Going Feral: The 2023 Season. Third Year (or more) Running

Going Feral: The 2023 Season. Third Year (or more) Running: 

The 2023 Season. Third Year (or more) Running

I noted last year, when I did this report, the following:

The 2022 Season

The 2022 hunting season has ended.

In 2022, when I wrote about the 2021 season, I started off with this:

 It wasn't a great one, for a variety of reasons.

And that statement was true once again for 2022, but for different reasons, a lot of which had nothing much to do with the hunting season itself.

That's because 2022 has been the year of the field of Medicine, or age, or perhaps lifestyle, or whatever, catching up with me.

Well, I'm beginning to sound like a broken record on that, as it was once again quite true.

On big game, I didn't draw anything.  So, no antelope tag again.

Indeed, sometime in the fall, in one of the blogs linked in here, an out-of-state hunter posted about the great time he'd had in Wyoming antelope hunting and I nearly posted a crabby linked in post regarding that.  If out of staters are getting tags, in staters should be.

I didn't want to insult that person, so I didn't make that post, but I'm still not very happy about it.

I had general deer and elk tags, and I did go out for deer, but no luck.  For deer, I did have a very pleasant early winter hunt, if that's what we call this frighteningly warm mid-year season this year, but the only white tails, and that's what it was limited to, that we saw were on private land where I didn't have permission.  So, no deer.

Bird wise, the season was good for the most part.  Blue Grouse, which are illusive in my experience (a Game Warden who checked me didn't seem to think so) did make an appearance this year, so we did okay, but not great.

Doves were abundant, but I mostly missed shooting at them, which was sort of the story of the year in a lot of ways.  I did get a Mongolian Collared Dove for the first time, so was able to appreciate how much larger they are than Mourning Doves.

Sage chickens were also plentiful this year.

Chukars and Huns, which are in my experience very hard to hit, were abundant, but I didn't do well with them as I missed them more than I hit them.  I did get in a lot of late season chukar hunting close to town for the first time.

Waterfowl, which we hunted more than anything else, was very abundant.

So, not a self-reliance banner year. . . or was it?

Last Prior Edition:

The 2022 Season

Blog Mirror: A Shoshone tribal gathering promotes linguistic and cultural preservation through hunting

 

A Shoshone tribal gathering promotes linguistic and cultural preservation through hunting

Thursday, March 25, 1824. Banning open carry

The Mayor and Common Council of Annapolis, Maryland declared a by-law to prevent the firing of firearms and openly carrying them with in the city.  Violators were to be fined $5.00 for firing a gun, a hefty fine in those days, and $1.00 for openly carrying one.

However, if an offender was a slave, lashes or ten days imprisonment was ordered.  Slaves actually were commonly entrusted with firearms both for hunting purposes, thereby offsetting part of the costs of holding and keeping them or to keep them in good repair.

This item is interesting for numerous reasons.  One is, contrary to what people like to believe, the banning of openly carrying firearms was common throughout the 18th and 19th Centuries, and into the 20th.  Concealed firearms, however, tended to be a different matter.  Secondly, for much of the 18th Century, and into the 19th Century, armed slaves were not uncommon, which sounds odd, but they had little chance for escape, firearms were a common tool, and it demonstrated how cheap slaveholders could be, in that slaves often had to provide part of their own sustenance.

Related threads:

Perceptions on being armed, and the use of force.

Packing Heat

Last prior edition:

Monday, March 22, 1824. The Fall Creek Massacre

Southern Rockies Nature Blog: Greens and Guns

Southern Rockies Nature Blog: Greens and Guns: Ted William's recent article in Audobon lambastes hunters, anglers, and environmental activists for failing to make common cause. In ...

Interesting comment.

I have long thought this very thing. 

Going Feral: Subsistance Hunter/Fisherman of the Week: Dick Proenneke

Going Feral: Subsistance Hunter/Fisherman of the Week: Dick Pr...: 

Subsistance Hunter/Fisherman of the Week: Dick Proenneke

Dick Proenneke may be the ultimate modern subsistence hunter and fisherman in so far as the Western World is concerned.

