September is finally here. The thermometer still reads warm, especially down south, but already faint hints of fall are in the air. Or maybe that’s just the smell of spent powder, musty waders, fresh feathers. Our time has finally arrived. Migratory bird hunting season is ushered in on the wings of resident Canada geese, mourning doves and blue-winged teal. What’s not to love about it?! In this episode of Duck Season Somewhere, Ramsey meets with Bigwater over hot biscuits and deer sausage following an eventful resident Canada goose hunt in Mississippi. Then, with the pungent smell of gun solvent still lingering in the kitchen, he and his son, Forrest, recall past hunts and talk about Mississippi creepy crawlies and a memorable senior prank.
Ramsey Russell: I’m your host, Ramsey Russell. Join me here to listen to those conversations. All right. It is September 1st. You all know what that means. Everybody listening knows what that means. It means, the hunting season is finally come around. This morning, I woke up at 1:30. I don’t know if its old man problems, I don’t think it was excitement. I haven’t gotten so excited that I can’t sleep at night. I just think, I got old man probably woke up and I did go to bed early because my buddy, Big Water, our guest today called me up a couple of days ago and said, so let’s go Canada goose hunting. I want to say the state of Mississippi can be described geographically is about six or seven hours drive North to South and five hours drive East to West. So my first question asking him knowing him for 20 years is where? I didn’t want to drive five hours. So just 10-15 minutes from my house. I said I’ll be there. So he comes wheeling up this morning at 4:30. We tear off down the road in the pitch black dark, 15 minute drive and set up in a little farm and go hunting. The
whole time, I’m in the blind this morning. “Ding ding” I’m getting text messages, folks all over the country. Had an opening day for dove or for Canada geese. Hundreds of people I know today celebrated the opening day. But one thing that struck me, this morning felt a little awkward. Because I realized, I had not swung a shotgun or pointed anything or hunted anything for six months. That’s the longest stretch of time I’ve been in the last decade. Thank you very much COVID. But anyway, this morning was pretty dang awesome, wasn’t it Big Waters?
Mike Wilson: Ramsey. I got a smile on my face. You’d have thought something illegal just happened in the bedroom right there.
Ramsey Russell: Well, it’s like, I told you on the drive out this morning, I don’t hunt resident Canada geese Mississippi, unless you call. It’s been that way for 10 or 15 years. What I’ve learned is a Big Water calls. It might be a 5 hour drive. Hadn’t driven that far to shoot geese with you yet. But nonetheless, we’ve always had a good time. And this morning was no exception. Now look, how many geese had you all scouted and seen on this farm?
Mike Wilson: It wasn’t many. It’s not really Ramsey. It’s not really about a number. I mean, the number and we’ll know more than, at most 60 birds. But what you’re looking for Ramsey and for you guys out there that are interested in doing it, and there’s two ways to look at. What you would ideally like to see is multiple flights and hopefully catch them staggered out so that you can make the most of those 60 birds. That’s pretty much what we did this morning. The other way Ramsey, this is how I feel about it. Is if you told me, especially with this crazy ass year that we’ve had, if you had said okay, in the morning, one group 60 birds coming all at one time, are you going to go out there and do it? I’d have been like, hell yes, I’m going to do that.
Mike Wilson: Yeah, but that is exactly what I expect in the state of Mississippi on resident goose hunt. You see, you can see 50,000 geese out there covering the field and they’re going to come in at one time normally. This morning, we caught about half the wave, of course, you know, across the landscape right now even the farmers on the farm, we were on, were out there cutting hay. So every day, the sun comes up, there’s newer ground for these birds, land on, what we’ve got is a lot of residential geese and neighborhoods and parks. Little family cohorts were going out to find another family cohort and they’re starting to assemble into larger flocks. And we got lucky this morning, I’d say, what was is it? 7 o’clock, we’d been sitting there at least an hour or 7 o’clock. And Eric said that’s geese. And sure enough across the field, treetop height comes what, 20-30 geese?
Mike Wilson: Let me give a shout out to Eric and Owen Axley. Owen Axley, he’s on Instagram, he’s a young hunter with a YouTube channel. He and I, he’s always been a big game hunter, but never really had a lot of insight into the water fowl. And I’ve been working with him on that. So I want to say thank you to him. We enjoyed coming out there. Yeah, the first group and let me say, luck. You said luck was involved. Let me tell you something folks listening out there, Ramsey grabbed these decoys today and he knew, he was like a painter out there on the canvas. He knew exactly where he wanted each little flock to imitate what the geese are doing this time of the year. And I was like hell, he don’t know what he’s doing. I don’t know why I’m thinking that. But I’m out there, just throw the son of bitches out, and he gets them out and let me say to a T. The groups that came in, decoyed them beautifully. We couldn’t ask for that.
Ramsey Russell: What I felt like we needed. And I’ve hunted with a lot of real Canada goose hunters and picked up a few tricks. But what I felt like we needed, we didn’t need a mob of birds. We needed what we have three dozen decoys? Two dozen decoys and so we broke them up into little family groups of 5, 6, and 7 just scattered about. And once those birds could slide in, there was all kinds of places they could land. From the direction they were coming as they got lower, the spot might have looked black like a bunch of birds the way we had them lines going out, but once they got into get into position they realized there was all kind of wish ways they could land, and that first flock just a little bit of cluck clucking and they talk them back and then shut up because here they are and looking through that burlap, I could see them, but I couldn’t, if you know what I mean? And I kind of peek throw it. I’m like, well they’re fixing the land. Yeah. So we let them land and when we stood up they jumped up and we raked them pretty good.
Mike Wilson: They came on that exact spot where the excess cross at. Ramsey Russell: They just set right up in front of us. And I could see little and smiled down on the end. And you know what? The kids 15 years old, right here in Rankin County, which is not the epicenter of waterfowl hunting in the state of Mississippi. And he’s avid and I was impressed. I’d really like to see young people like that getting involved, him and his daddy are working on a boat project right now. They spend all summer getting their duck boat and they’re mud motor kit together. And he filmed that. He’s got a YouTube channel, he calls “All Round Outdoors” all round, not a round “All Round Outdoors”. And I like to watch them little videos. I like to see young people getting vibrates excited.
Mike Wilson: Self thought.
Ramsey Russell: Yeah, I mean, and it just did me good about their with a father and son. And Owen, it was pretty much the head knocker in terms of scout and he’s one that that found those birds and put us on him and knew where to go in the dark and got us right where we wanted to hide in that clump of trees and it worked out like [**00:09:14] Mike Wilson: Let me tell you something Ramsey. Outside of the feeling of the climax during the intimate moment with your woman. The next best feeling in the world is that time winded and time there between is your tents down and the birds are coming. And then that moment when you said, yeah, either way there was no color. But I was just, yeah, that moment. I love that time. That’s the next greatest feeling in the world right there. I wish had a bottle that little moment and store it.
Ramsey Russell: It was when they were out there about 100 yards because there was a little stock tank and there was where we were in the 100 yard distance and they’ve been just hitting all up in that 100 yards. And sometimes the goose, you just, you better be within five yards. And they got down, they got kind of round that stock tank and the left hand side of the flock was like, we want to go over here, the main body said, oh we’re going over there and pull them all in. And it was that last 50-60 yards when they locked and we’re losing altitude, you’re like, shut up and just enjoy it because they’re coming in, it was just slow motion, the great big old Canada geese resident birds though they may be coasting into the decoys. I know a lot of folks would have shot him when they were 10 ft. over the ground and 5 ft. over. How could you stop? I’m like I was just enjoying the show and once they landed, I’m like, okay, we own them. And they jumped up and we got a bunch of birds out of that flock and that was a nice way to be. I’m really not a huge resident Canada goose hunter. Every time big water calls, I’m going goose hunting. Let me describe you all, I got a text in the morning big E from some friends out in Utah, high desert Utah. 33º this morning. And they’re hunting all those Canada geese, west geese, they call them the western Canada geese that, kind of breed right there around Great Salt Lake. And I got a lot of good pictures from them. They did good. But I just, I mean now by comparison to 33º this morning was sultry. It was good and steamy. It was like being in a sauna. Even before the sun came up it’s like, but the minute sun came up it was like, just it was rough. Tell me this big E we’ve talked about in the past we were talking about a mutual friend of ours and old gentleman from over in Vicksburg Mr. Ernest Thomas. And I know him from way back when and I know you’re good friends with him.
