Wild blue quail vs released bobwhites

[SA Doc]

I'm new to bird dogs. I bought a Brittany from a trainer last spring that just turned 2 in November, but this is his 1st season hunting.
I have taken him to hunt released bobwhites and I thought he did pretty good, although he did creep on a couple and flush them . He even caught a couple, which I know is bad.
I am on a 6000 acre south Texas deer lease. We have a occasional bobs, but mostly lots of blue/scaled quail. Most of our place is incredibly thick brush. There is no open pasture. I have taken him down a few times, but only killed a few blues over him. In the open areas the birds run. In the thick areas I can't keep up to tell when he points, and if I do its often so thick you can't get a shot.
Is is better to hunt him on released bobs (which don't always fly well and he might catch), or wild blues in incredibly thick cover. I'm worried he'll learn bad habits either way. What about when he points blues with me close and they run instead of fly? Do you let them go?
Scott

[ruffbritt4]

If you will be hunting blues, train the dog on them, with experience he will learn there behavior. Have fun

[TXShooter]

Wild blues are tough but with experience he will get better. Pen raised birds, in my opinion, will never teach a dog as well as wild.
I love wild blues but they are gangsters compared to wild gentlemen bobs.

Good luck.

[TXShooter]

If you milo the roads in areas that are not so thick you would probably get good dog work.

Once you bust the covey they will hold much better.

[SA Doc]

Are you a proponent of the "skillet shot" to bust up the covey? Seems like not going that route is an exercise in frustration. We sometimes hunt all morning and find multiple covies and never get a point because they keep running.
I've been debating ground shooting them to bust them up.

[birddogger]

Are you a proponent of the "skillet shot" to bust up the covey? Seems like not going that route is an exercise in frustration. We sometimes hunt all morning and find multiple covies and never get a point because they keep running.
I've been debating ground shooting them to bust them up.

Where I come from, that would be highly illegal and suspect it is everywhere. It would also be very unsportsman like IMO.

Charlie

[Ricky Ticky Shorthairs]

Good way to accidentally shoot your dog too.

[Vonzeppelinkennels]

Or some one elses!!

[SA Doc]

I actually found an article a while back that was linked from the Texas Parks and Wildlife page that suggested the" skillet shot" as a way to break up the covey, then letting the dog hunt the singles. The author said that was about the only way to successfully hunt blue quail with a dog.

How are all you guys that posted hunting BLUE quail? How do you break up the covies of BLUE quail so the dog can work? How successful are you at hunting BLUE quail with a dog?

The caps are for emphasis. BLUE quail do not behave like bobs. I want to make sure you guys are hunting the same birds I am. And in terrain where every plant has a thorn of some kind.

Do you have a better suggestion for breaking up the covey of BLUES so a bird might actually hold for a point????

I'm open to suggestions.

[ruffbritt4]

Just this hunting season which is my first with a dog, I realized that if I want to hunt grouse with my dog, I have to train him on them. Pen raised chukars and quail don't challenge him like the grouse do. In the few times we grouse hunted this year, I can see a difference in my dog. When we take him out for stocked pheasant, he is rock solid on point, I think that the grouse that he bumped taught him a lesson. I can see him improving on the grouse, too. I guess that if you want to hunt Blue quail with your dog, give him as much exposure as you can, and when he understands what to do, shoot a few birds for him. Good luck