Proenneke was born in Iowa in 1916.  His father was sort of a jack of all trades laborer, which is and was common to rural areas.  His father was also a veteran of World War One.  Dick followed in his father's footsteps prior to World War Two, leaving high school before graduation, something extremely common in that era (less than 50% of males graduated from high school prior to World War Two  He joined the Navy in World War Two and took up hiking around San Francisco while recovering from rheumatic fever contracted in the service.  Having the disease was life altering for him, as he became focused on his health.  He received a medical discharge from the Navy in 1945.

After the war he became a diesel mechanic, but his love of nature caused him to move to Oregon to work on a sheep ranch, and then to Shuyark Island, Alaska, in 1950.  From 1950 to 1968 he worked for a variety of employers, including the Navy and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.  He moved to the wilderness in 1968, at age 52, the year that in many ways gave us the Post Post World War Two World we are now seeing collapse.  He lived there, as a single man, until 1999, when old age forced him out of the woods and to his brother's home in California.  He died in there in 2003, at age 86.  His cabin now belongs to the Park Service.

Proenneke loved photography and left an extensive filmed record of his life in Alaska.

There's a lot that can be gleaned from his life, some of which would probably be unwarranted, as every person's life is their own.  Having noted that, however, it should be noted that Proenneke is not the only person to live in this manner in Alaska's back wood, including up to the present.  So he's not fully unique, but rather his high intelligence and filmed record has made him known.

It's also notable, fwiw, that he was a single man.  Basically, if looked at carefully, his retreat to the woods came in his retirement, as he had very low expenses up until 1968, and had worked for the government for many years.  He never married, so he never had a family or responsibilities of that type.  Many of the men who live in wild Alaska have married into native families, so their circumstances are different.

Probably every young man who loves the outdoors has contemplated doing something like what Proenneke actually did, while omitted the decades of skilled labor as a single man that came before it.  And in reality, Proenneke, had lived over half his life as a working man with strong outdoor interests, rather than in the wilderness.  People really aren't meant to live the way he lived, in extreme isolation, save for a few.

Related Threads:

Dick Proenneke in Alone in the Wilderness

Dick Proenneke in Alone in the Wilderness part II

Going Feral: Subsistence Hunter of the Week, John "Pondoro" Taylor.

Going Feral: Subsistence Hunter of the Week, John "Pondoro" Tay...: 

Subsistence Hunter of the Week, John "Pondoro" Taylor.

This entry may be controversial.  

Certainly, it's questionable.

John Howard "Pondoro" Taylor was a near contemporary to last week's entry, Jack O'Connor.  O'Connor bore an Irish last name, and Taylor did not, but Taylor was a Dublin born son of a well-to-do surgeon and fit into the Anglo-Irish Protestant class that basically ran Ireland until the Anglo-Irish War.  Indeed, it is rumored that Taylor may have gotten into trouble somehow with the IRA, resulting in his relocation to Africa.

I've read the Peter Hathaway Capstick's biography of Taylor, but I've forgotten almost all of it. I usually retain a great deal of what I read, but Capstick is not my favorite author and I've lost the details.  That means this entry is, to a large degree, uninformed.

First, does Taylor deserve a spot here at all?

Taylor was an Ivory hunter, and frankly, he was a poacher.  That puts him outside of the classification of subsistence hunter, to be sure.

More on that in a moment.

Taylor went to Africa in the golden age of African big game hunting, which roughly stretched from the 1890s until 1950, and which coincided with the height of late stage European colonialism.  A "remission man", that class of English man who was sent overseas by their family, with a sort of allowance, in order that they not cause trouble in their line of succession, he was a prolific hunter but oddly solitary.  He had no interest in guiding hunting clients at all.  As noted, he was an ivory hunter, and a poacher, at a time when that was not admirable, but which did not threaten the game populations, but he also hunted other African species very widely, to include African game bird species we otherwise very rarely think of.

Taylor is known to us today as he was well-educated and very literate.  He authored two books, one of which is an absolute classic to this day in terms of big game cartridges.  His book on African cartridges basically picks up where Jack O'Connor's leaves off.  He cannot be discounted as an expert on big game hunting, or on cartridges.

All together, Taylor write at least five books, with African Rifles and Cartridges being an absolute classic. There is a sequel to it, which I have not read, just on hunting cartridges alone.  Interestingly, his last book, Shadows of Shame, was not only his only novel, but it apparently had subtle homosexual themes, with Taylor widely believed to be homosexual himself, which may have led to his explosion from Africa.  He was also a slaveholder, in this case the two being linked as he purchased a young man in the bush from the boys desperate parents, with the African man going on to be the object of his attention later on.

