Hunting Quail - Alone

[Johnm1]

This year AZ Game and Fish has noted that the quail population has reached normal. This is the best it has been in over a decade. Although the summer and fall have been a bust for rain, the spring was quite wet and the populations are as good as they have been. Where I hunt there were thousands of coveys spread everywhere. My problem is I have no one to hunt with and no dog. My kids are grown and don't care to go. It is quite a distance and I do understand it takes a lot of time for the youngsters. A typical covey of 20 Birds has 40 eyes and they see you from quite a distance away. They stay on the ground somewhere between 70 and a hundred yards from where you're are and just keep moving. I have not figured a way to get close, or to flush the birds while alone.

Does anyone know of a method to hunt quail alone?

 

[Armored farmer]

two words....
bird dog.
Get a bird dog....instant hunting partner that desires to hunt more than you do.

 

[Johnm1]

Unfortunately for a lot of reasons a dog isn’t an option.

 

[Armored farmer]

If no dog, then lots of walking in areas quail frequent.

?.......or find a friend with a dog. Even a mutt is a help.

My hunting habits were formed while quail hunting. We carried the bare minimum of gear, a lightweight gun , and only enough ammo to get our limit of 8 birds.
(16 shells)
Pocketknife
Water bottle
Chaps
Heavy shirt
Hunting vest
Sometimes we would walk 5- 10 miles or more in a day.


Man I wish I was 27 so I could do it all again!

 

[Johnm1]

Finding them isn’t a problem. In any given area one can hear several coveys within ear shot. The numbers are quite amazing this year. Darn near ran over a covey yesterday on the two track Driving around. But none of them flushed even though some were within a foot of my front bumper. The only time I see them flush is when they are 200 yards away. When I get close they just seem to run away. I can see them on the ground within shotgun range I just can’t seem to get them to flush/fly.

I can get close enough and shoot them on the ground but that just doesn’t seem ‘sporting’.

 

[Patocazador]

What kind of quail? Bobwhite, Gambel's, scaled, harlequin?

For Gambel's wear running shoes, charge them and hope they flush instead of run. A dog would help for retrieving but otherwise, just shoot one at a time and keep your eyes on it until you pick it up.

 

[jmorris]

Scalp the grass every now and then in strips, animals don’t like to be out of cover, you will have a better chance of them stopping at the edge.

 

[Johnm1]

Mostly Gambel’s Quail. Though there are scaled and California the numbers are very high for Gambel’s. For all intents and purposes think Gambel’s Quail. Mearns doesn’t open until the 4th of December.

in previous years when the numbers were not as good I’ve tried to charge them without success. Maybe with the increased numbers of coveys that will work sometimes. What I haven’t tried is throwing a rock to get them to flush. Not sure that would work. I seem to be able to get closer to some of the coveys this year compared to previous years.

 

[Johnm1]

Here is what AZ G&F says about this year:

https://www.azgfd.com/hunting/quail...ks6IYR1CXq_XGWLt5iBfgOKOPIzZ1TBRoCvYUQAvD_BwE

This is a Gambel’s quail year! If you’ve ever wanted to try quail hunting in Arizona, this is your year! You may not even need a bird dog (though admittedly they’ll make hunting quail easier) because there are Gambel’s quail all over our desert landscapes this season.

I’m going to give it a try this upcoming 4 day weekend. I’ll try a lot of different methods. But it will be alone and without a dog.

Can they be safely flushed with another hunter?

 

[burrhead]

It may not be legal in AZ but in my area we ground shoot em. Legal here. If you wait for them to flush you'll never find the downed birds in the heavy brush.

 

[Johnm1]

It may not be legal in AZ but in my area we ground shoot em. Legal here. If you wait for them to flush you'll never find the downed birds in the heavy brush.

It is not illegal to ground shoot them here in Arizona. I can from time to time get within range without flushing them but have resisted ground shooting them.

 

[Barbaroja]

I really love shooting a bird out of the air.
Only thing better is eating one, I’m not ashamed to pop a bird on the ground. When I go out hunting I do so with the intention of getting some meat, if that’s how I can get my bird, that’s how I go about it.
As long as your not breaking any laws, hunt how you want. Don’t let someone make you feel bad for not doing it Their way.
Good luck!

ps. Now I want to go quail hunting! Might be time to plan a trip to the sage brush!

 

[sixgunner455]

I’m not too ashamed to ground shoot a bird, but since I hunt with a Brittany I’d really prefer to keep around a while longer, I wait for them to fly.

If I take a rabbit while we hunt quail or dove, I wait until it’s gotten quite a distance away from the dog and she’s steady pointing on it running before I pop it. Quail, that probably wouldn’t work.

 

[Barbaroja]

I’m not too ashamed to ground shoot a bird, but since I hunt with a Brittany I’d really prefer to keep around a while longer, I wait for them to fly.

If I take a rabbit while we hunt quail or dove, I wait until it’s gotten quite a distance away from the dog and she’s steady pointing on it running before I pop it. Quail, that probably wouldn’t work.

Solid move. Let me clarify I don’t have a dog.... and not because I shot it lol

 

[wankerjake]

Without a dog you can walk them up. If they flush too early keep following them and watch for stragglers. Once they get flushed and split a couple times they usually start calling back and forth and often will sit tight enough to hunt them. As Pato said they can be tough to find, watch them fall and try not to lose sight of it

 

[Johnm1]

Thank you for all the replies. I've done some reading on the internet as well. Sporting question really has more to do with retrieving Birds. It was suggested elsewhere that without a dog person should use larger shot make sure birds are hit hard. Dogs help find wounded birds that a person without a dog cannot find. Also, hunt only one bird at a time. Once a single bird hits the ground mark it and go directly to it even if another bird flushes.

 

[Paul7]

I took my first Gambel's quail this week, very good to eat.

 

[Paul7]

It is not illegal to ground shoot them here in Arizona. I can from time to time get within range without flushing them but have resisted ground shooting them.

In your situation, a scoped .22 rifle may be your best bet.

 

[Johnm1]

Without a dog you can walk them up. If they flush too early keep following them and watch for stragglers. Once they get flushed and split a couple times they usually start calling back and forth and often will sit tight enough to hunt them. As Pato said they can be tough to find, watch them fall and try not to lose sight of it

Thank you for the suggestions (Pato too). This seems to be the best from other sources as well.

In your situation, a scoped .22 rifle may be your best bet.

I have thought the same thing. But that wouldn't be legal here in Arizona. Shotgun shooting shot or, oddly, pistol shooting shot.

 

[Johnm1]

I took my first Gambel's quail this week, very good to eat.

Where in New Mexico are you located? I'll be hunting about 5 miles from the New Mexico border just North of I-10.

 

[Blue Brick]

This year AZ Game and Fish has noted that the quail population has reached normal. This is the best it has been in over a decade. Although the summer and fall have been a bust for rain, the spring was quite wet and the populations are as good as they have been. Where I hunt there were thousands of coveys spread everywhere. My problem is I have no one to hunt with and no dog. My kids are grown and don't care to go. It is quite a distance and I do understand it takes a lot of time for the youngsters. A typical covey of 20 Birds has 40 eyes and they see you from quite a distance away. They stay on the ground somewhere between 70 and a hundred yards from where you're are and just keep moving. I have not figured a way to get close, or to flush the birds while alone.

Does anyone know of a method to hunt quail alone?

I am the East Valley too... I walk fast, never had an issue.

Still looking for a partner? I think the season is over by now.

 

[wankerjake]

Nah lot of season left, through Feb 7

 

[Johnm1]

I am the East Valley too... I walk fast, never had an issue.

Still looking for a partner? I think the season is over by now.

The season is long as Wankerjake pointed out. Late dove just opened too. 11-20 through 1-3-21. So one needs a plug. I can walk fast but only for short periods of time due to hips that need replacement. In this case that's probably a good thing though.

And yes, I'm still looking for a partner. I'll be heading out later today. But the place I hunt is 4 1/2 hours away. Basically I-10 and the New Mexico border. I'll arrive before dark and throw a cot on the desert floor. I'll hunt tomorrow and maybe Saturday. The reason I hunt so far away is there are thousands of birds in lots of coveys. The place is great for early Dove but I don't see many doves during the late season.

If you are interested in a long drive I would love to have the company. I understand about the distance though. If you decide to come, I can throw a second cot in the back of a truck. Or, you can make it a long one day hunt.

 

[murf]

sometimes you can flush a running covey by shooting at it, sometimes by running at it (a fast trot is what i do as i have a loaded shotgun in my hands). once flushed, watch where it lands. the birds will hide so you can walk up and single flush the birds. this is not easy and depends upon the terrain and cover. cover too open and the birds stay coveyed up and run. too thick and the birds just walk ahead because the hunter cannot walk.

the best hunting is hilly country with lots of arroyos. the birds cannot run very far and tend to flush up and down the sides of the hills. the hunter gets lots of exercise but can at least get a shot.

you should be able to hunt much closer to home: the silver king mine road area at superior, north of bumble bee on either side of the road, the east side of lake roosevelt, the gunnery range at florence junction. if the birds are thick they should be thick everywhere, but a scouting trip will confirm that.

luck,

murf

 

[Johnm1]

I do hunt at the gunnery range. And there are birds there. But with all the atv traffic my experience is that they just walk and stay about 75 yards from me. They are pushed year round. Plus I love the place I’m going to and the people in that area. If I just wanted to get out and do some shooting close to home I know the places to go nearby. Plus I don’t think we had as much rain in the spring as they did down there. Nothing during the summer or so far this fall but the spring rains govern how well they reproduce. So I think the numbers down there are substantially higher.