there's a hunting resort just outside of hastings, but within the borders of clay county. news to me as of the middle of the week, but around this time of year they have a few big events on site. darren informed me of this, and when i called to inquire about what was happening, i found out that a hunting and fishing tv show, "the american outdoorsman" was shooting an episode this weekend. i asked if i could tag along for the hunt, and boom, i had my most exciting story ever lined up.
i really wasn't sure what to expect going there. all i knew is that i had to be up early. a few cups of coffee helped me out. all of the hunters were eating breakfast in the lodge when i got there. [the resort is situated on the grounds of an old navy ammunition manufacturing base. there are miles and miles of bunkers stretched across the resort, which give it a really unique feel. the lodge/bunks/storage garage were inside of one such set of bunkers.] i talked to this host of the show, jim mueller, for a bit and he gave me a rundown of what would happen. i was handed an orange vest, because, i somehow forgot all of my bright hunting clothes in maine. what was i thinking? the producer/main cameraman shot the show opening with jim outside of the main bunker, as the hunters talked excitedly in the background of the shot. the guide then explained the scenario, and we were on our way.
[this was the second year in a row that the show came to bunker hill to shoot. in our group, there were three cameramen, jim, our guide, six or seven hunters, three extremely well trained dogs and myself. two of the hunters had won the hunt in a boosters auction, and had invited the others along.]
we rode in the bed of a pick-up to the spot we'd be hunting and then got busy. i had never been bird hunting before so i was excited and curious. and nervous that someone might dick cheney me. for the beginning, i mostly observed, shooting pictures of the cameramen who were shooting video of the hunters who were shooting pheasants. yeah, it was a pretty cool process. and made for some awesome photos. exhibit a:
it was unbelievable how many birds we saw/shot at/killed. the combination of the dogs and large population of birds [they have a hatchery] made for a non-stop assault. "if it flies, it dies." estimates at the end of the day figured for at least 75 dead birds. unreal.
after a little while, everyone else decided it would be fun to let the mainer get in on the fun. so i swapped my camera for jim's 3-shot automatic .12 gauge shotgun. woah mamma. they were all excited for me to try to shoot my first pheasant and gave me the first "point" [meaning, when a dog has a bird, he just "honors" it, meaning he doesn't "flush" it, meaning he doesn't make it fly away, meaning he just holds it and waits for a shooter to get set.] so when lil toby had a bird ready for me, i aimed into the space and waited for it to jump. unfortunately, this being my first time shooting something that moves and my first time firing a shotgun, i missed twice. i shook it off. no big deal. we'll get another crack at one. i had a couple close calls, but was too slow to the draw. then i got another opportunity for a point, had the bird fly to my right and got it with a single shot. my first pheasant! it was pretty cool and everyone was excited to see a first. they even did a stand up with me on camera with jim congratulating me on my first pheasant. who knows if i'll make the final cut, but it was pretty neat. not bad for a journalist.
oh you manly man you
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