Blue quail

[muleskinner]

Hunted in southwest New Mexico saturday. The first covey of blue quail we got into, was running 100-150 yards out in front of the dog...dog never got close enough to have a chance at pointing. Found 3 birds by themselves and about the time the dog started to go on point, the birds took off running like their tail was on fire! How do you hunt these crazy birds? I have hunted Gambels quail for a long time and have never had a problem with them holding for the dog. Might resort to a 22 mag with a scope and try picking them off at long distance! Not really, but i'm curious as to how you guys do it.

[RoostersMom]

I feel your pain. I grew up in NM and a running pheasant up here in the Midwest has nothing on a scaled quail. Those little suckers are fast! I found myself doing a lot of flushing and trying to pin them down after the initial flush. Lots of walking in big circles too. I'm sure some others have better advice, I hardly ever killed a limit during a days' hunting most days.

[DoubleBarrel GunDogs]

I hope to hunt them down by Lamar, CO this fall. I'll be watching this thread with interest. Reading this makes me wonder how blocking would work?

Nate

[muleskinner]

I will mention something that probably played a part in the tendencies of these birds. The area I was in had very sparse ground cover. Mostly scattered greasewood and creosote bushes with little to no grass or other cover. I suppose they felt pretty exposed and therefore would'nt hold for the dog. In more dense ground cover they would possibly feel more secure and set tight. Not 100% sure this is the deal, but thought it worth mentioning.

[SA Doc]

We have incredibly thick brush (no grass) where I deer hunt near Laredo ,TX and the the Blue's still run and won't hold for a point. They guys that hunt them successfully tell you to break up the covey and hunt the singles, but they don't tell you how they break up the covey. I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago how the guys that guide in south Texas have told me they do it, and you'd think I burned the flag or something from the responses I got. They are very tough birds to hunt with a dog. Even though we have tons of blues on my 6000 acre deer lease, I've been taking my dog to a preserve a few hrs away to hunt bobs and pheasant because the blues are so frustrating. I sometimes see 20 or more coveys a day driving around the ranch and can't get within 50-100 yards on foot without them running.

[DoubleBarrel GunDogs]

We have incredibly thick brush (no grass) where I deer hunt near Laredo ,TX and the the Blue's still run and won't hold for a point. They guys that hunt them successfully tell you to break up the covey and hunt the singles, but they don't tell you how they break up the covey. I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago how the guys that guide in south Texas have told me they do it, and you'd think I burned the flag or something from the responses I got. They are very tough birds to hunt with a dog. Even though we have tons of blues on my 6000 acre deer lease, I've been taking my dog to a preserve a few hrs away to hunt bobs and pheasant because the blues are so frustrating. I sometimes see 20 or more coveys a day driving around the ranch and can't get within 50-100 yards on foot without them running.

Sure wish I could come down there and help you try to pin down some of those pesky birds. I'm not begging for an invite mind you; Just wishful thinking.

Nate

[whatsnext]

We have incredibly thick brush (no grass) where I deer hunt near Laredo ,TX and the the Blue's still run and won't hold for a point. They guys that hunt them successfully tell you to break up the covey and hunt the singles, but they don't tell you how they break up the covey. I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago how the guys that guide in south Texas have told me they do it, and you'd think I burned the flag or something from the responses I got. They are very tough birds to hunt with a dog. Even though we have tons of blues on my 6000 acre deer lease, I've been taking my dog to a preserve a few hrs away to hunt bobs and pheasant because the blues are so frustrating. I sometimes see 20 or more coveys a day driving around the ranch and can't get within 50-100 yards on foot without them running.

I have no idea but I wonder if multiple dogs would be better ?

[codym]

Most of the birds I hunt are scalies and we usually manage to get a few pointed every time we go out. I'm kind of in the minority as I feel like I get better work on the covies rather than the singles. Usually if you can get the covey to flush and really watch them down they will be pretty close to that spot. I've also noticed that each covey is different, some rum more than others but grass always seems to get them to hold better than mesquite and grease woods. I think the key is to really watch your dog and if they start getting birdy or even pointing you need to hustle up there and try and get the birds up before they leave. I have the best dog work early in the morning and later in the evening, but I worry about busting up the covies too much before dark. I will say the absolute best scaled quail hunting takes place when there's about six inches of snow on the ground. Lastly if you want a good scaled quail dog you need to run them on them as much as possible. If the dog is smart and has a good nose he will figure them out. With all that being said there are much better birds out there to get dog work on and alot of older guys would refuse to run there dogs on scalies because they felt they would ruin a good dog.

[SA Doc]

We have pretty much zero grass and our place is covered with cactus and mesquite. In many places the brush is so thick you can't see 20 yards in front of you and GPS is the only way to know where the dog is at. There are a few areas that are more open, but the blues usually run before you get close. It's not uncommon to have a covey run and have my Britt trail them for 500-800 yards before I call him back with the collar in an open area.No snow here either.
I think it would help if we got rid of the cows so we had more grass. I usually hunt alone with just me and the dog. More guns would probably result in more birds bagged ,but I still don't think I'd get good dog work without better ground cover.
Occasionally we'll get some bad weather and they will hold, but most of the time they run. I also worry about teaching my dog bad habits by shooting birds that flush without a point.