On The Road Again

                                                 It was January of 2006 when Tom and I found ourselves headed south by southwest to the very corner of Kansas with hopes of finding birds. As we talked over the last couple of years the subject of Quail hunting had come up often. Having had Quail at the farm while training the Setter's sent our curiosity over the edge. I had done as much research as I could sending for maps and talking with the game biologists for the region. But this was a new area for me and no doubt would take some time to crack the code so to speak. The region also held Pheasants of course and Prairie chicken's which interested Tom. Being of the same family as Sharptail he was intrigued with their markings and the sacs on either side of their heads which would puff out during they're mating ritual. Our hopes were for a mixed bag hunt including the two species we hadn't hunted before.
                                              My friends and neighbor's Dan and Elsie Williams owned the farm to the west of me which included Love Creek as it ran through the valley. Dan ran the dairy operation while Elsie ran the household including keeping track of their 3 girls as well as working a full time job as a nutritionist. Elsie was originally from Kansas which I knew and when I was talking with them about the Setter's as I used their CRP fields for training I mentioned my plans to hunt Quail in Kansas. Elsie then told the story of her upbringing on a farm just outside of Garden City and related that she still owned a section of land there. Dan commented that he knew there were birds there as his Brother in law Jimmy and wife lived on the farmstead and his niece's husband Jake hunt's there. Well it didn't take long for Elsie to tell me I was welcome to stop there if I'd like and that she was sure Jake would show me around. So Dan made a couple phone calls and gave me Jake's number to make arrangements. When I talked with Jake he said sure there both Bobwhites as well as Scaled or Blue Quail there along with Pheasants. He also said his Dad worked for a large cattle operation and that he had access to hunt around the corners of their irrigated fields as well. I was a little surprised at his willingness to accommodate us but I was only just learning about Kansas hospitality!
                                              I had known that Garden City was in the same corner of the State we were headed to so as I looked at the route we'd head to Garden City first spend a day then continue on to the Cimarron National Grasslands at Elkhart Kansas. Which was about a two hour drive. This trip was shaping up nicely. Tom provided the vehicle and dog trailer and I handled all the arrangements. Fair enough.
                                              This was the first long trip my dog's had made in the trailer but they were fine as we stopped about every 4 hours or so for fuel and would look for a spot to let the dog's out. It felt good to be on the road again. The conversation at one point got us so involved in our story telling and laughing that we missed our exit by about 80 miles and had to back track somewhere west of Salinas. But we were having fun.
                                               We made it to Garden City by late evening and had checked in with Jake earlier to let him know we were on track. He stopped by the hotel that evening to meet us and made arrangements to meet at the farm the next morning.
                                                  The farm was about 8 miles north of town in irrigated farm country. We'd be hunting CRP which was pretty short and dry. Lots of weeds. The section was bordered by a dry creek bed on three sides thick with brush on the sides and wooded areas out in the middle here and there. We parked at the homestead where Jimmy and his wife lived and walked over to the east edge of the property to start our hunt. As we stood there we could actually hear Bobwhites calling to each other! The plan was to fan out and head south through this area. The dog's started casting and got birdy shortly thereafter. We quickly had Mick on point and when I walked in a Rooster took flight high going from left to right. Jake fired and missed and I brought down the bird with the next shot. We could hear the Bobwhites again and Tom had a point up ahead. A large covey flushed and we heard two shots! We soon learned of Tom's surprise as the covey burst forth and how he shot at them all! Hitting none! We huddled and let the dog's settle now having taken the edge off. We finally dialed in and started connecting on points of singles and doubles on Quail. As we turned to the west we also picked up a couple more Roosters. It was a clear blue Kansas morning. Beautiful. We came to the River bed again. And the brushy cover. We got several Bobwhites here and some great points but the birds would come rocketing out in all directions so we learned to focus on one at a time then worry about the rest after the first bird was down. It was now quite obvious to us why people were so passionate about hunting these small birds. It was some of the most exciting bird hunting I'd ever done and the dog's loved it. We had one more area of CRP to work as we headed back east to the buildings. The dog's worked some pheasants here in the dry grass  and Tom's dog Ida had a couple nice points on Rooster's along the edge which Tom put in the gamebag. My dog's had a nice point all together 3/4 of the way through that I let Jake have and that bird escaped! So we ended our hunt at the farm and were talking about lunch and the afternoon hunt when Jake said " Well I think my wife plans on having us for lunch back at the house". So we followed Jake back and were welcomed to his home where his wife Rebecca and her parents all were awaiting our arrival. They had prepared a beautiful lunch and graciously made us feel very welcome. This was a big deal for them to have company from Wisconsin and especially as friends of Dan and Elsie. Jimmy, Rebecca's father is Hawaiian and a great storyteller. We got quite a kick out of the two hour's we spent enjoying his company.
