Sporting Tales Archives » Heritage Game Mounts

Posted on January 2, 2015September 22, 2015 by siteadmin — 2 Comments

Bird Dog: Sister Cayce’s Kate

This article was first published in the Boykin Spaniel Magazine, January 2013.

Sister Cayce’s Kate was born 9-9-99 out of Mr. Mick and Kelly Ann from Dixie Blair. Life dealt Kate many setbacks, but you would never know it by her. I have a good friend here in San Antonio that has always helped me find my Boykin hunting companions for the past 30 years. Kate was the little sister to his Cayce. Even two years apart they looked like twins and both came to hunt Texas from South Carolina.

As all Boykin owners know, each one is exceptional. Kate had her puppy lessons with Pam Kadlec before becoming ours at 4 months. And from the moment she arrived we were her people. One of my first recollections is of my husband returning from a deer hunt, as he was unloading in the garage and placing his things by the front door we missed the pup- but found her fast asleep draped over the gun and bags on the floor in the entry.

She was the only dog he ever ‘allowed’ in the house. One of her jobs was to fetch the morning paper then go upstairs to wake the children. She loved 2 of my kid’s stuffed toys that they slept with nightly. Each morning she would retrieve those fallen toys by their bedside and wake the kids up with them. Kate was not allowed on the beds, but by the time I made it upstairs both Carter and Carrie had strange dents all over their bedspreads and both were awake and giggling. We often found Hoodoo and Leo the Lion mysteriously hidden in Kate’s toys.

Kate was eager and so easy to work and hunt with. She had my back with doves, she would watch and whine and dance in place with her two front paws when she saw a close one, and if I did not shoot at the ones she was watching – she would let me know with a BARK. She LOVED to hunt and most of all swim. She was a noisy, playful swimmer when she wasn’t on the job. She would swim in circles for hours pawing at the water to make big splashes and then barking and biting at the water. People who did not know her thought she was drowning.

At 18 months we took her on a trip to the coast – I just knew she would love the beach – and she did. She ran and ran and jumped the waves and caught her Frisbee. But something went wrong….the next morning we went for our walk and she had trouble, I thought she was sore from all the activity, but by that afternoon it was evident something was terribly wrong –she could not move her back legs. We were in a small town and I called the vet – by my description he said we needed a larger facility and set us up with an emergency room in Corpus Christi about an hour away. We left everything and the two other dogs behind with my parents, except our two small children who insisted on going to be with Kate. The diagnosis there was immediate surgery within 24 hours to have any chance, although small to ever walk again. The nearest place to do this delicate and tedious surgery was in San Antonio- they along with our vet in San Antonio arranged for our immediate arrival. We arrived about midnight or shortly thereafter to turn her over to Dr. Andy Anderson.

The weeks after surgery were slow and turned into a couple of months, I devised a sling so I could hold her hind end up and she could walk outside on her front two legs. I worked her limp back legs often, Kate seemed to understand. One day as I was talking to her (a Boykin understands) I thought I saw her tail move slightly. Then later that day she did it again when I spoke to her. Little by little she came back, but I was told she would never hunt again, and there was always the chance for the opposite side of her spine to ‘blow out’. Well, 6 months into recovery it did and another surgery and another long but successful recovery. Her chest and front legs became strong and wide and swimming was good for her. Her hips and back legs were always a little stunted and weak, but she got around and did not think she was different from any other dog. She could not jump up and I would not let her jump off of anything or take the stairs.

Kate now became a regular at the horse shows – making friends with all the people, dogs and horses-she never knew a stranger – and made everyone smile at her adapted run that looked more like a rabbit than a dog.

But, she missed the hunts. I went to great lengths to not let her see me in my hunting clothes or wait to put on my boots in the car. I always read too much into my dog’s heads…one day I took her with us for a short controlled outing to introduce our children to quail hunting. When it was time to go on our march, I had her safely secured to wait for us. About 30 minutes into it I heard this barking and turned around and there she was! She moved ahead and gave me this look like ‘got here as quick as I could!’- it was too far to take her back and I still don’t know how she got loose and not hurt herself. Thus, for a while she got to go on the occasional ‘gentleman’ dove hunt. It wasn’t long before we discovered she had an enlarged heart. Didn’t stop her, she still got to go swimming at the lake. Then there was the surgery for bladder stones. Another recovery, but each time a little weaker.

Even though the scar tissue gave a little protection to her delicate spine, I was warned the slightest blow could undo everything and there would be no more surgeries. Our older Boykin, Dash passed away at 16 yrs. and a short time later our little white rescue dog leaving Kate alone for animal pals. She quickly adopted our three cats who now felt safe in the backyard and I had decided a new puppy could be dangerous – until we had to help house sit a friend’s young dog. I tried to keep them separated, but by day 2 Kate had figured out a way to play, protect herself and make the pup do all the work. Enter 8 week old Boykin Belle who my daughter and I drove to SC and brought back. Kate took Belle under her wing.

