Georgia game and fish [Vol. 6, no. 9 (Sept. 1971)]

GEORGIA

SEPTEMBER, 1971

~~t Oiiila 1fish

September 1971 Volume VI Number 9

CONTENTS

Dove or Die . . . . Elbow Room Hunting Endangered Species . Meet Your Commissioner . My First Dove Shoot .. .. Seafood Cafeteria Big Buck Bounty . Outdoor World Sportsmen Speak Sportsman's Calendar

. . G&F Staff 1 Dean Wohlgemuth 5
. Aaron Pass 8 . Marvin Tye 10 . Donna Ash 11
Bob Wilson 12 Marvin Tye 15
19 20 20

Jimmy Carter
Governor
Joe D. Tanner
Director State Game & Fish Commission

COMMISSIONERS

J. B. Langford Chairman
Calhoun-7th District

James Darby Vice Chairman Vidalia-1st District

William Z. Camp, Sec. Newnan- 6th District

Rankin M. Smith Atlanta- 5th District

Leo T. Barber, Jr. Moultrie- 2nd District

Judge Harley Langdale Valdosta-8th District

Dr . Robert A. Collins, Jr. Americus- 3rd District

Clyde Dixon Cleveland-9th District

George P. Dillard Decatur-4th District

leonard Bassford Augusta-1Oth District

Jimmie Williamson Darien-Coastal District

TECHNICAL SERVICE DIVISION
Jack A. Crockford, Assistant Director l eon Kirkland, Fi sheries Chief
Hubert Hendy, Go me Management Chief

LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION
Bill Cline, Major Deputy State Chief, Atlanta
J . D. Atchison, Major Deputy State Chief, Metter
Da vid Gould, Major Supervisor of Coastal Fisheries
Brunswick

PUBLIC RELATIONS STAFF Phone 656-3530

Dean Wohlgemuth, Chief Editor

Bob Wilson Managing Editor

Jim Couch Photographer

Marvin Tye Special Publications

Ben Gunn Audio-Visuals

Margaret Howard Circulation

Aaron Pass Press Services

Georgia Game and Fish is the official monthly magazine of the Georgia Game and Fish Commi ssion, published at the Commission' s offices, Trinity Washington Building , 270 Washington St., Atlanta, Georgia 30334. No adver-
tising accepted . Subscriptions are $1 for one yeaf" or S2.SO for three years. Printed by Williams Printing Company, Atlanta, Go. Notification of address chance must include old address label from a re cent magazine, new address and ZIP code, with 30 days notice. No subscription requests will be accepted without Zl P code. Articles and photographs may be reprinted when proper credit given. Contributions ore welcome, but the editors assume no responsibility or liabi lity for loss or damage of articles, photographs, or illustrations. Second-class postage paid at Atlanta, Ga.

WE ARE JUDGED
BY OUR WORST
The sport hunter has recently changed his hat; doffing the traditional red plaid cap for the ominous black Stetson, characteristic of the bad guy in early western shoot-em-ups. At least this is the image the general, non-hunting public is getting from a well planned propaganda offensive now , under way by the anti-hunting forces. In many modern ecology flicks it is the hunter who is cast as the bad guy, wiping out flocks of ducks and herds of deer and generally wreaking havoc with the ecology.
The hunter is quickly chosen by the environmental film .. maker seeking to make a highly emotional "statement" in his film. The hunter is seized upon because he is very visible, ~ ' easy to isolate, and highly emotion provoking. The real , environmental problems such as pollution, loss of wildlife habitat, and the population explosion, are usually ignored because they are hard to photograph, harder to explain, and not nearly so exciting. A recent example of this technique was the much-written-about "Say Goodbye" in which, according to reports, the film maker admitted he used spliced film to fake a sequence showing a hunter "kill" a female polar bear with cubs. The film was condemned as a fake and the film maker admitted that he saw no harm in using doctored film for a "high impact."
These films and the accompanying propaganda crusades which sometimes use well known personalities to endorse ., the "Hunter is a Beast" point of view are rapidly changing the public's image of the hunter. The brave woodsman who " saved Little Red Riding Hood from the wolf is now shown out in the woods gunning down Bambi.
What can be done about this? Some hunters will only mutter about do-gooders, and sit back saying they buy licenses, support the Game and Fish Commission, and don't violate any game laws. This is all commendable but it doesn't prove much to anyone else. The farmer with the cut fence, the hiker who finds the carcass of an illegally killed doe .. . they have a definite opinion about what sort of man the hunter is. The people who hear the game hog brag about shooting two limits and getting away with it form the same opinion , he is a slob. To them the hunter has just been weighed in the balance and found sadly wanting.
Who will prove to them that all hunters are not like the ._ sorry examples they had contact with? They have seen the hunter at his worst, and it is up to you to show them the hunter at his best.
What have you done lately to prove you're not a slob?
-Aaron Pass
ON THE COVER: September means dove hunting to Georgia sportsmen. Bob In gram, Game wi nner Inc., Atlanta , is ready for the doves with his camouflag e umbrella. You' ll be ra rin ' to go after doves yourself after reading the lighthearted art icle, " Dove or Die ," by the GAME & FISH Magazine staff, on ~ Page 1. Also, another first for GAME & FISH is a Youth Section, Page 11, featuring o dove hunting article by young Donna Ash of Oliver, Georgia. Photo by Dean Wohlgemuth .
ON THE BACK COVER: One of the little known sports in Georgia is that of hunting morsh hens in our coastal marshes. The re is plenty of elbow room for this sport, but there's a bit of hard wo rk connected to it. See Dean Wohlgemuth' s article, " Elbow Room Hun ting," Page 5 . Photo by Dean Wohl ge muth.

DOVE
OR
DIE
{but in comfort)
By the Staff of GAME & FISH Ma gazine
Photo by Deon Wohlgemuth.
This dol'e hunter is ready for a hot day afield, with his water jug and camouflage umbrella ... but where's his gun? Don't worry, he already had it on his stand, along with a stool, radio, shells, retriever, ...

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! "There flies a dead dove!" Popopopopopopopopopopopopop! "Don't let that soft grey color fool you ... steel is the same color. They're wearing bulletproof pants! " You're sitting hidden in a clump of weeds, your back to part of the field,

and the rest hidden from view by some trees. You haven't seen a dove in a half hour, but it seems like an hour. Sweat pours down from your hat, trickling into your shooting eye, and along your nose. You wonder if ever again, you'll see a dove.
Just then, the whole world seems to erupt in gunfire, and you believe a battalion of paratroopers wound up off course and fell in that field , instead of Vietnam. Pow, Pow, Pow. Blooie! Hundreds of shots ring out, just behind the trees. Progressivel y, the fire begins to move your way, and you wonder whether to stand your ground or run .
Finally you decide that it is, after all, just the other hunters, and that one huge flock of doves is attacking the field. You scan the sky, hoping at least a few of them survive to reach your stand. But you don't see any falling birds, no one running out into the field to pick up their bag.
At last you see the birds . .. oops, make that 'bird.' Yep, that's right ... all that shooting was at just one bird, and he's still going, 75 yards high, just beyond the flak, twisting, turning, bobbing, darting, dodging all the fire, apparently untouched. He comes your way, and you're the last stand in the field. Now's your chance to be a hero, and show the others you can do what they can't.
The bird seems to think the last gun is behind him, and he comes in lower, within 40 yards. You're set. Carefully, you check your gun, mentally condition yourself to lead him, just right.
Blam, blam, blam! Your gun is empty. The valiant dove flies on. Untouched. (What crosses your mind won't be printed here.)
Oh well , you sigh, that's dove hunting. You wonder about those 'national averages' which say that hunters are supposed to bag one dove for every so many shots. You wonder who's getting one for at least every two shots, because you know there must have been 200 rounds fired at that last bird, and he's still flying.
Well , no use worrying about ... oh, there comes one, and he's headed right toward me, nice and low .. . Poom! Doggone, where did that skybuster come from? Didn't he know he couldn't possibly hit that bird , and that it was coming my way?
There's one, winging straight toward me, coming from behind. No one can beat me to this one. Blam, blam, blam. Got him! Took three shots, but he's mine !
You pick him up and walk back to your stand. H alfway back, a flock of at least 20 doves passes overhead. You pull

Ladies ge t into th e act, too, during the dove season. H ere, Kay Wohlgemuth draws a bead on a bird, though she sometim es has a bit of trouble findin g th ose she do wns ... and sometimes it's her husband she can't find!

