Meat on the Table: Modern Small-Game Hunting 0873643305, 9780873643306

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Hunting as a boy in rural Oklahoma in the late 1950s and early 60s, Galen Geer considered himself lucky to see a halfdozen rabbits and lone squirrel over the course of the day. Deer and quail were talked about but never actualiy seen. Stepping back on Oklahoma soil some 17 years later, it was a pleasant surprise to find the farmlands brimming with an abundance of rabbits, squirrels, quail, deer and wild turkeys. For the hunter, Geer believes the 80s are the best small-game years since World War |. What brought about this transformation in America’s wildlife? Oklahoma and many other states have been hard at work restoring the game depleted by the American love affair with development. In Meat on the Table, Geer invites you to join the millions of Americans who are hunting for food as well as enjoyment. The success of the wildlife management programs has led to greater quantities as well as species of game available to the hunter. And the hunter can play a key role in wildlife management by helping to control populations as well as supporting wildlife programs. Other factors are making hunting an increasingly popular pastime. Today’s hunter does not have far to travel. Wherever the hunter lives, there are lands both public and private on which to hunt. Modern hunting equipment is cheaper as well as more lightweight, easy-to-use and long-lasting than in the past. Take this opportunity now to learn all about the increasingly popular sport of modern small-game hunting.

—— MODERN SMALL-GAME HUNTING

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https://archive.org/details/meatontablemoderO0000geer

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MODERN

SMALL-GAME HUNTING

GALEN GEER PALADIN PRESS BOULDER, COLORADO

Meat on the Table:

Modern Small-Game Hunting by Galen Geer Copyright © 1985 by Galen Geer ISBN 0-87364-330-5 Printed in the United States of America

Published by Paladin Press, a division of Paladin Enterprises, Inc., P.O. Box 1307, Boulder, Colorado 80306, USA.

(303) 443-7250 Direct inquiries and/or orders to the above address. All rights reserved. Except for use in a review, no portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the publisher. Neither the author nor the publisher assumes

any responsibility for the use or misuse of information contained in this book.

CONTENTS Introduction 1 Hunting Guns and Arms Game Handling 49 Rabbits and Hares 63 Squirrels 89 Varmints 105

9

Raccoons, Opossums, and Pests Predators od

No & we OND Upland Birds Quail

145

175

Wild Turkey

193

1

Pest birds:

2 201

12)

In Closing

205

121

Dedicated to the memory of Fred and Albert Geer The hunter lives on!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I especially thank Gail K. Geer, Lt. Col. Robert K. Brown (USAR), and Lt. Col. Ray York (USA-Ret.) Thanks also to the following firms which provided information, photos, and in some cases equipment for researching some of the material in this work: Barnett International, Odessa, FL; Beeman Arms, San Rafael, CA; Bushnell Optics, Pasadena, CA; Charter Arms, Stratford, CT; Crosman Arms, Wichita, KS; Federal

Cartridge

Corp., Minneapolis,

MN; Golden

Eagle Archery,

Creswell, OR; Hank Roberts Co., Denver, CO; Harrington & Richardson Arms, Gardner, MA; Marlin Firearms, North Haven, CT; Mossberg & Sons, North Haven, CT; Omark Industries, Lewiston, ID; and Remington Arms, Bridgeport,

CT. In addition, I wish to thank the public relations officers of the wildlife divisions of the fifty states for their support.

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