[mobirdhunter]

December is the best time to hunt quail in North Missouri. Most of the heavy green growth has been seared by heavy frost, almost all the crops are harvested, and the weather is cold, but not too cold -- and skies are so wonderfully variable as to make just being out under them a gift.

Our season has been a challenge, with the loss of good land to hunt, a too warm and dry opening month, and lower than expected bird numbers. Having a puppy you want to get into birds makes the challenge even greater, and I’ve felt pressure to put our Rill into some wild Bobs…with little success until recently.

Since December we have been able to locate some coveys and get some bird work in. Aspen is unhappy that he’s losing some time in good cover, and has become the “prospecting” dog. Still, both pups love to run the acres we do have access to.

Here are some photos from our December so far (thanks to my personal photographer, Elaine):

1. There were times early in the season that I felt like I'd never get into birds with Rill. Finally, in early December, we found a large, 20-bird plus, covey that cooperated. Rill found and Aspen backed, and we managed to get a couple of birds from this covey to make our "limit." Some singles without shooting allowed Rill to get some much needed experience.

2. Aspen has become our "prospector" dog, as we explore some new cover in hopes of locating a covey or two. If they're there, he will usually find them as he has here in a field corner near a creek somewhere deep in Ray County, Missouri.

3. Rill is a very biddable pup -- a pleasure to hunt behind. She keeps whatever distance I want for her, and responds to tone from her collar. I never have to use my voice with her, but can't break the old habit of needlessly encouraging "whoa" on her points...and voicing excessive praise when she finds birds for us. She doesn't seem to mind the praise.

4. We've had more bird-less days this season than any I can remember, even on farms that perennially held birds. The long walks make you realize that you hunt many things while following a bird dog, and that you never know what treasures you'll find, like this enormous old oak that has spread its huge branches over old prairie and field cover for generations.

5. The much too intermittent reward for miles walked is the heart-thumping you get when, finally, your pup stretches into what must be the best aroma he knows -- a covey of wild Bobs.

6&7. There's as much art as science to finding singles from a covey...or is it voodoo? After more than 40 years of study, I'm still a "C" student at best, but, gosh, what a wonderful time to find singles with a young pup!

8. Just this afternoon we braved a North Missouri wet clay road to a farm we've not hunted in years. It had changed much, having been converted from heavy fescue to soy beans. The neighbors have established warm season grasses and native forbs in their adjoining fields, a perfect complement to the bean stubble. We found two large coveys with Rill in our short afternoon hunt. Here's Rill on a nice single find that I managed to take the bird from with my favorite quail gun, a 30" DHE 20, first ordered by a field trial dog handler from Kentucky in 1918.

9. Even though chances at birds are slim, I still consider it a wonderful gift to be able to hunt wild quail near home.