I was wondering what the bag limit is on quail this year? I could not find it on the TPWD website. Also i was wondering do quail like to feed in milo or corn fields? Thanks for any answers
-Greg

15 quail per day 45 possession. Yes they will feed in milo and corn fields and like to live on edges if cover is good.

Thanks tigger that sure is a lot of quail in my mind for a day. That would be amazing! Do yall find it better in the morning or evening to go hunting? or does it not matter when you go during the day?

+1

My opinion and I am an old man. Hunt from shortly after sunrise until 11 and the go eat lunch and start back around 3. I am not mad at the birds anymore. On the morning as soon as it starts getting hot the air is moving up because of the heat and carrys the scent away from the dog, in the afternoon you have a temperature inversion take place around 4 where the air starts settling instead of rising and the scent stay for your dogs to work. Of course everyday is different. If it is real cold birds will not move until latter in the day and will feed earlier in the afternoon. I try to hunt about 5 hours a day and I go for 7 to 10 days at a time. I only have 8 dogs so they will get well worn in that time. Extreme heat and extreme cold is hard on the dogs. If it is going to be a real cold night I like to quit 1 hour before sundown to give the birds a chance to settle in for the night. Even though hunting is great in the snow I believe you really damage your crop if you hunt in a cold wet snow. Research has shown that when a covey get broken up when it is wet and cold the mortality rate is much higher.
One of the best hunts I ever had in my like was about 10 years ago. Real wet early snow, in birds all day, dogs worked great. Came back 2 weeks latter and did not find 1 bird where I had found 10 2 weeks before. Thanks for reading the rant.

tigger- thanks for sharing your knowledge. I am a big time duck hunter and this year have a few places to hunt quail and want to try and shoot a few. About the temperature deal that is veru interesting, i never would of thought about that. I wish i had a dog to help out. I dont know how well i will be able to flush a covey by myself or with one other person but i am gona try my hardest. Another question- can you over hunt a place? if i hunt a place once a week or maybe twice a week, is that too much?

tigger,
What a great post. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and stories. Good Stuff.
gp08...my two cents worth. Life span on quail 18 months. A hunter with good dogs sure can over hunt quail. Once you bust a covey, the single are super easy to pick up with a good dog. Check yourself!!! What type of hunter are you? Do you have long term hunting rights to this ground? Answer these questions and you'll know the answer to your question. No dog, bust a covey if its of good size 8-10 plus have fun and shoot. If its less, leave it alone and move on to another covey. Respect your quarry and you'll be rewarded later. Go hunt, you dont always have to shoot to be hunting.
I guide. Many times we only shoot if the dog points it. Anything that gets up wild, its safe and respected...Hunting!!

I agree with everything shorthair says. I also guide and my rule is you do not shoot wild flushed birds. 2 reason is it can be dangerous for the hunters if the line is not perfect, and it is not good for young dogs. I only hunt coveys and do not hunt singles unless the quail make a mistake and goes the same way I am going. I manage the quail hunting on a 35,000 acre ranch and I have been there for 19 years. What I enjoy most is watching a puppy become a bird dog or should I say meat dog. gp you sure need to hunt with a dog it makes it so much more fun. Now I have one covey on the ranch that I have hunted for a least 16years. Most years I am lucky if I kill 3 birds out of that covey because they always catch them on the edge of heavy cedar and they fly into the ceday and down a steep canyon. Last year towards the end of the season I somehow got between them ant their escape hideout and then they flushed and spread out in open county. I did hurt them but I quit after 4 birds. let the dogs continue to work them and just went bang. I sure hope it is better then the outlook but it will still be fun. Good hunting everybody.

tigger we need more like you in the bird hunting world. All I can say is here here to all the advise you dispensed above. I have a question for you. I have noticed on our places, right at dawn, we have birds whistleing everywhere. What I have found is instead of being several coveys(in east texas and in the deep south when they had birds a whisthle at dawn meant a covey) it is often a covey that has scattered over a fairly wide area. I have always blamed coyotes for scattering them at nite or said they were scattered feeding. Also the dogs seem to have trouble locating them until they group up ususally about 9-9:30. We do well from then to about noon and of couse that last hr is magical. Dogs smell every footprint. any thoughts

Sorry for being so late in replying, I have been chasing dogs for a week. Very poor hunting. I believe you are hearing birds coming off of the roast. I believe the birds have not started moving and dispersing a lot of scent is the reason you are not finding them until 9:00 to 9:30. You could also be right that something has scattered them. I blame it on my lousy dogs.