Dove, Dogs, and Shotguns

Recently my brother did a little quail hunting courtesy of the folks at Upland Bird Country. He had a blast and I asked him to write up a review for all you bird hunters who live near Dallas, TX. Thanks bro.

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Upland Bird Country Review

Location: Corsicana, TX (~60 miles south of Dallas)

URL: www.uplandbird.com

Date: December ‘09

Game Hunted: Quail

Cost: $185/person for unguided quail hunt.  Different packages and birds are offered for varying prices. Guide and dog are also available for a per group rate.

The hunt: After looking at Upland Country’s website for awhile, I finally decided to give it a try. It was worth it. I chose the quail hunt package for $185. Upland Bird Country provides 18 birds in the package. 

Even though I was hunting alone, I was able to get a field to myself. The terrain was thick enough to allow good cover for the birds, but not so bad that you couldn’t get through it. The quail were good size and good, fast fliers. I noticed that right away as I missed the first couple of birds that were flushed.

All of the birds I shot were after they were flushed by my dog. I didn’t have any of the those birds that you have to kick to get to off the ground.

Upland Bird Country allows hunters to bring their own dogs, which was a definite plus. I was able to get my lab some good work flushing quail. She’s turned into a pretty good all around dog for both dove and quail.

Overall, it was good day. Upland Bird Country was definitely a good find, especially for those close to the Dallas area.

• Picking a spot in the field Who hasn't done it, shown up for a big dove hunt and put yourself in a bad spot. It is simply miserable to listen to all the blasting around you as you contemplate everything from moving spots to what you did to deserve this. The best bullets, most expensive shotgun,......
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Located about 60 miles south of  San Antonio in Dilley, TX, Mimosa Farms public land is one of the best public dove leases I’ve been on. The property is about 1450 acres and was well maintained. The land consisted of about 900-950 acres of croton that had been shred into rows about 40 feet wide. The rest of the fields were plowed up and were mostly dirt. There was also 100 acres or so of goat weed that had been cut into rows. The property is surrounded by mesquite trees and brush.

We arrived late morning on the 19th. After seeing ten or fifteen dove fly ,we stopped and hunted for about an hour on the north end of the property. My dad and I shot four pretty quick and then loaded up and drove around to find our afternoon spot and then went in to town to eat and meet my brother.

About 1:30 we drove back in the lease, which was surprising already filling up with hunters. Most of the spots on the north end were already taken, so we headed around to the south end and hunted.

The dove were flying as soon as we unloaded. The pace was steady for a couple of hours and then there was a lull about 3:00 or so. Only about a fifteen minute one though, after that the pace kicked up and all three of us had our limit of 15 by 4:30. Mourning dove and the smaller Mexican dove were all that was on the property, I’m thinking the white-wings haven’t made it there, yet

The dove were seasoned from a lot of pressure and would take evasive maneuvers on the slightest movement. If the property lacks anything thing, it would be cover. Most of the trees were off the property and made for a hot afternoon, but 45 dove in a little over three hours made it tolerable.

There were plenty of hunters but it was by no means overcrowded.

All in all, I give #2378 an A+, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good public dove hunt.

Incidentally, at the hotel I was talking to some hunters that had a private lease in Dilley, they had a miserably slow day in the field. Looks like this in one of those times when it didn’t pay off to spend the big bucks.

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My dad, boys, and I hunted the Pattison road unit this drizzling Saturday morning. All I can say is get on the north end. There was a lot of shooting there, but also a lot of hunters too. So go early, if you go. We were out of position to start, but managed a decent shoot. For a lease two weeks into the Central Zone season, it was a good lease. The fact that upwards of 40 huntes came out tells me the pasture holds dove. We’ve hunted on this land before it was public and there were plenty of dove back then. Below is what a review will look like when you send me your reviews of other leases. Click on the link below to see a map of the property.

 NAME_OF_LEASE: Waller County Complex, Herbert  Preserve, #2438

DATE_HUNTED: 9/12/09

NUMBER_OF_DOVE_HARVESTED: 8

FOOD_SOURCES: Corn

ANY_TANKS_OR_PONDS: No

HOW_MANY_ACRES: 700

NUMBER_OF_HUNTERS: 30-40 on the pasture

THE_LAND_WAS: easy to hunt

TOO_MANY_HUNTERS: Yes

COMMENTS: We hunted the Waller public land today. If you go, get on the North end. The shooting was fabulous on that end. It was crowded, though. My sons had a blast and even with the inclement weather, it was a good time. The state should look at making this a quail pasture, I saw more quail than dove today.

