I had the good fortune today of spending the afternoon with Jim Chapman (American Airgun Hunter) and Chacho Gonzales. Jim arrived about 2PM driving in all the way from Minnesota and Chacho arrived from Midland – Odessa about 6PM or so. After setting up camp and an afternoon of great conversation Chacho prepared some of my grass fed angus home grown beef in the form of T-Bone steaks. Once a quick and simple meal was over we went out for a night predator hunt on my acreage. Jim made 4 sets at different locations. Chacho was the red spot light operator and primary transportation / hunting platform provider. It was easy to tell he and Jim operated as a finely honed team and were well practiced in this night hunting exercise. The first location did not bring in any song dogs but the second location proved productive and a song dog came in behind us. The angle and poor visibility in addition to physical obstructions present resulted in a missed shot on this dog who was lucky enough to live to see another hunter one day. The third location yielded a dog coming in at a very rapid pace to Jim’s electronic call. A quick sighting of glowing eyes by Chacho’s expert spot light handling and sharp eye resulted in a shot by Jim at about 50 yards with his Hatsan .457. It was a firm hit about mid dog it looked like from my perspective angle producing a resounding thud. The dog ran into some brush and was not recovered due to thick cover in the area consisting of mesquite trees, bushes and tall grass compounded by a very dark moonless night. We will go out again tomorrow to see if we can recover that dog as he is most certainly dead. A fourth location did not yield a target either although it is certain that the dogs were in the area due to hearing them call and also the fact that it is near one of the only permanent water sources on the ranch. Jim then called it a day and we returned to camp about 11:45 PM. A short hunt for sure but everyone was tired due to a lot of traveling to get here for the hunt.
I am thankful that this hunt has reintroduced me to an aspect of my ranch that I had tended to forget in life’s daily routine. The countless stars and the vast milky way were absolutely fantastic with at least 2 shooting stars being observed. These things are simply lost to modern society in locations where the night sky is mostly obscured by thousands upon thousands of street lights. I am thankful for this remote location far from the cities with dark skies in which to view the absolute glory of the Lord’s creation and enjoy a level of silence mostly lost now in our present society.
Thank you to my new friends Jim and Chacho for showing me what I have and had forgotten to appreciate for so long. It is a pure pleasure to get to spend a bit of time with some actual airgunners at last. Although we just met in person I feel like I have known both for years.
