Fall 2023
Article and photos by Jimmy Jacobs
I came to be a dog person rather late in life. That event occurred when I was given a Brittany named Chris in 2006. She was of indeterminant age at the time, and only later did I discover she was 15 years 2 months old at her passing. In the meantime, we had walked the quail fields together for three seasons.
Though I had hunted quail whenever offered the chance previously, it was not until Chris joined the household that I discovered I really was a bird hunter and dog man. The other thing she imbued in me was the understanding that you should never argue with a good bird dog, but rather believe what they tell you.
That lesson was first introduced on a hunt at J.L. Lester Wildlife Management Area. That tract lies in Morgan Valley, between Rockmart and Cedartown in West Georgia’s Polk County. The WMA is composed of land that was once a private family hunting preserve that the state now owns. The property has continued to be groomed as quail habitat. It hosts a Bird Dog Training Area and is available for use in field trials.
We were running Chris and another Brittany on some released quail in the dog training portion of the WMA. One bird that had flushed and been missed by the hunters, flew over the edge of a bluff that was 15 to 20 feet high. Chris followed its path to the top of the bluff, where she again pointed.
I preceded to kick and stomp through every bit of vegetation in front of her, but found nothing. Still, she held her point. Thinking the quail must have gone on over the bluff and was down below us, I finally got her to break the point and come down there.
Chris On Point.
After sniffing around a bit, Chris circled back up to the top of the bluff and again went on point. Suspecting the bird had actually flown away undetected, or perhaps my dog was becoming senile, I was ready to give up and move on. Chris, however, was having none of it, remaining locked down like a statue.
That is when I happened to look out straight ahead of her. Maybe 30 feet beyond the drop on that side of the bluff and about 15 or 20 feet up a pine sapling, a quail was sitting on a limb at eye level with the dog. Chris obviously could smell it on top of the bluff, but not below. She knew it was there, just not on the ground.
An equally unusual confirmation of the need to believe a bird dog took place on a more recent hunt on the El Model WMA down in South Georgia’s Baker County. While this WMA has a dog training area too, the 1,600-acres tract also has a population of wild quail.
On this day we were in the dog training area, having released some birds there. My present pair of English setters, Lulu and Luke, were joined by Polly Dean’s Chloe and Carly, also English Setters.
At one point, Lulu struck a point along the wood line at the edge of a field. The other dogs quickly joined her, honoring her find. Upon walking in on the point, a cottontail rabbit bolted away down the edge of the field. Luke, Chloe and Carly provided a bit of hot pursuit, but realizing it did not have wings, they broke off and went back to hunting.
Lulu holding her point.
On the other hand, Lulu had never budged. She was still on point at the original spot. After kicking the weeds a bit, I tried to convince her that she was pointing a rabbit that had skedaddled. Still, she would not leave. I even tried toning the shock collar she was wearing, figuring when she heard the sound, she’d break off the point. But, she did not.
With one last discussed kick of the weeds, I started to walk off. As I did, a quail burst from beneath some matted grass and disappeared into the woods.
Like I said earlier, bird dogs don’t lie. When they tell you something, it is best to believe them.
Jimmy Jacobs is the editor of Georgia Outdoor Adventures, as well as being editor/publisher of On The Fly South. He also is a member of the Georgia Outdoor Writers Association. He makes his home in Marietta with his English setters, Luke and Lulu. He can be contacted at jimmyjacobs@mindspring.com.