Changes in Quail Hunting Regulations and Seasons

[birdhunter55]

Don't know about the rest of you, but this year's changes to the Quail season sure caught me off guard!



1. Season now opens on November 1st instead of the normal 1st Friday after the 1st Tuesday

2. The North/South Division which used to be State Road 26 has now been moved to I74

3. Bag limit for North Division reduced from 5 to 4.

4. North Division Season (now North of I74) ends December 15th.

5. South Division Season (now South of I74) ends January 10th.



I for one am not at all happy about these changes! Basically, they have robbed me of half of my hunting season! I don't believe DNR did a very good job of informing everyone of these potential changes. Yes, as I researched this evening, I found limited information on this site back in January, but unless you went looking for it, there was not much notice providesd. I am 59 and have been hunting quail from the time I started hunting as a young boy. If anything, the season opening should have been pushed till later in December and run into the first part of February. And, pushing the north division all the way to I74, come on! In my opinion, these changes have robbed us birdhunters of a lot of hunting days and land.




Chuck Emsweller

 

[asevans]

Wow. this is the first that i have heard of this. Nov. 1st. Well shoot, thats this weekend. i had no idea. usually it isnt until a little later.
Well i guess they are trying to save the quail. i only hunt public land and have seen major changes in limits and bird numbers in recent years. heck, look at willow slough. 2 quail limit. its not even worth driving up there for that. everywhere is a draw hunt now.
thats why i like to go to south dakota and get my 5 days of real bird hunting in. after that and a couple scrub hunts in indiana im good till next year.
good luck.

 

[yote hunter]

After all the farmers went and tore out all the fence rows and opened up the fields I ain't seen quail around my parts in a long time... Not like we use to, I remember quail hunting the old RXR tracks and jumping cuvee after cuvee but them days are long gone.... With yotes, hawks, foxes and no fence rows I don't really no if there are anymore quail around these parts, ain't seen a quail in years...

 

[AtTheMurph]

After all the farmers went and tore out all the fence rows and opened up the fields I ain't seen quail around my parts in a long time... Not like we use to, I remember quail hunting the old RXR tracks and jumping cuvee after cuvee but them days are long gone.... With yotes, hawks, foxes and no fence rows I don't really no if there are anymore quail around these parts, ain't seen a quail in years...

I hunt SE of Indy and see lots of quail. Well maybe not lots but 2 or 3 coveys each time out. Some times a few more sometimes a few less but rarely do I not see any.

You got to find some habitat and you will find birds.

Best story I have is stopping to ask a farmer to hunt and he let my buddy and I go. He said we were free to hunt but he hadn't seen quail since the 70s. I think we had gone fewer than 200yds down the fence row when both dogs went on point.....

 

[AtTheMurph]

So I went out for a short time yesterday morning (just north of I74) Busted one covey and shot 2. Too much standing crops but much of that should be coming off soon.

I don't get the I 74 line. What they should have done is I 74 W of Indy and I 70 East. Basically only a 3rd of IN has the old limits and seasons and they cut up the best quail part of the state which is SE of INDY. (Don't tell anyone))

 

[birdhunter55]

I think we could have agreed with your idea of I74 West of Indy and I70 East. We to have a lot of areas that still have plenty of standing corn. Just another reason they shouldn't have moved opening day to the 1st of Nov. Personally, I think it should have moved to Dec 1 and run through mid Feb.

 

[AtTheMurph]

I think they like the earlier season because it's harder to find and kill the birds. We'd slaughter them in February is there's snow.