Old Jim wrote:
I've been doing a bit of reading and studying on this lately. Anybody here ever tried it? Sure would like to hear back from those that have.....Jim
Now that (hopefully) the dust has settled and the gunsmoke has cleared, I'd like to explain why I posted the original.
I was first invited to go 'coon huntin' by an elderly gentleman when I was a teenager. Like all of us here, I couldn't wait to go again.
Off and on throughout the decades, I've gone when I could. I saw years pass that were void of the pleasure.
Now that I'm retired, I have a little more time on my hands and it's a little easier for me to slip off into the woods. Unfortunately, I still don't get to go as often as I want.
I don't own any dogs. My finances don't provide for a kennel, veterinary care, and all the expenses that come with keeping just one or two. So, I have to go with someone that does have dogs.
I fell in with a couple of fellas around these parts that have some fairly decent dogs. And they're very happy to have my company when they go. Unfortunately, they can't go as often as I can because they have jobs and can't just pick up and go any time the mood strikes them.
Quite often, that leaves me sittin' at the house just reading through this forum about the hunts of others and/or wishing I could go more often.
Outside of predators and/or varmints, I was taught to eat what I kill. To this day, I still respect that teaching. Every 'coon I put a bullet in goes in the freezer and, when enough is collected, in the crock pot.
A month or so back, I stumbled on an article about huntin' 'coons by callin' them in daylight. You would think that in 45 years of huntin', I would have heard of that by now. I had not, so I began investigating it.
I thought to myself if I could do this, I could do a little one man huntin' and get out of the house and Moma's hair once in a while. I would be in the woods, doin' what I enjoy and maybe even bring home another one for the pot. And I could give the pelt to my buddy for him to sell.
I figured if there's any place where I could find somebody that knows more about this and I could get some good, straight answers, this forum would be the place.
Never once did I think I might stir up a hornet's nest. Had that thought ever crossed my mind, I would never have posted. In 35 years of industrial construction, I learned 'you don't start no
stuff, there won't be no
stuff'.
I've never been too big or too proud to apologize, even if I thought I was right. It ain't bein' right or wrong that I apologize for, it's startin' a fuss that bothers me.
I reckon I should have given this a bit more thought before I posted. I'm askin' y'all to forgive me for stirrin' up such a mess.
_________________
Jim
Floyd, VA
"If Heaven admitted by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in."
Mark Twain
SMALLTOWN, USA
http://jgcphotos.wordpress.com/