haven’t been hunting the same places. This time we went to the western side by driving up Interstate 29 rather than Interstate 35. I enjoy hunting new places and trying to figure out which properties to hunt.

Sally pointing quail.

Luke on point almost sitting down. Sally honoring.

Someone, on point, buried in the weeds.

The first place we hunted was a 160 acre parcel of CRP that was surrounded by harvested grain fields. Austin turned Ember, his pointing lab puppy out and I put the e-collars and GPS collars on Sally, Dolly and Luke. We turned them loose on the north east corner and started to the west.

Although it was foggy we had plenty of visibility and the moisture was good for the dogs. We crossed the fence and I checked the GPS and Luke was on point at 94 feet. When we got close a hen pheasant flushed. We continued on to the west.

As we came to the north west corner Sally was pointing about 50 yards off of the fence row. When we got close another hen pheasant flushed. At least we have birds for the dogs to point.

We hit a little draw that took us back to the center of the property as we went to the south. There was a big area on the south west corner that we hadn’t hunted so we started up a creek. Austin was on the south side and I was on the north. I heard Austin holler something. Then I heard him say that Luke was on point in front of him. He was close and it would take me several minutes to get to them so I told him to go ahead and check him out.

I was standing where I could see Austin and Luke. A covey of quail flushed and Austin shot twice and I saw a quail fall. Ember ran right where it fell but didn’t find the quail. (Ember is only 11 months old and hasn’t figured out this quail hunting thing, yet.) I went over with Sally and Dolly to help. We looked for about ten minutes but never found the quail.

We checked the south west corner, went back to the north then back to the south east corner. We had a pretty good south wind as we turned north. As we got to the top of a hill several pheasants flushed ahead of us. At least one was a rooster.

We were almost back to the truck when I checked the GPS and Dolly was on point behind us about 60 yards. I had seen her check a plum thicket then turn to the south but didn’t stop to watch her. Dolly used to cover a lot of ground but now at almost 13 years old she doesn’t move very fast, most times.

When we found her she was just south of the plum thicket. I walked in front of her and nothing flushed. I tapped her head and told her, “okay.” She didn’t move. I walked back and forth in front of her and tapped her head again. She started trailing. She stopped several times over the next 75 yards and finally a single quail flushed in front of her. It dropped when I shot but the dogs didn’t see it go down.

I marked the quail down and we got all 4 dogs in to hunt dead. We spent at least 10 minutes looking and never found the quail. It was really heavy CRP but the dogs should have found that bird.

Luke pointing quail.

We got back close to the truck and all of the dogs were trailing and acting birdy. We got close to a cedar tree and a quail flushed out of the tree. Most of the time, when quail light in trees, it is baby birds. These looked like full grown birds. These quail may have escaped from coyotes this way and used it on the bird dogs.

We went to another spot that was about 160 acres with food plots. I left Dolly in the truck and we started through a food plot. We hadn’t gone very far when Austin saw a single quail flush in front of him, fly down the food plot and drop in. As we walked down the food plot Sally went on point right in front of me. I was still 10 yards from her when the quail flushed. When I shot it dropped, into the milo, in the food plot. This milo wasn’t planted in rows and it was thick and hard to get through. I was afraid we were going to lose another bird but Ember found it, immediately.

We went through another food plot then started around the edge. We had walked the south side and then gone north on the west side. We turned to the east on the north fence line and started toward the truck. I looked about 40 yards ahead of us and Sally was standing in some knee high weeds, on point. Austin and I walked in and 3 or 4 quail flushed. I missed with the first shot but about 12 more quail flushed a little farther out. I shot my second barrel and a quail dropped. I reloaded and another quail flushed while I was reloading and I took my eye off where the quail fell. We looked but never found the quail.

Tur Bo pointing a covey of quail.

While the quail were flushing Ember was in front of Austin and he never got a shot but he watched the covey down. There was one cedar tree along a little draw and the covey had spread out around the cedar.

We hunted around the cedar on both sides of the draw and although the dogs got birdy we never came up with anything.