                                                         We spent the rest of the day hunting the corners of irrigated fields around the property Jake had made arrangements to hunt through his father. These were smaller areas so we'd take 1 or 2 dog's and picked up both Roosters and Quail in this grassy cover mixed with weeds. All things considered it was a great day and introduction to Kansas hospitality. These people had really gone out of their way to make us feel welcome and show us a good time. We said our goodbye's and headed back to the hotel to clean birds remarking at how refreshing it was to meet such nice people
                                                         The next day we hit the road early which was about 8 a.m.with the goal of having our boots on the ground around Elkhart before noon. Our first stop was at the Grasslands Headquarters where I wanted to talk with the Biologist about any recommendations for hunting. As we were talking Tom noted the mounted Prairie chicken in the lobby in a mating pose with the cheeks puffed out. We left with whatever information we could glean from this guy. This area covers 110,000 acres and spans about 17 miles north of Elkhart.
                                                        We grabbed our map and headed for some cover. There wasn't much grass we discovered. This was dry over pastured government land. Lots of Choia and Yucca type cactus. Sand lots of dark brown sand. After all this was the sight of the dust bowl of the thirties. The good soil or what there was was lost forever due to poor farming practices year's ago. Hence the government ownership.
We noticed right away the stark difference between the private land we had just hunted and the now barren expanse we were looking at.The objective for the day was to locate Quail Bobwhite being more in the dry river beds and the blue's being more in the open pasture areas. The Prairie Chickens being where they'd be. After a couple of hour's of walking with no results but some tracks in the sand Tom's dog pointed a Rooster in this cover to our surprise but that was it. The ranger had said the Blue Quail liked Choia Cactus so we drove around looking for spots with that and walked some more. A few area's had lot's of track's but that was it. We then headed for the river bottom to see if we could locate some Bobwhites. After a couple hour's here we had the same result. Zip. Nothing. Nada. It was a puzzle we were obviously struggling with. We spent the rest of the late afternoon scouting the area from end to end getting a feel for this deal. It was big and open. The birds were here but where?
                                                        We had driven a long ways to get here and after our second day were stumped and frustrated not having been able put this puzzle together. We checked in at the hotel and were feeding the dog's in the parking lot when a guy walked up and said Hello. He had seen our 6 dog trailer and my Setter's and being curious came over to chat with us. Turn's out "Joe" was from Manhattan New York and had hunted this area for several year's. He also had 3 English Setter's. We right away had a lot to talk about and he asked if we had plans for dinner as he was going to eat at the Mexican restaurant right next door and asked of we'd like to join him. So we did. Over dinner we learned Joe had traveled North America with his Setter's shooting every species of upland bird of which I believe there are 21. This whole experience was culminating in a book about his travels. It was a very interesting chance meeting as Joe had been places and done many of the things we hoped to do with our dog's including hunting this area. We left saying goodbye to Joe with his tips and instructions as to where to find birds. His statement was "I like to see people do well" as his rationale for sharing his knowledge. Also the Prairie Chicken in the lobby of the Cimarron office he had shot then had mounted and donated.
                                                          The next day we followed his advice and were into Quail on our first run around some windmills and gas pump structures. Structure being the operative word. The dog's were having an absolute ball stalking and pointing these Quail. We then switched to some gentle hills to try to locate some Prairie Chicken's. I had a point from Beau but as I got to the top of a rise he was to far out front and when I was in sight the birds took flight. I had a quick shot but missed as the birds coasted at least for a mile it seemed.