Slavery and pedophile behavior cannot be excused, so the question is why list Taylor, who ended up dying in poverty in London?  Perhaps he's a reminder that some individuals of great talent also have enormous faults.  At any rate, he lived by his rifles for most of his life, existing off of what he shot for food and an income.  He's not wholly admirable by any means, but his written works remain among the best ever written on rifle cartridges.

Going Feral: Subsistence hunter/fisherman of the week. Townsend Whelen

Going Feral: Subsistence hunter/fisherman of the week. Townsend...:

Subsistence hunter/fisherman of the week. Townsend Whelen

By occupation, Townsend Whelen was an Army officer who came into the Army through the National Guard, having first served in the nation's oldest military branch from 1895, and then having served in the Army from 1902 to 1936, leaving the service at the rank of Colonel.

At first an infantry officer, and then later an ordnance officer, Whelen had grown up outdoors in New York's Adirondack's and then moved to Pennsylvania, where he first served in the National Guard.  Joining the Army in 1902 as a commissioned officer, Whelen enjoyed military service at a time at which being a career officer tended to leave abundant free time for other pursuits, which in Whelen's case amounted to rigorous outdoor pursuits, including, and indeed principally, consisting of backwoods and wilderness hunting.  Indeed, his Army service included this as it took him to remote locations which remained very wild at the time.

A dedicated hunter, Whelen is in part remembered today for his association with the .30-06 military round in a hunting application, principally chambered in sporting variants of the M1903 Springfield rifle.  His name today is attached to the .35 Whelen cartridge, which was a wildcat cartridge based on the .30-06 during the time at which he was the superintendent of Frankfurt Arsenal.  It followed the development of the .400 Whelen which was also based on the .30-06, and about it Whelen recounted:

About the time we completed development of this cartridge (the .400 Whelen), I went on a long hunting trip in the Northwest, and when I returned, Mr. Howe showed me another cartridge he had developed. The .30-06 case was necked to .35 caliber to use existing .35-caliber bullets. Mr. Howe asked my permission to call this cartridge the .35 Whelen, but he alone deserves credit for its development.[ 

35 Whelen 

The 35 Whelen was designed by James Howe, of Griffin and Howe, partially in response to letters from Leslie Simpson and Stewart Edward White, suggesting that a good all-round rifle for African use would be one of 333 to 350 caliber, with a bullet of 250- to 300 grains (ideally 275 at 2500 fps. Both men (along with Roy Chapman Andrews and the Rev. Dr. Harry Caldwell, who were active in Asia,) perhaps the finest big game shots our country has produced, were aware of the outstanding performance of the 318 Westley-Richards with a 250-grain bullet, the 333 Jeffrey with a 300-grain bullet and the 350 Rigby with a 310-grain bullet on thin-skinned dangerous and non-dangerous game in Africa. It is of passing interest that the bullet for the old British 333 Jeffery is much like the 300-grain copper tube bullet which Winchester introduced for the 338 Magnum. The 35 Whelen was the first of 3 (three) efforts by Griffin and Howe to produce a cartridge that would meet this ideal. All were in 35 caliber. The 35 Whelen is simply the 30-06 necked up to 35 caliber and it’s about as easy to form from '06 brass as is the 270. Later, an "improved" version of the 35 Whelen, with venturi shoulders like Weatherby cartridges, was made up, but it never caught on. The 35 Whelen, now available in several factory rounds, and factory chambered in several different rifles (although some gunsmiths still sell properly formed brass for it) has racked up a tremendous record all over the world, rivaling the 375 Holland and Holland in its effectiveness. It was originally designed, partially, as a substitute for the 375 H & H, since rifles for it could be made up using inexpensive 30-06 actions rather than costly magnum-length Mauser Actions. It has killed, with aplomb and efficiency, all of the trophy animals in the world, with the possible exception of the “Big Three” (elephant, rhinoceros, and cape buffalo.) It can be loaded down to 35 Remington speeds for light recoil and pot-shooting, or loaded up to provide terrific stopping power--more than should ever be needed by a competent rifleman facing American big game. Although not legal in certain parts of Africa for dangerous game (some countries require that rifles of at least 375 or 400 caliber be used,) solid nose bullets are available so that, in a pinch, it would probably serve. It is easy to rebarrel an action to this cartridge-- it does not even require opening up the bolt face or free-boring; the rimless brass for it, as with the 358, is cheaper and easier to manufacture than the belted brass necessary for the 350 Remington, 35 Griffin and Howe (or Holland and Holland, as it is sometimes known) and 358 Norma Magnum. There is still a great future awaiting the 35 Whelen and, now that the 22-250 has been legitimized, perhaps we can hope that the 35 Whelen will meet the same good fortune.

