Quail Newb

[hunter24605]

i guess they act differently in various states. in the Texas Panhandle area bobs fly and blues run. don't see much quail in the last several years, but on occasion see a few. south of me about 15-20 miles a classmate of my brother shot a cougar that weighed about 180#. i did see 2 cubs a few months ago and couldn't believe that's what they were. in all my almost 60 years there never has been any in the Texas Panhandle. not that's any reasoning for the decline of quail populations, but quail has been diminishing for decades in my parts.

I meant the ones at the preserve I'll be hunting are Bobs

 

[walkinhorseman]

I would use the one that is fastest pointing in hand. Low brass 7-1/2 or 8 lead shot is great. The 28 would be my choice for quail.

Yes, pen raised birds do not compare to wild birds. Pen raised pheasants are like the Goodyear blimp when compared to wild reared birds. We trained dogs over pen raised birds that could be reliably taken with a 410 over a good pointing dog. When it comes to wild pheasants, you better be launching a stout load of #5’s out of no less than a 20 ga. The 16 ga is my favorite. Of course, the 12 ga will work but the gun is generally heavier and slower in 12 ga. I did a lot of ruffed grouse hunting in PA, VT and Maine. Fast flushing quail are much like trying to kill a ruffed grouse. How good are the dogs that you are hunting over?