12/22/2018 My Very First Wild Mississippi Quail Harvest

When my path home to the Texas gulf coast from North Mississippi took me within an hour of some the only huntable wild quail in Mississippi on public land, I had to negotiate a pit stop on the way back to run the IC.

According to the 2018 Mississippi Sportsman WMA forecast, Copiah County Wildlife Management Area and Marion County Wildife Management Area are the only two biologist recommended statewide hunting destinations for Bobwhite Quail. 

Both WMA’s are within 100 miles south of Jackson, but I selected Copiah County for its ease of 55 access and proximity to respectable family friendly Hampton Inn lodging in Brookhaven, MS. 

35 degrees on the Highlander dashboard  

I left the hotel a little before 6 am and grabbed Subway breakfast and coffee at a nearby gas station. 

I arrived at Copiah County WMA HQ about 45 minutes before sunrise, got checked in (which involved posting my hunter access card on a large clipboard as opposed to dropping in box) and headed to what looked like a promising hunt area.

Dublin and I proceeded to walk, and walk, and walk. We walked creek beds and food plots and pine forests and game trails.  

We made a big loop roughly following a creek and eventually observed a man climbing down out of a bow stand indicating we had walked all around all morning and wasted his time. Our bad. We never once saw or heard him until then, though we did jump two deer during our hike. 

On the tail end of allowable hunting (considering the Christmas Eve, Eve 4 hour drive to be made) I jumped a dove out of a pine tree that renewed my focus in being prepared for the shot. 

In pursuit of the dove I cut across a pine forest and off the clear cut roads at one pointing running into a bow hunter who claimed I had wasted his whole morning walking around the bottom. Within 200 yards of where I parked the car, I was amazed to bust a covey of quail, one of which I dropped and absolutely needed Dublin to retrieve. 

I was ridiculously happy and pleased to join the Mississippi Wild Quail Club, adding to the Texas and California Wild Quail clubs. I dressed the bird in a McDonald’s parking lot and put the fowl in a grocery bag and shoved it in my pocket. The ziploc made it to the fridge where the bird sat for a day before being pan fried and devoured.