Of Pirates and Mountain Men

Several years ago singer and songwriter Jimmy Buffet wrote a great tune called “A Pirate Looks at 40.” There’s a lyric in that song with which today’s mountain men everywhere can identify that says…”Yes I am a pirate, born 200 years too late. The cannons don’t thunder, there’s nothing to plunder, I’m an over 40 victim of fate, arriving too late…arriving too late.” In this day and age, if you are a student of the Great Outdoors, it’s easy to put yourself in the shoes of Buffet’s pirate. It’s easy to give in and think that the wild days of the Ozark frontier are forever gone. When considering some of the wildlife that existed just 2 and a half centuries ago in Missouri, it’s easy to understand why a mountain man would long for those days 200 hundred years ago.

Elk bugling in the hardwoods. We are not 200 years too late in the Ozarks.

Who wouldn’t have rejoiced in the splendor of a crisp fall morning in these Ozark hills during the rut when the elk still thundered their bugles up the Current River valley? What true mountain man wouldn’t long for the days when you could ride the surging Gasconade River during the early spring as black bears emerged from their winter dens and patrolled the riverbank for food. What lover of the spectacle of Mother Nature wouldn’t love to have witnessed the awesome show of force of the White River at flood stage in the late 1700’s, 250 years before dams tamed the spring floods of the Ozarks. Yes, it seems some of the wild of these hills has left us… for now. But has it really left so much as just changed? I say the wild is still here in the hills, I see it weekly. You simply have to explore with the same spirit as Kit Carson and you will find wild places alive and well in the Ozarks. And who knows, someday sooner than you think, as the heat of August gives way to the fall rut, the wild places might once again hold some sights and sounds not seen in Missouri for over 150 years.

Just as it was 150 years ago, the best way to prepare for fall hunting and trapping season is to scout. In the Ozarks scouting in August is hot but it’s a great opportunity to get a head start on a successful fall harvest. If you can fight off the bugs it’s also a great time to incorporate squirrel hunting with a child. Thus far this year the squirrels haven’t migrated back through some areas after moving out due to a lackluster mast crop last year. This year all indications that I’ve seen point to a better mast crop as compared to last year. This will set the stage for great bushy-tail action for the young and young at heart while scouting for late fall hunting and trapping season. This is an opportunity to get the kids in the woods to hunt and show them all the wildlife signs of the larger quarry of the fall. With squirrel season extending from May 22, 2010 through February 15, 2011 the season is long enough to suit any hunter. And with a bag limit of 10 and possession limit of 20, the liberal limits are more than adequate to allow for many hours of enjoyment as you hunt and scout the Missouri wild places. What more opportunity can a true Ozark mountain man ask for than an opportunity in which you can be in the woods all afternoon hunting and scouting while passing on our great outdoor heritage?

Still finding the wild places in the Ozarks. Greg, Alex, and Coleman Stephens squirrel hunting and scouting for fall hunting season.

In preparation for an August squirrel hunting and scouting adventure try to pack so as to make the young hunter as comfortable as possible. Plenty of water, snacks, comfortable shoes, hats, bug spray, gloves, and insect resistant clothing are all good ideas. Binoculars, game cameras, and any other scouting equipment are also a good idea. Besides a great mountain cur squirrel dog, a youth model .410 shotgun is a young squirrel hunters best friend. It really gives a child a great sense of accomplishment when they hunt in the Great Outdoors and put dinner on the table. It’s a great time to brag them up in order to instill the desire to repeat the hunting and harvesting experience for a lifetime, not to mention to instill personal responsibility for providing one’s own sustenance.

So, this fall take a child with you to hunt and scout the great outdoors. And, don’t let them take it for granted that the wild places are gone. Find your mountain man spirit and pass it on to the burgeoning young outdoors adventurer in order that they will find those wild places once again. Light the fire that will make them long for the awesome adventure of the Ozark Hills in the 1700’s. And who knows, maybe one day soon those children and we adults will once again hear the bugles of bull elk in the Peck Ranch region of the south central Ozarks. Contrary to Buffet’s pirate, we have not arrived 200 years too late. So says the One-Eyed Hillbilly.

Greg Stephens is a 35-year veteran & life-time student of the great outdoors. His column appears weekly in print & online publications. You can email him at gregstephens@one-eyedhillbilly.com. For more columns go to www.one-eyedhillbilly.blogspot.com.