Mike Wilson: But accomplished wing shooter. Oh yeah, worldwide.
Ramsey Russell: Worldwide. But old school worldwide. But didn’t you tell me one time that he had a hand in the establishment of the resident population?
Mike Wilson: Yeah, as you well know our migratory flocks of Geese, what pretty much depleted out in the 70s. Would that be the tail end of it would you say 80s? Your granddaddy. I’ve heard stories about sandbar hunting on the river.
Ramsey Russell: 50s and 60s when he got small books, I’ll show you, here in a minute, some pictures and they would dig into the sand bar south of lake Ferguson back in the late 50s, early 60s. And by the 70s, his annual two or three day goose hunt was going to Cairo, Illinois. And now if you talk to a lot of folks up in that part of the world, they’re shooting a few resident geese that the migraters, which were interior populations aren’t coming that far south anymore. And, so it makes me wonder if how strong the migration really was. And I’ve heard reports in North Louisiana. But nonetheless, really we don’t have a goose hunting culture because it never was really geese like the listeners up north experience.
Mike Wilson: So ours depleted out. And then we people began to ask a question, what can be done? So our department, the email that Ernest sent me and I love that. I’d love to get him on here. But anyway, the email that he sent me kind of laid the story out, but it was the effort that was started by our Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks to bring these geese in. Right? And then, basically to make a long story short, they end up running out of the front funds to do this deal. I mean, think about this. This is massive undertaking to go get these geese.
Ramsey Russell: I’m assuming Minnesota or,
Mike Wilson: These birds, if I understand correctly, I swear I think he said North Carolina. He came out of his own pocket book to help do this and went and got a number of tractor trailer loads, 18 Wheelers full of live Canada Geese. And then they began a restocking process than the ones I know of were around Vicksburg, and then north of Vicksburg up in Valley Park area. And then some out here in the Jackson. Because I sent him, I found out about this. I sent him a picture from one of those hunts years ago that you went on with me, you know where we killed 30 birds and 6 man limit or whatever. And he told me he said, you might have shot some of my birds that I brought back. So it’s got to feel good to him to sit back all these years later and see people partaking of his, efforts and seeing these birds I guess.
Ramsey Russell: Those resident birds. However, how many do you reckon he brought down?
Mike Wilson: I don’t how many you think fit on a I don’t know, I don’t how many convicted 18 trailer. But I mean its undertaking.
Ramsey Russell: They multiplied and did well and flourishing everything else because they’re everywhere. Everywhere you look, I got them here in my neighborhood pond, I see him on every neighborhood pond with him. Whole state of Mississippi have Canada geese.
Mike Wilson: So few geese in central Mississippi, there’s a good chance they came from the grouping that he brought down. Now there was also restocking efforts done up in this sorest area, up in the north Mississippi that were, and what it is was individuals stepping forward to help make this happen in addition to the state that you know, individuals, that’s how it always works best.
Ramsey Russell: Unfortunately. I hunt, I’m blessed to hunt with some real Canada goose hunters up north and kids that cut their teeth, grown men to cut their teeth as kids on Canada goose calls and they can work those flocks in and talk to them and I can’t, I don’t understand, the way I work a Canada goose and these resident birds is make that note, right? Just a couple of clucks and listen, shut up and listen and see if he’ll talk back and if you can get one to go back and forth with you, just hang on he coming in. And I’ve even hunted like what our buddy, Jim Cruz, I was telling you this morning. Just here one out on the water somewhere, not cypress break and if he’s in the air, just give me what, just give him giving a talk and if he’ll talk about hang on because they’re at least going to come and give you a fly over and take a look, they’re coming. And it’s to me it’s real different than hunting with some of these boys out west or up north. I mean those guys talk the talk. They get in that goose head, I can’t do that but I know how to talk to these old cracker fed resident geese. [**00:16:22]
Mike Wilson: Let’s get a shot. Is that Mr. Grounds, Tim Grounds call you and falling this morning?
Ramsey Russell: Yeah, it sure that is.
Mike Wilson: Tell me about that call that looked like it had some story behind it.
Ramsey Russell: Big water, that call is old, it’s got to be 30 years old and it’s really, I’ve had some other Canada goose calls. It is there that super mag clarinet cork leads a little tighten up. I’ll probably end up putting,
Mike Wilson: clarinet, clarinet cork?
Ramsey Russell: You know, like when they put the court from a clarinet and the read it was a secret of that super mag they used back then and, but you know court don’t last forever. It’s getting just a little loose. I probably need to put a piece of electrical tape around something, just get it good and snug. But don’t ask me why I love that call. It’s just the one I can blow the easiest and I’ve got some other good calls I’m practicing with but that’s just a call have been blowing for 30 years and I love it. I love the story. And I like Tim. I met him a few times and talk to him and I bought that call, because I wanted to Canada goose hunt way back when. And for a non-goose hunters, so it include my selves, there’s been a lot of birds die with me blowing it with that little old call and but you know it’s funny how things like calls and guns and watches and pocket knives and no it’s just tools like hammers. But it’s funny how you get attached to something like that. Just that’s my calling. I feel if I’m Canada goose hunting I feel naked without that call on my drop that’s just my call and but anyway. Canada geese are not the only thing happening this time of year you know I recognize no matter how far I’ve traveled and how much I’ve traveled. It’s something about Labor Day weekend. That’s the kick off. That’s it. Very rarely in my anywhere on God’s earth that, I want to be in Mississippi. I want to be home in early September because Canada goose hunting if I’m hunting with you some. But then this weekend, this Saturday morning, the state of Mississippi mourning dove season starts. And that is, I said this a million times, but I’m dead serious. I was 15 years old before I realized, it was a national holiday. I thought, it just the day we got out of school to go dove hunt. That’s what my family did. And I love it. I absolutely love it. It’s hot and blue blazes out there and you think being from the state of Mississippi, you finally get used to the heat and humidity. Half folks, they are like Ramsey, how come you’re out there with a 20 gauge or 28 gauge or 14? I’m like, I’m trying to shoot them things and get back in the air conditioner, before I have a heat stroke, but I love it. I wouldn’t miss that day for the world.
Mike Wilson: It’s a strong tradition Ramsey, and I wanted to ask you about this. When you talk about that tradition, it’s a southern thing, I know, I mean, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas. Texas is #1 in everything.
Ramsey Russell: I had a bunch of buddies in California dove hunting in the morning. Ohio.
Mike Wilson: So I did some research, right? I actually prepared myself for this podcast believe it or not. So I started looking. So strong dove hunting in the south. And then, there’s some out west of course. And then of course the Midwest but boy, what is it about those northern tier and then that northeast region of America I’m talking, I had to start Maine and when you start working down the northeast from Maine no dove season, Maine. Vermont, no dove season, New Hampshire, no dove season, New York, no dove season. And then you have to get all the way down into Rhode island before you find the first dove season, just looking through the state rex. So there’s no dove season, I know they got birds is just no tradition up there for that.
Ramsey Russell: I don’t know if anybody listening up there from New England. How come you all don’t have [**00:20:13]. Yeah, I mean, a lot of states recognizing the songbirds and I do enjoy listening to him. Here in the backyard cooking and in the evening. But I just, when I heard of duck cooking it just something makes me think about bacon wrapped of breast on the grill. It’s just, it’s fun, its sport. And to me, southern dove hunting traditions, are very social events. It’s like, just imagine tailgating with shotguns. Everybody out in the shade, past shooting, sweating, shooting doves and then back in the shade with cold drinks and maybe some dove. I mean, I love it. I love to go to those events where you’re grilling out there in the field.
