Blue quail without a dog

Hey folks,

I have access to a piece of property with lots of blue quail. I do not have a dog. How would you hunt them without a dog? Am I wasting my time even thinking about it?

Blue quail are nearly impossible to hunt with a dog...they don't hold for crap. Little suckers run for days. Put on your tennis shoes and go get them.

Drive around until you see them...shoot into them and bust them up as soon as you spot them then walk down the singles.

So once they are busted up, try to watch where the singles land? Then go kick the brush where the individuals landed or just walk the general area where the covey went?

Once the covey is dispersed they typically begin calling to regroup. You can usually walk to them. Blues love to run and fly like a freaking falcon. You jump the whole covey at once they're liable to fly into the next county.

You're in luck. I have a good dog I can bring out!

Look for water

This year blues will hold a lot better if you're hunting an area that isn't grazed down. It's been raining good in most blue quail habitat and it's my experience that they actually hold quite well when you have lots of grass.

Dogs are REAL important for finding dead/wounded birds. If you don't have a dog make sure you lock in on any downed bird and recover it before you look for others.

I can find the little guys, it's just a matter of getting a shot at them. Sounds like I need to shoot them when I can to bust them up, then hunt the calling birds.

Typically in average cover without a dog you lose 20-30% of downed birds.

Incredibly hard to see especially in low light.

It's amazing how hard they are to see, even laying in the wide open. And I also agree, with some cover they hold fine for dogs and are one of my favorites to go after.

What county are you seeing them in

These are in Crockett County.

Buy or borrow a horse.

If I don't want a bird dog I damn sure don't want a horse.

Guess I grew up hunting some real stupid or spoiled blues! Yeah they can run, if they have been POTSHOT off the ground or road hunted! If there is cover they will stick so they run a little, wouldn't you if every thing around shot, flew over, snuck up on you? Anything will run that is pressured but with decent cover they hunt bobwhites. Quail hunter ethics say shoot fliers not runners!