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ckcNVchapter152
Guest
I know lots of people consider this beating a dead horse, but great articles like this one need to be shared. It came out of the Nevada Bighorn Unlimited newspaper and for me it was an enjoyable read.
Diane Early
on Being a Sportsman
In the Fall, the most glorious of all the Great Basin months, the scatter guns come out of the gun case, the early season hunting boots are aired out, and the pockets in the vest are filled up with eight shot shells, bird knife, and water bottle. It's dove season. Later the vest pockets will carry 6 and 7 1/2 shot, quail and chukar calls, heavier boots.
Dove season is the opener. It's the tune-up. Practice time for the greater demands of chukar and quail season. Dove are easy. Easy walking, easy spotting, easy to hit if you just let them get out there a bit. Doves get you ready for the bigger longer bird season, when you are carrying more weight in your vest, wearing heavier boots, hauling more drinking water. Doves help you get your head down, your left arm out straight, your swing smoothed out. They sharpen your senses, get your legs toned up a bit.
Then the weather cools off and Red Leg season opens, and quail. The last two years have been good for Mr. Chukar and Mr. Quail. Chukar are tough. Tough to hunt if you do it right. I'm old fashioned. I walk them. Too many ATV's out there. Darn right scrilegious if you ask me. I guess it gets you to the top of the mountain faster than the 30-45 minutes or more it takes me to climb up there, but getting there faster isn't what it's about.
When I think about upland game hunting, especially little old delicious cottontail, I think about walking, tracking, and for chukar, some downright tough "work." Never could abide road hunters. Road hunting is the antithesis of hunting...in my opinion. Oh sure, sometimes you're lucky, and a bunch of quail flush rught off the road, ever chukar, and you park and you're out the door in a flash. It's a hoot and a blessing tossed your way that day.
The more i think about it, whether I'm in the field or on the stream, the most important thing about hunting and fishing is being a sportsman. You see a lot of people hunting and fishing, but you don't see very many sportsman, and that's a real sign of the times, of our culture. ETHICS- what happened to them? My Dad told me that a sportsman is someone who does the right thing when nobody is looking. I believe that, and I practice it in the field. Since I hunt alone, which it's not something i advocate for everybody, nobody is looking my way.
So the next time you're out there, stop and think about it. Think about what you want to teach your children. If you don't have ethics in the field, you're not going to have them in any aspect of your life. There are no other sports that should go hand in hand with ethics as much as hunting. That's Obvious.
I've hunted for 55 years, fished for 60. I tied flies for 30, have fly-fished for 40 years. I'm a solo canoer, solo hunter, hold a professional mule deer packers certificate, ride well, and spend more days in the field in one season than most have had the opportunity to spend in many years. I'm sixty five years old. I know the great Nevada outback like the back of my hand. I am a true daughter of the Great Basin, and i take great pride in being a sportsman.
Diane Early
on Being a Sportsman
In the Fall, the most glorious of all the Great Basin months, the scatter guns come out of the gun case, the early season hunting boots are aired out, and the pockets in the vest are filled up with eight shot shells, bird knife, and water bottle. It's dove season. Later the vest pockets will carry 6 and 7 1/2 shot, quail and chukar calls, heavier boots.
Dove season is the opener. It's the tune-up. Practice time for the greater demands of chukar and quail season. Dove are easy. Easy walking, easy spotting, easy to hit if you just let them get out there a bit. Doves get you ready for the bigger longer bird season, when you are carrying more weight in your vest, wearing heavier boots, hauling more drinking water. Doves help you get your head down, your left arm out straight, your swing smoothed out. They sharpen your senses, get your legs toned up a bit.
Then the weather cools off and Red Leg season opens, and quail. The last two years have been good for Mr. Chukar and Mr. Quail. Chukar are tough. Tough to hunt if you do it right. I'm old fashioned. I walk them. Too many ATV's out there. Darn right scrilegious if you ask me. I guess it gets you to the top of the mountain faster than the 30-45 minutes or more it takes me to climb up there, but getting there faster isn't what it's about.
When I think about upland game hunting, especially little old delicious cottontail, I think about walking, tracking, and for chukar, some downright tough "work." Never could abide road hunters. Road hunting is the antithesis of hunting...in my opinion. Oh sure, sometimes you're lucky, and a bunch of quail flush rught off the road, ever chukar, and you park and you're out the door in a flash. It's a hoot and a blessing tossed your way that day.
The more i think about it, whether I'm in the field or on the stream, the most important thing about hunting and fishing is being a sportsman. You see a lot of people hunting and fishing, but you don't see very many sportsman, and that's a real sign of the times, of our culture. ETHICS- what happened to them? My Dad told me that a sportsman is someone who does the right thing when nobody is looking. I believe that, and I practice it in the field. Since I hunt alone, which it's not something i advocate for everybody, nobody is looking my way.
So the next time you're out there, stop and think about it. Think about what you want to teach your children. If you don't have ethics in the field, you're not going to have them in any aspect of your life. There are no other sports that should go hand in hand with ethics as much as hunting. That's Obvious.
I've hunted for 55 years, fished for 60. I tied flies for 30, have fly-fished for 40 years. I'm a solo canoer, solo hunter, hold a professional mule deer packers certificate, ride well, and spend more days in the field in one season than most have had the opportunity to spend in many years. I'm sixty five years old. I know the great Nevada outback like the back of my hand. I am a true daughter of the Great Basin, and i take great pride in being a sportsman.
