Arizona Mearns Quail Hunting
 

The 2016-17 Arizona Mearns Quail Season opens tomorrow (Dec. 2), I'll be in Patagonia hope to see some of you at the Wagon Wheel for dinner.

My two greatest failings in my shooting travels have been missing my only shot at a Mearns quail in Arizona and my only shot at a curlew in Ireland.

Good luck George -

We head back on MLK weekend in January. 8 of us this time. Leave us a few birds please!

George hope to see you in the field.

Got home last night after 7 days of Mearns Quail Hunting. Coveys as a rule were 4-6 birds and really spread out with more pressure than I've experienced in 20 years. I would say below average year for over-all bird numbers, weather was outstanding with with the best dog work we've had in long time. My 21 month old Amercian Brit really shined and took several major steps forward being a finished bird dog.
Took total of seven dogs and needed them with a 7 day hunt. The entire group shots 16 guage with RST shells and both preformed well.
Time to rest before we head back the week of December.
Merry Christmas everyone.

Any pictures..... Sounds like a great time :)

Unfortunately there are more hunters down here than I have seen in 45 years. It used to be guys would come down with their hunting partner and a few dogs. I met two different groups with 10 hunters and over 20 dogs. One group spent 8 days camped out and competing on who could shoot the greatest number of birds for the week. One canyon had a dozen trucks parked in it opening weekend. Absolutely nuts. Trash not carried out, and toilet paper every where. Gates left open.
Pretty bleak picture for the future of Mearns quail unless the AZ Game and Fish figures out a better way to manage the Mearns quail. You only have to look at a map of the Mearns quail habitats to realize that they will go the way of the Bobwhite quail if the pressure continues. Too many hunters shooting out whole coveys by pounding them day after day.
Cannt swing a dead cat without hitting a dozen guides.
If you come for Mearns please drive respectfully especially through private property. Watch your speed and close gates. Carry out your trash and bury your toilet paper. Consider harvesting one or two birds from a covey and then move on, and enjoy the time out with your dogs finding another covey of birds.
Sorry for the rant but it's not the same place it was a few years ago.

You need to express this to AZ fish & game. With enough information and hunter pressure they can make changes to take some of the pressure off the quail. They can shorten the season and limits or even restrict hunting in some habitat areas. They need to know about this, as well as your concerns before it's too late and you lose your quail.

When I was a boy, just starting to hunt, we had Bob White quail but I haven't seen or talked to anyone that has seen one in years.

Phil, we had similar experience as you. Stayed at the Stage Stop Inn (Patagonia) one group was there 5 days from California, seven vehicles full of hunters. Another group from Georgia and they were pounding their guides as they weren't getting limited everyday.
The four of us had 4 wheel drives trucks and by day 2 were going back into some of our isolated "Honey Holes", in one of them we found two parties camping out.
Arizona needs the Gambel and Scaled Quail population need to recover from the decade long drought and the word to get out about the down cycle Mearns Quail are in because of the excess pressure.

All predictions including my own was for a season at least as good as last year. Unfortunately I would estimate that there are only about 1/3 the number of birds from last year. It's been awhile since we have had rain.

The good news is that there are birds and not a lot of hunters in other areas of the southwest.
Anymore the worse place to hunt is where the latest internet photo essay or magazine article was heralding.

Thanks for your report on the Mearns hunt. How was your Montana hunt ? Best of luck on your Dec. hunt and have a happy holiday season

Dan, November Montana hunt was excellent. Pheasant and Sharptail numbers were excellent however Huns were down. Lewistown area had three hail storms in July and in some areas the young birds took a beating.
The funny side of the trip is we found 6 porcupines during the hunt, more than I'd seen my entire life.
I hunted with 12 gauge A.J. Aubry one day and shot it poorly, but 25 years ago it was a gift from a dear friend and I'd never used it in the field.

The biggest porcupine I ever saw we came upon in a grouse woods in upstate NY about 12 years ago. He was ambling through some slash pine left after a clearcut, and was so large at first I thought he was a badger in a porcupine suit (it was close to Halloween). Luckily we got ahold of the dog before the dog got 'ahold' of him! We gave him a wide berth and left him go on his way.

You should have given him a dose of a 16ga or 20 ga.. Hate those things, anyone that has had a dog put down by one of those will understand, only good porky is a Dead porky....:rolleyes: Sorry PETA :rotf:

Scott Thanks for the report on your hunt in Montana. We heard about the hail in the central part of the state and like you found more sharptails than huns. We had a enjoyable time and killed some birds.A pointing dog would have helped, but my Boykin loved it. Went to South Dakota for Pheasants in Nov.and had a good hunt. Was going to ask you about a good outfitter for Mearns, but from what I read on this site this would not be a good year. Plus two more Parker have found me. One being GH 10.