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Show Field & Stream By Vernon W. Shields My goodness! Did I ever get in dutch. Last week I stated in this column that most of the sportsmen sports-men I had talked to were in favor of the 12 o'clock opening of pheasant pheas-ant season. That was true last week. This week, however, everyone every-one I talk to or who would listen to me was positively "agin it." That's the trouble with this fish and game business. No matter what is done, you can't please everyone. The pheasant season opens at noon this year 'because a majority of the sportsmen requested request-ed it. I happen to know it's true because I investigated. Every year before the season opens, the fish and game department sends out letters to all the sportsmen's clubs asking their recommendations as to the bag limits, length of season and so forth. They take all these recommendations into consideration, considera-tion, and then, in most cases, try to arrive at a decision that will please the majority of hunters and protect our wild life as well. I favor the noon opening for 3 reasons. 1. I believe less hens will be killed because the birds are more readily identified at noon than they are a seven o'clock in the morning. 2. The birds will be out of their roosts and will be more widely scattered, giving more hunters a chance. 3. The farmers will be up to protect their livestock live-stock and they won't be so likely to be blasted into or mistaken for a pheasant. No, I haven't sold out to the fish and game department. I still ccriticize them or any one else when I figure they have it coming. However, when I see instances in-stances of where they are trying to do the best they oan for all concerned I will stick up for them. I'll admit there are plenty of bugs in our present fish and game setup but it has always been my experience experi-ence that a lot of sportsmen are prone to severely criticize before they know the facts. We can groan and moan about our hunting and fishing conditions, but there's no getting around it the fishing and hunting in this country is on way out. We can't ever expect to have the good hunting and excellent fishing we used to have. Today, there are too many forces pitted against our wild life. Besides the ever-increasing army of hunters and fishermen, our marshes are being drained, our streams are being be-ing dammed and diverted for our growing cities and farms. Civilization Civiliza-tion is moving back into our mountains moun-tains and canyons. Thousands upon thousands of acres of land that once offered cover, feed and protection pro-tection for our upland game are now being plowed up and planted to feed our ever-increasing population. popu-lation. On top of all this we have thousands of greedy hunters and fishermen who take all they can get, by any means, and who have absolutely no respect whatever for our game laws. The future of fishing and hunting in this country coun-try rests with the sportsmen themselves. them-selves. Conservationists and fish and game departments can do little unless the sportsmen of America wake up to the fact that they cannot can-not have the same privilekes as they used to have. There has been some changes in our migratory wildfowl regulations for this season. This year, a plug will be required that cannot be removed without first breaking down the shotgun. This regulation is directed at those hunters using automatics. Prior to this year, some hunters had the habit of unplugging un-plugging this type of gun when they got good hunting, and then quickly inserted the plug if anyone showed up. The plug must now be put in, so it cannot be removed except by breaking down the entire en-tire gun. In preparing birds for shipping, this year, they must be dressed with head, head plummage, and feet attached to aid identifi-caion. identifi-caion. Shooting will start this year thirty minutes before sunrise each day of the season except the first day, when it opens at noon. The closing time will be one half hour before sunset. One half hour before be-fore sunrise on October 30 is 6:28 a.m., from then on it will be one minute later every day. If you shold be shooting at Sal Springs near Wendover, you'll have to wait until eight minutes later than the sunrise table. I see nothing in the migratory wild fowl proclamation this year that states the size of shot you mus use on geese. Last year, they stipulated, here in Utah, that you could not use anything larger than No. 2 shot. This year, apparently they have withdrawn this regulation, and you can now use any size you wish. |