Looking forward to some good quail hunting Sunday.

[TTravis]

I (and my bird dog), and my son, got invited to go quail hunting on some private property in SW Indiana this Sunday. They claim there are lots of quail there. If this is the case and we get into some good wild coveys it will be like a slice of Heaven for my boy, my dog, and I. I can't wait. We have been doing a lot of put and take hunting but this is a great and rare opportunity to get birds in the wild.

 

[dcolip]

What put & take farms have you been to? Would you recommend them?

 

[TTravis]

What put & take farms have you been to? Would you recommend them?

I've been to Lost River (south of Bedford) and Barns Hunting Preserve (Just north of Morgantown). They are both good. I also do the put and take at Atterbury for pheasant. There are several places in the state. I would just pick one that is not too far away.

 

[disengaged]

That sounds great! I used to live in Southern Indiana (15 years ago) and at that time it was not uncommon to kick up a small covey while out deer or squirrel hunting. I didn't hunt birds or have a dog back then - wish I did.

I still go down at least one weekend a year to hunt deer and had not kicked up a wild quail in years...until last year.

Good Hunting!

 

[Terry4570]

I hunt in perry co. and last year i walked up a covey in a place that never had seen them before,but other places that you could kick some up you don't see them anymore,not that they are all gone just not as many.I hunted a farm back in the '80s&'90s mostly deer hunting and there was a lot of quail there it was perfect for them,i would see them march by my tree stand,then the farmers cat population exploaded and the quail went away!I have seen cats hunting quail before and i just about got him or her with with the bronco,sorry to you cat lovers out there.I know it's not just cats that get them,but when you throw them in the mix it sure dose hurt,with that being said it would be nice to see some kind of dnr program to bring in some wild birds and release some all over like what was done with the turkeys.Sure miss hearing them in the wild,i bet a lot of people don't know what they sound like.

 

[jblomenberg16]

Looking forward to how you do! I haven't been on a wild hunt in probably 15 years. Where we used to hunt still has a lot of good habitat, and our family is trying to improve that too. However, just seems like we can't maintain a good population of wild birds.

 

[Expat]

Good luck to you! Any day out with the pups is a great day.

 

[gaw]

Lucky you! I wish we still had quail around here.

 

[TTravis]

Looking forward to how you do! I haven't been on a wild hunt in probably 15 years. Where we used to hunt still has a lot of good habitat, and our family is trying to improve that too. However, just seems like we can't maintain a good population of wild birds.

We had a great day hunting somewhere about 15 miles north of Vincennes. I have not seen so many quail in one day in Indiana. The guy who took us is part of a family that owns several thousand acres down there and it was a real treat. I know what the Indians meant when they wanted to go to the "happy hunting ground" because this place was like a slice of Heaven. They also have a lot of good stripper pits for fishing. If this place were heaven, I would be happy there for eternity! We saw about six good size coveys of 30-40 birds each, and actually pursued about three of them. The others spooked and flew too far away or across a pit we could not easily get around. In total, we shot five birds, but had a full fun packed day. We probably could have / should have shot more, but due to a comedy of errors, the birds had a good chance. I am so proud of my boy (15) and English Setter bird dog. The dog was not use to wild quail and at first was confused about finding a full covey at a time. She caught on, but after flushing coveys, be went after singles and doubles which we had a lot of fun chasing. The boy finally has long enough legs to tromp around with the best of us. The guy I was with has a father who hunts with but he had a stroke this year and cannot hunt. Hopefully he will be able to get out there next year, but he was happy to hear that we were hunting there. The people who manage the property lost two bird dogs in the past year, one to cancer, and the other got hit on a road, so he was also without dogs and his father to hunt with this year. It was a good fit, and my dog performed very well. The wild quail were quite a bit different than what I am use to but I think we were ready for the new level of challenge compared to put and take hunting which was great for training boys and dog. It is all good. It did my heart good to see wild quail in Indiana and in a quality habitat similar to what my father and grandfather would have experienced. I was doubtful that such a thing existed any more. The farmers there do not clear the fence rows and leave behind corners and outside row of crops for the quail to feed on, and in fact, when I cleaned the quail, I could see that they had been eating corn. We plan to do some more hunting there over the next few weekends. My dog got pretty torn up in the briers and she is completely worn out, but she will be ready to go again after a couple days rest. Most of the people who hunt there are interested in deer, turkey, or ducks, leaving the quail pretty much alone.