Quail in the rain
- Thread starter Baldkrash
- Start date
I hunt quail in the mist/drizzle a lot. From what I have seen they stay more in the high areas hills and rocks and if they do come down they stick to the bushes and shrubbs. My new pup I'm training seams to be pretty good at finding them in the rain.
My experience of hunting quail in the rain is they don't move much out of deep cover.......Remember they aren't water repellant like ducks. I've never done very well in the rain......Now the day after rain and it's sunny can be very good.
Snow is another condition that can be very good. Mountain & valley quail will covey up together. This was always true in the lower Sierra's. Hunt the snow edge of south facing hills or mountains.
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Snow is another condition that can be very good. Mountain & valley quail will covey up together. This was always true in the lower Sierra's. Hunt the snow edge of south facing hills or mountains.
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A-men the day after rain is the best they are all cabin feverish and ready to covey up and soak up some sun. I was out this last weekend Saturday right after the rain it was pretty good, even found some euros way up in the high country.
D
Deleted member 27310
Guest
steve... kool pic, did the old school pepsi can. and grubbing on a sandwich, my dad would always pack sandwiches. Brings back good memories.. :'(
Couple questions lately about hunting in wind and rain. My experience hunting in weather events is that the quail hole up and sit tight. I wouldn't waste your time, although a walk in the hills is never really a waste of time. Do some scouting on google earth and head out after the wind and rain pass, the birds will be antsy to get out feeding.
This doesn't have to do with the rain but toward the end of deer season when it started getting colder I noticed a couple of mountain quail coveys that came down in elevation. Might be a good indicator along with what sprig said.
ive always had better time in late season quail hunting. its cold and snowy and they do seam to come down lower into the valleys. the rain and cold is out friend with quail. Unless its the day before season opener and you see 100 huge coveys just taunting you then they are all gone in the morning.
Awesome pic and what a day of wingshooting that must've been. Its amazing to me how big those mtn quail are too.. plump suckers they are.
8
8SteelTown
Guest
I went on Sunday. Beautiful day, 48 hours after a rain. Zero quail. No calling and no visuals. Had 3 experienced guys pushing a field that normally holds. Just can never count on anything with these birds!
Suburban Adventuress said:
He was part beagle & something else. Look like a beagle, except no black.......Mike the dog could hunt upland game like no other.......Only howled at 3 things.....quail, chukar, & pheasant......It was tough staying up with him, but he could find birds in the steepest and thickest stuff going.
Short story......I was hunting chukar near Walker Pass. Mike was out of sight, but I heard him howling. So, I worked my up to where he was. As I come around this rock outcrop. Mike had treed a whole covey of chukar in a big Joshua tree.....They were chirping at him and never knew I was there.....Needles to say I tripled.......lol
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Bird finding post rain this weekend:
Hunted solo Saturday morning at ~ 4000 feet. Got out there around 7 and had to sit in the truck for 40 minutes until the last shower passed. Started hunting around 8. Flushed about 4 birds when I got out of the truck. They were hunkered down in some thick stuff in a gully. Cut the dogs loose, but it was either a very small covey or a part of one that had been broken up earlier, as we did not find any more birds and I won't hunt a covey that small. Hunted for four hours without finding anymore birds in some very good looking habitat. The nice thing was that it never got above 45 degrees and the dogs never lost steam, plus there was water running in the creek bed.
Hunted again Sunday with a friend at ~ 1500 feet. About 20 degrees warmer than Saturday, and very little wind. Tough conditions for the dogs. Hiked about 45 minutes in some marginal looking habitat. Dogs were working a lot harder and coming in for water. Found a pretty fork shed. Heard some calling and headed for them. Got into a covey of 15-20 birds. Dropped a nice male on the initial flush and had some great dog work:
Pardon the crappy iPhone photos…
Pepper locked up.
Patsy locked.
Post hunt cool down.
After we pushed through that covey we went down the road to another spot with much better looking habitat. Pretty quick out of the truck the astro told me Patsy was on point. Really wasn't expecting to get into birds so quickly and I was reluctant to shoot that close to the road but walked in and flushed ~40 birds, one of the better coveys I've seen this year. Unfortunately a good amount of them flew onto private property. Still was able to hunt ~ 1/2 the covey that flew deeper onto public. Got some more good dog work and another male bird.
My findings this season are that in general, bird numbers are down. But there are isolated good numbers of birds in good habitat.
Hunted solo Saturday morning at ~ 4000 feet. Got out there around 7 and had to sit in the truck for 40 minutes until the last shower passed. Started hunting around 8. Flushed about 4 birds when I got out of the truck. They were hunkered down in some thick stuff in a gully. Cut the dogs loose, but it was either a very small covey or a part of one that had been broken up earlier, as we did not find any more birds and I won't hunt a covey that small. Hunted for four hours without finding anymore birds in some very good looking habitat. The nice thing was that it never got above 45 degrees and the dogs never lost steam, plus there was water running in the creek bed.
Hunted again Sunday with a friend at ~ 1500 feet. About 20 degrees warmer than Saturday, and very little wind. Tough conditions for the dogs. Hiked about 45 minutes in some marginal looking habitat. Dogs were working a lot harder and coming in for water. Found a pretty fork shed. Heard some calling and headed for them. Got into a covey of 15-20 birds. Dropped a nice male on the initial flush and had some great dog work:
Pardon the crappy iPhone photos…
Pepper locked up.
Patsy locked.
Post hunt cool down.
After we pushed through that covey we went down the road to another spot with much better looking habitat. Pretty quick out of the truck the astro told me Patsy was on point. Really wasn't expecting to get into birds so quickly and I was reluctant to shoot that close to the road but walked in and flushed ~40 birds, one of the better coveys I've seen this year. Unfortunately a good amount of them flew onto private property. Still was able to hunt ~ 1/2 the covey that flew deeper onto public. Got some more good dog work and another male bird.
My findings this season are that in general, bird numbers are down. But there are isolated good numbers of birds in good habitat.
Kellen,
Great pix and report........For whatever reason that chain link fence just looks out of place in the 1st pic........lol
Great pix and report........For whatever reason that chain link fence just looks out of place in the 1st pic........lol