Guns, doves and game wardens; law and order
Charlie Steele sells lots of guns and ammunition to folks in Sussex County. I used to buy shotgun shells, licenses and other hunting supplies when he had his gun shop at Midway. Now I buy from him at his Route 9 shop.
I stopped in to see him Saturday a little before noon to buy 20-gauge shotgun shells for a dove shoot in a Broadkill sunflower field. Over the years I’ve seen his supply of guns - used and new - grow larger and larger. This year is no different. I’ve never seen so many guns crammed into one space, floor to ceiling, wall to wall. A dealer in everything from benign-looking pink pistols to sinister-looking natural wood and steel machine guns, Charlie even has them hanging from the ceiling. In the aisles between the guns, cardboard cases of ammunition - bullets and shells - stand in stacks on the floor.
The gun business has been good throughout the Obama administration when there has been constant discussion of stiffening gun laws. A sense of urgency following mass shootings and murders by gun-toting psychopaths in theaters, churches and elementary schools has, understandably, sharpened the edges of the gun debate.
Gun sales really took off in the first few years of Obama and then leveled out, said Steele. Then they spiked again recently after the theater shooting in Layafette, La. “The next week, when Obama said he wanted to strengthen gun laws before going out of office, we sold 35 guns - mostly pistols,” said Steele.
One of the most popular new pistols, he said, is a .45-caliber revolver that fires a combination shell with a .410 slug of lead followed by a handful of lead shot. The pistol, he said, can be used either for self-defense or hunting.
A large percentage of the rifles and shotguns crowding Steele’s gun shop live there via consignment. “Many of them have been brought in by women whose husbands have died and who no longer want them around the house. It’s sad. They tell us they never realized how many guns their husbands had. They’re overwhelmed, and so are we.”
Game wardens at work
Aided by a northeast wind and a productive breeding season, the doves were flying thick and fast around the sunflower patch. A couple dozen hunters ringing the sunflowers took an unexpected break when two officers from the state’s Division of Fish and Wildlife strolled into the scene and began offering free gun inspections - mandatory. Polite and no-nonsense, they worked their way around the field checking shotguns to make sure they were plugged, so they could hold no more than three shells at a time. They also checked to make sure the hunters had proper licenses and weren’t shooting more than their 15-bird limit.
Officers Adam Roark and Travis Anderson said they were trying to get to as many Sussex fields as possible. Most of the hunters in the field said it was the first time in many years they recalled being checked.
“How do you find where the hunters are?” I asked. “Drive around and look for lines of pickups parked along fields?”
“I can’t tell you everything,” said Adam with a smile.
A few men had to head back to their trucks to retrieve their licenses, but everything seemed to be on the up and up based on the assessment by the officers. They left the scene with wishes for a good hunt, and we returned to the doves.
After the hunt, under the shade of a blue tarp and with the drone of dogs panting as they lay beside water dishes, I told the other hunters what Adam had said about not being able to tell me everything about their techniques.
A couple chimed in at the same time. “Hey Dennis, didn’t you see those Cessnas circling slowly above us about 15 minutes before the agents showed up? You don’t think they were just sightseeing, do you?”
In retrospect it made sense. And I was glad to see the officers out checking. Plugged guns are safer than unplugged guns; adhering to limits means game populations can remain strong, and license fees help fund the management work of the Fish and Wildlife Division. Hearing that officers are out and about helps keep hunters tuned to the laws.
