One thing that I used to do with this friend is share a love for guns. This is the same guy that I used to go to the range with and target shoot. Sadly he went through a rough spot and had to sell off all of his guns, but times are getting better and one thing we did was stop by Dick's sporting goods and pick up his newly purchased shotgun.
Now, the guns he had previously were for 'fun'. A long rifle that could shoot fairly acurately at 500 yards, a couple hand guns, and various other rifles. But this purchase is for a more specific purpose... hunting.
You see, a few years ago we took our first hunting trip together. Neither of us had any great desire to 'bag a buck', but we did want to get away from everything and hunting seemed like the best reason to do so. Lemme tell you... hunting with a rifle designed for accuracy at long distance is NOT the best thing. First, we were hunting in a national forest. It would be difficult to see a dear over 50 yards away. So the weight and length of this rifle actually worked against us. But we still got to set up camp, build a fire, drink our instant coffee and have a great time.
This year we are planning a second trip. Our first goal of this trip is to correct all the problems from the first one. The biggest problem was sleeping outside. We had sleeping bags and sleeping mats... we had a fire... we had a tent... but it was still damned cold. At best guess it got down to about 35 degrees. The fire obviously had to be outside the tent so the only heat would be our own bodies. Now if we had a smallish two or three person tent we probably would have been fine. Our tent was designed for 10 people. Sure, we had space enough to keep everything inside, but it was to much space to heat up with our bodies. The entire night was spent sleeping just long enough to get cold and then waking up shivering.
So this year he has a new idea... hammocks. Stay with me on this. A hammock will keep us up off the ground, so we won't have to worry about that bone chilling factor. He's devised a method of hanging a 'blanket' under the hammock (the 'blanket' is actually un-sewn poncho material stuffed with down) that will keep the bottom from getting cold in the wind. We'll be in sleeping bags, and the whole hammock will be covered with a tarp (making it look like a tent). Each hammock should offer us the chance to keep warm and get more than 20 minutes of sleep.
Next up is the hunting gear itself. The guns. We both have a deep respect for guns and know that at the end of the day they are tools to be used. Taking out targeting rifles is a missuse of a tool. It's like using a sledge hammer to knock in finishing nails. Sure... the nails get in but it's difficult. So this time he's getting a shoty. And not some expensive, fancy, ultra precise model. This is a gun that will go to the range only long enough to line up the sights. We both know we can shoot well enough to hit our target, we just need a gun that will be easy to carry, easy to shoot, and won't break down.
So when he went into Dick's, I stayed out in the car with his sleeping toddler. When he came back out he was toting the box for a Mossberg 500 combo. Mossberg is the 'Ford F-150' of guns. They're everywhere. They're durable. They're reliable. The military exclusively uses a variant of this gun. The other 'every day' shotgun is the Remington 870... that's the one that most police forces use.
When I heard about the price he paid I was ready to get one of my own. You see a good shot gun normally goes for about $350. That's your plain jane shotty. The one that my friend bought was the combo version... it has two interchangeable barrels, one for shooting rifled slugs or standard 'shot' containing cartridges. And what did he pay for this? $299. If it wasn't for the kids and the fact that me going in and filling out the paper work would take an hour or more, I would have bought one too.
Sadly we didn't have the opportunity this weekend to get one, otherwise I'd be talking about my new gun. My first gun. I always pictured my first gun being for 'fun'. Something that would be great to take out target shooting and really nothing else. But since my friend only has the one gun now, if we want to make a real go of hunting, I'll need to pick up something more appropriate.
Hopefully I'll get this same gun soon. But in all honesty I hope to only shoot it in fun. It would be more or less an 'excuse' to go out and have a good 'hunting' trip with a close friend. Sure.. if I see a dear in my sights and can take the shot I'll do it. I have respect for animals, but no great love for them. Killing one for sport doesn't bother me. What does bother me is making sure I kill it clean (I wouldn't want to injure it, have it run away and then suffer while it dies slowly), and then 'cleaning' the carcass. That's just nasty.
Although having a lot of venison is a good bonus.
I've never gone camping or hunting, but I do have a gun. (It's an old one and it belonged to my dad, no idea what it is, because he doesn't know... ) Mostly use it for protection around the house, what with all of the break in's and people killing our dogs in the backyard. Some times have it placed on the wall for easy access, or next to me at night just in case.
ReplyDeleteI know that bren from the haven went on camping trips a lot, don't know how she feels about hunting. But, if she's still around, she might know how to keep warm out in the woods.
I had venison once, and while I'm not exactly sure how it was prepared, (had a red sauce on it) It was very good. I wouldn't go hunting my self, but that is pretty good meat.
My family has a few older guns as well. Oddly enough we have a pump action .22 and a bolt action shotgun. Both are of the 'ancient' variety and while the .22 shoots well enough I don't think I'm a good enough of a shot to kill a deer with it. I'd really hate it if I would take a shot and only wound a deer. The other gun we have is an auto loading shotgun that my grandmother used (Grandma hauled around a 12 gauge!). She bagged plenty of deer with it, but the gun now has the uncanny ability to fire once and then lock up.
DeleteAs for the venison... my plan for the meat would be to give it to my buddy. My three fave ways to eat venison is sausage (a local meat packer makes a great venison sausage), steaks (grilled on an open flame of course!) and burgers. Mmmm.... Venison burgers!
Well, you know .. if you go hunting and don't actually shoot an animal .. its called CAMPING .. and its a lot of fun!
ReplyDeleteFor the cold, I prefer 'adirondack' cabins which they had at the scout camp I used to attend. I'm not sure of the official name but they work really well in the fall/winter seasons.
Its 3 walls and a roof that starts out tall and slopes downward jutting out past where the 4th wall would be by 5-6 feet until its only about 4 feet off the ground. Right there underneath the roof is a half barrel for a fire. The floor is about 3-4 feet off the ground so most animals won't bunk with you while you are sleeping.
The heat from the fire rises and circulates really well around the "cabin" and I've been in some where it was 20 degrees at night and I had to sleep pretty much naked in my sleeping bag due to how warm it was in there!
Its pretty hard to ever really keep a tent warm unless you've got an old fashioned military canvas tent. Once they are fireproofed, you could put a heater in there and keep yourself toasty! Not that I recommend it, but one of the counselors I knew had somehow killed a boar(!) and turned one of those old canvas tents into a smokehouse! Damn good meat!
Camping.... ick. As a whole I don't like the outside. Camping to me is going outside and hanging out with friends. If that was the plan, then I'd just rather do that inside. So... hunting to me is the reason to go out. It adds that extra level of planning (method of killing prey, finding a suitable location to hunt prey, ability to dress and transport the kill) that I enjoy. If we go out and don't kill anything... yes that may well be camping. But calling it and treating it like hunting gives me the incentive to do it!
ReplyDeleteThose cabins sound amazing. They would certainly be something to look for after finding/making a hide and sitting in it quietly for a few cold hours.