Many Changes, mostly Positive

Chances are, that if you have been a Starkville Daily News reader for a few decades, the ugly mug accompanying this article might be a little bit familiar. The beard has much more gray in it now than it did when I last sat down to write about the Mississippi outdoors some 31 years ago. There has been much change in the outdoors since that time.

Happily, most of the changes have been in a positive direction. Tools of the trade have advanced to where the majority of us can take advantage of technology we could have only dreamed of owning back in 1991 – if they even existed back then.

An item that jumps immediately to mind is something we all take for granted now and most of us carry it in our pocket everywhere we go in GPS technology. A handheld device back then was extremely expensive and about as accurate as my predictions on the outcomes of football games. Now, it is included in the wizardry of our smart phones and I know some people who couldn't get from the television set to the refrigerator without it.

Hardly a day goes by without many of us needing to rely on this technology to help us get where we need to be. GPS technology is imbedded in a number of hunting apps and comes in very handy if you're not paying close attention in a large tract of woods that you are not overly familiar with or in helping to relocate that special honey hole on some of the large bodies of water we have in this state.

There have been a few times during a morning hunt when I would realize that I just wasn't sure exactly where I was. Fortunately, I would have enough of a phone signal to find my location on an app and know which way I needed to go to get back to the truck.

A story I read many years ago was about someone asking Daniel Boone if he ever got lost in all the exploring he did when he headed westward through the Cumberland Gap into what is now Kentucky. He replied that he was never lost, but that he did get a “mite bewildered for three days” one time. I have not experienced it to that extreme, but I have been a “mite bewildered” enough to walk a few extra miles trying to get back to my vehicle.

Another thing that comes to mind is all the merchandise available to mask our scent when deer, hog or predator hunting. There are even devices that run off batteries that spew ozone out in a stream to absorb the human scent, and there are enough masking, luring and whatever scents out there to fill a moving van.

Hunting and fishing are two that have always been a big part of my life since I was a youngster just yearning to go on the trips with my dad. Now that I'm retired from teaching and have all the time in the world to go, it is nice to have tools that make it a little easier on this worn out and abused body.

The area of off-road transportation has really changed in the years that have flowed by. First, we had those wrecks waiting to happen – the three-wheeler, then we grew wiser and switched to four-wheelers to the great relief of our bones and now we have those wonderful sideby-side UTVS or even the battery-operated bicycles.

How we ever got a deer or a hog from deep in the woods without these amazing life savers! I remember it taking us almost two hours to get a deer back to the truck. Two weeks later Daddy had a fourwheeler and we could get one out from the same spot in a matter of minutes.

I have been without my side by side for a few days now as it is getting a few minor issues rectified and I never realized just how much I rely on it for day-today activities. I was working on a scent-repellant based fence the other day to try to keep the deer out of my fall peas and turned to get a knife out of it – only it was not there, so neither was the knife. That meant an extra trip back to the house because there was not one in the truck either. Oh, well.

Hunting squirrels has been a favorite pastime of mine since back in the days when we just did not have many deer, especially in many parts of Mississippi. The biggest problem with early season squirrel chasing is the mosquitos seem to be at peak performance during that time of the year. I'm not mentioning any brand names here, but there are some devices that rely on miniature butane bottles you can carry that will create a mosquito and gnatfree environment in a hurry.

Another thing these mosquito chasers can be used for is as a deer lure. There are companies out there that make cards to insert in the device that emit scents such as acorn, corn or even dominant buck scent. Using scents with the correct timing in conjunction with a bleat call and a grunt call has yielded some great results for me.

I was somewhat reluctant to give any device that uses a small flame to keep mosquitos, gnats and deer flies away because I was afraid that the deer would either smell it or hear it. With the first time I gave it a try, I thought the deer flies were going to knock me off the ladder before I got in the bow stand. Within 5 minutes, the area was bug free and I saw plenty of deer. It is a “must have” for me now if I am stepping in the woods.

