Opinion

Some good friends returned recently from a very successful hunt in Africa, and they told me that because of the virus, Africa has never been more affordable. If an African hunt is a personal consideration, plan to attend the Dallas Safari Club Expo January 6-9, 2022.

Last week’s column brought you up to a point where I took an early morning stand on the southeast corner of a meadow in Wyoming’s Shoshoni National Forest. I would sit there for the day as it was a likely spot to encounter the cow elk I was hunting. I was ably guided by Joe Hargrave of Dubois.

As a family physician living on the upper Great Plains, I have many patients of Norwegian and German descent. Thus, I am familiar with some diseases that are prone to affect people of northern European ancestry. One such example is Dupuytren’s contracture.

There were always cookies at Grandma’s house. I remember dunking a fresh sugar cookie into a steaming cup of coffee long before most parents let their children anywhere near that amount of caffeine. The cookies were a little extra special at Christmastime.

Because I have reached a point in my hunting life where antlers have become of secondary importance, a quality hunt at an affordable price is more important to me.

With the SD pheasant season running through January 31st, 2022, my thoughts on those guys/ gals who block at the end of fields is still relevant. As these folks tend to be the seniors in the hunting party, it is especially important to me. Let’s first consider the birds.

The original plan was to apply for a 2.5 million dollar grant (tax payer money) to build a trail from Platte to Ravinia, about 30 miles. This plan was not approved by the state railroad board at two different meetings. Rails to Trails needs state approval to apply for a grant.

If I were to offer one piece of advice that I thought was more important than any other, I would tell you not to assume that a shot was missed – even If the target ran off and appeared to be unharmed. In my reasonably long life as a hunter, I’ve had reminders of this along the way.

On September 7, 2021, 62 yearold Ken Stach of rural Letcher arrowed a 6 X 6 bull elk in southwest Colorado on public land. What makes his achievement even more impressive was the fact that he was self-guided, and his tag was purchased over-the-counter without preference points.

To the residents of Bon Homme County, I am NOT in favor of the proposed changes to the zoning ordinance.