the trigger. Nothing. Doggone! Why didn't I reload right away?
If you've hunted doves, you may recognize some of these circumstances as having happened to you . Who hasn't?
On a dove hunt, you'll see nearly everything. Some zany, funny things can happen to you on the way to a dove dinner.
The staff of Georgia GAME & FISH have combined their experiences into this epistle, to hopefully bring you a few laughs, and to excite your fancy so that you just can't stand it any more ... by the time you finish reading this, we'll almost bet you've gl anced at your gun rack at least four times, and before doing another thing, you'll take 01' Betsy from the rack, dust 'er off, and may swab out her throat a bit. Chances are, you'll even be ready to get out the reloader, and pack up some shells.
And you'd better hurry ... dove season is all set for noon, Saturday, Sep-

tember 4. There'll be three segments to the season agai n this year, September 4-25, October 23 -November 10, and December 18 through January 15. And don't forget ... the two-year experimental limit of I8 birds per day is a thing of the past. This year, the limit reverts to the normal I 2 birds per day. Come on now, be a sport. Remember, you like dove shooting, and want to keep on hunting 'em. When you hit I 2 birds, pick up your gear and go home. Heck, it might be more fun standing by the water cooler watching your friends shoot ... and miss!
And everyone misses. The good shots we like to remember, the bad ones we forget. Dean Wohlgemuth, GAME & FISH editor, recalls one day last season:
There weren't too many fl ying, but if I d hit only the easy shots I would have had a good meal. Those are the ones I missed! The two I hit? One was going

lost something. Just then, someone shouted, "Behind you!" She whirled, looked up, fired ... and the dove fell wounded, halfway between her and me. She ran after it, and I was about to have a heart attack. But she caught it, looked up, and saw me. "What are you doing over here?' she asked .
"This is where I've been all day," I replied. She never had been very good on directions.
Rain can always add complexities to dove hunting. I recall one day hunting in the rain, with an ample supply of reloads in paper hulls. About the time the rain began to let up , the doves began really coming in. Everytime I tried to cram a shell into my gun, I fumed . .. those shells had swelled with the moisture, and wouldn 't fit the gun's chamber. I watched dove after dove fly by, well within range, with no shells that would fit my gun.
And I can recall, too, the day, I needed one bird to fill out my limit. It was almost quitting time, and birds were coming in very, very slow now. At last. One more small flock. I raised my gun and fired .. . poof! A blooper load, jamming my gun. Well , that can happen to any reloader once in awhile!
And who hasn't hunted with a group where one fella had a dog with him to retrieve his birds? And the dog retrieved everyone else's birds?

away, went past me silently, and I recovered just as the bird was barely out of range. Enraged, I shot anyway. The bird dived, recovered, sailed 200 yards and went down. After it I went, and 10 minutes later I found it. Just as I turned to go back to my stand I saw my wife shoot and a bird fall, dead. But she didn't go after it.
"Why didn't you pick up your bird?" I asked. Her reply? "I didn't really think I hit it."
My next shot was another sneaky bird, one that came up on my right, around a tree. The first snap shot missed, and as the bird went behind me, I fell down as I twisted around to make a second try. I was almost in mid-air as I pulled the trigger ... and the bird dropped stone dead.
One day, moments after I took the field, a downpour began, in spite of the weatherman's promise of sunshine. An old, vacant house in the center of the

field was the most popular place around. Lie-swapping and general friend making began.
After awhile, there was a loud bang from the other side of the bouse. A dove had come by, and a hunter leaned out the win~ow and made a clean kill.
It was then that everyone noticed the rain had slacked quite a bit. One by one, bunters began drifting back out to their stands. Soon, the house was nearly empty, except for a few who preferred to stay as dry as they could. When I went back out, my wife was among those who stayed inside. She was about three months away from having a baby.
I was back on my stand, bagging enough birds to keep me out in the rain. Once I looked up, and thought I saw my wife, wearing my hat, head from the house toward the field ... but at a 90 degree angle from me and from where her stand bad been.
She began looking around as if she'd

Listen to Ben Gunn, now, who does the Game and Fish Commission's daily fishing reports, as he tells of some of his experiences:
All one has to do is let the word "dove" fall upon my unsuspecting ears and my memory discs begin to rotate and counter-rotate. In a split second out pops-in living color-a most unbelievable event that occurred quite a number of years ago, so unbelievable that I have never bothered to pass it along to any other party. Here's what happened on that cold autumn afternoon some years ago .
I had gone squirrel hunting with a close friend who was struggling through life under the load of Clarence Leighton Hardy. Due to certain enlargements of anatomy he had been renamed by his peers to the more descriptive and personally appealing name "Moose Ears." That's who I was hunting with that day, good ol' Moose Ears Hardy. He had a .41 0 shotgun and I had a single shot .22 rifle .
After a fruitless hour or so in a swampy area Moose Ears and I decided to head home. We elected to cut across a cornfield that was at least a quarter mile wide . We had almost made it to the other side where we'd pick up a wagon

3

track when a single gray phantom scrambled for the sky right in front of us. It made a quick climbing bank and struck out for the edge of the swamp we had just left minutes before.
We listened to its soft whistling rasberry chuckle and watched as it swooped into the grey moss-spread arms of a huge live oak that reared itself on the border of the swamp . It was so far away all we could reall y determine was that it had landed somewhere in the huge middle section of the tree .
We stood silent for a moment then Moose Ears began to grunt . He never spoke when a grunt would suffice. He grunted at me, then at my .22, then at the faraway tree, then a particul arly mean grunt, holding up and shaking his .410.
I felt like socking him in the stomach . I always did when he grunted at me, but I shrugged my shoulders and aimed my rifle at the tree. All the time I was thinking, "He's out of his everloving mind if he thinks I can spook that dove out of that tree and get him to fl y back over here so he can get a crack at him with th at flea buster he call s a gun !" But I aimed where I thought the trunk of the tree would be, allowing Kentucky windage for the distance, and pulled the trigger.
I didn't even bother to keep my eyes

on the tree after I sent that little .22 short cartridge zinging on its way. I started to sit down on some busted corn stalks when I heard Moose Ears give out with a grunt like I'd never heard before. I looked up and he was staring at me with eyes like Mason jars. He looked at me, at the tree, and back to me, just grunting little soft grunts now and shaking his head.
And that, my friend , was how I was a party to a certain unbelievable event that occurred many years ago. When Moose Ears and I got to that tree, he outsprinted me the last five yards and we found that dove resting peacefully on the ground . .. but that last headache it had must have been a lulu, for the top of its head was missing, done in by a .22 short from a quarter of a mile away, and by a 12-year-old kid that was hoping to hit a tree trunk .
Even now when I see Moose Ears about once a year I feel that stare and see his eyes begin to grow . The only thing, he doesn't grunt anymore. He sniffs now .
And now, it's time to bear from Aaron Pass, GAME & FISH staff writer:
Some years ago when the world was innocent, idealistic, and certainly Jess complicated , we had the opportunity to carry a young friend on his first mourn-

ing dove hunt. He had been in posses-

sion of a battered .22 rimfire of dubious

manufacture and proof for a couple of

years, and had, in the solitary man ner

of most country boys, become quite

adept at the stealthy assassination of

quirrels, rabbits, and an occasional un-

wary quail.

After two years of terrorizing the na-

tive small game population , our young

nimrod persuaded his non-hunting fa-

ther to make him a birthday gift of a

brand new 16-gauge shotgun. Thus

armed, he embarked into that world of

happy madness known as wingshooting.

Being approached by the young m an

on the subj ect of a bird hunting trip, we

decided that a dove shoot would be an

ideal introduction to the intricacies of

shotguns, shot patterns, and flying tar-

gets. It would also be a good initiation

to the social aspects of hunting and

would contain an excellent object lesson

in humility, we opined.

In the days this hunt took place, large

acreages of productive cropland were

not devoted exclusively to the care and

feeding of mourning doves as they are

now. Then it was the custom to seek out

a fallow field or pasture and wait the

afternoon in the hope four or five fligh ts

of doves might blunder by. We assigned

the novice a good spot and retired to

our own hiding places, figuring he

would at least get a few shots.

It was a slow day where we sat, but

judging from the almost continual rattle

of musketry from our young friend 's di-

rection , he was holding off an army of

birds. Finally late in the day six doves

rashly passed in front of our guns with

no ill effects, although I remain con-

vinced to thi s day that one of those gal-

lant little doves flew away with his hea rt

shot out.

As we assembled late that afternoon,

everyone of course bl amed the lack of

weight in his gamepocket on the lack of

game, misfires, faulty safeties, sun-i n-

the-eyes, etc. (mostl y etc.) . Our novice

wingshot showed up just at sundown

with a bulging bag. "I got eight," he in-

nocently announced, and dumped his

quarry at our feet.

As we stood there pondering the eight

defunct-and of course illegal-mea-

dowlarks, we were confronted with the

problem of explaining the youngster's

mistake to him without shattering that

delicate adolescent ego. Finally Uncle

Tom, who in our own youth was not

noted for his gentleness with boys, pup-

pies, or young mules, all of which he

cl assed at the same intelligence level,

spoke . "Well , it's been a pretty bad day

... sure wish I'd thought to pass the

time plinking at fieldlarks to get in bet-

ter practice."

..-

4

Th e m orning sun brea ks thro ugh th e haze of th e marshland, findin g hunters headin g out to catch th e high tide in sea rch of marsh hens (rails).

