New Mexico Blues on the horizon

ACE has a covey nailed!

Every January/February I get the itch to head out to the high desert and chase some blue quail.  The place is  a conundrum.  It's dry, high, cold and prickly, but it's also a great place to hunt- with wide open land, most of it public.  Scaled, or Blue, quail can be runners, but I've found that if they haven't been hunted, they run no more than bobwhites.   Heck, when they get in to some kind of cover, they hold just fine- even extremely tight.  One day, Ace and I got a covey up and dropped a bird on the rise.  As the birds (25+) sailed away, I saw them scatter into some grass about knee high dotted with cactus.  We eased on over there and had some of the best shooting I've ever experienced!  They held very tight and when they got up, it was always two or three at a time.  One of those days to remember....I ran out of shells just about the time I limited for the day....

My kitchen pass allows me to head that way on or about 8 Jan to stay a bit.  I'm looking forward to seeing my friend Tim Bartlett and do a little walking through the sand and cactus chasing some dogs on point.