# Small game hunting memorys.



## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Being cooped up in the house with this nasty cold has me doing a lot of remembering.

So many memorys were made small game hunting with my brother and friends not sure where to start.

We liked hunting Pat's for short, but Partridge. Our folks woods had been clear cut in the mid 1950's. So the habitat was great for them, lots of wild berry bushes provided food small slim stands of Popple also provided food and to some extent cover.
Was diffacult for a hunter to work thru the stuff very easy and getting a shot off when one flushed right in you face and recovering from a heart attack at the same time WELL.

In the early 1960's when the folks felt us boys were old enough to hunt alone the population was very high. A logger had approached dad about bull dozeing a path to the back line fence so they could timber off the property behind dads they couldn't get to due to a chain of beaver ponds.
Dad told the logger that he could do that for a small fee and to bull doze a good trail across the woods to the cedar swamp on the south west corner.

Perfect hunting, good habitat, food and cover and a bunch of places to dust.
Brother and I didn't have a dog we would take hunting birds or rabbits only cow hunting LOL. We would walk the logging roads slowly first as it was easy to see the Pats dusting and get a shot gun up and swing on the bird. Once we had walked all the logging trails it was time to wade into the thick brush and berry briers to kick the birds up again.

We could do a decent job getting birds for the pot with the amount of ammo we had. 
We were able when we got a quarter of so go into the Gamble store in town and Mister Gromac would break a box and sell us 5 16 ga. shells 7 1/2 for the 16 ga. of dad's I used and the 7 shells 2 1/2 inch for the 410/44 lug Ivers Johson shot gun my brother used.

Many favorite memories of hunting them.

That chain of beaver ponds would provide some memorys last in life. 

 Al


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

End of Sept fled, small game season opens the 15th since I can remember. October came and went as did the first part of Nov. Then on the 15th of November Michigans Fire arm deer season opened and we were not allowed to be in the woods being to young to deer hunt then.

December first came and we had snow. Great time to go hunting the Snow Shoe Hare in the snow. Rob and I had a Uncle Bob an old bachlor who would come live with us much of the winter being laid off from his gravel pit job. Uncle Bob would work with us on how to shoot the shot gun on Pats and other running game. He also taught us many things about the game we hunted tips so to speak.

He said the number one thing to remember about hunting the snow shoes in the snow was go slow and keep our eyes open. The snow shoe had a libility with that shiny black eye in the snow, watch for it.

Again we didn't have a rabbit dog, we were our own rabbit dog. When we could we liked to go after a fresh snow fall look for fresh tracks. One of us would start trailing the tracks many times jumping the rabbit, some times being able to get a shot off and many times not. but staying on the rabbits tracks like a very slow dog we would push that rabbit in a circle to whom ever was waiting who got the shot.

Rabbit season still to this day runs to the end of March and the snow shoes are many times still white with the snow gone back ground. That lead us to have a run in with a DNR guy in 1973.

March 1973 Brother and I were laid off from work. The state had different sections of the state land near us logged off. Brother and I found it to be like our child hood wood lot great cover for pats and snow shoe rabbits.

Several of those patches had some really steep hills with bare valleys between them. walking one of the hills tops I look across and see a snow shoe rabbit clear as day sunning it's self. We guess the range at possiable 125 yards.
So on the way home with our limit of rabbits I suggest to brother we come back the next day and bring our 243's. Didn't own any 22 center fires or 22 mags back then.

Check the rule book and there is no law saying we couldn't. So next day off we go walk out the the hill top where I had seen the snow shoe sat down and started scanning the hill across the way. Spot one and Rob had won the first shot with his Winchester model 70 with a 4x12 scope. He nailed that rabbit first shot. Did a little more scanning so we went down the hill and up the other side and got his rabbit.
We sat down and started scanning the hill we had just came down and saw another rabbit, remember they are white with a brown back ground and that shiny black eye.
My shot had missed high with my Reminton 700 BDL 3x9 scope. Second shot I got it, farther scanning found one more which Rob again got with a single shot. 
We split up then and collected our rabbits and went to the jeep to move to another area. A DNR officer was there when we got there said he had just drove up and heard our high power rifle shots.

Wanted to take our rifles for hunting deer out of season so we showed him our rabbits and he said we could not do that. Well we carry a book so pull it out and tell him there is the book, show us we can't do it.
In the end he let us go but told us we would probably get hassled a lot for doing that.