Photo by Dean Wohlgemuth

Elbow Room Hunting

By Dea n W o hlgemuth

Even for late September, it was hot and mugg y. This wasn't the kind of weather I'd have thought was good for hunting marsh hens. Howeve r, Frank Cox ass ured me that the height of tide was the important factor , and since Frank had spent several years working as a biologist in the coastal regions and had hunted marsh hens several times, I accepted him as the expert on the subject .
The tide was reaching a height of 8.4

feet , not much below the best height it gets on the Georgia coast, and Frank cl aimed thi s would flood the marshes well enough to get our boats across them . He didn't make it altogether clear how much work it wou ld be to get the boats through the marshes. In fairness to him , I'll admit there's no better way to describe this task to someone than to hand him a pole, put him in the rear of a boat, and tell him, "let's go."

Frank and Dudley McGarity were in the first boat, and Pete Bell and I followed in the second . Frank cut the I 0horse motor and picked up the pole, pushing the boat through a slough. I followed suit, lifting m y 9Y2 horse motor off the transom before making with the pole.
Since all of us except Frank were novices at the sport, Pete and I stayed fairly close to the other boat until we got

5

-

the drift of what was going on. A raucous squawk came from the
heavy marsh grass, just off the slough, and Frank bent his back into the pole. Shortl y we saw a brown bird bobble up from the marsh, seemingly floating slower than a helium filled balloon. Boom! Boom! Boom! Dudley emptied his 20 gauge, but the marsh hen kept bouncing along through the air, dipping back into the marsh once it was well out of shotgun range.
"How in the heck could I have missed such an easy target?" Dudley was mut-

tering. Frank grinned back, "They're not hard to hit, just easy to miss." Then he added, "you probably led him too much , not being used to such a slow target."
It was probably only about l 0 minutes of poling later- though it was beginning to seem like an hour- that Dudley got his second chance, and this time made allowances for the slow-flying bird , dropping it with one shot.
It was time , then, for the pole-pushers and the gunners to swap ends of the boat, and it was with no little relief that I gratefully turned over the pushing

chores to Pete and sat down in the bow of the 12-foot aluminum boat with my 20-gauge pump across my knees.
Though they fly very slowly, the marsh hens, or rails, seemed to be a very exasperating target. You push through a small cut or slough, where the going is fairly easy, and you hear their crow well out into the shallow marshes.
You struggle to pole the boat through the thick marsh grass on bare inches of water, and just as you get to where you thought you heard them , the squawk comes from the edge of the slough.

It takes plenty of sweat and elbow grease to push a flat-bottom boat through th e shallow water of th e marshes at high tide, to find just where those birds are hiding.

6

......

At least it didn't matter if you were quiet ... in fact, Frank pointed out that the more noise you make, the more likely you are to flush the birds. So we banged the side of the boat with paddles as we got close to where we thought the birds were hiding, and soon Pete (now back in the gunner's seat) was getting some occasion al shots. But Pete had his problems. Not claiming to be a top wingshot , he couldn't seem to get zeroed in on the brown bobbling, blundering birds.
At last he nailed one, but the bird fell
Photo by Ted Borg

well back into the shallow marsh , and it took quite a bit of poling and looking to find it. Finally it was my turn, and like the others, I found myself shooting out in front on my first try. The marsh hens were fl ying unbelievably slow . Because of this, the pattern from the shotgun didn't have time to open much when the birds were put up close to the boat. You couldn't lead them much, but apparently they needed a slight lead. I tried again , and fin ally got into the scoring column.
It seemed the poling was getting harder and the water more shallow. We'd been on the marsh for about three hours, and had gotten some distance from Frank and Dud. I looked around for them, and saw they were back in the open water.
"Better come on out now, the tide is falling ," Frank yelled. I did. I remembered what he had said about being stranded in that muck if you didn't get out before the tide left you high and dry.
We had 10 birds among us, far below the 15 apiece allowed in the bag limit, but enough for supper in camp that night.
It was back at camp that I got another lesson on marsh hens. They' re not only hard to hunt, but they're pretty tough to dress. Then the kidding began as to whether we greenhorns would actually eat them. For the first time I was informed they aren't considered a delicacy by most folks. I really hadn't thought of that . .. I'd assumed that if people hunted them, they must be good to eat.
Actually, they turned out a lot better than I was led to believe, in fact I honestly enjoyed eating them. That is not to say, however, that I'd care for a steady diet of them, say like twice every week. A couple of times or so every year is sufficient.
Since tides high enough for us to pole through the marshes lasted only a few hours each day, much of the time for the three-day hunt was open for other activities. Our erstwhile tutor had thought of this, too. At his suggestion , I'd pulled my 16-foot fishing boat along, and it was put to good use trout fishing during low tide.
We had made quite an entourage from our DeKalb County homes to the Savannah area, where we hunted. Frank and Dud were pulling a small boat trailer behind their pickup truck with not one, but two light aluminum boats on it. The top boat was upside down on the other, with gear stowed in between. We'd strapped the boats together snugly.
Camp was set up at a campground near the stadium on Skidaway Road on

the edge of Savannah , and we went to a

nearby ramp to lau nch the boats.

When I asked Frank about the lac k of

cold, nasty, wet, windy weather that I'd

always heard was necessary for marsh

hen hunting, he told me "Well , it's true

you often get your highest tides then ,

and that makes it easier to get a boat

across the marshes . Actually, an east

wind is all you need to help you. Thi s

tends to hold the high tide water in the

marshes a little longer and allow you a

little more hunting time. But nothing

will help if the tide isn't over eight feet."

We hunted in easy view of the City of

Savannah, not more than 10 minutes

from the landing. Yet, we had all the el-

bow room we wanted for hunting. There

were a few other hunters out, but cer-

tainly there was not the crowd you often

find in other types of hunting . There was

no problem in finding a place open to

the public for hunting, either. And there

were plenty of birds, as long as we had

energy and strength to pole around and

find them .

This, to me, is the prime reason for

hunting marsh hens. They seem to be in

abundance, and hunting pressure is light

... and there are plenty of places on the

Georgia coast to hunt them . Bag limits

are liberal (15 per day) because of their

abundance.

Because of this, I found the hunt an

enjoyable change of pace, and wouldn't

have hurt feelings if I could schedule a

marsh hen hunt each year.

True enough, there are disadvantages

in hunting them, as suggested .. . the

.hard work and the less-than-delectable

flavor, however, properly prepared,

marsh hens are good eating enough to

suit me.

The meal I enjoyed most of all actu-

all y was thFee months later. Just before

Christmas, Dudley phoned me. "Dean,

we're having a game . dinner at our

house. We're going to have those marsh

hens, but if you can't stand them, we'll

also have some quail, venison , wood-

cock and other game."

All the crew from our hunt was there,

and Frank and Dud and their wives had

worked together to put on a real feast .

One di sh looked particularly appetizing

. . . there were birds, about twice the

size of quail, cooked in mushroom

gravy. " Mmmm, that's good! What is

it?" I asked.

Frank and Dudley grinned and

winked at each other. "Marsh hens,"

they said.

After dinner, we began laying pl ans

for future hunting and fishing trips.

Among them was a marsh hen trip for

the next year.

,.....

7

Photo by Aaron Pass
..
,...
8

1\N I~NI)ilNCII~Ill~l)

By Aaron Pass

When a species is classified as endangered it means that its prospects of survival and reproduction are in immediate jeopardy, and that it is possihly headed for extinction. To place the hunter in such a category may seem a bit farfetched, but in view of modem conditions and certain social trends there are indications that sport hunting may be in for some stormy weather. It isn't the hunter himself that is in the "immediate jeopardy" of physical extinction, or at least no more than any other mortallil-ing in this troubled world. It is the possible loss of hunting as his sport and pastime that threatens him, and what is it besides this singular actil'ity that differentiates him from everyone else?
Hunting is essentially a solitary activity, appealing most

strongly to those individuals who prefer to be away from the strictly structured social activities. Taking his pleasure on a mountain top rather than a night club, he is happier in the surroundings which grant him a measure of independence than in the increasingly complex and constricted "ci1ili::.ed" world. These values and traits when contrasted against the mass of modern society make the hunter an odd bird indeed, at a time when the values of individualism and self-reliance are not as esteemed as once they were. The modern world doesn't understand the motivations of a man who would rather sweat and toil up a mountainside in search of venison than sit in air conditioned comfort while a waiter brings him a beef steak.

