Hello-

Will be in Tucson in the next couple weeks and wanted to find a quail guide in the area to hunt with one day while I am out there.

Any recommendations?

Thanks for any help!
Cory

Try Dave Brown. His website is Dave Brown Outfitters. Dave operates out of Patagonia, near Tucson. Dave is an excellent guide and has really fine dogs who will make the best of a tough season for quail in Arizona.

I plan to be in Tucson in a couple weeks, too, visiting my eldest son and his family. He has me hooked up with a quail hunting member of his church who also said for me not to get my hopes up, as it was a bad year for the quail.

What kind of quail might we expect to get into around Tucson besides Gambel's, Rich? Any scaled or Mearn's?

SRH

Stan,
All the above quail, but you'll need to drive quite a bit to get them.

Stan,

We hunted between Patagonia and the Tombstone area for four days last month. We flushed scaled quail and Gambel's, and bagged a few scalies and a bunch of dove, which were in season at the time and very plentiful. We also hunted in Mearns habitat for two days, but couldn't locate any coveys. Based on our limited sample, I would say that the Mearns population was the scarcest and most affected by the drought. The countryside is so beautiful that with good friends, good dogs and spectacular scenery, the hunting is worthwhile, no matter how hard the quail are to find.

It's really ironic that we're literally tripping over Gambels Quail in the subdivisions in the Phoenix area. Naturally these are off limits to hunting.
Jim

Heading to AZ next week to hunt scalies and gambels. They are a lot of fun. I agree, Mearns country is beautiful.

Cory,

Send me an email at couse3pt@cox.net I will give you the name of a really great guide with that runs some of the best English Pointers around. If he has an opening he will show you some good bird hunting.

Phil

You guys that run dogs in Arizona, how do you keep the cactus off them and out of their paws? I was in Tucson last year and my dogs only lasted abut an hour. Coryreb, don't mean to highjack your thread.

In the high desert around Tombstone and in the Coronado National Forest Mearns habitat, we were at 4-5000 ft. above sea level. Cactus were much less of a factor. I don't recall any of the dogs we were with having a problem. We definitely saw more cactus and more varieties of cactus as the altitude dropped down to sea level, heading back to Phoenix.

I've hunted Ft Huachuca and the surrounding region for quail. I've had more issues with cactus in SD than I did down there, but it may be because I was mostly hunting 4-5,000 feet, as mentioned above. I understand it's perhaps the worst year for Mearns' that anyone can recall. And that's very sad. They're special birds with a pretty limited range.

Phil and I have taken some heat in the past for discussing SE AZ quail hunting on public forums. Especially in low bird years, the extreme pressure will move the remaining Mearns to less desirable habitat. Gardner Canyon road off 83 looks like a California plate parking lot in Dec. I was hunting near Greaterville yesterday and had 3 vehicles drive by my spot, and met 3 more on my way out on FR 229. Part of the problem is that access to the Coronado National Forest west of 82 between Sonoita and Patagonia is mostly through private property and strictly limited. Lots of pros winter out here and several times I've seen quads loaded with a guide, 2 hunters, and a 3 dog box.

2 nice threads by Walt Lister here about Gambel's hunting north of Wickenburg with pics of the country
http://bbs.shootingsportsman.com/showthread.php?1851-Honey-hole
http://bbs.shootingsportsman.com/showthread.php?1889-A-walk-in-the-desert
And more pics here http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/21096662

In a good year, a fella could harvest all three quail in a day. Gambel's are found in the prickly pear on the northern (lower) end of Las Cienegas, and as Richard said, no cholla above about 4000 feet. Keep climbing (south) to the oak canyons for Means, then back down into the big grass for Blues. You can access the south end of Las Cienegas off Curly Horse Ranch Road, and work along the private ranchettes.
http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/az/images/cuenegas.Par.89522.File.dat/LasCienegasMap.pdf

I am finding more of these SOBs around



Dennis is another good one but likely booked http://www.montanabirdhunts.com/

I killed a lot o quail on Fort Huachuca when I was working there. More across the Border in Mexico. I dont think there was public access on the post grounds then. Is there now?

No personal experience with Bob Corley, but good reading
http://myweb.cableone.net/rcorley/index.htm

and should probably pay attention to these signs

I hunted in the area near Fort Huachuca and the border last year for Mearns. Pretty slim pickin's. It took all day to find a covey. We found it within an hour or two of sunset as I recall. I intentionally took only two birds. I'd say the Mearns need a break. No sense in erradicating the bird entirely. I'm not going there for Mearns until the reports of their numbers are on the rise. Beautiful land to hunt quail in, though.

Your dogs after a good day will learn to avoid it. Some dogs take a little longer than others. The country varies greatly in the desert and it is not all solid cactus as it is often portrayed.
Gambels Country






Scailed Quail Country




Mearns Country

Thanks guys for the suggestions. Really looking forward to some quail hunting in the area.

That last picture looks like it was from the southwest side of the Huachuca mountains and Parker reservior.

When I first hunted there, you had to be either military, retired, or a civilian employee on Huachuca. Last time, they'd changed the rules so that someone in one of those categories could bring one guest. I'm retired military, so good to go.

I just spent a month in Tucson, where I was born, and hunted some Gambel's and doves. Please, DON'T HUNT MEARNS QUAIL. They are extremely low in numbers this year and last year. Every bird you take won't be able to help replenish the population, if/when the area gets a good monsoon season. Gambel's and scaled quail have a much larger range, and while low in numbers, they are still huntable at least. Seeing all the out of state, retired hunters crawling all over the Mearn's habitat the last few years (me included), makes me wish that people would respect the birds, and keep their mouth's shut! I know some will disagree and say that hunting doesn't adversely affect the populations, but in the case of Mearns, I think it does. Taking even 2 birds out of a small covey can't help. In a good year 8-10 birds is a good covey. In a bad year there may be only 2-3.

Joe,
just my thoughts, but the good part is that there's probably more Mearns habitat across the border than on this side and it's likely that there are far less hunting Mearns over there, with all the bandito stuff going on. So, I'm not too worried about the Mearns being able to make a comeback when the environment changes. Just the same, I'm in agreement with you that Mearns should be left alone until then.

Just a question for you that are familiar with that part of the country: Are there any guzzlers down there? I don't recall hearing about any nor seeing any. It would seem that guzzlers that got filled regularly by an organization of volunteers would help. That area had good road access for a water truck/trailer.

I agree. The AZ Game and Fish need to shut Mearns season down for a time. I never shot one last season when I hunted them due to the low numbers. It is beautiful country to run around in.

As far as guzzelers go, I never ran into any. I don't think Mearns are tied to water like scalies since they eat tubers which are full of water if I am not mistaken. They need the monsoons for the plant growth more than anything.