Montezuma quail (Cyrtonyx montezumae) are one of the least understood upland game birds in North America. The lack of ecological studies on Montezuma quail may be attributed to the inability of researchers to capture the secretive bird. We evaluated techniques that are commonly used for capturing other upland game of North America including funnel traps, trained dogs and hand-nets, audio calls, portable mist nets, and night-netting in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas, USA, 2000–2001. The modified mist net was the most successful technique employed for capturing nonradiotagged Montezuma quail; however, its application may be limited to grassland and savannah communities. Researchers attempting to capture Montezuma quail should employ a variety of capture techniques and then bolster sample sizes using night-netting.