There’s one thing about being a hunter or fisherman. You’re for sure not going find yourself bored or disinterested when the moment of truth arrives.
I read an excellent article in the current issue of Turkey Country magazine penned by my good friend and writer, Jim Spencer with the topic being the adrenalin rush that is a part of turkey hunting.
I can readily identify with Spencer as I’m convinced nothing in the sporting field comes close to the effect wild turkey gobblers have on me. From my first gobbler I shot in Alabama in 1992 to number 37 I got on my hunting lease this past season, they have all given me a heart-pounding rush. If the sight and sound of an approaching gobbler in full strut no longer excited me, I’d find some other outdoor pursuit.
Deer can create something similar. This past season, I hunted during the late November rut and when three does I’d watched ease off into the thicket came rushing out across my shooting lane half an hour later, I knew something had alarmed them and I suspected it was an amorous buck.
I guessed right because a few minutes later, the nice 8 point I’d seen the week before stepped out into the lane with his nose to the ground, obviously interested in the does. As soon as the three dashed across the lane, I got my rifle into position and when the buck walked out, I was ready. The 200 pound buck with a 17 inch inside spread was one of the better trophies I’ve taken. Was there a rush when he stepped out? You bet there was.
The rush hits me every time on opening day of squirrel season when I see the first branch of an oak being jostled. I know what it is because I’ve seen it hundreds of times. I never fail to feel the excitement when I know I’m getting to play games with the first squirrel of the season.
How about duck hunting? I grew up hunting wood ducks down on the slough back home and few things caused my heart to skip a beat like hearing the rush of wind through wing feathers and the shrill call at daybreak as a squealer duck comes twisting and barreling down through the trees, intent on landing on the water at my feet.
A couple of weeks ago, I felt the rush again when I hunted quail with Rusty Cook with www.bayoubirdhunts.com on his fields near Bastrop. My son-in-law, Keith Johnson and granddaughter, Hannah, hunted with me as Butch and Zeek, Cook’s two highly skilled pointers, worked the field and found the birds.
There is nothing quite as satisfying as watching two bird dogs working quail and when one points, the other immediately freezes and honors his partner. He may be 50 yards from the dog on point but he stops and freezes in position just like his buddy.
This hunt took me back to years ago when a covey of quail would flush virtually underfoot. There are few events to get the heart racing more than a dozen buzz-bombs bursting from cover five feet away.
Our Bastrop hunt provided rush after rush as the birds exploded from cover as we moved in behind the dogs. Mounting the shotgun and swinging with a bird and touching the trigger provided a special rush, especially when the quail folded in air in a puff of feathers.
I don’t play golf nor do I bowl but I’m sure there is a rush when a golfer scores a hole-in-one or in bowling when a perfect 300 game is registered. However as for me, I’ll put the rush I get every time I hear a gobbler, a wood duck careening down at daylight or see a bird dog on point against golf and bowling any day.
FISHING REPORT – Due to unprecedented rainfall amounts flooding virtually every lake in the area, there is no fishing report this week.
Glynn Harris Outdoor column is sponsored by D.C. Pawn in Minden