OT: Wildlife and Hunting

[Guest guest]

Hi Rhavda,

 

> Dear Butch,

> Thank you for the wonderful essay on hunting.

 

My pleasure it was. Glad to see you have joined Oils & Herbs. :-p

 

> My husband is a hunter and has been so all of his life (he's 60 now) as

> was his dad (who took nothing but photos), and his grandfather before him

> as it was his way of life to feed his family in Central Texas.

 

I hear you on that. Same same down South .. American pilgrims and early

settlers fed themselves on wild game .. and due to proper management of

that game .. we can still do it today .. in most rural areas. I got my

first shotgun when I was 9 years old .. prior to that I could use my

grandpa's when he was with me. I was taught the proper and safe way to

hunt .. and to respect the game.

 

> My husband has always been as you, very conscientious about how he hunts,

> where he hunts and what he hunts. If the land has been overhunted (we own

> land in the North Texas area) around our land then he doesn't hunt. He wants

> the deer and other animals to re-populate the area.

 

Good it is. Odds are we'll be able to enjoy hunting as a recreational

sport in America for many generations to come. Of course, if the Earth

does not self-destruct some day .. or we don't start building cities in

outer space and under the sea .. will come a time when there is no land

for game. That is .. unless Mama Nature decides to thin us out .. same

way She does when She sees an overpopulation of wild game in an area.

 

All in all I reckon Mankind is just another species of predator and

there must be a balance twixt predator and prey or they both wind up in

deep kimchi.

 

> The only real problems tend to be with the wild boar/pigs that he wouls

> love to get anytime, any place just so they will not destroy everything

> in their path.

 

Wild Hawgs are a problem around the world. I have hunted them in Hawaii

and here in Turkey .. as well as in the Continental USA. About the only

critters I know of that are more prolific than them are cockroaches and

coyotes.

 

> My husband will first go out with our movie camera and take pictures. We have

> some beautiful pictures of deer going back for a number of years. Then he

shows

> them to my mom and me just so we can enjoy the beautiful deer in the

wilderness.

 

Good it is. I too like photographing wildlife. Last year I got some

great shots of a mountain lion in New Mexico. This year I was able to

sneak up on a Mule Deer and get some good ones .. and I stumbled upon an

Antelope Buck who let me shoot some photos. I've done underwater

photography since 1982 .. I like that a lot too.

 

> He has also taught our son (who is at the US Naval Academy) to hunt with

respect

> to the animals. He took him to a gun safety class when he was about 12 or 13

years

> old just so he would know what to do and what not to do.

 

A salute to your husband for his efforts to ensure the continuance of a

great American tradition by teaching his son safe and responsible

hunting .. and a BIG and SINCERE salute to your son for his decision to

wear the U.S. Navy uniform. :-)

 

> I tremendously enjoyed your statement about the church doors being

> closed on the opening weekend of hunting season. In some places I can see

> that happening here in Texas still but you forgot one thing. The ladies

> would be there, sitting in the pews, worshiping and singing and praying that

> their husbands either " caught " a deer or " missed " that " danged " deer (so

> they wouldn't have to help butcher).

 

Likely it is that down home we'd have a few Suthran Fried Baptist ladies

sitting around the church thinking the same thing. And odds it is there

would be no sermon that day cause the preacher man and the deacons would

be out hunting. Besides .. the Good Lawd done said He put all those

critters here for man to manage. ;-)

 

> My husband is preparing already for deer season on the first weekend in

> November here.

 

Yep .. tis a Suthran tradition. Like the opening day of dove season on

1 September each year. Some rich landowner ;-) will invite folks out

for a shoot followed by a barbecue and some sipping whiskey. Lots of

studies have been conducted on Dove hunting. The majority of doves die

due to bad weather .. not having the smarts to head South at the right

time. And the limit of ten dove has not changed in many years .. means

the population is not declining.

 

The US Fish and Game folks do a lot of research on migratory birds and

they adjust it annually. They use a point system in most places .. 100

points one can take .. then when they hit the 100 points .. or exceed it

they must stop hunting. Some years a Mallard Hen will be a 100 pointer

and a Mallard Drake will be a 20 pointer, etc. And they can tell if a

hunter exceeded the 100 points with a larger denomination bird .. like

one has 80 points in the bag they can take another Mallard Drake or

maybe two each 10 point Teal .. but if that last bird is a Mallard Hen

the Game Warden has some sophisticated means to determine which bird was

killed last. They simply stick a thermometer in the bird's butt and

note the temperature difference. ;-)

 

> Take care and have a great weekend! Ya'll be careful now going into

> Afganistan!

