March 2007 Updates page 7
19 March
Upland Bird
Upland bird hunting is our leading hunt quality risk category due to the variables of a hunter's willingness to walk, shooting ability and dog power. When all three are present a good hunt typically results. A contributing set of factors to this hunt quality are weather effects. These effects are those that enhance or degrade bird reproduction and those that affect dog and hunter during the season. These weather factors of course are difficult to forecast and plan around and can make or break any hunt. How different hunters handle during season adverse or enhancing weather effects has been a good source of observations about bird hunters themselves. Amongst all the bird hunters traveling from multiple states we get to work with the most adaptable at making the most of more difficult conditions are the woods grouse hunters. The least adaptable (now remember folks we are stereotyping at this point) are the southern quail hunters.
The woods grouse hunter by far has the most difficult terrain to hunt. Steep slopes and thick cover will bring on fatigue and difficult shooting making each bird pointed a welcome sight, any in the bag a bonus and a rare day any season when a limit is bagged. These bird hunters more than any other appreciate the day outdoors behind dogs. Southern quail hunters are at the other extreme on all counts.
Southern quail hunters are in two sub-categories. The first is the southeast plantation quail hunter where well groom woodlots with coveys anchored to feeders and waters score a covey each time stepping on the ground (typically from a mule drawn wagon) and a limit for those than can shoot by lunch. (On that covey anchor bit, John Wenzel does the same on his farm the year he start a new pup. It works great for a single training hunt or two and then the feeders are put away so the dog learns to hunt for coveys rather than run from feeder to feeder.) For these plantation quail hunters a lot of birds in short time is normal and bird dog work on quail not the real reason for the hunt. This plantation quail hunter description is not an unfair characterization, it may prevent us from wasting our time on the telephone with a plantation hunter that thinks he can come out our way and have a good wild quail hunt.
The next category of southern quail hunter that has poor adaptability to adverse conditions is the Oklahoma and Texas quail hunter. These are the quail hunters that have the money to pay for quail leases as any public land has poor hunting due to limited acreage and high hunter pressure. These hunters put multiple dogs on the ground at once and chase behind them on 'gators'. Their idea of a good quail hunt is measured singularly by covey counts. Anything less than 15 coveys is a bad day and 25 covey days the ones sought after. These same hunters never have a good answer of why it takes them 20 coveys to get a 10 bird limit! We call these hunters quail killers and not the type we work with. This brings us back to the woods grouse hunters.
While woods grouse hunters travel from the southwest, all eastern slope Rocky Mountain states and from Minnesota to Maine down to the Virginias and Carolinas they are all the same. They all know hard bird hunting and it is about the enjoyment of the day, their dogs and the hunt, not the kill. These hunters have the willingness to walk our flat land as it would takes days of walking out here to match one day on the slopes where grouse thrive. The woods grouse hunter can shoot fast and accurate as in the thick grouse cover there is not any such thing as blue sky shooting as we have on pheasant and quail. The woods grouse hunter has the dog power as grouse far more than any other upland bird are pressure sensitive requiring more point standoff. Whenever a grouse hunter calls to inquire of membership we are far more accepting and rarely have declined any grouse hunter application. A southern quail hunter must talk real good for our acceptance.
The letter and pictures below are from a father and son grouse hunting team that has had nothing but bad luck when traveling our way for a pheasant and quail hunt. As we talked before and after their trips they have endured adverse weather of hot temperatures, wind, dry, no morning dew, dusty conditions and rain days. They have hunted on MAHA land for two seasons and never have experienced what any locals would call a good day. They have done what many non-residents before them have and that is remind us all that even a hunt under adverse conditions is worth the trip. Thank you John and John for sending in your "report card" on our hunt quality. All feedback in any form whether for this update page or our own non-published consumption is welcomed and expected from all members. Each is read by the decision makers that have financial responsibility for the Association. Good luck to all.
It is always good to get the perspective of those that upland bird hunt birds and terrain distinctive from our local conditions.