We drove looking for another place but by the time we found one it was close to the Iowa quitting time. Iowa shooting hours are from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. I wish all of the states would make 4:30 the end of shooting hours. It would give the birds plenty of time to get back together before dark.

Usually, I don’t lose that many birds when I’m hunting. Only one of these birds was hit hard. And we were in really thick CRP that allowed some of these birds to escape by running. I really miss my Lady dog that died a few years ago. When I had her I killed a lot more quail than I do now and I would only lose a couple of birds a year. After this season is over Sally and I are really going to work on retrieving.

Sally pointing a single.

Luke backing Dolly.

Sally pointing a single.

Austin Farley and I went back to Iowa, hoping the wind wouldn’t be blowing as hard as the last time we were there, hunting quail. Along with Sally and Luke I had also brought Dolly and Tur Bo. Austin had his pointing lab Ember. Tur Bo just had his knee cap reattached and Dolly will be 13 years old in February so neither will get to hunt very long.

Luke

Sally honoring.

Tur Bo honoring.

We are both new to hunting in Iowa so we drove by some of the other Conservation areas as well as some of the walk-in properties. Iowa doesn’t have a book on their walk-in properties so it makes it a little harder to find them. You can down load them from your smart phone but the directions leave a lot to be desired.

We turned out on a couple of areas on two different Conservation areas without any luck, so we went back near where we had hunted the last time we were here. We were on the same Conservation area but about a mile farther south. The area was so large that I turned Luke, Sally and Tur Bo out and Austin turned Ember out. There was a harvested corn field to the west and as we got back into the area a harvested soy bean field.

We were going along the edge of the soy beans when Austin saw a covey of quail fly into a small grassy area with a little draw. The quail had flown from the edge of the field with no dogs or people close to them. We called the dogs in to hunt the area.

All of the dogs came in and started trailing almost immediately. After a few minutes Sally went on point. Tur Bo honored. When we walked in a single quail flushed and we both shot. I think we both hit it. At least it didn’t get away. It had fallen in a berry patch and Sally was holding it but with Ember close she wasn’t coming out. Austin pulled Ember away and I sidled into the berry vines and took the quail from Sally.

We got the dogs back into the area where the single had come from. Luke and Tur Bo kept trying to go back to hunting and I kept calling them back. After a few minutes I didn’t see Tur Bo or Luke. I checked the GPS and Tur Bo was on point about 60 yards away. He was at the other end of the little draw. I asked Austin if he could see him and he said, “yeah, he’s on point down here.”

We started down to him. Sally saw him and honored. Thinking this was the rest of the quail Austin and I walked in and a rooster pheasant flushed about 10 yards from us. I wish I could say he never made it very far but I pulled both triggers and was never even close to him. Austin also shot twice without turning a feather on that bird. It flew off laughing at us.

We crossed the soy bean field. The dogs had acted birdy along the fence row on the north side. They worked down the fence row then we started into the tall weeds on the north. Ember was in front of Austin, in the tall weeds and went on point. Just as she pointed the bird flushed without giving us a shot.

We called the dogs to hunt this area. Sally came back but before the others got back about 6 quail flushed off to my right. I missed with the first barrel but knocked one down with the second. Austin was in the wrong place to even get a shot. Tur Bo found the dead bird, picked it up but dropped it about half way back to me. We’re going to work on that.

Sally pointing quail.

We made a circle and worked back toward the truck. I didn’t want Tur Bo to over do it so I put him up. We ate our lunch and drove to another area.

The next area we turned dogs out on looked perfect. It had some Quail Forever signs so they may have worked on the cover. It was close to the road and, probably, every bird hunter that came by turned dogs out. The dogs were birdy all the way but we only saw one pheasant and didn’t get a shot at it. We drove to another area.

The next area was a food plot that ran along the top of a ridge with weed fields on the sides. I turned Dolly and Sally out. We walked along the food plots and Sally was working the edge of the weeds. I saw her on point and hollered at Austin. In the food plot he had trouble hearing me but saw Sally on point. I was waiting on him and as he started toward us a rooster pheasant flushed. It didn’t get very high and dropped at my shot. Sally followed the bird and was on it when it hit the ground. She just held it to the ground. She didn’t try to pick it up but she wasn’t letting it get away. I raised her head and tried to get her to drop the bird but she wasn’t going to let go. I picked her up by the flank but she didn’t release the bird so I blew in her ear. That worked. She let go.