We were laid off for another 2 weeks and every day it wasn't raining we were back snipeing snow shoe hare. 

 Al


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## ridgerunner1965 (Apr 13, 2013)

I spent most of my grade school and early high school years in the woods. I had two favorite rifles. a marlin 39a that I had saved for a long time to buy and 45 cal Kentucky rifle I had built from a sears kit. the Kentucky was a bit crude as I didn't really have much in the way of proper tools, but it was sure accurate.

when roaming the oak ridges I always had my dog with me. he was a half austrailian shepard and collie cross. he was barr none the finest hunting dog I have ever met. he would not mess with a skunk,house cat,chicken or deer. but everything else was fair game to him. we did not have bears then but I swear he would of treed one if he found one.

his main targets were squirrels and groundhogs. lots of memories hunting with that dog!


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## Nimrod (Jun 8, 2010)

I hunted a wildlife management area with my experienced golden retriever and my brother's somewhat experienced black lab. You had to drive in on a 2 track road about 1/4 mile to get to the 80 of WMA. The season was a few weeks old and they had been hit hard. My strategy after the first week of the opener like that is to do the unexpected so I parked on the gravel road and walked in on the 2 track. There was a strip of grass about 30 feet wide between the 2 track and a freshly plowed field. Part way in the lab put his nose down and started coursing the grass strip between the 2 track and the plowed field. My golden noticed this and ran 50 yards down the 2 track. He cut into the grass and started working his way back toward us. The poor pheasant was boxed in. When he flew I nailed him. I suspect he had been letting other hunters drive right past or running into the corn field if threatened but the farmer had just harvested the field. That golden was the smartest dog I ever had. He figured out how to box that pheasant on his own. I didn't direct him. 

I always enjoyed getting a little help from mother nature. A buddy and I were hunting hungarian partridge by driving the gravel roads and spotting coveys out in the plowed field. As we were driving along a hawk pounced on a hun in the ditch. The rest flew out into a sugar beet field. Well we knew where they were so we walked out into the midst of them. It was a free for all. They were getting up all around us. You'd shoot one and the shot would spook another. About 15 seconds of chaos. 

Same golden and I were duck hunting in ND. The slough had an island in the middle covered in sage brush. I was keeping watch for ducks to come into the decoys when I spotted an approaching flock of birds. After a few seconds of observation my brain said ignore them, they are not ducks. Suddenly the lightbulb went on and I dropped 2 sage grouse right into the decoys. I sent the golden to retrieve them. He got to them, sniffed them, said these are not ducks, and started back. It took a bit of encouragement but he did retrieve the grouse.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Met My best hunting partner August 1968 at a family event. he first invited me to shoot trap at his brother in laws farm. Then in Oct invited me to hunt phesants with he and brother in law and his brother.

The farm was nearly 2 hours from my place so I drove there early to be on time to meet. We started out in a soy bean field, long before the 12 inch rows came about. Flushed a phesant and it set its wings to soar, every one took a shot none effecting the bird. I took my shot and the bird soared straight up and dropped. No one beleived me with a 16ga could have gotten the bird. I carried it to keep it seprate form any others and when we were cleaning them it was comfirmed it was my shot that got the bird. They were all useing 6 shot, I was useing 7 1/2 shot.

 Al


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Old days shot shell reloading fun. I have a 16ga. Wards western field and was reloading my shot shells with a mec 650JR press. in those days the bars were drilled and marked for what they thru as far as powder & shot. if yoiu wanted to change you had to buy a whole new bar. 
the hulls them selves were also a lot of fun. Many companys in late 1960s were useing plastic for the main hull body and the base molded on and the base wads were many time a sort of card board. 

So with that back ground you will be able to under stand my story better.

Oct 1970 opening day of Duck season we, my hunting partner Rick, his brother Norm and Brother inlaws Jim and Dale were hunting a chain of beaver pounds mid Michigan.
The first pond a huge one a couple 3 acres a streem from it thru a deep cut to the upper pond.
We had a flat bottom pram to hunt from in the bigger pond Jim and Dale used , Norm chose to cover the deep cut, Rick and I in chest waders were covering the upper pond. thr duck kicked out of one pond would fly thru the cut to the other pond so everuy one was getting plenty of action. 
We also had new birds comeing from other beaver ponds and streams other hunters were working.

