Choices
| Dog power means different things to different hunters largely based on habitat and bird most often hunted. That is a statement that most bird hunters of pointing dogs can agree on. What is less agreeable is what is dog power specific to central mid-west quail hunting. We will offer here what is commonly found to be important in quail dog power of those that have recurring years and generations of quail dogs finding coveys in Kansas, Missouri and Iowa.
In these pictures we are attempting to show what edge habitat looks like. This is a mid summer picture of a new lease within a very good quail region. These pictures are inadequate at best and offer only a sample of the edge available on a single farm seen from both sides of a small creek bottom. Take these snapshots and multiply them many times over for the amount of quail holding edge that may be hunted every day.
Central mid-west quail dog power relies heavily at downwind linear edge running dogs. A contrast are the circle running field trial dogs searching open field planted pen raised quail placed as much for gallery observation as for bird finding by the dogs within the time limits. Or, another contrast is the big woods Ruffed Grouse hunter that while he can argue hunts edges of varying tree species and ages their dogs continue to run circles around that edge searching for both grouse and Woodcock. Within Kansas, Iowa and Missouri's best quail hunting regions the habitat most frequently occupied is just inside or outside that narrow band of transition from woody through brush to crop field. That is where the better quail dogs will spend the most time. And, those better quail dogs run the length of that narrow band rather than circles through it too deep into the creek bottom or to far out into he fields where the likelihood of finding an occasional covey less likely. A measure of quail dog power largely driven by our local 8 bird limit is to find 4 coveys. Those with the better quail dogs find four coveys frequently and those same hunters are typically good shots and frequently harvest 2 birds per covey giving each dog (most of the long time quail hunters in the association will run a brace) a bird after a point. Those that more frequently find less than 4 coveys in a day may evaluate their dogs differently.
Before I go into telling people about our current dogs, I want to share a little of our history. John and I both grew up being very active in sports in a small town in southern WV and got married after graduating college. Up to that point, I had never been bird hunting and John had only been grouse hunting some with his uncle’s dogs. Shortly after we got married, we picked up a yellow lab puppy (Bo) followed by a Weimeraner (Grady) about 9 months later. John decided to see if he could use the Weimeraner for bird hunting and ended up getting in touch with an older local man called “Sharkey” that has been his mentor ever since. He introduced us to quail hunting and taught John how to train a bird dog.
Quail hunting in West Virginia, as it exists now, is actually going to a field or strip job and chasing some pen-raised quail. Nonetheless, it was enjoyable and we became hooked. The next thing I knew, we had Sharkey’s old Brittany and were planning a hunting trip to hunt wild quail in Kansas with a Lab (Bo), a Weimeraner (Grady), and an old Brittany (Bill). After that trip, it became obvious that if we were going to hunt wild quail, we needed higher quality dogs. It may have just been beginners’ luck or just good research by John, but we ended up with a young English pointer named Meg that has been a quail-finding dynamo ever since. A few years later, we joined Mid-America and made our second trip to Kansas with Bo, Grady and Meg. Truth be told, Grady never had a clue. However, Bo and Meg did extremely well. We began hunting in Kansas where we could hunt a mix of pheasant and quail. Bo excelled at pushing pheasants up out of the thick CRP and any other brushy areas. Meg hunted the edges and was steady as a rock on quail. Over the past six years, Meg has been the cornerstone of our hunting. We enjoyed Bo for a couple more years before age and bad hips limited his action. Bo was probably our only dog that was better at pheasant than quail. Meg is a small dog and does not do well in the thick cover. She handles pheasant fine when she finds them, but she’s definitely stronger on quail. We simply hunted each dog according to their strengths. We always try to take enough dogs to be able hunt the entire week without wearing the dogs out completely. We’ve added to and taken away dogs from our crew based on their performance on wild quail. Some of them have looked great in small fields on pen-raised birds, but are lost in the fields out west. Some of them are fine for short bursts, but quit hunting when no birds are being found. Some have been better in thicker cover and others in the open field. The good ones will hunt the entire time, obey commands, and in doing so, make the hunt both more enjoyable and productive. So, the challenge is to find the good ones. Bo was a joy to hunt with because he was our first pet and hunted with great enthusiasm. We joked that you needed to have your running shoes on when Bo got the scent of a pheasant, because he was off to the races and he would not stop until the birds came out. Though we now stick to English Pointers, Bo will always be a part of some great hunting memories. Meg is as steady as they come. She hunts from start to finish, holds tight, and retrieves well. Her true worth becomes more and more apparent with each dog we try that gives out or just will not listen. She’s getting older now and slowed a little, but is still relaxing and fun to hunt behind. A few years ago, we added a female English Pointer (Dot) to the crew that has been a natural from the beginning. She hunts hard, steady on the birds, and works well in any kind of cover. As Meg has aged, we look more to Dot to carry the workload. As the hunting season approaches, we prepare to take a few experienced dogs and a couple first-timer’s, we hold high hopes that maybe the next Meg or Dot will emerge. The more you hunt, the more you realize how much difference it makes when you are with good dogs. Hunting alongside Meg and Dot is just an absolute joy. They work as a team and cover the entire field with minimal to no direction. John and I get to trail behind and enjoy knowing that if they find something, they’ll hold steady until we are there and ready to shoot. Obviously, this will result in more good opportunities to get birds. To us, that is the definition of “dog power’.
I read your dog articles. It seems like some hunters cannot decide if they want a field trial dog or a meat dog. When it comes to hunting dogs any dog that points will make game. It is not important if they hold to shot. When it comes to meat hunting it is all about getting the birds. On field trials is when steadiness and style are important. My best meat dog is better than my best field trial dogs ever were at hunting. That same good field dog would not place at all on trials. Hunting is when I go for fun with my dogs. Trials are another game entirely and different. Any one wanting to weigh in on this topic is free to make an addition, email. |
