Journal Sylver Dragon's Journal: Hunting 3
In case anyone missed it, I enjoy shooting guns. Going out with my Father and Father-in-law target shooting has always been an enjoyable way to spend a Saturday to me. While I do not own my own firearm right now, I do plan to own a couple eventually; mostly a matter of when money permits. Also, there is the fact that I will probably inherit a veritable arsenal of weapons when my Parents and my In-laws check out. My parents own a .22 rifle, a German Ruger (authentic WWII from my grandfather, the barrel needs replacing though, you can almost see your reflection in it where the rifling used to be), and a re-machined German Mauser rifle (My understanding is that the receiver was from an K98k, it had a newly machined barrel and stock fitted on it by my grandfather after he brought it home). My brother may want the .22 since it has some sentimental value to him as he learned to shoot with it in the Boy Scouts, I'll almost certainly end up with the other two. My Father-in-law is even more of a gun enthusiast, he has a several handguns (.44, .357, .22) two shotguns and a number of rifles (FN-FAL, .308, M1 Garand (reproduction)) My Brother-in-law doesn't like guns and I am certain at this point that they will be given to me and my wife when her parents die. Which means that I am going to have to buy a pretty big gun safe by then.
So, this week my Father-in-law asked me if I would go deer hunting with him. He's never been but has been invited by one of his friends (who goes occasionally) to go out next year. My Father-in-law is a bit worried about his friend's health, and does not see himself as being physically able to deal with a problem should one arise (e.g. The guy has a heart attack out in the forest). So, he asked me to go. Also, the friend's son might be going as well and he can be a bit of a loose cannon, I would be there as a counter-balance.
My first reaction was, "I'm not sure." While I do not have a problem with the idea of hunting in general, and I am certainly no stranger to a good cut of venison, I'm not quite sure I could actually kill an animal myself; survival situations excepted (I'm somewhat hypoglycemic, and I know that I have a tendency to be much more aggressive when my blood sugar drops). Like many Americans I have become so detached from the collection of the meat that I eat that I am somewhat squeamish the whole process. Even my Father-in-law is somewhat unsure if he will be able to pull the trigger. I guess Bambi really did have an effect on people. On the other side of this, hunting is used as a method to control the deer population. The alternative is either increasing the number of predetors to keep the population in check, or watching idly as the population outstrips the food supply and the population crashes due to famine. The former is not a good idea as eventually, there will be a lean year and we will have predators coming into population centers to supplement their diet, and those will be necessarily killed. The latter is even more cruel than hunting. Yes I realize the predator issue is really a descendant of the issue of human encroachment on wilderness areas, and I don't see it stopping as our population continues to grow. Though, I am sort of hoping that as we fall below replacement level in births in this country that our population declines.
In the end, I have agreed to go, pending the cost of the trip. It's actually a local trip, but there will be a hotel stay involved and ammunition costs and any other gear and food we need. Also, assuming we actually kill anything we will end up paying for butchering services and possible skinning and tanning for use in making gloves or boots (assuming I kill something I intend to use as much of the carcass as I can. Though no mounted heads or antlers, that's just creepy.) Also, if there is enough horn I have an associate who makes custom knives, and I would probably have a horn handled hunting knife made.
So, this week my Father-in-law asked me if I would go deer hunting with him. He's never been but has been invited by one of his friends (who goes occasionally) to go out next year. My Father-in-law is a bit worried about his friend's health, and does not see himself as being physically able to deal with a problem should one arise (e.g. The guy has a heart attack out in the forest). So, he asked me to go. Also, the friend's son might be going as well and he can be a bit of a loose cannon, I would be there as a counter-balance.
My first reaction was, "I'm not sure." While I do not have a problem with the idea of hunting in general, and I am certainly no stranger to a good cut of venison, I'm not quite sure I could actually kill an animal myself; survival situations excepted (I'm somewhat hypoglycemic, and I know that I have a tendency to be much more aggressive when my blood sugar drops). Like many Americans I have become so detached from the collection of the meat that I eat that I am somewhat squeamish the whole process. Even my Father-in-law is somewhat unsure if he will be able to pull the trigger. I guess Bambi really did have an effect on people. On the other side of this, hunting is used as a method to control the deer population. The alternative is either increasing the number of predetors to keep the population in check, or watching idly as the population outstrips the food supply and the population crashes due to famine. The former is not a good idea as eventually, there will be a lean year and we will have predators coming into population centers to supplement their diet, and those will be necessarily killed. The latter is even more cruel than hunting. Yes I realize the predator issue is really a descendant of the issue of human encroachment on wilderness areas, and I don't see it stopping as our population continues to grow. Though, I am sort of hoping that as we fall below replacement level in births in this country that our population declines.
In the end, I have agreed to go, pending the cost of the trip. It's actually a local trip, but there will be a hotel stay involved and ammunition costs and any other gear and food we need. Also, assuming we actually kill anything we will end up paying for butchering services and possible skinning and tanning for use in making gloves or boots (assuming I kill something I intend to use as much of the carcass as I can. Though no mounted heads or antlers, that's just creepy.) Also, if there is enough horn I have an associate who makes custom knives, and I would probably have a horn handled hunting knife made.
Gun Safe (Score:2)
As for hunting, I also don't know whether or not I can pull the trigger, but would like to go hunting in the next few years with my uncle-in-law. Mainly because he is an avid outdoorsman and knows how to survive in the wild with next to nothi
Re: (Score:2)
I agree on the learning stuff when you can bit. My Father-in-law has promised to sit me down and teach me the ins and outs of reloading my own shells as well. Granted, he uses a reloading machine, so much of the work is done for you, but it still something that I would like to know.
Re: (Score:2)