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I have a hard time finding them when I have a gun in my hands. When I don't they are everywhere. What time do you go out? Goodbye quail season and all, but I need to figure this out for next year.
I've had my best success early in the morning on a foggy day, it seems like they take a while to get wary in the mornings. They seem to like to spend the afternoon in heavy cover and then move around more in the late afternoon in my experience. They seemed extra skittish this season in my part of California.
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think you answered your own question.......maybe try concealed carry? Or try a blind or camo everything, including your underwear and couch.
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here in south alabama, there most active around mid-afternoon.
3-5pm, thats there feeding time here on the farm.
3-5pm, thats there feeding time here on the farm.
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Here in CA .... sniping ground birds of any type is not allowed. Air born flying with a shotgun only.
While CA has very liberal AG hunting laws ... taking Quail, Chucker, Grouse, Pheasants or Ducks & Dove with an air gun is not permitted.
Likely other species fall into this legality.
While CA has very liberal AG hunting laws ... taking Quail, Chucker, Grouse, Pheasants or Ducks & Dove with an air gun is not permitted.
Likely other species fall into this legality.
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Motorhead --=--
Not being argumentative at all but I believe that the California Regulations state that "Migratory game birds may only be taken with shotgun, lead free ammunition." Resident game may be taken with means as directed by those regulations, of which air guns are included.
I urge anyone to not take my word for it, look it up and you should find verbiage of that sort. While the below is not current, it is from 2018, but in essence reads identically in the 2020 regulations. Only trying to set the record straight.
§257. RESIDENT SMALL
GAME DEFINED.
“Resident small game” means the following resident
game birds: Chinese spotted doves, Eurasian
collared-doves, ringed turtle-doves of the family
Columbidae, California quail and varieties
thereof, Gambel’s or desert quail, mountain quail
and varieties thereof, sooty (blue) grouse, ruffed
grouse, sage grouse , white-tailed ptarmigan,
Hungarian partridges, red-legged partridges,
including the chukar and other varieties, ringnecked
pheasants and varieties, and wild turkeys
of the order Galliformes; and the following game
mammals: jackrabbits and varying hares (genus
Lepus), cottontail rabbits, brush rabbits, pigmy
rabbits (genus Sylvilagus), and tree squirrels (genus
Sciurus and Tamiasciurus).
§311. METHODS
AUTHORIZED FOR TAKING
RESIDENT SMALL GAME. (f) Air rifles powered by compressed air or gas
and used with any caliber of pellet, except that
wild turkey may only be taken with a pellet
that is at least 0.177 caliber;
Not being argumentative at all but I believe that the California Regulations state that "Migratory game birds may only be taken with shotgun, lead free ammunition." Resident game may be taken with means as directed by those regulations, of which air guns are included.
I urge anyone to not take my word for it, look it up and you should find verbiage of that sort. While the below is not current, it is from 2018, but in essence reads identically in the 2020 regulations. Only trying to set the record straight.
§257. RESIDENT SMALL
GAME DEFINED.
“Resident small game” means the following resident
game birds: Chinese spotted doves, Eurasian
collared-doves, ringed turtle-doves of the family
Columbidae, California quail and varieties
thereof, Gambel’s or desert quail, mountain quail
and varieties thereof, sooty (blue) grouse, ruffed
grouse, sage grouse , white-tailed ptarmigan,
Hungarian partridges, red-legged partridges,
including the chukar and other varieties, ringnecked
pheasants and varieties, and wild turkeys
of the order Galliformes; and the following game
mammals: jackrabbits and varying hares (genus
Lepus), cottontail rabbits, brush rabbits, pigmy
rabbits (genus Sylvilagus), and tree squirrels (genus
Sciurus and Tamiasciurus).
§311. METHODS
AUTHORIZED FOR TAKING
RESIDENT SMALL GAME. (f) Air rifles powered by compressed air or gas
and used with any caliber of pellet, except that
wild turkey may only be taken with a pellet
that is at least 0.177 caliber;
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Back in the 70's we hunted Quail around Lake Isabella in the southern Sierra Nevada's in the very early morning and again in the early evening.
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Hey Scott
Resident/non-migratory birds don't have the non-lead shotgun federal regulations. As you can see from the chart below they even have specific time/season for falconry and archery. Not sure anyone would do that or how anyone can even get close enough shoot a quail with an arrow. All the hunters I've seen are there for the ducks or pheasants, think quails being so small aren't high on most hunters' radar.