We decided we had out limit of ducks like Mallards and Teal both blue and green wings.
I had shot shells floating in the water I couldn't reach so we got the pram up to the upper pound and whild Rick worked the oars I picked up hulls.

Back at the house I put the hulls in a mesh bag Onions come in and hung them in the sun after draining all the water out.

They hung in that mesh bag for 2 weeks in the all day sun and for another week beside the wood burner since it had gotten colder and we had it going.
After 3 weeks I reloaded them for a up coming Phesant hunt on Jim and Dales farm.

The day arrived for the phesant hunt and I was ready not much phesant hunting where I lived. We are working a corn stubble that had been picked on the cob. I had a pair of roosters jump in front of the one flushing dog we had in front of me. First shot and the gun went BLOP and bb's rolled out the end of the barrel. I take the shog gun down and use a corn stalk to push the wad out of the barrel. reassemble it and catch up with the other guys. Soon I had a Rooster flush in front of me I raise and fire again A Blop Again bb's roll out he end of the barrel.

Decide those hulls had not fully dried so I was not going to have any luck hunting farther with them.
I had the only 16ga so could not borrow any ammo from the others. so I left them and went into town and bought some store bought shot shells and went backi and met the guys at dinner time as agreed.

I took those water loged shells back home and hung by the stove for a couple months and by January they were working hunting rabbits.

Today every hull I reload is totaly plastic with a metal base molded on.
I also do my hunting with the group with a 12ga or 20 ga so if need be I can borrow ammo or loan ammo.

 Al


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## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

A friend of mine had a 16 ga, because he had 4 boys and they all used 12 ga. and he wasnt going to furnish them ammo


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I used a 16 ga because that is what dad had and he found me the used 16ga wards shot gun. I still like the 16 and still reload for it on the same press. I even still have that wards shot gun. But isn't used because the fireing pin is broken and no one has one. 
It is a gun made by Noble.

 Al


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## Nimrod (Jun 8, 2010)

I do all my reloading using 2 3/4 inch compression formed AA hulls saved from trap shooting. These are plastic base wad and low brass. They are not made anymore but I still have a 50 gallon garbage bag full. 

I made up some really hot loads for pass shooting. The dent the firing pin made was pushed back out by the chamber pressure. I was away from the truck chasing pheasants when someone broke into it and stole all my hunting rounds, including the hot ones masquerading as trap loads. I am certain the thief got a well deserved surprise when he touched them off. 

On one slough I hunted you had to push your way through a quarter mile of cattails to reach the open water. I got my limit, picked up the dekes, and headed back. The temp had warmed up a lot since I went out at 5:00 and I was working up a good sweat. I took my hat off and put it into the pocket of my hunting coat. When I got out of the cattails I noticed it had fallen out somewhere in the cattails. Good luck finding a camo hat in a cattail swamp. I told my golden to fetch my hat and sure enough he went back in there and brought it back. 

I was duck hunting and a nice drake canvass back flew directly over about 50 yards up. It didn't waver a bit when I shot. I watched it fly on and about a half a mile away it collapsed. Fortunately it landed in a plowed field and was easy to find. One pellet hit a lung and it took that long for the lungs to fill up with blood. Also have had that happen with pheasants I "missed".


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

My dad was going to turn 55 in 1969. He had been hunting small game with my brother and I with a old Stevens 16ga single shot shot gun he had bought in 1948. He said he paid a forutine for it $12.00 new.


So for his birthday I was getting him a new pump shot gun a 20ga Ithaca model 37 Feather lite. Our favorite gun shop reloader supplier would give me the best deal. His birthday was 10 days after the season opened, was really surprised when he woke up that morning coming out for morning coffee and finding a box a long thin one in his chair.


Stood by his chair and looked around to see if he could get a clue as to what is was and who who dunit. He sat it sat it side to sit down and have that all important cup of coffee.

Once he had coffee in the cup and taken a few sips he opened the box. He lit up like a 200 watt light bulb when he saw it. Says well can’t hunt with it today I don’t have any ammo.


Ya we have plenty of ammo Rob has his Stevens 311 and I have my Silver Snipe 20ga so we have plenty of ammo.

After we had breakfast Rob whistled up Skunk and we loaded in the Mercury for the drive to the woods.


