Another common occurrence was for the coveys to run out of the way as the hunting party approached, especially after they had been shot at earlier in the hunting season. Several coveys were notorious for this and would simply pick up and fly off, unseen, as soon as they heard the hunting party approaching. Coveys also were missed when birds were pointed but refused to get up. Even a good attempt at flushing was not successful in some cases. These coveys would flush only when they were about to be stepped on.
Many variables affect the efficiency of pointing dogs in locating bobwhite coveys.
Weather can affect feeding patterns and scenting conditions. The condition of the ground cover and hunting pressure affect covey behavior and, in turn, dog performance. All these variables apparently average out over the course of a hunting season as evidenced by the fairly consistent detection rate among years. In 107 of the 392 encounters with radio-tagged birds no covey was seen after a dog pointed. A covey running 100 yards or more was common, and in at least one incidence a entire covey ran 500 yards before eventually flushing wild.