Well, my fears of the lack of sporting were unfounded. On the morning hunt with my Father I found myself temporarily paralyzed, several times, at the sight of a flushing covey. We were fortunate enough to get into a covey of about 20 wild quail...and needless to say only 2 shots were fired...by my Father. The dogs chasing the birds made me uneasy for the entire morning hunt, as did the location of the guide and the hunting partner, there is no bird in the world worth shooting a dog, guide or fellow hunter. So, I ended up taking a while to get into the flow, but we ended up with a good hunt before lunch.

And as for lunch...let me just say if you've never had a grilled peanut-butter and mayhaw jelly sandwich, you don't know what you're missing. It is truly the epitome of buttery, sugary, sandwich goodness! Particularly, when served along side a tasty bowl of chicken and dumplings.

The afternoon hunt had the two young guys, Justin and myself hunting together. We had a good hunt, I was starting to get over my "flushing paralysis", and Justin cured it completely when he shot at and missed a bird lit in a tree...he missed twice to be exact...from about 12 paces. The exchange went as follows:

Guide (Bo): "Mr. Justin shoot that bird."
Justin: "Alright..."
BANG!...bird still sits on the limb.
Justin: "That bird must be stuck on a limb!"
Bo: "Naw, Mr. Justin that bird ain't hit."
BANG!..limbs move above the bird...bird still sits there.
Justin: "That birds gotta be stuck on a limb..."
Bo: "Naw, Mr. Justin that bird ain't stuck that, that bird ain't dead, that bird ain't been hit!"
Me: "Ya'll want me to shoot him?"
Bo: (laughing) "I think so."
BANG!...bird falls sticks on a limb half way down.
Bo: (Laughing) "He's dead now! Mr. Justin NOW he's stuck on a limb!"

We all had a good chuckle out of that, it was even funnier because Justin is a pretty good wingshot, and we'd been going along pretty well until then. Then on the ride in, all I had to do was bait Justin and he confessed to the entire group that he missed a lit bird...Twice.

And to top it all off we had Steak and Shrimp for dinner...who cares about the jacket...I could get used to this....

My wife’s grandfather is not doing well, his heart is enlarged and he’s in the hospital. I am thinking of her and her family so much that I can hardly concentrate. I hope and pray that nothing happens soon, I have a final on Thursday, and can’t wait to just “get it over with.” However, I have a rather heavy heart at this time, I’m thinking so much of my wife, I can’t concentrate. I love you sweetie, and Mr. Johnson I love you as well….

I’m in Camilla, Georgia at Riverview Plantation with Dad and his crew. I like all of them, but I’m a bit unsure if this is really me. The hunt is going to be a buggy’d out deal where we shoot in pairs with a guide handling the dogs. Maybe, Snapp is right…”it ain’t the meat it’s the heartbeat.” Because, I’m getting no aniticipation heart beat from the idea of slaughtering pen raised birds who have to be coaxed into launching. However, I’m still mad at ‘em a little, so I don't know what it's gonna be like. I just really long for a flight of ducks, where I can screw them up with a call, or kill some in spite of me. Essentially, that seems like hunting to me…this is more like shooting. I guess I’m just saying I love my dad and the company he keeps…however, I’m unsure if this is my idea of fun…. I’m pretty sure Ramsey has it correct, that it doesn’t matter how many trips you take, you can never turn a “shoot” into a “hunt”…. Oh, well I’ll keep an open mind until tomorrow, hopefully I’ll be proven wrong and have a good sporting hunt….. Stay tuned.