Is anyone pheasant or quail hunting?

[retrieverman]

Around my place, it’s boom or bust on quail. Some years there are several coveys, and some years there are few to none. This years is pretty bleak. Pheasants are a rarity on a good year. I generally see a few but not a huntable population.

When I was a kid and we came to my grandparents for Thanksgiving and Christmas, we always bird hunted on family land around Jet. In those day (late 70’s to mid 80’s), there were always a ton of birds (quail and pheasant) but few deer. It sure seems to be reversed now.

 

[dlbleak]

When we were in college, we used to camp fish and hunt at Lexington public ground. We had walked the place enough that we knew where the birds were. There were enough that we could shoot enough to feed 3 or 4 of us. WITHOUT a dog!
I came home last weekend from my buddy’s farm to watch the game with my wife but the rest of the guys got the dogs out midday. They got 7 quail and a couple roosters. Not bad these days.

 

[adamsredlines]

I remember the good ole days with lots of birds hunting when I was younger with my dad (mind you, I'm 34 now). Looking back, it was the best hunting I've seen and he was telling me how bad it was...and how much better it was when he was younger and hunting with my grandpa. My grandpa will tell you how bad that hunting was, and how much better it was when he was younger and hunting with my great grandpa. My great grandpa used to be able to go out in the field behind their house about an hour before guests were coming over, and shoot two pheasants and have them prepped and cooked by time the guests arrived. Last year, we walked for 5 days and saw ONE rooster and only a few hens. Pretty disappointing...but its a family tradition!

 

[dennishoddy]

Yeah, birds in my farms are pretty slow this year. Normally have several roosters coming to the feeder and hear them cackling in the early morning, but not so much this year. We don't have great quail habitat, but there are a few coveys that hang around. We shoot three or four out of them, and leave them alone the rest of the year.
Since my bird dog died this year, it's just gonna be me walking around kicking the grass like in the old days when a kid.

 

[Okie4570]

Very low numbers of both this year. IMO quail populations are weather dependent. There simply is little to no farming throughout a huge portion of the most infamous quail areas in NW Oklahoma, it's all range land. Those places that were pure gold in the 70's and 80's look exactly the same now as they did then, other than you can probably see wind turbines on the horizon. Just like the areas in Osage Co that used to hold prairie chickens, it all looks the same as it did back then. We've always had, and could hear quail here around the house, two years ago they were absolutely everywhere, just like the old days. Last year we saw very few and heard very few, this year none. The only thing that's changed here is the date and the weather. I saw almost no pheasant chicks during wheat harvest this year, and usually see dozens.

 

[C_Hallbert]

My Wife was just saying yesterday that she misses the sounds of Bob White Quail here on the place. They used to nest near the house and we would see them around her family’s ranch. Very rare, nowadays.... It’s not from over hunting, either..... (East of McAlester, OK).


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[jaketinaboxer]

Grass is too think to hunt most. I've seen lots of birds on food plots but getting to them is tough. cant see the dogs.

 

[dennishoddy]

Grass is too think to hunt most. I've seen lots of birds on food plots but getting to them is tough. cant see the dogs.

I had a collar for my dog that sounded a hawk call if he was motionless for 5 seconde, IE on point. Some of the fields I used to hunt had 5-6' tall johnson grass and it was sure handy.
My dog passed away this year, I might need to look at selling his accessories.

 

[ahlosojoe]

I am just glad that I got to enjoy years of the best quail hunting anyone could ask for. I was raised on a ranch in southern OK. I could turn my dogs out and within two or three hours put up 8 to 10 coveys. Today I don't believe there is a one covey on the whole place! I go to the meetings that the wildlife dept. puts on to hear their explanation of the problem. All they say is environment, environment, environment... The environment in the county that I live in has not changed. We have never had much farming but we still have acres of pasture with lots of quail feed, plenty of cover but no quail. Some of us armchair biologist say the problem is predators...hawks, owls, coons, even turkeys. We have always had predators. Others say weather...too dry...too wet...it has always too wet or too dry in OK. Did not hinder the quail back in the day. I have said all of that to say this. It is my never to be humble opinion that we have poisoned quail with lots of other little wild critters. We saturate the fields with weed killers, bug killers, brush killers. Those involved with keeping right of ways clear, fence rows, etc. the places where quail used to live and nest spray these areas with potent herbicides that kill everything. At the last game dept. meeting that I attended I asked what had happened to the bullfrogs? There was a time that I could stand out on my porch on a hot summer night and hear them bellowing in every direction. Ever see a horny toad? More properly a horned toad. Everyone used to have 3 or more in the garden. How about an ordinary toad? We used to pitch those old brown light bugs to our local toads until they were so full they could not hop. My belief is they have gone the way of the quail. Too many chemicals. Please excuse this rant for being too long. Just the ruminating of an old coot who has seen the change.

 

[dennishoddy]

I am just glad that I got to enjoy years of the best quail hunting anyone could ask for. I was raised on a ranch in southern OK. I could turn my dogs out and within two or three hours put up 8 to 10 coveys. Today I don't believe there is a one covey on the whole place! I go to the meetings that the wildlife dept. puts on to hear their explanation of the problem. All they say is environment, environment, environment... The environment in the county that I live in has not changed. We have never had much farming but we still have acres of pasture with lots of quail feed, plenty of cover but no quail. Some of us armchair biologist say the problem is predators...hawks, owls, coons, even turkeys. We have always had predators. Others say weather...too dry...too wet...it has always too wet or too dry in OK. Did not hinder the quail back in the day. I have said all of that to say this. It is my never to be humble opinion that we have poisoned quail with lots of other little wild critters. We saturate the fields with weed killers, bug killers, brush killers. Those involved with keeping right of ways clear, fence rows, etc. the places where quail used to live and nest spray these areas with potent herbicides that kill everything. At the last game dept. meeting that I attended I asked what had happened to the bullfrogs? There was a time that I could stand out on my porch on a hot summer night and hear them bellowing in every direction. Ever see a horny toad? More properly a horned toad. Everyone used to have 3 or more in the garden. How about an ordinary toad? We used to pitch those old brown light bugs to our local toads until they were so full they could not hop. My belief is they have gone the way of the quail. Too many chemicals. Please excuse this rant for being too long. Just the ruminating of an old coot who has seen the change.

I don't think your wrong. The big pastures in Osage county where I hunted quail remain the same as they were when I was a kid, but there are no quail.