The Natural
Wednesday we arrived around 12:30pm. We sat down to a very well cooked southern meal. Best greens I ever had, real mac & cheese, biscuits, ham, etc.
After lunch, we dressed up in hunting gear: brush pants, shirts, orange vests with pockets full of 12-gauge shells. We left the cases on the jeeps, so we could get more (and boy did we). We split up into 2 groups with 1 guide each. Our guide was fully aware that it was my first time hunting. He didn't know it was my 2nd time holding a loaded gun, but maybe it was better he didn't! I was pretty afraid I was going to shoot a person, dog, or get shot myself.
Basically, when hunting quail, the dogs sniff out "covets" of birds. Quail are about the size of a baseball. Once the dog gets a hit, they freeze letting us know that there is a bird, usually within 2-3 feet, often times well under 1 foot away. We position ourselves on either side of the guide as he stomps, flushing the bird. The bird flies up and *POW* ... shots fired.
It rained on us pretty good Wednesday afternoon for about an hour. Thursday the weather was perfect. The lodge facility was really nice. Almost like a resort! We had the whole place to ourselves.
It was a very interesting experience. Shooting was fun, the hunt was fun. Killing, not so much. I picked up one bird that I knew was completely toast. It's guts were hanging out, and when I picked it up I could feel the warmth of its body. After that, I just left the picking up of birds to the guide and the dogs. If a bird wasn't dead, the guide would snap its neck, or whack it on a tree.
In any event, all told, we shot over 200 birds in a day and a half. The preserve processes them, so we left with bags full of vacuum sealed skinned birds, just like they came from the grocery store.
I would have had more fun shooting skeet. I did have a good time overall though. They said they were impressed that I was such a good shot for my first time. Our guide said I "sure could knock 'em down." I explained I practiced by playing duck hunt.
-Dude
After lunch, we dressed up in hunting gear: brush pants, shirts, orange vests with pockets full of 12-gauge shells. We left the cases on the jeeps, so we could get more (and boy did we). We split up into 2 groups with 1 guide each. Our guide was fully aware that it was my first time hunting. He didn't know it was my 2nd time holding a loaded gun, but maybe it was better he didn't! I was pretty afraid I was going to shoot a person, dog, or get shot myself.
Basically, when hunting quail, the dogs sniff out "covets" of birds. Quail are about the size of a baseball. Once the dog gets a hit, they freeze letting us know that there is a bird, usually within 2-3 feet, often times well under 1 foot away. We position ourselves on either side of the guide as he stomps, flushing the bird. The bird flies up and *POW* ... shots fired.
It rained on us pretty good Wednesday afternoon for about an hour. Thursday the weather was perfect. The lodge facility was really nice. Almost like a resort! We had the whole place to ourselves.
It was a very interesting experience. Shooting was fun, the hunt was fun. Killing, not so much. I picked up one bird that I knew was completely toast. It's guts were hanging out, and when I picked it up I could feel the warmth of its body. After that, I just left the picking up of birds to the guide and the dogs. If a bird wasn't dead, the guide would snap its neck, or whack it on a tree.
In any event, all told, we shot over 200 birds in a day and a half. The preserve processes them, so we left with bags full of vacuum sealed skinned birds, just like they came from the grocery store.
I would have had more fun shooting skeet. I did have a good time overall though. They said they were impressed that I was such a good shot for my first time. Our guide said I "sure could knock 'em down." I explained I practiced by playing duck hunt.
-Dude
posted by Epic Dude at
11:52 AM
1 Comments:
that's fucked up, dude.
By
fishydude, at 10:49 AM
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