Outdoor Odyssey

The last couple of weeks several of my friends have sent me pictures of cats in the wild.

Dave Lazor started it with a picture of a big, mountain lion in central Washington.  Dave and I spent a lot of time together playing senior softball and fishing for speckled trout, but he’s moved back home to Washington.  No more speck fishing but the lucky guy gets to fish for steelheads and salmon!

A local Goldthwaite man, Clayton Gist, sent me a picture of a big, 28, pound, female Bobcat he trapped the last week of December.  This is the second big one he has trapped in the past two months.  November 30th I posted a story, "Clayton’s Bobcat" along with a picture of the cat.

Randy Pfaff followed these up with a picture of a fine, mountain lion he shot in Colorado.  Randy was Warren Blesh’s guide for the nice muley that Warren shot in November and it was pictured along with several other pictures from Randy, in "Pictures from Randy Pfaff, Outfitter, Colorado".

Mills County has a lot of sheep and goats and they draw bobcats like "flies to honey".  We have one that lives around our place and , maybe, I'll get a shot at, or of it, this turkey/predator season?

And, we also have a lot of cattle and deer, and they draw mountain lions.  The closest lion was killed 2 years ago about 20 miles south of my place.  They haven't moved any closer, but who knows, maybe this year?

Paul’s First Deer

Layla and our 2 Daughters, along with 2 of our Grandchldren, Colton, age 2+, and Mikayla, Age, -1 were visiting at our house in Houston, while Mike Mitchell and Paul Culbertson, our 2 Son-In-Laws and I had taken this opportunity to crowd in a day and a half of Deer and Quail hunting at my “Big Country” lease at Millersview, in Concho County.  

Driving to Goldthwaite, I picked up the boys and we hurried the 55 miles to the lease.  Arriving, Mike who had been working all day, decided to take a shower, while Paul and I choose Deer hunting.

During past hunting trips to the lease I had scouted for Deer extensively and had come up with several spots that showed promise.  One of these was a dead mesquite that overlooked a game trail leading to the stock tank 200 yards south, and as Paul scrooched down behind the tree, I spread out several hands full of corn along the trail to, hopefully, coerce a buck to stop and take a bite.   I headed a half mile, to the north, along another game trail, spread some more corn and climbed into a 15 foot Deer blind, tower.

The wind picked up from the east, 12 to 15 MPH, as I checked my watch, 4:15 P.M. and began to scan my immediate area.  Here came a Turkey, he’s got a beard, so I just watched it nibble at the corn.  The rancher leases the ranch to a Turkey outfitter in the spring and doesn’t allow us to shoot one.  The 2,000 acre, ranch had hundreds of the wily birds, so all I could do was watch!

The wind picked up and here came more Turkeys, toms and hens, and they vacuumed up all of the corn I had put down.  Counting over 40 big, birds, I continued to scan for horns.  No luck, I only spotted several does, no bucks, so when it became too dark to shoot, I climbed down and walked back toward Paul.

Hearing no shot, I didn’t anticipate the smile on his face and he’s not behind his stump, but standing beside a downed Deer.  Walking up to him, I saw it was a nice buck and counting 9 points, I said, “I never heard you shoot!”  He replied, “Around 5:15 the buck came walking along the trail, stopped and took a bite of corn, and bam, down he went.  I’ve been sitting here admiring him.”  Below is a picture that Paul snapped the next morning of his first Deer hanging on my windmill.
 
We headed back to the camp house and found Mike dressed and packed.  He had just gotten a call from Laura that Mikayla had pneumonia and they had checked her into the hospital and for him to come to Houston, 5 ½ hours away, ASAP!

We hurriedly cleaned the Deer, packed, loaded up, stopped the Deer and Paul off in Goldthwaite and headed on to Houston.  Mikayla recovered nicely and today she is a beautiful, 7th grader!

Pistol shooting practice time this past Saturday afternoon for Wesley Culbertson, my Grandson, furnished us with a very unusual hit on a clay pigeon target.  The kids like to shoot them because they shatter so easy!  Not this one!
 
Like any good Texan, Wesley’s first shot drilled it dead center, but the clay bird remained intact.  His second shot clipped the top off and his third one demolished it!

Wesley has been practicing pistol shooting and pistol safety with his Dad, Paul, and the 9 year old has certainly made progress.  Pistols can be tricky to shoot and hit a target with any regularity.  Some secrets that Wesley has already picked up – keep your finger off of the trigger until you’re ready to shoot,  have a good grip, get a good sight picture, then squeeze, don’t jerk.  This holds for a .22 up to a .45 auto.

Here Wesley and his Mom, Suzanne are taking shots and hitting the clay birds.
 
 

Both of them are good shots and are safe shooters, but they should straighten up their posture a little.

Three generations practicing our shooting sports, not bad!

Rereading my Great Uncle, Lee Wallace’s book, “Waif Of The Times”, I came across some of his ‘thoughts’ about income taxes and wealth redistribution.  Lee’s writings spanned a time period of 1900 to 1930 and definitely covered 1913, the year the 16th amendment to our Constitution was passed, eventually giving us the IRS.

