Quail

[Warmouth]

I saw a couple of covey's over the weekend while being out and about. It's been a long time.

[Rafe Hollister]

We saw a covey of 10 at the Tick Farm during Youth Season.

[Brander]

I saw some up at the farm yesterday that were so small they could just barely fly, they were only about 2-3 inches long from beak to the tip of their tail. This is the third hatch I have seen up there this summer.

[hobiecat]

What are these quails that you fellas speak of??

[Warmouth]

6oz of buzzing feathers and tastey delight. Don't ask Rafe when the season ends though, he don't know.



I used to shoot a few quail every year as a teenager, just stomping them up while rabbit hunting, in some unlikely looking spots. Now, you go to prime looking areas, and can't find any at all. The Clinton/Truman area has sucked for quail for years.

[Tigerhaze]

You can find quail near Truman but they are concentrated in a few prime habitat locations. If you ever fish the Truman tailwater at the west Bledsoe access, you'll hear lots of them in the tall grass between the parking lot the dam access road. Too bad it's a no-shooting zone.

Fort Leonard Wood is thick with them in spots too. They manage the Dry Creek headwaters there for prairie/riparian habitat, and the quail have found it.

It's all about providing proper habitat. Most of the farmland near Clinton is plowed right up to the treeline. The remaining land is thick timber or is floodplain.

[Rafe Hollister]

I bet the mountain lions ate them all off that farm, Craig.

[Warmouth]

I was rabbit hunting with a HS buddy, and as we were getting guns loaded and deciding where to stomp around first, he drops to a knee, and blasts in the underbrush. I wheel around to look what's going on, the the bastard shot 5 birds out of a covery on the ground. At the time, I was pretty appalled and impressed at the same time.

He always was a game hog. Everyone could have got a shot on the wing if chucklehead hadn't been so greedy.

[hunting170]

Wow Dave, I had no idea that you knew some guys from Hunter`s Specialties. Do they give you a bunch of free stuff?

I had an uncle do the same thing once. I saw a covey running up a fence row in single-file. I made a quick semi-circle to get ahead of them. I got to the fence, and was starting to cross it when I saw the whole covey sitting in a tight bunch, about 20 yards from me. I motion for my dad to come closer so he can get a shot when they flush. All of a sudden I hear a shot, and the ground around the quail explodes in a cloud of dirt, leaves, snow, and feathers. My uncle had filled his limit, and part of mine, with one shot. He even had the gall to say that the quail had just started to fly when he shot. I`ll never forget the image of him, or the look on his face, as he was grabbing hands full of birds, and shoving them into his game pouch.

[Warmouth]

hunting170 said:
Wow Dave, I had no idea that you knew some guys from Hunter`s Specialties. Do they give you a bunch of free stuff?

The only thing I get for free is a healthy ration of chit.

I enjoy upland hunting, the way it's supposed to be. Dogs, wild birds, and safe folks shooting is a safe zone of fire. I've shot a few quail and pheasants, but not as many as I'd like too.