Something else that was simple 31 years ago has gotten much more complicated today. I wonder how we are supposed to sort through all the different camo patterns available. Some “expert” deer hunters back in the old days would say it made no difference as long as it was not a solid color, but a broken pattern of some sort as in the old faithful red and black plaid wool shirt. The same people now are endorsing specific brands and specific patterns within a brand.

Honestly, I believe that concealment to break up your outline and scent control are the most important factors. I will admit, though, that I am partial to a certain brand from West Point. I still have a shirt from the original pattern. Too bad it shrunk so much over the years that I have problems getting the buttons to meet!

The last few years have seen changes from the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks and the state legislature regarding seasons and licenses. We have had a spring squirrel season the last few years, changes to the primitive weapons season with the addition of replica weapons and, more recently, whatever you choose on private lands and a new velvetbuck hunt for the first time this year.

As Mississippi outdoors enthusiasts, we are very fortunate to have knowledgeable people working hard to ensure we have the best opportunities possible. The vast majority of changes from the MDWFP have been driven by research. The other changes were forced through politically, but that is a whole other story. I am not saying those changes were overly bad, but they were driven by the desire of the hunters and the votes they have.

Having an assignment such as this is really a struggle. You have so many thoughts run through your head of how different things are now compared to 31 years ago, and you think of how much is still pretty much the same. We still, as Mississippians, have some of the best outdoor opportunities in the nation. We still have strong deer and turkey populations. We still have amazing fishing opportunities for so many different species of fish, and, just plain hunting and fishing is still relatively inexpensive compared to so much else if we stick with the basics and leave some of the high-flying technology on the store shelves.

Hunting in a state that has placed antler restrictions on the bucks that can be legally harvested may have reduced the harvest a little for a couple of years, but now we hunt in a state that is recognized nationally for having a higher percentage of harvested bucks being mature deer. Not only does that mean better rack size for those who are motivated by antler inches, but it also means more meat per animal in the freezer. That can certainly be important for many people.

Our nation has faced a major struggle the past few years as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Not only has it impacted us from a direct health standpoint and the agony of watching loved ones struggle with it or even not make it, but it has disrupted our day-to-day lives in a dramatic fashion. In some ways, things have improved, but there could be more struggles creeping over the horizon.

Looking ahead, it can be easy to imagine store shelves being empty again. Though this time not from supply chain issues. This time it may be from a lack of supply. Much of what we take for granted in the cans and freezers at the supermarket comes from last year's harvest. The possibility of food shortage is real.

Luckily, we live in a part of the country where we can, and many do, take care of a major portion of our food needs. It really does not take much space to grow enough food for a family. It does take time and work. You also need to be able to preserve foods in the way our ancestors did and keep waste to a minimum.

One of my biggest gripes is how much venison is wasted every year by people who only get the backstraps, tenderloin and high quarters off their deer and throw the rest away. They have discarded about half the meat. Deer liver and deer heart are also very good. (And the only liver I will eat.) For those who do not mind spending a little extra time with their deer, the amount of meat on the shoulders, neck and ribs is about equal to the rest of the deer and makes outstanding ground meat.

Look back to our forefathers. They wasted nothing. Even the inedible deer tallow was used for making candles. Hides were cured for multiple uses. I have a friend who will take every deer hide I can get him to use for making drums. Some of these are used in ceremonies with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. The hides are also used in the creation of the balls they use for their stickball competitions. If you want chills running up and down your spine, attend the opening ceremony for the World Championship Stickball competition held each year.

I am going to have to admit something. It is much more difficult now to sit down to write a column after so many years. Danny P. issued the challenge and I had to accept it. One thing I did a good bit with my outdoor columns in the past was hide a message in it. If you figured out the pattern, it made a sentence. Part of the difficulty was doing it with this column because I added a twist. Let Danny P. know if you figured it out so he can let me know. The last sentence is somewhat of a hint. Chi pisa lã chinnih.

Jim Luke is a former sports editor and outdoor writer for The Starkville Daily News. The opinions in this column are Luke’s and not necessarily the views of The SDN or its staff.