the kansas hunt

[charlie cleveland]

well heres the rest of the story... a long trip 1000 miles from old miss. to ness city....this is the home ofcalvin humberg who was thefella who invited me out there to hunt with him...firt i must say that calvin and his familytreated us as though we were family ourselves....i an my wife bessie indeed have made new freinds....the first day of the hunt was goodwe got up several roosters and quail...calvin was shotting his n grade 10 ga. parker with black powder loads..his son was shooting a winschester over and under 20 ga and i must say he was a very good shot...i hunted with a 12 ga lc smith with 1 1/4 ounces of6s that i had reloaded....i the first days total hunt ended iwith 2 phez and4 quail..there a lot of birds but they were really wild they got up a 100 yards or more at times....one of the funny moments of the day was that calvin fired on a quail and hollered did i get him i hollered and said i could not tell for all the smoke in the air but jett calvins son said yep you got him...it indeed was a fine moment....2nd day hunt was good we got up a lot of roosters and quail..i hunted with the russ jackson 20 ga parker that day..it trully was a delight to shoot and carry..it is murder on quail russ... i seenso many goodbig kansas bucks that 2nd day both mulie andwhite tail...i could have killed one with the shotgun at about 15 feet what a beaty that deer was...also seen my first badger ever that day..i was going to run him down but calvin told me that that badger would soon be running me.ha that old badger wouldnt havetoo much trouble catching me now...who knows i might be faster than i think... 3 rd day of hunt wasreally good we saw a lot of roosters but i could not hit the side of a barn that day...we managed a few quail killed that day i was shooting the smith the 3rd day and final day.. the phez were just to wildand far out for the 20 ga...4th and final day started out early at 7 am we went and fed calvins live stock for it was raing pretty good...we watched the rain turn to sllt and then the sleet turned to snow..snowed hard but the ground was to warm for it to stick...we thenwent to see calvins mother and father what great people...calvins mother fixed chile for the 12.00 meal boy was it great...calvens mother and father are what the great USA is made of good hard working GOD fearing people...they were very good to me and my wife.....i carried the 8 ga parker along for calvin to see and shoot...calvins father wanted to shoot the old 8 so we set up a pop can and he blasted away...the can all but disappeared...calvins father said it did not kick as much as he expected....then it was calvins turn.. calvins dad had shot a light loaded 1 3/4 ounce load they are a pleasure to shoot...i told calvin that i had brought a couple of2 1/2 ounce loads for him to shoot..he was a little shy of these loads but after firing a round and coming backwards that nomal 1 to 1 1/2 steps he said they were not to bad......calvins son jett also fired the old 8 about 5 times ..he done well shooting it being only 12...but he did commentthat his ears were ringing ...we didnot let him shoot the heavy loads for fear of him getting gun shy....the rest of the evening was spent in hunting as the rain had stopped...we killed 2 phez and 2 quail that old 10 ga of calvins will really reach out and touch them phez...this day i also seen a mule deer andher young come out of a loading pen for cattle what a picture that would have been...also seen my first herd of antelope...i cannot to begin to tell you of the no of phez quail mule deer white tails and other animals i seen oh yes lot of turkeys...also killed a mangy coyote lc smith done a fine job on him... also met some other parker people out there bill waddell and his brother robert plus a host of other hunters....i hope some day to return to kansas i had the best over all hunt and vacation ive ever had...i will have to give the great state of Kansas ano. 1 rating in my book...i lived a dream that week to be able to hunt phez....my thanks again to CALVIN HUMBERG AND FAMILY....ps ialso got to seedodge city and boothill and the wizard of oz....more stories of the hunt later.....charlie

[Autumn Daze]

Charlie, Congratulations on a great hunt! Gettin together with Parker guy's is always a great time. Making new friends through this organization is wonderfull....

[Dean Romig]

Charlie, I really enjoyed reading your story of your hunt with Calvin and his family.
I think it would be nice for you and calvin to put your heads together and write the story for the Parker Pages. I think the readers would enjoy it as much as we have enjoyed reading it here.

Dean

[Randy Radmer]

Sounds like a great hunting trip. I need to get out that way and visit some friends....and shoot some birds too.

[Brush Buster]

Charlie ,Great to read about your hunt ! I knew we would get a wonderful story when you returned ! I am glad you still enjoy carrying that little 20 Ga. ! It would be a great Quail gun ,a little open for pheasant hunting ,but nice to carry all day without it wearing a fella out ! Glad you and the Mrs. had a great trip ! Russ

[Bruce Day]

Western Kansas is good this year. We put up at least 100 birds last Sat and maybe 75 on Sun. Was helping out with a group of 10 ( business associates) and most limited out at least on Sat. Enough moisture this summer and the CRP was thick and up to head high.

And, although we weren't after them, on Sat we raised six large coveys of bobwhite quail.

Glad you had a good time out here, Charlie. The season lasts until the end of Jan, if a person wants to risk cold or snow.

[Double Play]

Originally Posted by Bruce Day

The season lasts until the end of Jan, if a person wants to risk cold or snow.

Cold and snow, sounds like fun.

[Bruce Day]

Thanks Larry. You know, even if it is cold and snowy, what you remember is the great comradie, fun with friends and the sport. Its easy to forget being cold or wet. I'm sure Charlie will have lasting good memories of his hunt with Calvin and his family.

Above, l to r, Bruce Day, Larry Frey and Josh Lowenstein

Charlie, I know it was a long way, but I remember John Davis driving all the way from Georgia to hunt with us in Nebraska one year. At least he wasn't alone, he split the driving with his old Lab, who is gone now.

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by Bruce Day

Thanks Larry. You know, even if it is cold and snowy, what you remember is the great comradie, fun with friends and the sport. Its easy to forget being cold or wet.

Especially when your mind starts going numb from hypothermia

[Bruce Day]

Then we get back to the cabin, get the fire going, break out the bourbon or scotch, and talk about the easy shots that we all missed. The smell of bourbon and Hoppes, perfume better than Channel (well maybe not, depends on the circumstances).