Upland Bird Hunting Fundamentals
Upland bird hunting fundamentals for those new to our organization and our Iowa, Kansas, Missouri region of wild pheasant and Bobwhite Quail. We work with all hunters regardless of previous experience to insure all have as good of a hunt as possible.
Upland Bird Hunting and Habitat
We learned long ago to over do the land pictures. Many hunters join this Association from home states without the kind of crops and cover habitat well known to local hunters. In this case Bobwhite Quail cover.
The dog (dark spot near center) is pointing a single quail with head down into the milo stubble. It is a warm windless day keeping scent cones high and short. The easy answer for any quail hunter is to walk every cut crop field regardless of any perceived human evaluated cover. The next rule is to always walk every milo field for quail. This may seem pointless right now. After some time working dogs over these fields the results will show.
The point above was well after the initial covey flush and one of many singles points in this milo field.
There are three parts to make wild upland bird hunting successful. They are the hunter's willingness to walk, shooting ability and dog power. All three elements are required for success. We take these elements and offer an adaptation to Mid-America Hunting Association.
Hunter's Willingness To Walk
Within MAHA the hunter's willingness to walk will be tested. Every hunter will have more private land to walk/hunt than time or energy. What is common is for the first year Association hunter not to fully recognize this asset. That same hunter will attempt to hunt as much as possible. He is the one that is at the first field of the morning to wait for day break.
That same new member/hunter will hunt the fields from each truck stop as fast as he can. He may walk through 640 acres or four quarter sections in a day. Stopping only when dark. That 640 acres may not seem like enough. However, our approach to individual dog hunter rather than drive hunters make 640 acres a long walk.
The traveling hunter making the most of his always too short vacation days will also hunt as much as he can. We understand the need to fulfill that feeling of satisfaction gained from physical stress and good dog work. That satisfaction will change with time. It will evolve into less anxiety about if there will be a good hunt. It will change into the land is there so are the wild quail and pheasant. That hunter will then change his approach to more enjoy the hunt without the anxiety of making it a competition with himself.
Soon. it will be discovered. Typically around the third day of the first hunt, that competition is lacking. There is not any need to race and beat the other hunter to the next spot. It will also be discovered with our large farms that there is a difference between working dogs though portions of a farm as opposed to covering the farm.
The pheasant hunter will quickly pick up on the nuances of tall grass. That is what is good and less good grass cover. The importance and spacing of grain fields. The avoidance of wooded areas. What a brush filled draw means to a mixed bag. The quail hunter learns the coveys will make a liar out of him. They will be found in some of the less visually appealing spots that may be the last to be covered. Usually on the return leg of the walk back to the truck rather than first stepping out.
It will not be long until those four quarter section days are reduced to three quarters or 480 acres per day. This acreage will turn into actually being hunted. The smaller properties begin to gain appeal over the large blocks of lease land.
None of this must be believed at the point of reading this article. However, most will find it true. After the first hunt or probably not later than half way through the second trip for the slower learners the hunter will take a couple of minutes in his truck between fields to leisurely finish his soda before the next walk. At this point the member has come to accept that he will be able to hunt whenever he has time. There is more land to hunt than all the MAHA hunters can pressure and the pheasant and quail are there. His dogs will support this conclusion. By the fifth day they too have slowed down and some will have boots on.
Shooting Ability
All agree shooting ability must be present within the hunter. The evaluation many make of marking a good hunt is by what's in the bag. Perhaps what is seen and shot at but not bagged and dog points and flushes would be a better measure of the day's enjoyment. For those that can find humor in their own inabilities and truly enjoy their dog. These are the hunters that can rise above their ego.
For most new members that may for the first time in their upland bird hunting career are experiencing a wealth of land, habitat and wildlife that ego point is a hard sell. For some each shot, both at the pointed or flushed as well as the wild flush is one more score to be kept. That is if that shot ends with a bag weighed down. After a while the need to harvest will become less the goal of the day and the quality of the dog work gains more appeal. This change soon follows with those that seek to hunt and enjoy their dogs. Soon any jump shots become an interruption of that endeavor. This aspect is lost on many until gray hair begins to show.
Upland Bird Hunting Dog Power
Hunters do not hunt hard or as often if it were not for the dog. This is true even for those that hunt for the bag count. It is dog power superior to the hunter to find to their satisfaction both quail and pheasant that drives most to hunt.
Given that, all that remains is the ability of that dog to point or flush. None are equal and none have the same enhanced instincts brought about by training. Within this Association there is not any discrimination as to breed or method for an upland bird hunting dog. As all hunters may hunt without mixing their dogs with another.
One Cold Pheasant and Quail Hunt
Titled the "Ice Box" hunt by Don and Ken who found this hunt cold to the point of walking only a short distance from the truck with frequent warm ups.
Most that read our upland bird hunting web site seek harvest pictures as evaluation for their potential for a good hunt. We have the wild Bobwhite Quail and pheasant and it is due to the right habitat in the right regional state location that makes for the better hunts. Harvest pictures are required and pictures of multiple hunters and dog give further proof we have good wild pheasant and quail worth the time in the field. It is however, the habitat pictures that serve the future hunter more of what to look for when out on the ground.
Thanks guys. Most will agree that pictures to include those of others give a bit more motivation to plan hunts.