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We are back at home mourning the passing of three bird seasons, having just returned from a brief trip to Kansas. Oklahoma still beckons, and we may succumb to the call, but for now, we are sorting out last days in our home state of Missouri, our adopted home of Iowa, and our "new" home of Kansas. Each state treated us kindly, even though bird numbers were nothing to brag about.
Although I love to savor a last day hunt, it saddens me to know I have more last days behind than ahead. Still, we make plans and hope for the best.
Here are some photos from our last day hunts:
1. Our last day hunt for Missouri almost did not happen. We had snow and bitter cold with high winds for the days preceding our Jan 15 last day. But the red gods smiled and although the snow and cold were an issue, the persistent wind of the prior days calmed, making our hunt bearable. I chose this photo as one that demonstrates a theme in hunting wild quail at times. I read with interest my friend Chris Pope's thread about a quail roost he found and in which he talked about the ruckus caused by the eruption of a covey. If you look closely at this photo, you'll see that there is a "back door" bird exiting the picture on the extreme left. The covey, a large one that we'd been fostering throughout the season, was buried deep in the snow and somewhat separated. I'm shooting at the bulk of the covey that is flushing to the right. It can be very distracting to draw down on a bird in front and have one come up in another direction. I think this is a Bobwhite conspiracy, intended to lower the shooting average of yours truly. I'm sad to say the strategy works more often than not.
2&3. Well, I did not get a bird from the rise pictured in photo 1. We chased after the singles without luck. As we worked our way back, Rill pointed in the same location again. It was the rest of the covey, having held tight through the first flush and shot. This time I focused hard and took a double from different directions -- a very tough shot for me. Rill found the first bird, but we could not locate the second. I finally spotted the second bird across a small stream. It lay in the snow like a period at the end of the story that was our Missouri quail season. On our way out, Rill pointed another single. I felt good letting that bird fly with my last day limit of two Bobs in my vest.
4&5. We got an invitation to hunt an Iowa farm that had been a great bird farm for us for many years, but had been off limits of late. This would be our last day to hunt in Iowa. Quail numbers were up over last year in the areas we hunt, and we found a very large covey on a piece of this wonderful farm that held some good memories for us and many of our dogs. The birds flushed wild and then re-coveyed in the heavy brush. In photo 4 Aspen finally gets them to stop running after trailing the birds for about 50 yards through some nasty briars. When the birds flushed, I found myself smack in the middle of the spread out covey. Again, notice the back door bird that Elaine managed to catch in her photo (you can see it just at my back, exiting stage right as they say).
6. Aspen found my one bird from this covey that reassembled at least 3 times, but only giving me one chance. Aspen seemed pretty pleased with himself after he found the dead bird buried deep in the canary grass.
7. I have other quail guns, but I can't seem to leave this little DHE 20 at home, especially on the last day of a season.
8. We moved to another piece of this farm with Rill and found no quail, but hit the mother lode of pheasants. Iowa, a great pheasant state, chooses to end its pheasant season three weeks before the quail season closes. The irony is not lost on me that we have more pheasant points, and more chances at roosters, during this three week window. The good news is that the guys who will only travel for the big, gaudy import, are nowhere to be found in the quail only season. In the photo I watch a large rooster that Rill pinned along fence that separated a grass field from a harvested bean field. It would have been an easy shot, even for the little 20.
9. We were able to pass on the last pointed quail of the Iowa season, a purposeful gesture intended to assure the blessings of a good next season. I can't say this works, but then again...
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"Doubtless the good Lord could have made a better game bird than bobwhite, and better country to hunt him in...but equally doubtless, he never did." -- Guy de la Valdene (from A Handful of Feathers )
"'I promise you,' he said, 'on my word of honor, I won't die on the opening of the bird season.'" -- Robert Ruark (from The Old Man and the Boy)
The Following 33 Users Say Thank You to Garry L Gordon For Your Post:
We've started going to Kansas at the end of January, mostly to escape our North Missouri weather. I love Kansas. The Flint Hills are one of the most beautiful places on earth to me.
