By Mike Roche

As this writer sits at the computer in the home of my sister Pat in Kansas on Day One of my annual trip to the Sunflower State (AKA Oz), there have already been a few things that perhaps might have been done differently. First, never book a flight that leaves at 5:45 a.m! Actually, the original flight was a little later, but Delta switched me to the first flight of Bradley Tuesday morning. With the Kansas turkey seasoning opening Wednesday morning, it seemed like a good idea at the time. When I did the math and figured out that meant leaving the house at 2:15 a.m., it no longer seemed like a great idea.

When going on this hunting trip, being the mandated two hours early is a good idea, as I travel with a firearm. If you have never flown with a gun, the process is not all that complicated but obviously very regulated. First, you must have an approved case and it must be lockable. My case is a Bone Collector 44-inch case with two handles, wheels, six latches and two locks. It is not light but rugged.

When you arrive, you first go to the ticket agent and open the case for inspection and sign a statement that the gun is unloaded. After checking in, you bring the gun to the TSA agents, who inspect and X-ray, and they forward it to baggage. It was surprising to me how many people were flying out Tuesday morning. There must be a lot of post-Easter travel and vacations. When you land at your destination, you report to the airline baggage office to produce ID and your baggage tag. The firearm is unloaded separately and brought to the office. On this trip things went quite smoothly, and this bleary-eyed traveler arrived safely.

4:45 came early and, with a little effort, gear was loaded into my brother-in-law’s Toyota Tacoma and it was down the road to hunt. That is when things went a little awry. A half-mile from my destination, I realized that none of the four (that’s right four!) face masks that were brought were in the truck. No excuses, just lack of checking off the things needed for every turkey hunt. Never mind that ammo was a last-minute add-on, the time was not taken to put calls in the proper pockets with camo gloves, camo handkerchiefs, and laser rangefinder.

After walking to the listening point, the world was very quiet. Too quiet. The only gobbles were distant and then, screw-up number two. After crossing a shallow but steep-banked creek, my hand came out of the call pocket empty. My “go-to” call, the Lynch World Champion Model 102, was not in the pocket. Still pre-dawn, that meant a stop and reverse to go back to find the call. Two searches turned up nothing but wasted key time.

Deciding to just go on, the slate call came out and a series of soft putts, purrs and yelps were sounded. The distant gobbles ended, and the waiting game began. This hunter lost the game. The lost call was a distraction and it led me to look again for the call and then relocate. After all that, the call tuned up in the vest game bag and to make it worse, the only gobble heard on the way out was close to where the earlier soft calling had taken place. That happens enough that it should convince me to be patient and stay put! Tomorrow will be another day.

There is great news from the Mahar Fish’N Game Club that the popular game supper is back! The popular event, which began as the club’s Father & Son Banquet in 1958, is taking place on Saturday, April 29, in the Mahar Cafeteria. Doors will open at 5:30 for a great evening of wild game appetizers and entrées will all the fixins’. Tickets are out for $20 and club members have them to sell. They will also be available locally at Trail Head and Flagg’s Tackle in Orange. You can contact club advisor Evelyn Cunha by email at ecunha@rcmahar.org or phone or text at 413-221-5297 or William Devine at wdevine@rcmahar.org or 508-667-0955. As always, any donations of game or fish are more than welcome and you can contact Evelyn to make arrangements to donate any venison, pheasant, bear, moose, or fresh or saltwater fish you might want to give to a great evening.

And on the topic of young people and fishing, the Orange Gun is looking for support for the club’s annual Kids Fishing Derby. The derby will be held on May 7 at the club and it is a great event for boys and girls age 14 and under. The derby runs from 9-11 a.m. and the club provides free hot dogs, soup, soda and cookies for all who come, with great prizes for the biggest fish, and every child will receive a prize for taking part. If you would like to support the derby with a prize or financial donation, you can contact the club at P. O. Box 263, Orange, MA 01364 or call Chuck Neveu at 413-522-8808.

Mike Roche is a retired teacher who has been involved in conservation and wildlife issues his entire life. He has written the Sportsman’s Corner since 1984 and has served as advisor to the MaharFish’N Game Club, Counselor and Director of the Massachusetts Conservation Camp, former Connecticut Valley District representative on the Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife Board, has been a Massachusetts Hunter Education Instructor and is a licensed New York hunting guide. He can be reached at mikeroche3@msn.com.

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