Sunday, October 21, 2001

28 Hunting

Airboat engines sputter and roar each fall along Corpus Christi's shores at dawn.
   Local residents know it's duck season when smoke poles extend from tiny boxes set in shallow flats. The scene is complete when yellow and black Labradors splash in choreographed obedience after birds are intercepted on their annual flights south.
   Hunting near Corpus Christi centers on a convenient shot at everything from waterfowl and doves to feral hogs, whitetail deer and exotic imports.
   Seeing red
   Between 70 percent and 90 percent of the North American population of redhead ducks spend the winter in Laguna Madre.
   Variety
   Redheads, teal, widgeons, bluebills, pintails, gadwalls, mergansers, mottled ducks, tree ducks and occasional goldeneye, mallard or canvasback.
   King Ranch bucks
   The biggest whitetail deer in the state hide in the South Texas brush. Call the King Ranch hunting office at (361) 595-1424.
   Mounting prices:
  

?Deer shoulder mount: $475-$550
  

?Duck: $250-$300
  

?Goose: $350-$400
  

?Turkey: $600-$800
  

?Javelina (life-size): $2,000
   Deer processing
   Averages $55 per animal to skin, cut and package.
   A money sport
   Deer outfitters charge from hundreds of dollars to thousands, depending on the ranch and the status of game taken. Generally, bow hunts are less expensive than gun hunts. Success rates vary widely.
   Quail trail
   Quail hunting will cost about $1,200 to $1,500 and more for a party of four. This sometimes includes amenities or meals and always includes a full complement of pointers and retrievers.
   Waterfowling
   Outings cost as little as $75. Throw in guides, decoys and a retriever and the price goes up. Of course, hunters can opt to erect their own blind in public water and go out on their own. Don't forget to buy a state and federal waterfowl stamp, along with your Texas hunting license.
   Best bargain
   Perhaps the least expensive and most popular game is dove. Day leases at area dove patches run from $25 to $50. But Corpus Christi is surrounded by about a dozen public hunting lands that provide even less-expensive wingshooting opportunities. Armed with a $40 annual permit, wingshooters can hunt fields every day of the dove season's first split, Sept. 21 through Nov. 4 this year. Call 289-5566 for permit information.
  
  

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