Pointers, Flushers, and Large Covey Rises: My Best Day of Quail Hunting

Quail hunting is definitely my favorite. It is just so satisfying to see great dog work. The flush is so exciting and you are walking and moving and talking so there is camaraderie with you, your guide, and even the dogs who are really doing all the work.

            I got my dad a quail hunt at a preserve in Goochland for his birthday. While I love quail hunting we don’t have many wild birds in central Virginia so preserves are really your only option.

            But we headed out to Goochland on a Saturday and got to the gate of the preserve at about 8:50 A.M. We knew they weren’t coming to open the gate until 9:30 but I think we were both excited so we were ready to go early.

            After a long wait they came and opened the gate. And we made our way up to the lodge. We filled out some paper work did our safety brief and met our guide.

            We grabbed our guns out of the truck and our guide got her three dogs ready. Two beautiful English pointers named Mauve and Sally and a Cocker Spaniel named Lucy who is a flushing dog.

            We started walking and the dogs got to hunting immediately. We probably hadn’t walked 50 yards and one of the pointers was already locked up on point. The second came in and honored the other dog’s point which was gorgeous. I think an English Pointer locked up pointing a quail is one of the most beautiful sites in the world.

            My dad and I loaded our guns and stepped in front of the guide. She asked if we were ready and then released Lucy the flushing dog. I had never hunted with a flusher before and it was a different but very cool experience. Usually you have to walk in to where the dogs are pointing to try and flush the bird yourself and no matter how ready you feel the sound of the bird getting up scares you a little bit and makes it more difficult to shoot. So having the flushing dog makes it easier to be more prepared.

            Lucy barreled into the brush and up came several quail. Quail are awfully loud when they fly and make your heart pump a little faster. And when several got up it definitely got my nerves going but I calmed myself enough to put the shotgun to my shoulder, pick the bird I wanted, and make a good shot.

            I folded the first four birds I shot at that day. I was shooting my grandpa’s 12 gauge Remington 1100. I always shoot well with it because I think it fits me well. And I also like to think he is with me helping to put the bead on the target when I shoot that gun.

            I think my dad shot one bird as well but there were a lot in that covey so it seemed like they were flying everywhere. After we shot more birds got up. The dogs made good retrieves on the birds we had shot and then it was off to hunting again.

            One of the most fun things about quail hunting is you bust up a covey and then watch where the singles go and start hunting them again. So it’s a hunt that just keeps going on. And it’s full of action. You’re watching the dogs, you’re seeing them go on point. You’re walking and getting ready to shoot. You’re watching the flushing dog go in there and find the birds and bust them up. It’s full of exhilaration, fun, and a few jabs thrown around.

            My dad and I were giving each other a hard time about shooting. I missed probably two birds that day. But unfortunately I had made a comment before I had missed one about not having missed and being a good shot.

            A little ribbing, trash talk, and competition is part of all hunting and fishing with me and my dad. I would like to point out that I did miss less birds than he did that day.

            If you’ve never missed you’ve never shot. And you can be 100 percent on targets but when the birds are getting up and your heart is pumping and have to react fast it is a lot different.

            But as we continued to walk we found two other large coveys and hunted up many singles. The dog work was fantastic. The pointers found every bird and held points for a long time. It was beautiful.

            The landscape was beautiful as well. You’re hunting in open fields with a few pine trees planted in the middle creating a picturesque view. There are a few rows of trees separating some of the fields. We had a few birds fly down into the woods and the dogs were quick to hunt them up down there where of course the shooting gets even harder.

            We had one bird that was in the woods and the dog was on point. I set up on the road on the edge of the field. When the bird flushed it flew directly at my face. I joked “I almost had to shoot it in self defense”. I actually let the bird fly by me. By the time I spun and got the gun up I didn’t have a good shot. But I remember specifically seeing the white on the male bobwhite quail’s head at eye level headed straight for me.

            We hunted for about 3 hours and had killed around 20 quail. We made our way back to the lodge where they cleaned our birds for us and served us lunch. I got the guide to send me several of the pictures she had taken of the dogs on point that day. After lunch we packed up and headed home. We reminisced on a day full of fun, action, beauty, and tradition.

            If we had a large amount of wild birds and I had land to hunt I would go buy an English pointer tomorrow. To go quail hunting you just need you, your gun, and the dog. It’s a beautiful tradition and something I will find the time to do more often for the rest of my life.