Mike Wilson: It’s a great time. It’s a great time for hunters. Even better time for game warden friends.
Ramsey Russell: Ryan sent me a picture the other day. Ryan Beauty anne [**00:21:06] how you say his last name? I know him about 30 years and I still can’t pronounce his last name.
Mike Wilson: You butcher the hell out of it.
Ramsey Russell: I call him iron grill. And, he sent me, text me a picture the other day.
Mike Wilson: 15 year old picture.
Ramsey Russell: At least 15 years old and forest now 22 years old was belt high. And we were side by side and I was shooting to the left and he was shooting to the right.
Mike Wilson: Can you attach that to this podcast for people to see that? That’s an awesome picture.
Ramsey Russell: Oh, I’m going to. That was a great picture. I was glad to see and definitely it will see some time on the line, but you know, it just brought back some good memories, and it made, every time I see those kinds of pictures, I remember being about that tall hunting in the shadow of my grandfather, my father out there on the dove field in the Mississippi Delta. And it’s just, I love it. I don’t have to go, but once or twice, three times, over the course of a year. But I absolutely love dove hunting. It’s just something about it.
Mike Wilson: I’m glad we’re talking about it, because I love it too. And I want to tell you something that I had a note here. I wanted to ask you about and see what you knew about him. And I love to hear from the listeners too. Because we got some great feedback on this from your listeners. Especially, I enjoyed hearing and we ask a question a while back about the tree ducks. And we got some response, I think you’ve got something from way off. Indiana, people are seeing them up there.
Ramsey Russell: Hey, speaking of which, let’s catch everybody up guys. Remember a few weeks ago, question and answer with big water. He was asking me about the black bellied whistling duck and I said, well, since hurricane Katrina and Rita. We had started having them, breeding and wooden up box of Mississippi, they seem to be proliferate. And we heard from folks in Arkansas, Missouri and as far north as Indiana. About the black bellied whistling ducks. Now, that are spreading at least up the Mississippi fly away in parts of central fly away. There seemed to be drastically increasing their range. So now what were you going taking about?
Mike Wilson: Yeah, so I want to hear from a listener because I don’t know and you may know, you maybe up telling me, but I’m going to set your story up right out of college, 1994 or 5ish. Working for the Farm Bureau companies. And I won a trip, total bullshit session by myself. I want to give myself a pat on the back. I sold the hell out of some life insurance, talk to old woman into it. She got the grandchildren. Next thing you know that I came into the office, I was a damn hero pat me on the back, sold about 15 life insurance policies in about a two day period. Won me a trip down to Florida with all the big dogs. And I want to forget this Ramsey were on the golf course out there and I was sucking at golf and makes me, I like to drink beer anyway, Ramsey golf makes me even like beer even more. And so we’re only halfway through the course there, so I probably legally drunk, to be honest with you, yes my theme and all my podcast. But I’ve been drinking quite a bit. I look up and there’s the most oddball looking dove right out there in front of me, off to my car and I said, man, what kind of dove is that? I said, I ain’t never seen a dove like that. And this agent from down in South Mississippi older gentleman said, you must not know nothing about dove hunting boys, he said that some Yankee dove. And I said Yankee dove my ass. I know what a Yankee dove is. A Yankee dove, just a big dumb mature dove, a mourning dove. But I said that ain’t no mourning dove and I didn’t know what it was and so that it went on for a year or two. And then finally a couple years later I put it together. That was the first sighting of the Eurasian collared dove.
Ramsey Russell: Your first sighting?
Mike Wilson: My first sighting of the Eurasian collard dove. Mid-90s in Florida. And tell me the story I heard. And I love to hear what other people say that just total standing around the fire pit talk was that some of those birds came out of the Caribbean on a boat and came into Florida and they have proliferated. I can’t say that word. But anyway. From that way and now they’ve made it. Well, what a success story those birds are. I’m talking there as far out west as Colorado or further now.
Ramsey Russell: I don’t know enough biology about the Eurasian collared dove, the fact they call it Eurasian, somebody may know that it came from Eurasia, which is kind of a zone right between Europe and Asia. And if I had to guess and somebody correct me if I’m wrong, often wrong never in doubt in my. If I had to guess, sounded to me like maybe a pet shop bird or somebody brought them over here for backyard aviaries or ornamental singing’s weddings and then they just went ape shit and spread everywhere. That’s what I would guess. But it’s a bonus bird. If you hunt around Barnes and elevators and buildings and things that nature out in the country, where we hunt around bells zone, all the fish tank, stuff like it. They don’t count against your limit and they eat just fine. I mean they’re a little bigger and tougher than to hatch year birds we shoot from morning doves but wrapped in bacon and grilled just right. They taste just fine.
Mike Wilson: Take me back in time when you were dove hunting growing up and I was growing up, you’re talking about in the 70s and I don’t remember seeing them. Do you know?
Ramsey Russell: No, I would say late 90s, early thousands would be the first one I ever saw in shot. And probably back in the good old days, counted them towards my limit, not knowing any better.
Mike Wilson: And the other thing that sticks out with me with those Eurasian was, we were pheasant hunting and Kansas, western Kansas are up near Nebraska Line one day and we came into one of these small Midwestern towns and typical of the Midwestern town or the biggest thing in town is the tall grain elevator. And all the piping coming off the land. Yeah, the all the piping coming off the ground and it’s just birds everywhere. All up on it. It looked like pigeons. You got pigeons all gang up? And I remember saying I said look at all them pigeons. And then as we got up closer and I’m not fishtail and I’m not exaggerating, it had to be somewhere between 800 to 1000 ring necked doves just lying in this green being on top of it, all of that. And I said, boy, these birds and this was 6-8 years ago.
Ramsey Russell: That’s somewhere I like to hunt in the opening day. I guarantee you. I’ve heard of places out in Texas, panhandle. They actually run a couple of organized commercial hunts for many Cordoba type hunts. From shooting those collared dove. You said something the other day, in a text about this, talking about ring necks and I’m like, what are you talking about? A ring necked duck? No, man, a collared dove. I said, oh okay. You know, I grew up seeing ring neck duck, of course. My whole life, I’m a ring neck duck expert. And what about this morning? We’re waiting on that second flock that did come in and, you got some pretty good eyes. We saw that flock of blue wings about a half mile away. They were getting.
Mike Wilson: If you’ve got any listeners in the mobile delta, get ready, I think, that’s where the birds head.
Ramsey Russell: Well, I heard a report this morning sounds pretty credible of, substantial amount in places in the Mississippi delta right now. And I’ve heard from our buddy Steve Biggers down in El Campo. He has had blue wings on some of his water holes now for about a month. So the migration is well underway. And then I was talking to a friend of mine up in Saskatchewan, a Canadian, that is going out this morning as we talk to and targeting blue wings, you’ve got it. So isn’t that amazing we saw birds this morning, Mississippi Steve got him down in El Campo and I know a Canadian that went out this morning targeting blue wing and a tiny little pothole in Canada. That’s exciting times, man.
Mike Wilson: Keep in mind that 25 years ago we didn’t even have a blue wing teal season. That’s where we were. I can remember the first time this season. I can remember hearing my dad talk about it and then there was no blue wing teal season. And then I can remember the first one, I went on the Grenada Lake bottom back in the mid-nineties, we went out in the lake bottom out there for all your Grenada folks out there, past the Iron Bull. I said, I am mark out their turn at the iron bull and go into Lake Bottom back there and had a good shoot. So yeah, that’s the story of the blue wings and their numbers, the numbers are strong and steady again this year.
