The Quail - Chapter 2
His next five steps brought him to a brush pile made up mostly of mesquite and willow branches. For old times’ sake, he rested one foot on the edge of the brush and pushed down hard. He had done this twice when out from the other side popped a cottontail. He smiled while watching it bounce and zigzag across the gap between the pile of brush and the closest clump of grass. He thought of the rabbit hunts with his Dad and older brother -- of his Father positioning his sons on either end of a brushpile while he kicked on a third side. It was always exciting waiting and wondering if a rabbit would bolt from the cover. He had been amazed at the way the rabbits nearly always turned somersaults when hit. Of course he didn’t hit many, more often than not shooting at a spot that used to have a rabbit bounding through it. This was the whirlwind of thoughts as he watched the rabbit disappear. He felt a bit guilty about kicking the little animal out of its warm hide just to see it run, but he also felt a warmth from the good, solid memories from his childhood.
The icy edge of the December morning was beginning to soften with the rays of the sun. He pushed through the frost-covered underbrush and felt the coolness as the moisture made its way through his pants legs. As he crossed an old fence row, minus the fence, four meadowlarks shot out from under his feet. As usual, his gun was nearly to his cheek before their identity made it through to his consciousness. How many times had he NOT drawn down on these quail mimics? Of course they didn’t really look or fly that much like quail, but they were still able to fool him. As a boy he had come close to shooting them at the end of a frustrating day of bird hunting. This morning he just laughed at making this same old mistake.
He was pushing up the fence row when a group of bobwhite whirred off from the other side of a well-positioned (from their perspective) mesquite. He tried to get his gun on them, but was lowering it from the lack of a target when a pair shot out to his right and began flying/gliding across the open field. He swung on the trailing bird and fired both barrels in quick succession. The birds continued gliding. He reloaded, started walking and kicked at a tightly clumped patch of grass. The three quail lifted as one and flew straight away from him. He fired at the trailing bird and watched as two fell out of the air. He wished that he had meant to take the double with one shot, but he would accept providence as it was given. The two-for-one shot reminded him of a time hunting quail with his brother. His brother had shot quickly at a flushed bird. In fact, he shot so quickly that he brought the bird down when it was less than a foot off the ground. As they went forward to retrieve that one quail, they followed a linear path of death and destruction along which were six bodies. He had been unmerciful with his conscious-stricken brother. They both knew that ground shooting those birds had been an unfortunate accident, but he had really enjoyed tormenting his older sibling.
He now had five quail. Five quail were taken and he was less than an hour into his hunt. His Dad had been right; this was a phenomenal year. He decided to keep walking up the line of trees to the point where they made a right angle with another fence row. He did not jump anymore quail, but his heart nearly stopped when he pushed apart a grass curtain with his foot and revealed a very agitated, striped skunk. The skunk began drumming its front feet on the ground as he slowly backed away. He remembered a similar fright when, as a child, he had shoved his face into the opening of his Dad’s brick barbecue stand. In that instance, his face had been one foot away from the angry black and white marauder. He remembered feeling very fortunate that he did not have to take a bath in tomato sauce to try and rid himself of the odor.
As he swung around the occupied clump of grass, he stepped into another group of 10 or more quail. This time he was only able to snap off the lower barrel before, as a unit, they veered around a tree. However, the bird at which he fired dropped a leg as it continued to glide. He hated wounding animals, and thus he was almost jogging as he followed in the flight path of the quail. When he had moved 40 yards into the trees, he discovered that the unit had not run when they touched down. Once again they exploded, but this time he dropped a single as it did a credible imitation of a towering woodcock. The bird went straight up over his head and he had to lean back slightly to bust the quail before it could veer away behind him. As he retrieved what turned out to be a small male, a bird broke from cover to his right and attempted to take off. The quail only managed to jump and flutter to a height of about three feet before falling back to the ground. The hunter waited until the running animal was 20 feet away, aimed high and rolled the hurt creature. He felt relieved and knew that he now wouldn’t spend the next two or three days feeling badly about leaving a wounded animal in the grass.
After collecting his sixth and seventh birds, he broke his gun, slipped off his vest and sat down with his back against a cedar anchor post at the corner of two fencelines. He dug into the game pocket and carefully laid out the seven quail – three males and four females made up his collection for the morning. As he gently traced the feather patterns, he wondered at the beauty of these small animals. He knew many of his friends and family could not understand the significance that hunting held for him. Yet, he knew it to be one the most fulfilling passions of his life. Indeed, each hunting experience contained all of the components of the best and most challenging life events. There was the dream, the planning, the uncertainty of success, the honing of necessary skills, the physical and emotional challenge, the recognition that the moment of fulfillment had come, and finally the capture and possession of the object of your dreams. Today the object was an animal that weighed so little, but meant so much to one who loved the thrill of a successful chase. He hoped to be back to this place next year, but regardless, this was a captured time that would remain.
