"Take a Kid quail hunting!"_ Rick Allen
A beautiful clear day, the air crisp, the German shorthair pointer casts both left and right searching for its quarry. In an instant from going at full gallop to a rock solid point the dog has found it’s prey. The hunter loads a trusty 20 ga. Browning over and under with a load of 7 ˝ shot, steps forward, flushes a bobwhite quail, with fluid instinct, mounts the gun, takes aim and folds the speeding bird. The hunter breaks open the action of the shotgun, kneels and awaits the retrieve. Upon bird in hand, it is bagged; both hunter and dog go forward, both knowing in their heart that a long time hunter, Fred Bear said it best, “it is not about the kill, but how the day was spent”. A story from 30 years ago when quail abounded in the state, when small game was the dominate species? No, it was a scene from this past February when I had the pleasure of escorting Miss Alison Yeager on an annual quail hunt that is sponsored for the youth group of the Blue Grass Sportsman’s League. This was Alison’s first attempt at bird hunting and her first time in the field shooting over a dog. I am proud to have escorted Miss Yeager on her first quail hunt for she handled herself as a seasoned veteran. While this may have been her first quail hunt, she is quickly becoming an accomplished hunter. The young 11 year old successively killed her first deer this past year with her mother Amy as her guide. Alison, daughter of Jim and Amy Yeager was also named the BGSL Youth Sportsman of the Year for her past accomplishments.
The annual youth quail hunt was hosted by the Pointer & Setter Division as a way to introduce today’s youth in the inherent fun of working dogs and hunting. The Division has hosted this event for several years; they provide the birds, dogs and dog handlers. One great way to introduce a young person into the sporting world is to take them hunting with a dog, for kids and dogs go together naturally.
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