Where Have All The Woodsmen Gone?I must admit I am a romanticist. I grew up being infatuated with famed woodsmen like Daniel Boone or Davey Crockett, and fictitious characters like Arny, the grizzled frontiersmen in the book INDIANFUR. Nowadays when I watch shows on TV about hunting, fishing, and the great outdoors all I see are Read More of the Story…
Beagles and Bunnies on a Winter Day….Up from the grassy willow swamp and through the jack pines came a long bawling howl. A beagle had just discovered the trail of a scampering snowshoe hare. Within seconds, the bawling of the hound was joined by two other beagles that caught wind of the hare and were hot on its trail.
The howling of the beagles came and went as the dogs chased the snowshoe hare Read More of the Story…
Starting It All Over Again…The season of the year has been changing and so has most hunters attitude. You can feel it approach like a wave of excitement, building and then crashing all around you. The cool nights, a brisk northwest breeze, leaves changing colors and shorter days. The start of Fall and most importantly to us, Fall Hunting. The time spent Read More of the Story…
Fall.. The Nostalgic SeasonAnyone who loves the outdoors could announce the arrival of fall without ever consulting a calendar. Just think about it for a moment. Don’t the winds and cool evenings of early September have a certain briskness that brings visions of trees in a riot of colors and flocks of birds hording in groups in preparation of a long flight.
Fall is a time for reminiscing. Now, more than ever, you will find folks sitting in a sun warmed spot, Read More of the Story…
Preparing for Fall Hunting SeasonI have discovered, the last few weeks, hunting catalogs in my mail box. Yes, if you look down the road, fall will be rounding the corner, walking at a brisk pace that will bring it quicker than you think.
If there never was a calendar to tell the date, I would know fall is getting closer. I seem to suddenly find more interest in the circling flocks of ducks or geese than the walleyes I’m fishing for. I usually dig out my duck call and see if I can still make it sound like a mallard. Read More of the Story…
Good Bird Hunting Starts NowNo matter how good of a hunter you are you are going to miss a few birds this coming fall. So if you’ve got a certain amount of misses in your system why not get them out now before the season opens?
Towards the end of summer my arms are more used to casting a fishing rod than handling a shotgun. If you don’t believe that go grab the old scattergun from the closet and snap it up to your shoulder a few times. Chances are your swing will be creaky, your eye dim, and the gun won’t come up as smoothly as it did the last time you shot it. Read More of the Story…
There’s Nothing Like A Faithful Old ShotgunToday the gun is worn and shiny, with a deep scar on the pistol grip and a gouge in the metal receiver. These marks are like badges of honor since they were earned in one of nature’s most terrifying phenomenon – a tornado. The in-laws home on Rooseveldt Lake was literally torn from the ground by the killer Outing tornado. Just before the house went over the lake and blew into a zillion pieces, the gun fell out.
Sportsmen have a peculiar tendency to become attached to inanimate pieces of hunting and fishing paraphenalia. Rods and reels, duck boats, fishing lures, duck decoys, many things all become special to their owner. But nothing seems to become a part of outdoorsmen like his pet shotgun.
Think about it. A shotgun has to fit you. It must feel balanced and smooth when you swing it on a bird. When you find a shotgun you like, you keep it and cherish it for years. My first shotgun was purchased with tip money from bussing dishes at a summer resort dinner club. I hated that job, but I hated not having a 12 gauge more. The gun I chose was a Remington 870 Wingmaster, arguably the most popular pump action shotgun of all time. I bought it from my future father-in-law for $65.
The gun is not fancy. It has no ventilated rib or fancy scrollwork, but I sort of grew up with it, and it fits me. Over the years I’ve field tested many new modern shotguns, and most are very impressive. But despite their fancier wood, interchangable choke tubes, 3-inch chambers, and advanced engineering, I shoot better with my old gun.
Each year when I prepare for my first bird hunting trip and take the old Wingmaster from its case, memories come flooding back. With it I shot my first goose up at Thief Lake in northwestern Minnesota. I also got my first pheasant with it – the first ringneck I ever shot at. Then there were the times when a five bluebill limit came with only two shots. And oh, yes, there were the misses. Terrible misses that can only be blamed on the shooter.
It’s no wonder that shotguns have a place in the heart of those that shoot them, especially when you shoot them for many years. You go through good times and bad, nice days and the worst weather in the world. If only most things in life could be as faithful as a shotgun.