 

Thanks .. will do. The Afghani point of contact is still waiting for

funds from the Asian Development Bank .. but we are to have a face to

face meeting in Kabul in December or early January .. not much gonna

happen till that goes down .. and until they show me the color of their

cash.

 

> If you ever make it to North Texas, let us know and we treat you to

> the Fort Worth Stock Yards and Billy Bob's.

 

Sounds good to me .. and thankee. Don't know much about the Fort Worth

Stock Yards but we got a lotta folks named Billy Bob down home. ;-)

 

Y'all keep smiling. :-) Butch

 

>>Understood that is. There's a joke (maybe its true) that some Suthran

>>churches close the doors if the first day of a particular hunting season

 

> Rhavda Emison

> Scents of Success (http://www.scentsofsuccess.com)

> Texas Grown - American Made Rose Oil Products

> Rose, Helichrysum, Oak Moss, Melissa, & Other Products

[Guest guest]

Hi Butch

Nice to have you back. You're welcome anytime you're next in England. And of

course there's a pub in the village with lots of nice warm beer! Several pubs in

fact ....

Jane

-

Butch Owen

Wednesday, October 27, 2004 2:44 PM

OT: Wildlife and Hunting

 

 

Hey Jane,

 

> I wasn't offended, Butch! I know your humour better than that.

 

Glad to hear that I am. :-)

 

> You'll just have to come to Dorset and see for yourself how much open space

> there is with plenty of wildlife!

 

If that is an invitation .. I'll drop by next time I am in England.

That is, if'n y'all have one'a them little corner pubs nearby whut

serves that outstanding bitter beer. ;-)

 

> You must imagine the UK as a group of small overloaded islands ... one big

> sprawling mass of people, towns, houses, etc. but I promise there's some

wild

> and wollly places -

 

Don't think that at all. I've driven around England a bit .. mostly

with white knuckles cause I wasn't used to driving on the wrong side of

the road. ;-)

 

> just ask Ann in Scotland ... now there's wildlife and game up there alright!

 

That I have heard .. and I heard that Scotland has the most wild game of

any place in the UK .. plus, one can hunt it.

 

> Don't forget the London area accounts for 13 million of our 55 million

people.

 

Hard it is to forget that. Sorta like Istanbul .. likely it is that the

population there now is over 15 million in a country with 75 million.

And like Istanbul, there is no shortage of those lousy pigeons whut crap

all over the place .. dang tourists feed them. ;-)

 

> Yes, there are birds bred (pheasants) just for shooting by the wealthy (it

> costs a lot of money for an organised day's shoot).

 

Got a buddy in Kentucky whut came from a rich farming family .. never

worked a day in his life .. sorta like John Kerry .. then married a rich

man's widow .. sorta like John Kerry .. and still hasn't worked .. but

he runs such as hunting preserve.

 

> They are the most stupid animals because they're bred in captivity and most

> must get killed my cars judging by the scenes on the roads at that time of

year.

 

Jane .. even wild Ring Neck Pheasants are not all that smart. Ducks are

smart .. Wild Turkeys are smart .. Pheasants and Geese are dumb-dumb!

 

> Licensing for guns is also completely different ... the average person

doesn't

> hunt or shoot or even want a gun.

 

Cultural differences twixt England and the USA in that regard.

 

> A few horsey people like to hunt (that's foxes) but apparently they don't

> kill many and it's a day's riding rather than the kill that motivates the

> vast majority.

 

I hear you .. and that's one of the reasons the Queen wasn't too happy

with the Parliament bending to the will of those who wanted to take away

a British traditional sport. It was all about opposition to the elite,

not about the foxes.

 

> Hare-coursing has been illegal for a long time but I know it still happens

> around here - I've seen the dogs chasing them and men in ridiculous (IMO)

> outfits running after them.

 

We just kick'em up .. or let the Beagle Dawgs trail them .. down South.

I prefer the taste of wild Cottontail Rabbit to anybody's beef or pork

dish.

 

> I guess it is a class thing - us commoners object to the land-owners getting

> their jollies at the benefit of wildlife!

 

Hawhawhawhaw. That's another of the big cultural differences twix the

UK and the USA. Even though I know your comment was probably tongue in

cheek, we don't have any Commoners in the USA .. least ways not any that

will admit to being so .. but we do have a few who think of themselves

as being Elite. ;-)

 

As far as the rights of landowners is concerned .. I support them 100%.

Farmers who post their land are respected down home .. sometimes they

write on the signs .. " Trespassers will be shot .. survivors will be

prosecuted. " But I also believe that ants and bees are more deserving

of surviving the cold winter winds than are grasshoppers. ;-)

 

> Jane

 

Y'all keep smiling. :-P Butch

 

 

 

 

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