January 2007Updates page 4
16 Jan
Winter Iowa Quail Hunt
Picture from 15 January, Iowa quail hunt.
Note said: "...we didn't hunt much...Kansas was warmer..."
The rest of the message paraphrased from a picture series taken on the last day of their trip told of a limit over 3/4 day hunt, found coveys on some small pieces they had not hunted earlier, roads were solid, and the last quail hunt of the year for this pair.
14 Jan
Muzzleloader Deer
A member since 1983 and always hunted the deer and turkey from the very beginning of the season until until the very end. This year he was fortunate enough to tag a nice buck during the muzzleloader season. Thanks for the photo and good luck with the remainder of the archery deer season.
Modern Firearms
Hi John,
It was good talking with you today. Thanks for all you do for MAHA. I have been a member for 4 years and really enjoy hunting deer and turkeys on our properties.
Here is the buck I shot this year.
His inside spread is just over 20". My dad was out this year to hunt with me so that made it really special.
Take care, [name deleted]
Thank you for the nicely composed picture. Good luck with scouting.
12 Jan
Traveling Upland Bird Hunter
We selected this upland bird hunter's testimonial to be up front for several reasons. The first is that Carl is a bit of a celebrity as he travels further than any other upland bird hunter in the Association coming all the way from Maine and doing so twice a year for a good number of years. He finds value in the central mid-west quail and pheasant regions that adds to his home state grouse and woodcock hunting. The next reason is that he gives blunt and factual accounts of his hunts describing that the hunt is certainly good enough to return each year and tough enough to be a true wild bird hunt. His illustration is that while we all seek bird limits each day the value of the hunt is greater than that one aspect.
Thank you Carl for the great feedback, good luck to Greg.
Upland Bird Points
A value of the dog on point pictures from many hunters shows a great variance in upland bird dog power. Comparing pictures to habitat to one's own dogs will quickly show that some dogs have more or less capability within any one specific habitat type and bird.
Wheat stubble gives this picture away as a Kansas hunt. Thin and low cover such as this requires a soft, slow working dog with long point standoff. Anything less and the hunter is left to chasing his dog across large fields to witness pushed birds flush long.
Mixed bag upland bird hunts (right) are certainly attractive making for a more enjoyable day. Carl is a high risk traveling bird hunter having but one dog.
A mixed bag hunt is indicative of our southern Iowa and most of Kansas upland bird hunts where overlapping pheasant and quail range is predominate over exclusive range localities.
John:
Here's a quick summary:
Iowa was a disappointment mostly because much of the corn was still standing in the areas we wanted to hunt. Got only a couple of pheasants and had much better luck on quail.
Kansas was pretty good. Found lots of pheasants but Greg's dog was a little too aggressive and pushed most birds too hard - ended up flushing beyond shooting range. In many cases we were putting up 15-20 birds at a time in various covers. My dog (after some initial wildness) was too cautious on pheasants and we had lots of pointing that resulted in birds moving way out in front. We did get a few roosters but unfortunately most shootable birds were hens. My dog was exceptionally good on a number of quail finds and I wish I had focused more on quail. Greg really wanted pheasants.
We scrubbed the hunting in Missouri because of the lousy weather at end of trip.
Overall we still had a pretty good trip and are already discussing next year. I'm planning to head back to KS/MO sometime after New Years weekend depending on weather conditions. I can be very flexible and have a window from beginning of Jan. through the 18th.
Here are a few pictures. More to follow.
Carl
The dog on point is the dark spot in the lower left of the picture. Even in what many consider open terrain birds will be found. This appears to be a grassed waterway cutting through a crop field.
Hunters such as Carl give us yearly double checks to insure we are on track in spite of our own observations of the land, regions and birds.
