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Arizona Quail Hunting Log - November 2009 Hunts: 7 November, 13 November 7 NOVEMBER 2009
Ice Pointing Scaled Quail Today the temps started at around 45 degrees and ended hot. As we were getting close to our hunting destination we saw what looked like a blanket of fog covering the ground. Turns out it was a blanket of smoke from a near by fire. We stopped for a family of Javelina that were crossing the road and saw 5 adults and 2 cute little babies. Then we were off hunting. We hadn't walked maybe 10-15 minutes when Pistol finally went on point! No birds. I gave her the okay and she moved on about another 15 yards and went on point again. This time when I released her she ran off in the other direction. Wanting to see if there was anything there I walked another 15 or so yards up and just out in front of me a huge mountain lion popped up and bounded off in the other direction. It was pretty cool to see one that close, but also pretty scary to think that if he would have come in my direction he would have covered the short distance in 3 or 4 leaps and a matter of seconds. We walked on in the opposite direction of the lion and walked for quite a while before my buddy spotted some birds off to his left. I caught a glimpse of a few of them flushing over the hill and as I made my way over there a single jumped up and I shot it. I had no luck finding it though so I made my way over to the draw my friend was in looking for the birds. As we worked the draw, he spotted some birds running up the hill in my direction. I saw one and the moment he saw me he took flight and I shot him. The dogs had a real hard time smelling him and never actually found him even though they ran over him a number of times. We moved on and found no more birds. Back at the truck we switched out dogs and headed off in a new direction. We hadn't gone too far when Ice started acting birdie. We were walking South and she turned and started heading North and I followed. From there I slowly followed Ice as she worked the cover pointing every now and then until finally we caught up to the birds. The first one flushed out about 20 yards in front of me as I moved in on the above point. Then it was run, point, run point and the birds were flushing up in front suggesting that these were last years birds. I saw 6 birds flush out wild and finally Ice pointed a small bush pretty solid. I was expecting to see one bird, but was happy to see 5-6 fly out.
Scaled Quail Ice saw the bird go down, went to get it and never found it. It was spread out in the open and she ran over it a few times and never smelt it. Interesting how this dog that normally finds all the lost birds couldn't smell this one. My buddy came over and we worked around looking for more. Ice went on point between us and as I moved in I could see two birds running out in front of her. I motioned to my buddy but they flew out and he didn't get a shot.
Pointing Dogs - No Birds We moved on to a new location. This location held quite a few birds last year and there was a great watering hole. This year the hole was bone dry and we didn't see a thing. Very dry and very disappointing. We need rain! On the way we ran into 2 deer, a mule and a whitetail, hanging out in the river. They weren't very spooked by us and ran off the road just a little and turned to watch us go by. Not much further down the road we ran into a skunk that wasn't frightened by us at all. See the video on YouTube. Our new spot looked very promising with the exception of the lack of water. We came across 6 or 7 tanks today and only one had water and that one had very little. The rest of the tanks only had dead cows in them. The walk proved to be unproductive and so we loaded up and headed home.
Scaled Quail Of The Day I ended up with 2 birds in the bag and 1 lost in the field. I love hunting scaled quail and love the country. It will take some good rain to bring those birds back into this area in the numbers I was hunting them a few years back. 13 NOVEMBER 2009
Gamble's Quail Road Covey There was a nice overcast as I headed out from the house and the forecast called for a chance of rain. As I neared the location I had planned on hunting it began to sprinkle. The temps were mild but the humidity added a nice bonus for the day. My first stop was unproductive. I ran Johnny & Pistol together. We walked for about 30 minutes and I saw 2 birds flush out in front of me and there was no dog work to speak of. As I drove on down the road I looked off to my left and noticed a covey of about 25 birds running around but not really paying much attention to me. After I shot the short video above I backed up and put Pistol and Ice down to go after them.
Pistol Pointing Road Covey I had only backed up about 20 yards so it didn't take us long to get on the birds. Pistol went on point and Ice backed a little way off. I snapped a picture but the birds were already spooked and as I went in to flush (I was hoping to get a video of them flushing) they took off about 20 yards in front of Pistol. We headed off after the singles and at first it appeared as though they had given us the slip. I watched as few birds flew off to my left and then saw Ice come running out. Whoops. Finally Pistol went on point and one bird flew up right as I moved in. I pointed and shot and missed. However, right as I shot and took aim for a second shot a HUGE covey of quail flew up about 100 yards up the draw just at the tip of my gun. It was a cool sight. I watched them fly up the hill, marked where they landed and headed in that direction.
Pistol Retrieving Male Gamble's Quail The bird I had missed seemed to have landed in the path I was going to take so I walked in that direction hoping to get one more shot. As I got to were I thought he might be he flushed at my feet again and this time I got him. Pistol scooped him up and we continued on up the mountain.
Pistol and Ice Pointing Gamble's Quail Singles We came up to the top of the hill about 25 yards to the right of where I saw the birds fly. Once on top we moved along the ridge with the dogs working the sides and me walking on top. We hadn't gone far when Pistol and Ice went on point. The birds were running out in front of them and as I sped up to flush them a single flushed off to my side and I got it. The shot sent a few of the birds flying over the hill to the other side. I searched along the top a bit more and had a few more singles flush out in front but no more good shots.
Pistol Pointing Single On the other side I could hear the birds calling to one another and so we headed in the direction of their calls. Pistol pointed a single that flushed fast and I had no shot. We continued on down the side of the hill and we had a few more flush up. I shot one and saw it go down and then quickly jump back up. I took a shot at it as it limped along the ground, but after a long search the dogs and I never did find that one. As we continued down I found Ice on point in a shallow draw running down the hill. She was to my left and I walked in to where her nose was pointed and she must have stopped and not moved, because the bird was actually down the hill a bit more. When it flushed I shot and missed with 3 shots. Sorry Ice. We slowly worked farther down the hill and as we neared the bottom a few more birds flushed out too far for a shot.
Water Equals Life In the Desert Once at the bottom we found this water trough full of water. It was one of three that I would find in this area. Water makes for good conditions for finding birds. The "valley" out in front of me was alive with birds. I could hear them calling in various directions. Because I had to go in to work still today, I took a quick loop through the side of the "valley" closes to me as I worked back to the truck.
Ice Pointing - Pistol Bakcing The dogs pointed a bird in a bush that flew off fast and under the cover of the trees which made for an impossible shot, but was fun to see non-the-less.
Ice Retrieving Gamble's Quail I bumped a few more birds out in front and finally had one flush out at my feet that offered a great shot. Ice came in and retrieved it for me and we kept on moving. Once back at the truck and after a short water break I grabbed Johnny and headed back down there to see if I could find some more birds for the youngster before heading back to work.
Johnny Pointing Gamble's Single Johnny and I were into birds almost immediately. He bumped a small group of about 6-7 birds and as we chased after them I heard a bunch calling out in front of us. We headed in the direction of the nearest caller and before we got there Johnny went on point. A bird flushed out and I shot and missed, but now Johnny was really excited so he opened up a bit more which was nice. We worked around after the calls stopped and finally saw a covey of about 20 birds flush out in front of me. We headed to the location they had gone down, but our search was unsuccessful so we moved on. On our way down we bumped one more small group, but they were too far out for a shot and the chase proved to be fruitless as well.
Three Male Gamble's Quail Back at the truck I cleaned up the birds and packed up to leave. In the end I found a great new spot that holds a lot of flighty birds but also has plenty of water for now...so hopefully if I make it back out there this year, there will still be birds around for chasing.
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