Happy memories and the marching on of time

Hunting is often about more than just the hunt.  Before humans had the ability to pass on knowledge through written word they used stories and dancing.  As a kid I loved nothing more than to sit around the old wood stove at the hunting camp and listen to stories from the elders about hunts from the past.  My dad would tell me the story of killing the 12 point buck when he was 12 years old.  And then there was the story of old Billy Phillips, or "Red Man" as he was called, shooting the buck and then finishing it off with a stick to save bullets.  Our freezers may empty out over the summer but the stories from the past year remain strong in our memories.  And it is not just hunting stories; on a   beach fishing trip to Fort Morgan Alabama, someone who will remain nameless fought a 10' piece of carpet for an hour swearing it was a "Monster Red Fish".  It's just another memory now but the retelling only makes the moment live on forever.

 George Byrd with a deer he killed in the 1980's. 

That's me (Shelby Byrd) in the back of the truck.

 Growing up, our family helped to found a hunting club.  Most of the members didn't join for the hunting, they were there for the escape, the opportunity to swap stories and just get away.  One member had a grill strapped down on his tailgate and grilled while hunting.  Some guys spent all day playing on the C.B. radio.  And man talk about entertainment, give 30 people a C.B. and just sit back and listen, it gets very interesting.  Everyone had a C.B. handle, or name.  Dad was Hummingbird and still to this day walking through Walmart someone will call out "What's going on Hummingbird".

 Kentucky Bucks.

Jeff Slaughter, Shelby Byrd, Joe Perkins.

Now a days the hunting has changed for my family but the stories remain.  Now we take a trip to Kentucky several times a year and get caught up on all the old memories on the 7-8 hour ride.  I enjoy hearing my buddy Tim relive the days when he was chasing deer on the back side of the old Bond farm.  My friend Jeff tells the story of the first deer he remembers seeing on his motorcycle on the back side of the Slaughter farm.  He thinks to days back when he was young and deer were rare in the area.  Things change with time, but the stories remain. 

 Tim Bond with a monster buck.  The year Tim killed this deer he shot at 5 different deer with a bow before picking up his rifle.

Back to the C.B radio, have you ever hunted with a guy called Booger?  How about Lucky Strike or Thunderbird, maybe Hondo or Rockin "H"? These old nicknames may be a thing of the past but they still hold a spot in many of our memories.  These days I'm trying to introduce my daughter and wife to the hunting and fishing culture that I grew up enjoying.  I hope that they will find the same joy I have experienced.  My daughter loves for me to tell her a story from when I was a little boy each night at bed time.  She's heard most of them before, several times, but she still seems captivated each time and wants to hear more.  "Daddy is it too late for a story?" 

Shelby, Jennie and Emily Byrd.

What are your favorite hunting memories, stories from a time gone by,
 or tall tales about hunting or fishing?

Questions or Comments

alakingfish@gmail.com

Shelby Byrd

Roscoe's First Bird Hunt

Our Boykin Spaniel turned a year old this month.  Roscoe has become apart of our family to the extent his nickname is Bubby.  He requires a lot of attention and and will let you know when he is feeling neglected.  He loves to take his family for a walk.  If you open the door to let him outside in the morning chances are he will be pulling on your shorts and trying to drag you out the door with him.  Boykin's are a very hyper breed and he is no exception.  This past weekend we had a chance to take Roscoe on his first dove hunt.  Our daughter was very nervous about taking him hunting mainly because she didn't know what to expect.

Roscoe, Emily and Shelby

Roscoe was a very happy boy and behaved himself very nicely and found a couple of doves that would have been lost without his assistance.  He would pitch a fit and bark anytime someone across the dove field would shoot if he didn't get to retrieve the bird.  I kept him on a leash for the hunt we worked on his commands, sit, stay, quiet.  It was a great experience and we still have a lot of work to do but Roscoe's loves to practice.   He runs circles around our home chasing birds daily.  He's even caught a few birds from the piles of feathers we find in the yard.  It was hard to convince him to give back the bird's he found.