Ramsey Russell: You got them or you don’t. And, I like to hunt blue wings in shallow emergent marsh habitat type vegetation. That’s what I like. I like shallow water with a lot of grass cover. And usually when you got that, you just got to be patient wait on, kind of like the resident Canada geese. I mean, we shot that first flock this morning at 7 o’clock and I’m going to say 8, 8:30. I thought it was over. I said no. And then somebody heard one out behind us and look around at what, 8-9? And they repeated, what the first one did they got right in the pocket and paid rent big time. What now? This weekend you won’t be in Mississippi. I’ll be up near Bells zone. And Forrest and I will make our annual John up there to go shoot mourning doves, but you’re going to Texas?
Mike Wilson: Yeah. I’m going to go north of Dallas with my brother who he’s out hunting. Today, their doves season open today and he’s out in the San Antonio area shooting white wings. And then he’s going to hunt a couple of days down there. Then I’m going to be out there Saturday and hunt with him Saturday and Sunday. North of Dallas up towards Wichita Falls. And I think it will be a mix. It will be a mix of white wing and mourning doves. Brooks, ain’t nobody gets crazy about dove hunting.
Ramsey Russell: And I never will forget going over to east Mississippi years ago where he had a dove club.
Mike Wilson: Yes, sir.
Ramsey Russell: And the amount of habitat manipulation, burning fields, spraying privates. Doves had roost. They had grit, they had water, they had feed, they had fresh feed, they had burned feed, they had fence post, they had bushes down. I mean, they had everything a dove could want. If a dove was to die and go to heaven. It was hunting on those properties that Brooke put together for mourning dove. I’ve never seen nothing like this. I’m like, man, you ought to write a textbook of how to track doves.
Mike Wilson: They had Jeff Simmons and Simmons support and they had him on cell phone. They could dial him up directly and we’re buying skids of ammunition and we’re talking about just a handful of guides. Ramsey Russell: Well, they hunted all season. A dozen properties at least. And by season. They didn’t just hunt Labor Day weekend. They hunted all three splits for mourning dove. That’s a serious dove hunters out there.
Mike Wilson: It was crazy. The worst thing ever happened was him to move off. And, it really hurt my dove hunt tremendously because they got after it. I’m talking about them, they knew exactly what they wanted to do. And they had all the different types of habitat, everything from the sunflower fields to the, I’ll tell you what the burning off man that was an effective way to expose seed and hunt that. And I don’t know. I don’t remember you did go over and hunt with him.
Ramsey Russell: Oh I got the full tour. I did go and hunt and we went look at some of those properties, and I remember where they had sprayed a weed field and like sodium chloride or something and it just burned down chemically burned down all the vegetation left the seat exposed. On the fence road next to that was just a bunch of woolly old privet hedge. And they had gone and sprayed it just to knock the leaves off so the does will have somewhere to perch and then a little bit behind that it was like a borrow pit gravel where they mind gravel, pea gravel at that. And they had gone and sprayed the vegetation all around, that’s what dove could land in clear vegetation. Well, get them a drink. And it was just insane.
Mike Wilson: Ramsey, I want to. And for people listening out there, you guys think about this. Some of you may be saying, well, it’s too late for me to do my dove field now, and I want to tell you, I think you might be wrong on that because I saw this from my own eyes. I’ve seen them go in and drop a disc on the field and prepare. Three days later are pulling birds into it. Just in three days’ time. So if you’re sitting there and today’s Tuesday and you’re wondering, I’m not saying that’s going to happen all the time. I’m just saying that if you’re sitting out there right now and you’re wondering, I thinking you’re too late to prepare a field, I think there’s, think about that guys, you can go out there today, and you might want to check with your local state agency about your window for when you can, plant wheat and top so wheat and stuff like that. You know, there might be a guy like. Take for example the state of Alabama, I wasn’t aware of this, but the state of Alabama we can top so we’d hear our thoughts within our normal agricultural practice, so that’s legal to do. But the state of Alabama has a rule that says if you’re going to top, so we in the state of Alabama you can’t do it until a certain date in September, it’s like the middle of September at least that’s what the rule was they had a few years ago. So I had checked on it recently. And brooks was the one that was telling me about this. So but yeah if you’re an area where there’s some decent birds you can pull birds. Another thing you’ll happen is when you turn that fresh ground over it’s just a magnet to birds that are in the area.
Ramsey Russell: Doves love fresh grounds. I personally prefer some flowers. They’ll go in and it’s just a, they’ve kept them weed free. They spray them with sodium chlorate drying up and it’s nothing but a few morning glories on the ground. Sun flowers and bare soil and usually if it’s near an oxbow were in the right part of Delta Issues covered up with doves. It’s just it’s hard to beat. A good sunflower field is legal. You don’t have to worry about, the baiting and the bushels an acre and should you have known, did you know? That’s a mess. You know with the whole bait and rolls. I’d choose to hunt over sun flowers if possible or cut my lower cut corn and have had some good shoots here in the delta. As hot as it is if you can’t find a water hole. And one of my favorite fields I’ve ever hunted. It was just, it was a pasture. It reminded me of South Texas where we were. Because of down in South Texas and those food plots that we planted for deer. And all we would do is drill a few oats. It was a highly disturbed soul and behind it at the, as the oats kind of did their thing behind it, the natural crop would come in and eat bee. Wild sun flowers or woolly croak. And we’ve hit a new field ah about this time of year, we’ve hit a new field with a disc and before you can make two passes through the field that it doves coming in. And so we just all learned that last thing we put the truck before we went to go plant food plots down to south Texas was our shotguns and our shells. And that old springer at the time, he lay in the shade all day till we were done and we go parker tracks and walk back out and shoot doves every single day of the season. It was just wonderful.
Mike Wilson: Texas is a good state, they have a big dove hunters association out there. My brother was telling me, they conducted some research on some of these bands. One of those birds was banded killed down in Nicaragua. Out of Texas. A dove.
Ramsey Russell: That I believe.
Mike Wilson: And the migration is all over the place.
Ramsey Russell: Talk about a hunting culture as compared to New England. I have heard it said that the largest armed militia in the world is Texas hunters on opening day, and I guarantee you today, September 1st. If you were in any Bucky’s quick stop in the state of Texas, you would believe that. It would be nothing but a Walter camo. Coming in to get a cup of coffee and a sweet roll on the way out in the fields.
Mike Wilson: Big revenue producer for the game wardens too, I think.
Ramsey Russell: I guarantee you, they got mourning doves and white wings, but well, good luck to you this weekend big water. And I’ll tell you what I sure enjoyed it this morning. Folks, it’s September 1st. If you had to go to work this morning, I hate it. But I hope you’re going out there this weekend. I hope that everybody listening, I got the opportunity to go out and enjoy it, man. It is our time of year. Right now. September is the official kickoff. Thank you all for listening. We’ll be right back.
Ramsey Russell: All right man, we’re back. Labor Day weekend. Special weekend. I bet a lot of you all are heading down the road yourself right now with some friends and some loved ones to do what we do, which is hunt. I’ve got a special guest today. My son Forest age 22 years old, been taking him since he was belt high. I thought to have him come on and let’s talk about duck and dove hunting, September hunting. I thought to have them come on just because a buddy of mine has sent me this picture of the day. It’s a picture of me, dog to the left sitting and marking and my gun is swinging through on something and there’s a little boy about belt high to my right and he’s shooting his little 20 gauge. And it was important to me, when they grew up to take my kids hunting. When I look back in my childhood, some of my most memorable days were dove hunting with my grandfather, my father. And heck 54 year old man. I get a little tired, nostalgic, almost sentimental about it now. Back in those days I was taking those kids, I felt like I was investing in lifetime hunting buddies. But somehow it just eluded me to the fact that those days would pass that they would grow up and those wonder years would be over. Forest how are you today?
Forest Russell: I’m doing good. It’s good to be here.
Ramsey Russell: Hey, look before we get started talking about this, just dove hunt. Man, where were you all that yesterday in Woodville, Mississippi?
Forest Russell: Yes, sir, down south
Ramsey Russell: And you stumble across something that even I hadn’t seen in the wood before. That pretty dang interesting. What was that?
