Call me Ahab

posted by Caleb on Aug 15

So I have a new (to me) shotgun. My father in law had a couple of shotguns that he never used that were gathering dust in his attic out on the farm, and figured that I could give them a good home and some good use. One is a single shot break action of indeterminate origin; and the other one, the one I’m most excited about is the Remington 870 in great condition with a really long barrel.

You can click the picture for the fullsize black & white version - which actually looks better in the low light than the color version.  Apparently my stupid cat Malcolm wanted to be in the picture, so he decided that it was going to be all about him.

The 870 has what is probably a 28 inch barrel (really, it’s huge) and a 2 3/4 inch chamber, so no 3 inch magnum loads for me.  I’m actually fine with that latter fact, as I find shooting more than uh, one or two shots with the 3 inch rounds to be manifestly unpleasant after a while.  The thing that really makes me happy about this gun is that now, without spending any money, I have my goose gun.

As previously discussed, the Frankenshotty, being a non-magnum 20 gauge, wasn’t enough gun to “reach out and touch them” when it comes to knocking Canada geese out of the sky, but the 12 gauge, even with 2 3/4 shells is definitely enough gun to bring them down.  I can now finally begin to wage my war on the pooping menace.

posted by Caleb on Apr 24

For deer hunting in Charles City County.

The county Board of Supervisors voted 2-1 last night to prohibit deer hunting with high-powered rifles, drawing anger and raised voices from some in the audience.

One of the members of the county who attended the meeting had the right idea on how to deal with legislators who enact stupid rules - he told them that they would “get them out” next election. The move to ban hunting rifles for deer hunting was driven primarily by hyperbole and bogus concerns of safety.

Opponents of rifle hunting expressed concerns about stray bullets. One suggested that some hunters would be unable to resist shooting a deer even if they were on the ground and not in a tree stand.

Elbert Parker held a piece of inch-thick wood above his head to demonstrate the ease with which a bullet could go through someone’s wall.

“Your children can be shot dead looking at TV in your house,” he said, prompting an argument among him and members of the crowd until board chairman Gilbert A. Smith tapped on a table to quiet them.

Going back to that old standard myth of gun owners being trigger happy, which we know isn’t true. Tossing in a bit of PSH to round out the equation, because nothing says “evil” like a rifle that can shoot through walls.

Normally I wouldn’t berate a county commission for decided that people can’t use rifles to hunt deer - while I think it’s a stupid decision it’s usually not a big deal. However, the kind of tactics that were used to get those rifles banned are the exact same kind of tactics that you see used against “assault weapons” and high capacity magazines. If a rifle is “too dangerous” to hunt deer with, surely it’s too dangerous to have in your house. It establishes a bad precedent, because they’re banning rifles for hunting based purely on emotion and not any legitimate safety concerns.

In situations like this, people often say things to me like “it’s only rifles, they can still hunt with shotguns and muzzleloaders” or other stuff like that. Sure, it’s only rifles now, but next year it might be shotguns, because those big slugs are scawwy, and then who is to say where it stops after that?

Bill Johnson, one of the residents of Charles City County, has it exactly right: “We’re going to get you out next term”. Like I said above, that is exactly what you do in this situation - some county commission thinks they know what’s best, you toss ‘em out on their ear.

posted by Caleb on Apr 24

Was a resounding success, according to Indiana DNR.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources says an experimental Canada goose hunting season was a success and will be repeated over the next two years.

The Canada Goose population is exploding in Indiana, and according to the linked article, DNR is trying to reduce our breeding geese number by about 40,000 geese, which is actually quite a lot. I have mentioned in the past my hatred of Canada Geese as well as my desire to actually hunt them. I missed last fall’s season, and I missed the spring goose season because I’m still in Las Vegas, but this fall I’ll have a shotgun and I’ll finally be ready.

I’m glad that DNR is trying to do something about the local breeding population, around here. I get really tired of geese wandering through the road, hissing at me while I run, and pooping everywhere. I wonder how Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department would feel about me setting up shop next to one of those retention ponds they love…

posted by Caleb on Apr 15

Taking the concept of “up close and personal” a little too far.

Even with no sound, you can almost here the guy saying “ohshitohshitohshitdon’tbreathohshit” from here.

posted by Caleb on Mar 25

More coverage on the “decline” in the shooting sports that you hear about a lot of from anti-gun people.

 

 Our Declining Sport [9:54m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

If the embedded flash player doesn’t play the audio correctly, just hit the link labeled “download” to listen, or you can click this link to download it on iTunes.

posted by Caleb on Feb 26

Once again, the people who tell that our sport/hobby is on the decline are pretty much a bunch of liars.

