I like to think I’ve done a bit of everything as a sportsman. Offshore fishing? Yep. Trout streams? Check. Rutting bucks? Oh, yeah. I’m an avid waterfowler, an occasional turkey hunter, and an enthusiastic pursuer of novelties such as snipe, bullfrogs, and gallinule. But something I’ve never been privileged to experience is good wild quail hunting. It’s not due to lack of interest. I thoroughly enjoy wingshooting and watching dogs work. I’ve just never been able to find them in huntable numbers on the public land I usually hunt.
In an effort to learn why quail seem so hard to find, and in an attempt to try and pinpoint areas with huntable populations, I sat down with Andy Edwards. Andy is the Program Manager for Quail Forever. Since 2005, the organization has worked to improve wild quail populations by improving habitat across their range, partnering with both government agencies and private individuals.
Where Do Quail Live?
For this article, we’re focusing on the Bobwhite Quail. While bobwhites are, in theory, widely spread throughout the American Southeast, Andy says that their specific habitat requirements restrict the areas that they can actually utilize.
“Quail are not a forest species,” he says. “They’re not like grouse. They’re not like turkeys. They don’t live in the woods. You may find them on the edges of woods because that’s the only habitat available to them, but they are a shrubland species. They need about 30% shrubs, 30% bare dirt, and 30% weeds. They don’t need trees. They’ll live in the woods, but they don’t need them. They need that mix. If it’s all thick grass, they can’t see and move around in it. If it’s bare dirt, they don’t have a place to hide. They need shrubs for winter cover and summer shade, and weeds for food.”
Finding habitat like this can be difficult in the southeast. Native prairie habitat has been mostly eradicated. More people hunt deer and turkeys than quail, and forest management for these species is often higher-priority and quicker to realize results. Timber is big business in the southeast, especially in my home state, with around 10% of its $280 billion dollar GDP being attributed to the industry. Out of Alabama’s 33 million acres, 23 million is timberland. And unless it is aggressively thinned and burned, according to Andy, it’s unlikely to hold meaningful populations of quail.
Best Quail Hunting Near Me
While shrublands can be hard to find in the South’s thick timber stands, Andy says that each state does have pockets of public land where hunters can harvest wild birds if they’re willing to put in the effort.
Tennessee
“Quail Forever actually puts out an annual hunting forecast to help hunters keep track of quail population and management trends,” he revealed. “My home state, Tennessee, is actually a little tough right now because we’re implementing a building phase in quail focal areas. They’re doing some intensive management to rebuild the population, and so far it’s showing great results, but it will be a bit before hunters can take advantage of that.”
Alabama
He continued, “Things are looking good in other states. In Alabama, for instance, the spring whistling survey showed good populations in Geneva State Forest, Perdido River WMA, Choccolocco WMA, and Freedom Hills WMA.”
Per Quail Forever’s annual report, Boggy Hollow, Blue Spring, Hollins, and Oakmulgee WMAs are also worth a try for quail. I can personally attest that I heard birds the last time I was in the Boggy Hollow tract over on the Conecuh National Forest.
Georgia
What about hunters in the Peach State?
“Georgia is a great destination state for quail,” says Andy, “because of the plantation culture that’s down there. That’s not typically a wild bird situation, but you can find wild birds there. As far as public land opportunities, Georgia is one of the states that implements a limited draw situation. If you’re interested in kind of a higher quality public land hunt, where you won’t see many people and you’ve got a good opportunity to get on birds, I would look into Georgia’s draw hunts. You may not get in on the first year, but within a couple of years you’ll get drawn and get a chance to hunt some good property. Di-Lane is one that’s well known, in particular.”
Florida
“Tyndall and Eglin Airforce Base both can have good hunting down in Florida,” says Andy. “Between the two of them you have just tons of acres of habitat. Ocala and Osceola National Forest also have lots of habitat if you’re looking at the lower part of the state. They’ve got some good quail numbers and a good management plan there.”
Quail Hunting Lodges
While the thought of hunting wild, native bobwhites holds great appeal for a lot of hunters, chasing wild birds on public land isn’t for everyone.
“Quail Forever actually has a program called the Hunting Heritage Partner Program,” he says. “We realize that not everybody has the opportunity to hunt wild birds on public lands, or even on private lands. We want people to still be introduced to the sport. To go and take a day and maybe take their family and see what it’s all about. And these places are a great way to do that. They’re kind of a guaranteed deal where you’re going to go and have an opportunity to see dogs work. You’re going to get an understanding of what the sport is.”
Quail Forever Hunting Heritage Partners
Prairie Wildlife in West Point, MS. – Bennie Atkinson batkinson@prairiewildlife.com
Pursell Farms in Sylacauga, AL. – Blake Garrett. garrettb@orvis.com
Wynfield Plantation. Albany, GA. – Lee Lyons. lee@wynfieldplantation.com
Southwind Plantation Attapulgus, GA. – Skylar Smith. ssmith@huntsouthwind.com
The Sawbriar. Allardt, TN. – Rhonda Moody rhonda@sawbriarhunting.com
Quail Hunting Gear
Once you’ve located a suitable area to hunt quail, the gear necessary to enjoy a great day afield is relatively simple and inexpensive.
“If you’re new to it, just get out there with whatever shotgun you can change chokes in, whatever that is,” Andy says. “You can kill quail reliably with any gauge down to a 28, but most people are hunting with a 12 or 20 and either a cylinder, skeet, or improved cylinder bore. Especially if you’re hunting over dogs, most of your shots will be close, but they’ll happen fast. You’ll be shooting 20 yards or so, so you want an open choke for that. As far as pellet size, #7.5 is about right. If you’ve got a box of #6 you can shoot it, and the same goes for #8 and #9. But #7.5 is kind of your standard.”
Andy continues with some advice for new hunters.
“A lot of the old timers will talk about trying to single out just the males. There are several reasons for that, but one is that it forces you to really focus and target one bird. It keeps you from just shooting into a covey and hoping for a hit.”
Aside from properly choked gun and some shells, not much else is needed aside from a vest and some chaps or brush pants. Andy’s personal preference is to think “lightweight and breathable” instead of “heavy duty” when shopping for both.
Final Thoughts On Wild Quail Hunting
In closing, Andy and I discussed a trend among quail hunters.
“One thing that we’ve seen is that with the decline of quail numbers, hunters are focusing less on bag limits and more about the experience. You don’t hear conversations about, “Man, I went out today and I didn’t get my limit. I’m not happy!” For most people, if you have the opportunity to get out and have a chance go wild quail hunting, and you have some wild birds flush over a dog, and you get a chance at some birds with a few friends…that’s a great day.”
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