The American Hunter (Venator Americanus) Description: This large predator is a distant strain of the species Homo Sapiens, varying from other members of that genus by traits and habits rather than by physical appearance. Major distinguishing traits are: an inordinate love for the outdoors, and participation in an activity (hunting) which takes him into this preferred environment. Other typical hunter traits include an individualistic attitude and high degrees of independence and self-reliance. Ecological Importance: The hunter has traditionally been regarded in a "folk hero" manner by the general public; however, a recent shift in the cultural values of society at large has raised some question as to the hunter's environmental impact. Professional conservationists and wildlife managers feel his predation is generally harmless, and in some cases necessary, to a well balanced eco-system, and that his economic and moral support of wildlife programs have made significant contributions to wildlife preservation. In short, they feel that the hunter, under the controls of wise management, fills an important ecological niche. Newer groups of preservationists, reflecting the ecological concern of contemporary society, disapprove of the hunter's predatory role. They feel that the hunter is an atavistic cultural throwback who wantonly destroys wildlife, and as such he should be classified as vermin and eliminated. Distribution and Range: Hunters are found all over the continent with significant concentrations in rural and wilderness areas where people live in close harmony with the land. The overall hunter population is presently large and growing, but unfortunately, the areas of huntable land are constantly decreasing. The economic

pressures generated by the expanding population of the modern world are continually causing the development and loss of large wildlife producing areas. Roads, reservoirs, municipal and industrial expansion are all gnawing away at the lands which produce the huntable surplus of game on which the hunter depends. Despite the efforts of hunters in achieving sound natural resource conservation practices, and the restrictions they have placed on themselves regarding the harvest of wildlife, it is forseeable that hunting might eventually become impossible due to lack of habitat. Status: Endangered, due to extensive habitat loss, sanctions proposed by those factions who disapprove of the predatory role, and apathy combined with lack of understanding on the part of the general public. Wildlife populations are almost completely dependent upon environmental quality; if environmental degradation is allowed to continue at its present rate, extensive wildlife loss will result. In view of the wildlife/habitat interrelationship, the curtailment of sport hunting as wildlife conservation measure, as suggested by the anti-hunting factions, is essentially meaningless. If the habitat is preserved, wildlife will be present in huntable numbers, if it is not, the wildlife will disappear whether it is hunted or not. In the final analysis, it is the general public who will decide how high a priority it will assign the hunter and wildlife. The widespread acknowledgement of the interrelationship of the wildlife and its habitat, and of the predator and his prey is essential if either wildlife or the hunter are to survive. Without this acknowledgement there is an increasing likelihood that both will become extinct.

9

Meet Your Commissioner
George P. Dillard
By Marvin lye

George P. Dillard, newly appointed member of the State Game and Fish Commission from the fourth district, is a man of diversified interests and talents.
He is a practicing attorney, family man , sportsman, farmer, and active participant in church, social and civic affairs. Dillard was born in Laurens County on March 26, 1918 and raised on a farm . Much of his early life was spent in DeKalb County where he graduated from Lithonia High School as valedictorian. He attended Draughon School of Commerce, Georgia Tech Evening School and the Atlanta Division, University of Georgia before receiving his LL.B. from Woodrow Wilson College of Law in 1940. He also attended Lamar School of Law, Emory University in 1946 and George Washington Law School in Washington , D . C. in 1952.
Dillard served as a special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation from October 21, 1940 to February 6, 1953. He received the War Service Certificate from the FBI for counter espionage, counter sabotage, and internal security investigations during World War II. At the time of his resignation, Dillard was administrative assistant to Director J. Edgar Hoover, Bureau Headquarters, Washington , D. C.
Dillard left the FBI to return to practice law in Decatur where he has been engaged from that time until the present. He has also served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General , State of Georgia, I 953-54; Assistant D eKalb County Attorney, January 1955 to November 1955; and now serves as DeKalb County Attorney, a position to which he was appointed in November I 955. He was appointed to the State Welfare Advisory Board by Governor Ernest Vandiver in I 962 and has recently been appointed to the State Game and Fi sh Commission by Governor Jimmy Carter.
Active in a number of organizations,

Photo by Marvin Tye
G eorge P. Dillard, new 4th District Commissioner, is a practicing allomey who is very active in church , civic and social affairs. Whenever he can take a break from his busy schedule, Dillard likes to fish on his farm or hunt do ves or quail.

Dill ard holds membership in American Bar Association , Sigma Delta Kappa Legal Fraternity, Board of Trustees Atlanta Union Mission , Board of Visitors of Emory University, Georgia Bar Association , Decatur and Stone Mountain Bar Associations, Old War Horse Lawyers Club, Decatur Lions Club, DeKalb Chamber of Commerce, Society of Former FBI Agents, Atl anta Lawyers Club, and American Judicature Society. He is past co-president of Decatur High School PTA and has served on the Board of Directors of DeKalb County Chapter, American Red Cross.
Dillard is an active member of The First Methodist Church of Decatur.
He is married to the former Mary Eli zabeth Elarbee from Brooklet in Bullock County. They reside at 152 Vidal Boulevard in Decatur and are the parents of three children. Doug, 29, practices law with his father. He and his wife Myra have a daughter Ashley, 3, and son George Dougl as, Jr. , who will

be one year old in November. Rand y,

24, a graduate of the University of

Georgi a, is assistant manager of a res-

taurant specializing in steaks. The DB-

lards' 21-year-old daughter, Jan, who

has just returned from a European tour,

is now a senior at Furman University at

Greenville, S. C.

Although Dill ard is very much of a

city dweller, he still loves the outdoors.

He owns two farms, one in DeKalb

County where he raises sheep and an-

other 165-acre tract in Gwinnett Coun-

ty where he raises Hereford cattle. Dil-

lard enjoys fishing for bass and bluegill s

at his farm pond in DeKalb County. He

also enjoys hunting quail and dove al-

though he admits that his busy schedule

does not permit him to spend as much

time afield as he would like to.

A man whose roots are in rural living

and who is now living the life of an

urban dweller, George P . Dillard can

understand the problems of the average

Georgia sportsman.

~

10

-

YOUTH SECTION

My First Dove Shoot

By Donna Ash Oliver, Georgia

This morith Georgia GAME & FISH has another first-a special section for persons under 20 years of age. This section will be run as frequently as material is available. Articles will be especially for, about or by our youth .
About the Author
DoNNA AsH Donna Ash, 16, was the Georgia Sportsman's Federation Youth Conservationist of the Year in 1970. For this she received a 20 gauge automatic shotgun which she enjoys using for hunting doves, squirrels and other game. A resident of Oliver, she writes a column on outdoor and conservation topics for her county newspaper, the SYLVANIA TELEPHONE, and hopes someday to find a career in conservation.

I eagerly looked forward to trying my
luck in hunting this tricky dun grey bird, weighing not more than 4 to 6 ounces, known as the mourning dove. On brief hunts I had gone with my father when I was younger-but then I was considered too inexperienced to take a stand. For the past two years my invitation seemed to always end with a last minute rush-and for various reasons I was left at home.
This time I eliminated all the excuses and persuaded my father to take me with him . When he came out loaded with his shells and gun, I was waiting in the truck like an immovable object. Besides who could tell the boys from the girls with all the long hair this day and time, much Jess the camouflaged clothing?
I was dropped off in an out of way place to be as inconspicuous as possible. At least I had graduated from the role of a "retriever."
It was a beautiful afternoon, the s~y was a lovely shade of clear blue with just a few wispy clouds floating by. The nippy breeze was just enough to keep the bright sun from being uncomfortable.
I surveyed the area for a good stand. There was an excellent place beside a hedge-covered fence separating a pond surrounded by scattered saplings from a cornfield stripped with rye grass. Across the field the pine trees were gently swaying as if nodding approval of my presence.
Soon the doves started swooping into the field . I was now in shooting position trying to take steady aim at that dipping, dodging bundle of feathers, feeling obligated to beat the average in shooting! Now I could tell at a glance why this

Photo by Jim Morrison
little bird could make a hunter feel at war with himself.
Suddenly there was such a burst of rapid fire shooting across the field, it sounded like a minor war and I was in the midst of it all. I didn't know whether to hit the ground, run, or shoot. In my excited state, every gun seemed to be pointing in my direction. Whew-that brief session seemed about an hour long. I gave a sight of relief-! was completely out of range from other hunters and apparently I was not the intended target!
My attention was now turned to a more important matter, the doves. They were darting in at regular intervals, even if I were not looking in the right direction I could soon tell when doves were entering, by the burst of gunfire across the field. By this time I'd begun to get the hang of things. I'd shoot swiftly at a flying bundle of feathers whenever the opportunity presented itself. To my amazement I soon discovered it was easier to kill a mess of skeet than dove.
A lone dove was circling the field slowly. Several doves had already been feathered through my continued efforts and I was determined not to let this one get away. I started aiming when the dove came from behind some trees. I held my fire until he was almost opposite me, quickly now I squeezed the trigger. The dove folded in flight and hit the ground . Some one yelled, "You got 'im Donna."
I had a great time and also proved that the U.S. average of 7.9 shots per bird is fairly accurate. I can now understand why the dove is such a popular game bird. It not only provides a source of excellent meat, but is an exciting sport for the hunter plus giving man an opportunity to see nature at its finest.~

11

Seafood Cafeteria
By Bob Wilson

Photo by Larry Smith
Dilers prepare to study the ocean bollom som e 18 miles out from Sapelo Island in th e search for good sites fo r artificial reefs.