We arrived and skunk did a quick run around to stretch her legs and say OK I am ready lets go people.

We headed for the wild apple trees along the south fence line Pat’s are almost always under them cleaning fallen apples. 

Rob and I had agreed we wouldn’t shoot till after dad had gotten a bird. Sure enough as we are getting close to the first apple tree Skunks tail is wind milling like crazy. That is always a sign she is on birds, rabbit and once even a skunk that got her an I.


A couple birds flew when Skunk wen charging in when Rob told her to. Dad raised the 20 and shot getting one bird. Rob and I are yelling at him to pump it but was to late as he had tried to break it like his single shot.


We hit several more and dad finally got the hang of shooting them pumping for a second shot.

He was able to get several birds and a cotton tail rabbit before we quit for dinner.

Dad was geeked up and more than ready to go out in the afternoon. The afternoon we were hunting a strip of mostly mature popple trees along side a large beaver pound. A group of pats rose and we shot several which Skunk was quick to being to me.

Dad remarked that Skunk belonged to Rob and has hunted many times with him alone, He feeds her while we are working out of town 3 hours from home and Skunk brings the birds to me. 


That was just one day Skunk would bring birds to me, she would bring them to any one in our hunting group. I believe it was mostly whom ever she saw first when she had picked the bird or rabbit up and turned to bring it.


 Al


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## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

Some good memories there....


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Oct 1970 duck hunt. I touched on this a bit when I was telling of my pheasant hunt and the bb’s rolling out the end of the barrel and pushing the wad from the barrel of my 16 gauge.


It was prime duck hunting at its best never having been hunted before. Two large beaver ponds one a bit bigger than the other separated by about 100 yards and a deep cut to the Middle branch river head waters.


It was opening day so the season was not officially open till 10:00 am. Gave us plenty of time to set up and draw up a plan on how to hunt the ducks. The upper pond was started just inside a cedar swamp that started the draining. It was not real wide either. Then it flowed thru the cut to the lower pond which was way bigger. So big you could not stand on shore at the narrowest part and pitch a red & white pike spoon half way across. 


When the legal shooting time arrived Rick and I stepped off the bank in to the pond in our waders being careful to slowly feel our way along so we didn’t step in any holes and channels the beaver had made gathering mud for the dam and the lodges. Ya learned that while fishing the ponds and getting waders full of water. 


Soon we were near enough to a flock of mallards they rose from the water. We got a few as they rose and headed down stream to the lower pond.

We also got a flock of Mergansers to fly soon after. Another 3 or so fell back in the water. 

We could hear shooting down stream at the cut and the lower pond and soon a flock of Mallards came circling back attempting to land during a hail of bb’s. They circled and headed back down stream to meet a hail off bb’s there so finally they just flew down the river.


More ducks came flying in from other lakes and ponds near by. One lake was only a mile thru the woods and a second was just two miles thru the woods. There were also several natural ponds with in a couple miles.


We met at the cut at noon to count up to make sure the had not gone over the limit. 

This was back before the points system. We were one short of every one having a limit of Mallards and there were 5 blue wing teal and 3 green wings. There were a bunch of mergansers which had no limit at the time.


We decided to go and have some lunch and then go hunt a couple other beaver ponds a mile and a half away.

We ended the day with a limit of ducks. Many turn up their noses at mergansers and leave them to rot when they shoot one. But like many other things when properly prepared they are very good eating.

 Al


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I don't believe even the winchester AA hulls were compression formed in the early or mid 1960's. but seems they did come around in the late 1960's.

*"Starting in the 1960s, plastic cases started to replace paper hulls for shotgun shells; by the 1980s, plastic cases had become almost universal."*
*
"By the end of the 1960s, signalled the gradual disappearance of the Paper shell"
*
I think it is intresting how shot shells were colored to help people not use the wrong ammo in a shot gun, which came about in the 1960's also. Yellow to orange for 20 ga, purple for 16ga, red for 12's.
Today it seems that is going by the way side. 
I have gray, red, white, blue, black, clear and even pink 12 ga hulls. Most gathered in the last 60 days from people who shoot clays with us. 
*
*
 Al


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## LostCaper (Oct 10, 2016)

*Toby… my German shepherd, my Buddy, my Rabbit Dog and my Compass.* 

Between the ages of 14 and 17 I would take Toby, my German Shepard hunting. He would spook out the rabbits and I would shoot them. We were a great team indeed. I remember hunting on a dark stormy evening. Toby and I had been chasing rabbits and I got turned around. It was getting dark and I didn’t have my compass. I instructed Toby to go home. I think he sensed my fear. He quit chasing rabbits and he lead me right to a familiar path and headed for home. Man was that a relief. The first time was unnerving but after awhile I knew that I could count on Toby to take me home. Animal are amazing. 


