Chiles opens tourist season with a bang

by Jon Worley

ST. PETERSBURG--Gov. Lawton Chiles followed a 50-year tradition and opened the Thanksgiving festivities by bagging the first buck of tourist season.
At 5:44 a.m. in the parking lot of the St. Petersburg Hilton, Chiles pulled out a specially modified 30-.06 and drew a bead on Walter Compton.
Compton, an 87-year-old Canadian retiree, was busy waxing his car. He hadn't put on his hearing aid, and thus didn't hear the excited buzzing of the governor's entourage. A moment later, a shot rang out and Chiles had done his duty.
"Usually I wing them with the first shot," Chiles said, beaming into the sunrise. "But this one just sat there. I thought all the noise I made assembling and loading the rifle might spook him, but apparently he was pretty deaf. Still, he'll make a nice trophy for the governor's mansion."
A couple years ago, a few liberal elements in the legislature wanted to curtail the season, citing the poaching incidents at interstate rest stops. "We were afraid the tourists might become an endangered species," said Peter "Rudy" Wallace, former speaker of the house. "But those Europeans keep migrating for the season, so I guess we were wrong. And, geez, even if every hunter with a license bagged his limit, there's no way we could eradicate the Canadians."
Tourist season was inaugurated back in the early 1920s, when the first baseball teams came south to train before the regular season. Dub Melvin's grandfather was one of the pioneers.
"Grampa Dabby told me about this one yankee he got at the Miller Huggins complex at Crescent Lake in St. Pete," Melvin said. "The guy was sitting there, sipping from a silver flask. Right pissed him off, so he hauled his twelve gauge out of his model A and just popped him off the bleachers. He told me Babe Ruth was batting at the time, and his shot caused the Babe to miss a pitch.
"As you know, the Babe could be a bit excitable. He trotted over to the fence and hollered at Grampa Dabby. My Grampa invited him over to the house to sample some of his southern barbecue. That night the Babe ate most of the yankee and a whole bunch of cole slaw. My Gramma made it in these monster-size jars and let it pickle a whole week. He must've had a gallon or two. And then every year until he retired the Babe would always come over and take a few meals at my Grampa and Gramma's."
Most hunters have heartwarming tales like that to share. But these days, the old time hunters may be getting crowded out. Jeb Prescott has been hunting tourists for almost 30 years. He said the population just keeps rising, despite a large increase in licenses over the past 10 years.
"I used to set up at a little spot right off the Disney World exit on I-4," Prescott said. "But that's way too popular these days. It's kinda like shooting ducks from a blind, and I just don't like that feeling. I've gotten into tracking an individual. After I've spent a couple days with my target, following the blood from the wounds, I start to get a feel for my prey. It's really a spiritual high."
This year, a tourist license in Florida for a state resident costs $158.56, and each hunter can buy up to three tags at a price of $23.73 apiece. When you factor in ammo, gas, meals and a trip to Sea World, the price of an average family hunting vacation can really add up.
"I remember when I could bring my wife and kids down to some real fertile tourist traps out by the Don Cesar hotel," said Dale Wheedon. "The whole trip cost about five hundred bucks, you know? Hell, today that won't even cover license and tags for me and Erma. All you see these days are yuppies out for a thrill. It's enough to make a cracker sick."
The increased popularity of sport utility vehicles has brought a whole new hunting technique into play: the pack run. A group of five or six hunters will roam around Fort Myers, Venice, St. Petersburg or other such tourist centers, looking for an appropriate target. When a car with Canadian plates, usually from Ontario (though les Quebecois are considered a delicacy by some), is spotted, the driver maneuvers into a position behind the target. A warning shot usually sets the prey into motion, and the chase in on.
Once the car is disabled, the hunters usually prefer to allow the prey a bit of a head start. But even that sportsmanship is starting to go out the window.
"It really bothers me," said hunter Elvis Grishnackh. "There has to be some skill involved to make me happy. But the technology has gotten so good, I understand how some folks get tempted, particularly if they're new to the sport."
Indeed, some legislators are planning on introducing bills that would curtail pack hunting, if not ban the practice completely. The NRA is not amused.
Bob Cocksure, president of the Pinellas County NRA chapter, said his organization would not stand for any unnecessary regulation of tourist hunting.
"This is a proud Floridian tradition. I know I moved here in part because of the sheer exhilaration of a hunt I participated in while on spring break from Liberty University. I bagged a Romanian, one of only four taken that year. God, what a rush!"
Tourist season runs from Thanksgiving through Easter. Licenses can be obtained at any county tax center or Wal-Mart.

--reprinted with the permission of the St. Petersburg Elitist newspaper

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