My experience hunting for stubble quails in emerald coast

[TK]

I don't know if I am just completely losing it or stubble quails are the hardest animals to hunt in the game.
I only caught a glimpse one time by doing something completely dumb and that was to get close to where I found stubble quail calls, did the whistle to rattle animals around and just ran to the "fleeing" echo location to shoot a photo for the quest, that was the only ever time I came to see one and those tiny choclate beans looked like the nonhuntable birds around layton lake just in black.
I had about a billion echo locations randomly so far and whenever I tried to sneak up to their position they notice me around 60m in some bush where they are completely invisible because they are so tiny.
When I play it EXTREMELY patently and like crawl in their echo direction they are just gone at some point no matter the wind.
I don't want to just bumrush their position with a shotgun or something, I want to properly hunt them.. Maybe someone has the perfect "dumbass do this"-comment for it but I can't seem to figure out how to approach them on my own.
This is the first time I ever felt like something is too fleeting for me to hunt at all in this game.

[TK]

I think I kind of figured it out, I think they are supposed to be shot out of the air. You can hear a clear wing flapping when they take off and they usually stick around a bit in the air before flying off, they don't seem to just rocket turbo out of there.

[Geronimo]

They are tricky for sure.

They tend to stick to the ground, and will just outrun you in the cover.

I typically locate their activity areas, and wander around until I hear their peeping. Than instead of trying to actually sneak up to that location I'll just start walking a circle around it from a distance.

Small birds tend to be busy, always scooting around. So they don't tend to stick in one spot for long. So where you might hear them one minute, they are likely going to be elsewhere a few minutes later.

Typically they only get into the air when they sense that a predator that has spooked them has moved some distance from them. And these birds, like all animals have pathways they tend to follow regularly so identifying those patterns can help you position yourself where you might get a shot as they fly by.

The greatest trick to hunting birds, or any animal, is confusing them so they can't predict your pathway, so it makes sense that their pathway will likewise be their vulnerability.

[McMurgh]

I think bobwhites are much harder. The stubbles you can locate and sneak up to semi close before they alert and take off, and they fly so slow you can run and catch up with them to get off a shot.

[Geronimo]

Originally posted by McMurgh:

I think bobwhites are much harder. The stubbles you can locate and sneak up to semi close before they alert and take off, and they fly so slow you can run and catch up with them to get off a shot.

You're absolutely right Murgh, I was actually detailing hunting Bobwhites in my post thinking that's what the OP was talking about. I forgot there was Stubble Quail. Don't think I've hunted the Stubble yet and I didn't pick up on the location until I read your post. Sry for any confusion.

[TK]

Welp maybe I will encounter extreme bobwhites someday, for now I am fine with just hunting their weaker counterparts.

[Geronimo]

Originally posted by TK:

Welp maybe I will encounter extreme bobwhites someday, for now I am fine with just hunting their weaker counterparts.

Lol, I'll have to give em a try myself.

[McMurgh]

I am glad we are in agreement.

As far as a gentle learning curve for the stubbles, walking around and listening for them in the southwest outback where it's barren and open is much more rewarding than in the jungle terrain. There are some meadow-like areas in the north and near the west coast where visibility is decent, but as far as spotting them from a distance, kangaroo-land is the best.

Once you have seen them, get as close as your stealth allows, but once they cry out the warning there is no graceful alternative. Burst run to their location, shotgun in hand. One thing is, they are so small they look like they're far away but actually not so much.