Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Toilet Revenge


We cut the chord a couple weeks ago, getting rid of satellite TV.  We strategically developed our own streaming package using Amazon Prime and Sling. We're saving about $75 a month. Yeah. Not only that, but there so many cool features to streaming TV that satellite or cable can't provide like on-demand TV and starting a show from the beginning half-way through. Satellite and cable better figure this out before everyone decides to snip, snip.

I still get all the hunting channels. I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but I do watch a fair bit of these shows while I'm decompressing from a hot day on the river. All the elk bugling and archery kill-shots have gotten my adrenaline flowing and I can't wait for this year's hunting season. Patrick is 10 now and he'll be able to take part in the apprentice hunter program out here in Montana. Those of you that know me, know that this excites me more than me hunting myself. I've shot plenty of deer and elk and although I still enjoy it, I am much more into helping people who have never shot anything. I actually get way more amped up when it's someone else looking through the scope.

There are a lot of things to consider when taking a ten-year-old out hunting. P has been with me and with Jill as we shot big game. He's always showed an interest and said he wanted to hunt when he get's old enough but something happened last year after Jill's hunt. He said he didn't know if he really wanted to shoot a deer.

That kind of threw me for a loop but I try not to force anything on him. All you can really do is present him with opportunities and if he's not into it, he's not into it. But it still kind of bugged me because of the complete 180 after showing so much interest previously.

I had a conversation with P about it. I didn't put pressure on him or show any kind of disappointment but just wanted to understand the change of heart. When we talked, what came out was he was a little afraid of the gun. You know what? That's reasonable. He's watched me shoot and his mom and a high-powered rifle can really put a jolt on a smaller person. Heck, I start to flinch after a few rounds out of my dad's old .30-.06.

I thought about this for a while and started scheming a little to try to get him into feeling confident with bigger guns. He's shot rim-fire guns. He shoots his BB gun. He shoots his bow. He loves to shoot but the big guns just scare him so I figured it's kind of like introducing a dog to a gun. You gotta go slow and work your way up.

We went to Jill's dad's house for Thanksgiving last year. He has a youth size .410 shotgun he uses for varmints and pigeons around the barn. I asked if we could shoot it and asked P if he would want to try it. I've tried to get him to shoot a 20 gauge but he never would. The .410 was perfect. It kicked just enough to let him feel some power. It was fun for him.

Last winter, I remodeled one of our bathrooms. In the process, I broke the toilet. Yeah, I tightened the bolts attaching the tank to the bowl unevenly and pop! So I told P that we were going to destroy that toilet as soon as it warmed up and we could get to the range. He asked if he could be the one to shoot it. This spring, I decided to borrow a .243 from my buddy, John and let P take out some frustration on that shitter. I figured it would be a way for him to get excited about shooting a high-powered rifle.

As you can see in the video above, P was excited and was proud to have blown up the toilet. That was his first shot with that big of a gun. He thought it was cool. He now asks when he can go hunting and shoot his first deer.

There are plenty of things to consider for this new journey for P. Finding the right caliber of gun is just one of them. I've been doing some research and as much as I like the .243 for his first couple years, my fear is that he'll grow out of it pretty quick. I know it will kill deer and even elk if the shot is right but as much as I don't want to scare him off with the recoil, I also want to promote quick and humane kills and responsible hunting. I also don't want to have to pay for another gun in a couple years. I'm thinking the 7mm-08 is the way to go.

I'll be writing more and more about P's journey on this blog. I hope you follow along but don't forget that we're only half-way done with the fishing season! I'm still guiding folks. The water is now a little closer to normal and fish are happy. All during August, you can take care of the "Hopper Dropper Half-Day" special. Just visit the website and email me from there: www.mdfishingoutfitters.com


Keep 'em where they live...

1 comment:

  1. Really informative post, thanks for sharing. When it comes to trout fishing rods the choices that are available seem almost endless, yet using a quality spinning rod is important to experiencing success when fishing for the beautiful species of fish that are known as 'trout'. I have been fishing for trout for more than two decades and in that time have personally used many different trout rods, some good, some not so good, and I know from experience how important it is to be using the correct type of rod when you are fishing for trout.best spinning combos

    ReplyDelete