I still have trouble sleeping the night before opening day. I set my alarm for 5:00 am but I woke up a little after 4:00. I drove to the Atchison Kansas area. I had run dogs in the area before the season opened but I hadn’t been able to run on some of the places because they hadn’t harvested the crops. When I got to the first place they had harvested all of the crops. Not only that but they had dozed out a good fence row that I had found quail in in years past. Before this farm was in the walk-in program it was leased by a hunting club I belonged to. It had lots of cover and lots of quail and some pheasants. Each year a little more of the cover is lost to the bulldozer.
Sally pointing quail.
Luke pointing a covey of quail.
Sally on a single.
I parked in a spot where just a few years ago I turned some dogs out and found a covey in the fence row they dozed out, found another covey in a little draw about a quarter mile away and a third covey just across the road. I turned Sally and Luke loose. We checked all of the cover near where I had parked went over the hill to another draw. The dogs checked the draw and we went to the end near the road. We crossed the road, to the big side of the property.
We started down a fence row and Luke went on point about 50 yards from me. He was pointing in a small thicket right on the fence row. When I got close to him a woodcock flushed, out the other side, without giving me a shot. We followed a creek then turned up some draws. We hunted back to the road and started back down another draw we hadn’t been on. Luke had just run to the end of a little finger that came off the draw and came back in front of me. About 30 yards in front of me he went on point. When I got to him his tail was wagging so I knew the birds had run. The draw had been dammed by a beaver and was filled with water. I didn’t see the birds but I heard a covey flush on the other side.
We hunted back to the truck and drove to the other side of this property. I turned the dogs loose in the middle of a small draw that ran north to south. We went to the north end then crossed to the other side and took it to the south end then back to the truck. This farm had been a great place to hunt but now I know why I have a property this large all to my self on opening day.
I had a couple of small walk-in properties that I wanted to hunt so I started driving. The first one I came to had a combine harvesting the soy beans and it started to rain. A couple of places already had hunters on them. The rain was getting harder. I decided to just drive and check out walk-in properties.
I came to an eighty acre walk-in property that, what I could see, was in CRP. All the way around this eighty was harvested crops. If there were any birds close they had to be in this CRP. The grass was tall and there was a line of trees about half way back that I couldn’t see through. The rain was down to just a mist so I turned Sally out by herself.
As we came down the edge and turned along the trees Sally went on point. Before I could get to her the covey of quail flushed about 20 yards on the other side. They went to the south through the trees without giving me a shot. Sally and I went through the trees and found an area of mature cedar trees and black berry vines.
Luke pointing a single.
As I walked in I heard a single flush on the other side of some cedars. Then Sally pointed at the edge of a big cedar. When I got close I saw 4 quail flush but they put a tree between us before I could shoot. Sally moved about 2 steps and went back on point. Another quail flushed. Still no shot.
There was a little clearing with some short grass in it where she pointed next. I thought I might get a shot but the quail had run to another tree and flushed. It was really hard to keep an eye on her with all of the cedar trees. I saw on the GPS that she was on point about 30 yards from me. She was buried in some black berry vines among the cedars. I had to fight my way through the blackberries to get to her. I was right behind her when the quail flushed. It went straight up then around a cedar. I shot just as it went around the cedar. I never saw it fall but it felt right. Sally ran around the cedar and picked the bird up. She didn’t bring it even one foot in my direction. I had to fight my way through the blackberries to her.
Most of the birds that had flushed went back in the direction of the CRP so we went back. The rain was coming down harder now. We went along the trees then up the fence row on the other side. About half way up the other side we cut across the middle of the CRP. Sally went on point near where the first covey had flushed from but out in the CRP. When I got to her she moved off to the west real slow. A covey out in the CRP and ahead of her flushed. One quail flew back by me and dropped when I shot. Sally ran to it and picked it up. I had to walk to her but she dropped it when I said, “give.”
Most of this covey had flown back to the cedars and blackberries we had just come out of. We were both really wet from the rain so we started for the truck. I saw Sally go on point in the fence row. As I continued toward her several quail flushed in front of me. I hit a quail hard with the first barrel and one dropped when I shot the left barrel. I thought the first bird was dead in the air so I got Sally in to look for the second bird. She found it right away but we didn’t find the second bird.
Sally pointing a quail.
We were close to the truck so I got Luke out to help find the lost quail. Sally and I were already wet and as Luke got wet he gave me a disgusted look or two. We looked for about 15 minutes (I hate losing birds) without finding that bird. When we got close to the truck Luke went to the back and stood there waiting for me to drop the tailgate. I loaded the dogs and we headed home.
The big farm at the first of this post was a good place to hunt 30 years ago and it could be again. There is no place left for a quail to hatch a setting of eggs. Years ago there were grassy spots around the draws and some fallow fields in the center. I understand the farmers wanting to make money off the land. In Missouri the state is paying farmers to plant buffer strips close to hedge rows and fence rows. This gives the quail an area to hide and lay eggs. If there are no hatchlings there won’t be many quail as I found Saturday.
Luke had a single right under his nose. He was afraid to move.
Sally pointing quail.
Luke backing Dolly.