Forest Russell: Yeah, we were, me and two of my buddies, we were riding around, at one of his deer camps down there, just putting out some trail cameras and seeing what he had going on for both season. He stopped before and said, what on earth was that back there? He said, he backed up and I’m talking there was red vine probably about knee high and two snakeheads sticking out over the top of it, twisting around. We said what on earth? And run up. It was two probably five ft. Canebrakes in there, wrapped up twisting around. We were like good God, what are they doing? We sat there and probably watching for 20 minutes. Both of them just they we ran up to and we got a little too close and they buzz for probably 30 seconds then just kept on going out. They were hissing. I never heard of snake hits like that and they were hissing and they ride a little bit and roll around and I mean standing straight up like a like a king cobra like you see on the TV.
Ramsey Russell: Yeah, it’s like, I looked at your video, it’s like somebody blowing the flute. Yeah they were standing straight up but they were twisting and wrapping around each other like they were wrestling like a couple of cell wrestlers or something.
Forest Russell: Yeah I couldn’t believe. I’ve seen, I have never seen it in person. I’ve seen some pictures of cottonmouths doing something similar and at first I kind of assumed they might be breeding. And I asked Mr. Pat Pit and some people who might know better and they said that rattlesnakes typically breed in the spring and they’ve already had their babies by now. So it’s probably too big males fighting.
Ramsey Russell: Probably fighting over their territory or something. Forest Russell: Yeah and both of them too. I took a closer picture of both tails and they confirmed their two big males.
Ramsey Russell: How did? If anybody knew it would be Pat. How did, who despite being a world class duck hunter and duck collector in North America is ever more herpetologist. But what did he say? What did he see on those videos that made him think those were both male snake?
Forest Russell: He said, which I never, I didn’t know this, but he said female snake has a short and more tapered tail while male kind of keeps the same girth all the way through it. So he said, that’s what he saw from the videos which I couldn’t. I couldn’t tell one from the other.
Ramsey Russell: Did they, were they rattling while they were fighting? Buzzing?
Forest Russell: Little bit. It was really just, they were just rolling around so hard it would kind of throw a few rattles here and there. But the hissing, I mean you could you could hear the hissing on the video. It was crazy.
Ramsey Russell: And you all didn’t kill them. Did you know?
Forest Russell: No, they wanted too. I let them. I convinced everybody let him go.
Ramsey Russell: I used to cruise a lot of timber in the delta. And up in the hills around Vicksburg, and in the hills above our camp now and crawl round up them clear cuts and there was a lot of timber rattlers in that part of the world and I have been not seeing them crawling through briars on my hands and knees. I’ve been within a foot and I can’t hear them buzz, especially when I got brier scratching all over my cap and stuff. And they’re the most docile snake I’ve ever seen. I mean they just, I have walked up on them in the woods and prodded him with my stick, my plot center stick. I can’t even usually get them to coil up and react. They just want to get away from you.
Forest Russell: They are on that same property probably three years ago. We were out running cameras again and then but he was standing up on top of the ridge while matt ran down to the bottom of set a camera. We probably sitting there 5, 6 minutes. I just happened to look down. That’s probably a 4-5 ft. canebrake. I mean less than probably 6 inches from my heel coiled up and he never rattled or anything. I jumped out of my skin and he just took off back the other way.
Ramsey Russell: Now, will say one of the funniest times. Speaking of that, one of the funniest times we were doing what we called a hardwood short course. There were fosters from five states coming into list of my major professor talk about hardwood regeneration. We were out near Delta National Forest. It has been 25, 30 men standing around, just listening to the man talk and somebody looked down and a big old canebrake rattler had just kind of come right up in the crowd. He reached down and picked it up. Just grabbed it behind its head so it couldn’t come up and kiss him. And the snake of course started coiling around his arm. It’s probably about a five footer bout as big around in my arm. And once he got wrapped around his arm, he started leveraging and he couldn’t do nothing to stop that head from disappearing and he couldn’t hold that head. That head was disappearing through his fist and was fixing to be out the other side and free to go. And we all walked over, several of us put hands on it and just kind of controlled it to where it couldn’t get loose. And but anyway, that was, he kindly panicked on that one right there. He kindly panicked. But anyway, I tell them what you see when you’re out there in the woods, I’m proud of you for not having shot those rattlesnakes. I really have. A lot of people would have killed them.
Forest Russell: I probably there’s no, I probably posted up on Facebook and Instagram probably got 150 comments asking why on earth didn’t you kill those snakes?
Ramsey Russell: Well, if anybody wanted to see those videos, where would they find them on Facebook? Tell them what your handle is on Facebook.
Forest Russell: They’re on my Facebook. Just Forest Russell. And you shared it. So if they follow you, they ought to see it there too.
Ramsey Russell: All right. They may give some folks night terrors, watch that kind of stuff. I don’t know. Well we got Labor Day weekend coming up. Tomorrow, we both out of work Friday afternoon after work. We’re going to load up the truck and head to camp and sort through shotgun shells and grill a couple of steaks and I don’t know, watch a little TV get up Saturday morning and drink some coffee and held around and go up there to Belzoni, eat a big breakfast and go out to a dove field after lunch and shoot some birds. When I grew up in Mississippi, the dove hunt season did not start until noon. And honestly, I kind of like the daylight shooting. I kind of like the daybreak shooting, but this particular field we hunt, the man wants to start at noon and that’s very traditional but it’s hot as blazes out there.
Forest Russell: There ain’t no doubt about that.
Ramsey Russell: You think? Yeah, I think after 54 years I have finally got acclimated to Mississippi opening day. But it is going to be a heat index 100 plus.
Forest Russell: I don’t think anybody gets used to that heat.
Ramsey Russell: High humidity. And last year I sat in the shade of a telephone poll. Of course as the sun moved a little bit the shade would moving every five minutes I’d get up and move my bucket back, just get right into shade, that one little sliver of shade right there on the field. And thank goodness I got out before I got too dang hot. My strategy on dove hunting, get in, knock them out quick and go sit in the air conditioner.
Forest Russell: The minute you stood up with your limit. I went right to that telephone pole and got in that shade. Because I was burn enough over there and in those sun flowers
Ramsey Russell: You’re young. You can handle it. I guarantee you. What are your earliest memories? What are your earliest America? I know like myself going hunt with my people. I know. I started taking you and a few years later your brother. Our deal was, as soon as you all could tell daddy all had to go potty and I didn’t have to change diapers. I take you all to camp. But what are your earliest memories? I wonder. What do you remember from, what are your earliest memories dove hunting together?
Forest Russell: The first memory I have a hunting period was back when we snipe hunted. I couldn’t have been probably three years old. I remember sitting in those, in your old, I think we drag your poke boat out there and I had my pop gun, you wear them out? We need to go do that again. This spring.
Ramsey Russell: We do. That’s not a Labor Day weekend event. But it’s a lot like dove hunt. Back in the day that I was doing that we had access to a rice field and right after the hunting season the farmer would pull those boards, it would be mud flat and something about that area would bring in those Wilson’s snipe from all over. And I had gone and just took some scrap ply board and fashioned some snipe silhouettes on real tall, about a foot long polls except when I stuck them in the mud. It be up above that old rice double. And I had forgotten I took you on those hunts.
Forest Russell: Coming back to your point of the dove hunting, that’s just September to me is kind of a, the kick off for everything. And I mean that’s kind of, I don’t remember a birthday weekend, not teal hunting or labor day weekend, not spent out in the dove field my shoot since I could walk pretty much.
Ramsey Russell: Because your birthday falls right there on teal season.
Forest Russell: Right there usually about opening week.
Ramsey Russell: In fact, I don’t remember a time since you were 12 or 13 that you didn’t come. We’ve had this “MS Duck Teal Hunt”. I think it’s going on nearly, it started in 2003 or 2 to 17 years and you’ve been coming to at least half of them. You know all those men like uncles?
Forest Russell: Oh yeah. Pretty much.
Ramsey Russell: What do you remember about going out dove hunting though? Do you remember your first dove?
