The last day of the Kansas quail season was cold and windy and I almost didn’t go. Almost. I didn’t make up my mind until about 8:00 am. The weather forecast was cold, windy with freezing rain moving in about 6:00 pm. Every day I have hunted this year has been windy, so this would not be any different.
At the first farm near Emporia that I hunted I turned Dolly, Luke and Tur Bo out. This was Dolly’s first hunt since she had sustained a cut to her flank, requiring 10 wire stitches, on January 14. This farm is a large CRP field with a few small grain fields. We were over 1/2 mile north west of the truck when I saw Dolly on point. When I got close she started trailing and moving up. She trailed along for about 150 yards then went on point in a large thicket. I walked all the way around the thicket and nothing flushed. When I released Dolly, she started trailing again. She came through the thicket into the tall grass of the CRP. Again she pointed and when I went in front of her a quail flushed about 15 yards behind me and I made a lucky shot. Dolly retrieved the bird.
Tur Bo
The shot brought Tur Bo and Luke in close and Tur Bo went on point then moved in and flushed a bird near the large thicket. The bird came up close to me but as it circled the thicket I missed the one shot I had. The dogs really started working the area and pretty soon Tur Bo pointed again and again flushed his bird. This time I wasn’t close enough for a shot. Tur Bo is 7 months old and is just learning. At least he’s showing a good nose and I can steady him when he gets older. When I checked my GPS it was off. When the battery gets low it turns off. I can’t function without my GPS.
We had quail scattered in tall CRP and I was trying to keep 3 dogs in close where I could see them. As we worked around the area Dolly pointed again and again I missed. After a few minutes with no GPS I headed for the truck. That’s how dependent I am on my Garmin GPS. Even with quail spread out I will leave them to get my GPS working.
The next farm was also a large CRP field that bordered a winter wheat field on one side then had plowed ground on two sides. I turned Lucky, Blaze and Whitey out. I had replaced the batteries in my GPS so all was right with my world. In this area they burn a lot of pasture and this place had been burned in spring, I think. The CRP was not as tall nor as thick as the other place and I could see my dogs better. They were cracking their tails and running like they could hardly contain themselves.
We went all the way to the back where the CRP touched the plowed ground and had started to the east when I saw Blaze go on point about 75 yards away. When I got closer I saw she was honoring Lucky who was in a low spot pointing with Whitey also backing. I was still 40 yards from Lucky when the birds flushed and some went east and some came back by me. I dropped 1 and Lucky retrieved.
I had seen about 5 or 6 quail fly by me so I got the dogs to hunt the available cover up to the plowed ground. Whitey and Blaze were trailing in front of me like some quail were running. Then Blaze pointed and when I tried to flush a quail got up about 20 yards behind me but I never had a shot. The dogs continued trailing around like the birds were running but we never came up with another.
When the covey flushed Blaze and Whitey had ran to the east like they were chasing so we hunted in that direction. As I came around a thicket I saw Whitey pointing along side a row of scattered trees. Some large limbs had blown off the trees and were lying in front of where she was pointing. I walked in front and kicked some of the larger limbs and nothing flew. I released her and she wouldn’t move. So I went back to her and then out front farther still kicking the limbs lying on the ground and finally a quail flushed about 40 yards from Whitey and 20 yards from me. Again I never got a shot.
We hunted that area for little while longer and Lucky pointed with Whitey and Blaze honoring but we never came up with anything. The way the birds had been running all day that wasn’t surprising.
The last day of season I found 2 coveys of quail and got some dog work so it was a good day. But on the way back to the truck the freezing rain started as a mist. It had taken about 2 hours to get down there but it took 4 hours to get home. It was still a good day.