LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

EDITOR’S NOTES by Chester Moore
January 25, 2018
INSIDE FISH & GAME by Roy and Ardia Neves
January 25, 2018

Neck Shots

Kendal Hemphill, I was overjoyed when you talked about neck shots and small caliber rifles. Being a small woman, I have hunted deer with a .243 for 50 years and have used a .222 to take down a 250 pound hog more than once (while turkey hunting).

I try for a neck shot (although for the hogs I shoot for the ear or eye), and have also not lost a buck with a shot in the neck. I have lost several deer that ran until the blood trail vanished after taking a body mass shot.

 I also took an Alberta whitetail and an Alberta mulie with neck shots from a 30-06—much to the chagrin of the guide who said I couldn’t or shouldn’t do that. As you said, it’s called “placing your shot.”

And, Chester, I agree about the coyotes. A pair has taken up residence at an on-demand feeder at my Sanderson, Texas property, and they appear on camera like clock-work every day around 8:30 a.m.—except the four mornings I sat on a high hill overlooking the feeder when they were no-show. Smart and crafty and remarkable.

Joyce D. Schaefer

Editor: Coyotes are smart indeed. Thanks for the feedback. We love the fact you appreciate the work we do in this publication.

Lack of Pintails

Why don’t we get as many pintails flying into Upper Coast marshes as we did back in the ’70s, ’80s and even ’90s?

Kevin Horn

Editor: There are two reasons. The first is there aren’t nearly as many pintails as there used to be. They have pitifully low nesting success in prairie Canada and are facing a host of other problems. Secondly, like all other duck species they were drawn to the rice agriculture. The combination of marsh and rice agriculture is alluring to ducks, and when one of those two parts of the equation virtually disappears, the number of ducks decline.

Trophy Flounder?

Chester, I have read your flounder articles for years and appreciate your knowledge of the species. Can you tell me what you consider a trophy flounder to be?

Jim Williams

A trophy is what the angler, or hunter, considers it to be.

Editor: Honestly, to me a trophy is whatever the angler considers it to be. It might be a first fish or a 16-incher that is really thick and has a gnarly looking head.

I know what you are asking, and that is what size I consider a trophy flounder to be. I will put it in terms similar to deer hunting. A 20-inch flounder is sort of like shooting a buck that would make the Pope & Young record book.

According to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, they represent something like 1/2 of one percent of flounder catches in Texas. They are an impressive fish.

Then, when you get one 24 inches or better you have a true monster. That would be like one that makes the Boone & Crockett books for deer, which many whitetail hunters consider the be all, end all. For me, it is all about having fun and if I catch a monster great. If not, as long as I get that “thump” I am happy.

 

Email your comments to: editor@fishgame.com

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