Forest Russell: I remember my first dove, we were hunting and I believe tunica?
Ramsey Russell: That’s right. We’re Robert Stanton.
Forest Russell: Yeah we’re out there in Tunica. I remember, I shot a handful of that day. I was staying under a big pecan tree and a power line which was a dynamic duo for me. I was probably, what seven or eight years old? I was held on the day of Atlanta on a power line. Ramsey Russell: You got to leave them too far of the people.
Forest Russell: I think, I got a few of them out of there that day two though.
Ramsey Russell: I think you did. And what about your, can you still remember your first limit? I know you shot a bunch since then, but can you still remember the first time you ever limited?
Forest Russell: Yeah, I remember. I can’t. What were those fella’s names and those?
Ramsey Russell: The Rogers brothers.
Forest Russell: Yeah. They had some old drain catfish ponds. They planted sunflowers every year. And that was some of the best fields I’ve ever, some of the best fields I’ve ever hunted.
Ramsey Russell: They were consistently the best dove fields. You had some old catfish ponds and they would sometimes plant crops down in there, usually plant some flowers, usually on the low end of one or more of those ponds, there’d be where water collected to the birds had something to drink. There was a power line runs right through the middle and they were gravel levy tops, so they had grit, they had roost, they had water, they had feed. And boy, it was like that. That was one of the only fields I’ve ever been that we could hunt Saturday, Sunday and Monday mornings consecutively and shoot limits of birds. It was that good. And I was sad to say of course it’s their business now. These guys are farmers and their successful farmers. But after the daddy passed they went in and eventually pull down the more ponds and turned into just land level soybean field. And I bet it’s good for their business. But I do miss those days.
Forest Russell: Yeah. I don’t remember ever hunting that field and anybody hardly leave without a limit. If you left without a limit you was poor shot. That’s all it was.
Ramsey Russell: It’s all your fault. That’s exactly right. If you left without limits it’s your own fault. Sure was. I remember your brother of course he being younger than you. It didn’t make a difference. Seems like in our family the younger brother, I always got a year or two head start on the big brother. In other words, if you were eight when you started, he was six and I remember probably the same day you shot your first limit. We’re all at the truck cleaning. He wanted to go out. So I gave him a little 20 gauge he was shooting. And let him go out there and the same instructions you had at that age, one Shell, one shell at a time. You put a shell in, that semi-automatic, you pull the trigger and that action was open, you put another shell in and close it, put it on safety, right? And just a habit of teaching the fundamentals, but also the habit of one shot in the same way I was raised up shooting. But I think he shot two with one shot. I think he walked out, a pair of dove landed on the same sunflower head and shot them both in one shot. And he was proud as he could be.
Forest Russell: True Duncan fashion.
Ramsey Russell: True, Duncanator factions. Do you remember one of my finest members hunt with you is you all were not yet hunting and I don’t even know if Duncan was with us, but I had that springer named Brier. And he was the steady dog until we got on a real good snow goose hunt back in 98. And I let him run on some snow geese and that was it. He was breaking dogs. And then on here to meet dog, he’d go on the shot. And we were hunting at willow break. And I asked you to I put a leash on, said hold him and I shot a dove.
Forest Russell: You said hold him and you can go pick up the dove if you can’t hold him.
Ramsey Russell: Yeah, that’s right. But I remember shooting a dove and that little 50 pound springer going and getting that dove dragging you the whole way, you looked like you were skiing behind him.
Forest Russell: I was trying. I gave him everything, I had to slow him down where I can go get him. But I think that was the last time I tried to hold him. I just let him go after that.
Ramsey Russell: That’s all you can do. And I remember another memory I had and it’s just, when you raise children like that and I think, I had as much fun as you all. It’s something about bringing Children out to the field and watching you all progress. That gave me a tremendous sense of enjoyment. But one of my proudest moments as a daddy. We were at willow break. We had a little field, we still had doves coming in that time, back in that era. Something change, the trees grew up, the agriculture around has changed something. But we used to have 150-200 doves shoot. And now you can’t hardly get a dozen doves off that field. So we quit and just planned something else for deer. But, I do remember back in those days you and Duncan were both, I’d say he was 8, you were 10, and we went out and it was green ass tree right in the middle of the field. We all three guys under the shade and there must have been 20 other people in the field hunting. And 30, 40, 45 minutes later we all three left with our limits You remember that?
Forest Russell: Oh yeah. You walk with a little bit of pride after you limit over before a bunch of grown men do.
Ramsey Russell: I guarantee you do. What about, now let me bring something else up. Did you ever notice growing up like that maybe you were a little different than a lot of your buddies you played baseball or something with? Because Labor Day weekend we dove hunted. I can remember you play a select baseball. Must have been 14, 15 kids on the team and every Labor Day you were on that team every single labor day that coach scheduled practice. And every single weekend preceding Labor Day I have to call them up and say coach we’re ain’t going to be there. Why not? We’re going to of dove hunting that’s what we do.
Forest Russell: Yeah. It’s nobody really got it. It seemed like back when I was younger, like most of people I hung out with. I mean they’re dads bringing them deer hunting every now and then. But I mean nobody duck hunted and nobody really dove hunted for that.
Ramsey Russell: And nobody, certainly nobody teal hunted.
Forest Russell: Yeah nobody. Shoot, my friends didn’t even know what a teal was.
Ramsey Russell: I can remember one of the junior varsity coaches at school you all went to out there and peel a hatchy. Nickname and Duncan Teal. That was his pet name on the football team because that’s all Duncan we talked about was going a teal hunting on the weekends in September.
Forest Russell: Yeah, I remember we got a bunch of trouble. Our senior year, me matt and Bryce got drawn for a [**00:56:04] teal hunt on the, and it fell on a Friday morning. We had the Friday morning walk there and we said you know what? I mean we’re seniors he ain’t going to bench of us. So we skip that walk there, went out there and so were our phone for blowing up all the coaches, one of where we were at and we went out there and wasted a one shot, one green winged teal out there. They were pissed. They were mad.
Ramsey Russell: Well that’s a gamble when you go teal hunting because maybe you got it, maybe you don’t, that’s the crazy thing. Do you remember your first teal? Because you were, I remember I did not remember your first dove until you remind me by going up there hunt with Robert. But I do remember your first teal. Do you remember it?
Forest Russell: Oh yeah, I was back. We chased them forever with a 4-10 and I couldn’t ever, it seemed like I pattern them and they just get up and fly off. Like I didn’t even touch them. And finally you said, you know what we’re going to bring my old 20 gauge out there and it was every bit as tall as I was. We cut a little forked limb and stuck in the mud. And he said, all right, if he lands right there in that pocket and then you get that safety off. And sure enough, here he comes. Single came and landed right there and I killed him. And old springs banging brother went out there and brought him back in. I think it was his last year hunting too.
Ramsey Russell: It was close to it. That was an old Remington 1100 full size 20 gauge, 28 inch barrel. And my grandfather had, back in the day, to make it fit me when I was 9 or 10 years old. He just went and chopped the stock off. Re-glued the pad on. So it had a short stock still doesn’t fit me too small fits, your mama good. Probably fit your sister good now. But it was, it’s a heavy gun. Remington’s are sweet shooting, semi-automatic, but they were heavy and you couldn’t hold it. You were that would have been about a week before you turned 6 years old. So you were still in your late five, almost six. And I can remember cutting that limb and sticking in the mud and you’re sitting next to me and we were hunting over mallard hole, we call it up on north end, Reagan hole. It’s just a mud puddle and we didn’t have a bunch of teal but it’s just a mud puddle and finally one dumb blue wing come and landed and like you’re shooting your first deer took you forever to get all get him longed up but we got him.
Forest Russell: And so he’s mad in my room.
Ramsey Russell: Sure is. Do you remember, what are some of your memorable teal hunts we shared together? Because we went out from hard, we still do. What are some of the memorable teal hunt you had?