We went to the end of the food plot then into the weeds. I was trying to watch Sally but the weeds were too tall. When the weeds quit moving I asked Austin if he could see her and he said, “yeah she’s on point.” We started toward her and a rooster pheasant flushed. Austin hit it but I went ahead and shot it too. Pheasants are tough and the more shot the better is my philosophy. Sally grabbed it just as soon as it hit the ground. Again, she wasn’t trying to pick it up, just holding it to the ground so it couldn’t run off. I raised her head and blew in her ear. She released the pheasant.

Luke on point Sally honoring.

We continued through the weeds. We started around a short draw and I saw Dolly on point. She was looking into a thicket inside the draw. Austin and I were about even with her when a single quail flushed behind us about 10 yards. I wheeled around and missed, cleanly. Austin shot and missed, also. Dang birds are supposed to get up in front not behind.

That single hadn’t gone very far and we went to the area where it had landed. All 3 dogs worked the area but we never saw the quail again.

We worked our way back to the truck. We saw one more rooster but it was too far for a shot. Iowa’s shooting hours are from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm and it was about 4:00 pm when we got to the truck. Not enough time to hunt another area.

On state owned lands, in Oklahoma, the shooting hours ends at 4:30. I wish more states would do this. Especially, during cold weather if the quail don’t get back together before dark they are really vulnerable to the cold as well as to predators.

It appears that Iowa Conservation Department does a very good job on their areas. They have burned areas and had several food plots as well as plenty of cover for birds. They have dropped tree limbs along some of the areas. Most of the weedy area have plenty of weed seeds for birds. You can tell that a lot of work goes into these areas.

On the way home Austin and I talked about going back to Iowa to hunt quail. We didn’t set a day but we will be back. It had been a great day.

Luke

Sally honoring. Makes me think of Christmas.

Dolly on point.

Austin Farley and I had heard some good reports on the quail hunting in north west Missouri and also, southern Iowa. Missouri has very few places to hunt in the north west for quail so we decided to give southern Iowa a try. We found a license at the Hyvee in Lamoni Iowa. The Hyvee had no books on the walk-in properties so Austin called the conservation department. If the lady that he talked to was right, Iowa doesn’t put out a book. You have to go to their website and down load whatever property you want to hunt. There is also an app you can get on your smart phone. Austin had this on his phone.

Luke

Sally honoring.

Luke pointing a covey of quail.

We drove around, looking at some properties then decided to turn some dogs out on a conservation area. We had seen some trucks parked about a mile and a half away on this area. I thought their deer season was over but it doesn’t end for a few days. It’s less scary to quail hunt in Iowa than some of the states because they can only hunt with shotguns using slugs.

The area we turned Luke, Sally and Ember out was in tall weeds with some small fields of harvested corn and soy beans scattered through out. Ember is a young pointing lab that hasn’t been hunted very much in upland but has retrieved a lot of ducks and geese. She will point birds when she gets a chance.

The weather man had said the wind would blow in the afternoon in Kansas City and I thought maybe it was coming in from the south west and wouldn’t get to Iowa until much later. Boy, was I wrong. We had to hold on to the doors, on the truck, when we opened them or the wind would wrap them around backwards.

We had parked close to a harvested corn field so we started around it. Luke and Sally were both working a big weedy draw that ran close to the corn field. I saw Sally point then move ahead. The GPS said Luke was on point ahead of us as well. Down at the end of the draw a rooster pheasant flushed and laughed at us. Over on my left a hen pheasant flushed. At least hen pheasants can’t laugh or at least can’t laugh out loud.

