An American Tradition, Bought and Paid For
Posted 09/02/2013
Yesterday was opening day of dove season here in Kansas, a day that for me and my shorthairs, could not have come any sooner. We live on a small farm here in Kansas, so a short walk out back is all the traveling we have to do to get down to business, so to speak. We did have some decent shooting in the morning, notice I say shooting. Thats because my disappointed dogs thought that my percentage of kills was rather low. There is nothing worse than the disappointment on their faces when you pull up and fire, but yet the bird keeps right on going. During the heat of the afternoon, I decided to tackle a few items off of my honey do list around the yard. As I worked outside I kept my Franchi 20 gauge leaned up against the picnic table close by, just in case a single or two happened by. I put the chores down in the late afternoon, picked up the shotgun, rounded up the dogs, and headed back to my spot to get down to what I hoped would be some better shooting on my part than I had accomplished earlier in the day. I would like to say that my aim was better in the afternoon than it was in the evening, but my dogs would call me a liar.
Well, there you have it. A typical opener to yet another hunting season for me and my dogs. But thats not what this article is about. You see, there were some things missing on this particular opening day. Like the barrage of gunfire from all directions from the various ponds and fields surrounding my property, and the constant traffic driving down my road of trucks and SUVs filled with generations of hunters and their gundogs. Young boys and girls proudly wearing their Kansas Safe Hunter patch, that they had begged their mother to sew onto the shiny new vest that their fathers had bought for them before opening weekend, sitting on the edge of the seat in the truck with their fathers or grandfathers, in anticipation of the hunting trip that seemed as if it was never going to arrive. I remember as a child how excited I was when dad said that it was time to get the shotguns cleaned up. I dont ever recall getting any sleep the night before a hunt. I remember those small cafes we would stop for breakfast at, that were filled with what looked like a sea of camouflage and hunters orange. I remember stopping in the middle of a country road so my dad could talk shop with another group of hunters and their dogs just to see how their hunt was going and to tell them about ours, all the while wanting him to hurry up so we could get on to the next stop. I remember driving to Nebraska to hunt with my dad and his dad, and my uncle Steve.
Now days, things are very different. In this part of the country there are roads that you had better not drive too slow down or ever stop on, unless you feel like wasting half an hour of your hunting day explaining to a law enforcement officer just what it is you are doing, and why you are doing it. And forget about stopping at a farm house and asking for permission to hunt, if it isnt leased out to the highest paying outfitter around, it is probably leased out to a doctor or lawyer with a brand new top of the line hunting vest, a fancy shotgun that he doesnt know how to shoot, and a five thousand dollar bird dog that dont know his name, is supporting GPS, a brand new shock collar, and probably still has remnants of buckshot from the last time his owner accidentally peppered him. Thats right folks, if you want to hunt today, it seems that it is going to cost you. If you look in the classifieds or on Craigslist, you will see ad after ad of hunting leases for sale all over. Dont get me wrong, I dont and cannot blame the land owners for this. Times are tough all over, and you cant blame anybody for trying to make a few extra bucks to provide for his family. We have gun control advocates pushing legislation in Washington. It seems they push more laws every year that take more of our freedoms away. Look what gun control has done to some of the great gundog bloodlines in European countries. Are they still gundogs when their owners gave up their rights to have guns? I find it very sad, and I hope that that day never comes in the USA. If it does, I just hope that I am not around to see it.
In closing I would like to say keep the tradition alive. Load up your children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, kid down the street, anyone that shows an interest, and take them to a hunters safety seminar, a field trial, a hunt test, or most importantly, take them hunting. Thanks for reading.
Well, there you have it. A typical opener to yet another hunting season for me and my dogs. But thats not what this article is about. You see, there were some things missing on this particular opening day. Like the barrage of gunfire from all directions from the various ponds and fields surrounding my property, and the constant traffic driving down my road of trucks and SUVs filled with generations of hunters and their gundogs. Young boys and girls proudly wearing their Kansas Safe Hunter patch, that they had begged their mother to sew onto the shiny new vest that their fathers had bought for them before opening weekend, sitting on the edge of the seat in the truck with their fathers or grandfathers, in anticipation of the hunting trip that seemed as if it was never going to arrive. I remember as a child how excited I was when dad said that it was time to get the shotguns cleaned up. I dont ever recall getting any sleep the night before a hunt. I remember those small cafes we would stop for breakfast at, that were filled with what looked like a sea of camouflage and hunters orange. I remember stopping in the middle of a country road so my dad could talk shop with another group of hunters and their dogs just to see how their hunt was going and to tell them about ours, all the while wanting him to hurry up so we could get on to the next stop. I remember driving to Nebraska to hunt with my dad and his dad, and my uncle Steve.
Now days, things are very different. In this part of the country there are roads that you had better not drive too slow down or ever stop on, unless you feel like wasting half an hour of your hunting day explaining to a law enforcement officer just what it is you are doing, and why you are doing it. And forget about stopping at a farm house and asking for permission to hunt, if it isnt leased out to the highest paying outfitter around, it is probably leased out to a doctor or lawyer with a brand new top of the line hunting vest, a fancy shotgun that he doesnt know how to shoot, and a five thousand dollar bird dog that dont know his name, is supporting GPS, a brand new shock collar, and probably still has remnants of buckshot from the last time his owner accidentally peppered him. Thats right folks, if you want to hunt today, it seems that it is going to cost you. If you look in the classifieds or on Craigslist, you will see ad after ad of hunting leases for sale all over. Dont get me wrong, I dont and cannot blame the land owners for this. Times are tough all over, and you cant blame anybody for trying to make a few extra bucks to provide for his family. We have gun control advocates pushing legislation in Washington. It seems they push more laws every year that take more of our freedoms away. Look what gun control has done to some of the great gundog bloodlines in European countries. Are they still gundogs when their owners gave up their rights to have guns? I find it very sad, and I hope that that day never comes in the USA. If it does, I just hope that I am not around to see it.
In closing I would like to say keep the tradition alive. Load up your children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, kid down the street, anyone that shows an interest, and take them to a hunters safety seminar, a field trial, a hunt test, or most importantly, take them hunting. Thanks for reading.
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Last Hunt
John Cole had been hunt master on Old Pine Plantation thirty years. Before that he had worked on other plantations in the quail belt, that land between Albany and Tallahassee where quail still thrived, thanks to Yankee old money, fire, and God's providence. He'd been born on one where his father before him had trained bird dogs and managed hunts for the owner and his guests, "folks with more money than good sense," his father used to say.
One Who Gave For Us-And Paid A Price
"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."