                                                          We regrouped and ran more of this cover around windmills picking up a few more Quail then decided to scout for awhile as we made plans for the next day. The dog's had done well with the exception of mine chasing Jackrabbits. I had to put the electronic collars on to get their attention as I didn't want them tiring out chasing those damn things but this was relatively new for them not seeing many before but they were plentiful here.
                                                          The next morning I had suggested we hunt an area several miles to the north on the edge of the grasslands due to it's remote location. On the way we passed a few walkin area's we thought looked promising as well. It was cold as hell this morning but being from Wisconsin we'd hunt in almost any weather. The good news nobody else was! Just before we got to this area we saw a half section of nice CRP we couldn't pass up. So we decided to split up and walk this as we were a little confused as how to get to the other spot as the map wasn't clear on how to enter it. We got into Roosters right away and had both shot birds. We were now walking back across having made a pass down one side. Tom was closest to the road and I saw a red Ford truck approaching slowing down so I yelled for Tom to stop this guy and ask how to get to the spot we wanted to go to. Well he did and I stood there watching for quite a while as Tom stood by the truck. After the truck moved on I walked over to ask Tom what the guy said. He laughed. Then told me when he walked over to the truck the guy just said let me see that gun and reached over and took Tom's Sterlingworth 12 gauge and looked it over and said " Those are nice gun's aren't they". The rest of the story was that we had met Dave Bozone the rancher that owned most of the land around us and lived right down the road. We were not at the time on his property and when Tom asked about the adjacent wheat stubble Dave said" Well my wife really likes watching the Quail that use that area as she feeds them in the backyard. She won't even let me hunt there but if you want to try go ahead but I'll tell you she's a pretty good shot with a 243 rifle boy's! We got direction's to the government land and were invited to stop by later and he'd show us where his property was. Little did we know exactly who we had just met.
                                                  After picking up a couple Rooster's here we headed down to the Government land which was a dry riverbed with pasture and brushy areas in between. We were into Bobwhites quickly as Mick slowly creeped ahead and pointed 100 feet into the run. A covey took flight straight away as I shot and missed. Surprised of course. We then worked the singles from this group and had a couple birds in short order. These birds would hold so it was fun to call each other in to take turns on points. What a spot this is we thought. It wasn't long before we had a point against a big cottonwood surrounded on one side with a pile of brush. We walked right in and took in the sight of all 5 dog's on point around this area. I kicked the brush and a few birds rocketed out with Tom taking one. Then I looked and the dog's re positioned at the same brush pile. I kick again and more birds rocketed out and over my head. I shot and took another bird with the rest escaping. How exciting was that! We moved through this area a which was a couple miles long with the dog's quickly dialing in on any brush piles or patches of thorn bushes. As we moved through the bottom with the dog's casting about Molly comes on point around an old burned out stump. I signal to Tom and he comes over to the side. I go in to flush and nothing. But Molly's still rock solid. I kick again and nothing. After looking puzzled and re positioning in the same spot with her head looking right at the stump I look at Tom like I don't know what's up. So I once again go in and went right up to the stump and kicked it hard! A bird just burst's into the air! Fly's right past me and I turn around and Tom and I have guns raised looking right at each other as the bird heads right at Tom! We just both are froze in that moment not able to shoot as the birds in the middle of us and Tom just kind of makes a batting gesture as it fly's past his head. We just watch it go and turn back and laugh! I can't imagine what Molly was thinking about us! We would have a couple more points with all 5 dog's.This was just incredible to see as we'd get to both walk in and shoot as the covey took flight. But we learned that in these very dry conditions we had to carefully mark birds as the dog's would sometimes struggle locating them.
                                               We saw a truck coming through the bottom land and  stopped to talk with a guy and his girlfriend for a couple minutes. They were deer hunting and when we said do you know who owns the rest of the land east he said" Yeah that's Bozone you don't want to get caught over there he can be pretty nasty". So we were ready to meet Mr Bozone as we headed up to the ranch house.
