Our friend Andy McCormick, President and Chief Sales/Marketing Officer of Legacy Sports International (https://www.legacysports.com), importers of the affordable Pointer family of shotguns, is back by popular demand with more upland adventures, this time with an incredible boots-on-the ground report of a trying and successful quail hunt:

Well, with the rain on Friday night on Halloween, we had zero trick or treaters in our Neighborhood … wimps … geez I remember Halloween in PA in the snow .. never stopped us.

Saturday, rain soaked sage was also putting a damper on the quail action as well. Pretty tough going even with wonder dog searching every bush possible … nothing moving. Finally the sun came out in the afternoon and we did get several points and flushes in to end the day … the first two flushes were very nervous birds that scrammed the area immediately once barley started to work the brush – no shots… the next pair simply caught me off guard and by the time I got the gun up they too were out of range … hmmm 4 birds, zero shots … I could feel the doubt coming from my trusted dog.. okay, focus there have to be more here … we worked the area for a few more minutes but nothing on the dog radar.. so we turned towards where the last two flushed to and up a dry wash with banks on each side of several feet.

I was above and Barley was crisscrossing below – ” hunt em up , find the bird ” .. Barley was starting to get birdy on the other bank but was far out so I whistled him back around to me and at 25 yards from me he flushed a pair coming right at me down the wash … I swung on the first bird in the lead and dumped him clean on the bank and swung to the second bird as it banked to the right , I knocked it down but knew it wasn’t a solid hit as he got out of my sight behind a bright yellow aspen.. I marked the spot and focused on the dead bird … Barley was already on it … 1st one secured..

I took a knee and pulled out my water bottle and gave Barley and myself a drink and refocused  on the area where I last saw the 2nd quail go… we worked our way 45 yards to the sage cover and I gave Barley the “dead bird” command and as he went into his zig zag gonna get you mode – he locked up which meant one of two things … either he is on the bird but it is still alive or this is a different bird … either way I am at the ready with gun up and looking for any sign of feathers, a runner etc – when the male flushes right in front of me to the left. I am able to get up on it and connect with one shot and Barley is off to the races again in pursuit. He collects the last quail of the day and we make our way back to the truck, we kennel up and head for home in hopes of a dryer day tomorrow with more movement from the quail.

Sunday, still raining with some wind and cooler …. Junior and I wait till 11 am until we load up and start our rounds … despite all the rain, there is hardly any water in the creek beds. There are lots of wild horses and deer out and about as the sun tries to come out. Hopefully , this will get the quail on move as well and talking but as we continue our rounds and we turn up nothing on several endeavors.

We know there are several coveys in the area butwe sure are having a tough time pin pointing them… that is why they call it hunting 😉

2:30 we catch a break and while parked in the truck grabbing some late lunch out of the cooler and a drink, I hear a quail sound off from the ditch in front of us. Barely does too. He is on alert … I hear them call 2 more times … okay I think I have them pinpointed and grab the Pointer aemi-auto, shells and the dog. I keep Barley close at heel as we walk up to the edge of the ditch about 70 yards away. Barely is birdy with the wind in his face and is already giving

the death stare into the brush … tail going 100 mph… I cut him loose – hunt `em up … he is into the ditch only 10 seconds when 30 plus quail erupt up and out of the ditch and into and through the cottonwoods … I manage to focus and hammer two more males while the rest filter through the trees and out the other side uphill into a sage flat spread out but headed towards a fence line that is private – ugh … we gather the two downed males and head to the other side of the trees and uphill hoping to pick up some stragglers sitting tight … I don’t make it 10 yards past the trees and up comes a single from my feet straight away off the deck … like a trap shot .. bam bird down.

Barely who is working the brush to my left 20 yards hears the shot and comes to pick up the male who is resting on top of the sage out of sight … he locates it and brings him back.

Onward uphill and Barley is on point – 30 yards straight ahead , I pick up the pace and get within 15 yards and the hidden rocket launches to a hard right towards some boulders and I manage just to catchup to him in time … he is laying literally on top of large boulder … I head towards him to collect him and I can hear more birds talking uphill on the other side of the fence.

Well, they have escaped but not before we managed to harvest 4 jacks to call it a day …

Tough conditions but I was able to get Barley into birds and that is what it is all about … His Game Day, as we listen to NFL highlights on the way home..

Good Stuff and more coming up we are just getting started for a long season. 

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Irwin Greenstein

Irwin Greenstein is Publisher of Shotgun Life. Please send your comments to letters@shotgunlife.com.

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