Page 10 - 2020 November/December Outdoor Oklahoma Magazine

Don P. Brown/oDwC They have lived in his childhood home for almost a
half-century. Jim has plenty of great memories growing
up in the country.
“When I hunted here in those days, it was complete-
ly different.
“When I was a boy, I’d walk out on the porch with my
shotgun, I’d call my dogs. … I’d walk in any direction and
they would let a kid go hunting.” While the habitat near
his place hasn’t changed much, he said nowadays hunt-
ing permission is mainly limited to those who can afford
to lease private land.
Now, Jim has created his own “he shed” outside the
house, where a lifetime of hunting and ranching mem-
orabilia is neatly arranged, and where he enjoys some
quiet time reading and daydreaming. And passing the
time until the next bird season.
Writing to Remember
It was 1975 when the avid quail hunter began to
emerge in Jim Johnson. He was teaching at Prue when a
student gifted him a bird dog. Before then, Jim said he
maybe had bagged 200 quail total in his life. It wouldn’t
be long before he would be getting that many birds in
just one season. That’s a fact, because 1975 was also
the year Jim began keeping his hunting journal.
Avid bird hunter Jim Johnson, 74, began keeping his hunting journal
in 1975. He’s scored more than 4,300 quail so far, and he doesn’t “When I got that first bird dog, I always loved it,” he
plan to slow down anytime soon. said, referring to quail hunting. “It got to be that’s what
Don P. Brown/oDwC

The journal entry logging Jim Johnson’s 4,000th quail harvested on Dec. 23, 2016. For the year, he took 146 quail.
8 OUTDOOR OKLAHOMA

10/16/20 9:00 AM
OutdoorOK-2020-November-December.indd 8
OutdoorOK-2020-November-December.indd 8 10/16/20 9:00 AM