My Arizona quail hunting load out;  pump shotgun, bird Belt with water bottle and a few other essentials that I don't ever leave the truck without.

If we get enough rain and if we get it at the right time of the year Arizona produces some great quail hunting.  In fact, there are a few places where you hunt three different kinds of quail at the same time but it isn't anything like hunting Bob Whites in the Midwest where I grew up.  Hunting quail (Gambel's are the most common in Arizona) here can be an aerobic sport.  More times than not, they don't covey up, they run and so do you if you want to be successful. 

I have hunted quail off a quad, out of a pick up, from the back of a dune buggy, and over dogs but my favorite way is still to just walk 'em up.  Over the course of a full day you can cover a lot of ground especially if you keep getting into birds.  That means you can end up a long way from the truck by the time the sun goes down and it isn't all that uncommon to get turned around so I always make sure I am prepared.  

I use a jacket or vest in Kansas but prefer a bird belt in Arizona.  My favorite is one is from Filson but it, of course, isn't available anymore.  I carry two or three boxes of seven and a half shot shells in the side pockets and some TP in a zip lock in the rear bird pocket.  On the belt between the pockets is a water bottle carrier from The Wilderness and SPOT unit and a Petzl e+Lite mini headlamp in a military compass case.  I also carry a Storm Whistle on a lanyard around my neck, a bandana in my back pants pocket and a bic lighter in the leg pocket.  That's about it.   

As for which gun is the best.  Well I guess it is the one that gets the job done but in this country I use a 12 gauge because you have to reach out 50, 60 even 70 yards sometimes.  We have a number of shotguns from Benelli, Browning, Remington, Franchi, and Winchester to choose from.  Most are fancier and more expensive but my favorite is the one I started with more than 30 years ago.  I got the Remmington 870 Wingmaster pictured above when I was thirteen years old and with the exception of cutting and choking the original barrel, I haven't had to do a thing to it. 

Shoot it and clean it once in a blue moon, that's it.  Quail, dove, coyotes, pheasant and clay pigeons.  I don't know how many tens of thousands of rounds I have run through that thing but it still works like a champ and it doesn't look to bad considering all it has been through.  It is the shotgun that still fits me the best and the one I prefer to carry for hours at a time.  So, what do you suppose Coop D got for his birthday from Big Pappa this year?  A brand new Remmington 870 Youth Model in 20 gauge.  And when he gets too big it will be handed down to TyGar and then to TBeau...as it should be.

Thanks.

Wade Nelson
Editor

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