To Wave Or Not To Wave

                          My story about living in bird country wouldn't be complete without touching on the subject of etiquette in the field. One facet in particular on this subject is the custom of waving a friendly acknowledgement to passing vehicles as you come upon each other while driving down the rural farm to market,section line, and secondary roads. Over the years I have passed many hunters as I travel these roads which bring us all into the heart of bird country each fall. It's no surprise that we're not alone. We all share the same passion although each of us has our own style and strategy for enjoying the sport.

What we all do not share is good manners! As time passes I come across more and more hunters that find it acceptable to ignore an opportunity to signal a hello with a friendly wave and smile or maybe even stop to chat about the hunt. The license plates of these vehicles are from a variety of states with some even being local. The indifference and unfriendly nature of these hunters can be born out of a variety of frustrations and feelings. In my view there are no excuses. Treat others as you expect to be treated is how I was raised in a small mid western town. That lesson has served me well in and out of the field. I have shared many experiences with other hunters and met many good people along the way.The only thing that can ensure having great days in the field is a positive attitude starting with accepting that only you are responsible for your success or failure to do so.

Treating others with a friendly and positive attitude has it's rewards!

I'll share a story now about one of those conversations I had on a rural secondary road several years ago. My hunting partner and I were in southwestern Kansas in January on our last trip of the season. We had tried to find a way to access a remote section of river bed we were hoping held some coveys of bob white quail. Looking at our map we just couldn't seem to find access without running into posted land from every direction. So puzzled by this we decided to hunt a walk in area for pheasants on this morning with temperatures in the single digits but with lots of clear blue Kansas sky! Before we got to far in I spotted a red ranch truck coming our way. I yelled to Tom to head towards the road so we could talk to this guy as in these rural areas in the winter there's just not many folks around. We waved the truck down and walked over to the driver. He asked what the heck we thought we were doing out in such weather! The next thing he said was to my partner Tom " Hand me your gun" We thought now where is this going? Turns out Dave as we learned was fond of guns and knew Tom was carrying a nice Sterlingworth double at the time. He then gave us permission to cross his property to access the river bottom we were looking to hunt. He also said we could hunt the wheat stubble to the east of where we currently were if we wanted to take a chance that his wife wouldn't shoot us as she's mighty fond of the quail that feed in that field as they hang around the yard in the winter month's! Then before he drove off to bust holes in the ice on water tanks for his cattle he invited us to stop back at his house to let him know how we did. Tom was relieved to have gotten his gun back and we laughed about being introduced to Kansas hospitality. Dave later shared that based on his first impressions in talking to us that he respected us as serious hunters and appreciated that we took the time to talk with him and asked about permission to hunt.

That chance meeting happened to be with the owner of 10,000 contiguous acres of land. It made our trip a great experience and we learned many things about the area we would have otherwise struggled with. In fact that meeting turned into a friendship we will always remember. Dave and his wife Shirley invited us into their home on many occasions over the year's for lunch and supper even offering to freeze our birds for us. And it all started with a friendly wave and conversation!

I have learned much about bird hunting and bird dog's over time but most importantly will tell you that you can read all you want to educate yourself. Fill your head with data, harvest statistics and species characteristics. But most of what is really beneficial about any area you will ever hunt or any dog you will ever hunt with  is transferred from one person to another. Face to face. But this information isn't just given freely. You can't demand it and can't buy it. The holder or keeper decides if you're worthy of receiving it. How do they decide? It has everything to do with your attitude and respect for other people. Indifference and arrogance will never get you through the gate!

So my advice is simple and my message short. It all starts with an attitude and decision. "To Wave Or Not To Wave".