Quail near Tucson without a dog

[bigorange]

Any general areas or general advice for quail hunting near Tucson without a dog? I've been seeing a few when out for doves or deer, but haven't actually hunted them in quite a few years. I'd really appreciate any advice.

 

Thanks!

 

Ps - glad to see the forum back up and running...I couldn't get to it from computer or my phone. Still shaking a little from withdrawals.

[Guest akaspecials]

Find a water source and start walking. I've found that the more ground I cover, the more successful I am. Call for them then wait 5 minutes for a response. The best way I've found to call is have 2 or 3 different quail calls, blow them to sound like a covey and face different directions as you call so it throws the sound around. If you get a response, pinpoint it and run over to them. If you don't get a response keep walking and beating the brush. They don't always respond to calls so sometimes you just have to kick them up. 2/3 of my birds are ground sluiced at 40 yards so keep your eyes on the ground and don't always expect a flush. Once they flush count the number of birds that flew. A lot of times there are stragglers that you can pick up. I usually get 2 or 3 flushes out of a covey before I can’t get on them anymore and I try to find another covey to work. If I know a single landed at 40 yards and the covey went 100 yards, I will always chase that single cause it’s a better opportunity than the covey.

 

The other biggest thing that I’ve found when not having a dog is to only shoot one bird at a time. As soon as one falls, mark his location and start looking. When I start shooting other birds I lose my mark and typically don’t find either bird. Also, don’t be afraid to look for 10 or 15 minutes for a bird if you knew he went down hard. My bag is often a lot fuller than my buddies because I spend more time looking for cripples and downed birds when my friends just move on after a minute of looking.

 

Hope that helps…

[chatcher]

Sending you a PM.