Missouri Bird Hunts
Quail Specific
Missouri Interests
| Wild BirdsMissouri Bobwhite Quail hunting for the do it yourself hunter seeking wild bird hunts with a preference for farm field edge habitat. Grain crops largely of beans and corn along wooded, fence line and creek bottoms create a lot edge habitat that when walking along side makes for an enjoyable day of eyes on dog action.
When the covey or singles takes the dog and hunter into the wood lot or the many creek bottoms the earlier casual field walk can turn into a muscle straining, steep bank creek crossing, heart pounding exercise giving both dog and hunter a good work out. The pay off is more wild bird potential than elsewhere due to such habitat.
ChoiceThe dynamic is the reality that MAHA has much land and the hunter must finally select where to hunt. Two approaches are common. The first is to have a select few counties in two or more of our states where we lease land to have a bit of variety to locations and habitat. This self guided hunter typically floats from one area to another from hunt to hunt. This second approach is to concentrate in concentric circles on one region. The feedback has been it is better to learn a large area of farms within one smaller region than to be roaming about several states. On this second approach of concentrated hunts we are careful through the unit reservation system to prevent any one quail hunter or group from repeatedly hunting or pressuring the same quail hunting unit and over working the coveys. For the most part our quail hunter is self-regulating and rarely hunts the same farm more than once a season having found a good many Missouri farms over the years that have recurring quail hunt success that encourages the extra benefit of working dogs on new ground. These quail hunters are also in the field for a good hunt and not score keeping, ego building bag limits. Having said that, these quail hunters typically are the ones that do accumulate the most well composed dog and harvested quail pictures. A quail hunter nuance lost on some. However, every other year or so we will have a hunter or more that will require further explanation. Our existence is for the hunter that enjoys the day in the field and the necessity of bagging a limit each day may be his approach to quail hunts, but not ours. We seek and admit the wild quail hunter that wants to enjoy his dog work rather than the hunter that will hunt coveys less than 10 birds to bag his 8 and thereby eliminating the covey's reproduction potential. What is more typical is to harvest a bird or two per large covey of 20+ birds throughout the day and work the dogs all day long frequently blank fire flushes on singles or shooting the sky rather than birds. One quote from one such hunter was that if quail could be like catch and release fishing he would never eat another bobwhite again.
Do It Yourself HuntsOur approach to do it yourself hunts is greatly different than most quail hunters initially expect. Our quality measurement is not solely the number of birds that get into the truck regardless of dog work or hunter shooting ability. We further are not a hunting club or quail hunting guide service and do not prefer to work with the type of hunter that requires such. For anyone to be admitted to this Association to successfully hunt Bobwhite Quail he must have his own bird dogs, walking strength and shooting skill. Our Missouri quail hunting is as good as it quail hunts gets in this part of the country and we seek the hunter that will appreciate wild quail hunts for the quality of dog work.
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