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Big Lake never fails #6991809 12/11/17 04:30 PM
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therancher Offline OP
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I've owned ranches in Big Lake since 2004. In the last 13 years I've seen populations go up and down. For whatever reasons, even when the rest of the nation is suffering through quail "droughts", Big Lake still has huntable populations.

This isn't the best year, but the quail are still around. While others are seeing fewer quail this year than last, there is no discernable difference in our populations.




Crotchety old bastidge
Re: Big Lake never fails [Re: therancher] #6991856 12/11/17 04:56 PM
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bill oxner Offline
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cheers


Quail hunting is like walking into, and out of a beautiful painting all day long. Gene Hill


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Re: Big Lake never fails [Re: therancher] #6992090 12/11/17 07:44 PM
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Is that a mix or just scaled quail??

Re: Big Lake never fails [Re: Wacm] #6992228 12/11/17 09:33 PM
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therancher Offline OP
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Mostly blues.


Crotchety old bastidge
Re: Big Lake never fails [Re: therancher] #6992424 12/11/17 11:33 PM
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68rustbucket Offline
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Skillet shot wink

Last edited by 68rustbucket; 12/11/17 11:34 PM.


Re: Big Lake never fails [Re: therancher] #6992645 12/12/17 02:34 AM
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Stompy Online Content
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Saw lots of Blues around Gail a couple of weeks ago.


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Re: Big Lake never fails [Re: therancher] #7001310 12/18/17 09:11 PM
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There used to be tons of blues up on Rocker B and ATA.


Re: Big Lake never fails [Re: therancher] #7001445 12/18/17 10:21 PM
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4Weight Offline
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I'm on a place up SW of Sterling City and the place is covered up with Blues and Bobs.

Re: Big Lake never fails [Re: therancher] #7002961 12/19/17 08:47 PM
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Those blues sure are pretty.


Life is too short, as is. Don't chance it.
Don't text and drive.
Re: Big Lake never fails [Re: therancher] #7003031 12/19/17 09:26 PM
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Shot this with my Nikon a few weeks ago. Gorgeous birds.

Re: Big Lake never fails [Re: 4Weight] #7005119 12/21/17 04:21 AM
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therancher Offline OP
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Nice pic.


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Re: Big Lake never fails [Re: therancher] #7005370 12/21/17 02:10 PM
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colt45-90 Offline
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nice pic, thanks for sharing


hold on Newt, we got a runaway
Re: Big Lake never fails [Re: 4Weight] #7005495 12/21/17 03:52 PM
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bill oxner Offline
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Originally Posted By: 4Weight
Shot this with my Nikon a few weeks ago. Gorgeous birds.



They look twice the size of bobwhites until they are skinned.


Quail hunting is like walking into, and out of a beautiful painting all day long. Gene Hill


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Re: Big Lake never fails [Re: therancher] #7006093 12/21/17 11:46 PM
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68rustbucket Offline
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Yep. After cleaned you can’t tell the difference



Re: Big Lake never fails [Re: therancher] #7006140 12/22/17 12:16 AM
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This is a good time to repeat this.


[quote=bill oxner]I start by cutting off the wings and lower legs. It's important to leave the head attached.


There you have a whole skinned quail.

Next, you pull the leg over the back, and pull the legs off one at a time. It's best to pull from the front to the back.



Here you have a whole quail with the legs and thighs removed and in the pan.




You could see that I had the quail by the head with my right hand. Just pull the head and neck off and the intestines come with it.. You can see that I have the breast in one hand and the head with the backbone and guts in the other hand. Notice that my hands are still clean




I've done them every other way that's known, but this has always worked best for me. I can do them as fast as a helper can clip the wings and feet.


Quail hunting is like walking into, and out of a beautiful painting all day long. Gene Hill


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Re: Big Lake never fails [Re: therancher] #7006156 12/22/17 12:31 AM
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Thanks Bill if I ever find anymore quail I will have to give that a try


God Bless and Semper FI
Re: Big Lake never fails [Re: therancher] #7006413 12/22/17 03:17 AM
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Will put dogs on the ground on my lease east of big lake next week. Hoping to find some birds !



Re: Big Lake never fails [Re: 68rustbucket] #7008007 12/23/17 01:42 AM
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Originally Posted By: 68rustbucket
Will put dogs on the ground on my lease east of big lake next week. Hoping to find some birds !


Post up some pictures.


Quail hunting is like walking into, and out of a beautiful painting all day long. Gene Hill


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Re: Big Lake never fails [Re: therancher] #7017668 12/31/17 02:47 AM
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Got back from Big Lake last night. It was cold and wet, Catchdog and myself braved the ice and frigid temps Wednesday afternoon through yesterday afternoon. We didn't find any coveys Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning til after the ice melted. Catchdog brought 3 young up and comers and 1 veteran. I brought my veteran Britt and the 2 yo pointer. We ended up finding 11 coveys and took 6 birds. Thought I'd share some pics.








Re: Big Lake never fails [Re: 68rustbucket] #7017671 12/31/17 02:50 AM
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Originally Posted By: 68rustbucket
Got back from Big Lake last night. It was cold and wet, Catchdog and myself braved the ice and frigid temps Wednesday afternoon through yesterday afternoon. We didn't find any coveys Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning til after the ice melted. Catchdog brought 3 young up and comers and 1 veteran. I brought my veteran Britt and the 2 yo pointer. We ended up finding 11 coveys and took 6 birds. Thought I'd share some pics.









Good pics, tough trip.

My annual trip to SE New Mexico was The same way. Last year we found a covey every 10 minutes, this year we found a covey every hour. Last year the blues were stacked up 40-50 in a covey. This year they were 20 bird per covey when we got on one. I love hunting blues, but they aren’t much fun unless there are a lot of them.

Re: Big Lake never fails [Re: therancher] #7017679 12/31/17 02:53 AM
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sorry about sideways pics. They were all straight when taken and saved on computer. Cant load straight from device anymore for some reason.



Re: Big Lake never fails [Re: therancher] #7017682 12/31/17 02:56 AM
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Re: Big Lake never fails [Re: therancher] #7017717 12/31/17 03:35 AM
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This time of year always reminds me of the best hunt I’ve ever been on. When I wa a senior in high school a buddy and I had some fine pointers. Christmas morning, we Took our two best dogs. We hunted 2 sections south of ODESSA that morning, another buddy of ours lived on. We killed 108 blues by 10:00 AM, and ran out of beer. That was a good hunt. I’m afraid we’ll never see that good of hunting again.

Re: Big Lake never fails [Re: therancher] #7017801 12/31/17 04:56 AM
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68Rustbucket, Thank you again for the invite. Watching them pups coming along is what its all about, of course the birds in the freezer were icing on the cake. As a young man still wet behind the ears to bird dogs, I really appreciate the conversation and knowledge that you shared and that is something I will always keep with me.... Oh yea, when ice covers everything, stay at camp, its too damn cold!

Re: Big Lake never fails [Re: therancher] #7017960 12/31/17 01:39 PM
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Quail hunting is like walking into, and out of a beautiful painting all day long. Gene Hill


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