Gary Greene’s Memories from an Old Hunter……..#43
Gary Greene’s Memories from an Old Hunter……..#43
I’ve made some mistakes in my lifetime, but hopefully, I have learned and not repeated the errors of my past.
Back in 2002, my youngest son Nate, and I were pheasant hunting alongside one of Wisconsin’s designated scenic roads. We were west of the small town of Rochester and the road’s name was Oak Knoll. The road is fairly remote with a few sparsely placed houses and farms and home to the Honey Creek Public Hunting Grounds. It is not heavily traveled, but it appears to be a connecting lane between two busier county roads.
Nate and I were pheasant hunting the public lands behind my yellow lab, Libby. We were pushing the switchgrass next to Oak Knoll as we previously had success hunting the edges of that field. Nate was nearer to the road than me, as I didn’t want Libby getting close to possible traffic.
Nate had just recently turned sixteen and finally got the green light from his mother to hunt. Earlier that year, both he and I had completed the required hunter safety course. I recall that we did not get any questions wrong on the exam. We knew our proper hunting etiquette and it was fresh in our memory.
This is where I made my mistake that still haunts me today. I wanted him to have early hunting success and I now see that I wanted it too badly. I had to make a split second decision and I went with the wrong choice. I was in thick cover over my head and couldn’t see very far and Nate had a pheasant go over Oak Knoll. Quickly, he asked: “Should I shoot?” I responded with: “Look for cars and if clear, shoot!” He did just that and hit the pheasant. He was also observed by a Wisconsin Game Warden. She immediately drove over to Nate and was verbally quite aggressive with my son. He felt terrible and was on the verge of tears. By the time I arrived, she already was writing out the citation for shooting over a road.
I joined the conversation and agreed that he had broken that shooting rule. I knew he was suffering because I gave him the “OK” to take that shot. I asked the warden if she could write the citation to me, instead of Nate, because it was my fault for giving him permission to shoot. She did say that she heard our conversation and knew what I had said. She agreed to write me the ticket and verbally warn my son.
Young Schmiddy proudly displays a DNR stocked rooster pheasant. (2014)
As some type of defensive mechanism on my part, I mentioned that recently, we had completed the hunter safety class and she interrupted me with the comment: “Well, I guess the rules didn’t sink in very well for you two!” I didn’t respond, as I learned I should bite the bullet and just take my penalty.
We continued to hunt for a few minutes after the incident, but our hearts were not in the hunt and we headed back to the truck and went home. We decided it probably was a good idea not to share the news with anyone, as it was not our finest moment.
Years later, my oldest son Ty was checking out police records on line and found that I had a violation for: “Shooting a firearm across a road.” It didn’t say it was hunting citation. For anyone that read it, I could have been shooting across Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Milwaukee. Ty had a good laugh out that read, but somehow, I have never had a smile regarding that Friday afternoon in November of 2002.
Opening day of duck season 2016, finds Nate Greene and Schmiddy with the first wood duck of the season.
As a parent, you always want your children to have success, such a shooting a game bird, but I put my son in a position to make a choice that was not smart or safe. Luckily, my poor decision making hasn’t affected Nate’s love of the hunt. While my heart is still with the pursuit of the pheasant and watching my five Labradors work the fields. Nate’s passion is with the art of waterfowl hunting. Thanks to my son Nate, I now greatly appreciate both hunts and I get to share more time with him and two of my labs that now double as duck dogs.