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Published September 1, 2010
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Fall is just around the corner. Although we will still experience a 100-degree day, we have had some cool
mornings.
Any kinda cooler weather should feel good to anyone in our part of the world. I saw 67 degrees on the bank clock one morning last week. Now I’m lookin’ for something in the 50’s.
As we read this, we find that dove season opens Saturday. The Wildlife & Fisheries should have this year’s hunting pamphlets available to the public by Friday. It’s simply amazing to me that most all the other states can print and deliver a
current pamphlet before the opening week of season and Louisiana can
’t. Makes you wonder what else is behind. Be sure to buy your small game license. This is our primary license, so you just as well go ahead and buy it. Since doves are classified as a Federal migratory bird, be sure to check the
plug in your shotgun.
Actually, there is no game animal or season that permits the use of a shotgun
holding more than three (3) shells.
Remember the limit on doves this year is 12.
As we celebrate this “long” weekend, Labor Day occurs Monday, be thankful. Be thankful that you have a job. Be thankful that you have a job that lets you off on the National holiday. Many working people will have to report to work; i.e., military, law
enforcement, firefighters and medical personal, to list just a few.
If you find a place that looks huntable and there is nobody around, there is
probably a reason.
It’s just like deer hunting, you have to have a place to hunt. Ask before you go. Trespassing can give hunters a really bad name. Do not trespass. Remember every square foot of land in Louisiana is owned by someone or
something.
If you get invited to go hunting and find yourself in a place you ought not to
be, leave.
Every year the game wardens swarm some place and write everybody up. I don’t know when crow season closes. With the corn and milo acreage in the parish this year, I would find a place or
field near water.
Doves love water holes and leafless trees.
Make every effort to locate downed birds. I almost always shoot one bird and watch it hit the ground. Almost without fail, it will hit a blade of grass. Never taking my eyes off that one spot, I drop a white handkerchief at the spot
I
’m standing and walk to the bird. The handkerchief gives me a second reference point in case I’m unable to find my bird and lets me pick up my empty shell.
Most of all, be careful. Again, be aware of who you are around. If you wind up near some one that appears careless, move. There will be another day. Remember, alcohol, drugs and gunpowder do not mix.
Enjoy yourself. Hopefully, it will be a nice day Saturday. Carry at least two lawn chairs. We almost always hunt with friends, and sitting under a good cool tree with a
cold drink watching the younguns is one of life
’s great pleasures.
Don’t make work out of this sport. This is a social function with groups often cooking near the field.
Be reminded that bow and arrow (deer) season opens in a month. Many WMA’s and refuges require a Bow Hunting Safety Course card to hunt these areas. A call to Wildlife & Fisheries or the Sheriff’s Office (318-744-5411) might yield the next class date and location.
One last hint. Be aware of where you are while in the outdoors. If you notice or see any strange looking plants or people “not in place,” call the Sheriff’s Office (318-744-5411) and give simple instructions or details of what you have
found or seen.
If you get a chance, take a kid fishing or hunting. For that matter, take anyone. One doesn’t have to kill to enjoy our outdoors. Some of the best friends and meals are made “at the camp.”
Published August 25, 2010
August. As we read this week’s column, we find August just about gone. It’s hard to believe that Fall is just around the corner, and, hopefully, cool
weather.
Rain now is just on a parallel with a “catch 22" situation. Our agricultural row crop community needs the fair weather now to complete this
year
’s crop. On the other hand, the livestock producers and general population could use a
rain.
It’s just pitiful to go across a pasture and see the grass just literally dying. A grass fire now could be a feared event.
OK, parents, grandparents, and guardians: If you have a kid that you are fixin’ to buy his or her first shotgun, listen to me. Buy a pump or semi-automatic shotgun. Hear me out. These shotguns are much safer than an ol’ single barrel. These shotguns can “grow” with the young shooter also. I know a lot of you think this is far-fetched as this is probably not how we
were brought up.
But think about what you’re fixin’ to read.