From NSSF: BACKGROUND CHECKS UP 5.3 PERCENT IN JANUARY

Data released by the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) shows 942,556 checks were reported in January, a 5.3 percent increase from the 894,608 reported in January 2007.

The increase in background checks coincides with an up-tick in excise taxes reported by firearms and ammunition manufacturer

No real way to soft shoe this one; based on the actual statistics from reputable government agencies, firearms sales are on the rise.  The numbers from the FBI only serve to back up the information provided by CSF about the amount of money spent on the shooting/outdoor sports.

Also, those background check numbers don’t include the number of muzzleloaders, ammo, black powder, spare magazines, and all the other various accoutrement that go with new firearms purchases.

Like I’ve said before, the next time some one tries to pull out that “well, the shooting sports are in decline” paper, don’t hesitate to hit ‘em back with actual facts.

posted by Caleb on Feb 21

Global warming will apparently bring Burmese Pythons to YOUR BACKYARD.

No worries, they usually get about 23 feet long and weigh around 200 pounds. I wouldn’t recommend a pistol, unless you’re a great shot, and all those “snake shot” loads won’t get the job done.

A 20 gauge shotgun with #4 or BB shot aimed for the head on the other hand will get the job done. If you’re uncomfortable with birdshot, use a buck load with small pellets, like #3 buck so you get a lot of coverage on the target.

Edit: I crack myself up.

“Maybe this will cut down on the spread of stupid little yip dogs.”

posted by Caleb on Dec 12

That headline is 100% true.

“I whistled at him and he stopped and I said ‘Shoot Tre.’ I said, ‘Tre, you missed the bear.’ He said, ‘Paw-paw, I squeezed the trigger and I didn’t close my eyes. I killed him.’”

I would venture that this five year old has a better understanding of sight picture and trigger control than a lot of adults do.

Of course, this story is going to rouse the usual rabble - both the anti-gun camp (you gave a gun to a five year old?!?!?!) and the bunny huggers (that poor bear!!!) but I think it’s just fantastic. That kid will have a story that he’ll remember for the rest of his life - the time he killed a 450 pound bear when he was five years old.

(Note: edit made because I love typos)

posted by Caleb on Nov 29

That’s all this “I don’t get hunting” editorial is, an appeal to emotion.

Without sounding like a wimp, I simply wish we would care about those creatures we are displacing and not make sport of their plight.

Oh the poor deer!  Whatever will we do about them!  The “plight” of the cloven-hoofed rat, aka white-tailed deer isn’t one of those things that I’m overly concerned about.  I don’t even hunt deer and I think that for all her protestations, this woman ends up sounding like a wimp.

Seriously, the part where says that she doesn’t understand how people can be happy after killing poor Bambi makes her sound like a wimp.   I guess it goes part and parcel with this whole crusade to “respect animals” or something.  Forgetting for the moment that hunters do help control deer populations, and that deer are responsible for more animal related fatalities than any other animal in North America; I still can’t feel sorry for deer.  They’re almost a pest animal in some areas.

posted by Caleb on Nov 28

Today’s specific instruction is on Rule #4: Be sure of your target and what is behind it. The impetus for this comes from Stearns County, Minnesota where a young girl found a bullet hole in her pillow around noon on Sunday.

From reading the article, it sounds like someone with a muzzleloader took a shot that missed its intended target, and it flew for a bit and went through this kid’s bedroom wall and into her pillow.

This is really the sort of thing that really emphasizes to me how important it is to be 100% sure of your target, especially when you’re hunting.  I have seen velocities from a modern inline muzzleloader anywhere from 1500 to 2000 fps, and have heard that some go up to 3000 fps; which is plenty fast enough to go a long way if you miss your mark.

I understand that sometimes you’re going to miss. It’s a fact of hunting that you don’t always make the shot. That’s why it’s extremely important to be sure of your target, and what is behind your target. Just because you think you’re Steven Sniper doesn’t mean that you can’t jerk the trigger and miss that trophy buck.

In related news, Sebastian links to a story from the Washington Times that shows that shotgun hunting isn’t really appreciable safer than rifle hunting. Indiana is a perfect example of this foolishness, actually. You’re not allowed to hunt with a centerfire rifle, but you can use a pistol chambered for a rifle cartridge. So your 12 gauge shotgun, or you TC/Encore .308 pistol are both okay, but not your Remington 30′06.