Hunting California Quail Without a Dog: First Light to the Cooler
No dog yet? The first morning on California quail on foot: listening for coveys, walking them up, working singles, and finding the bird you hit.
Reading Alan: What a Flushing Dog's Posture, Tail Set, and Cadence Tell You About a Covey
Your gundog is telling you where the birds are. Here's how to read posture, tail set, head carriage, and cadence — three seasons with an English cocker on California cover.
The Hill You Don't Climb: Off-Road Driving Skills for California Hunting Access
Two one-day classes at Hollister Hills changed how we get to birds — and, more often, how we decide not to. Trail spotting, hill aborts, left-foot braking, and treating the rig like it has to bring you home.
Dove Tacos: A 30-Minute Recipe for Opener Night
The recipe I cook on opener night: seared mourning dove medallions, charred tortillas, cabbage, lime, and a salsa you can make on a tailgate. Thirty minutes, one pan, honest quantities — eight to twelve doves feeds two hunters four tacos apiece.
Last-Minute Opener Checklist
Nine days to the California dove opener. The checklist we run before every September 1 — paperwork, shells, pattern, field and backup, water and ice, the dog's heat plan, and the ten-minute regs check that saves the morning.
Opener Morning Loadout: Vest, Shells, Water, Dog
What actually goes in the truck and the vest for September 1: a case of nonlead, the water math for a 95-degree morning, shade and a seat, hearing protection, ice for the birds, the person who knows where you are — and a pre-dawn checklist you can forward to the friend who always forgets HIP.
Pre-Season Clay Practice for California Upland Hunters: Building the Right Reps Before Opening Day
Planning a summer of clay practice for California upland hunting: the sporting clays, skeet, and 5-stand presentations instructors match to dove openers, quail rises, and chukar shots.
Nonlead Shot for Dove: What Works at 25 Yards
A 25-yard crossing dove is the shot of the California opener. What the pattern board and the published data say about steel 6s and 7s, bismuth 7s and 8s, IC versus modified, and the price of a 15-bird volume day.
Patterning Nonlead Shot before the 2026 California Dove and Quail Openers: A July and August Range Session Plan
A July range-session plan for patterning nonlead shotshells before the 2026 California dove opener — steel, bismuth, and choke selection for mourning dove.
Heat Safety for Bird Dogs: California Off-Season Conditioning as Temps Rise
California bird dog heat safety as spring temps climb — recognizing hyperthermia, water access, timing runs, and conditioning honestly through the off-season.
How to Scout Public Land for Upland Birds Without Leaving Your Couch (Then What to Do When You Get There)
Field notes for California upland hunters — chukar, valley quail, pheasant, and the country and dogs that put them in the bag.