Here you go guys. This is the culmination of all the work on the field.
We had a great lunch again (we're better at that than we are at shooting!). Pulled pork, low country boil, macaroni and cheese casserole, and finished off with banana pudding and fresh-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookies.
After satiating our hunger for food we sat around for about three hours. The only game on TV was the Clemson/SC State game. I wasn't really interested in it, so I contented myself, as many did, by relaxing and catching up on a year's stories, since many of us hadn't been together in that long. Lots of youngsters (of all ages)
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As I said, we went to the field about 4 p.m. and the shooting started immediately. As is my tradition now, I opened the season with my little Yildiz .410 S x S. It has done me proud for the previous two years' opening days, and I felt inclined to wring it out again. Grandson Jackson (11) was using a Rem. 1100 LT 20, other grandson Lane was shagging birds again. The little rascal loves his job!! And he's so good at it he has gained the attention of several of the men, one of whom is so jealous he offered to buy my "retriever". Said he was the best retriever he had ever seen in his life. He ain't for sale, I've grown kinda partial to him, myself. You can see that, even though Jackson, who is in the background behind Lane, has shot with me for three years since age 8, I still keep him close by and under my direct supervision.
We called it a day about 6 p.m., so as to allow the birds to feed before too late. Jackson wanted to stick with it until he got his first limit (he killed 14 one day last year at age 10), but was mature enough to understand it was time to pee on the fire and call the dogs. He ended the day with 11, still not bad for his age. I got my limit early with the Yildiz, and sat there with them for the rest of the shoot hoping for a ringnecked dove or two to come by, and helping Jackson watch for doves. Here's my pride and joy together with Jackson's bag, and then a pic of the Yildiz and it's booty.
That's it for now I guess. Oh yeah. One more thing. The Yildiz did get a bonus as we were leaving for home. I wouldn't use a 3" load on him, figuring that 1/2 oz. of #8s should be just about right at 10 feet. It was.
I'll probably post a few more pics as we shoot the field some more, but it's been fun. Thanks to those of you who have followed it all the way, these last 5 months, and have sent questions and encouragements. Thanks to my Creator, most of all, for giving me a start to another dove season. Only He, and I, know how much I really appreciate it.
SRH
