Post by FWS on Nov 12, 2012 12:07:51 GMT -6
Grandfather’s deer permit from 1933 is treasured keepsake
By BRENT FRAZEE
The Kansas City Star
2012-11-08
When J.C. Taylor was cleaning out some of his deceased parents’ belongings, he discovered hidden treasure that speaks volumes about a family tradition.
At the bottom of a drawer, he found a deer permit issued to his grandfather in 1933 by the Missouri Game and Fish Commission, the forerunner to the Missouri Department of Conservation.
After contacting the Department of Conservation, Taylor learned that the permit was for a three-day deer season in which only bucks with at least four points on one side of their rack were legal game.
That tag is part of Missouri history. With deer scarce in Missouri, the hunting season had been closed since 1925. The Missouri Game and Fish Commission reopened hunting from 1931 to 1937, but harvest was very low, and the season was again closed.
Taylor, a longtime resident of the Ozarks, doubts that his grandfather took a deer in that historic season. But he does know that he participated, and in the process planted the roots for a family tree of Missouri deer hunting.
“When I came across that permit, I just thought about how long this family has been deer hunting,” said Taylor, 65, who lives at the edge of the Mark Twain National Forest, 12 miles outside of Ozark, Mo. “Our family has seen a lot of changes. We’ve gone from the years when there hardly were any deer in Missouri to today, when there are deer all over the place down here.”
Taylor’s grandfather, also named J.C., died by the time his grandson was born. But he remembers hearing stories about his grandfather’s exploits.
“He was a tough guy who loved the outdoors,” Taylor said. “I guess he passed that down to us.”
Taylor celebrates that family heritage as he prepares for opening day of the Missouri firearms deer season Saturday.
Much has changed over the years. From the days when deer were scarce and only a handful of hunters were successful, whitetails are now plentiful; hundreds of thousands of hunters pursue them and the harvest for the 11-day statewide firearms season alone approaches the 200,000 level.
Taylor’s family has been along for the entire ride. His father took part in some of the first modern deer hunts in Missouri in the 1940s and was one of few hunters who found success.
“Taking a deer back in those days was a big deal,” J.C. said.
By the time he was 9, J.C. tagged along with his dad on his first deer hunt. And he was surprised to take his first buck.
“I was busy carving my name and the date in a tree when my dad said, ‘You’d better shoot. They’re going to get away,’ ” Taylor said with a laugh. “I looked up, and there was an eight-point buck trailing a doe.
“I lifted my rifle and shot, and got that deer.”
Years later, Taylor took his son, Jesse, hunting for the first time. He was 9 then, and he, too, took his first deer that day.
“It was ironic,” Taylor said. “We both took our first deer when we were 9.”
That started a long love affair with deer hunting. Visit Taylor’s house in the woods, and you’ll see mounts of trophy bucks hanging on the wall. Travel deeper into the woods, and you’ll see the deer camp he has built.
Though Taylor doesn’t hunt as much as he once did, he still gets together with family and friends for the opener.
“Today, I get just as much a kick out of watching them as shooting them,” he said. “I remember one year when I saw an 8-point buck behind a cedar tree, and I watched a 12-pointer come out of nowhere and just start whipping that buck. That 12-pointer had the smaller one down on the ground and was just dragging it around.
“They were tearing up the woods so bad that I looked for a tree to get up in. After they were done, they just laid there, exhausted.
“I could have shot one of them, but I didn’t think it was fair. After the show they put on, I just let them go.”
Now, Taylor takes just as much pleasure in helping others shoot a buck as he does taking one himself. And make no mistake, there are plenty of deer to target.
“I am a recluse,” he said. “I live out here in the woods and I hardly ever go into town.
“I live with the deer; I see them all the time. It’s hard to believe that they were ever scarce in this part of the country.”
By BRENT FRAZEE
The Kansas City Star
2012-11-08
When J.C. Taylor was cleaning out some of his deceased parents’ belongings, he discovered hidden treasure that speaks volumes about a family tradition.
At the bottom of a drawer, he found a deer permit issued to his grandfather in 1933 by the Missouri Game and Fish Commission, the forerunner to the Missouri Department of Conservation.
After contacting the Department of Conservation, Taylor learned that the permit was for a three-day deer season in which only bucks with at least four points on one side of their rack were legal game.
That tag is part of Missouri history. With deer scarce in Missouri, the hunting season had been closed since 1925. The Missouri Game and Fish Commission reopened hunting from 1931 to 1937, but harvest was very low, and the season was again closed.
Taylor, a longtime resident of the Ozarks, doubts that his grandfather took a deer in that historic season. But he does know that he participated, and in the process planted the roots for a family tree of Missouri deer hunting.
“When I came across that permit, I just thought about how long this family has been deer hunting,” said Taylor, 65, who lives at the edge of the Mark Twain National Forest, 12 miles outside of Ozark, Mo. “Our family has seen a lot of changes. We’ve gone from the years when there hardly were any deer in Missouri to today, when there are deer all over the place down here.”
Taylor’s grandfather, also named J.C., died by the time his grandson was born. But he remembers hearing stories about his grandfather’s exploits.
“He was a tough guy who loved the outdoors,” Taylor said. “I guess he passed that down to us.”
Taylor celebrates that family heritage as he prepares for opening day of the Missouri firearms deer season Saturday.
Much has changed over the years. From the days when deer were scarce and only a handful of hunters were successful, whitetails are now plentiful; hundreds of thousands of hunters pursue them and the harvest for the 11-day statewide firearms season alone approaches the 200,000 level.
Taylor’s family has been along for the entire ride. His father took part in some of the first modern deer hunts in Missouri in the 1940s and was one of few hunters who found success.
“Taking a deer back in those days was a big deal,” J.C. said.
By the time he was 9, J.C. tagged along with his dad on his first deer hunt. And he was surprised to take his first buck.
“I was busy carving my name and the date in a tree when my dad said, ‘You’d better shoot. They’re going to get away,’ ” Taylor said with a laugh. “I looked up, and there was an eight-point buck trailing a doe.
“I lifted my rifle and shot, and got that deer.”
Years later, Taylor took his son, Jesse, hunting for the first time. He was 9 then, and he, too, took his first deer that day.
“It was ironic,” Taylor said. “We both took our first deer when we were 9.”
That started a long love affair with deer hunting. Visit Taylor’s house in the woods, and you’ll see mounts of trophy bucks hanging on the wall. Travel deeper into the woods, and you’ll see the deer camp he has built.
Though Taylor doesn’t hunt as much as he once did, he still gets together with family and friends for the opener.
“Today, I get just as much a kick out of watching them as shooting them,” he said. “I remember one year when I saw an 8-point buck behind a cedar tree, and I watched a 12-pointer come out of nowhere and just start whipping that buck. That 12-pointer had the smaller one down on the ground and was just dragging it around.
“They were tearing up the woods so bad that I looked for a tree to get up in. After they were done, they just laid there, exhausted.
“I could have shot one of them, but I didn’t think it was fair. After the show they put on, I just let them go.”
Now, Taylor takes just as much pleasure in helping others shoot a buck as he does taking one himself. And make no mistake, there are plenty of deer to target.
“I am a recluse,” he said. “I live out here in the woods and I hardly ever go into town.
“I live with the deer; I see them all the time. It’s hard to believe that they were ever scarce in this part of the country.”