We worked the field almost to the road on the south and moved over to go back toward the truck. I checked the GPS and Luke was on point about 75 yards from us. When we got within about 40 yards of him we could see him. As we watched he moved to his right about 5 yards and went back on point. We started to him and he moved up and back near where he was originally on point. Then he moved forward and to his right and went back on point. Then he moved forward and to his left and went back on point. Austin and I were just standing watching him. About 40 yards in front of him and only about 20 yards from us a large covey of quail flushed, down in some brush, without giving us a shot.

We checked in the direction the quail had flown, going below a big pond then back around and back toward the truck. We had gone about a half mile when the GPS said Luke was on point about 35 yards from me. When we got to him Sally was honoring. They both were in a small thicket. I told Austin to get where he could shoot and I would flush them. When I went in a covey flushed, never getting much higher than the weeds and flew right into the strong wind. Neither of us got a shot.

We followed in the direction the covey had flown. After about a quarter of a mile Luke pointed with his belly almost touching the ground. He just knew there was a bird right in front of him. When I went in nothing flushed. He went in trailing then just went on. Something had run out on us.

As we went on toward the truck we noticed a small soy bean field we hadn’t been around. As we started up the hill to it Sally started pointing then moving up. We got right behind her and started to the top of the hill. She pointed right where the grass ran into the soy bean field and when I stepped up there she thought a bird would flush but nothing got up. As I was standing watching her the wind blew me back a step or two. I’ve hunted in some strong winds but this one takes the cake.

Tur Bo pointing a single quail.

As we got close to the truck we started seeing hunters. They were deer hunters that were making a drive and these were the blockers or they thought we might move some deer. Sally was running an edge and saw one of the hunters and went on point. I used every release command I knew but she wasn’t moving. I had to walk 50 or 60 yards, tap her on the head and say, “okay” before she would move.

We loaded the dogs and ate our lunch on the way to another place. We knew our chances were slight in the strong wind but this was the first time, in this area, for either of us and we drove just looking at the different properties.

I still had two dogs that hadn’t been out of the box since I had loaded them about 6:00 am. We stopped at another conservation area and turned Tur Bo and Dolly out. I’m not hunting Tur Bo very long because he just had his knee cap re-attached. Dr. Becker didn’t put any restrictions on him but I’m not going to let him over do it.

Sally pointing a quail.

This place was about like the first with weed fields next to corn and soy bean fields. This area had been burned last year or at least recently and was a lot easier walking. We went down a fence row along side a corn field then along a soy bean field. We went back in about a half mile then moved over into a weed field and started back toward the truck. As we went around the end of a pond we saw where something had killed a quail. At least there were some in the area.

About 50 yards past the pond Tur Bo was pointing into the weeds in front of us. When we got close he moved over and went back on point. He then moved into the weeds and went on point. When we got close he went on to my left trailing. I was trying to watch the dogs but the weeds were too high. I saw a quail flying from my right to my left but didn’t get a shot. I think both dogs were to my left.

Luke pointing a quail.

We took the dogs in the direction that the quail had flown but although both dogs got real birdy and did a lot of trailing we never came up with anything. The dogs hunted on back to the truck where we loaded them up and headed home. We looked at some more properties on the way.

It was a good day even with the wind blowing. We had some dog work and Sally and Ember got to work some running birds. We found another area to hunt with birds. We will be going back.

I’m having to recycle pictures. I carry my camera then forget to take pictures. When I don’t carry a gun I get good pictures. No more shots than I have gotten the last couple of hunts it wouldn’t be a bad thing to just carry a camera. Someone said, “quail are too valuable to shoot.” I believe that also.

Sally pointing 2 quail.

Dolly on point.

Tur Bo backing Sally.

I took my life in my on hands and went to Kansas, quail hunting, during their rifle deer season. I knew where some walk-in properties were, near Marysville, that were archery and shot shell only. I saw several deer hunters but none close to where I was hunting. It was cooler and the weather guy said the wind wouldn’t be very strong. As I loaded the dogs the wind was really blowing. I thought the timing was off, maybe it would wane by the time I got where I was going. Santa Clause, tooth fairy, and Easter bunny comes to mind.

Luke

Sally honoring.

Tur Bo pointing quail.