The diver entered the water just before the first tire units were rolled off the barge. As the air that he had taken under with him drifted to the surface in tiny glistening bubbles, the silence of the underwater world surrounded him.
It wasn't really silent. Intermittent snaps and crackles indicated the presence of some forms of marine life. A shrill hissing noise probably came from a bilge pump on board the boat.
SPLASH! ... SPLASH! ... SPLASH! The first units hit the water, looking something like one end of a steamroller. After what seemed like a moment's hesitation, the units turned on end and plummeted toward the bottom . About 35 feet below the surface the clumps of tires faded from view as the limit of visibility was reached.
The diver moved in close to the barge to take some pictures as the tire units hit the water. When he was satisfied that he had the underwater pictures needed,

12

the diver surfaced and moved away from the barge. With the diver out of the way , the unloading proceeded more rapidly.
The tire units, actually six to eight tire carcasses joined into a column by steel rods , were flipp ed on their side and simply rolled off the barge. Cement in the bottom tire of the column provided the weight necessary to take the unit swiftly to the bottom.
The site was not merely an underwater dump for worn-out tires, although they form many an unsightly heap on land. The site was one of several locations where the State Game and Fish Commission is conducting research , seeking ways to improve Georgia's saltwater fishing potential.
Georgia's offshore waters are virtually the same as
SPLASH! A tire unit, aclllally a column of
se ven tires held togeth er with steel rods, heads
fo r th e bottom to serve as a gath ering place for fish .

those of Florida and the Carolinas, and our extensive saltwater marshes provide rich nutrients. But the states to the south or north are much more famous for their saltwater fishing. What's the problem? Why doesn't Georgia have just as much saltwater fishing excitement to offer as these other states?
umerous studies along with sporadic fishing success have proven that Georgia waters contain the same species that are caught to the north and south. The problem seems to be that the fish pass through our waters on their way up or down the coast, perhaps lingering for a while to feed on the abundant supply of marine life to be found in and just outside our numerous sounds. The fish don't stick around, even though there is plenty of food for them, and that brings us to the
Photo by Dick Stone

13

crux of the problem. Fish, like other animals, require more than food.
Fish like to be able to hide. They hide from fish large enough to prey on them, and they in turn lie in wait for smaller fish that they can prey upon. Two-foot ridges in the sand or the intricate maze of a coral reef, and everything in between, serve to give fish a feeling of security, and they tend to cluster around such areas. Large offshore species swoop around such areas hoping to pick off some unwary fish that has gotten too far away from his protecting cover.
The hollow columns made of discarded tires are designed to provide just such cover on the relatively flat sandy plain that tapers gently down off the Georgia coast. Some marine organisms should attach themselves to the tire reef within 30 days. Soft corals, sea fans , sea whips, urchins, sea squirts and sea cucumbers should be among the first inhabitants of the reef, followed by crabs, shrimp, and shellfish.
Small fish , looking for food and hiding places will come next. The small fishes, together with the shrimp, will attract the larger gamefish . Not all species of game-

fish will stay around the reef for long periods of time,

but most offshore species will make periodic sweeps of

such marine meeting places which act as a sort of

always-open seafood cafeteria. A few of the more

popular species that fishermen should find on or around

such a reef are : king mackerel, cobia, little tuna, blue-

fish, amberjack and barracuda.

With the first tire units already in the water, salt-

water sportsmen may begin sampling the benefits of this

program in late fall before unruly winter storms set in.

Each test reef will cover about 61h acres of ocean floor,

and should provide plenty of room for large numbers

of fishermen to test their skill without getting into one

another's way.

Local, state and federal funds are making the project,

long sought by coastal fishermen , a reality. Additional

thanks go to the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company

plant at Albany which donated 1,100 tires and paid the

shipping costs to get them to Brunswick. Each reef,

however, will consist of about 30,000 tires, and indi-

viduals and companies near the coast are pitching in

to round them up.

~

A di ver prepares to photograph th e sea flo or in th e " live bottom" area off Sapelo Island. While some m arin e growth is present, th e flat bo/lom offers little to fi sh lookin g for hiding places and food .

Photo by Bob Wi Ison

14

Tax idermist Edward J. Silvey of Athens, left , and William Boswell of Elberton check the rack from Boswell's buck which scored 158 418 points on th e Boone and Crockett m eaString system and won first place in th e antler di vision of th e 1970-71 big deer contest.

Photo by J im Couch

BIG suCK BOUNTY
By Marvin Tye

The dream of every deer hunter is being able to bag a prize-winning buck. Many hunt for a lifetime without accomplishing this goal. Some score fairly early in their hunting careers. William H. Boswell and W. E. Simmons fu lfilled their dreams during the past season by bagging bucks that took first place in different divisions of the Big Deer Contest sponsored by GAME & FISH Magazine and the Georgia Sport mens Federation . Boswell took top honors in the antler division with a buck that scored 158 4/ 8 on the Boone and Crockett Club measuring system. Simmons' buck was tops in the weight division at 235 pounds.
Simmons is one of those hunters who spent a lifetime in the field before tagging his dream buck. He began deer hunting about 35 years ago and has almost a dozen bucks to his credit. All of these were taken on organized drives where dogs were used to bring the deer to the hunter. He began hunting with a 16 gauge shotgun but now uses a 12.
Simmons bagged his big buck last N0

W. E. Simmons of R ebecca, took this fin e buck on a drive
,. in Calhoun County.
It weighed 235 pounds to ta ke first place in th e weight di vision of the
contest.

Photo by Morvin Tye

vember when he and other members of into the clear just as Simmons got into antler division of the big buck contest.

the Turner County Hunting Club were position less than 20 yards away. He He bagged all of these deer on his fa-

invited to hunt on the Magnolia Plan- fired one shot and the deer went down ther's farm in Greene County. The first

tation near Albany. The 60-year-old on the spot.

was taken from the ground during the

farmer left his home near Rebecca with Although he lost his shirt tail for miss- 1969 season. Boswell then constructed a

high hopes of bringing in the venison . ing the earlier shots, there was not a tree stand and took another deer from it

By mid-morning, however, he began to happier man on that drive than W. E . later the same year.

have doubts. Shortly after the drive be- Simmons. " It seems that everybody He opened the 1970 season by taking

gan he spotted four does racing through there wanted a piece of my shirt tail ," another buck from the same stand. On

the brush at top peed. As these were Simmons said. "When they got through the way to and from his father's farm ,

legal targets, Simmons opened fire, emp- cutting I didn't have much shirt tail left he spotted a number of deer crossing the

tying hi s gun at the difficult target . below my neck."

road in Oglethorpe County. The idea of

When the smoke cleared away, he real-

His consolation, of course, was the big a hunting spot nearer to home in- r

ized that he had not scored a hit. All buck that he had downed on his fourth trigued the 34-year-old pharmacist, so

that he could think of at the moment shot of the day. It carried an 11-point he scouted out the area on a Sunday

was that he was about to lose his shirt rack and a handsome head that now afternoon and found a trail that seemed

tail for not scoring a hit.

hangs in an honored spot in the Sim- to be heavily traveled . Boswell found

His disappointment was short-lived. mons home. Hunting buddies Deral two pine trees near the trail that would

At about I 0 a. m. he heard three shots Dukes and Lester Atkison witnessed the offer some concealment to a sitting hu n-

at a nearby stand and figured that one weighing of the deer and attested that it ter. He placed a couple of dead trees

of his hunting partners had scored. He was a 235-pounder. W. E. Simmons around these to make a makeshift blind ,

looked in the direction of that stand and may have lost his shirt tail on November placed a small stool behind the blind,

saw a large set of antlers moving above 21, 1970, but he had the last laugh on and returned to this spot early the fol-

the thick brush. "That old buck got by his companions by winning a brand-new lowing Tuesday morning.

him," Simmons told himself. "Now it's hunting rifle for his excellent kill .

About 7: 30 he spotted what appeared

my turn."

William H . Boswell of Elberton has to be a deer feeding in the brush off to

Simmons saw that the deer was head- hunted deer for the past six years and one side of the trail. As he watched, he

ing for a private road near his stand, so had succeeded in killing three bucks be- could see that what he had first thought

he moved to head it off. The buck broke fore he downed the prize winner in the was part of the foliage was a set of

16

antlers on a deer's head. It was a buck

with a larger rack than any he had ever

taken before. He raised his Model 71

Winchester .348, took careful aim at the

chest cavity and squeezed off a shot. The

deer was hit, but it lunged around, try-

ing to run back down the trail. Boswell

fired the remaining two cartridges in his

magazine and the buck went down out

of sight.



The hunter had only two more cart-

ridges in his pocket. He assumed the

deer was dead, but he reloaded and

walked over within 10 feet. The deer

tried to rise again, so Boswell fired twice

more and the animal was still.

