doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Are 12 gauges dead now?

Those of you that have wanted to hunt wild upland birds in the southwest, this next year will be great if the last season and the weather are indicators. Wild California/Valley quail and chukar should be at very high numbers and prevalent where there are water and food sources. I'm planning continuing to scout them this winter and spring, looking for new places to hunt for the fall.

Adam, you are a few miles West of me, but I believe Valdosta and Dothan are in a similar situation as far as the ecosystem goes. I quit bird hunting in disgust in 1990 and let go of my remaining kennel of pointers. If I had not quit, I'd probably still have the legs to take advantage of what I see as a small comeback in Bobwhite numbers (in our area anyway).

A few years ago I began missing the bird hunting I used to enjoy so much and went to shooting "kick-'em-up" released birds. At age 60, I bought a German Wirehair puppy, named her Willy and trained her to be a pretty useful companion for released birds. Willy and I find a few wild birds along with what I put out every weekend.

jOe, if you want a glimpse of real bird hunting again, find a big clearcut, about two years old with newly planted pine. Go there at daylight, park your car at the highest point and get out and listen for birds waking up. Borrow a bird dog and walk to where you heard the birds. You'll be surprised...Geo

I can't speak for other places but to the best of my knowledge they've never stocked Quail here in Arizona so all the birds we see are wild. I live in the Phoenix area and there are coveys of Quail everywhere. Unfortunately many are now suburban dwellers who have adapted very well to this environment. It is unusual for me to walk outside my house and NOT see any Quail. I haven't done much birdhunting in years but I also see many when we hike in the McDowell Mountains which is a forest preserve..
Of course the suburbs and the forest preserve are off limits for hunting so other than natural predators these Quail go undisturbed.
Jim

George I imagine I've spent more time behind a bird dog than you have....one of my hunting buddies had over a 100 pointers in the late 1970's...I've hunted all around Ames plantation...no place has tired harder to manage quail than they did there.

I know there are some quail left in isolated locations but you just can't take a bird dog and head out and expect to find coveys....in most areas they are just not there....if you'd get out of the office more you'd know this.

Matter of fact there are quite a few wild quail where I turkey hunt.

Oh, so you think there just aren't any where Adam lives, eh? No, I know the answer to that question already.

Why you insist on being so insulting is a mystery to me. The tenet, "being a Southern gentleman" is absolutely lost on you, jOe.

Stan

What is going on is that you are trying to sell these guns rather than going out and shooting them. Kwitcherbitchin, stick shells in the poor things' chambers, and blast away. Let your heirs worry about how to get rid of 'em!

--??hat is a Bloomburg straw purchase? My 12 gauges are alive and doing well, and I see 12 gauge shotguns, not just Parkers, being sold on the PGCA website all the time. Price it right and it will sell, IMO!

Posts earlier re Disney world and Southwind and Libby's in Maine.

The only qualms I had about deciding to visit Southwind was the Disney factor - it may indeed be just a tad over the top for me since I don't like resorts in general and do not like fake stuff but I'll give it a try.

Libby's in Maine is NOT the least bit Disney. It is truly a North Woods hunting lodge. I have a "regular" cabin that I get every time I go and it was built in the 1930s. It's real ruffed grouse and woodcock shooting and you may or may not limit out. They can fly you out to outlying camps and then come back and pick you up a week later if you wish. The fly-fishing is superb. Most of the people are repeats and they don't wear baseball caps to dinner.

My father, a New York businessman, had friends who would go "up to the North Woods" and as a lad I always imagined what that was like. I discovered it the first time I went to Libby's. One can now drive in via logging roads (don't try it after dark) but until fairly recently one had to either fly in on floats or canoe in with a couple of portages.

Not concerned about the 20 ga - I have three of them and shoot them well (at least well for me!) and I took a 20 ga on my Ptarmigan hunt up north.

The whole issue of wild vs planted birds is unfortunate - up here there are no wild pheasant. Period. A planted pheasant might make it a couple of days before a predator gets it. Locally our grouse are way down.

Yes, the face of shooting is certainly changing.

Go west