Quail hunt

[dennishoddy]

After running the trap line, Gunner and I went after some quail/pheasant. We don't have a lot of quail in this area, but managed to get up two coveys this afternoon. Got two on the rise on the first covey, but the second, flew toward the road, and I couldn't shoot toward the road. Saw lots of pheasant, flying out of range, as it tough to get a pheasant without blockers. They just like to run. Got in a good hunt, and got to watch Gunner's dog work. I need to leave the gun in the truck and just take the camera. He really gets some classic points.
Don't care if any birds are taken at all, its all about the dog work and seeing all the back yard training come together. We had a really good day

 

[okhunter]

Sounds good Dennis. I have not been quail hunting in years. I always enjoyed watching the dogs work.Be sure and put some pics on here when you get them.

Scott

 

[wiley_coyote]

Good that you got to get into some birds. I hunted around Eldorado this weekend in southwest ok and it was pretty pitiful. We got up three coveys in two days and all three coveys only had three to seven birds. Last year we'd get up anywhere from six to twelve coveys a day with good numbers in each one. All the landowners there are saying that they were seeing good numbers of quail up until a few weeks ago and that now there does'nt seem to be hardly any around. They have heard that a disease is killing them although I can't remember the name of the disease. We got two birds in the first covey but did'nt shoot into the other two because of the small numbers. If what they say about this disease is true hopefully it won't make it into your neck of the woods. If the birds per covey numbers are the same our next trip we won't be shooting any for fear of reducing their numbers altogether. We run shorthairs and I still love to watch them work. Today though my dog and a friends dog got flamed by a skunk just to keep things exciting! The skunk shampoo worked pretty well but we still had to throw their collars away. The stink just won't come out of leather. Dang I hate those skunks!

 

[dennishoddy]

I got sprayed working my trap line this morning. it was a long day in the truck driving around.
If a covey of 6 or less birds comes up, its a no shoot. Gotta protect the breeding stock.

 

[Perplexed]

We run shorthairs and I still love to watch them work.

You mean German shorthair pointers? I had one - danged good bird dog with a fantastic nose! Once I was hunting a field with a friend, and my dog was ranging back and forth. She reached the edge of the field, and ran back across in front of us at speed. Suddenly, she slammed on the brakes, almost tipping over onto her face, and froze in a beautiful point. Sure enough, there was a covey right in front of her. My friend and I still talk about that incident, 15 years later

 

[DrTurkenstein]

Hunted Ft Sill yesterday and found 2 coveys. The first had about 10 birds and I took 2. Then we chased a big boar for awhile. We always have a few #1s in the vest just in case. Never did catch up. After the hog we drove to a another spot and flushed a covey that had 40 birds easily. The only problem was they flushed ten feet away from the truck and scared the bejebers out of me. I ended up get one more when we walked to where we saw a couple land. You think it's hard going with a dog. Try it when you are the dog and you have to walk around till they flush. If anyone ever wants to hunt Ft Sill with your dog let me know. I can sponsor a guest or two. No post license required.

 

[dennishoddy]

Hunted Ft Sill yesterday and found 2 coveys. The first had about 10 birds and I took 2. Then we chased a big boar for awhile. We always have a few #1s in the vest just in case. Never did catch up. After the hog we drove to a another spot and flushed a covey that had 40 birds easily. The only problem was they flushed ten feet away from the truck and scared the bejebers out of me. I ended up get one more when we walked to where we saw a couple land. You think it's hard going with a dog. Try it when you are the dog and you have to walk around till they flush. If anyone ever wants to hunt Ft Sill with your dog let me know. I can sponsor a guest or two. No post license required.

3 hour drive for me, but it might be worth it to hunt Ft Sill. I used to do summer camps there in the reserves after getting off of active duty.
Trust me, when I first started hunting I was the dog just like you.

 

[dennishoddy]

My friend and I still talk about that incident, 15 years later

My buddies and I talk about classic points to this day that happend 15 years ago or longer like you.

Here is the greatest point I've ever seen:

We were hunting a grassy field of about 30 acres on the last day of season, and got up a covey of 20 or so birds. We dropped three on the rise, and wounded another that flew 200 yds, and dropped from the sky. We worked the dogs that way, and came onto a pothole filled with water about 10 feet in diameter with thick bermuda grass growing over the side into the water. The britt went on point at the edge of the pothole, but with the ice on the grass, his backend slipped into the water, and was floating. His head never lost its focus on the point somewhere under the grass. Finally his whole body was in the water, and his nose was still pointing the same spot. My buddy told me to get ready, and he reached under the grass and the quail flushed. It was wounded, and an easy shot, but that point has to go down in the history of pointing dogs.