Close examination showed that all of

his shots hit the deer, all but one of them

in the chest. The extra shots were prob-

ably unneeded, but good insurance. The

buck weighed 198 l/2 pounds live

weight and had a rack that scored

158 4/ 8 points on the Boone and

Crockett System. Boswell, already a gun

collector of sorts, will have one more

rifle for his growing collection as a re-

suit of taking first place in the antler classification of this year's contest.
As usual , this year's contest turned up a few entries in the non-typical catgory. The best of these was a buck killed by David Crane of Smyrna. It sported a rack that scored 180 4/ 8 points. To win first prize, a non-typical rack must score more than 25 point higher than the largest typical entry. Crane's buck did not score so highly, but it is indeed a trophy worthy of notice.
This year for the first time, the Georfia Sportsmens Federation will present a special award to the outstanding nontypical entry. The prize had not been determined at press time. A similar award wi!J possibly be given next year to the man who bags the most outstanding non-typical trophy measuring over 175 points. If a non-typical rack should win first prize, the special trophy might then be awarded to the outstanding typical rack of more than 150 points.
Crane hunts deer each year with his father, brother Norman and brother-in-

law Paul Phillips in Greene County. He say that his father, Lonnie L. Crane, is 64 and can outwalk his younger hunting companions. D avid and Norman were hunting together early in the morning of November 9 when David scored with the big buck. A heavy rain was falling, so the men did not leave their camp on Georgia Kraft Company land until 8 :30 a.m. They saw another group of hunters ahead of them appare ntl y firing their rifles for target practice. The Cranes thought that these might drive a deer their way so they began to look around . They spotted one buck comi ng their way and D avid moved to try and head it off. The deer detected him and ran the other way.
Before moving to another spot, David heard a dog bark one time in the oppo site direction. Thinking that the dog might be chasing a deer, he turned in that direction and waited. A few minutes later, he saw the monstrous buck heading straight for him . It stopped less than 30 feet away behind a large tree.

Photo by Jim Couch

David Crane of Smyrna bagged this
non-typical buck which scored 180 418
points. He will receive a special award for this buck that will be given this year for the
first time.

