Take Me Back To Yesterday Once More

“Lord, I love to hear Hank Williams sing, 

But, it will never be the way it was before,

Take me back to yesterday once more.” 

While driving the back roads scouting for turkeys and deer, I heard Moe Bandy sing the above song and it reminded me of my Daisy Red Ryder air rifle that I had as a boy.  I think every boy in our coal patch neighborhood had one.  We spent hours upon hours shooting, bottles, cans, sparrows and targets.  Being frugal we always collected and cleaned the spent bbs since money was scarce.

Since the air rifle wasn’t very powerful, I could watch the path of the bb towards the target.  I discovered and understood trajectory whenever I moved farther from the target and had to adjust my sight picture to accommodate the drop in the pellets; a lesson that has served me well over decades of hunting, shooting and teaching Hunter Safety classes.

One day 6-8 of us preteens formed two teams and started a BB gun war; no shooting anyone above the waist.  George shot his younger brother, Tom, in the thigh.  Tom dropped his air rifle, ran crying and screaming towards home through the grassy field stepping on a wasp nest and getting stung multiple times.  After his mother applied first aid, she contacted a few other parents and a disarmament cease fire was instituted for the remainder of the summer.  My parents did not discipline or punish me, but we had a very serious discussion about safety and responsibility.

Currently, our club’s Hunter Safety classes use Daisy youth and adult models to teach sighting and trajectory along with safe gun handling.  The Daisy air rifle is an excellent, inexpensive way to introduce a novice to the shooting sports.  Some of the students, youth and adults, have not experienced shooting more powerful firearms and the air rifles are both an excellent introduction to the shooting sports and confidence builder.  Quite often in the classes, when I observe a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction in a student, it takes me back to yesterday once more.    

A local religious leader, when asked how he was doing commented, “I am stressed and blessed.”  After some reflection, I realized that was an excellent summary of how I felt in June, 2020.

Like you and people all over the world, I have been totally preoccupied by Covid-19 and its ramifications.  Having lost a relative to the virus in late March, I have been extremely vigilant 24/7.  Translated as stressed.

During the month of May, I spent many days during turkey season isolated in the outdoors, socially distanced and wearing a mask, albeit a mesh face covering, not an N-95.  As Mother Nature pursued her springtime rituals, I was very content and relaxed to be a participant and observer of the unfolding annual wonders taking place.  Translated as blessed.

On January 28, 2020, I attended the New York Sportsmen’s Advisory Council’s Legislative Caucus at the State Capital in Albany.  We interacted with a group of Senate and Assembly members in an easy flowing and friendly gathering.  We were able to discuss the Council’s two policy priorities; 1.  Encouraging Youth Participation in Hunting and, 2.  Expanding Access to Crossbow Use Afield.

New York’s hunting population is rapidly aging.  If new hunters aren’t proactively recruited, conservation funding for DEC and the time-honored tradition will be seriously threatened.  New York is the only state that requires new hunters to reach age 14 before being able to hunt game with a firearm.  A significant number of youth and adults are leaving New York to pursue big game in adjoining states.

Hunting is a wonderful opportunity for parents to introduce their children to nature, conservation and responsible wildlife management.  It also teaches respect for the law, ethical behavior and proper firearms handling and safety.

Expanding access to crossbow use afield by classifying the crossbow as archery equipment and requiring a bow hunting privilege to be used in any season is an excellent opportunity to implement the 3Rs – Recruit, Retain and Reactivate hunters.

Preliminary figures indicate there were more youth and adult license sales this year for the Spring season.  Expanding access to crossbow use would stimulate a similar demand during the Fall season. 

Youth mentoring would motivate inactive hunters to return to the sport and share their knowledge with the novice hunters.  Being able to go afield in nice autumn weather would be an incentive for reactivating former sportspeople.

Cornell University’s Deer Hunter Survey for DEC found a majority of New York deer hunters (including a majority of bow hunters and numerous bow hunting instructors) support legalization of crossbows.  DEC is in favor of such legislation. The federal government defines the crossbow as a “bow” and the Internal Revenue Service designates crossbows, accessories attached to them and their arrows as archery equipment subject to the archery excise tax.

Infectious disease experts are saying COVID-19 will continue to be a serious major threat in the Fall.  Translate as stressed.

If these two reasonable policy priorities were to become law, it will be a benefit to sportspeople of all ages and it will provide an economic benefit to New York businesses by increasing sales, promoting tourism related spending and attracting non-residents to New York.  An obvious bonus for New York would be increased license sales and tax revenues.  For me, who is long of tooth, it will encourage me to bow hunt all season, socially distanced and masked.  Translate as blessed.

If you are in agreement with the two policy priorities, it is imperative you contact state legislators and the governor as adamantly and quickly as possible as they are stressed and blessed, also.

It was cold and chilly all day today while I was turkey hunting.  Once, I went back to the truck to warm up and decide if I should go back out or not.At 7 AM, two birds came down the north side of the field.  I was in some brush on the south side with two decoys.  When they were about 1/2 way, they came to my decoys.  I realized they were two males (jakes).  Their beards were about 2″ long.  They moved like two yoke oxen; in step together, pecking down in synchrony, and stretching their necks to look around.  It was interesting to watch, although it was only about 50% of the time as they traversed the field.My two decoys were about 15 yards from my brushy hangout and the birds came right to them.  They were appeared to be befuddled by the non-responding of the decoys.  They stood there and twisted their heads.They never gobbled, nor did they fan and strut.  I thought about taking the bigger one, but when I decided I’d shoot, the second bird was always in the way.  Also, it was early and I was sure the big guy would be strutting down shortly.  After about 20 minutes, they meandered off, looking back intermittenly.At 8 AM, four more jakes came from the west side of the field.  They were very splendid in their dark, shiny, sunlit feathers.  Just like the others, they never gobbled, strutted or displayed.  They just kept moving towards the first decoy.  They were unsure about the inanimate decoys and twisted and turned seeking a response from the decoys.  Finally, they were looking like they would move on.  I decided I would take the larger one.  Not to be.  The other three jakes managed to stay between me and the targeted one.  And, they too meandered down the field and out of sight.At 9 AM is when I went to the truck for some R&R.  I decided to go back to the spot and stayed until 10:30, no action.  I moved into the woods where the four turkeys had originated and made a few calls.  I did get one gobble out in front of me, but no bird appeared.  I finished the morning back at my spot and debating about tomorrow morning which is projected to be 34 degrees at sunrise!Lester Holt, nightly news, says there is going to be a meat shortage, so I will not hesitate to squeeze the trigger tomorrow. 25 more days, so I am confident.

I harvested a 6 point, 150 lb. buck in the first hour of the first day of the New York firearms season. I did not see another buck during the remainder of the firearms season and the late primitive season that ended yesterday, 12/18. I will have ten months to reflect on what I did and what I might have done.

Deer season, in New York, will return on October 1, 2019.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton