Calif. Hunter
Active member
Michael was nervous about shooting the 20 ga for the first time. I really wanted him to take his first shot on some kind of action target, so he would not be so focused on recoil. We got to Jorge's ranch at about 10 am and I took him to the range there. I put out a plastic soda bottle for him to shoot, but he wanted me to help hold the shotgun. He then took the shot and sent the bottle flying across the ground. His words were:
"That was the best experience of my life!"
He then shot several more times by himself....
We tried to find some quail, but he was nervous if I got out of his sight. The ranch is very brushy with junipers and scrub oak 8 to 10 feet high and lots of cactus. Michael had gotten lost once for an hour or so when he was 8-years old on a camping trip, and did not want to got through that again.
The quail were nervous, leading me to believe that someone had been poaching. Jorge does not hunt birds himself, so I am about the only one who hunts them there. I've "heard," though, that the help shoots them with .22's.......
We finally located a covey - much harder to do without a dog - and I went around the back of the trees and brush to flush them. I got a shot at one and missed and then heard Mikey's 20 ga go off as a bunch erupted form the other side of the cover. Then -
"Dad!!!! I got one!"
He had actually managed to bag one on the wing..... I was sure proud of him!
The covey scattered all over and Michael did not want to chase them through the brush. We hung around the pond for a while and Michael shot a ground squirrel with his .22 and a couple of non-game birds with the shotgun. A flock of about 10 mallards came in and he wanted to shoot one of them, but we did not have migratory game bird stamps, so he was disappointed.
Next weekend, I'll go back with my friend and really hunt hard. Maybe my other buddy will be back from Montana with his lab....
On a bright spot, my knee seemed to get better the more I worked it, and it bothered me a lot less that night than normal, lately. I hope it holds up well on my deer hunt in a few weeks. It really only bothered me going downhill on loose soil or rocks. Perhaps the good arch support in my boots helps? I'll have to check out some insoles for my regular shoes.
"That was the best experience of my life!"
He then shot several more times by himself....
We tried to find some quail, but he was nervous if I got out of his sight. The ranch is very brushy with junipers and scrub oak 8 to 10 feet high and lots of cactus. Michael had gotten lost once for an hour or so when he was 8-years old on a camping trip, and did not want to got through that again.
The quail were nervous, leading me to believe that someone had been poaching. Jorge does not hunt birds himself, so I am about the only one who hunts them there. I've "heard," though, that the help shoots them with .22's.......
We finally located a covey - much harder to do without a dog - and I went around the back of the trees and brush to flush them. I got a shot at one and missed
and then heard Mikey's 20 ga go off as a bunch erupted form the other side of the cover. Then -"Dad!!!! I got one!"
He had actually managed to bag one on the wing.....
I was sure proud of him!The covey scattered all over and Michael did not want to chase them through the brush. We hung around the pond for a while and Michael shot a ground squirrel with his .22 and a couple of non-game birds with the shotgun. A flock of about 10 mallards came in and he wanted to shoot one of them, but we did not have migratory game bird stamps, so he was disappointed.
Next weekend, I'll go back with my friend and really hunt hard. Maybe my other buddy will be back from Montana with his lab....
On a bright spot, my knee seemed to get better the more I worked it, and it bothered me a lot less that night than normal, lately. I hope it holds up well on my deer hunt in a few weeks. It really only bothered me going downhill on loose soil or rocks. Perhaps the good arch support in my boots helps? I'll have to check out some insoles for my regular shoes.
