I got to go dove hunting this past Monday and while we didn't see many birds there were several bunches of ducks came thru and made me realize how much I missed duck hunting and what used to be. I tell my boys stories of squirrel hunting in big hardwood timber where you could walk for hours and see nothing but oaks and hickory. I remember the cold winter days in an eight foot wooden lean to stand and the thrill of seeing a spike buck slipping thru the shadows, ( couldn't shoot does then). But nothing beat squatting in a pile of brush while a bunch of eagle eyed mallards circled just out of range. We took lead shot for granted then.
Now all the hardwoods are gone and have been replaced with briars and brushtops and you see more squirrels at your bird feeder than you will in the woods. You can't shoot spikes now and they over run the place like a plague but does are fair game. You need $3000 just to lease a field to hunt on now and lead shot is gone forever. I will vigorously disagree with anyone who tries to tell me "steel shot is just as good as lead". For the most part, duck hunting has become a yuppie sport for lawyers and doctors.
I'm glad I got to live thru it and it was great, but I so much regret that my boys missed out on this great generation of hunting.
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