Frozen!

[Harold Lee Pickens]

Another reinforcement that pen raised birds just don't have the grit to survive. This weekend had 8 in of snow and low temps down to 5 degrees
I went quail hunting today an never fired a shot. Was finding quail froze to death in heavy cover, sometimes groups of 4-5. My dogs did point some live birds but I declined to shoot at them under the circumstances. I guess I may as well keep hunting them as doubtful they will survive . Was carrying my GH 16 with 3/4 oz loads.

[Harold Lee Pickens]

All these birds plus more were found frozen to death.

[Stephen Hodges]

Harold, were these birds released by the state? Or a private club?

[Harold Lee Pickens]

WVDNR release program. I was there hunting last week, and ran into them releasing more quail. I don't think they had the time to acclimate before the snow storm. I didn't know they released them this late, originally they were releasing them in September so that they could acclimate to the cover. I used to hunt grouse in that same area, an old strip mine cover, sadly no grouse there now.

[Garry L Gordon]

Ah for wild Bobs! Harold, pack up your pups and head to Kansas or Oklahoma. It’s much warmer, too.

[Victor Wasylyna]

Setters and snow! They go together like ramma lamma lamma ka dinga da dinga dong.

-Victor

[Dean Romig]

Remember your Musher’s Choice.





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[Garry L Gordon]

Remember your Musher’s Choice.





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Dean, we always carry the economy size of Musher’s Secret. Never leave home without it, as they say.

[Garry L Gordon]

Setters and snow! They go together like ramma lamma lamma ka dinga da dinga dong.

-Victor

Victor, do you sing that to your pup on snow days? A video is in order!:)

[Mike Koneski]

Harold, take them home and cook them up. If they froze then they're still good.

[CraigThompson]

Ah for wild Bobs! Harold, pack up your pups and head to Kansas or Oklahoma. It’s much warmer, too.

I vividly remember as a kid looking out my bedroom window in the Piedmont region of VA seeing coveys of wild quail in my mother’s chrysanthemum beds . That woulda been the mid to late 60’s and early 70’s .

[Stan Hillis]

That's the highest shooting average you'll ever have, Harold.

0 and 6.

The private land I hunt here each season releases quail in late August. They survive very well, though I admit there's not the issue with cold that you have. Some actually survive the predators and pair up and raise broods the next year.

[Harold Lee Pickens]

Hadn't thought of it that way Stan, I like it.
Always carry a can of Mushers Secret in my dog first aid kit, also a tin of Bag Balm

[Harold Lee Pickens]

A follow up on the frozen quail is not good. Mild temps earlier this week found me out on the gamelands. Hunted a brace of setters to no avail. I found a total of 24 quail carcasses, some out in the open, others in the brush. I did find a fresh roost site, but it was quite small, probably from only a few birds. The dogs did have a find but the birds were deep in an impenetrable brush pile as big as my house, there was no flushing those birds and had already decided not to shoot. I contacted the local Quail Forever guy and let him know of my findings. 12 degrees and 5 inches of snow New Year Eve will probably do in the rest.
This is the gun I shot on my hunt before the blizzard, a WW Greener 12 ga sidelever, shooting light 7/8 loads.
My NYE present from my wife, she had forgot to give it to me at Christmas.
I'm a grouse guy, but I really like the quail plate.

[Garry L Gordon]

Released quail just are not able to survive those conditions. Only once in all my years of chasing wild Bobs did I find a frozen quail. 1983 saw high temperatures of minus 13 (the high!!). Wind chills were below minus 30 at night. I found one frozen bird.

Far worse for wild Bobs are cold and wet during the brood season. Working with the MO Department of Conservation quail researcher, Beth Emerich, she showed me years of data for both precipitation/temperature during the major brood period and Fall populations. It was quite convincing.

The good thing, Harold, is that WV can still produce birds to release, and that you can head to Kansas.