Friend called and asked if I'd like to come over and go quail hunting this afternoon. It was a nice warm "spring day" in December.......why not!?!

Arrived with my boy and my Ruger Charger Pistol to be introduced to a new form of Quail Hunting I'd never experienced..................driving the dirt roads in an ATV shooting them off the ground with a pistol! Well, being the controlled environment that it was, I asked my boy if he'd like to shoot some. He'd already had a lot of practice shooting my Charger, so he said, "Sure!"

We drove around not having much luck until later in the evening when we rode up on a deer feeder and saw a huge covey of Blue Quail run from the feeder and into the brush. We stopped the ATV and waited a few minutes. Finally, a couple quail darted out of the brush and into the open. I told him to aim for the center and he aimed in...................



At about 20 yards, he popped one and it fell over in a poof of feathers. Score!!!! His first quail and his first animal with a handgun!!!!





I can't express the pride and humbleness all mixed up in one great emotion. To be standing there next to my boy when he accomplished this first. It was too cool to put into words.

We rode around and the shooting got hot and heavy. Running birds.............distance shots (50+ yards)..............through brush...............I made some pretty good shots. None of them matter and hold a candle to my boy's first bird and handgun kill.

I owe a debt to this man I can never repay. He has afforded my boy a lifetime of experiences this year.

His first deer with a rifle.



His first quail with a handgun or anything!



And the list goes on and on. Gratitude...................my heart is full.

We ended up with a pile of quail and two rabbits. Not bad for an evening's ride.



On our way home, I asked my boy if he'd like to shoot another deer this season. "Yeah! I like shooting animals we can eat."

The words every outdoorsman and father want to hear from their son.

Yes............my heart is full.