Forest Russell: It seems like it slowed down these last couple of years. But I remember when I was younger man, we used to absolutely burn them out there at willow break. It seemed like every time we went we just smoked them. But the most memorable one I remember having was, me, you, Matt and Bryce went and the front came through and it was pouring rain and it was after a football game. We were wore out and we were sitting there and right at dark. I mean a big cloud came over the sky and we were sitting there. Everybody was looking at it like surely that ain’t teal and they dropped straight out of there and dump in. It was before shooting like there’s probably 200 teal landing the decoys and we said, oh Lord! And it probably wasn’t, shooting time came, it was probably five minutes later. We had four limits.
Ramsey Russell: That year we hunted,
Forest Russell: I don’t think the group came in less than 150 teal.
Ramsey Russell: No, and the next day you couldn’t buy a duck. But we knew that front was coming. And we’ve gone out to even before and I’ve seen about a dozen birds right there on that little point in the coffee weed when the water’s low. I like to hunt during teal season. They’re right there in that little spot. And we went out all the coffee weed, the grass was belt high. So we went got dove stole and sat on it, brought a rain gear because it was raining when we left the camp, raining and sloppy. And when we got there it wasn’t shooting time. But you could see and they were teal everywhere. And we threw the decoys as quickly as we could.
Forest Russell: Huge groups. There wasn’t any small groups.
Ramsey Russell: No, it was huge. It was unbelievable just like,
Forest Russell: Migration flock.
Ramsey Russell: It was huge. Wind was howling out of the north, you couldn’t look to the north. The rain would pierce your eyeballs, it was blowing so hard. And what I remembered panicking about is it was so fast and furious. I started losing count.
Forest Russell: You stop the note, don’t shoot again.
Ramsey Russell: I got 3, 15 year old kids chomping at the bits and the dogs bringing in ducks quicker and I can’t count them. And I finally just got and said stop shooting till I, get caught up. And it was over before we start. I mean it was just one of them days and I guess it’s almost, hunting blue wing teal in a flyway state like we are, it’s kind of a jackpot hunt. I mean you either hit it or you don’t and that day we hit it. In fact, I can remember Brian broom declaring alleged calling after teal report and me sending a picture and he put your picture in the paper over that hunt.
Forest Russell: We have that article hanging up and storage at our house.
Ramsey Russell: Do you really?
Forest Russell: Yeah, got it framed?
Ramsey Russell: I don’t know what I did with my copy of it.
Forest Russell: I think, I watched there’s one hung up on the fridge. At willow break, that might have been, I think the next day actually we went out the same group, we went on a big hole with Sam pierce and didn’t see a duck, I don’t think. Until right there we were out picking up decoys sitting on zero and a group of probably 100 of them buzz the decoys and everybody just squatted down in the water and loaded up as far as they go and they swung back and we killed probably seven of them out of that group.
Ramsey Russell: They just blew through. They just absolutely blew through. And I have sat on that property 14 consecutive mornings and you’ll have mornings like that, you just bang them and you’re done and then you’ll go seven or eight days straight and it’ll be singles or pairs if you’re lucky. And then day number nine is just you kill a limit before you even start. Six it’s just you’re done. But that’s what keeps you going on that kind of stuff. One of my finest memories, we were down in gar hole, which is not much of a duck hole. That’s why we call it gar hole.
Forest Russell: As gar a hole because you see him there and then go in there the next morning. There ain’t a thing.
Ramsey Russell: No fire nothing. But 10-15 years ago. It was a good spot because it always has water. It was a pretty decent spot to go. We’re getting that little bottleneck and get the teal when they come through. But we were hunting on the north end and it was full of submerged aquatic. They were coming in from somewhere those blue wings were. And I can say this another proud daddy moment. I’m going to say, you all were 8 and 10, nine and 11 somewhere in that age group. And you all actually were done. You all actually had, you all’s 6 teal or maybe the limit was four back then. But you all had you all’s limits before I’ve even gotten started. By the time I got the decoys out, got the dog stand up and got my gun loaded, you all already started cutting loose on the teal and we’re done. I don’t let you all shoot mine.
Forest Russell: I’ll miss those big teal hunts. We hadn’t seen in the last few years. I can’t, I don’t know if I didn’t even go last year. I don’t believe, I think that was the first year since I was probably five years old that I didn’t go teal hunting.
Ramsey Russell: I’m optimistic this year the last few years. For some reason we really haven’t had a lot of blue wings utilize. And back in the day we did, but from what I’ve seen this year, we’ve got a tremendous amount of Sprinkle top, got a lot of millet, some Jap millet Mr. Ian planted it. It’s coming up nicely and he’s got some real nice holes. Like some of the ones we’ve talked about. Duck hole for example where we hit him in the rain that day looks as good and I’ve seen it because it’s got a lot of natural grass around the water but the water is higher than normal so and it’s out in that grass and it just, it looks real good for teal right now. And that’s what I’m going to spend my weekends. It’s over there chasing them. What about Canada geese? I don’t recall you and I ever hunted Canada geese, early resident Canada geese in Mississippi.
Forest Russell: I don’t think we ever have here. I don’t think I’ve ever hunted Canada geese in Mississippi. I remember we went to Ohio that time.
Ramsey Russell: I Remember. Well, it’s funny you mention that because yesterday you were down there filming wild kingdom rattlesnakes and would will [**01:04:43] and when big water calls he’ll call, and say, hey you want to go goose hunting. And I’ve learned, Yeah I do.
Forest Russell: I guess big water lost my number.
Ramsey Russell: Well I don’t know why? I was going to ask you to go. He told me to ask you to go. But yeah we’re going to wood will also I said all right, well I figured you all need to go do that anyway. And we had a great shoot yesterday. We really did. But that was the year we went back up to see Andy Hogan and those boys in Ohio. And we shot some doves again because they got doves in that part of the world. Back in the farm that they had, they have to cut that grain silage and the doves would just warm to it.
Forest Russell: As you told that story on here before, that anti-hunter. That lady right across the street.
Ramsey Russell: Yeah. Well the shot of the day was you shooting the dove while she’s sitting there shrieking at the end of her driveway. Shrieking and jumping up down and cussing big water and iron grip. And you shot a dove that went landed in the tree behind her and right when she walked in the house and slammed the door the dove fell dead in the middle of the driveway. And I said run over there and get that bird you go “uh huh”.
Forest Russell: I don’t want no piece of that lady.
Ramsey Russell: So I had to go over there and get that thing done and hope she hopes she was looking out the window. But I do remember you I shot big water on that flock coming in. He said, I think I got that bird I’m hunting with big water enough and no good. Well, he didn’t get that bird. And, you did kill your first Canada goose there. Didn’t you?
Forest Russell: I think so.
Ramsey Russell: I don’t think it was September. I remember about that same, may have been that same year. We went up there and hunted again in Ohio around Selena. Was staying [**01:06:24] and Jordan and those boys. You actually killed a banded goose.
Forest Russell: Damn. Sure did. I remember that clear as day.
Ramsey Russell: Man. Look, I am really looking forward to this weekend. We’re going to grill some steaks and Saturday night. You said Matts coming over with infrared. We’re going to walk around. So we’ve got a few hogs on us after we eat bacon wrapped dove breast. I’m sure. Look, we started talking, we started your part of the episode, talking about rattlesnakes and I’m going to put you on the spot because I know a lot of folks don’t like snakes. And here in Mississippi, its part of what we do. I mean, it’s just, they’re here and so you kind of keep your eyeballs peeled. And fortunately most of them are non-venomous and over there hunting camp, there’s a bunch. A bunch of cotton mouth, but there’s a bunch of water snakes and king snakes and rats snakes and everything else to. I never forget one day I was sitting on the back porch at camp. Forest and several children were swimming out in the lake and Forest started yelling, help me, help me daddy help.
Forest Russell: It was duck, south cross, crawfish boil when it was. Ramsey Russell: I reckon it was. And all I could see was you up to about your eyeballs in the water yelling help and every other child in the Lake running for the bank. So I go down there to see what the hell is going on. And you’ve got one big water snake in one hand and
Forest Russell: And two in my left hand.
