There are many kinds of quail. In Texas, there are still four or five different species of quail, and then there’s the subspecies. Here, we have quail that run like the dickens on the ground and almost never fly. We have quail that prefer to remain on the ground but don’t hesitate to take to the skies like sky rockets on the Fourth of July. Bobwhite Quail fall into the second group, and I’d like to reflect upon a few things I’ve learned about hunting them.
There are many kinds of quail. In Texas, there are still four or five different species of quail, and then there’s the subspecies. Here, we have quail that run like the dickens on the ground and almost never fly. We have quail that prefer to remain on the ground but don’t hesitate to take to the skies like sky rockets on the Fourth of July. Bobwhite Quail fall into the second group, and I’d like to reflect upon a few things I’ve learned about hunting them.
Let me finish my coffee, then we'll go.
"There are no quail in here!"
Let’s suppose you get lucky and drop a quail to the ground. The next thing you might hear yourself muttering is “where did it go”? I grew up with an unwritten rule in our family to never shoot at two birds. If you have one on the ground, march right to it. Don’t worry about the cactus, the mesquite thorns or cat-claw (mean sticker bush). Quail are truly a gift from God, and we don’t want to waste one. In our family, we don’t shoot it if we don’t intend to eat it, and we LOVE to eat quail.
Let me mention another gift from God – Bird Dogs. Remember the quote about the bravest man ever? He’s the one that first ate a raw oyster. Maybe he was just the most desperate and had that urge we all have to satisfy-eating. Well, how about the guy who goes hunting quail without a dog? Turns out he’s the one who just has to hunt quail but doesn’t have a dog (bird dog), or a friend with a dog. Nevertheless, he has one of the strongest urges of the outdoor world, and hunting quail without a dog is like painting without a brush.
WallQuail
God gave dogs the gift of smell, the gift of endurance, the gift of faithfulness, and let’s don’t forget forgiveness. Somehow, our “best friend” can locate ‘em , point ‘em and find ‘em dead if we could shoot ‘em. When we miss, I bet “old faithful” thinks he did his part, but the master he loves just must not be in the same league. So he forgives him, and it’s on to the next point. Personally, I won’t hunt Bobs without a dog. It’s not so much that I might never get a shot, but I can’t stand the thought of not finding a dead bird.
English Pointers on duty...
Someday, I might pass on a favorite story or two of my favorite 4 or 3 bird dogs.
Pop
HuntingXpert Contributor
