Page 9 - 2020 November/December Outdoor Oklahoma Magazine

It was the last day of quail season — Feb. 15, 2019 —
when a note showed up in my computer inbox at the
Wildlife Department. Another suggestion for a “great Don P. Brown/oDwC
Outdoor Oklahoma story.” I get several dozen of these
notes every year.
As I began thinking of a nice “no promises” reply,
something in the message flagged me. Maybe I need to
look at this again.
“We hate to see Feb. 15 come to an end,” wrote Jeremy
Johnson, referring to the day that quail season closes
each year. “My 73-year-old dad bagged his 4,322nd bird
today (in) his quail hunting career. Makes the 1,500 quail
I’ve killed seem like a drop in the bucket,” Jeremy wrote.
“He’s the real deal, a wonderful dad, and a wonderful
quail hunter. … He’s a little slower these days but quite
excited for November this year!”
Now, I’ve heard all sorts of stories about how passion-
ate this hunter or that angler is. But here’s a man who
can prove his passion, because he’s spent nearly five
decades keeping a record of every quail he’s harvested.
With quail hunting taking such a dip in recent decades,
I knew I wanted to meet this “old-time bird hunter” who
never gave up. So, it was time for a trip to rural Osage
County to pay a friendly visit to Jim Johnson.
No Place Like Home
The morning I drove into the gravel driveway of the
Johnson’s quaint country house, I first noticed three
dogs trotting out to greet me. Bird dogs, sure enough. Jim and Jan Johnson have welcomed folks to their rural Osage
Following closely behind was a smiling older gentleman. County home for nearly 50 years.
“Welcome. I’m Jim Johnson,” he said with a big smile. So, we began to visit. Jim went into the Army after
“Come on in and meet my wife, Jan.” I learned they high school, and that’s when he and Jan met in Texas.
have been married 52 years and have three sons and a “I told her, before we were married, ‘Now listen, I hunt.’
daughter, all of their names beginning with the letter J. And she said that’s no problem.” Turns out Jan grew up
10 miles out in the country, just as Jim had, so she knew
JErEMY JoHnSon/CoUrTESY but was great at staying home and raising kids. “And
all about a hunter’s lifestyle. She agreed she’s no hunter

she’s an excellent quail cook; they’re just so delicious,”
Jim said.
He told me that he retired about six years ago from
a longtime career as a public schoolteacher, principal
and administrator with Barnsdall, Wynona, Prue and
Fairfax. And for 12 years, he’s pastored the Nazarene
church in Barnsdall. He’d started out married life with
a teaching job, but saw an opportunity to earn more
pay and joined an oil company as a safety man. That job
took the couple to western Oklahoma for a couple of
years, but Jim always wanted to return to his old stomp-
ing grounds in Osage County, where he was raised.
When his company wanted to send him out of state, Jim
decided to make a change.

Hunting Began Early
Jim chose to fall back on his education degree from
Northeastern Oklahoma State University, move back
east, and take a sizable pay cut to teach school. The
Jim Johnson holds quail No. 4,000 in this photo taken Dec. 23, 2016. couple moved into the house in which Jim was raised.
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