[MarketHunter]

In the early days it was Dad, his Father, and Uncle Jerry (Mom's brother). All bird, dove and squirrel hunters with Uncle Jerry also being a turkey fanatic. Dad had hunted waterfowl quite a bit in earlier days but had pretty well given it up by the time I was old enough to go. Dad and Grandpa were both double gunners and poisoned me along those lines. Father bought me my first side by side when I was about 14 and it's been like that ever since with only occasional lapses toward humpbacks and modern guns during the days before bismuth. Dad also taught me to shoot on the wing though I'm still not the shot that he is. I still watch him and try to do what he does but he's just more of a natural with a gun than I am. Cool nerves I suppose, he just takes his time and never gets rattled. In his day Grandpa was better than both of us put together, never saw a dove shot that was his equal.

While in high school my oldest friend (kindergarten) Wade Clements and his father Kenny let me start coming along on their waterfowling expeditions. Little did they know, it would become a lifelong passion for me. Wade's father Kenny was (and is) also the best squirrel hunter I ever met and he taught me a lot along those lines as well. I just chatted this evening with him about some squirrel hunts we'd made together years ago.

Once I started college at 18 I met Dave French who became my steady fowling partner for quite a few seasons. He'd been duck and goose hunting with his Dad since he was just a little fella so knew much more than I did. He was the same age as me but I still count him as a mentor and a close friend.

Along about that same time I met Tom Horn (direct decendant of the gunfighter) and that was really the beginning of the end of normal life. Tom taught me how to blow a duck call to where ducks actually listened, better ways to throw out a rig of decoys, other tricks of the trade that I still use today. Also he began my fanaticism for hunting diving ducks, his stories of layout shooting on Crab Orchard Lake during the old point system days showed me that greenheads weren't the only thing under the sun.

And so here I am at 40 years old, still gathering a mentor every now and then. Guys like Don Kaas, Russ Bickel, Jeff Milliken, Capt. Barry Fudge, still teach me something new either about old guns, pigeon shooting, or fowling on a regular basis. Even as a grown man you can have a mentor, it's not all kids stuff I assure you.


Regards,
DLH