Seasonal Reminder - Hunting Seasons Upon Us

Here we are again, it is the end of the summer and fall is coming on strong and will be here before you know it. In a lot of the USA that means hunting seasons are beginning or are soon to begin. I do the great majority of my hunting in October through November but may get some squirrel hunting done before this month is up. The thing is though, I won't be able to shoot a darned thing unless I get to the range soon to sight in the two rifles on which I just mounted scopes. I need to give myself a good kick in the pants to get myself going sometimes but I figure I am doing okay this year since I already scoped them. I would have gone to sight them in this coming weekend but for the fact I am flying down to West Palm Beach in FL tomorrow for several days. I figure that on the weekend following my return, Brendan and I will be at the range on Saturday.

You ought to be figuring likewise if you are a hunter too. That is unless you have already gotten a jump on it all by getting your gear prepared well ahead of time. For those of you who have not done so this is a friendly reminder that hunting season will be on you sooner that you know it if you don't start getting ready now. Some of the things I do to my firearms, in preparation for the hunt, are inspect them for damage, rust, proper function. Then I address any problems and if none I clean and lubricate them. I mount scopes on those rifles on which I will use them. Then a trip to the range is in order - whether the firearm is scoped or not. As a matter of fact, the more range trips the better, in my opinion. Several trips to the range are usually the regular course of business for Brendan and I in anticipation of a hunt. As we shoot scoped rifles, I make sure the scope ring and mount screws all remained tight. Of course, after shooting all that practice ammo (the same exact ammo with which we will hunt is all we use for practice) it will again be time to give the firearms a good cleaning and lubrication, and to again make sure all the scope ring and scope mount screws stayed fastened tightly and so on. Then I store them away safely where they will not get bumped, fall over or whatever else could jar the scopes.

I mentioned ammo up above didn't I. Before you start all this practice, it would be a good idea to make sure you have a sufficient amount of ammo on hand for the practice as well as for the hunt. As I said, I use the same ammo for practice as I do for my hunting. I even try to use only ammo from matching lots. No surprises that way, it should all fire the same.

I also have already started to stock up on some gear and accessories I will be depending on during the season. I bought my deer lure already, picked up some hunter orange trail marking tape, and got some high quality waterproof matches, along with some other things. In addition I have been checking on the gear I normally bring along, making sure I have it all and that it is all in good condition. About the only things I still need to purchase are some hunter's detergent and some trail food items like snack bars.

Most importantly, I already ordered, paid for and have received our hunting licenses for Brendan and myself. Because I got them early we also got the deer management permits in the zones in which we wanted them and each got 2 DMPs at that! We have not been quite that lucky in years.

As for actual hunting, I have been upstate to scout out a few good hunting places. I need to go again a couple or few times more and hopefully I will get to do that too before the season arrives. Maybe I'll be able to bag a few squirrels while we are at it. Did I say we? Hopefully Brendan will come along on at least one scouting trip this year, he is not the best at coming along on them.

I have been getting all this done for a couple to a few weeks now, that is a good thing. Waiting until the last minute to do all this stuff just assures that I will wind up moody, hurried, aggravated, annoyed, pissed off and darned cranky. Doing it now usually eliminates at least pissed off.

All the best,
Glenn B

Southbound...

...to FL for the next several days. Maybe get in some fishing, maybe some herping, maybe some shooting. I'll be around West Palm Beach - if you see me - be nice and maybe I'll buy you a beer.

All the best,
Glenn B

Prvi Partisan .303 British SP BT 180 gr Ammunition

I have 100 rounds of this stuff. It is brass cased, boxer primed non-corrosive. I bought it a couple of months back when ordered an Enfield. After sending the first one back for an exchange, then the second one back for a refund, I got stuck with this stuff that I had bought in anticipation of shooting fun. Now it is just sitting around collecting dust so I am looking to offload it. It will only be disposed of legally to someone 18 years old or older. If interested, go to my profile and click on the email link to contact me.

All the best,
Glenn B