Ol’ Ruff started off with a Winchester 20 gauge semi-automatic shotgun. I found an old stock, cut it to fit him and he used it for two or three years. Ruff shot this shotgun until he graduated up to a 12-gauge pump, so, as he said,
he could
“help me shoot up my old shells.”
20 gauge semi-automatic shotgun. Take the magazine plug out and replace it with a full length (magazine) plug. A wood dowel or an aluminum arrow works fine. This procedure allows the shotgun to hold and fire only one shell. Anyone can simply drop a shell into the ejection chamber and press a button to
load.
A cross bolt safety, usually located near the rear of the receiver, allows for a
positive and simple safety.
Upon the gun firing, the bolt will lock back allowing for visual safety for
anyone standing around.
This type of shotgun will dampen the recoil of the firearm, thus keeping these
little fellows from becoming scared.
Until these young shooters prove themselves, this single shot shotgun will start
them off, and later let them keep their
“first shotgun.” As the safety level of these youngsters increases, this long plug can be
shortened to allow for one shell in the magazine and one in the barrel, giving
them a two-shot shotgun.
As responsibility increases, the gun can be returned to its original three-shot
capacity.
This same little shotgun that Ruff started with got Chunk, Margaret Ann’s Maw-in-Law’s great grandson, started. Now he’s moved up to a Winchester Super X-1 in 12 gauge and has passed the little 20
gauge on to his little brother, Tater.
Please don’t send a youngster huntin’ with a hammered .410 single barrel that even the best of shooters couldn’t hit anything with. Don’t delay. As I mentioned, hunting season is just around the corner. A shotgun with screw-in chokes is a must as young shooters may start with the
open chokes and progress to the tighter
“tubes.” Check with Tom at Lake St. John Grocery (318-757-0013) or Mike at Mike’s gun Shop (318-435-7176) as both places have a good selection of new and used
shotguns.
Mike can also install the screw-in chokes in some barrels. You need to bring the desired barrel for visual inspection.
I have already noticed vehicles driving around in places they have no legitimate
business.
My only verbal encounter revealed that “Oh, I just hadn’t been down in here in a long time!” Dead-end public roads are certainly for public use, but when you drive through
an opened gate or cross a cattle gap without permission, you are trespassing.
You can bet with dove season opening September 4th, landowners will find and see
more people ridin
’ around, lookin’, ruttin’ up turnrows, and just generally being on someone else’s property without so much as a thought of asking permission. Ask before you hunt!
September 4th, as far as I know, dove season. Don’t wait. Get your ol’ gun out, inspect it well, shoot it a few times. Hang a sheet of newspaper on a fence, make sure the area behind the target is
safe, and pattern
your shotgun. Start buying some shells. Always check with landowners before attempting to travel or hunt on their
property.
Do your homework now. In a few days, you’ll probably have a good hunt. Teach and think “safety.”
As always, if you get a chance, take a kid fishing or hunting. For that matter, take anyone. One doesn’t have to kill to enjoy our outdoors. Some of the best meals and friends are made “at the camp.”
Published August 18, 2010
Boy, when will we see another cool morning, evening, day or spell again? Lord, have mercy, the heat and dry weather have taken its toll on me. If it weren’t for the two-tenths here and three-tenths there of rain, I just don’t know what we would do. Next thing we know, we will be trying to see how much clothing we can get on!
We are just a couple of weeks away from our first hunting season of our
2010-2011 hunting seasons. To wit:
Dove season. Make an effort to buy this year’s Basic hunting license sometime this week. Waiting until Saturday morning before noon will surely result in a computer
glitch at a given location requiring you to travel outa your way to get said
license.
Start buying a box of shells here and there. Trying to buy 10 boxes of shells Saturday morning, your license, food and
drinks, gas for your truck and 4-wheeler
—well, you see how many American dollars you are trying to keep in circulation on
the opening morning of dove season?
Get your ol’ shotgun out and give it a good going over. Will your choke tubes unscrew? Do you even know where your other tubes are? Go to a Wal-Mart somewhere and buy a box of clay pigeons. This will give a little warm-up practice for you and your hunting partners.
By the time we read this and before we get another Booster, school starting will
be imminent.
