doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com 57 days to the grouse opener...

I know the events in the news lately are "gripping" (even for those of us who try to ignore it all) but we seem to be losing track of a far-more important deadline (at least from my clearly humble perspective). Focusing on politics is a sure-fire way to become downright miserable anymore, and the media-types count on that rather morbid-fascination to help them sell airtime. We are all (for the most part) powerless to really do anything about it now. Getting worked-up over it seems a poor-use of resources IMHO. Focusing on the time you have left to enjoy your days afield seems far-more practical and useful to me.

Are you walking regularly now to build stamina? I know the heat of summer is upon us but...early mornings now is the time to get out there and trim things up a bit. Are you eating (& drinking?) with an eye towards your physical condition in September/October? Do you have any pending medical (or dental) procedures that you need to get out of the way? Your physical plant is far-more important to your enjoyment this Fall than your guns are. Is your physician on-board with your plans to hunt this year? Are your eyes up to the task at hand or do you need a consultation?

Speaking of guns...are yours truly-ready for the fall seasons? Any last-minute work that needs to be completed? (gunsmiths tend to get really-busy in August) Is the rest of your gear up to the task (boots, hunting clothes/coats, shooting gloves, eyewear)? Have you secured proper ammunition for your weapon of choice? (RST informs me that they are at the ready.) Have you added guns to your lineup that might displace your regular upland options? Have you properly function-checked them and then shot them enough to be effective? Have you patterned them with your ammunition of choice?

Lots of fun things to contemplate if you think about it. Put down that damn cellphone, turn off your computer (or TV) and get on with it. I guarantee that you'll be much happier for it.

Things are looking very good for Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Easy winter, early spring, plenty of bugs, it should be as good as last year which was one of the highest drumming count years since the early 1970s.

Lloyd, I typically agree with you at least 98% of the time... but disagree with your premise here.

This is no time to take our eyes off of the political ball, no matter how discouraging and disgusting it can be at times. I can multi-task very well. I can work at home and at my job, pay my bills with Biden inflated dollars, maintain my vehicles, mow my lawn and field, and have some fun times too. If we were having frosty nights and the leaves were turning colors right now, I could gather up my guns and gear and be ready to go grouse hunting tomorrow. If my favorite double needed repairs, I would have many others to fall back on, and have plenty of ammo to use in them, in everything from .410 to 10 gauge. My gear is always ready too, and the only thing that needs to be done is to give my hunting clothes, boots, and socks a fresh treatment with .5% permethrin to prevent ticks.

My job is technical in nature, but also requires plenty of physical activity that helps me to stay in shape. I am always reminded when I start hunting in earnest that you can walk miles every day on pavement and concrete, but you use an entirely different set of muscles when climbing hills in the woods, or slogging through briars and tall weeds. So yeah, it helps a lot to do some woods walking before actually doing full days of hard hunting. Getting out to hunt for mushrooms or ginseng, hiking off of groomed trails, or pre-season scouting activities helps a lot. Walking around the neighborhood streets won't be enough. Taking magnesium citrate and turmeric/curcumin supplements helps with those leg muscles that may cramp up from not being used much of the year.

The last time I was dragging my deer out of the woods, it was already after dark. I stopped to take a breather, saw I had a cell phone signal, so I called my daughter. She asked what I was up to, and I told her I was taking a coronary stress test. In a panicked voice, she asked what happened. I told her to calm down, but I had gotten my deer, and was doing the hard work of dragging it to my truck. Dragging many large tarp loads of wet leaves into the woods in the Fall helps prepare for dragging a buck. For most of us, hunting is not a sedentary activity, so we do need to stay in decent shape, and have our regular Physician check-ups. It might be nice to die in the woods doing something I love, but not just yet.

However, I plan to remain fully engaged, involved, and informed in this election until Inauguration Day, at least. We have spent most of our lives in a battle with anti-gun Democrats who constantly seek new and creative ways to limit, infringe, or totally eliminate our 2nd Amendment and hunting rights. When we were young, there were still at least a few Democrats that would support their constituents gun rights. Michigan Democrat Senator John Dingell was very pro-gun, and was even an NRA Board Member. But those days are over. Now even formerly solid pro-gun Democrats like W. Va. Sen. Joe Manchin have turned against us. Sen. John Dingell's Democrat Senator daughter and virtually all of her fellow Democrat Senators and Congressmen now vote against our 2nd Amendment Right in virtual lock-step. And unfortunately, there are some Republicans that need to be replaced as well. When my former Republican Senator Pat Toomey chose to side with anti-gun Democrats, I stopped voting for him, and contacted his office to let him know I would now campaign for any pro-gun candidate to replace him.

This election is even worse, in terms of the hard work we must do to prevent the Liberal Left from turning this Nation into something that would have the vast majority of previous generations turning in their graves. We quickly went from calls for equal rights for women, minorities, and LGBTQ people to a warped culture that blames white Conservative males for every evil ever perpetrated in human history. The Left swinging pendulum is now a wrecking ball that wants to take guns, stifle free speech, and weaponize the Justice System. What started out as innocent calls to recognize gay civil unions has morphed into a perverted grooming of children by emasculating boys, allowing perverted and mentally ill biological males to compete in girl's sports, and invade women's bathrooms and locker rooms. They are preventing parents from knowing about Transgender indoctrination of their own kids in schools. Dressing Boy Scouts in Pink Camo shirts is absolutely not Scouting as we knew it, and is not as benign as some Liberal Left wacko's would have us believe. They open our borders and flood the Nation with Illegal aliens to overburden and replace our culture. Where they see they can't win by ratifying Constitutional Amendments, they will destroy the entire Constitutional legal process via things like stacking the Supreme Court to get the results they demand. Though millions of foreigners flock to come here, they feel America is inherently evil, and must be radically changed.