Whelen, in addition to being a prolific hunter, was very active in shooting sports, and a prolific author as well. 

Last prior edition:

Subsistence hunter/fisherman of the week, and Agrarian of the Week, Tom Bell.

Going Feral: Subsistence hunter/fisherman of the week. Albert Nelson

Going Feral: Subsistence hunter/fisherman of the week. Albert N...: 

Subsistence hunter/fisherman of the week. Albert Nelson

He was Wyoming's first game warden, hired in.1899.

While contrary to what is sometimes suggested, he occasionally had deputy game wardens in his three-year stint, his statewide, hands on, role was a monumental task.  He received funding at the amount of $1,200 per year, from which he had to pay himself and deputies who received $3.00 per day.

Last edition:

Subsistence hunter/fisherman of the week. Theodore Roosevelt

Going Feral: Subsistrnce hunter/fisherman of the week. Theodore Roosevelt

Going Feral: Subsistence hunter/fisherman of the week. Theodore...: 

Subsistance hunter/fisherman of the week. Theodore Roosevelt

Perhaps no American, and indeed perhaps no human, has done more for the cause of wildlife conservation than was done by President Theodore Roosevelt.

A great naturalist, a great man, and a great President, he was also an avid hunter and fisherman.

Going Feral: Subsistence hunter/fisherman of the week. Aldo Leopold

Going Feral: Subsistence hunter/fisherman of the week. Aldo Le...: 

Subsistence hunter/fisherman of the week. Aldo Leopold

Famous for his writings and the creation of "The Land Ethic", Leopold came to his views on nature and philosophy because he was an avid lifelong hunter.

Leopold bow hunting in New Mexico, 1938.

Going Feral: Expansion of Migratory Big Game Initiative

Going Feral: Expansion of Migratory Big Game Initiative: 

Expansion of Migratory Big Game Initiative

The USDA announced that it is expanding the Migratory Big Game Initiative successfully used in Wyoming to Montana and Idaho. This allows farmers and ranchers across all three states to access money to protect big game migratory routes.

Going Feral: Blog Mirror: Eric Movar from the Tribune: Rock Springs plan proposal brings commonsense conservation to the Red Desert

Going Feral: Blog Mirror: Eric Movar from the Tribune: Rock Sp...: 

Blog Mirror: Eric Movar from the Tribune: Rock Springs plan proposal brings commonsense conservation to the Red Desert

The Rock Springs Field Office proposed Resource Management  Plan includes a wise balance of  land uses for 3.6 million acres of public land, but it’s apparently much too rational for Wyoming’s  elected leaders. We have seen a pathetic outpouring of outright  lies from Wyoming politicians,  hot-headed hyperbolic rants from unhinged exploiters and  shameless industry lapdogs. 

Their slanted view of public land uses — extract every use from every acre regardless of the damage to the land, its wildlife populations, and public recreation — has held sway for far too long already.

Rep. John Winter, R-Thermopolis, says the proposed plan would  lock out hunters, and he’s lying.  Fact check: Not only will the plan  protect Little Mountain and many  other hunting hotspots from decimation by heavy industry, but it will improve habitats and boost big game populations, improving hunting opportunities.

Rep. John Bear, R-Gillette, says the plan would “take away the livelihood of hundreds of ranchers,” and he’s lying. The reality is that 99.8% of the planning area would remain rented to ranchers for livestock forage, and the few areas slated for closure haven’t been grazed for years. Sure, there are new designations for areas where enough forage would have to be left behind for elk and mule deer, but that should have been required all along.

U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., says, “This RMP will exclude, prohibit and bar all access, management, and use of vast swaths, vast swaths, of public land,” and she’s lying. In truth, the entire planning area will remain open to public access, every acre of land will continue to be managed, and every acre of land will remain open to multiple types of uses. (Many public uses and benefits have nothing to do with lining some corporation’s pocket, by the way).

