Birds of Nebraska: Newspaper Accounts, 1854-1923

October 6, 1912. Omaha Sunday Bee 42(16): 2-S.

Hunters' Moon Approaches

With First Blustery Weather Ducks and Geese Will Arrive.

Jacksnipe Shooting is Good

Young Crabill Takes His Gun Across the River and Returns With a bag of Twenty-One Snipe.

Most of all sportsmen find plenty of time, it seems, to gather with some congenial spirits around the autumn fire and relate stories of past exploits and those planned for the present season.

To discuss these details is like going through the experiences again and most hunters and fishermen derive as much joy out of this weakness as they get out of the real thing. It takes just a little touch of nature to make all sportsmen akin and gives birth to the sentiment which binds them so closely together.

The beautiful fall weather of the last week has greatly improved the outlook for both the man with the hammerless and the man with the rod and from the indications the month of October is going to prove an ideal one for both pursuits.

The coming moon will be the real hunters' moon, and with no passing storms of widespread range to mar the present condition, duck and chicken shooting together with pike and bass fishing should be fine, on all attractive grounds.

Bass fishing is said to be good right now, both at nearby waters, and those up in the big woods of Minnesota, with the anglers almost as busy as the hunters in the pursuit of their favorite pastime.

The chicken season is now here and at its best, although many prefer the sport when it is attended by more vigorous weather. They imagine that the storms make the shooting the best.

Many of the larger birds, such as mallards and bald-pates have already arrived and the whole galaxy will be down, geese and all, with the first blustering out-burst. The bluewing teal, according to George Carter, have about gone and the greenwings are coming in. The jacksnipe are now at their very best, and good shooting is being enjoyed daily down on the low grounds below the asylum on the Bluffs side. Young Crabill of Townsends sporting goods house made the splendid bag of twenty-one down there Wednesday, and is off again today. There is plenty of water in most of the sandhill lakes and sloughs, and feed never was more abundant.

Squirrels are thicker than flies in August in the deep woods along the river bottoms, and not a few of the local sportsmen are looking forward to this kind of shooting. Either the rifle or shotgun is used in bagging the little furred rodents, although those who wish to give the game a chance for its life prefer the latter weapon. The season opened the first of October so the hunter's taste for squirrel meat can now be satisfied.

M.C. Peters, L.G. Doup and J.W. Christie left last night for Whitman, Neb., where they intend camping for a week. The camp is equipped with everything for the hunters' comfort and if the shooting continues to be as good as has been reported from that region within the last two weeks, nothing but success can crown the trio's outing.

John R. McDonald and E.C. Twanley go to Cody, Neb., the last of this week for a fortnight's shooting. Cody is probably one of the best ducking points in the northern parts of Nebraska, and the men are looking forward to plenty of fine shooting.

J.D. Deright and Johnny Kuhns are anticipating a great deal of pleasure on their trip to the Metz ranch this week. Both men have been guests at the Metz domain before and have never wanted for anything that goes to make a duck shoot enjoyable. Abner, the dusky cook of the Metz's, has an almost national reputation for the concoction of dishes that please the sportsman and both men are figuring on several inches increase in their girths.

Alex Chambers went to Mullen, Neb., last evening for a week's duck and chicken shooting.

Jeffereys Davey, who has been spending the past week near Valentine, Neb., writes home he is having fine shooting and an all round good time. Wednesday evening he killed fifteen mallards in about the same number of minutes.

Frank Frederick and party, who are spending the week at Gordon, are also having an abundance of shooting. The flight has been steady ever since their arrival,until now the country surrounding Gordon resembles, in a measure, the good old days of long ago.