The end of August already? This has been a busy month and a half here. And a sad one. In June, my brother underwent surgery and had to go back in July after some complications. And all this while his wife was dying of cancer. Liz lost her battle in early August, much later than anyone expected. We held a wake for the Irish side of the family and it was the first time in over 25 years I saw my brother get totally hammered.
During this trip down memory lane, I was coerced into retelling a story from years past about a handgun hunt with some friends. Mostly this was for the nephews and friends met since then. It's odd how you put things out of your mind until something like this brings it up again.
Two friends of mine had purchased .44 Magnums, a Ruger single-action and a S&W Model 29. After a month or so, another friend, Mike, who is an experienced hunter, suggested we take our magnums deer hunting. I was the "odd man" here, having a S&W Model 57 .41 Magnum. Mike said he knew the perfect place too, nestled in the Sierras. Hookay, we go.
The place really was perfect. A meadow about two football fields in size. Wide open space with lush grass and few trees. Beautiful spot to take deer coming down the hill on their path from more wooded lands.
The four of us dressed in ghillie suits and took positions in the shade of a few trees inside the meadow. It was a beautiful morning, a nice 53 degrees, no snow on the ground. When we took our positions we could spot each other by looking hard. We had a sort of curved line in the field, no crossfire. All of us were about 30 yards from each other in shade.
It was almost 8:30 when we settled in. According to Mike, it'd take the deer a while to drink from a nearby stream and wander down the path about 1/2 mile to the meadow. Since he'd hunted here before, we followed his lead.
No more than 30 minutes later come these three hippies. Two guys and some spacy girl. They come over the rise behind us, walk within about 10 yards of me and stop. It's a pretty meadow, I grant you, but...
"Go away." I said in a deep voice, just loud enough for them to hear.
They jumped. "Who said that?"
"I did."
"Who are you? Where are you?"
(Time for some fun.) "I'm the tree. Go away."
"Why?"
"They're coming. Go away."
"Who's coming?" (frantic heads-on-swivels)
"The deer. I'm hungry. Now go away."
"You eat deer?"
(Note, at this point, I can visibly see Mike's concealed form, 30 yards away, heaving in silent laughter. Ron later said he had tears running down his face from holding it back.)
"Go away. They're almost here."
"We want to watch!"
"No." (I was running out of ideas.)
"What if we stay anyway?"
"We will consume you."
"Huh? Who's we?"
Mike pulled it together and said, "Bolarc, make them leave. I am hungry too."
It sounded like it came from the pine tree he was near.
All three screamed like little girls and ran right past us over the rise and kept going.
We gave up the hunt for the day. Our sides hurt too much. We'd just start laughing and couldn't stop.
Do you have a funny hunting story? Send it to me and I'll publish it here.
The EPA Lead Ammo Ban Defeated
Five environmental groups wanted the EPA to ban lead in ammunition and fishing tackle, arguing that millions of animals are dying from eating lead-shot pellets or carcasses contaminated by lead.
Millions of animals? That'd be quite a mess anywhere.
The groups backing the petition included Center for Biological Diversity (an anti-gun/anti-hunting group), Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (another hunting-hostile group), and Project Gutpile, for whom I could find only 2 names.
The EPA's decision to accept the petition for review and comment caused something of a firestorm of protests. Especially once the NRA's grassroots alerts went out across the nation. Despite the public face (or spin) put on this proposal, it was nothing more than an attempt to make gun ownership and hunting more expensive or difficult.
Here in California there is a lead ammo ban in certain areas of the state that are "California condor habitat". The premise is that the endangered Condor will consume lead shot or bullet fragments in dead game, thus getting lead poisoning. The law bans the use of lead ammo while hunting in the condor habitat. Ammo used for target shooting and self-defense is supposed to be legal.
Last year the Fish and Game Department proposed new rules expand the ban, without legislative authority, to include .22 rimfire and lead shot. The NRA and California gun rights groups teamed up to defeat this proposal.
The U.S. EPA lead ban, however has been defeated. EPA, last Friday, publicly stated that they lacked the authority to ban lead ammuntion under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The EPA will still consider banning the use of lead fishing sinkers, however.
The anti-hunting and ant-gun lobbies are pushing these backdoor proposals not out of ecological nobility, but to ensnare unknowning gun owners into violating obscure laws. Remember that I said here in California that lead ammo is fine for target shooting and self-defense, even in a designated Condor range? It seems some on DF&G aren't ready to believe that.
We've heard a few reports from California residents who say DF&G officials warned them that a hunting license in your wallet along with that .22LR on public lands equates to the intent to hunt. This could result in arrest and seizure of your guns even if you're just shooting paper targets.
This is why we must be vigilant about these kinds of backdoor regulations. It also points out why attempts to attack ammo supplies must be stopped.
Comments? Questions? Send me an e-mail.