Much more in the article. 

The author, Eric Movar, is a Western Watersheds Project’s Executive Director and frankly, I'm not a big fan of the Western Watershed Project, which I think tends to be anti agriculture.  Here, however, I think they're right on the mark.

Southern Rockies Nature Blog: What the Hunter Said to the Dog, and What the Dog ...

Southern Rockies Nature Blog: What the Hunter Said to the Dog, and What the Dog ...: Long ago in the Ice Age, a rough fluffy Dog lay down on the Hunter's reindeer-skin pack. When the Hunter returned, he spoke: "Hey, ...

The pause that refreshes.

The pause that refreshes.

Tuesday, September 18, 1923. Berkeley Fire, Upset Oklahoma Legislature.

Those items were the big news.

More locally, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission decided there would be a sage chicken season that year, but it would start in October, rather than Septeber as it now does.  And the first deer of deer season was taken.

Going Feral: Dove Opener

Going Feral: Dove Opener: 

Dove Opener

Rhodie camo.  Politically incorrect, but effective.

The dog found a turkey carcass.

Two doves, with lots of shooting.

Going Feral: Fishing season is over, and hunting season has begun.

Fishing season is over, and hunting season has begun.

I am, by vocation, a hunter.  A hunter of wildlife and fish.  And I'm not exaggerating.

This isn't a hobby with me.  I'm stuck in a feral past, or perhaps a more feral future, but lving in the present.  

And I'm more of a hunter than a fisherman, in contrast with my father, who was the other way around

The first two seasons of the year open on September 1.  Like most years, due to my occupation (which most people, at least who are professionals, would claim as their vocation, although I'd wager that it is with less than half, very conservatively), I worked.  Opening weekend for me, therefore, is usually when I first get out, and I first get out for the greatest of the wild grouse, Blue Grouse.

They are, I'd note, delicious.

This is a somewhat complicated story, but because of the route I take in, I need permission to cross, which is always forthcoming but I didn't hear back in time this year. That meant that I needed to drive into a location a good two miles further from my normal jumping off point.

And the road, due to the heavy rains this year, and the winter snow, was eroded to impassable. So the walk was further than expected.

But still very pretty, in the morning light.

Because of the very long hike, and my recent surgery, I armed myself with a kids model 20 gauge and buttoned my shirt up to my neck.  Because my old M1911 campaign hat was a casualty of a rattlesnake event two years ago, I wore a replacement United States Park Service campaign hat.  I don't like it nearly as much as my old M1911.

I will say that those wearing synthetic hats are, well, missing the point, and the boat.

The entire trip involves some mountain climbing for the dog.

The dog won't eat in the morning (poodles and doodles are strange about this) due to excitement, so I packed his uneaten breakfast with me. When we hit the high country, he was by that time hungry, in spite of his excitement.

Those boots?  White's smoke jumpers.  Best boots ever.

We hike a fair amount. The dog drank out of a few streams, but I also carry a canteen and he's learned to drink out of a canteen cup.

We found and bagged two young grouse.

And ate them one that evening.  I fried both, that night, and had the second one, reheated the second evening.
 

Jerks.

I've been going through my camera roll on my computer, as frankly the organization was a mess.  In doing so, I stumbled back across this photograph from last season.

This depicts some Colorado fishermen who nearly ran over my dog, which they could see, in their haste to get to the river before me.

Keep in mind, this is one of those classic acts that depends on me being rational.  They were headed right for the dog at quite a speed and nearly hit him.  I was caring a shotgun.  No, I'm not going to shoot somebody over a dog, but in my legal career I've twice had instances in which a person very nearly did just that.  

I went ahead and loaded up in the howling wind and hunted this stretch of the river anyway.  They looked like they weren't doing well in the high winds.

And people wonder why us natives resent Colorado sportsmen.

Blog Mirror: Standard Poodle – Hunting Dog Breed

 

Standard Poodle – Hunting Dog Breed

Blog Mirror: Flagship Retrievers – A Legacy of Waterfowl Dogs

 Where labs, chessies and golden retrievers come from:

Flagship Retrievers – A Legacy of Waterfowl Dogs