Throughout the summer and early fall months, all the boys in town loved to go camping along the river. The outings were simple affairs with quilts for sleeping bags, kerosene lanterns and various canned fruit with a dose of bacon and beans. No namby-pamby stuff… this was down home rustic camping.

One necessity of any campsite is a proper campfire. When arranging a camping date, we always showed up with plenty of time before dark to go about gathering our campfire wood. You can’t have a proper campfire without a decent amount of firewood.

Our firewood gathering lasted at least two hours. It’s hard to imagine how much wood four boys can accumulate in two hours. Believe me… it was a mountain of dead limbs worthy of a fire big enough to burn an ancient Viking king. No matter how much wood we gathered, we would have it all burned by daylight.

Lighting the fire was never a problem as every boy in town carried a fully functional Zippo lighter. Some, including myself, also carried a waterproof match safe containing 12 or 15 strike-anywhere matches. With a match safe, we would always have the means for making a fire even if one of us took an unexpected dunk in the river.

We would challenge one another with who could make a single lighter pass or a single match fire. One try was all each of us got. Great care was taken laying the fine kindling base, and slowly progressing the pile of wood with bigger and bigger sized limbs. A lot of us used a T-Pee design to protect the small flame from the wind. We learned a lot about building a fire. We learned dead, dry sycamore limbs burned bright and clear with no smoke; and to choose our firewood as carefully as we could. One of the best sources of fine kindling for a starter was an old bird’s nest. Sometimes what we lacked in quality firewood we offset with quantity. When darkness rolled around, we could be assured, we had plenty of firewood.

We shared a lot around the campfires many years ago. We talked of things to come… high school, girls, serving our country, catching the next big smallmouth, our hunting expertise and our woodsmen skills. But, the thing we shared most was the mesmerizing flicker of flames, the crackling sound of the wood, and the peace and serenity a good fire brings. As the evening chill set in, everyone gathered closer around the fire. Most of us had a long stick we would use now and again to punch at the coals or arrange an errant piece of firewood. We talked at length, but sometimes we sat for hours watching the flames and enjoying the stillness.

I think time poking camp fires of long ago was some of the best time I spent as a boy. The flicker of the flames taught me to reflect on the things around me and to appreciate the things I had in life. I can’t help but think children of today would be much better off sitting around a campfire than staring at a phone or gaming on a laptop. I feel the complexity of today’s world has robbed a lot from coming generations.

Have you bought a deer license bundle?

If you’re thinking of deer hunting this year, consider choosing the Deer License Bundle, which can be used in the archery, firearms, muzzleloader, special youth, and special antlerless seasons. The bundle includes privileges to harvest either two antlerless deer plus one antlered deer or three antlerless deer.

Antlerless deer harvested with the bundle must count toward either the bonus antlerless quota for your county or the archery or muzzleloader bag limit. Note the bundle cannot be used to satisfy deer reduction zone bag limits. If you’re planning to hunt more than two deer seasons, make sure to grab the bundle and save money.

Turkey brood results

The contributions to the 2023 Turkey Brood Survey surpassed the goal of 3,000 observations. Between July 1- Aug. 31, Hoosier outdoor lovers contributed a whopping 3,639 observations of wild turkey hens with or without poults.

After DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife biologists removed duplicates and reports without exact locations, 2,203 brood observations are being factored into regional production estimates.

Because of the help, we can continue to track population trends and make important management decisions to foster healthy ecosystems in Indiana.

Correct quail hunting dates

There may have been some confusion on the issuing of the hunt dates for quail in Indiana.

The correct quail season dates are listed below. The IDNR apologises for any confusion caused by the error.

Quail (North of I-74): Nov. 1-Dec. 15

Quail (South of I-74): Nov. 1-Jan. 10, 2024

View the full list of seasons and regulations in our 2023-24 Hunting & Trapping Guide.

Thank you for your dedication to conservation in Indiana. We hope to see you outdoors soon.

Feed Indiana families wth your harvest

Are you ready to hunt and help hungry Hoosiers in need? Consider donating your harvested deer to Indiana Hunt for Hunger. Your donation of a single deer can provide 200 meals for a local family.

Participating is simple:

1. Hunt your deer.

2. Harvest your deer.

3. Drop off your field-dressed deer at a local participating processor. The processing fees are paid for by Hunt for Hunger.

4. The processor will create healthy venison burger to distribute to food banks.

Find a list of local participating processors on our webpage. DNR is proud to partner with Hoosiers Go online and Google: Feeding the Hungry, the Dubois County Sportsmen Club, and Farmers & Hunters Feeding the Hungry for Hunt for Hunger.

Readers can contact the author by writing to this publication, or e-mail to jackspaulding@hughes.net.

Spaulding’s books, “The Best of Spaulding Outdoors,” and his latest, “The Coon Hunter And The Kid,” are available from Amazon.com in paperback or as a Kindle download.