Be reminded that another bunch of 15 and 16-year-olds will be driving to and
from school and school events.
You probably already know who has a new (clunker) set of wheels.
Once again I remind you to be aware of tractors and combines on the highway. One of these machines doing 18 to 20 miles an hour is all it will do. Pass it! Don’t get up beside some of this mammoth equipment and slow down to look. I drove a farm tractor with duals on it to Peck one day last week on the Hill
Road.
Low and behold, a little ol’ car got behind me and attempted to follow me. Followed me all the way to Joe Bondurant’s curves and passed me in the curves. Idiots!
Don’t forget your 4-wheeler and ATV trailer. Boy, nothing can mess a hunt up like a flat tire or weak battery.
If you get a chance, take a kid fishing or hunting. For that matter take anyone. One doesn’t have to kill to enjoy our outdoors. Some of the best friends and meals are made “at the camp.”
Published August 11, 2010
We finally got a rain here around our house. Over 2 ½ inches fell here late Saturday afternoon. Any kinda rain now is almost a “Catch 22” for our farmers. Our livestock producers can take a rain this time of year. Anyway, at least our yards will green up again. I’ll just be glad to see a 60-degree morning with a high of 79!
As we read this week’s paper, we find August about half gone and September just around the corner. Two major events are now in full swing: School and fall harvest. We will need to pay close attention to our roads and highways. Kids of all ages will line the sides of the roads now as they are up and at it,
ready to catch the school bus.
One might need to leave home for work a few minutes early. And after we get past morning, we have the farm-to-market vehicles and the
harvest equipment moving on our roads.
Please pay close attention to these vehicles. The loaded trucks are just trying to get to a grain elevator. Don’t pull out in front of one of these vehicles. There just ain’t many places for a loaded truck to “pull off the road.” The harvest equipment is often huge and bulky. I can assure you the operators of this equipment would much rather be in a
field.
If you intend to pass a combine (or later, a picker), pass ‘im. This machine is dodging signs, mailboxes and other objects on or near the
shoulder and more often than not, the rear vision is limited.
‘Nough said.
Hunting season is just around the corner. Don’t wait until the last day to see if your ATV will crank or the tires hold air. Again, there appears to be a good number of doves around, around a harvested
field and water.
Of course I ain’t got a clue as to how much rain we might receive between now and September 6th.
If it stays dry, concentrate on watering holes. Scout your place out, look for shade of some sort to hide and seek relief from
the September heat.
Once again I remind everyone that every square foot of land in Louisiana is
owned by someone or something.
Thus every square foot of land in Louisiana is posted. Get permission to hunt on lands you do not own, rent or lease.
Some basics for the upcoming seasons. Buy your license. All repeating shotguns must be plugged; i.e., one shell in the chamber, two in
the magazine.
Dove season will open September 4th at Noon. Limit will be 12 per day (as of this writing). Baiting: Same rules as always. Know the area you are hunting. If in doubt, don’t take a chance. The Eurasian collared dove may be taken only in open dove season. No limit provided that a fully feathered wing and head remain attached to the
carcass.
If this bird is picked, it will count as a 12-limit bag. For further details and information, call Wildlife & Fisheries. Try to find some clay pigeons and have a friendly practice shoot. This will give you some practice and give your ol’ shotgun a little workout. Hang a clay pigeon on a fence or stick and let a youngun fire on it. “Chunk”, Margaret Ann’s Maw-in-law’s great grandson, busted his first here at our house. If we could have only had a picture box or a moving picture camera right then
and there, an unforgettable image would have been captured.
A common clay pigeon and a reloaded .20 gauge shell brought about such an
expression I will remember for the rest of my life.
We still have warm weather and boating activities. Do not get in a boat without a good life jacket. And I say good, meaning one that will fit you and one that is serviceable. Please don’t get in a boat and put your life jacket in a rod well or storage compartment. Even if you are dead in the water and fishing, keep a life saving device within
sight and reach.
If you get a chance, take a kid fishing or hunting. For that matter take anyone. One doesn’t have to kill to enjoy our outdoors. Some of the best friends and meals are made “at the camp.”