Riverview Plantation

After abundant early spring rainfall,the clouds dried up in south Georgia for a while. We have finally received enough rainfall to begin planting food plots for the quail. We are also beginning to see some amorous couples of quail beginning to pair off, and know that nesting season is upon us. Since we had one of our best spring,controlled woods burning program in years, we just need to make certain that there is plenty of food available for the next cycle of quail on Riverview.
 We are also in the process of ordering shotgun shells for the fall. I do believe that the ammuntion makers are working overtime making bullets for pistols and assault rifles. I wish that they would get more concerned about starting up production of shotgun shells for the wing shooting public. While I am certain that we will have plenty of shells in stock, I feel much better when they are in my storage room rather than a promise that I will have them.
 I wonder how many of you know how the origin of our "gauges" in shotguns and shells began. Everyone knows that the larger the number of the gauge, the smaller the shell while the smaller the gauge,the larger the shell. This methodology began when shotshell lead equalled the the diameter of the shotgun barrel's bore size.The number of lead balls of a particular size that totaled a pound in weight determined the gauge of the shotgun. A twenty gauge shotgun would have 20 lead balls equalling one pound while a 12 gauge shotgun would have 12 balls per pound.
 After the gauge of the shotgun is selected, then the shot size needs to be chosen. In the south if we say that we are going "bird hunting", you can always assume that we are talking about quail. My personal preference on quail has always been number 8 shot. I do not shoot a 410 gauge anymore because I am not as good of a shot as I once was. Come to think of it, I'm not as good at a lot of things as I once was, but I sure am grateful to still be able to enjoy the sport of hunting. But, I digress. If I were to shoot a 410, I would go with a 6-7.5 shot size.
 Stay tuned for more thoughts later on as the summer progresses. We will  talk about bird dogs,shotguns,and funny hunting stories in the future.