By: Josh Webb
Each year the dog days of summer creep by like molasses in a cold jar. It is perhaps the toughest time of year to be an outdoorsman or woman because you just can’t do anything that will fill the void of not being able to hunt. However as the days of June, July and August come to an end, there is one special day that every hunter looks forward to. It is a day that re-lights the internal flame for hunting across all ages of hunters. It is also the day that many kids are introduced to hunting for the very first time.
I recently asked a rather tall, manly man about the day he was introduced to hunting. And, after taking a deep breath and swallowing the small lump in his throat, he replied to my question with an answer that he was all too happy to give. “My dad introduced me to hunting at age 6. The first hunt I went on was a dove hunt,” says Mossy Island Outfitters owner Rocky Leflore. And now, several decades later, Leflore is still passionate about the legacy his dad passed on to him in that hot September field. Leflore makes it very clear that he would have never had the passion to be a hunting guide if he hadn’t seen the joy on his father’s face that special day. “The reason I do what I do is because of that hunt. My dad got more joy out of the opening day of dove season than anybody I have ever known. And every year growing up I was excited just because of how happy my dad was. As a matter of fact, I have been preparing my dove fields this week, and I have thought about my dad a lot.”
In similar fashion to Leflore, Ducksouth.com member Eric Mills also recalls his early days of hunting because this was the first time he was ever able to sit and shoot on his own. “We felt like we were grown,” Mills said. “And the lessons we learned were never forgotten.”
It does not take much for a kid to have fun in the atmosphere of a dove hunt. They do not have to be still or quiet. They can take all the snacks and drinks they want which are greatly encouraged because at some point they will most likely become the nearest adult’s extra bird dog. In the midst of the heat and an occasional peppering of shot, even a child can see the importance of a day that every wing shooter looks forward to because it will be written on the face of every man and woman in the field.