Lee was a staunch Democrat and elected official – County Attorney, District Judge and received an appointment by Pres. Roosevelt to become a Federal Judge, but turned it down because of his health.  It turns out he had successful surgery and lived 22 more years.  He should have taken up FDR on his offer!

After the Civil War ended, and for the next 100 years, Texas and the entire South was almost 100% Democrat.  As the liberals and elitists encroached on our society and government, the South and Texas became more conservative and Republican.  Lee’s thoughts, written almost 100 years ago, echo true to this day…

“If you take away from me the things I have earned without my consent you are a robber.  If you give it or part to another, you make a robber out of him.”  

“I hate you for taking my earnings without my consent; I hate the one you give it to for accepting it, and you both hate me for hating you because you know that I know you robbed me.”

“A thief always hates a sheriff, not that the sheriff has done the thief any wrong but because the sheriff is in the business of competing with the thief.”

Feelings were obviously high against the recently passed income tax.  I believe we, that pay the taxes, still feel that way in 2008!

Putting this hunt in perspective, winter started 5 days ago and this fall, we’ve only enjoyed two cold snaps with freezing temps.  Being a 5th generation Texan, I call myself a ‘flatlander’, have thin blood, am adverse to cold and cold to me is 45. But like most men, a little self-punishment is good for the body.

Monday morning in Mills County, Texas was foggy, the temp was 27 and it was way too cold to go sit in a blind, but Monday afternoon was different.  It was cloudy, 34 degrees with a southeast wind of 10-15 MPH, and a wind chill of around 23.  Rather than stay in by the nice warm fire, I decided to go hunting and try to shoot a big doe and I picked a tree stand overlooking a small food plot.  Since the deer have over grazed the plot and we’ve had very little rain in the past 2 months, I use the term, food plot, as a description only!

With my .270 unloaded, climbing up into the stand, I was about 15/16th in and just sliding into the seat when I saw movement on the edge of the plot and I froze.  About 80 yards away, a yearling doe picked that time to came out and browse a little.  Not being able to move, I felt kinda’ silly “half in and half out’, but all I could do was just remain in that cramped position.

Then out comes a big doe, a shooter, obviously the yearling’s mom, and she starts grazing.  No scent problem since the cold wind is off of the deer, blowing into my face and both of them have their rear ends toward me and as I ‘scrooch’ down into the seat, up go their tails and they bolt off!  The sound of cloth on cloth must have spooked them.

Finally loading my rifle and tying my camera to a convenient limb, I settle in and wait for another doe or a good picture.  Being ‘bucked out’ since the 8th day of the season all I can shoot are does and we have plenty of them!

The longer I sit, the colder I get.  The wind ‘finds’ every crack and space in my garb, even the eyes of my shoelaces.  Of course, being cold and thinking about it only makes me ‘more’ colder.  My thoughts race –“Maybe another doe won’t come by?”   “Maybe not even a picture opportunity?“  “Maybe it’s too cold to even clean one?”  

Just then a spike comes out of a trail not 20 yards to my front and turns and stares at me.  He must be thinking, “What in the world are you doing out in this weather?”

As he ambles on down the trail, I answer that question for him, climb out of the stand and head back to my Jeep.  No deer today, and as my Dad said many years ago, “Boy, don’t worry about today’s bad hunt.  Just remember if it was easy each time out, it would be called shooting instead of hunting!”

This Christmas I’ve had some wonderful presents, Brad’s progress being right at the top, but my greatest present is having our Lord’s presence in my life!  Praise Him!  My wish for everyone is to have the merriest Christmas possible and as you’re opening your presents, stop and ask our Lord to come into your life and make His presence in it!

Our family received a wonderful Christmas present last Friday.  Brad, on his way to Georgia, to visit friends and to go hunting, called to let me know that his Oncologist had called to tell him that again this month, his X-rays, CT scan and MRI showed no cancer spread or growth.  Earlier in December Brad had a bronchoscopy of both lungs and the Doctor was thrilled at his progress.  December of ’07, when Brad was so sick with pneumonia, this same Doc had given Brad less than a month to live.

Brad told me then, “Dad, don’t worry about my condition, because I will either see one of two miracles.  One miracle will be that I’ll be cured, or the other miracle will be that I’ll see Jesus!”  From that minute on Brad’s condition has improved!

Thanks to everyone for praying for Brad and please keep him in your prayers and on your Church’s prayer lists.

God’s will, will be done with Brad!

Merry Christmas, Jon and Layla

Fred Walters had just signed on to a 600 acre quail/dove lease outside of Lockhart, Texas, and in early December, had asked me to join him on a quail hunt, and he reminded me to bring along some heavy shot for, maybe, a passing duck.  Following his orders, along with 20, 7-1/2’s for quail, I slipped 5, number 6 shot into my hunting coat pocket.

Having no dog, we had busted into 2 average sized coveys and had reduced their numbers by 4 birds.  Luckily we found all 4, and as we looked for the last one, in the brush, some 300 yards ahead, we spotted the damn of a stock tank.  Fred said, “While I look for this bird, why don’t you walk on up and see if there are any ducks on the tank?  If there are, go ahead and shoot ‘em.”