 Roscoe with a bird in his mouth.

Dove season is over for a little while and it will reopen in a few weeks and we can try a little more training then. 

Leo (my brother), Chase (my nephew) George (my father)

Emily and Roscoe climbed the round bails for a better view.

Our Family

Do you have any tips or techniques you could offer for a first time dog trainer?  I'm not real sure on training a retriever but Roscoe is helping all he can, so maybe together we can figure it out.

Questions or Comments?

Email

alakingfish@gmail.com

Shelby Byrd

Fundraiser turkey shoot for the Baldwin Catfish Roundup

It's been a busy week for our family.  I had some training to attend in Northern Ohio and made the return trip home on Friday night late.  On Saturday we helped host a Turkey Shoot for a benefit our family hosts each year for special need citizens.  It was a great time and the shoots success provides some of the needed funds to put on the event.

Jennie trying her luck at the turkey shoot.

I surprised Jennie and Emily with a new Mossberg 500 Super Bantam Combo 20 Gauge a couple of weeks ago. 

Mossberg Super Bantam Combo.

 Jennie shot the gun a few times and it has a great pattern.  The Bantam Combo comes with a 24" bird barrel with several chokes.  It also comes with a 22" slug Barrel which will be great for hog hunting the delta.  The gun has a removable section in the stock so it can grow with the shooter.    I plan to let her and Emily shoot a little skeet in the coming weeks so they can gain confidence with the new gun. What type gun does your wife and kids shoot?  Please share any pictures of your adventures and I will be happy to share them with the blog viewers.

Questions and Comments?

alakingfish@gmail.com

Shelby Byrd

Review of the Fatal Approach Grunt Call.

               

    I purchased the Fatal Approach Grunt Call shortly after the 2013 deer season came to a close.    I was immediately blown away by the simple construction and the beauty of the call.  It looked like a show piece for display.  The grunt call comes in many different domestic or exotic hardwoods.  I chose the white oak burl and it looks great.  

Fatal Approach Grunt Call

 My first impressions of the grunt are as follows.

1.       It has a very low breaking point.  It produces a nice low sounding grunt with very little pressure.  This lets the hunter use a wider range of tones than any other call I’ve found on the market. 

2.       The call is two pieces with a long barrel.  You will not have to worry about losing small mouth pieces and other parts of the call.  I purchased a very popular call at the beginning of last deer season and the first hunt I pulled it out of my jacket before first light and found the mouth piece missing (major bummer). 

3.       Most calls that give you the low end grunt will not produce a good loud challenge tone without adjustment.  The Fatal Approach Grunt nails both ends of the spectrum with no adjusting which is amazing to me.

4.       This grunt call would make a great gift.  If you have a Hunter in the family that’s hard to buy for when it comes to Christmas or birthdays then they will be all smiles when he or she opens this box. 

After having the call for a few months I sent an email to Brian Keahey at Fatal Approach describing my thoughts on the call and here is an excerpt from his reply. 

“Like you, I have bought my fair share of grunt calls in the past. So when I began designing this call, I knew what I wanted the final product to sound like. I wanted a very easy blowing call that would allow you to gently ease into the call without over-amplifying the sound. At the same time, the call had to be able to produce sufficient volume and range to be effective from a distance. From my experience, bucks produce grunts that are not as deeply toned as those produced by most commercially available grunt calls. To me, the grunts produced by younger bucks seem to be the most effective at challenging mature deer. Our grunt call was designed around both of these observations. I agree that many grunt calls have an excessive number of parts. I wanted to use as few parts as possible, including a one piece tone board. The use of fewer parts adds to the overall durability of the call as well.” 

Brian is a lot better with the technical terms than me, but I agree with his mission in building this call.  Fatal Approach hit the ball out of the park with this grunt call. 

 Click on the above picture to visit the Fatal Approach web site.

Thanks

Shelby Byrd

Questions or Comments

alakingfish@gmail.com