doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Recipe for Dove and Wild Rice

I had a coffee-corner conversation with a colleague at work today, "what are you doing for the holiday?"

"I'm going up north to scout for moose and do some fishing."

And she asked where and what is involved, etc.

My colleague related she'd moved to Maine for work and mentioned she'd had a mooseburger when she lived down in CT. Loved the mooseburger and, when she knew she was coming to Maine, was looking forward to being able to get moose meat in the store.

Which led to a brief conversation about the illegality of market hunting and why. The farm-raised nature of the venison and ducks found in supermarkets. All of which she accepted as reasonable.

And a promise (contingent on my getting a moose) that she'd get a good quantity of moose meat.

Opinions get moved, one person at a time. And polite conversation, done with due regard and respect for the non-hunter and their (likely-over-domesticated) sensibilities, is the way to do that.

I have learned that even turkey bacon can become somewhat edible if you fry it in the bacon fat from your real pork bacon.

When I was about 18 years old I was on a work detail near Tionesta, Pa. helping to dig a footer to shore up the foundation at the hunting camp my buddy's Dad had just bought. For our breakfast before work, his Dad fried a couple pounds of bacon, and then fried our eggs in the same pan in the bacon fat. Just before they were done, he spooned the searing hot fat over the yolks just long enough to lightly cook the egg snot... like over-easy without flipping them. Served piping hot with toast and home fries, on styrofoam plates so we wouldn't have to wash many dishes. It was heavenly. I don't know how I had gone that long in life before eating eggs cooked that way. I know it isn't healthy, but I still cook my eggs like that a couple times a year during hunting season. It always takes me back to that day. Bacon grease is pretty magical stuff.

I have taken 27 kids, five fathers and one mother out dove hunting over the last seven years. It started out as friends of my sons, but just carried on a bit. A boy knows a boy who went before. You get paired with an adult, so you get a lot of coaching. To an old man, I enjoyed the kids the most. All had completed their safety course but one fellow. He was too young so he sat next to me and was my bird boy. Rumor has it he got to shoot my big .410 a few times. No hits, but a lot of smiles.

Four of the five fathers were great to be around, but one was a complete ……. His son can return, him, not so much. One of the early boys is now serving active military and his mother said he might return on leave this fall. Told her he was always welcome and to tell him I said thank you for his service.

One single mother was there with her son, so he could go with his best friend. She had never shot before, but was a good sport. Took the hunter safety course with her son. She and her son got the best spot in the field. Or I told them that when I put them with me. He had an absolute blast. She killed a few birds as well. I gave them 3/4 ounce 20 shells loaded with 7 shot. Mild recoil, modest noise and it killed birds well in a 1100. They shared the same cutdown gun with a stock which fit them both. Took turns and cheered each other on.

Afterwards I gave them, the boys, all latex gloves to wear, when we cleaned the birds. Hint being small gloves. Quick anatomy lesson showed them all the intervals and a quick way to process a dove. All the boys liked the chance to see a dove heart, crop, gizzard and liver. Everybody wanted to see where and how the bird died. An autopsy if you will.

I always bring my .410 but somehow never seem to load it much. A lot more fun that way. Our only hope for a hunting future is to bring young shooter into the sport. Teach them it is not about killing a limit, but about enjoying the experience. I certainly do.

You can fry a 2x4 in bacon grease and it tastes pretty good.

Keith, both sets of my grandparents were farm folk and you’ve brought back precious memories of many a fine breakfast at their kitchen tables. In the Ozarks that style is called “sunny side up” and I hardily agree - its the best!

That was the was raised and watched eggs being cooked!

By the way Bristol, Virginia 30 years ago was pretty well known. The speed limit on I-81 dropped from 75 in Tennessee to 65 in Virginia. The first 10 miles of that highway in Virginia, especially at night, were lucrative for the county.

Tennessee must have noted that. It now drops to 65going into Tennessee, and they have the same habit.

😆