Hunting birds in the desert has a way of clearing my head. It had been a long morning of hiking hills and busting brush. We had moved a couple coveys, but my vest was still empty. We were making a loop back to the truck when birds busted in front of us. One bird peeled off, and I took off in the general direction. As I crested the ridge, she flushed and gave me a glorious crossing shot. The first barrel missed, but when the second one barked the bird folded to the ground.
One thing is for sure, all that hard work made that one lone quail the tastiest bird I’ve had in a while.
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Heading to AZ Thurs. morning for 6 weeks of quail hunting. Low bird numbers or not, me and the dogs are restless and ready for sun and warmer weather. Thanks Ben for keeping me connected to the desert, even if from a computer. I’ll try to get a picture with my lucky orange Gambel’s hat! Good luck the rest of the season.
That’s great to hear Brian. There are birds no doubt. They just seem to make me work harder this year. Looking forward to the pic. Shoot strait.
Ben
Did you pluck the single like your doves? Just kidding. Heading down next week and hope to have better luck than last year. Thanks for the update and will be in touch!
Haha. Look forward to hearing from you.
Ben
Sometimes those are the most memorable hunts Ben. Great quick share. I love these. We think the one bird day is not worth talking about, but au contraire. I had the same hunt this year, it was a great day. Here’s a pick of the male i took. http://ow.ly/i/7bobs
Great bird, Doug. It definitely makes for a memorable day in the field.
Ben
Hey Ben, I just wanted to stop by and say Happy Thanksgiving to you and the family.
Thanks Howard. Happy Thanksgiving to you too and yours.
Ben
Looks like you do most of your quail hunts pretty far South, ever tried anywhere North of Black Canyon City area? Just got a pointer and looking for areas somewhat close to Flag. Been jonesing for a hunt for a while. Used to hunt pheasant and grouse in Wisco, have not tried quail in AZ yet.
Keith,
Great to hear from you. I do a couple of hunts down south every season, but most of my hunts are north and west of the Valley. I’ve jumped quite a few coveys up there in the Camp Verde area. That might be a good place to start. Quail are very fun, but can be tough as of late with these low numbers for Gambel’s. Good luck.
Ben