Ramsey Russell: And to in your left hand and one on the snake catch. And you’ve kind of gone in to where your feet, one on the mud where you couldn’t stand flat and you wanted me to come in the water and help you gain control of what I do, I just turn around and walk off. But now here’s the story I want to hear you tell. I just told about that just to let them know that. Well, another story I’m going to tell you another, probably that same duck, south crawfish boil, There must have been 150 people live band works, whole bunch of teenagers down on the end of the pier and I also heard some commotion and shrieking going on and all the high school girls were running back towards the camp house and you and Duncan, we’re going to the end of the pier run as quick as you could. And by the time I got there, Duncan was holding your feet and you were hanging upside down, four ft. arms reach hanging down toward the water, trying to extricate about four or five ft. water snake. That impressed all them pretty girls, I’m going to tell you right now, but that’s how my kids grew up with these snakes. One more snake story force about three years old, we should go this iron bridge and he had little bitty Red Ryder BB gun, which shoot turtles or whatever he want to shoot floating around down there. And when a cotton mouth is swimming, he rides right up on top of the water like a decoy. A water snake his body looked mostly underwater, his head above water. But you can tell at a glance is it venomous sitting on top, like a decoy floating all on top, or it’s non venomous, it’s kind of floating beneath the water. And around the creek, around the curve up ahead of us. Comes on, riding about a five footer, big as his leg short stump of a cotton mouth, come floating down the creek and Forest gets, but we can’t be three or four years old. And I’m saying, well shoot that snake. And he got this little Red Ryder BB gun and he is cocking and shooting like a semiautomatic. BB’s flying all over and the snake gets right below the bridge.
Forest Russell: Christmas story shooting Black Bart.
Ramsey Russell: I may like Black Bart. And the snake gets right below us on that bridge, about 10 ft. below us. And you land one like David and Goliath, that little gold BB hit him right in the center of his head. And as he was twisting and turning, the BB didn’t even go completely in his head, just kind of stuck in it, but it paralyzed. And I went down there and fished him out with a stick and brought him up. You remember that?
Forest Russell: By the time you got into the top, he came back his wits and he took off. Everybody was clearing it off.
Ramsey Russell: No, that was and he was a big ugly stinky cotton mouth.
Ramsey Russell: But here’s, I was just talking about these snake stories with you. Just to paint a picture of this, of why this wasn’t so unusual. But I guess the story I want to hear, since we started with snakes, here’s a good story. What was your senior prank? Because it was epic. I’m going to tell this story, you all ain’t school no more. And I think the head batch, right. He worked at a bar, so I’m safe to tell the story to go ahead.
Forest Russell: I’ll give you credit. It was partly your idea?
Ramsey Russell: No, I had no idea whatsoever. I just said, don’t do nothing that damages the scope that was my, I heard you and your buddies conspire and do something up there. I’m like, no, don’t do nothing, do something funny, don’t do anything that’s going to damage or leave smelly animals around and nothing else but go ahead.
Forest Russell: Our version of funny was, we went out at willow break one afternoon, me and two of my bodies and the water was down, and I mean, you go to any of those little control structures right there, there’s just a little bitty mud hole and it’s just slap full of water snakes. So we brought us a Croker sack over there and we caught a pile of them. I mean, everywhere. From a foot long to some big as your arm. And I thought, oh my God, we’re going to turn the school upside down. I don’t know how they didn’t catch me. I think it was the first day I brought a bag back to school, my senior year was the very last half day of school and I carried in there and set up my locker and everybody. I mean all the guys knew what was going on. I was like all right, at 9 o’clock, bell rings, we get out for a break and everybody’s going to walk from the school up to the auditorium and it’s going to be the perfect time. I was like, just going to run out the door before anybody gets out there, you all make a circle around me and I’ll dump them. And I don’t really know what I expected out of when all the snakes came out of the sack. But we bell rang, we ran out there, dump them out. It’s a big old ball. I mean, it was about a 5 gallon buckets worth of water snakes. I ran outside, got rid of the evidence, through the pillowcase and the trash can outside and we went and sat and you could hear people start screaming. We got our food, went up and sat in the bleachers and it was just us five sitting up there for probably for about 20 minutes and we’re like, Oh God, something happened. And by the time people finally start filtering in there and the headmaster just walks in and just looks me in the eyes and I was like, oh God, he knows and he calls me down as.
Ramsey Russell: Largest commotion that school [**01:13:04] histories going on, there’s only four or five boys sitting in an empty auditorium. Wonder who did it?
Forest Russell: He said he was, you know what happened? No, what did happen? I don’t know. You tell me
Ramsey Russell: Your little sister was two halls over halfway across at school and all she said, she was sitting and she apparently knew what was fixing to happen. Or was aware of you all’s joke, but she said, when the pandemonium and the shrieking and the hollering broke out two halls over her teacher ran to the door, locked it and lowered all the shades and turned off the light. She said, I always wondered would it be like if there was a school shooting and now I know you. Go ahead
Forest Russell: Man. When it was all said and done, all the seniors got out right before launch and they were last day of school and I was stuck there for an extra weeks in the room by myself taking on my final exam. So they didn’t have to take. But I would say it was worth it.
Ramsey Russell: I was vaguely aware of what you all prank was going to be. And honestly, I wholeheartedly it would have endorsed it. But I got a call right after, I guess he talked to you, I got a call from your headmaster saying Mr. Russell, I need you to come to school. I said, what’s this concern? He said I need you to come now. I said, well I got to take a shower, I got a meeting, he said, sir, I need you to come right now. And he hung up and your mama goes, what did he say? I said I’m 50 years old and I just got some things to the principal’s office, I’m afraid so. I drove down there and he shook my hand, was such a friendly and nice guy. I love to my death, still do. We went to his office and shut the door and said, sir, he started telling me what happened, but he didn’t say your son, He didn’t say your son. He kept saying son’s plural. I’m like, what is this? You’re saying forest set a Croker sack full of snakes loose when and Forest and what did they do? Like they’re all balled up in the sack kind of slow motion. Like what did they do when that ball came out that sack and hit the floor?
Forest Russell: When they realized they weren’t that sack anymore. They scattered, they scattered everywhere. They run as fast as a snake and go in every direction.
Ramsey Russell: And there’s all these kids in the hallway crowded up.
Forest Russell: Whole school had a funnel right past them.
Ramsey Russell: So where, son number two comes into the story as I’m told by the headmaster, is there a wall of children, everybody trying to look over the whole high school is paralyzed because the snakes crawling everywhere. And your brother walks out of the crowd and reaches down and grabs one and throws it on the crowd I guess while you’re sitting in the gym by yourself with your buddies
Forest Russell: Again, a true Duncan fashion.
Ramsey Russell: True Duncanator fashion. And Duncan my U. S. Marines for those listening. But that was my experience. And he said, he was dead seriously goes, I got teachers crying behind locked doors right now. They said this ain’t good, he said, and he kind of, sort of admitted it was as good a practical jokes you’ve ever seen senior prank. But he said, Mr. Russell, anybody tried to top it, I’m worried somebody’s going to get hurt. So I got to put end this and I think he told you might not graduate.
Forest Russell: He did. I think the turning point with that was, I had some insider info said his senior prank at the same school, He led a bunch of chickens loose same school and when I brought that up, he didn’t have anything to say, but it was all over at that point.
Ramsey Russell: Well there you go. That’s, I guess that’s what Mississippi folks belt. You start taking dove hunting, start taking out the woods and start taking the hunting camp, as soon as they get out of diapers, that’s what you get for the senior prank. Folks, I hope you all have a good weekend. I hope that your Labor Day and your September is blessed and safe and enjoyable. I hope you’ve got some kids or daddy to share some time with and some friends. Thank you all for listening to this episode of Duck Season Somewhere. See you next time.
