With Christmas and all of the high winds we had last week I haven’t been hunting in almost a week. The weather Monday was supposed to be a little iffy but it turned out to be a great day. The temperature was about 30 degrees with a slight north wind. Just about perfect for the dogs and me.
Abby pointing a quail.
Sally honoring Abby.
Boss, with a cut tongue, backing Abby.
I had hunted this Missouri Conservation area the first part of the season, a couple of times and decided to go back on Monday, December 28. Usually, there are a lot of deer hunters on this area but not many quail hunters. I drove by the parking lots on the east side and there was no one parked in any of the lots. Not often I have it to myself.
I parked along the road rather than in the parking lot. I had turned Sally and Mann out with their e-collars and GPS collars on. My e-collar transmitter only runs 3 e-collars so just to keep her used to getting an e-collar I put a bark collar on Abby, but the GPS collar worked. The bark collar has prongs that should feel like an e-collar. I seldom have to use the e-collar, other than the tone. I use the tone to bring them in.
As I was putting the collars on Abby, with Mann and Sally to my right, a big covey of quail flushed on my left. I watched as they flew over a small rise in a fallow field. After I got the e-collar and GPS on Abby and Boss we started after the covey, through the fallow field. It had been milo a year or so ago but now it had waist high giant foxtail and cockle burrs with just a little volunteer milo.
When we got to the top of the small hill I saw a draw that had scattered trees that ran into the field. It was in line with where I thought the quail had flown. All 4 dogs were working the draw on my right when the covey flushed on my left, about 50 yards away. This time they scattered in several directions.
I had seen some fly down close to an edge of the woods. We went in that direction. As I walked along the edge, a single quail flushed, right beside me, only down in the woods. I got the dogs in to hunt close. I was watching the dogs to the west when I noticed Sally wasn’t with them. I looked behind me and I had walked past her. She was on point.
Sally was right along the edge of the woods. As I started back to her Abby and Boss saw her and honored. Mann was coming around over a little hill and couldn’t see her. He slammed into a point. His bird was about 20 yards from where Sally was on point. Since I was closer to Sally I went to her. When I got close a single quail flushed down in the woods. I shot a really nice elm tree. When I shot Mann’s bird flushed, too.
We hunted most of the more open cover. English setters and cockle burrs get together easy and there were a lot of cockle burrs. This was the first time in a long time that I have seen quail on this side of the road. We worked our way back to the truck and went on the other side.
Mann pointing into a huge cedar tree.
On the other side there is a small pond with a lot of cedars growing along the lower end. Shortly after I crossed the road the GPS vibrated and it showed Sally on point, at the lower end of the pond. When I came over the hill I saw her looking into a big cedar tree.
Mann and Boss were well off to my left as I came down the hill toward Sally. Before I got to Sally Abby honored. I was still 40 or 50 yards away when the birds flushed. I could see both dogs and they hadn’t moved. I tried to watch where the birds flew.
Both of these coveys flushed before I could get close. There is a bad storm forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday. That may be the reason that they are so nervous. Or there may be a lot more people hunt this area than I thought.
I got the dogs in and followed where I saw the quail fly. I couldn’t see them to the ground but where they flew was toward some woods. The field before the woods were full of berry vines and wild roses. Seemed like everything had a thorn.
Abby honoring Mann.
We went into the woods a little way then around to a little pond where I broke ice for the dogs to get a drink. We worked back through the roses and black berries without finding any of the covey.
We went on to the north around a soybean field then to the east. There is a soybean field on the east edge of this place with some woods on the west side and a nice wide draw on the east. I went to the north beside the woods. Usually, I hunt to the back of the soybean field then cross to the other side and follow the draw back. Today I decided to go on to the north to see if there was any good quail cover that I hadn’t seen.
The Conservation department had mowed a trail to the very back but it gradually turned to the east. I followed this trail to the edge of the property. I could go either north or south. I decided to go to the south but the dogs went north. I went off the top of the hill to the north a little way and saw some row crops. I went on down a really steep hill. When I got to the bottom I found the Grand River. I couldn’t cross it to the row crops.
I had to turn around and go back up the steep hill. When I finally struggled to the top I went on to the south. Just a short walk and I was back to the soybean field I had come down. We went down the draw on the east side. When we got to the end the dogs didn’t want to leave the draw. I stood in the soybean field trying to get them to go with me. One or two would come by but go back to the end of the draw.
I had the girls with me and started away. The GPS handheld vibrated. It showed Mann on point about 175 yards to the south east. I thought he was along the fence row on the south end of the property. When I got close he was just off the place. The GPS showed him being 44 feet across the fence. There were a bunch of big cedar trees and I couldn’t see him.
Sally on point.
As I stood at the fence Boss was coming toward me when a single quail came across the fence and flew right over the top of him. He turned and chased a short distance. Then as I stood there quail were flushing one and two at a time. Mann was still on point according to the GPS but the quail had been running away from him and flushing. None of them got close to me.
A couple of the quail had flown back toward the big draw. I took the dogs back. This draw is about 50 yards wide and we got back about where I thought some of the singles went into the draw. Just as we entered Abby went on point. Sally saw her and honored. I walked in front of Abby kicking the leaves and brush. Nothing flushed. I said, “okay” but she didn’t move. I kicked the cover closer and still nothing flushed. I said, “okay” again and she started hunting.
She started around a cedar tree and I saw her go on point. When I got close I saw she was honoring Mann. He was pointing into a large cedar. I went on his left but he was looking to the right. There were two big cedars close together with their limbs entwined. I started trying to force my way through when I heard a quail flush.
We went on through the draw without finding any other singles. We hunted on back to the truck where I loaded the dogs. Boss had cut his tongue on some of the briars and I wasn’t going to put him out again so I took his collars off.
Boss on pigeon.
I drove to the west side of this place. I had hunted it both times I was here before without finding any birds but I had seen a quail roost, so I knew there were some around. When I got to the west side there was a father and son from Michigan getting ready to hunt deer with muzzle loaders. They were going to stay through next Saturday. The son had turned 14 on Sunday. I wished him a happy birthday and both a Happy New Year and headed home.
To a lot of people this wasn’t a successful hunt but for me it was. I got a lot of dog work and I didn’t even have to clean any birds when I got home. And all of these birds were still there for me to hunt again. Abby has made points before but this time she was tired and she learned that even when she’s tired she can find birds. She hunted hard all the way back to the truck after pointing the single although it ran out on her. To me it was a great day.