Dove, Dogs, and Shotguns

I know this site is mainly about dove hunting, but hunting quail is a lot of fun also. Last Christmas, my brother took me and my oldest son, (Dad couldn’t make it unfortunately) to the Walton Ranch  just outside of the small town of Navasota, TX. The Walton Ranch is a hunting ranch where you can hunt quail, pheasant, and chukar. What a Christmas present that was….

It was my son’s first quail hunt and I really wanted it to be a good one, and it was awesome, After I got over the embarrassment of forgetting his 20 gauge shells in the back of my truck, back at home. The guys at the ranch helped me out of that jam and the hunt was on. It was a damp, overcast morning so the quail were hunkered down pretty good. My brother’s lab. Darla, helped remedy that problem as she worked to flush them out. And flush them she did, the first one that flew by me looked like a chicken it was so fat, one down 35 left to go. Seth, my son, got off to a slow start, missing the first couple that spooked him when they flew, but he settled down after hitting the next two and really had a knack for finding the covies. My brother got out of the gate the fastest, jumping out with 6 quick quail. I was able to catch up after running into two large covies and some quick shooting. All in all, in our half day hunt we brought home 35 out of the 36 quail they released. Seth is hooked on bird hunting, it was great to see Darla work, and my brother and I had some serious fun. Below is the review:

The ranch is spread out and divided into large sections for each hunting party. We probably walked three miles that morning, and it was worth every step. The sections we were on was mostly thick grass with a dry creek bed and some scattered trees. The quail had plenty of places to hide. I think they also have lodging for out of towners, but seeing how we live about a hour away, we didn’t utilize these facilities.

The people running the show were helpful and made us feel right at home. After the hunt they prepared us  some home cooked chili with all the fixings. They cleaned and bagged our quail and provided the ice to put them on. They were very friendly folks and that goes along way.

Pricing is about $160 per person per 1/2 day hunt. It’s not too outrageous compared to some other places I’ve looked at, but still expensive enough. It was our first time to hunt pinned quail. The good thing is we  knew there were some birds (unlike some public land leases), but it is a little less exciting than hunting them in the wild.

The quail themselves were fat and tasty. We made some fajitas when we got home which were delicious. My wife even ate them and that is saying a lot.

Hunting the Walton Ranch was very fun, I would recommend it to anyone looking for a sure bet on quail hunting. As for my family, we’ve started a new tradition over Christmas, I just dread when it’s my turn to buy. Thanks again, bro.

Time to RELOAD!

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