Also during those hunting days, sometimes I would hunt 2 miles up a path which lead me to the highway (trans Canada). I would cross over the Trans Canda and hunt the other side. On the way home, instead of walking through the woods in the dark, I would walk the Trans Canada that bypassed our town. Different evenings people would stop and ask me if I was selling the rabbits. I would sell them a pair of rabbits for $2.00 to $5.00. It sure is different today. If you walked along the highway with a gun they would call the police and definitely would not stop to buy a pair of rabbits from a stranger with a gun.


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## LostCaper (Oct 10, 2016)

alleyyooper said:


> Oct 1970 duck hunt. I touched on this a bit when I was telling of my pheasant hunt and the bb’s rolling out the end of the barrel and pushing the wad from the barrel of my 16 gauge.
> 
> 
> It was prime duck hunting at its best never having been hunted before. Two large beaver ponds one a bit bigger than the other separated by about 100 yards and a deep cut to the Middle branch river head waters.
> ...


Man that is some great hunting and great memories. Thanks for sharing


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## ridgerunner1965 (Apr 13, 2013)

when my son was young we often went rabbit hunting in a brush patch beside my house. he wasn't very old but had a super nice 20 ga rem auto his gpa had left him when gpa died. I would guess he was maybe 8 or 9 yrs old.

we jumped a bunny and he shot killing the rabbit and just as he shot covey of quail rose. when we walked over to get the rabbit we found a dead quail.

apparently his shot pattern killed both the bunny and the quail at the same time. he is 23 now and I think that was the last quail killed on our place since.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Every year on the week end the closest to the 20th of Oct. My brother and two of our friends Jim and JD from work would decend on my folks place. That was the base for the week end of hunting. Squirrels, rabbits and the pats. Jim had a red irish setter a beautiful dog and carried a Rugar single six pistol he would shoot squirrels and setting rabbits with, and a Remington 870 pump gun for the birds. We hunted the family woods in the morning then decided we would go and hunt the state land down the road in the afternoon.
The state land provided a lot of differing tree growth from first year after being clear cut to mature forest. All that provided a capacornia of hunting.
Some how or other Jim got seprated from the rest of us, I think he had decided to set a spell near a bunch of big Oaks and see it he could get a squirrel or two.

Any way when he did start looking for us not finding us decided to walk a logging road back to where we had parked. that logging road came out on a main gravel road that went to town if you went south and about a 1/4 mile from my folks house if you went north. There is a streach of that road where their are no houses for 3, 4 miles, so when a car came along and stopped Jim was on guard. Older couple asked how the hunting was, said he had a beautiful dog and where was he headed and they had not seen him in the area before. When Jim told them he was going to Freds farm they said that was about 6 miles up the road did he want a ride. He accepted the ride and they took him right to my folks farm stayed and visited with my folks for a bit even.

the rest of us stayed back on that state land honking the Bronco's horn and shooting the 3 round signal shots till my dad and Jim drove back there in dads truck just at dark.

Yes I agree times are different today but I would like to believe the locals living near the home place would do the same thing today as it isn't uncommon for hunters to walk the roads to hunting spots.
Problems lie in a goodly amount of the area was split up into 10 and 20 acre plots and sold to out of town deer hinters who could hunt that land or the state land. as they aged they sold many times to young folks from town or towns near by and are different than the older folks.



 Al


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I bought my UP Michigan property in 1991. That area the locals have told me they call the mini tropics. The reason why is it will be a major snow storm event going on in Escanaba and it will be rain where we are. For 10 years I had a 22 foot travel trailer we stayed in I used cedar post to build a small shed for the well so we could pump water and not get soaked. I also built a small shed for the genorator to provide power and to recharge the battery to run the furnace at night.