It would sure be nice to just turn off the television, dream about grouse hunting, and wish it would all go away. But Kamala Harris was picked as the most extreme Left U.S. Senator, even further Left than Bernie Sanders. If we sit back and let this election get away, we will all be a large step closer to losing not only our gun and hunting rights, but the soul of the Nation. We have our work cut out for us. The same Democrat leaders and Liberal Left Media who were concerned a few months ago that she was so inept and unpopular that Biden should replace her on the ticket are now lying to us again, and saying she did a wonderful job, and is the best choice imaginable. The inept Kalifornia Senator who couldn't win a single delegate in the 2020 Primary has been anointed in a totally undemocratic process. The sheep who believed their lies that Joe Biden was cogent, effective, and better than ever will swallow the new lies. I saw a Facebook post today from a nice loving Liberal who was sorry Donald Trump wasn't killed, but happy that at least one of his supporters died, and won't be voting for him. This movement is way too sick to ignore.

I will be ready for hunting season, same as always. But I will also keep engaging like minded friends, relatives, and co-workers (and everyone here) to get involved. Make sure you are registered to vote, contact your representatives to demand Voter I.D. and other election security measures, volunteer to become a poll monitor, etc. Last week, I texted one friend who moved to another state, reminding him he might have a deadline to register to vote in his new state. He had forgotten and thanked me, and said he would remind his kids too. When elections are won or lost by large numbers of dead people voting, we need to get out every vote possible, and FIGHT like Donald Trump asked us to, immediately after being shot.

https://protectthevote.com

CZ: Northern Minnesota had a lot of rain and cold during the "critical period" (according to my local expert) up at our place this June. I do hope it wasn't enough to totally interrupt the clutching process. Some more birds-of-the-year would be very nice to see again.

I have another small conundrum to consider as I have several guns now that I'm really looking-forward to using this Fall (and each is quite different from the other). I'll lead-off with my usual go-to, my long & light Brummie 16, but...there is another long & very-light Damascus Brummie BLE (my son's) in 12 (which is only like 3-ounces heavier than the 16!) and then there is, of course, a long & light(er) Lang Damascus hammer 12. My brother is also clearly interested in trying out a (somewhat heavier) 1901 Smith hammergun on some birds (as am I) that I've been having a good time with on the local clays courses, so... yet-another pile of ancient doubles to haul across the vast Midwest (along with the usual [& substantial] magazine of appropriate ammo for each). A good problem to have, eh?

Now, if I can just get this bum ankle of mine to finally quit bugging me long enough to get-in some real long & brisk walks here...

Lloyd,
52 days until Grousemas here in Michigan! At 77, I'm already preparing for a hopefully good season. Gun and shells ready, just working on my fitness as you suggested. Hoping to make it to the U.P. with CZ, and spend some time in Gladwin as well.
Looking forward to "Come October" helps to stabilize and ground my everyday life as you suggest! Looking forward to this coming season's game pictures as well!
Karl

Hang in there Karl, we'll both hopefully make it another good year. You and CZ should have a great time!

I'm with you, Lloyd! Dove opener in VA only 39 days off, and this year I'm taking my first trip to northern WI to see if my Boykin and I can find a few grouse, having found none at all here in VA mountains the past couple of years. The pup is always ready, and I have been flailing a treadmill with my creaky bones so that I will be able to keep up with him. Briley is shipping my gun back to me today, having opened the full choked left barrel to LM (.015) to better complement the cylinder bored right barrel. It is quite the beater, a 16 gauge English made gun proofed in Birmingham between 1925 and 1954. Engraved on the rib is "H & TC Godfrey of Saffron Walden," which my research suggests was an iron monger (hardware store) where it was initially sold. Got it from Kirby Hoyt's "Rust and Dust" listings, well used but nicely functional and worked well on our VA woodcock last year. I still need to load a few more 2.5 inch Cheddite hulls, but I have plenty of time for that.
The pup and I have a room booked in a dog friendly motel in Park Falls October 7-17, I have been studying on-line maps, and my wife may even join us for some or all of our Wisconsin adventure.
Now that nobody is "ridin' with Biden" anymore, it's time to focus on the really important business of the fall: birds!

Keith, I get it. This will be a hard-fought election and will likely go down to the wire. I will vote my conscience and explain my opinions to anybody willing to listen, but....the "squishy center" here simply can't be very big anymore. Most folks have already made up their minds and are simply biding their time. I'll be darn disappointed if it doesn't go the way I want but I'm done getting worked-up about it all. I've got better things to do.

Made it out to the club today, Lloyd, shot with a guy I work with who is far out of my league, but, good enough to invite me along. Felt the rust coming out of my swing, shot two respectable rounds with a gun I’ve never hunted with, a 1956 A5 Standard 16. I still shoot the single sighting plane guns better than the other stuff, which, I don’t like, but, at least I can shoot, even if it is right handed.

Plenty of bike riding this summer. Hoping I’ll be ready when you are.

Best,
Ted

I agree! I am going to start getting in better shape, too. And eating better. I took my dog out to the shoot at my club yesterday and let my dog lay between two trap pads while 10 guys competed. I love seeing the pictures of you gentlemen who hunt and bring home the birds. I've never seen a grouse in my life, so I really envy you. Let's forget the politics and keep it to ourselves. I think we have shown the hard feelings it causes and you win nothing from bickering back and forth. And thanks to you guys who post the tremendous pictures! We hope you keep them coming. Take care and good luck with the hunting!