Quail hunting trips in Bulgaria - Hunting area Баланите 5301

Quail hunting in Bulgaria

Quails hunting trips in Bulgaria

Quail hunting in Bulgaria - one of the two types of wing shooting in Bulgaria that can take place as early as August. Quail hunting is carried out primarily in the early hours of the day. It’s recommended you be at the hunting grounds by 6:00 AM.

In the beginning of the season, it is best you hunt until 10:00 AM and from 16:00 to 19:00 in the afternoon because of the high temperatures which impede the dogs work. During that period, it’s advisable you choose hunting grounds that are at greater altitudes. Practice shows us that quails prefer higher mountainous regions when the temperatures start to rise. They are most commonly encountered in meadows where different sorts of millet grow, in flat fields of harvested grain crops or the so called stubble fields where weeds are dominant.

The use of dogs of English breed (Pointer, Setter, etc.) is recommended. Hunting quails in passages is the most intense and successful method, when groups of 1000 to 3000 birds are formed. The season for this kind of wing shooting in Bulgaria is from the 1st of September to the 1st of October. During this period, temperatures are lower and it’s possible to hunt throughout the course of the entire day. A single hunter can shoot more than 100 birds during this type of hunt.

If the dogs are well trained, it is possible to shoot around 15 - 30 quails in about 2 - 4 hours. Our advice is to only shoot when the dog is in its pointing stance. That way there is equality between the hunter and the prey, and the hunt itself is pleasant. The dog has to be well trained, have a firm pointing stance and be a good retriever.

Young dogs can be brought along on this hunt, because they gain qualities and experience, making them better helpers when hunting other types of birds. The dog must work hard to find the game and, after the shot, bring it back to the hunter. If it learns to find quails then it will be able to find all other types of birds with ease. The recommended shooting distance is 20 to 30 meters. When the dog is standing still but there is nothing in front of it, it should be allowed to pick up the scent of the fleeing animal.

During group hunts the participant have to walk slowly and stop every 10 - 15 paces for about 30 seconds. That way the birds that press themselves down to the ground are forced to leave their cover and the dogs are given a chance to pick up their scents. When hunting in a group (4 - 5 hunters) we must always know the position of our fellow hunters. Whenever a person from the group fires their gun in an attempt to shoot down a bird, the others have to wait for him and then fire. Usually a region is searched with the group forming a line, complying with the safety measures.

The quails are completely wild; the populations are not mixed with birds raised in captivity. The best hunting period starts on the 1st of September and ends on the 1st of October. The hunting terrains are mountainous, hilly and farmlands.