We have had many fosters come and go and Kate was my helper. We found three tiny lab mix pups on Easter 3 years ago. I watched out the window as she acted like they were not there, and one by one they crept into her bed while she held her nose in the air looking the other way. As they went to sleep she turned and gave them each a bath. We ended up keeping one of these pups and Sage idolizes Kate. It made it easier to take Belle hunting and leave Kate behind.

Kate loved guns, but could not stay in the backyard when fireworks or thunder sounded. One day when we were out of town she got out and Sage followed her, Belle stayed put. New neighbors found them and told me they must have been out a while. They took them in but Kate wanted to move on, but the tuckered out pup could not go on. They said it wasn’t long before Kate returned and stayed beside Sage as she slept. Now this huge pup is taking over the nursing care of Kate as she gets weaker. Kate’s last prognosis is a mass of tumors in her intestine, her eyes are weary, she won’t eat and she is telling me she wants to move on. She won’t make another surgery. Over her 13 rugged years she always moved on, her limitations not noticed by her accept for her obvious embarrassment at her incontinence due to her back.

Katie Scarlett died today on 7-17-2012. On this day she got to ride shotgun in the front seat with the windows down and go to the lake with me-alone, no other dogs. She made 3 tiny laps in the water, and 3 very small retrieves, watched birds on the deck with a cool breeze and oh yes, got to eat cat food. Hoodoo and Leo the Lion had both made hospital stays with Kate during her first, long ago recoveries. My now married son called last night, he remembered where Leo was after all these years and asked that Leo once again be with Kate. Sadly, Cayce had gone on ahead a few months before.

This year at Christmas we will have a very special new ornament on our tree -as our pets before her, each has a red ribbon tied to their tags or collar and hung on the tree – to celebrate our exceptional gift of Kate.

Posted on September 27, 2011September 22, 2015 by Rita Schimpff — 1 Comment

A (Stateside) South Texas Dove Hunt

This post previously appeared in LadiesShooting.com as a guest post for their UK blog.

A Texas Dove hunt always signals the start of our Fall shooting season. It is looked forward to by me as much as the coming of the Christmas Season. Preparations are made, traditions are anticipated and each season we try to add a little something unusual to rival a previous hunt. And with one special gentleman, I always sing in September, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…” ah! tradition!

Texas is mostly private land, so in addition to private hunts, we lease land for specific hunting and fishing: Dove, Quail, Hog, Deer…… There are also day leases available, but can be very crowded with unfamiliar hunters. I am fortunate to have several buddies I have shot with for well over 35 years and when we have birds we include each other in the best spots. And always, frivolity, food, drink and dogs are part of the mix. We hunt Mourning doves and White -Wing doves, the latter being a little larger and have a white band on their wings. The Mourning doves are very sporting to shoot as they fly fast and dip and dive when they discover you. They are also a favorite food, and the most popular way is on the grill: breasted, stuffed with a jalapeno and wrapped in a small piece of bacon– a Monday night given during the season. We have special dove seasons or zones set up in Texas. In the early years you had to travel way south and into Mexico for White-Wing hunts, but in the later years they have migrated into central Texas so that now they are included in our bag limits. A mixture of either dove make up the current 15 per day limit. White-Wing have become so pervasive and intrusive in the city we call them, Pigs with Wings!

We shoot doves in fields and around stock tanks and on brush lines, either coming to food (sunflowers, croton or peanuts) or returning to the roost. I usually shoot a .28 superposed Browning that was a gift from my husband right before the birth of our first child in 1987. A matched pair of .20ga barrels came in the set from the early 1950’s. Ah tradition! Last year I became particularly fond of a .410 we have and hope the season will permit a few chances with it again. A relatively new addition is a decoy called a MOJO, a plastic dove on a stake with mechanical wings – I was hoping for one for my birthday!

Rita John Rico snake — John, Rico holding snake & Rita all in snake leggins.

It is usually very hot in September and so we dress, select food & drink and care for our dogs accordingly. The Western Diamondback, or Texas Rattler is a nervous and aggressive and all too common poisonous snake that can be deadly at any size. I wear tall snake boots or leggings and take my dogs to ‘avoidance training’ where live, de-fanged snakes are used in tandem with an e-collar. This may seem harsh, but it saves lives, and not harsh if you have ever witnessed a struck dog as I have. Also, our vets now offer a snake vaccine that I give my dogs as well. This year the heat has been particularly excruciating, as I write this we have had over 55 days of temperature over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. And we have been in the highest level of drought –Exceptional, with no significant rainfall since November 2010, but as the guns are being cleaned and put away, wet terry wash cloths that have been frozen in plastic bags are a welcome respite from the sun.

