Buck At Work

Always enjoy a good hunting thread David. Before clear-cut farming and fire ants we had many coveys, when I was a boy bird hunting meant Bobwhite Quail and we had plenty of coveys spread over several farms (two uncles with adjoining farms meant lots of great hunting!). Now I see a rare covey when I’m turkey hunting or out and about on one of the farms. Too scarce to gun them, but there is one preserve worth hunting east of Charlotte - long drive, but I usually go once a season to bird hunt there. OH
 
I hear this same report many times. I go and talk to my uncles about this condition, who are farmers and they think it is most of what you're saying.
With baling hay one can cut right up to the fence. Even when I was pulling hay rakes, I'd notice a hen Bobwhite break out from her nest of
eggs, just before I raked over it. Then we're not growing grain like we used to. Plus, cutting favored cover back for grazing land. So, I believe farming practices was the death nail for the Southern Bobwhite. I don't know if it will come back. In some areas, yes... Thanks, Hunter. DM
 
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Ok, guys, I was out before they came off the roost, looking. Then one flushed, presenting a decent opportunity and I took it with a left
swing. My bird dog found it right away and brought it to me. Another female. It's in the teens here with about 3" of fresh snow on the ground. So, Leesa didn't care to follow along. Still, I have you a photo. DM
quail2.jpg
 
300Bucks said:
Quail hunting is second only to elk hunting, for me. I just saw the average cost of a knee replacement in the US is $35,000. I can still walk (limp) flat ground so quail may have to be number 1. But, like jmh Mr. Bobwhite is few and far between in my Ozark area. Wife won't move to KA. When I lived in far western OK I could hunt walking from the house...….The several different kinds of western US quail are bigger than Bobwhites. None can match the Scaled quail on the open ground of the semi-desert for sprinting. I bet David has to run like a jackrabbit for those he has shown in the past. David do you have any Mearns Quail or are they all in AZ. I have not taken those or the Gambles and California quail. Don't pull the Gambels head off next time to show everyone the top-knot. Does anyone ever remember Buck offering "Clippers" for bird hunters. 300
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Bad news for you, 300Bucks. I had my rt. knee replaced this past July, and received an invoice from the hospital. The surgery cost $85,000!!! My knee cost more than my house!
Back to the topic: Quail hunting was my passion since I started hunting at age 13. Nothing I'd rather hunt, not even deer. I was blessed to have permission to hunt a property that still held a large population of wild Bobwhites, even after they became scarce everywhere else in south Jersey. That all changed in the early 2000's when New Jersey closed the season on quail entirely. No more quail hunting here. The younger generation of bird hunters doesn't even know what they're missing.
 
Jeff#103 said:
Bad news for you, 300Bucks. I had my rt. knee replaced this past July, and received an invoice from the hospital. The surgery cost $85,000!!! My knee cost more than my house!
Back to the topic: Quail hunting was my passion since I started hunting at age 13. Nothing I'd rather hunt, not even deer. I was blessed to have permission to hunt a property that still held a large population of wild Bobwhites, even after they became scarce everywhere else in south Jersey. That all changed in the early 2000's when New Jersey closed the season on quail entirely. No more quail hunting here. The younger generation of bird hunters doesn't even know what they're missing.
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Jeff, your hitting at the heart of the trend. It's sad that my children can't experience the same life experiences that I enjoyed while growing up. Still, I try to help them. DM
 
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David,

The dogs, the jumbo hunter, the shotgun and the birds make for beautiful photographs. Thanks for sharing your hunting with us.

Next year, I hope to resume my hunting. It's been on extended leave for a while. Closest I have come to quail is hunting grouse in the Adirondacks. Quite a rush when you flush one or two.

Keep up the great hunting posts.
 
Thanks Gedd, we do have Spruce Grouse here but I haven't found them recently. They are all dark meat. They drum in the forest and will
hold when a dog points. They're the size of a Bandtail pigeon. Yes, they make quite a noise when they flush. DM
 
Haven't bird hunted in ages. Hunted mostly pheasant and grouse. Always took some birds to deer camp for a dinner or two. Lower Adirondacks and the Mohawk Valley in NYS had good populations back then. I actually used a Sweet 16 gauge then lol
 
looks like it was good. wife did ya right.

334 did the cutting on the plate there, Sir?
 
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