Hunting Tactics/Tips >>
These few tactics are just the very "tip" of the iceberg - stay tuned for many more to come!
Enjoy!
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Quail "Pockets"
Why is it in years with lower quail numbers, it seems that only pockets of quail are found? The answer to that can involve fluctuations in food source, cover, roosting areas, and other reasons, but one reason is due to what takes place during the breeding season. Certain habitat is much more desirable to quail than other habitat, so when the breeding season takes place and the males establish a territory, if there is a higher concentration of males in a particular area, some will move off into more marginal habitat to establish a population there. In years with less quail, and therefore fewer males, there is less expansion of the coveys resulting in pockets of quail.
In years with good back-to-back hatches, quail are much easier to locate because any good quail habitat will have enough coveys that can be located even just driving back roads. In years with lower quail numbers, even if you are in good quail country, you may not find quail unless you hunt hard and come across a pocket.
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Basic Scouting Tips
Gambel's: When scouting unfamiliar country, the first two hours of daylight are best spent covering a lot of ground by driving the back roads and using a quail call about every ½ mile. Take your time while calling - stay there to call and listen a minimum of 10 minutes. If you hear one or two birds answer, make a note of the location, but move on. What you're looking to find is an area where birds from 2 to 3 coveys are responding to the call at the same time indicating a good pocket of a concentrated number of birds. On windy days, of course, this won't work. If you're scouting later in the day, drive the back country two tracks and look for quail tracks in the dirt, tracks in the sand washes, and tracks around roosting areas such as hackberry, turbinella oak, mesquite, etc.
Scaled: These quail won't respond to calling like Gambel's, so they can be much more difficult to locate. Since these birds are not as vocal, it requires a lot more leg work and dog work to find coveys. Also, Scaled quail are always in flat land or, at the most, gentle, rolling hills, and seem to be attracted to objects or areas that may stand out. For example, you may find a covey around a windmill or old, abandoned barns or buildings. Even areas of thicker patches of short mesquite or patches of heavier growth of prickly pear or cholla cactus can be attractive to Scaled quail. Objects or areas that stand out, such as mentioned above, are ideal when they are in country that also has some open ground. If the cover is too thick, Scaled quail won't use it as much as country that has the good ground cover but also semi-open areas.
Mearns': One of the first things to look for in new country would be huge rocky ridgelines or bluffs with good cover directly below it. Mearns are drawn to these areas because there is usually more moisture just below these bluffs or ridgelines. As with the other quail species, look for country where the grass cover is not too thick but not too sparse either - areas of good grass with some semi-open cover. It's a good idea to pass on by waist high, thick grass since the birds probably won't be there in any kind of numbers. Areas of moderate grazing by cattle is ok to look for as well. Cat claw is another plant that, when mixed with grass and either mesquite or oak, make for good Mearns country, and can be a good starting point when you're in unfamiliar country.
In general, the more scouting you do, the more you learn to recognize good quail cover. A good parallel might be the way a very experienced NFL quarterback learns to read and recognize certain defenses and automatically calls a different offensive play. An experienced bird hunter will read and recognize good bird cover and automatically call for a first-rate day of Arizona quail hunting!
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| Covey rise (Gambel's and Scaled) Sometimes in areas of heavier ground cover you'll flush what looks to be a smaller covey - what appears to be about 8 to 10 birds. However, there are times when the majority of the covey will actually run and scatter on the ground. What you'll want to do is mark the spot where the covey initially flushed (with something biodegradable, such as toilet paper), and then move after the birds that flew to see if you can pick up a couple. Then return to the marked area and begin to thoroughly hunt that area - the quail that ran can move out as far as a hundred yards or so, so be sure to cover enough ground. If a couple of single birds flush, stay in there and continue to hunt because at times, the birds that did set will generally set very tight and can result in a great singles shooting for sometimes a couple hours. |
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| When the birds win. It's exciting to see a good sized covey of birds flush into what looks to be a situation that will work in your favor - good cover, good terrain, big covey. But they just won't set, won't cooperate, and they fly again and again, flushing wild. They just plain get away. It happens - accept that it's a part of hunting unpredictable desert quail. Give those birds their due, smile, and move on. |
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| Empties are 100% considered to be littering!! - please pick them up. |
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Truck doors slamming, uncontrolled dogs, and yelling at uncontrolled dogs - noise can and does spook any quail that may be nearby. This is especially true in areas that have been heavily hunted. So the tip is: stay quiet - around the vehicles as well as out in the field.
| Gambel's quail are very vocal making it possible to locate coveys or individual birds with a call. Once a covey has scattered and if they cannot be located, wait 10 or 15 minutes and then use a call. A quail call is an important part of your equipment when hunting Gambel's quail. |
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Where did they go? - You're hunting Gambel's quail in hill country, a covey flushes, and you watch them light. You hike on over with plans to begin shooting and they're not where you clearly saw them light. Typically, one or two may be be setting there, but the majority of a Gambel's covey will light and then run, splitting off in various directions. Most often the rest of the covey will be on the other side of the hill - they like putting something between you and them. If you continue to push the covey, and sometimes that may mean flushing them two or three times, they will eventually begin to set, usually in small draws and cuts.
Gambel's quail are tough. They can be hit hard and still run. Here's a practice that can really make a difference in limiting the number of lost or crippled quail. Typically, a hunter will shoot a bird and automatically his gun will come down to watch where the bird drops. Try following the bird down with your gun up and ready to shoot. If the bird looks like it's about to run off, shoot again. A bird can run off and be gone in the time in takes to bring the gun back up to shoot. But here's a red flag: Safety must come first in this situation. Always be aware of where other hunters and/or dogs are in order to prevent any injuries/mishaps.
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2011-2012 Arizona Quail Season
Gambel's & Scaled Quail:
September 30 - February 5
Mearns' Quail:
November 25 - February 5
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