I would drive down the road to where my cedar swamp came to the road and cut the trees down hook them to my truck and skid them to the road edge trim and cut as long as i wanted in the ditch edge. People were stopping and gathering the cedar limbs makeing wreaths to sell. I didn't like them takeing those limbs because the deer would come during the night and clean them right up and they can use the food so near the hard winter.

An old fellow had came one day and asked if he could hunt a finger that stuck out in the bay. I believe it was 1993. We became real good friends and he told me a lot about the ruins on our property and history of the area. Who were good people to be trusted and who to keep a close eye on. One day I had stopped at his house to give him some honey and I mentioned I was not happy the people were taking those cedar limbs.

A year later I was walking down the road back to camp in the evening. Two elder ladies stopped on the road beside me and asked how the hunting was, told me they had seen a big buck in the area all summer on there way to church Wednesday evenings. Asked if I had seen any coyotes, I told tham a few off and on. They told me to shoot the nasty things that they were coming into the village and killing peoples pets they let up to do their bussiness. I tell them I can't do that as the coyote season was closed in the UP at that time of year, DNR afraid trolls hunting up there would kill the wolves.

Lady smiles real big and says shot them and puts her finger to her lips and says shoot, shovel and shut up. She giggles and says don't even tell your wife, never know when you may have family troubles and she isn't your wife any longer.
Then they say if I want a ride they can turn around and take me. I tell them no the camp is just back at the curve in the road. As they are starting to leave the one lady said she was sorry for takeing the cedar limbs. Didn't know I didn't want them to take them.

Where I live there is no way two older ladies would stop on the road to talk to a gun toteing hunter.
Yes they would probably call the law on the blankity blankity road hunter.


 Al


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## LostCaper (Oct 10, 2016)

*Mom…..a Hunting/Fishing Prodigy & Family Matriarc*









Growing up, there were hand me down guns and fishing rods. Everyday after school I would carelessly throw my school bag in the corner of the porch, grab a gun or fishing rod and off I went. 


Mom and Dad gave up trying to get me out of the woods before dark, so for a Christmas gift, mom organized a pack with matches, a knife, extra mitts, a compass and other supplies that would up my chances of staying alive in the event I got lost or broke my leg. When she scolded me for not getting out of the woods before dark, I would say…. “That’s your fault”. She knew what I meant because I was born in December and she had me fishing in late April. A countless amount of times (almost weekly before my teens) mom and I went to the river and few times did we returned home before dark. At times Dad would be giving us both hell for being so late.


*Mom use to hunt as well. Mom had to hunt* as she was the oldest of her siblings and her mother died when mom was 14 years young. Her father was a fishermen who wasn’t always home so she had to fend for the family. Out of need, she became a proficient hunter/angler, a great cook and a family matriarch. Nearing the end of her sibling responsibilities, she met Dad. They got married and after having 10 kids of her own, they adopted my younger sister. 


*We were poor but one of the happiest families around.* We grew up honing our skills in the arts of angling/hunting, learning to love, being humorous, and becoming good musicians. John P., one of my older brothers, traveled North America with his musical entertaining night club act called J.P. and Charlie. Charlie was a 6 foot tall dummy that John P. made. Also my nephew and niece, namely Jimmy and Rosie, traveled as far away as Japan with a band called the Cotters. Rosie still plays professionally. Sometimes as a solo artist and sometimes she goes with John McDermott, Hanson or whoever else calls her.


Our house was a place that many people came to visit as they were guaranteed, tea, lots of laughs and warm hearted conversations. We were a unique family but a bit on the wild side. Both my parents were dearly loved by our community and beyond.


My older brothers remembers a time when mom would go hunting and fishing for food. By the time I came of age, our hunting and fishing was for recreation and the acquired taste for fresh fish and a delicious partridge/rabbit stew with dumplings that mom would make.


When up in years, Dad reminisced about the good old days. During one of these conversations, Mom said, “ There were no good old days” and little wonder. Mom’s childhood was brutal. They lived in a cold house, no money, her mother died when mom was 14 which is when she was faced with the responsibility of looking after her 6 younger siblings. It was tuff but they say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Mom was only 5 feet tall but incredibly strong both mentally and physically. It’s amazing after enduring such hardships she was still able to love, laugh and for that matter even survive. Mom died at age 83 on this day of Jan 24 in 2001. To the best fishing partner a guy could have…. May God rest your soul….rest in peace mom!


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Now isn't it funny how people are so poor they have to fish and hunt raise their own garden, have chickens and yet be so happy.