We Texans love our dogs, and the Lab has proved a Texas favorite for years. About 27 years ago I was introduced to the Boykin Spaniel by a close friend, neighbor and hunting mentor to my husband. As a small boy, my husband enjoyed hunting and fishing with his father – but these trips were to be few as his father passed very young. A close friend & neighbor took the boy under his wing. When I joined the family, this man embraced me as well, introduced the Boykin and we all enjoyed many years afield together. I have had a Boykin ever since and currently have two as well as a rescue Lab/Golden Retriever mix. The Boykin is an American Breed, ca. 1900 and still classified as a ‘rare breed’, a native to South Carolina as well as their state dog. A little liver colored dog with big expressive golden eyes, small enough not to rock a boat, an aggressive retriever, ready swimmer and the most charming and reasoning buddy in or out of the house!

As I said before I have been fortunate to hunt with the same crowd for many, many years. More often than not I am the only gal on the hunt and have always been welcome – as long as I can take the pranks and willing to put up with equal treatment.

We always bring lots of snacks to enjoy with the sunset in the field, such as, Cheeses, dried venison sausage, pickled okra and crackers. This year my brother-in-law surprised us with a small folding table to replace the ‘ice chest’ and ‘tailgate’ tables of the past. I am passionate about the sporting lifestyle, as well as, my inherited collections of hunting and fishing memorabilia-that were the inspiration for my business, Heritage Game Mounts, www.HeritageGameMounts.com I am always on the lookout for new antiques to add to my collections, and this year I found the perfect vintage ‘gunning’ barware to dress up the table while in the field!

Vintage barware for fun afield-the tailgate!

Another tradition of mine that ya’all across the pond sent our way-is my favorite après dove hunt beverage – The Pimm’s Cup! Over 30 years ago on a hot, deep south Texas Dove hunt in the valley, my favorite duck hunting mate, introduced me to the finest, most refreshing drink ever, a Pimm’s, Ginger Ale and lime!!! The vintage barware, traditional drink, a heritage Browning along with best friends was a celebration to be sure. Ah! Tradition! Ah! Heritage!

Posted on June 11, 2011September 22, 2015 by Rita Schimpff — Leave a comment

Reflections of Harvey Mallard-a duck

Reflections of Harvey Mallard – a duck

I am lucky, my husband loved to hunt and fish, as did his brother and all their mutual friends. They all took me in and accepted that I would be along for the ride. They are all gentlemen hunters – with or without me. They probably cleaned up their language a little more around me, but still racy enough to keep it fun. And they are all very funny men, very quick and rush to pick on anyone who falls behind. After almost 36 years, we still all hunt & fish together. I am lucky.

One of these guys, Howard, had a gorgeous family ranch near Bandera, Texas not far from San Antonio. We had all kinds of fun out there, but the one hunt I remember most was my first duck hunt. Up in the dark for the drive to Bandera, cold, lots of coffee and homemade cookies (it helped with the acceptance thing, but didn’t save me from being picked on). The guys set out the decoys in the dark. Then lying on the cold tank dam – waiting in the dark – the still and quiet. I shall never forget the sound, ever, all of a sudden in the dark coming over my back – low & fast helicopters. The sound was just all of a sudden there – muffled then so quickly it was loud, they were right on top of me! Then the splash, plop – one or two at a time, then the quacking. I could almost touch them, if I could see them. More came in, shots rang out, I was a little startled and curious at the light coming out of the end of the barrels, the others could see by the dawns light. Slowly the sun came up – someone shouted if I was going to shoot I had better get with it- was I waiting for an engraved invitation? 31 years makes the memory of those words a little softer than they probably were. I am so lucky.

I remember my nose and fingers being so cold. I had a glove on my left hand. Those days my hunting clothes lacked any sense of fashion, a ski jacket because it was warm and brown, but the yoke was cream – the guys said it was ok with them – (why not just wear neon?) My knit cap was a pretty jaunty thing left over from trendy days as a college art student. So were the expensive, once ‘to die for’ Frye boots – my suedo Hippie days. The gun was the best part of my outfit, my husband’s Winchester 20 GA, I had started using it so much he just gave it to me and we had the stock cut down just for me. My dowry had not included any guns or fishing equipment – although I had enjoyed the outdoors with my grandfather, I would not inherit those treasures till later.

It was a wonderful hunt, lots of ducks and a beautiful specimen Mallard. I always have and always will scrutinize the take. I love the plumage and photograph for paintings later. I still have a couple of the curly tail feathers from another of the day’s Mallards in my hat band. (Yes, I finally got a respectable hat)

Howard teased me that I might as well go ahead and give the duck a name if I was going to play with it that much. Harvey. He and I came up with that, and I am sure there was a story there. We shared Harvey, he had him mounted, but let me keep him to study and paint and dress up our home. I kept his beak and legs touched up over the years. Then one day after Howard had remarried, they wanted custody of Harvey. I get to visit Harvey often. I will have to ask Howard how the name came to be. Harvey is still absolutely gorgeous. I am so lucky.