35 years ago my Grandpa John gave me one of his prize possessions. It was a 1927 Browing Belgium made 16 guage semi- auto. He told me the last time he shot anything with it was in 1940 somthing and he got 2 hungarian partrigdge with one shot. “I don’t hunt anymore but I know you will” he said. I still use this gun occasionally today.
From that day on my dad took me duck, goose, and upland bird hunting. I’ll never forget the day my dad set us up on a small slough in the middle of a grain field one early October morning close to Kenmare North Dakota. A lone green head dropped into our decoys, curled his wings and flew over us too high, banked hard and I looked down the barrel of my humpback Browning and bang, my first beautiful drake mallard. Sometimes I close my eyes and see it vividly in my memory. That was 1977 and thank you Grandpa John and my Dad for instilling in me the love of hunting and the outdoors at such an early age. I can’t imagine what my life would be like with out the excitement and wonder of being able to spend all those years in the field.
Well fast forward to December 31, 2012. I’ve been really fortunate to be able to take my family bird and big game hunting for the last 10 years. I might not have the black clouds of mallards and flocks of 100’s of thousands of snow geese blotting out the sun like I grew up seeing when my parents moved from Montana to North Dakota when I was in elementary school. I have however been able to expose my wife, kids, and dogs to the most beautiful mountains and rivers that I have ever seen that happen to be in our back yard.
Whether we are floating down Rock Creek catching gorgeous cut throat trout on size 4 salmon flies, stalking muleys in the Missouri river breaks in Eastern MT with my daughter, or decoying honkers on the Flathead river North of Missoula, I feel just blessed to be able to be part of this.
Thank you Montana for all the treasure you have allowed my family and I to share in 2012.
Happy New Year!!