Back from Quail Hunting
Headed back to Fulshear after the morning hunt with Rachel and Gary. Man, were the birds on these past few hunts strong flyers. They were perhaps the strongest flyers I have ever seen on pen-raised birds. Of course, you’re gonna get your share of “motte hoppers” that just flush low and drop into the next motte. But those were few and far between on these four days of hunting. We’re looking forward to going back in a few weeks and doing it again.
We’re going ahead with the Kill Shot Review project on all game birds in an effort to have something the hunting public can really learn from and become better wing shooters, I showed it to Mark Swords of the Georgia DNR and he flipped out. The plan is to develop downloadable products for a fee for those who choose not to join the Knowledge Vault. I don’t know about that strategy yet, but what it will become will evolve.
It’s exciting to think about the number of people who we can actually help shoot moving targets with a shotgun. And after shooting quail for four days, let me tell you, there is something special about “seeing the target behind the barrel and same speed at the end.” It’s something really special and lethal – on both clays and birds. Absolutely lethal.
Inevitable Misses in the Field
Oh, and by the way, the majority of my misses on quail this past week were in front. There were a few over, but I’m going to cut the comb down on my K-20 this week and solve that problem. I will get it down to the same as my Parcour dimension, which is perfect.
Gary Davidson came up with a concept about the inevitable string of misses you get in the field. You know when you’re on fire and shoot 12 straight quail and then you miss five shots in a row? What’s up with that?
Well, his theory is there’s a row of five shells in every box of hunting loads that are defective and don’t have what it takes to actually kill the bird. This, in his mind, justifies what happens when you’re on a streak of one-shot kills and then all of a sudden you miss five birds in a row. Well, you just used the five cartridges on that row of defective shells in that box. Sometimes the row is the first row and sometimes it’s the second, third, fourth, or even the fifth. But he’s convinced that it’s there.
Why else would you all of a sudden go from a string of one-shot kills to five clean misses??
What Kind of Ammo Should You Use for Hunting Quail?
Oh, and by the way, if you’re going quail hunting or if you’re shooting those high-flying white wings in the winter segment of dove season, leave your 7.5’s behind and use 6’s. Vicki has used nothing but 6’s on quail through her K-20 with 28-gauge barrels.
Gary and Rachael showed up with 6’s in both 28 and 20-gauge. We have been talking and writing about shooting 6’s at quail and late-season doves for years now. And man, was it evident when shooting this past week, especially with Charlie and Larry.
I shot mod over mod in my K-20. And with Rio one-ounce 6’s, I was making some incredible long-distance kills. And when I say kills, I mean KILLS. Dead when they hit the ground. So dead they bounced. And a couple of shots were in excess of 60 yards. It really does work.
Vicki shot an amazing percentage with her K-20 with 28-gauge 32-inch barrels with mod over IC and Rio one-ounce 6’s. Man, does that load knock them down.
What a great hunt. We did not see one rattlesnake but were prepared with our snake boots…
Rachel and Gary put on a couple of shows, stringing an amazing number of kill shots until they found that row of empty shells. All in all, we had a great time. But we were at the 74 Ranch, so duh!
More next week…..see the bird behind the barrel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!…GA
