I first spotted him in 1972, he was 400 to 500 yards away up 150 feet pounding on a old dead pine. It sounded like someone hitting a dead log with a ball peen hammer. He was magnificent, to a young boys eyes he appeared to be over two feat tall with a wing span over six feet. I had to have him and his red head for my fly tying kit no matter what he tasted like. I figured I could choke him down even if he tasted like brussel sprouts. At the time I was let loose on the squirrels with a old savage over and under and a pocket full of 22s. Wasn't allowed any .410 shells but was sure even elephants would fall from that mighty bore. That year and many years to come he had me trapesing back and forth a half mile between two stands of dead trees. He could make the journey with 9 or 10 flaps of his wings, laughing at me as he went by. I on the other hand had a nasty trip of briers, brush and swamp. His brown wife would sit withend 30 yards of me laughing but she was useless. When I graduated to a winchester 62 pump 22 his teasing tactics stayed the same He would sit pounding when I was atleast 200 yards away with the occastional fly by at 15 feet going 100 miles per hour. When I got an 870 12gauge he started sitting 75 to 100 yards away but gave up on the flybys. I bought a Ruger Target 223 for groundhogs and he always stayed on the back side off trees but intensified his laughing fly bys; I was better off with the 22 pump atleast with it I was able to get off a couple of shots a year as he flew by mocking me. One day about 10 years ago I was stopped by my Grandfather as I walked thru the field towards the woods, He asked me where I was going because nothing was in season. I replied that I was going back to the swamp to show that pileated my latest gun. I had gotten good with this gun since I got it, even picking off a few crows in flight, it made steel chickens and pigs fly with almost every pull of the trigger. Turkeys and Rams had less than a 50/50 chance and were flying with more regularity every day. I Imagine I was about a thousand yards out when he peeked his redhead around a tree and said to himself " Hum, a Ruger 10/22 T glass bedded to a Fagen thumbhole stock, Volquartsen hammer and sear,Tasco 6-24 scope and two 25 round banana clips stuck together, I'm old and tired of this bum so I'll just stay out of sight. Last year while sitting on my deer stand, low and behold there he was pounding away at 80 yards; crows had been puffed at twice that with the Contender and 6mm TCU Bullberry barrel I was holding. The crosshairs alined perfectly and the squeeze was perfect, the Contender clicked, I smiled very happy as I broke the action to get the trigger to reset, The day was perfect and I sat there daydreaming about teaching a grandson to tie flies and shoot and sicking him on my friend's grandson with that same Savage. Maybe I will get to ask my grandson what woodpecker tastes like but my money is on the bird.
