Photo by MR+G

Have you ever need to move a deer, but could not make a sound? Many hunter use rocks or something else to try and move a deer. They may throw the rocks or try to make some type of noise to move the deer in a better direction. These techniques maybe okay sometimes, but you often need to move a deer with out a sound and little movement. A compact mirror, yes the kind your wife uses to put make-up on, is a great tool to add to your day pack. A compact mirror is light wieght and easy to carry around. With a well placed shine you can move a deer exactly where you need them to be. If you are trying to only move one deer this technique also works well because you can single them out. With rocks and other methods you often move all the deer not the one you need. A compact mirror will not work in all cases, but works well in day hunts and comes in handy during an emergency. A mirror is one of the most valuable tools you can have during a survival moment. Mirrors can be seen up to miles away and can attract much needed help in an emergency.

If you have any quick tips that you would like us to feature, feel free to contact us.

Photo by JimFrazier 

Milkweed pods make incredible natural wind indicators. You can collect milkweed post in the Fall when they start to dry out and store them away for hunting season. Keep them in a dry area and do not store them in anything that will retain moisture. Paper sacks make a great storage place until the pods are completely dry. Before each hunt remove a few from storage and keep them in your pockets. Break them open and let nature take its course. The seeds will fly through the air like little butterflies and show you exactly the direction and flow of the air. You can also add a drop or too of your favorite cover scent and let it float around you. Milkweed pods are simple, natural, cheap, and one of the best wind indicators around.

If you have any quick tips that you would like to share feel free to contact us.

Photo by This Year’s Love 

How to make a cheap and reliable scent dispenser?

Take a empty glue bottle (there are many different styles and sizes to choose from) and wash it out well.  Remember to clean the top out really good so the dispenser will not clog up.  After a through cleaning, tap up all the moving parts and paint it in your favorite camouflage colors.  You can also use camouflage tape or even make a bag for it out of camouflage fabric.  One of the most inventive ideas that I have seen is using an old hunting glove to house the bottle and simply cutting one finger out for the nozzle.  After getting the bottle prepared and camouflaged, fill it with your favorite scent and tie it near the scrape, rub, or trail that you are hunting.  These bottle also will work well for cover scents that you can place around your stand.

Good luck and good hunting, I hope this Quick Tip will help you think out side the box and use items that you use everyday as tools to enhance your hunt!

Quail have always been one of my favorite bird since I was a small child.  I remember my father telling me stories about the many coveys that called the family farm home and even at a young age I always knew the distinctive “bob-bob-white” call from the beautiful birds.  Whistling the “bob-bob-white” call on my grandparent’s back porch as the sun went down in the evening is one of many cherished memories that I keep from my late grandmother.  She loved the outdoors and nature as much as anyone that I have ever know.As I grew older the quail covey sightings on the farm became less and less frequent.  Most of the farm became plots of planted pines and very little of the land was used for cultivation.  I still had fun walking around the farm trails and the occasional open areas finding a covey, but the sightings were rare.  The most important thing to me at the time though was getting outside and hiking around the farm on my own.  I was not very good at shooting them anyway and I really enjoyed getting out and finding them more than anything.  I’m sure I would have been more interested if I had a great bird dog on my side, but even today I would rather watch the dog work to find the birds.

The older I got the more interested in hunting I became and the more I started to learn about how to improve the property for wildlife.  I read a lot of information form county wildlife extension offices, books, and also met with county wildlife agent to help access the property for all types of wildlife.  I will discuss many different improvement areas in the future, but for now I will mainly focus on quail habitat.  Most of the ideas for quail are also good for your turkey population and many other wildlife species. 

One fact that you can not ignore

If you do not have any birds, no matter what you do to improve your habitat it will not help.  To improve your quail population you must first have some population.  Your best bet, if you do not have any birds, is to purchase and release some good quality and well raised ones.  Make sure that you purchase them from someone with a good reputation for raising birds that are to be released to the wild.  The birds should have been raised in isolation with little or no exposure to traffic noise, humans, dogs, predators, domestic animals, etc.

Hedge your bets

Any hedge rows, old fence lines, or uncultivated or unharvested rows you can leave on your property, by all means leave them.  Quail need nesting sites and cover from predator as much as anything else.  The lay of the land years ago was a great number of family farms split by various means, all of which created little hideaways, of fences, uncut borders, hedge rows, etc.  By leaving or creating these type of areas on your property you are allowing the quail to hatch and raise their young easier.  Reproduction is the key to increasing your quail population.  The government in many cases will also offset the loss of revenue associated with wildlife management practice, so check with you local county farm agency for details.

Giving up some short-term gains

When dealing with planted pines, giving up some short term gains by thinning prematurely will pay long term benefits to your quail population.  With normal pine thinning almost all the undergrowth is choked out by the needles.  After about five years the planted pines will shade and cover the ground with needles enough to kill off most of the weeds and other sources of food that quail must have to sustain.  By thinning your pines before the food source is eliminated the quail have a diverse and steady supply of food.  Another must for planted pines is to adhere to a good burning program so hardwoods can be suppressed and the steady build up of litter can be eliminated.  It is also a good idea to routinely disc areas around your pines, not only for fire prevention but for diverse habitat for your quails.  Young quail need soft areas to find and hunt insects and seeds.

Diversity and Food Sources

The last thing I want to talk about is diversity and the types of food sources that are available to your growing quail population.  I touched a little on diversity in the last section but here is a list that I feel you need to ensure proper diversity.

• Borders to allow hide aways from predators and nesting areas.
• Various forms of food, planted and native.  Improving and increasing the yield of your native food sources is on of the best practices that can be done easily and does not cost a lot of money at all.
• Uncultivated and uncut areas.  If the property you are working with is being cultivated, try to arrange a 15 foot border that will not be harvested or cut.  Be sure to leave areas uncut for a couple years to allow good nesting areas on your property.
• Limit the number of pesticides that are used on crops and planted plots.  By killing off the insects you eliminate a valuable food source for your quail.
• Create patches that allow your young quail to flourish.  Basically all of the above with added areas of disc or plowed soil to make it easier on your little quail.

To me the most valuable and cost effective ideas is to supplement your native sources of food.  If you have native grains, berries, or nuts on your property simply fertilize those areas to increase your yield.  Native plants are almost always more hardy than anything you can plant and are also more resistant to local insects which might damage planted crops.

I hope this article will give you some ideas on simple ways to improve your quail population.  There are many source out there, one of the best being your local county agencies, that can be found so be sure and read them all.

On the trip up my son, always the thoughtful young boy, asked how we could distinguish between the wild doves and the “tame” doves.  After a few minutes, I told him that the neighbor’s doves could not fly that far.  Although he did not come out and say, I was certain he was uncomfortable about shooting the tame doves.

As anticipated, we had a great time and shot a few doves.  One or two landed a few feet from us just like I had bragged in my stories.  We were thrilled that we were able to create a similar experience as I had as a young boy.  What cemented the memory in my mind was when he put his arm around me and asked if we could spend another day and hunt again.

Although my new job prevented us from spending another day on this trip, I made a special effort to spend as much time as I could with him.  I now have a grandson and I can not wait until we get to take him dove hunting in the black berry bushes on the family farm outside Luverne, Alabama.  Maybe my little grandson can shoot the 20 gauge shotgun that my son now owns.

Take time out of your busy schedule to spend time with your children.  Outdoor adventures are a great way to spend time with your kids and you will create memories that will last a life time to you and your children.

Photo by NotQuiteSonic