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After a long week of waiting, I finally got to load up Layla and my 11-87 and head to Dallas to meet up with my brother and go hunting on DJ Farms leases in North Texas.

The preliminary scouting reports were very encouraging, plowed corn, lots of dove in the area as late as August 28th. My brother hunted on the 1st with moderate success but noticed a decline in the dove population.

The folks from DJ Farms, who are farmers by trade, were plowing new fields and doing all they could to hold the local birds, but a early cool front on the 30th of August, I think, drove most local birds south ahead of this weekend. That, accompanied with a plentiful supply of food, I mean thousands of acres of plowed corn had what dove remained spread so thin it was like hitting the lottery to have a lonesome dove fly over.

My official review of DJ Farms is not as bad as you would think after getting skunked this weekend. The owners did their job, they have well manged fields with plenty of food on them. I would not recommend planning a hunt on their pastures now, but I think as more northern birds head south the fields will attract more dove. There will be some good shoots later in the season, so if you are a local hunter, have a little patience. All the ingredients are there, except dove.

DJ Farms website.

I’m San Antonio bound this weekend, I’ll let everyone know how that goes.

Layla after her first hunt, and honestly she looked like this alot during the hunt. It was a tough start to dove season, but she got to taste a few dove. I think she understands her job now, and for five months old she did great.

• Mimosa Farms Public Dove Hunting #2378 Review Located about 60 miles south of  San Antonio in Dilley, TX, Mimosa Farms public land is one of the best public dove leases I've been on. The property is about 1450 acres and was well maintained. The land consisted of about 900-950 acres of croton that had been shred into rows......
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If you’ve got the funds the you should check out LCHunting.com.

They are offering some serious dove hunting for a serious dove hunter.

Just check out what is included for the price:

That is an impressive list. Looks like all you need to bring is your shoulder and some shells.

Here is an excert from their site : ” From August through October, millions of acres of sorghum and corn fields provide feed to the MILLIONS of whitewing dove that nest in this semi-tropical sportsman’s paradise.”

Millions, I’m not going to be able to sleep tonight, MILLIONS!.”

Loma Colorada Hunting look like a great place to have the hunt of a lifetime, at a fraction of the cost of a hunt in Argentina.

This is not a paid review or am I associated with LCHunting. I just thought the hunt looked promising.

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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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I know we have a page to review hunting land, but I figured since this particular land is where we have our Top Gun competition every year, it deserved its very own post. 

   Since 2003 we’ve been hunting opening day of the south zone at the Las Palomas WMA in south Texas. Specifically unit #715, Las Palomas consists of 18 units in three counties. The property is off the beaten path just outside of the city of Donna, TX. The first time we hunted there it took awhile to find it. So after driving six hours and looking for the property for two hours and getting about one hour of sleep, we loaded our shotguns and headed into the field. I was relieved to see the numerous white wings and mourning dove. I was hooked. I have shot my limit just about every day I’ve hunted unit #715. 2004 was the best year ever, with all three of us limiting out three days in a row. The property has several good spots to hunt and can support quite a few hunter as it is around 700 acres. The first three years of going down there the hunting was unbelievable, the past two the property has been declining. When we first started hunting, the WMA was well cared for, the grass and weeds were managed and the sunflowers and goat weed were plentiful. The birds were everywhere and the hunting was great. The past two years the property has become a little overgrown with weeds, and they have choked out a lot of what the dove were feeding on. Now, don’t get me wrong the hunting is still good, it has just gotten harder. Harder to find the downed birds, and with fewer dove staying in the fields(for lack of food) you’re limited to fly-bys. I’m hoping that the property gets some attention before this season.

Overall, I would recommend Las Palomas over any of the other close to 15 public land locations I’ve hunted. I’ve also hunted there in mid-October and the dove were still plentiful. There are a couple of hotels in and around Donna and plenty of amenities in the town to support an extended stay.

Time to RELOAD

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