As much as I love hunting, the idea of sitting in a treestand and freezing my tail off for hours doesn’t appeal to me. I prefer moving through the woods or mountains really “hunting” my game rather than waiting for it to come to me. That said, I found one type of hunting where sitting is not only tolerable for me, but also quite agreeable.
A while back I had the pleasure of participating in a traditional Southern pheasant hunt in Alabama where we hunted from a mule-drawn wagon. The way it works is that the dog boxes are under the seats, and a couple dogs at a time are turned out into the fields while the hunters sit in the wagon seats. Dog handlers on horseback shadow the dogs as the dogs work the fields, and the wagon follows along allowing the hunters to have great conversation.
When a dog goes on point, the designated shooter or shooters get out of the wagon and approach the dog from a safe direction. If the bird flushes instead of runs, they take the shot and either get the bird or not.
It’s not the most productive way of hunting, but it’s not about bagging lots of birds–it’s about the social aspect. Can you just imagine the politics discussed or deals that have been cut over the centuries in the back of a mule-drawn wagon?
There’s a similar type of hunt in Africa, but instead of a wagon, you hunt by train. Don’t ask me how that works, but it certainly sounds interesting!
Scott Mayer
www.tacticaltshirts.com
www.john1911.com
“Shooting Guns & Having Fun”
In 2008, Mayer returned to the editorial side of publishing, this time in the digital field, as Editorial Director for Guns & Ammo, Shooting Times, Handguns and Rifleshooter online magazines. After a brief stint in 2011 as the Digital Media Director for an ABC TV affiliate, Mayer returned to the outdoors industry and Safari Club International where he is currently Assistant Publisher and Multi-Media Communications Editor.
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