                                                 We were greeted at the door by Mr Bozone " Dave" and invited in to his office area where he introduced us to his wife Shirley as the crazy guys who were out hunting this morning. Our coldest day of the winter so far! We spent some time talking about who we were and where we were from then Dave questioned us about our dog's and where we'd hunted. Being a hunter himself he was interested in our story but Dave"s real passion was Bow hunting for Deer stalking them in the open cover. These were genuine Kansas natives. Dave had at one time spent some time in Wisconsin so he knew the area we were from. Before we left he had given us a map of his almost 10,000 contiguous acres and told us we were welcome back and he wouldn't mind hunting with us a little either. We made arrangements before leaving to meet Dave the next morning to hunt that other section of dry river bed we mentioned earlier.
                                                It was a little warmer the next morning with light snow. Big soft wet flakes falling in a continuous curtain of white. There was hardly any wind. We picked up Dave and talked with Shirley for a while also meeting the hired men. As Dave said the Cowboy was named Matt and the farmer was named Daniel. Nice guys. We would take two vehicles so I rode with Dave. He had explained to us that he doesn't let people hunt much of his property and not this section in particular as he bow hunts here and around the adjacent 4000 acres on this end of the ranch. He also is protective of the Quail. So we were grateful to have the opportunity and glad we had hit it off. Our being out in the extreme cold caught his attention and the fact that we asked first about hunting politely had made a difference for him. It was eerily quiet as we parked at the bottom after going through three different gates to get to where we would start. The plan was to hunt back to the west fence where the government land started a mile down. So we spread out with all 5 dog's on the ground which was so much fun as the Quail would hold so the dog's would all point together frequently and we could call each other over when we had points. That's why they call this a Gentleman's sport I guess. Mick was first to find birds as we walked quietly through this river bottom with brush piles and clumps of taller scrub trees. Beau and Molly honored behind and I let Dave take the first shot as I flushed. Dave took the bird to the right and I took a bird straight away. Well done. He was impressed with the dog work never having hunted with a pointing dog before. We continued on hearing Tom shooting to our left with his dog's Annie and Ida about a hundred yards away. It was just an incredible scene with those big flakes just floating down. We walked on with Beau coming to point along the north fence line. He had been working scent when he just froze with his nose aimed right at a small clump of grass his body bent in a half circle. I told Dave to take the shot as I knew the bird was right there!. It burst from the grass flying behind me and Dave swung and made the shot. A beautiful moment and great point. We no sooner recovered that bird when Molly and Mick were both locked up 50 feet away looking into some bushes. I called Tom over and the dog's just held there intense on point! I went in to flush again with Dave and Tom shooting. It was another covey but they came up in two waves as I kicked the grass. We all took a bird from that flush. Being almost at the end we turned and walked back on the other half finding another covey and Tom got into some singles as Dave and I waited for him hearing his shooting as he came to the end. His dog's were having a ball as well. I must say I've never again had moments like that in such a beautiful setting totally quiet no wind and those big flakes just floating to the ground. I think Dave was glad to have had the opportunity to hunt with the dog's as well. But he was now cold enough so we headed out but on the way back he pointed out the junk pile a mile from the ranch where some blue quail hung around and said we were welcome to hunt them as well. And so we did but not before thanking Dave and making arrangements to stop at the house again tommorow. By the way he said you guys are welcome to clean the birds back at the house if you want out by the shop. Just bring them up to the house and I'll clean em up for you and put them in the freezer till your ready to go. So the week went. We were humbled and grateful for the kindness.
                                                So again thanks to some great hospitality we had a successful trip getting on birds of all species. Dave and Shirley invited us into their home and we enjoyed getting to know these friendly and very kind people. We even got to hunt the other side of that fence the deer hunter cautioned us about crossing! It was a great trip just having met these folks. Jake and his Family, Joe and his Setter's from New York who I still remain in touch with today years later as well as our new friend's Dave and Shirley Bozone.
                                                 On our way back we recounted the friendship that was extended to us on that trip and talked about what a great example these people had set about just being "Good human beings" We would laugh that maybe it was time for us to reflect on ourselves but there was no doubt that these people had all made a positive and lasting impression on us.