Upland birds fall under resident small game so airgun is specifically listed as authorized method in section 311:
https://govt.westlaw.com/calregs/Browse/Home/California/CaliforniaCodeofRegulations?guid=IAF576B85B35240FA9FE5D7D2B90CFF4E&originationContext=documenttoc&transitionType=Default&contextData=(sc.Default)
https://govt.westlaw.com/calregs/Document/I4462984932EC4A778A20915DE4A94600?viewType=FullText&originationContext=documenttoc&transitionType=CategoryPageItem&contextData=(sc.Default)
Also specifically called out is non-lead ammo only applies to firearms so airgun is fine. I've asked a warden even.
- Beginning July 1, 2019, nonlead ammunition will be required when taking any wildlife with a firearm anywhere in California. See more on nonlead ammunition.
https://wildlife.ca.gov/Hunting/Upland-Game-Birds
2020 - 2021 Seasons and Limits - Quail
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I'm an old guy and have not done much feathered game hunting in many years ... I wrote what i had known in my time of hunting.
Sorry if I had misspoken and stated incorrect or incomplete information.
I did know TURKEY can be taken with air rifles however here in CA.
Sorry if I had misspoken and stated incorrect or incomplete information.
I did know TURKEY can be taken with air rifles however here in CA.
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Well you are not the only person to misspeak here. Misspoken is my middle name. California certainly isn't easy to navigate when it comes to shooting sports. For example, waterfowl must be taken by steel shot from a shotgun, but if you are under a depredation permit you can take them with an airgun. But logically you would think with only nonlead, right? The game wardens have contradicted themselves many times on that. Also shooting areas like Big Sandy Reserve are off limits to pistols and rifles. So the law is written to keep projectiles from traveling to the nearby highway. So essentially it is a shotgun only area. Airguns are prohibited unless it is an airgun shotgun. Silly. You can shoot lead slugs from an air shotgun there, but if you shoot a slug out of a .257 Condor that is illegal. The state is behind the curve on allowing airguns to fill a lot of the void in reserves that only allow shotguns. IDK I can go on forever.
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CA hunting laws are soooo complicated! So there is overall hunting regulations and THEN each hunting areas has area specific additional regulations. You need to be a lawyer to hunt here, I recently did a lot of research and still confusing.
example in the wildlife areas rifles and pistols are not allowed. What about air rifle? That’s no clearly defined and the warden told me it implies any gun with rifling including air guns which is specifically called out as pellet gun not pellet rifle in the regulation!.
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Just an FYI-
The lead ban does not apply to airguns (yet)!
Here's a link-
https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Hunting/Nonlead-Ammunition#25046251-are-pellet-rifles-included-in-the-nonlead-ammunition-ban
The lead ban does not apply to airguns (yet)!
Here's a link-
https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Hunting/Nonlead-Ammunition#25046251-are-pellet-rifles-included-in-the-nonlead-ammunition-ban
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Except with waterfowl...still applies that you need steelshot and must use an airgun shotgun because of the migratory bird act.
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Also an luckily pretdator ammo brand is coming out with more nonlead this year luckily!
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I've been shooting the Baracuda Greens in my .22 R9 for years, it loves them. I tried some of the Predator GTOs in my .22 Marauder and they shot very tight at 30 yards.
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interesting, my understanding the non lead ammo is CA specific and applies only to firearms....at least that’s how I read it.
CA hunting laws:
edit: you are right, after reading the federal regulations it does say non toxic shots. Rather surprised.
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Any ambiguities regarding air guns was settled by an email to the Fish & Game Department. Reply was (in essence) "Yes, air guns are exempt from the lead law." This was as of late 2019, and as stated by qball, California is a moving target (see what I did there?) when it comes to regulations. So please, if you have questions either call or email F&G, they will answer!
Motorhead, you did nothing wrong, I just needed to try and set things straight with regard to this States regulations.
Stay safe Everyone!
mike
Motorhead, you did nothing wrong, I just needed to try and set things straight with regard to this States regulations.
Stay safe Everyone!
mike
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interesting, my understanding the non lead ammo is CA specific and applies only to firearms....at least that’s how I read it.
CA hunting laws:
edit: you are right, after reading the federal regulations it does say non toxic shots. Rather surprised.
Yeah I checked with my warden and found a weird site that explained that the waterfowl migratory bird act supercedes the regular upland game regulations with air rifles and lead. I checked with two separate wardens and they said nonlead is fine except with waterfowl because it is assumed that steel shot is being used as per the migratory bird act. Now, if you have a depredation permit however you can kill them with normal lead pellets (completely inconsistent).
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