17

merica SIt's a fact, but how many people know it? For instance, hunters are proud that an 11 per cent tax on their guns and ammo goes for conservation. Since 1937, more than $435 million
onsneurmvabtelornOlnset has been collected and prorated to state gamedepartments for land acquisition , wildlife habitat improvement and management.
Hunters, along with fishermen, gladly pay over $180 million a year for license fees . It goes to support such programs as creatmg proper
~~~~~~~t~~~ f~~;~~~:~~.. clean streams, law enforcement and

What's more, the millions of ~cres developed by money from hunters

,

support more non-game spec1es - such as song b1rds, shore b1rds,

small mammals - than game species.

Hunters owe it to themselves and to future generations of outdoorsmen to help get this message across. And they can! The

whole story, along with statistics, is in a new illustrated booklet, THE HUNTER AND CONSERVATION. It tell s how America's hunters have

fought for conservation of all natural resources for over 75 years. How hunters, to protect the basic breeding populations of wildlife,

asked for season and bag limits. How they campaigned for the

establishment of state wildlife agencies and raised the

money by putting license fees on themselves. How th ey

founded conserva tion organizations such as the National Wildl ife Federation, The lzaak Walton League of

America and Ducks Unlimited.

THE HUNTER AND CONSERVATION can create new

understanding between outdoorsmen and the nonh unting

publ ic. It can help to educate youngsters. But only if

you'll help to put it in their hands.

Why not send for five copies today? When you th ink

about it, your influence could be as big as all outdoors.

sh;ti;g '-li;t~c;;;l-

s"P~rt; r~~~d;ti;~:~~~--- -

1075 Post Road . Riverside. Connecticu t 06878

THE HUNTER AND CONSERVATION is mailed post paid for $1.00 per package of 5 copies, or multiples of 5.
Yes , I want to help get th is message across. I enclose
$ _ _ _ _for_ _ _ _ copies.

Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

DiDio ufish

Send ch eck or mon ey order to : G eorgia GAME & FISH Magazi ne 270 Washington St., S.W., Atlanta, Ga . 30334

Check one
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0 3 years $2.50

David started to fire at the exposed por-

tion of the deer, then decided to wait for

a better shot. The second the deer

stepped from behind the tree, he

squeezed the trigger and the deer fell

dead on the spot. He used a .30-.30 and

had time to rest his arm on a tree for a

steady aim . He was back in camp by

9 a. m.

It is interesting to note that like the

winners in this year's contest David

Crane had taken a number of deer be-

fore this past season. He has six or seven

deer to his credit with a rifle and one 1

with bow and arrow.

...

The Cranes and Phillips hunt all day,

primarily by still hunting or stalking

rather than taking a stand in one spot.

They take lunches and spend the entire

day in the woods. David says that many

of their deer are taken during the mid-

dle of the day when fewer hunters are 'r in the woods.

Surprisingly few entries are made in

the big deer contest each year consider-

ing the large number of deer taken in

Georgia each fall. As more hunters are

made aware of the contest, the compe-

tition should increase. At the close of

each contest, the judges always wonder

if a potential prize winner or record

breaker is lying in some hunter's home

or freezer.

Any hunter who bags a deer that

scores more th an 150 typical or 175

non-typical points on the Boone and

Crockett scoring system or weighs more

than 200 pounds field dressed is eligible

for a Master Hunter's Certificate from

GAME & FISH Magazine and the

Georgia Sportsmen's Federation. The

largest deer entered in the weight classi-

fication and largest entered in the antler

classification bring the successful hunter a new rifle, live weights or estimated

,.

weights are not acceptable. Awards are

presented each year at the Georgia

Sportsmen's Federation annual meeting.

If you bag an exceptionally large buck

that you think might score highly in the

contest, bring the mounted head or the

rack by the Atlanta office of the State

Game and Fish Commission so that it

can be measured for entry into the con-

test as well as for consideration for

Boone and Crockett recognition. The

deadline for entries in the 1971-72 con-

test is May 10, 1972. A 90 day drying

period is required before a rack may be

officially measured for Boone and

Crockett scoring. All heads or racks

MUST be brought to the Atlanta office

for entry in the antler classification.

Be on the lookout for that big buck

this season . Who knows .. . you might

kill a record breaker or the best deer of

the year. Follow directions for entering

the contest and you won't be sorry. ,_

18

the
outdoor world
Dove Field Regulations
The mourning dove is rapidly becoming the most popular gamebird in the nation . Every September thousands of Georgia hunters take to their blinds for some fast shooting at this elusive feat hered target.
The regulations which govern the hunting of doves are jointly set by the tate and Federal governments since the dove is legally classed as a migratory gamebird. As part of these regulations, the hunting of doves over baited fields is unlawful.
A baited field is defined as any area where grain, salt or other foods which are attractive to such birds are unnaturally present. The foods, grains, etc., are considered unnatural when they are placed there for any reason other than a valid agricultural or farming operation. This includes any area where foods attractive to migratory gamebirds are present where such foods would not ordinarily be found if no hunting for the birds were permitted.
On lands managed for wildlife production it is unlawful to hunt doves over areas where crops are manipulated in such a way to make feed more available to the birds.
Wildlife rangers of the Georgia Game and F ish Commission as well as Federal age nts of the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife will enforce the restrictions on baited fields .
-Aaron Pass
Boating Classes Begin
The U.S . Power Squadron will conduct two boating safety courses in the Atlanta area this month. The course will be offered free as a public service by the Power Squadron to promote "Safer boating through education."
The course i called Basic Piloting and lasts approximately J2 weeks. It will cover such topics as: boat handling, afety, rules of the road , and aids to navigation.
The course begins at 7:00 p.m. on Sept. 13, J971 and will be given at two locations, Dykes High School at 4360 Powers Ferry Road and at Rowland Elementary School at J3 17 S. Indian Creek Drive, Stone Mountain. For more information, contact Fed Thomas at 627-2605.
-Aaron Pass

Coastal Inspection
Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter and State Game and Fish Department Director Joe Tanner traveled to the Georgia coast recently to get a first-hand look at the problems facing Georgia shrimpers. They were guests of the H. J. Westberrys of Jesup on their shrimp boat, Captain Henry, working out of Brunswick. Shown examining part of the catch are State Senator Roscoe Dean, Jr., Westberry, Governor Carter and Tanner.

River Park Planned
Land on the Chattahoochee River near Morgan Falls Dam has been provided to Fulton Cou nty by Georgia

Power Company for construction of a public park. When the park opens, the Pali ade ection of the Chattahoochee will become easily acces ible to the public for the first time.

MOST INFORMATIVE
am a member of The Geor.gia Sport Shooting Association, NSSA, ARA, NRA, two years as a Range Master, and now Chief Referee and Shoot Chairman of a large Skeet and Trap Club, just ending 20 years active service. I have been an avid hunter and fisherman for at least 30 of my 40 years. I would like to make one statement: Your thin, beautifully pictured, well illustrated, most informative, low cost magazine is about the best piece of material I have had the opportunity to read all over the world. I would like to congratulate, and thank you and your staff of "Georgia Game and Fish" for a job extremely well done.
Otis A. Gunthrop San Francisco, Calif.
SHARES CONCERN
just finished reading the 'Sportsmen Speak' section of your magazine and feel inclined to agree with the gentleman who wrote showing concern for the "Altamaha Development Program." I personally believe that this program is for the benefit of a few influential businessmen

only. These gentlemen say that a great deal of money could be saved by this program. I would rather pay higher prices; for the price of lasing this river and its wildlife is too great for all of us to pay.
Gary Young, 15 Everett, Ga.
"RODEO ROUGHRIDERS"
Recent favorable press reports on bass fishing at Lake Jackson resulted in a new marina operator staging a "Bass Rodeo."
For the past three weeks orderly fishing that we normally enjoy hos disappeared. Perhaps it is the development of a new type of sportsman. These instances are accurate and have been reported io me by responsible owners or actually experienced by myself. I am retired and have lived on the lake far 15 years.
1. Two boats located a hot spot close to a fishing pier; passed the word and this point has been a madhouse since. I had two nylon trot lines cut. From 6 am to 9 pm they fish under your windows throwing out their beer cans and other litter. Generally they fish closely around docks, piers and boat houses, and rush in and out with high speed motors damaging docks, etc.
2. Have cut many notches on shore-line trees when nearby hot spots are located regardless of whether trees are in yards or forests.
3. Sneaked in at night and threw two fish baskets and a gill net around a hot spot. I have these items.
4. Tried fishing during the night with bright lights, the reflection of which lit up the entire

area. Parked family and litter on pontoon boat while fishing.
5. Numerous reports of casting around people fishing from docks and still fishing from boats occasionally tangling up their lines with too close and erratic casting.
6. Cut down twa weeping willows on edge of water which appeared to be in their way and one character caught by owner when he became entangled in flower bush about 8 feet up in yard.
7. Cut an expensive inboard-outboard loose and permitted it to drift out into the lake in order to better fish between a floating dock and fishing pier. And so on and on.
