I think this is the toughest kind of upland hunting

Dani

Well-known member
Gold Sponsor
Quail hunting in Florida is probably the toughest kind of upland hunting I have experienced. I have been on hunts out west where I hurt at the end of the day. Where I turn around and am worn out but can't see the truck and I know it is "down there somewhere". We get back to the camp and I am asleep before the lights get turned out. But usually on those days we have seen birds, gotten birds, and at the least had good dog work on birds. I know there are still quail in Florida. I hear them and see them in the spring when we turkey hunt. Though I haven't yet quail hunted my turkey woods, I know there are still quail around. B and Drake are no slouches when it comes to finding birds in general but quail in Florida has been tough for us and tough for them. A covey a day is outstanding and we are thrilled if we get that.

Our main quail property that we hunt is heavily managed long leaf pine grasslands and it is primarily managed for quail. Or it had been until Hurricane Michael put his stamp on the landscape. When the biologist, who is also a bird hunter, has a hard time finding birds you know that it's not because we suck as bird finders. Or at least that is what we tell ourselves. When Michael went through, he made quail hunting even more difficult because it turned the open grassy long leaf pine forest into a hugemongous pile of pick up sticks.

i-J7BQ3HL-L.jpg


i-5s8rmMq-L.jpg


About the only places within the management areas that weren't trashed were the fields that are planted for wildlife. So that made it even more difficult for us because it concentrated all the deer hunters on the edges of those fields, gave the quail lots of places to hide in the pick up sticks and made it way more difficult for my old dog to make his way through the woods when we did get into an area that he was excited about. B, being young, has no problem leaping broken trees in single bounds. Then add in a wet winter and we had our work cut out for us.

i-7sk8hXd-L.jpg


But since FL is warm quite often, even in the winter, a wet winter ensured the dogs wouldn't get over heated.

i-tZkNjtK-L.jpg


i-BhHMjwM-L.jpg


There was a lot of taking our guns for a walk and occasionally treating our guns to a bird.

i-5rL6Rkt-L.jpg


But no matter how often we walked in the woods, the dogs were always rarin' to go.

i-37M9MVt-L.jpg


B, often before we even hit the dirt road.

i-x5q48Lb-L.jpg


We did get rewarded though for our hard work in the pickup stick woods. Drake found one last woodcock this year.

i-FGFhGpx-L.jpg


And B had an outstanding find on quail.

i-rTZkNBp-L.jpg


i-2BXV8Pz-L.jpg


We do get to see some interesting critters while we are out there. You do have to be careful where you walk sometimes because the gopher tortoise holes can be quite large. Our version of badger holes.

i-8BhVxLZ-L.jpg


And I got to see my first hognose snake "die". We even flipped him over a couple of times to watch him die all over again. That is a fun snake.

i-bn5LT9w-L.jpg


i-PTqcDwd-L.jpg


There are a few places in the state that are quail quota properties and I have put us in the hat every year to hopefully get drawn. This year we did get drawn on one of the premier properties. Sadly, we both got drawn for the same quota period. So we drew two permits, but they were for the same days. Ah well, at least we had 50% of the permits for those two days. It was a fun two days. Two HOT days in early February but very fun. I also have to say that those two days were the best days of bobwhite quail hunting I have ever had. We found multiple coveys in a day. We had multiple re-flushes. And the dogs got to get their noses full of quail feathers. A great reward for putting up with the heat and dangers of quail hunting on hot days in Florida.

You do have to get up and out early here in Florida

i-NDC8k5h-L.jpg


Even when you are up and out early, you gotta take time to cool off and often

i-CV54Mhd-L.jpg


But sights like this make it all worth it

i-WxD26c5-L.jpg


The girl does know how to hunt with style

i-r2VcXQH-L.jpg


i-nGs4dTk-L.jpg


And Drake was a stellar singles finder and flusher. Sometimes being old, slow and steady has its benefits.

i-7DDGLgj-L.jpg


i-xtJxmtd-L.jpg


Did I mention that it was hot in FL? Even early in the morning we needed to stop and cool the dogs down.

i-j8TP9SX-L.jpg


But the snakes sure didn't seem to mind the heat. The dogs are snake broke, get the vaccines and still there is always the chance of running over one. I didn't have to worry about it with Drake too much because he was slow enough that he would likely smell them before he stepped on them. And that is exactly what happened with this beauty. Drake would not go near that bush and I couldn't figure out why until I got closer. Then I realized that YUP his snake breaking worked.

i-gZznLWk-M.jpg


i-3jNmPKz-L.jpg


In the end, despite the heat and dangerous creatures in the woods, we had very successful days hunting our quota hunt. Drake eased into retirement with one heckuva bang on Florida bobwhites.

i-prpkCgp-L.jpg


What a way to have started his retirement.

i-sPhm5Sd-L.jpg


And B, being B, was ready for more.

i-zXzdnfr-L.jpg


Despite the challenges, I always look forward to next season.....

Dani
 
Last edited:
Very nice Dani, thanks for putting this photo story together. I sure miss good dog work and can TOTALLY do without the rattlers. But a question, I know you usually hunt with Steve, who is the grizzled old fart with the beard in the truck? Lol.
 
