Youth hunter for upland birds

[Bob33]

It seems a bit inappropriate to ask about this with all the fires going on, but I’d like to introduce a youth to upland bird hunting this year and am asking for advice on some areas to consider. No bird dog: just an adult and youth. Ideally, there would be multiple opportunities to shoot.

There is a youth-only season September 19 and 20 for quail and partridge. There’s also the September grouse opener, and finally the September dove season.

I’ve heard there are reasonable numbers of quail on the Yakama Reservation. If true, how difficult is it to get access there?

What areas should I consider that would offer a good chance of finding a place to hunt, and a reasonable chance of finding birds?

[bobcat]

The best birds to hunt without a dog are grouse and doves, in my opinion. I would try to find a place to hunt doves in the Moses Lake area. Some of the public land can be good, and there may be some properties listed on the WDFW site under the Hunt by Reservation program.

Grouse might be tough this year just because of all the fires, smoke, and closed areas. Otherwise I would recommend grouse in the NE, or Chelan and Okanogan counties. I've been thinking about taking my daughters grouse hunting on September 1st but not sure where to go that isn't burning up.

[vandeman17]

Quail are as thick as thieves over here and no dogs needed. Doves can be hammered too. PM if you want and I can give you a few places to check out

[asmith]

I will be taking my 15 year old daughter out again this year.  We have a spot in here in Lincoln County that has a very good number of quail and you can also run into some huns as well.  Shoot me a pm in you make it this way!

[ribka]

Bob

can show you some areas on the Yak rez

[Bob33]

Thanks to all of you! I'll follow up with PMs.

[NW-GSP]

How old is the hunter?

[Bob33]

13

[NW-GSP]

If your interested in going to a pheasant release site on the west side I can run one of my two pointing dogs for your kid.

[Bob33]

Thank you for the offer. I'm hoping to find a place to hunt wild birds.

[JLS]

Plenty of doves in Grant County.  Desert WLA, Lower Crab Creek, Quincy Lakes.

If you want to do a hunt with a dog later in the season, let me know.  I'll be out of state all through the middle of September.  I only hunt wild birds.

[Birdguy]

Bob, that youth pheasant hunt on the west side release sites can be a LOT of fun for the kids and certainly a new hunter. I know at the sites by us there are always neat guys with great dogs hanging out waiting for a kid or five to show up to hunt. They are usually regulars to the site and often have an "idea" where birds are. Makes for a  great time and frees you up to take some great pictures. It is only one weekend, but the slower release birds are a little easier for the youth to catch up with. It will leave you plenty of time to find wild birds later in the season.
No matter what you decide it should be a blast!

[AspenBud]

The question in my mind is has this kid been out hunting before?

Upland hunting can be tough without a dog, particularly when it comes to wild birds. Make sure you aren't setting the kid up for a bad impression. Plenty of kids have gotten a start in fishing by going after abundant pan fish in a lake. Plenty of others have been turned off of it when their Dads started them on salmon and got skunked repeatedly.

Unless someone is sharing a true gem of a honey hole I think grouse are your best bet. Having said that, don't curl your lip too much at hunting a release site with someone else's dog. In a lot of ways upland hunting centers on the dog and anyone being introduced to the game should see how that works. Even in a canned situation.

Regardless, good on you for trying to show a youth the ropes.

[dwils233]

I'm not sure if you want to make the trip all the way to spokane but the local Pheasants Forever chapter has their annual youth hunt coming up on Sept 19. I can shoot you a PM with more info if you are interested. Wild birds possibly supplemented with some donated preserve birds hunting over dogs with experienced handlers and volunteers