Owners don't expect to claim any part of the lake as private but they do expect some consideration for the expense and effort they go to to enjoy some degree of privacy and freedom and not be continually plagued by a horde of plastic worm casters. There is an answer and it i being taken albeit unpleasant to all concerned.
I hope your excellent magazine will write a piece on 11Sportsmanship" on consideration for the other fellow. Many of these characters obviously haven't the slightest concept of what it means.
A. H. Thurmond, Jr. Jackson
We've looked askance at this type of "sportsmanship" on several occasions, and will continue to write on this subject. Comments from other readers are welcomed.

Sportsman's Calendar
SEASONS OPEN THIS MONTH
TROUT SEASONS: Management trout season ends Mon., Sept. 6. Open trout season ends Oct. 2. Creel limit: 8 per day, 8 in possession.
DOVES: First segment, Sept. 4 through Sept. 25; second segment, Oct. 23 through Nov. 10; third segment, Dec. 18 through Jan. 15, 1972. Daily shooting hours, 12 noon prevailing time, until sunset. Bag limit. 12 per day, possession limit, 24. At no time shall the hunter have in his possession more than one daily bag limit (12) while going from the shooting area to his car or home.
RAILS: (Marsh hens) Open Sept. 4 through Nov. 21. Daily bag limit, 15 possession limit. 30. Shooting hours, from onehalf hour before sunrise to sunset.
SQUIRREL: Aug. 14 through Sept. 4, 1971. in the counties of Harris, Talbot, Upson. Monroe. Jones. Baldwin, Hancock, Warren. McDuffie. Columbia and all counties north of those listed. Bag limit 10 daily. Statewide season is Oct. 16, 1971, throug!l Feb. 29, 1972. Bag limit 10 daily.

SEASONS OPENING NEXT MONTH

DEER (I) (Archery Hunt) Oct. I through Oct. 30, 1971, in any county or part thereof having a legal firearms deer season. Bag limit two (2) ducks or one (I) buck and one (I) doe. Hunting with dogs prohibited.
(2) Exception: (Archery Hunt) Oct. 1 through Oct. 14, 1971, in those counties and/or parts thereof (see Section 30) having an Oct. 15 opening firearms deer season. Bag limit two (2) bucks or one (I) buck and one (I) doe. Hunting with dogs prohibited.
DEER: Buck Only: Oct. 15, 1971, through Jan. I. 1972, in the following counties except as otherwise provided in Section 31: Brantley, Bryan, Bulloch, Burke, Candler, Chatham, Charlton, except that portion lying northwest of the Okefenokee Swamp, which is closed; Clinch County, except that portion lying in the southwest corner of the county, bordered on the north by the Seaboard Coastline Railroad and on the east by Suwannoochee Creek which is closed and except that portion of Clinch County lying north of Arabia Bay Wildlife Management Area and between U.S. Highway #221 and U.S. Highway #441 which is closed, and except that portion of Clinch County lying northwest of U.S. Highway #221, which is clmed; Effingham. Emanuel, Evans, and that portion of Echols County lying east of U.S. Highway #129 and south of Georgia Highway #187; Glynn, Jefferson, Jenkins, Liberty, Long, Mcintosh, Screven, Wayne, Washington, Tattnall, that portion of Lanier County lying north of the Seaboard Coastline Railroad and east of tht: Ala-

bama River and southeast of U.S. Highway #221; and also that portion of Pierce Counj ty lying south of U.S. Highway #82 east of Ga. Highway #121, and west of Ga. Highway #32. Bag limit two (2) bucks. Hunting with dogs allowed.
DEER: Either Sex: Oct. 15, 1971 through Jan. I. 1972, the islands, except Sapelo and Blackbeard, and marshes lying east of the Intracoastal Waterway in Bryan, Camden. Chatham, Glynn, Liberty, and Mcintosh counties will be open for the taking of deer of either sex. Bag limit two (2) bucks or one (I) buck and one (I) doe. Hunting with dogs allowed.
SQUIRREL: Statewide season is Oct. 16, 1971, through Feb. 29, 1972. Bag limit ten (10) daily.
OPOSSUM: (I) Oct. 16, 1971, through Feb. 29, 1972, in Carroll, Fulton, DeKalb. Gwinnett, Barrow, Jackson, Madison, Elbert, and all counties north of those listed. No bag limit.
(2) All counties south of the above named counties are open year round for the taking of opossum. No bag limit.
RACCOON: (I) Oct. 16, 1971, through Feb. 29, 1972. in Carroll, Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Barrow, Jackson, Madison, Elbert, and all counties north of those listed. Bag limit one (I) per night per person.
(2) All counties south of the above named counties are open year round for the taking of raccoons. No bag limit.

(For complete seasons and regulations ll'rite for regulation book.)

")()

TIDE TABLES

SEPTE~BER, 1971

HIGH WATER

LOW WATER

Day

A.M. HT. P.M. HT. A.M. P.M.

1. Wed. 4:01 6.1 2. Thu. 5:07 6.6 3. Fri. 6:07 7.2 4. Sat. 6:55 7.9 5. Sun. 7:43 8.4 6. Mon. 8:31 8.7 7. Tue. 9:19 8.8 8. Wed. 10:13 8.7 9. Thu. 11:01 8.4 10. Fri. 11. Sat. 12:25 6.6 12. Sun. 1:31 6.2 13. Mon. 2:43 6.0 14. Tue. 3:55 6.1 15. Wed. 5:07 6.3 16. Thu. 5:55 6.7 17. Fri. 6:37 7.0 18. Sat. 7:19 7.3 19. Sun. 7:49 7.5 20. Mon. 8:19 7.6 21. Tue. 8:49 7.6 22. Wed. 9:19 7.5 23. Thu. 9:49 7.4 24. Fri. 10:31 7.2 25. Sat. 11:13 7.1 26. Sun. 27. Mon. 12:19 6.1 28. Tue. 1:19 6.1 29. Wed. 2.25 6.2 30. Thu. 3:37 6.6

4:49 7.4 5:49 7.9 6:37 8.3 7:25 8.5 8:07 8.6 8:55 8.4 9:43 8.1 10:31 7.6 11:25 7.1 12:01 8.0 1:01 7.6 2:13 7.3 3:19 7.2 4:31 7.2 5:25 7.4 6:13 7.5 6:49 7.6 7:25 7.6 7:55 7.5 8:25 7.4 8:55 7.2 9:25 7.0 10:05 6.7 10:37 6.5 11:25 6.3 12:01 7.0 1:01 6.9 2:07 7.0 3:13 7.2 4:19 7.5

10:19 11:19 12:01 12:49 1 :37 2:25 3:13 4:01 4:49 5:37 6:37 7:43 8:49 9:55 10:49 11:43 12:13 12:55 1:31 2:07 2:37 3:13 3:43 4:19 4:55 5:37 6:31 7:43 8:55 10:01

11:13
12:13 1:07 1 :55 2:49 3:37 4:31 5:29 6:19 7:25 8:37 9:43
10:43 11:31
12:25 1:13 1:49 2.31 3:07 3:43 4:19 4:55 5.43 6:37 7:43 8:49 9:49
10:43

NOVEMBER, 1971

HIGH WATER

Day

A.M. HT. P.M. HT.

- - - - - - - --- - - - - - - -

1. Mon. 6:13 8.9 6:37 8.0

2. Tue. 7:00 9.3 7:24 8.0

3. Wed. 7:49 9.4 8:13 7.9

4. Thu. 8:42 9.2 9:00 7.6

5. Fri. 9:31 8.9 9:55 7.2

6. Sat. 10:25 8.4 10:49 6.7

7. Sun. 11:19 7.8 11:49 6.4

8. Mon.

12:19 7.3

9. Tue. 12:55 6.2 1:13 6.9

10. Wed. 1:55 6.1 2:13 6.7

11. Thu. 2:55 6.2 3:13 6.6

12. Fri. 3:55 6.4 4:01 6.6

13. Sat. 4:49 6.7 4:55 6.5

14. Sun. 5:31 7.0 5:37 6.6

15. Mon. 6:07 7.3 6:13 6.7

16. Tue. 6:43 7.5 6:49 6.7

17. Wed. 7:19 7.6 7:25 6.6

18. Thu. 7:55 7.7 8:01 6.6

19. Fri. 8:25 7.6 8:31 6.5

20. Sat. 9:01 7.6 9:13 6.4

21. Sun. 9:43 7.4 9:55 6.3

22. Mon. 10:25 7.3 10:43 6.3

23. Tue. 11:19 7.1 11:43 6.3

24. Wed.

12:13 7.0

25. Thu. 12:43 6.5 1:13 6.9

26. Fri. 1:43 6.8 2:13 6.9

27. Sat. 2:49 7.2 3:13 6.9

28. Sun. 3:55 7.6 4:19 6.9

29. Mon. 4:55 8.1 5:19 7.1

30. Tue. 5:55 8.5 6:19 7.2

LOW WATER A.M. P.M.

12.48 1:31 2:30 3:13 4:07 4:55 5:55 6:55 7:55 9:01 9:55
10:43 11 :31
12:19 12:55
1:31 2:13 2:49 3:25 4:07 4:55 5:55 6:55 8:07 9:13 10:13 11:31

12:25 1 :24 2:13 3:00 3:55 4:43 5:37 6:37 7:37 8:37 9:31
10:13 10:55 11 :37 12:13 12:55
1:37 2:13 2:55 3:37 4:19 5:01 5:49 6:43 7:43 8:43 9:43 10:37 11:25 12:07

The staff of GAME & FISH Magazine
has decided to publish the tide tables for the last four months of 1971
for the benefit of marsh hen hunters and other coastal sportsmen. later, a listing of the entire year 1972's tide tables will be included in one issue of GAME & FISH.

OCT. SEPT.

MOON PHASES

Full Moon
4 5

Last Quarter
11 1 1

New Maon
19 19

First Quarter
27 27

HOW TO USE THESE TABLES
The calculations are for the outer bar. Find the reading for the desired tide. In the table below find the number of minutes to add to correct for the place you are going to fish or swim. The outer bar calculation, plus this correction, gives the correct reading for the point desired. In September and October, adjust for Daylight Saving Time by adding one hour.

CORRECTION TABLE

Hrs. Min.

St. Simons Pier Frederica Bridge McKay Bridge . Brunswick East River Turtle River Bridge . Turtle River, Crispen Island Humpback Bridge

.0 25 .0 50 .0 50 .0 50 .0 55 . 1 10 . 1 00

Jekyll Marina . . . . . . Jointer Island . . . . . . Hampton River Village Creek Ent. Village Fishing Camp .

.0 30 .0 55 .0 20 .0 45

Taylor Fishing Camp .

. 1 00

Altamaha Fishing Park,

Everett City, Ga.

. . . . . . 4 00

Two-Way Fishing Camp, South Altamaha

. 2 00

MOON PHASES

NOV. DEC.

Full Moon
2 2-31

Last Quarter
9 9

New Moon
18 17

First Quarter
25 25

OCTOBER, 1971

HIGH WATER

LOW WATER

Day

A.M. HT. P.M. HT. A.M. P.M.

1. Fri. 4:43 7.2 2. Sat. 5:43 8.0 3. Sun. 6:37 8.6 4. Mon. 7:25 9.1 5. Tue. 8:13 9.4 6. Wed. 9:01 9.3 7. Thu. 9:49 9.0 8. Fri. 10:43 8.6 9. Sot. 11:42 8.1 10. Sun. 12:07 6.6 11. f'<'cn. 1:13 6.2 12. Tue. 2:25 6.1 13. Wed. 3:37 6.2 14. Thu. 4:37 6.5 15. Fri. 5:31 6.9 16. Sat. 6:07 7.2 17. Sun. 6:43 7.5 18. Mon. 7:19 7.7 19. Tue. 7:49 7.8 20. Wed. 8:19 7.8 21. Thu. 8:49 7.7 22. Fri. -9:25 7.6 23. Sat. 10:01 7.4 24. Sun. 10:43 7.3 25. Mon. 11:37 7.1 26. Tue. 27. Wed. 12:55 6.3 28. Thu. 2:01 6.6 29. Fri. 3:13 7.0 30. Sat. 4:19 7.6 31. Sun. 5:19 8.3

5:19 7.9 6:13 8.3 7:01 8.5 7:49 8.5 8:31 8.3 9:19 8.0 10:13 7.5 11:07 7.0
12:43 7.6 1:49 7.2 2:55 7.0 3:55 7.0 4:55 7.0 5:37 7.2 6:29 7.2 6:49 7.3 7:25 7.3 7:55 7.2 8:25 7.0 8.55 6.8 9:31 6.6
10:31 6.4 11:01 6.3 11:55 6.2 12:37 7.0
1:37 7.1 2.43 7.1 3:49 7.3 4:49 7.6 5:49 7.9

10:55 11:55 12:19
1:13 2.01 2:43 3:37 4:25 5:19 6:13 7:19 8:31 9:31 10:25 11:13
12:19 12:55
1:31 2:07 2:37 3:13 3:49 4:25 5:13 6:07 7:19 8.31 9:37 10:37 11:31

11:31
12:43 1:37 2:31 3:19 4:13 5:01 6:01 7:07 8:13 9:19
10:13 10:55 11:37 12:01 12:43
1:25 2:01 2:37 3:19 3:55 4:37 5:19 6:13 7:13 8:19 9.13 10:13 11:01 11:55

DECEMBER, 1971

HIGH WATER

LOW WATER

Day

A.M. HT. P.M. HT. A.M. P.M.

1. Wed. 6:49 8.8 2. Thu. 7:37 8.9 3. Fri. 8:25 8.7 4. Sat. 9:13 8.3 5. Sun. 10:07 7.9 6. Mon. 10:55 7.4 7. Tue. 11:43 7.0 8. Wed. 12:19 6.0 9. Thu. 1:13 6.0 10. Fri. 2:07 6.0 11. Sat. 3:01 6.1 12. Sun. 3:55 6.3 13. Mon. 4:43 6.5 14. Tue. 5:31 6.7 15. Wed. 6:13 7.0 16. Thu. 6:55 7.2 17. Fri. 7:31 7.3 1P.. Sat. 8:07 7.4 19. Sun. 8:49 7.4 20. Mon. 9:31 7.4 21. Tue. 10:13 7.3 22. Wed. 11 :01 7.1 23. Thu. 11:55 6.9 24. Fri. 1225 6.7 25. Sat. 1:25 6.9 26. Sun. 2:25 7.1 27. Mon. 3:31 7.3 28. Tue. 4:37 7.6 29. Wed. 5:37 7.9 30. Thu. 6:37 8.0 31. Fri. 7:25 8.1

7:07 7.2 8:01 7.2 8:49 7.0 9:37 6.7 10:31 6.4 11 :25 6.2
12:37 6.6 1:25 6.2 2:13 6.0 3:07 5.8 3:55 5.8 4:49 5.8 5:37 5.9 6:19 6.0 7:01 6.1 7:37 6.2 8:19 6.2 8:55 6.3 9:43 6.3
10:31 6.4 11:25 6.6
12:49 6.6 1:43 6.4 2:49 6.2 3:55 6.2 5:01 6.2 6:01 6.4 7:01 6.5 7:49 6.6

12:19 1:13 2:07 2:55 3:49 4:37 5:25 6:19 7:19 8:13 9:13
10:01 10:55 11:37
12:25 1:07 1:49 2.31 3:13 3:55 4:43 5:37 6:37 7:43 8:55 9:55
10:55 11:55 12:01
1:01

1:01 1:55 2:49 3:37 4:25 5:13 6:01 6:55 7:49 8:37 9:25 10:13 10:55 11:43 12:25 1:13 1:55 2.37 3:19 4:01 4:43 5:25 6:19 7:13 8:13 9:13 10:13 11:07
12:49 1:43