Dave McCracken
Moderator In Memoriam
Shotgun season starts this morn in Maryland. I spent a few hours yesterday getting things ready. Sometimes preparation is a chore, this was pleasing in most ways.
First, I deep cleaned the TB and put it away. I won''t have much time for clays until after the seasons close. Number 6 and Frankenstein will serve if I need a clays gun, a waterfowler or an upland shotgun. I love versatility.
I did get out for an afternoon during early Muzzleloader season. Most of my stuff is ready to go, just needed to putter around with the shotgun, and some peripherals.
A month ago, I benchrested the 870 I use for slugs and checked the zero. It had drifted little, sticking two slugs a hair left at 50 yards and dropping an inch. I left it alone rather than twiddle with the adjustment screws. For the ranges I'll need it at, this will work well.
I took it home and cleaned it from the muzzle, wiped it down and stored it horizontally to keep lube from oozing into the wood. Yesterday, I checked the tightness of the choke tube, installed the sling, and tied an 18" piece of fly tying floss to the mag extension. It's a wind indicator,and one of the most important parts of my gear. A deer's nose is the equivalent of a 24X scope. We may camo it up until Mom couldn't tell us from a bush, make as little noise as good deeds, but if a deer can wind us, it's gone.
Moving on, I got out a couple knives and touched up the edge with a Lansky hone. I carry too many knives when hunting. Partly that's sentiment. I've some knives that were given to me by friends. Partly that's to justify having all of them. The Helle given to me by a friend does the dressing out very nicely and has awesome steel. I dressed 5 deer with it before I lost my nerve and touched it up. It too will pop hairs off the few patches left on my left forearm. Pop's old Case knife ( A model they still make) takes an edge a razor would envy. A folding Puma given by Rupe goes in the pocket of the heavy wool pants for general pocketknife duty, and luck.
As I finished up the knives, I fell to musing.
Hunting has been a family tradition for a million years or more., By it, we've moved from being one of a dozen or so hominid species shuffling into extinction to the most successful social predator ever. The Hunting Way molded and shaped us. Every facet of what it means to be human has been altered, from our stereoscopic vision to our ability to communicate to our amazing ability to co-operate in times of peril.
No wonder some of us seek the solace of the hunt as a salmon seeks the river of its birth. It's a more natural life, and even a few hours in it can renew us like a draught from an icy cold spring. In a world more cruel, complicated and crazy than we want it to be, it's a holy place that heals. When life caroms between sitcom and soap opera, with or without a little action movie thrown in to skim the gene pool, hunting is a way to gain respite. It's R&R for our very souls.
And when some well meaning ignorami ask, "Why do you hunt?", pity them.....
First, I deep cleaned the TB and put it away. I won''t have much time for clays until after the seasons close. Number 6 and Frankenstein will serve if I need a clays gun, a waterfowler or an upland shotgun. I love versatility.
I did get out for an afternoon during early Muzzleloader season. Most of my stuff is ready to go, just needed to putter around with the shotgun, and some peripherals.
A month ago, I benchrested the 870 I use for slugs and checked the zero. It had drifted little, sticking two slugs a hair left at 50 yards and dropping an inch. I left it alone rather than twiddle with the adjustment screws. For the ranges I'll need it at, this will work well.
I took it home and cleaned it from the muzzle, wiped it down and stored it horizontally to keep lube from oozing into the wood. Yesterday, I checked the tightness of the choke tube, installed the sling, and tied an 18" piece of fly tying floss to the mag extension. It's a wind indicator,and one of the most important parts of my gear. A deer's nose is the equivalent of a 24X scope. We may camo it up until Mom couldn't tell us from a bush, make as little noise as good deeds, but if a deer can wind us, it's gone.
Moving on, I got out a couple knives and touched up the edge with a Lansky hone. I carry too many knives when hunting. Partly that's sentiment. I've some knives that were given to me by friends. Partly that's to justify having all of them. The Helle given to me by a friend does the dressing out very nicely and has awesome steel. I dressed 5 deer with it before I lost my nerve and touched it up. It too will pop hairs off the few patches left on my left forearm. Pop's old Case knife ( A model they still make) takes an edge a razor would envy. A folding Puma given by Rupe goes in the pocket of the heavy wool pants for general pocketknife duty, and luck.
As I finished up the knives, I fell to musing.
Hunting has been a family tradition for a million years or more., By it, we've moved from being one of a dozen or so hominid species shuffling into extinction to the most successful social predator ever. The Hunting Way molded and shaped us. Every facet of what it means to be human has been altered, from our stereoscopic vision to our ability to communicate to our amazing ability to co-operate in times of peril.
No wonder some of us seek the solace of the hunt as a salmon seeks the river of its birth. It's a more natural life, and even a few hours in it can renew us like a draught from an icy cold spring. In a world more cruel, complicated and crazy than we want it to be, it's a holy place that heals. When life caroms between sitcom and soap opera, with or without a little action movie thrown in to skim the gene pool, hunting is a way to gain respite. It's R&R for our very souls.
And when some well meaning ignorami ask, "Why do you hunt?", pity them.....
