Wild Bobwhite Quail Hunting
Wild Bobwhite Quail hunting it seems is something we need to emphasize and define. This requirement stems from the many that seek to avoid the preserve, plantation, planted upland birds and hunt test experience.
Wild Quail Hunting Results Like This Is Not Easy
Self Guided wild quail hunting is our most high risk hunt. This is due to dog power, hunter willingness to walk, shooting capability and habitat recognition not always being variable.
Who is it that sends in pictures as member contributions to the web site fall into a couple of groups. The first is the hunter that recognizes it takes more than money to make MAHA work, greatly enjoys the land access and seeks our continued good business life thus his hunts. This hunter is typically the more mature individual that agrees with what we do.
Another that sends in pictures does so as he simply takes a lot of his own. His pictures are of favored dogs, special days. They are mostly for additions to the album or to hang on the wall. Many of these hunters have at least one dog on point picture for every dog they have hunted with over the last decade or so. The missing dog pictures are typically the early dogs in a bird hunter's career before learning the value that pictures bring later in life.
This is Kevin and PJ. We have seen them both throughout the web site. Far more with point pictures than harvest. However still with plenty of harvest pictures. Kevin hunts for the dog work, notice the dog has a jacket to sit on for the picture rather than the icy ground. This picture, as all do, has far more story behind it than is apparent.
Natural Everything
The short answer about our wild quail hunting is it is on naturally propagated birds on existing habitat.
The longer answer is first based on habitat and region. Second on dog power.
Habitat and region means that we lease a lot of land in three states. In each case in some very specific regions. Not all leased land is for Bobwhites in terms of habitat quality even though it may be in the right region. Our regional differences range from higher to lower upland bird densities. What we do is get the hunter to the region and habitat that will support a quail hunting. That is just one part of the problem.
Once in that region the other difficulties arise. Most notably that a hunter may not have his eye calibrated to the cover that is productive to that which is not. This now distinguishes the type of hunter organization that we are. We are a do it yourself hunter organization and not a hunter training organization.
For those that may find our hunts a tough business we encourage them to trust our recommendations. They will put him in the right habitat in the right region. Once there, that hunter must pay the price of boots on the ground time and spend his time running his dogs over all the ground. Soon it will show ever increasingly more clearly what protective cover and food source provides the most coveys.
Dog Power and Wild Quail Hunting
The next aspect about dog power is a frequent theme throughout our quail hunting section. That dog power is defined by one that will:
range,
hunts downwind side edge cover,
dives into target cover,
is very reliable to point,
that can hunt coveys as well as singles,
in cold and warm weather,
windy and calm conditions,
wet and dry fields.
This is a tall order for many dogs to accomplish. Those that have such dogs frequently send in limit pictures. But a better value is the many more dog on point pictures covering seasons of quail hunting trips. Those that do not have that quality of dog spend more time on pheasant or on less enjoyable covey hunts.
Wild Quail Hunting Never Comes Easy
The issue is that wild quail hunting is a tough hunt. All the more so when traveling from a grouse region for example with uniform habitat and short running dogs. Or, worst yet a state without huntable wild bird population. For anyone that wants to be good at Bobwhites is not to expect good hunts until a few seasons of experience have passed. That is the best part of the definition of our hunts. The rest is self explanatory and easily accomplished. To get started use the links at the page bottom. They will show much on target habitat.
Kelley's first point. Carried the camera for around an hour to get just this picture. They flushed around the tree without a shot fired.