Karen emailed: We made our trip out this year during opening week. As you know, it was very hot and dry that week which didn't make for good hunting conditions. However, based on conversations with others, we still did as well or better than most. In just over 6 days of hunting, we were able to find 13 coveys and managed to bag 22 quail and 15 Ringneck. We started the week out well, managing to find 3 coveys and some Ringneck each of the first 2 days. It then fizzled out as the week went along (it got hotter!). We could definitely tell that the bird population was down this year. It took much more hunting to find the birds and then the coveys seemed considerably smaller than the past few years. Oddly enough, we were lucky and got to work more singles than usual.
John was able to get a limit of quail on the first day and a limit of pheasant on the second day. I (Karen) was not nearly as successful. It seemed that all the birds flushed in his direction and he doesn't miss much. It probably helps that he keeps calling the dogs to hunt with him!! My only regret is that I didn't get a picture of the few that I did kill. I thought we'd get more later in the week and it would make for a better picture - lesson learned!
Since joining the club, the bird population has dropped each year. Even so, we have been pleased with each of our trips to Kansas. We have learned more about the area and about the birds over the past 3 years. Of the 13 coveys found this year, 7 of them were found in locations that we had not previously found birds. This is knowledge that we will retain for future years. Then, whenever there is a good year (hopefully soon), we should have a much easier time finding the birds and bagging the limits.
Our reason for joining the club and continuing to travel out there each year is for the challenge of "hunting" wild quail and pheasant. We could spend the money and go to a preserve, but we would not feel that we were truly hunting. We enjoy the challenge of pitting our hunting skills against the birds and the weather. Our biggest reward is not the birds in the bag, but being able to find the birds in the first place. This is especially true when we find out that we do better than many of the local hunters who are able to scout the land before the season begins or the hunters that have been hunting there for a number of years. What MAHA gives us is the permission to hunt on private land without having to know or get permission from the landowner on our own. The club gives us access to the land and an opportunity to hunt! |
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