Buzz,
I hunted once for mearns down along the AZ border last year. They were really sparce. We found one covey over a day of hunting. The rains have been late, I believe too late to help with a hatch.
I think your best bet for mearns may be to contact someone in Mexico. I believe we have a relatively new member that posted some great pix of not only mearns, but other exotic quail down there.
We have a great population of California quail and chukar in southern California. That's what I'll be concentrating on this season.
