A Kansas Quail Hunt, 12/6/17

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.



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