Tur Bo has been laid up with a detached knee cap. Dr. Becker from Independence Animal Hospital re-attached the knee cap and I kept him, in a cage, for over a month, in my basement. He’s been back in the kennel for a while and I worked him a couple of times on pigeons but nothing for very long. I brought him along today. Dolly is getting older, will be 13 in February, and has some health problems but she came along, also. Luke and Sally were along as they had been my main dogs this year.

I drove around the first place I wanted to hunt and parked on the east side. I turned Luke, Sally and Dolly out and we headed into the strong west wind. I found that if I bent over at the waist just a little it was easier to walk into the wind. We went along a corn field that was in the bottom but on the north side, in some CRP.

There was a small draw that ran to the north and as we got close I saw Luke and Sally going real slow with their head down, trailing. At the same time they both threw their head in the air and took off to the south west. I think a covey flushed in front of them but I never saw anything. They both came back and were birdy for a little while but didn’t come up with anything.

As we got close to the west side the GPS said Luke was on point about 120 yards from me. When I got close Dolly saw him and honored. He was in the bottom of a ditch, in some tall weeds under some small trees. When I got even with him he moved up 3 or 4 yards and went back on point. I was real close and he started moving again. Dolly came in front and pointed. I went to her and both dogs started moving again. About 30 yards ahead of us, on the other side of the small trees, a covey of quail flushed. All I knew, they flew to the south.

I figured with the strong west wind blowing that the quail may not have gone very far. I checked to the south then out into the CRP along the corn field. As the dogs worked the farmer drove in on a huge tractor to disc the field. He stopped and we talked for a while then we went on to the south across the corn field.

As we came to a creek I saw a single quail on the other side flush. I called Sally and Dolly in to check both sides of the creek. As I crossed the creek Sally came across and went on point at my feet. I waited without moving because her tail was moving. When I said something to her she started trailing. I looked at Dolly and she was on point in another area. I started to her and she started moving. As we moved through an area no more than a hundred feet long each dog pointed 4 or 5 times then moved on. In the strong wind the birds were running then flushing, I think.

Luke pointing a quail.

Sally pointing at my feet reminded me of a time many years ago when Dennis Garrison and I were hunting and stopped to talk. We had been talking for 4 or 5 minutes when one of his dogs came in and pointed right at my foot. I laughed at the dog, moved my foot and a quail flushed. I still, sometimes, don’t believe the dog but I’m getting some better.

After going back and forth through the area where the single had flushed from we went along the creek back to the road on which we were parked. I loaded the dogs and headed for another area.

The next place I wanted to hunt had someone on it so as I drove by one I had never hunted before, I decided to stop. It looked perfect to get Tur Bo out on. It had a creek running through it but the cover didn’t look very heavy. Before the dogs had even entered the cover a covey of quail flushed from the walk-in to the property across the road that was posted. As we moved away from the truck the dogs started acting birdy. I had only seen a few quail in the covey and thought we may still have some on our side of the road but we never found any.

Sally honoring Tur Bo.

While I was driving I saw some wind generators that were really turning then when I got to the place someone else was on I turned and the wind generators weren’t even turning. I thought, “alright the wind has stopped.” Before I got to the next place it was just as strong but more northerly.

I was watching Tur Bo for any sign that the leg was bothering him. Most of the way on this property the cover wasn’t very thick but there was a ditch that he kept jumping. Had I known that the ditch was where he would jump it I wouldn’t have turned him loose. But we ran on this small place for over an hour and he never showed any ill effects. Dr. Becker did a good job.

I had another place, where before the season opened, I had found a covey of quail. On the next place there is not a lot of cover, just a couple of fence rows and a creek without much cover. I decided on the way over I would just take Sally by herself. If we could find the covey it would be good for her.

I parked on the north east corner and when I got out the wind was even stronger than before. There were some trees across the road and the wind was roaring through them. As I went to drop the tail gate I thought, “this is not doing me or the dogs any good.” I turned the GPS and e-collars off and headed home. Maybe, I’m learning something.

Luke backing Dolly.

Sally pointing a single.

Dolly on point.