Help with quail hunting.....

[rockyraider]

I've got a place out in west Texas, Concho County to be exact, just under 900 acres. We have a bunch of quail. The terrain is heavy mesquite and cactus with two large open fields planted in wheat. Great shredded roads throughout the ranch that make driving a breeze.

I don't have dogs and don't know of anyone with any. In the past we've killed a small number of quail just driving the roads and when a covey flushed, we would get out on foot and try to flush again and shoot. I'm trying to put together a couple decent hunts and am looking for advice on how to proceed. My thought is to put maize, milo, or some type of food source out on the roads to see if they will come in to eat. Then drive the ranch and hopefully flush a bunch.

I've never tried to hunt quail in a serious manner, not that this really is, but other than just beer drinking and driving around. If ya'll have any advice on how to better our chances of killing some, please let me know. Thanks in advance.

PS - I read the TPWD laws on upland game birds, and it appears that using a food source is legal. Migratory game birds is a different story. If I'm missing anything, please advice.

[JBJTX81]

Do you have feeders running now. If yes, start there when hunting on foot. Circle out from the feeders. Find the thickest brush you can. They will be there. Don't look for movement. Look for the white heads on the rooster. If they haven't been hunted much, they will hunker down for a long time and they won't flush far. Rinse an repeat for your water sources.

I killed a limit in a few hours 2 weekends ago w/o a dog. Be very mindful marking your birds. If you don't have good eyes or aren't good at marking don't shoot doubles. They blend in much better than dove and can be hard to find even at 15 - 20 yards away. Also, don't punish your shoulder. Shoot a 28 or 20 gauge. 3/4 oz loads are more than enough.

[Low Fence]

Do as others do. Put an invite for guys with dogs. Tons of people with great dogs that need work and most would do it without a gun in hand if they could get the dog work in. My plates full for the season, but there are several on here that are willing and grateful to have the opportunity.



Bboswell made me think of the "good ol days" last year, and it meant more than he will ever know. It's how I learned growing up, and it's the way I want to remember it.

[Catarina]

I use my road feeder and mix about 70 pounds of milo with 30 pounds of corn and just drive around and feed the roads. I mostly put the corn in it just to help myself remember what roads/spots I've already feed. It wont take very long for the birds to find the feed on the road, once you kill some look in their crawl to see if they are eating your mix.

I love driving roads like this and shooting birds, just make sure to make a whiskey first

[tkuehn5410]

Great ideas on the thread, but Costco/Sam's also has them in their freezer section. I think today I saw 9 in a box for $15-18. We usually go to the lease and put about 10 bags of corn for about 100 quail, so this is a pretty decent bargain.

[Laner7]

I use my road feeder and mix about 70 pounds of milo with 30 pounds of corn and just drive around and feed the roads. I mostly put the corn in it just to help myself remember what roads/spots I've already feed. It wont take very long for the birds to find the feed on the road, once you kill some look in their crawl to see if they are eating your mix.

I love driving roads like this and shooting birds, just make sure to make a whiskey first

This^

[Tx_Wader]

I use my road feeder and mix about 70 pounds of milo with 30 pounds of corn and just drive around and feed the roads. I mostly put the corn in it just to help myself remember what roads/spots I've already feed. It wont take very long for the birds to find the feed on the road, once you kill some look in their crawl to see if they are eating your mix.

I love driving roads like this and shooting birds, just make sure to make a whiskey first

It's how we always did it in South Texas.

[rockyraider]

Do you have feeders running now. If yes, start there when hunting on foot. Circle out from the feeders. Find the thickest brush you can. They will be there. Don't look for movement. Look for the white heads on the rooster. If they haven't been hunted much, they will hunker down for a long time and they won't flush far. Rinse an repeat for your water sources.

I killed a limit in a few hours 2 weekends ago w/o a dog. Be very mindful marking your birds. If you don't have good eyes or aren't good at marking don't shoot doubles. They blend in much better than dove and can be hard to find even at 15 - 20 yards away. Also, don't punish your shoulder. Shoot a 28 or 20 gauge. 3/4 oz loads are more than enough.

That's a good idea, they come almost instantly to the feeders when they go off. Makes sense that they aren't far off if they come running that quickly. I guess the only problem would be that I'm not sure when the corn will run out. We don't run corn year round so it usually last a couple weeks past the end of season.

I appreciate all of the ideas.