Reindeer tracks in the mud

Reindeer tracks in the mud

By John Criner

Times Outdoor Columnist Christmas has come and gone and all that is left is muddy tracks of Santa’s reindeer in the yard. With all the recent rains, our yard is very muddy and from looking at the tracks, the deer must have rested after they visited our home. Hopefully everybody had a very nice Christmas and Santa left an abundance of gifts. I know my grandbabies did very well. It’s a good thing Santa only comes once a year.

Deer season is winding down with only a few days of gun or muzzle season left. All zones end on Dec.

31,2018. There is a special youth hunt Jan. 5-6, 2019.

Archery season goes until Feb. 28, 2019. The nice thing about archery season is there are very few hunters in the woods and almost all archers are very good woodsmen.

We should be going into the best part of duck season with the major part of the migration starting after Christmas. Last year at this time it was very dry and quite a bit of the migration passed through our area heading farther south. If a club had water, they probably had good shooting. This year with such a wet fall, there are many fields and slash water and the ducks have spread out with few concentration areas. You may experience a good hunt today and tomorrow not kill a duck.

Overall, the duck hunters are singing the blues. In fact, several very good commercial clubs have quit taking hunters until the duck numbers get better.

But don’t give up for the year because Christmas vacation is on going and those young hunters need to ’’get their gun” and go hunting. You will have as much or more pleasure than the kids do. This is the best time of year for rabbit hunters with the season ending on Feb. 28, 2019. The sound of a pack of beagles is always fun to listen to. Squirrel hunting also goes on till the end of February and this is prime time for a squirrel dog treeing ole bushy tail. Still hunting is difficult because the squirrels can see you try to sneak up on them.

We all get new hunting gear for Christmas with everything from socks to hunting coats to new guns and fishing poles. Make sure you check the presents out before the exchange time runs out. A pair of warm and expensive boots are no good if they don’t fit! If a after Christmas present is needed, do not forget about Papa Duck’s book JUST HUNTING STORIES that can be found at Cupple's Book store on Missouri Street. This is the 3rd printing and the reviews have been very good and the book cost only $15.00.

Lakeside Taxidermy is taking in some very nice deer to mount along with ducks. A kid’s first banded duck definitely needs to be put on the wall. Lakeside is fast and reasonable. As you know, kid’s mounts come first, so take that young hunter with you. Take plenty of pictures and send me tales of the hunt. If you have any wild game recipes to share with my readers, please let us enjoy them.

Papa Duck Lakeside Taxidermy 870-732-0455 or 901-4823430 jhcriner@hotmail.com

John Criner