Hunting Forum

I have been a deer/elk hunter all my life, but I am wanting to get into upland bird hunting. (quail especially) Does anyone have any tips for a beginner? Any and all suggestions would be appreciated. Also, I will not have the opportunity to use any bird dogs.  Thanks!

Without a dog its going to be rough. Also it depends where you are hunting in AZ & What kind of Quail Do you want to hunt? Let me know maybe I can help.
AZHUNTING.

First off, welcome to the B.B both of you, that said, last year we were able to do fairly well without dogs, out at the Tonto national forest, this year has been much more challenging. From what I hear it just hasn't been a good year so far. We are in Phoenix, where are the two of you located, if its near here maybe we can meet up some time and give it a shot. If not one of the biggest things we learned last year ( our first year hunting out here) was keep an eye out ahead of you and when you see one really hustle to put enough pressure on them or they will just out run you and never even fly. Watch out for the dang rattlers though, none of the ones Iv'e killed this year even had the courtesy to rattle and worn me I was about to step on them three of them were just coiled up ready to strike watching like they wanted me to step on 'em so they could bite me, nasty buggers. Not bad table fare though.

I'm a NM quail hunter. I haven't hunted in AZ, although I know the state and have a pretty good idea of what it would be like. I agree that hunting with dogs is a lot easier. You are probably used to reading tracks, and that can be really helpful for quail too. Also, learning what the birds eat and how to identify those plants in the field can make a huge difference. And course, learn what a quail sounds like, and what those calls mean.

The question about the species is a good one too. Each bird has a preferred habitat and each handles pressure differently. Blues or Gambel's love to run, so you have to be ready to walk/run a lot. And they will usually run a lot faster than you can. Dogs will even the odds, and get them to flush. Most of our group hunts with Labs, but others in the group have GSPs, and Brittanys. Interesting to watch the different skill sets.

In NM, Gambels like country that tends to be thorny and tough on dogs. They love dense mesquite thickets next to arroyos. Habitat for blues tends to be a little more open, but all of these guys need protection from hawks. If you don't have cover, you probably don't have quail.

In contrast, Mearns/Montezuma like wetter areas with sedges and tubers. Look for scratches where they dig for them. The Mearns will tend to stick a lot tighter. Not so many big coveys either.

NM has had a really dry year, and we aren't expecting much production this year. Maybe AZ will do better. But the season is almost here.

Rio makes some good points, I was assuming that it was Gambrels that you were asking about do to them being the primary species here. They are runners, and from what I've seen tend to stick to the valleys, draws, washes, arroyos, or what ever you want to call the cuts in the earth caused by water run off, that have the most cover. We have had the most success starting at the deep end and walking "up stream". They tend to outrun you till you get to the point the cover changes then flushing, kinda like how pheasants do. If your like me and hunt with a single shot try to resist shooting at the first one that flushes, since its usually out there a bit and once you take that shot several more end up flushing closer while your standing there trying to reload. lol Once you bust a covey, if you hustle you can many times get another flush from the ones that got away, if you watch where they land. I have also noticed that they seem to like areas that have rocks the same size and color they are, I'd guess thats not only for the blend in affect but its just about impossible to be quiet walking through them. If your not aware of it already many of the parks are now open to hunting, but be ready for some harassment/confusion, and make sure you have all your ducks in a row, as I almost got arrested the other day for trying to hunt where I was by law allowed to, do to the law being new for this year. Even though its legal the parks service is trying to flex its "authority" since they or I should say some of them don't want it to be, and are trying to exploit what they feel is a vague law. Hope this helps, and like I posted before let me know if your in the Phoenix area, and would like to meet some other new to the area hunters.

I went quail hunting for my first time ever last year in Arizona. I had a blast. Bagged my first quail with my first shot and got two more before we went home. Tasty little birds. I'm not sure where we were but we were outside of Phx. My brother in law works for the massive solar field they are building near there. We were probably five to ten miles from it. There were tons of quail out near there last year. I'm looking forward to going dove hunting next weekend too. Hope you find a good place to hunt. Sorry I couldn't be more specific but I'm from Texas and have only been to Arizona once. When I see my brother next weekend I will see if I can get some more specific directions and the name of the place we were at. Good luck and Safe hunting!

I have always hunted them without a dog.  It can be done.  There is one place on Willow Springs Ranch  just north of Tucson that you need a dog. They will stay about a hundred yards ahead of you.  You can watch them run over hill tops and then thru draws.  they won't  let you get close enough to get any shots.  There is approximately thirty birds in this covey.  It is true that you don't want to shoot at the first bird you see flush.  I have seen times that I have fired at them and they flushed in three or four different groups from the same covey. When  this has happened.  I just shot the 3rd shot and reloading when the main part of the covey flushes.  Here I stand with an empty gun. lol