Sports: Over The Hill Gang (Hunting), 1994, Winn Parish, LA Submitted by John W. Harris, Brooklyn, NY ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** Source: Winn Parish Enterprise, January 26, 1994 Over The Hill Gang by Leo Shelton They said we were too crippled, too nervous, too slow, and just too old to hunt deer with hounds. But with the Love and Grace of our Lord, who provides us with a wonderful land, an abundance of game, and the privilege, desire and challenge to pursue the sport of hunting, we were able to prove them so very wrong. We had many good hunts and killed several nice deer, even though our fellow hunters averaged almost seventy years of age. Most mornings the ground was covered with ice or a big white frost. As the sun peeped out the CB radios started to blast. "What about you Dallas Cowboy?" yelled the Medicine Man. "Have you heard from the Cigar Man?" Then the Barber Man would come in, "Where are we meeting today?" We would all meet at a designated place, plan the drive, get on our stands, and cast the hounds. Roger Shelton was our most dependable driver. His yells and hollers to Buck, Bud, Blaze, Bob, Blue, and Sue would give a chill and thrill to everyone. It also helped to warm our fingers and toes. Due to the large number of deer available, it was only a short wait until the hounds began to trail, jump, and chase with full cry. Then the enjoyment really began with the bang, bang, bang of the guns. This action brought back so many fond memories of the days and the likes of Voyd Rice, Monroe Shelton, Howard Sowers, and Dude Shelton entertaining us with the chuckles and tall tales of great hunts off Hwy. 34 South in years past. I loved to stand next to Dude because he always supplied me with pockets of well-parched small spanish peanuts. January 1 was our best hunt of the season. Due to showers, we cast our hounds at 1:05 p.m. and at 1:25 p.m., we had two large bucks on the ground. Marlin Collins has a 5-point and Richard Smart, a 3-point. This was achieved by one driver and seven standards. We went across the road, set up another triangle drive, and Craig Rice got a big buck in just a few minutes. Cravon Herring, walking to his stand, jumped a huge buck (10 or 12 points) but failed to get a shot with his brand new gun. I hope he has better luck next time. Our club members this year were Rex Rice, Craig Rice, Todd Mares, Randy Thomas, Leo Shelton, John F. Lovell, Roger Shelton, and Cravon Herring. On various hunts, we had great assistance from Sharon Shelton, Gene and Renee, Marlin Collins, Darren Collins, Richard Smart, Harold Hickey, Roy Hughes, Sonny Warner, Pat Shelton, and David Shelton. They all voted that I should receive the "Assist Award" since I shot at and missed the most deer, but did turn them on people who could hit them. I will still retain the nickname of "Three-shot Leo." It may just well be that the timber company people are looking for me for shooting out the tops of too many pine trees. This chapter of deer hunting is closed for this season, and we hope we all will enjoy another good one next year. As stated by my son, Dr. Mark, when he was too young to go hunting, "I love to hear those big deer stories and drink that black coffee." Submitted by: John W. Harris Brooklyn, NY Jwharris60@aol.com