But a question, I know you usually hunt with Steve, who is the grizzled old fart with the beard in the truck? Lol.

It is an elaborate con Pete. When hunting season rolls around and we find ourselves out west, having a young lady knock on your door to gain permission to hunt your land because she is guiding her uncle for a special trip to chase prairie grouse is usually a quite effective way to get permission to hunt.
 
For sure not the conditions in the old timey stories, but so well earned. I enjoyed the pics!
 
Dani

Great job on your hunt! your photos tell the whole story. really great reading. Did the dogs come out unharmed? I'm glad here in NY State we don't have to deal with the creatures you deal with. You guys busted your butts with that hunt. Great job again. Thanks for the Post!
 
Hahaha, sounds like a great technique. I used to have a farming related cap that I'd wear when gaining permission - can't exactly remember but it was either a tractor or seed corn cap.

I learned early on to never be in a hurry with farmers, they love to talk and the longer you talk the better your chances of getting permission.
 
Dani,

Great pictures and really enjoyed following along on your experiences, thanks. I do wonder something about the third photo. I usually find carrying a canteen for my water, works well for me. Apparently you find it more convenient to use your boot? [whistle]
 
Great write up. Not much is harder to bust through than a Maine partridge cover with blowdowns and regenerating spruce-fir, but you might have found it.

And I'll keep my frosty mornings with the blowdowns slicked by freezing rain and the spruce stubs jabbing me in the shins and eyes if you keep the heat and rattlers.

And I love the dogs work. Bring them up for a run at northern partridge and woodcock any time!
 
Thanks guys!

Eric, the hognose appears to be the drama queen of the snake world from what I have seen.

Anthony, the dogs came out unharmed. You often hear people say trust your dog when it comes to finding birds. You gotta also trust your dog when they don't wanna go into something that they normally would stick their heads into. There is a reason for that. Drake wanted NOTHING to do with that bush. The snake never rattled, at least until we called the dogs off and Steve snapped a twig near the snake as we were getting pictures of the beauty. Then he just slithered off into cover. So a lesson was learned.....trusting your dog is not just for birds. That was the first day of our quota and we were a bit nervous the second day but nothing bad happened to either of the dogs.

Dave....my pack just gets SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO heavy toting around water for the animals and me. But none of us prefer the flavor of foot and wool steeped tea water so it's not that. Someone was just rude and hid a hole for a clumsy person like me to find. I am sure they were sitting back watching to see who would find it. Because it wouldn't be because I tried to cross a spot of water that just got too deep instead of walking around it 50 yards or so. It couldn't possibly be that.

Jeff, I am not sure which is tougher: my hurricane devasted quail woods or the woods we tried hunting in WA that used to be so outstanding for grouse that had a bad bad fire go through. There were tree skeletons on the ground everywhere, lots of new cover growing up that was thick and already over my head. Neither place very conducive to hunting birds if you are balance challenged like I am. Thanks for the offer! Maybe sometime we will get up that way. I would like to go for a grouse/woodcock trip sometime.

Thanks again y'all

Dani
 
Beautiful write up and pictures Dani. Once again though, I am more than happy dealing with the sea swells and snow squalls and the south can keep the snakes. Thanks for sharing.
 
Great photos and story. This is what our youth need......adults that take the time to care. Thanks again and you can keep the snakes.
Darrel
 
Dani,
Great write up. What month was this hunt?

Whew! That is some serious cover with some very serious critters in the cover.

I am about to move from SC to the Raleigh area. Here in Coastal SC while in the outdoors one has to be aware of gators, moccasins, diamondbacks, and copperheads.

From Raleigh east to the coast I will have the same critters as Coastal SC.

From Raleigh west in NC I only have to be aware of diamondbacks and copperheads. It will feel like a breeze.

I will do a write up after our move next week.

I am glad you are on this site.
Larry

PS: How much do you charge for helping your " aging brothers" gain permission to hunt?
:)
 
Larry,

We begin quail hunting in mid December and go until early February. The quota permit was in early February.

As far as how much it "costs"...well Steve totes around my hunting stuff in the truck for me when I am back home, keeps my dog so he can hunt with multiple dogs and picks me up from the airport when I can fly back out and hunt some more in between work responsibilities. Soooooo I'd say it all evens out.

Thanks again y'all!
 
Dani,

Great write up. It looks like a lot of fun. The few times I tried hunting quail at Lochloosa WMA we never found any birds. I knew they were there, heard them in the spring turkey hunting. The closests I ever came was one afternoon while taking a lunch break while bowhunting. Sitting under a tree in a fence row a covey flew in and landed around us. We sat quietly and they worked there way around us.

Tom.
 
Wow, that is quite an area to hunt. Quail are so much fun, I wish we still had more around here.

I think I'll stick to cattails and snow, you can have the heat, fallen trees and snakes.

Tim
 
The big rattlers alone would break me of wanting to hunt their. We see some bad bites each year from them....and the worse ones are always from rattlers. Those dogs just present a whole heck of a lot sicker..and all of them knock on death's door to some degree.

I had to treat a beagle last month... took 5 vials of antivenom before she was even coherent
 
Back
Top