When my alarm went off on the morning of day two I had been up about 30 minutes. It’s not just opening day that I have trouble sleeping. I went out by Emporia Kansas to a small walk-in property. The property is 80 acres and this year it had been planted in soy beans and they had been harvested. It has a draw that runs from the south west corner to the north east corner.
Sally pointing quail.
Luke on point Sally honoring.
Luke pointing quail.
I put the Garmin GPS and Garmin e-collars on Luke and Sally and turned them loose. I had parked on the north east corner and we went to the south east along the draw. When I got near the fence row on the south side I called Sally in to hunt the fence row. The wind was strong out of the north and Sally went on the south side of the fence row. She went on point about 75 yards from me. When I got within about 20 yards of her the covey flushed. I had one shot and a quail fluttered down across the fence on private property.
I hate to lose birds so I crossed the fence and got Sally in to hunt dead. I found some feathers where the quail had hit the ground. After checking the surrounding cover I got Sally in where the feathers were and she started trailing. Within seconds the quail fluttered into the air right in front of her and she grabbed it. I let her hold it for a few seconds then took the quail from her. I went back onto the walk-in property.
Luke came in when he heard me shoot. We went on to the east on the fence row. Sally went on point where the east fence hit the north fence. There was a small thicket right in the corner. When I walked in the quail flushed out the other side without giving me a shot.
We continued to the north along the fence. There was a pond on both sides of the fence and Luke went on point between the two. I was still about 30 yards from him when the quail flushed and Luke moved. I don’t know whether the quail flushed and then he moved or he flushed the covey. He has been really solid on his birds so I will give him the benefit of the doubt. I shot at one of the quail that came by at 40 yards or more but didn’t come close.
This covey flew back onto the walk-in property so I started to follow them. As I went toward them a hunter came along the draw, that I had been down, headed toward me. This farm was only 80 acres. To check to see if anyone else is on it you only have to drive 3/4 of a mile. Had he checked and didn’t care that I was already hunting it. He wasn’t there when I got there because I drove around it. I’m not given to strong language but I said some things that I can’t print.
We were close to the truck so I loaded the dogs. I drove around to see where the hunter had parked. He was on the south west corner and his truck was registered in Missouri. Most of the time on the walk-in properties other people won’t drop their dogs off on you. Most people have better manners.
I drove to another walk-in property. We went back to the south to circle around and come back through the best cover and an area where I have found quail in the past. As we worked our way through the area a couple of trucks with dog boxes drove by saw my truck and went on. Before I was even finished with the first circle a truck parked about 200 yards from me, turned out some dogs and went to hunting.
Luke pointing a quail.
As I came through the tall CRP, checking the thickets as we came, I saw a huge covey roost. We worked back to the truck and I loaded the dogs. I checked the truck that had parked near me and it had a Wisconsin tag. Every state has it’s rude people, I guess.
The next place I went to is a long narrow property. It has some soy bean fields bordered by CRP. We checked the CRP along the edge of the soy bean fields without finding anything. As many hunters as I had seen we were probably following someone around. I loaded the dogs and headed home.
I like going on opening weekend but it’s not the best time. There are a lot of hunters out and after the first few minutes, on public land, you have a good chance of hunting where someone has already been. This was a cool day for me but not for the dogs. For the dogs, the best temperature is about 30 degrees. They are in the tall grass where they get very little of the wind and they are working hard.
As the season progresses I, usually, don’t hunt on weekends. I can hunt during the week and leave the weekends for people that have to work during the week. Also, I try not to hunt the same places over and over. I enjoy figuring new places out and seeing new places to hunt. My day is complete if I can get some dog work whether I get a shot or not.
Sally pointing a quail.
Luke pointing quail.
Luke pointing Sally honoring.