One thing I have always loved about South Dakota is hunting. Going out after school to try to find pheasants was a top priority when I was in High School. This hasn’t changed since I got older. As a matter of fact, it may be even stronger.
But it isn’t the amount of birds, what they tasted like, or when. It was the people I did it with. It was the ones I got to hang out with for hours and talk about the world. The spirit of the hunt was way more important to me than the bag limit. And some of the stories that came with it were by far worth it.
I remember opening season as a kid almost as a holiday. The town swarming with orange coats and hats. Getting together with friends to plot where we would go. And people taking their beat up pickups to the local convenience store to fill with gas and buy snacks and drinks for the day ahead. About an hour before 12 pm, the town was a buzz.
Some groups would get together with relatives we hadn’t seen most of the year. Teaming up to walk land together.
Then there was the out of town people. Friends, family, and kids that had gone away for school. Some were people that moved out of town. That didn’t have the option to hunt where they lived. This was the hunting I grew up knowing.
I really couldn’t tell you how many birds I got any of the times I went out. In my younger days it was far and few in between. I could tell you all of the people I did it with though.
One such person was a friend in High School. We would have our running shoes on the second the last bell would ring. We were going out and hunting. We had a special list of songs we had to listen to in order to get more birds. And we truthfully would see a ton of them. To say our aim sometimes was a bit off would be an understatement. Some times other friends would come with as well. The conversations would lead to where we could find more birds, to politics, to school, to girls. Probably a bit more about girls. We were teenagers. Give us a break. I will never forget the day watching this friend in a dead sprint running after a wounded pheasant across a plowed field to retrieve it. He had nothing but his feet and pure determination to get it.
One girl that I did take with me hunting had never seen road hunting before. It was raining hard that day. So options were limited. We set off together down the road. About an hour after hunting I seen a bird in the ditch. I got out, brought the gun up, fired, and brought it down in one smooth motion. I grabbed the pheasant from the ditch and jumped back into the truck. All within about 30 seconds. As I jumped back in, I noticed her jaw on the floor. “What?” She just looked at me dumbfounded. “Well that was impressive.” I have to admit. It was definitely one of the fastest and smoothest birds I ever got road hunting. Some thing that is definitely a rarity.
I remember opening day hunting with my dad, brother, uncle, and grandpa. We would all get together to walk the tall grass and picked crops. Some times in vein. I remember how amazing it felt just being there together with all of them. Moments in time, I knew I would never get back.
Now, I have luckily met a girl who is into hunting as much as me. It’s amazing when you can share things together with people you care about. Getting the birds some times becomes secondary. As it should be. The quality time and people you spend it with are what count. The hunting is just a vehicle.
I see a lot of anti hunting articles now today. And less and less kids interested in hunting. A lot say killing anything is wrong. Even though eating a head of lettuce is still killing a living thing. Right?
Anyway, I can clearly see that these same people don’t understand hunting like we do. It’s not really about the killing. And to be sure, there are some that feel that’s all they want. Getting a bird. To both sides I say, “Ok, that’s what you see”. For me it’s always been different.
And for the unofficial South Dakota holiday, enjoy. Whether it’s hunting, fishing, or just being outdoors. South Dakota can make it memorable. Just not as much as the people your with.
richard