Think it is all that hard scrabbleness that drew the family together and the jokes and tricks pulled on each other made for good memories.

My mom had a Old 1947 Studabaker Commander thing must have weighted 8000 pounds it was so big. Mom bought us the cheap cane poles from the Gamble store down town tied them to the right side doors to bring home and set up. then once set up she did the same to drive us the 4 miles to the lake. Back in those days the south side of the lake had been recently loged off and there were no cabins or homes there. 
We would have some old over alls we cut the legs off of and wade out a long ways to fish. 
Maybe if we were not doing good on that side of the lake we would go to the public launch on the north side of the lake and wade and fish. Back in those days people were not so up tight like today. we could even sit on peoples docks and fish with out getting yelled at. I have been 75 feet off shore in my canoe and flip a lure tward the dock and the home owner would come out hurling all kinds of abuse at you . 
Go ahead and call the law ya jerk, you nor does any one else own public water.

Mom had a spot on the east side of her chicken coop where she kept a layer of straw and hay on. would dump a bit of water there at times also. 
Your were always guaranteed to always get a mess of works and night crawlers there.
Later when we boys were in our teens ma and us boys built a 8 inch deep box in the basement. When it would rain and the crawlers came up in the drive way and road we picked them up and put them in that box with peet moss and old shredded news papers. Put a layer of corn meal in there every so often. those crawlers were tough and reproduced in that box. We started selling them some ting like 2 dozen for a buck.

They even over wintered in that box. That box lasted till I was in my 20's then we made a stryfoam box a little deeper. When Mom and dad got in their 80's and stopped fishing my brother took that box.

I made my own it 4 inches thick stryfoam 24" x24" x24". Don't use it much any more but don't fish like i use to either.

A couple guys in my group and I will float the river and fish but to go put up with the rude people on a day time lake *NA NOT GONA DO it.
*
Some times take the boat to Big Bay DeNoc, Saginaw Bay or Lake Huron.



 Al


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## arnie (Apr 26, 2012)

we as young boys would spend lots of our summer at our uncles farm in the early dawn he'd get us up to go squirrel hunting ,when the squirrels would hide on the opisite side of the tree our job was to go around there and make noise so they moved into his sights . then we got to carry and help skin them for his favorite breakfast ,fried with gravy n biscuits .we enjoyed the usally tough dark meat but i doubt i would now . rabbits and groundhog were often for dinner and we liked them better


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## LostCaper (Oct 10, 2016)

arnie said:


> we as young boys would spend lots of our summer at our uncles farm in the early dawn he'd get us up to go squirrel hunting ,when the squirrels would hide on the opisite side of the tree our job was to go around there and make noise so they moved into his sights . then we got to carry and help skin them for his favorite breakfast ,fried with gravy n biscuits .we enjoyed the usally tough dark meat but i doubt i would now . rabbits and groundhog were often for dinner and we liked them better


Funny... all the time I spent hunting and eating game, the only things I ever ate was deer, rabbit, ruff grouse, and various kinds of fish. There was lots of that. Beaver, squirrels, ground hog porcupine and all the other meat that people enjoy was never considered table meat. I think I will try some of that the next chance I get.


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## LostCaper (Oct 10, 2016)

alleyyooper said:


> Being cooped up in the house with this nasty cold has me doing a lot of remembering.
> 
> So many memorys were made small game hunting with my brother and friends not sure where to start.
> 
> ...


Looking back to my youth, these simpler times were the best days of my life. By the time I was 30 I moved away from a simple life. I had full blown career, a nice home in the city, a nice car and lots of material things. Dad said to me, "Even thou your generation has much more material things, I would not give up my naive life for yours”. He went on to say, “Hobby farm 20 acres because you will see in your life time your material things disappear and with a farm you will be able to feed yourself and enjoy a simple life. Countries can't keep spending more then they are making and not eventually run into financial trouble". 


At that time I doubted that I would see this in my life time. 27 years later, the world is getting close enough that a crystal ball is not required to envision Dad’s insight was accurate. Hard times are not far ahead. 


I suffered a job burn out from stress. I am now semi retired with 23 acres and access to a wood lot. I am working at going back to this simpler life and let me tell you it's not easy.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

We ate a whole passel of critters growning up. I returned home from SE Asia and even more of my food meat wise hang ups were gone. Today I will skin a coyote for the hide money and take the back straps and hind quarters from young ones. Usualy grind the quarters into burger. No it doesn't taste like chicken for the fools who would ask. It taste just like dog.

