Kansas Quail Hunting
 

My "Epic October" stretched into a late Novemeber/Early December Kansas quail hunt. I made a spur of the moment decision to head out alone with the dogs based on several reports I had heard regarding great bird numbers and a dear friend that shared the name of a guide. All I can say is WOW! Unfortunately, I didn't have time to get pictures of the dogs on any of their beautiful finds as the quail were not interested in hanging around long and I was hunting alone. The weather was perfect and the country is beautiful. The dogs and I moved more wild quail in 1 1/2 days of hunting than I have seen in my entire life. It was 2 of the most wonderful days of hunting I've ever experienced. If you have the ability to get to Kansas or Oklahoma in the next couple of months, do not pass up the opportunity.

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Excellent Dan :cool:

Sounds awesome Dan. It's on my bucket list. Next time we are together I'll pick your brains. Great pics, thanks.

Were you hunting public lands? That must have been a fantastic hunt. Back in the 1980's a Trapshooting friend took me to west Texas on a quail hunt that I will never forget. At least a dozen coveys each day and they numbered 25-30 birds each. It was incredible.

I was hunting private land Scott and the coveys were almost all in the 25-30 bird range.

Better idea is Daryl picks me up on his way out to meet you and I feed him and lubricate him so much that I shoot more birds than he does. Kansas quail is a bucket list item!!! Hell, quail about anywhere is a bucket list item for me.

Sounds like a plan Andy. I'll give you first chance on the covey rise.:bowdown:

Curiously enough, I never hunted quail in KS when I lived there for a few years in the early 1970s, but had great quail hunting just up over the border in southern Iowa with friends from KC. Went to Texas for guided wild quail way up in the panhandle twice, east of Dalhart and north of Darouzette, creeping over into OK once or twice near Slapout (yes we bought licenses!). Lots of driving from lease to lease, tailgate lunches in the field, and more wild birds than I ever saw anywhere. Big coveys but our guide never let us shoot more than 2 per man out of any one covey. Lots of walking and great dog work, when they said "all wild birds", they meant WILD!! Interesting flush characteristics; some held drum-tight till the very last minute then burst up all at once; a few times singles would trickle out for a few minutes before the mob flushed. No rattlers but plenty of cactus and thorny pear thickets, hard on the boots and the hands!

When those 30 bumble bees get up you better start shooting. They get to 45-50 yards in a heartbeat.

No problem Dan, that's why God invented the full choke.:)

Thank you Daryl, I knew you were a gentleman : ) Dan I've only hunted them out here on a preserve and yes, they're quick, but only a couple birds at a time go up. I want the full on blitzkrieg along with adrenalin rush. Daryl, you can take photos, unless I miss, then we have to shoot your phone or camera.

Kansas Bobs are on my bucket list too. Sounds like Daryl picks us all up and it's a Parker road trip! :whistle::bowdown::cool:

Optometrist friend of mine just got back from quail hunting in Kansas, his first time there and hunting public and WIHA land. He moved one covey per day.He didn't do very good, but was unguided and has one lab. I love labs, but a bigger running dog (setters for me) needed to cover more territory out there. Was in Alton. Was thinking about a late season Kansas hunt myself, but headed back to South Dakota mid January.

I think a Parker road trip sounds amazing Mike. I don't take up much room : )

As usual Kevin, your description is eloquent and accurate. Fortunately I didn't move from lease to lease as the ranches I was huntng were thousands of acres. The cactus and plum thickets are hard on the dogs but the sand burrs did the most damage to my pups.

Harold, I have a friend that spends the entire quail season in Central Kansas and hunts public ground most every day. He said the bird numbers are good this year but added that he's never seen so much pressure on the public land around him.

I have only hunted Quail for one season back in late 1990's when I was living in Sacramento Ca. I would drive down 8-10 hrs or so for a 2 day weekend hunt at Fort Hunter Ligget a little bit below King City. Passes were issued to hunters in small numbers, each to a specific training area that was not being used for troop training that weekend.
. My first covey flush with Gambrel Scaled was around a hundred birds. Not an exaggeration by any means. And we kept bumping 20 to 30 bird groups as we walked along. All day, each day. And I mostly missed .
No dog, just myself and my buddy. Didn't realize what kind of day had been given to us till much later in life as I hunted more and more in different states. Only got a few birds between us that season. Prob my most fun and least productive hunting venture of mine.
Mattly

Used to be three guys here that would go to OK , TX , KS each year they’d stay 3-6 weeks only messed with quail or so they claimed . They’d pull out with two TN Walkers per man and 8-12 setters/pointers . All these guys are gone from this life but they seemed to get the most from their own lives . Never did hear about the numbers of birds they got into or took , but I did hear number of empty bourbon bottles a couple times :rotf::rotf::rotf:

Road trip!!!

Now you're diggin' where the taters are!! :clap:

You wanna road trip for the birds the bourbon or …….. ?

No, road trip for bourbon is to Kentucky. Road trip for chicks is Kansas.

Seeing as I don’t drink…:corn::cool:

Then chicks it is. Quail chicks for those of you in PA.:eek::)

With you “chicks” certainly needs to be defined :rotf::rotf::rotf:

You can pass right thru KY and pick up a case or two of refreshments :whistle::rotf:

You talk like that is a bad thing.:nono:

You talk like that's a bad thing:nono: