If your quail hunting is steeped in the tradition of the Old South, and consists of a mule-drawn wagon for the guns, dog handlers on Tennessee Walkers, proper dogs (that would be Pointers or Setters, thank you very much!), and guns with two barrels and no larger than 20 ga., you owe it to yourself to hunt Gambels Quail in the deserts of the Southwest.
Where the Bobwhite can properly be referred to as a gentleman, the Gambels is a street thug. Easily outrunning man and dog, seldom holding for a point, flushing wild, with antics in the air that a stunt pilot would marvel at. Put all of this into some of the most inhospitable territory around, and you have the makings of a great bird hunt!
I got back from three days of hunting Gambels in eastern Arizona, and I will definatley be making another trip before the season is over. Max The Wonder Dog and I found lots of birds, had lots of shots, and had plenty of misses. Most fun I have had in a long time.
If you go, make sure you plan accordingly. The desert can be a very unforgiving place. Make sure that you and your dog are in proper shape. Good clothing is very important. It can be very cool in the mornings, and hot in the afternoon. Layers work well. Everything has thorns and/or stickers. I have Filson Double Tin Cloth chaps. Light weight "brush pants" might not hold up too well. If you haven't hunted here, you really can't imagine the amount of cactus there is. Make sure your boots are up to the task. Insulation is not required. Good ankle support and padded insoles are a must. Lots of walking on lava rock, and this stuff is hell on boots. My boots have the "Air-Bob" soles, which I just love. However, 9 of the "nipples" on the soles were torn off by the extremely sharp lave rocks. I will have a pair of custom boots from Russell Moccasin company before my next trip. You MUST have boots for your dog. Your dog lives outside in a gravel bed run? You use Tuff-Foot liberally? Doesn't matter. You MUST boot your dog. And don't mess around with any of those sissy cordura boots, either. You want Lewis Dog boots. And you will still need a Leatherman to pull prickly pear spines out of the boots. But they will stop most everything else. Between the cactus, sand-burrs (aka Goatsheads), and lava, a non-booted dog is a one day dog. His feet will be so tore up that all he will do is hobble around the next day.
Make sure you take plenty of water for you and the dog. Minimum of two quarts. Yes, it's heavy. So what. The dog deserves it.
I assume you will be shooting a proper gun (that would be two barrels, arranged horizontally, of course
). My doubles are choked IC/Full and IC/Mod. Both work well. One oz. loads of 8's, 7.5's, and 6's are what I carried, but I will probably load up some with 1 1/8 oz. for my next trip. Gambels are suprisingly tough and can take a lot of killing. Wounded birds have the ability to run incredibly fast, and disappear into nothing. Forget about trying for doubles, and make sure you mark down exactly where that one bird fell. Don't take your eyes off the spot, because one piece of desert can look just like the next, and that bird will be gone. Get you or your dog to that spot pronto and find that cripple, or it is gone.
Anybody want to meet up in AZ in January for a Gambels hunt, just let me know (or anyplace else - Oklahoma or Texas, anyone?)!
Scott
Where the Bobwhite can properly be referred to as a gentleman, the Gambels is a street thug. Easily outrunning man and dog, seldom holding for a point, flushing wild, with antics in the air that a stunt pilot would marvel at. Put all of this into some of the most inhospitable territory around, and you have the makings of a great bird hunt!
I got back from three days of hunting Gambels in eastern Arizona, and I will definatley be making another trip before the season is over. Max The Wonder Dog and I found lots of birds, had lots of shots, and had plenty of misses. Most fun I have had in a long time.
If you go, make sure you plan accordingly. The desert can be a very unforgiving place. Make sure that you and your dog are in proper shape. Good clothing is very important. It can be very cool in the mornings, and hot in the afternoon. Layers work well. Everything has thorns and/or stickers. I have Filson Double Tin Cloth chaps. Light weight "brush pants" might not hold up too well. If you haven't hunted here, you really can't imagine the amount of cactus there is. Make sure your boots are up to the task. Insulation is not required. Good ankle support and padded insoles are a must. Lots of walking on lava rock, and this stuff is hell on boots. My boots have the "Air-Bob" soles, which I just love. However, 9 of the "nipples" on the soles were torn off by the extremely sharp lave rocks. I will have a pair of custom boots from Russell Moccasin company before my next trip. You MUST have boots for your dog. Your dog lives outside in a gravel bed run? You use Tuff-Foot liberally? Doesn't matter. You MUST boot your dog. And don't mess around with any of those sissy cordura boots, either. You want Lewis Dog boots. And you will still need a Leatherman to pull prickly pear spines out of the boots. But they will stop most everything else. Between the cactus, sand-burrs (aka Goatsheads), and lava, a non-booted dog is a one day dog. His feet will be so tore up that all he will do is hobble around the next day.
Make sure you take plenty of water for you and the dog. Minimum of two quarts. Yes, it's heavy. So what. The dog deserves it.
I assume you will be shooting a proper gun (that would be two barrels, arranged horizontally, of course
). My doubles are choked IC/Full and IC/Mod. Both work well. One oz. loads of 8's, 7.5's, and 6's are what I carried, but I will probably load up some with 1 1/8 oz. for my next trip. Gambels are suprisingly tough and can take a lot of killing. Wounded birds have the ability to run incredibly fast, and disappear into nothing. Forget about trying for doubles, and make sure you mark down exactly where that one bird fell. Don't take your eyes off the spot, because one piece of desert can look just like the next, and that bird will be gone. Get you or your dog to that spot pronto and find that cripple, or it is gone.Anybody want to meet up in AZ in January for a Gambels hunt, just let me know (or anyplace else - Oklahoma or Texas, anyone?)!
Scott