I won't eat a porkie Pine had one when I was young and to me tasted just like chewing a Elm tree limb, I feel rather bitter.
Ate a lot of wild plants also would rather eat a dandolion salada than a cooked carrot YUK.

 Al


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## Esteban29304 (Apr 29, 2003)

I used to hunt rabbits & squirrels with my Dad and older brother. Both of them had shotguns but I was younger & had a Sheridan pellet rifle. I still put a lot of meat in the pot ! I still use the same rifle on squirrels around here . The rifle is 60 years old !!


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

It is a bad snowy winter believe it is Febuary 1976. the snow had gotten so deep they were not migrating thru the woods for miles to get to the corn fields. We take our snowmobiles and ride down to our woods and run the logging trails in it and see where the deer seem to be yarded up which for our area is a rare occurrence. We decided we will cut some popple down for the deer to feed on the tops, we pack the snowmobile trails we had made real well to the area we were going to do the cutting.

On snow shoes once we get there we tramp into the group of trees and cut them at the snow level. Fell about dozen there then moved to another area to do the same thing.
This wood would not go to waste as in the spring we would skid it to a buzz pile and cut it into fire wood.

Any how the next day we ride down there and sure enough the deer had gotten on our snowmobile tracks and made it to the fellen trees. They ate the limbs down to the size of a big handed mans thumbs. Even started chewing the bark off the larger limbs.

The deer were not the only things that took advantage of our tree falling. Snow shoe hare moved in and they also were working on the bark of the trees.
We could not use a dog the snow was just way to deep. We would go down with our 22lr and set and wait for a Snow Shoe to show that shiny black eye then we had our work cut out for us on the snow shoes to retreave them.

Normally my brother and I and I would drive one rig to work. But I was doing some teaching so had to be there an hour before my brother yet get off at the same time. It was snowing hard when I left for work and was really happy I would not get the call to go to a dealer. When we got off work there was a good 18 inches in the protected from the wind parking lot. We head for home with me leading the way in my CJ7. We are doing real well on the north and south road. We got to the road we had to turn left on and go west and right off the bat there is a big drift across the road. I had to back out of the drift and take a second run at it to get thru. We still had about 5 1/2 miles to go and there were a lot of open crop fields and hay fields along the way.
I hit one drift hard and my CJ went side ways and I was stuck. I am afraid Rob is right on my trail so am yelling on the CB to stop. I get out and walk back to where he is stopped and grab the winch cable and he pulls me out of the drift. I get thru that drift and make it about a 1/4 mile more and get hung up again.
I tell Rob once we got me out to take the lead maybe his bigger more weight Jeep a Cherokee Chief would do better. He did fine and made it all the way home and even into our normal parking spots. I just got inside the drive way and got stuck again. Leave it tractor and big snow blower would get it out the next day.

Any way that is the winter we had since the first of the year.

In the spring when we went to skid those trees out the trees we had cut down at snow leavel was over 3 and 4 feet tall stumps.

 Al


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## Nimrod (Jun 8, 2010)

When the Donner party got snowed in they cut down trees for firewood. The stumps were huge.


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## LostCaper (Oct 10, 2016)

alleyyooper said:


> It is a bad snowy winter believe it is Febuary 1976. the snow had gotten so deep they were not migrating thru the woods for miles to get to the corn fields. We take our snowmobiles and ride down to our woods and run the logging trails in it and see where the deer seem to be yarded up which for our area is a rare occurrence. We decided we will cut some popple down for the deer to feed on the tops, we pack the snowmobile trails we had made real well to the area we were going to do the cutting.
> 
> On snow shoes once we get there we tramp into the group of trees and cut them at the snow level. Fell about dozen there then moved to another area to do the same thing.
> This wood would not go to waste as in the spring we would skid it to a buzz pile and cut it into fire wood.
> ...


That amount of deep snow is hard to negotiate for both a jeep and the deer. I cut a bunch of trees down for the deer then process those fell trees for firewood in the spring. Sometimes I leave the tree hinged to the stump as it sucks the sap and keeps the branches alive providing more nourishment for the critters. Thanks for sharing your adventure.


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