Here are photos from the Kansas leg of our season ending hunts.
1. Part of the charm of our Kansas hunt is that the dogs can stay in the cabin with us. They adapt to this hardship quite well.
2. There are lots of things that poke, stick and scratch where we hunt, and it makes shooting tough. Aspen has a single pinned in this tangle. If you're taking bets that I missed, you won yourself some money.
3&4 I still wonder if Mountain Mike has stations like what we encounter while after wild quail. Most shots are in tight quarters (3), but every now and then you get an open shot. But when the covey flushes, it does not matter -- open or tight cover -- you still have to earn your bird.
5. Another back door bird. This one was headed to Oklahoma. They seldom play nice.
6. We found an old homestead in a very birdy looking area. I told Elaine even I could smell birds here. Within a minute, Rill locked up. I'm glad the well in the foreground was fenced off. It would be a bad fall for man or beast. And I'll bet there's something evil lurking in the root cellar.
7. Yet another back door bird streaks out after the bulk of the covey flushed. But this time, instead of distracting me, I had already gotten a double -- with one shot(!) On purpose, you ask? Well, why not?! That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.
8. The subtle beauty of the bobwhite always makes me stop to look. I don't think I'll ever tire of holding one in hand.
9. If you've never walked under a brooding Kansas prairie sky, you've not lived. On a late winter day when the Southerly breeze is warm on your face, there is nothing quite like it.
10. The dogs are the stars of the show...as are the birds...and the land that holds them. What a privilege to hunt wild birds in places such as this!
__________________
"Doubtless the good Lord could have made a better game bird than bobwhite, and better country to hunt him in...but equally doubtless, he never did." -- Guy de la Valdene (from A Handful of Feathers )
"'I promise you,' he said, 'on my word of honor, I won't die on the opening of the bird season.'" -- Robert Ruark (from The Old Man and the Boy)
The Following 27 Users Say Thank You to Garry L Gordon For Your Post:
__________________
"I'm a Setter man.
Not because I think they're better than the other breeds,
but because I'm a romantic - stuck on tradition - and to me, a Setter just "belongs" in the grouse picture."
George King, "That's Ruff", 2010 - a timeless classic.
The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to Dean Romig For Your Post:
I’m partial to all setters ! I think it would be intresting to have a trio on the ground an Irish a Gordon and an English all on point simultaneously . And if I had that circus going I also want a Boykin spaniel at heal to do the retrieving .
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Parker’s , 6.5mm’s , Mannlicher Schoenauer’s and my family in the Philippines !
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to CraigThompson For Your Post:
I can not put into mere words how much i enjoy reading of your trips and the photos. Please continue. You and Elaine make my day. Thank you both.
Daniel, I hope you are optimistic for next year. I think of you often at the end of our hunts, hoping you’ll be posting of your outings in the future.
Any chance you’ll make it to our annual meeting? I’d enjoy catching up with you.
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"Doubtless the good Lord could have made a better game bird than bobwhite, and better country to hunt him in...but equally doubtless, he never did." -- Guy de la Valdene (from A Handful of Feathers )
"'I promise you,' he said, 'on my word of honor, I won't die on the opening of the bird season.'" -- Robert Ruark (from The Old Man and the Boy)
I’m partial to all setters ! I think it would be intresting to have a trio on the ground an Irish a Gordon and an English all on point simultaneously . And if I had that circus going I also want a Boykin spaniel at heal to do the retrieving .
Craig, interestingly enough we ran into a guy in Kansas who had an English and Red Setter. I thought about suggesting a hunt with three setter types.
Ken Hill if you read this, his dog was gorgeous. I thought of you and your pups.
__________________
"Doubtless the good Lord could have made a better game bird than bobwhite, and better country to hunt him in...but equally doubtless, he never did." -- Guy de la Valdene (from A Handful of Feathers )
"'I promise you,' he said, 'on my word of honor, I won't die on the opening of the bird season.'" -- Robert Ruark (from The Old Man and the Boy)
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Garry L Gordon For Your Post:
02-01-2025, 04:47 PM
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