# Scaled Quail Hunting



## v-john (Jan 27, 2013)

Went out hunting Scaled Quail with a couple of buddies last week. Having been a Kansas Hunter all my life, and going to Colorado, it was a completely new ball game. Huge, huge area to go, dogs could get out and roll. The Choya cactus was no joke however. Some pictures though of a couple of my dogs and such. 

Abby









Grady









Seems like you can walk for days out here


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

How many miles did the dogs run each day, and how long did it take for them to figure out the cactus?


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

V-J - have shot some in Col & Mont - just a great bonus in a days hunt - next trip will target them - in the right place & time - these R hard birds 2 hit - ? how does PIKE know the differance between pen & wild birds - the wild 1s will run !!!!! that is when he is at his best !!!!!!!!LOL !!!!!!!


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## v-john (Jan 27, 2013)

TexasRed said:


> How many miles did the dogs run each day, and how long did it take for them to figure out the cactus?


I'm not sure on the milage, I had three dogs with me and would swap them out to try and save them as we were hunting for three days straight. My broke dog, really never had problems with cactus, but she never was able to get into birds as much as the two pictured. She was making huge casts, at one point being .9 miles away. Just wanted to run I guess.  
The two pictured (Grady and Abby) battled cactus the whole time. I was pulling cactus out of Abby the third day, even. 

My buddy Brian Fidler, at the end of the third day, we had spent forty five minutes pulling cactus out of his dog's mouth, tongue, and everywhere else. It's hard on them. 
R.E., these quail were running fools. I haven't seen a quail run like them! I swear they had little Nike Track shoes on...


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

Love to go out and hunt with you one day V-John. Big country and big running dogs are a delight.

In South Dakota, Bailey would come upon these patches of flat laying cactus fields that were sometimes 10 feet in diameter. I would have to go in and pick him up and spend 5 minutes pulling the little stickers out of his paws. 

A part of a post I did:
_Bailey was BEAT! He had run hard for the last couple afternoon hunts with little rest. I was concerned that he may be ill. On the South Dakota prairie, Bailey yesterday had discovered a cactus plant the size of a walnut with thin, sharp spikes that ranged from ¼ inch to 1 inch long._
_These grew in large patches in open ground and stuck to Bailey’s paws. I would have to pull them out with my bare hands as the spikes dug into my fingers. In one patch, I had to carry Bailey out about 20 feet because as soon as I removed one, he would step on another. By this afternoon Bailey had learned to go around these open spaces. Cactus in South Dakota. Who would have guessed? So was Bailey reacting to the cactus or the pond water that he drank and bathed in as we walked the draws that held water? I had never seen Bailey as tired and lifeless as I had this morning._

A long hunt can wear a dog plum out.

happy hunting.
RBD


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## v-john (Jan 27, 2013)

redbirddog said:


> Love to go out and hunt with you one day V-John. Big country and big running dogs are a delight.


Sounds good to me.  I'm pretty fortunate to live where I do, where I can walk out the door and be into quail, pheasant, turkey and prairie chicken within thirty minutes. Up until this year, I'd never left the state to hunt, and am finding that I'm liking the new terrain.  

I never shot a bird that a dog doesn't point. That's my thing. 
As far as cactus goes, it's no joke. And to see these dogs just shake it off and continue hunting is something else.


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

4 PIKE & the Vs b4 him - Praire chickens are the hardest birds 2 point - in Ks & s-nD - they tend 2 feed in open grass & as a flock 2 many eyes watching - a big nose helps - but sneaking up on them almost never happens - I like 2 lay down in a field that is close 2 their roost area & shoot them when they fly over


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## v-john (Jan 27, 2013)

R said:


> 4 PIKE & the Vs b4 him - Praire chickens are the hardest birds 2 point - in Ks & s-nD - they tend 2 feed in open grass & as a flock 2 many eyes watching - a big nose helps - but sneaking up on them almost never happens - I like 2 lay down in a field that is close 2 their roost area & shoot them when they fly over


They are tough to get close to that's for sure as I've been made a fool of by them many times, but it can be done. Especially when they are landing in trees and such. Had two of them pointed last weekend before another dog came in and busted the point before I could get there. 
We have an early season here from around Sept 15th to Oct 15th or so, and during that time, they are still younger and not in big flocks. Then they are a bit easier to work dogs into and they will hold if the dogs are mannerly. I've shot them during this early season, and it's actually fun to work dogs on as long as it doesn't get too hot. 

Pass shooting isn't for me, I'd like to get the dogs work. And to be honest, I'm not a fan of how they taste to be honest, but I'm pretty sure I didn't cook them properly either. Blah.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Never had the opportunity to hunt Prairie chickens, but I will pass shoot waterfowl on occasion. 
I much rather lay in a big goose spread, and have them worked in by calling. Its just something about having them cupped up right above you.
The dogs only get to work by retrieving, so they could careless if its a pass shoot.
Now sandhill crane I will pass shoot every opportunity I get.
When Cash was young he broke on a wounded sanhill. I didn't have the ecollar transmitter in my hand to stop him. It had folded in the shallow water about a foot and 1/2 deep. As he reach it, it raised up and spread its wings, just as I hit the button on the transmitter it pecked him on top of the head. He has never forgot that experience, and cares nothing about retrieving them. That's fine with me, because a wounded one can put a hurting on a dog.


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

V-J we hunt late in the season out West - after ahard days hunt 4 pheasants & quail - us & the pups are Very happy 2 lay down in a field near a roost as the sun goes down - LOL


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