The Range is Hot

[George Hill]

Utah is beautiful in the winter. The snow blankets the land and ice glistens in the light. Awesome. The huge mountains frame it all in a picture perfect setting.

Walking out in the woods with a trusty rifle is a joy. Feeling the encrusted ground crunch softly as you walk... listening to the hushed voices of the wild.
You can see the tracts of squirl and rabbit all over. You note the passage of a doe.

Doing this I came upon a rather larg rabbit who sniffed and shivered in the cold morning air. Through my scope I examined this hare... then I pulled down and took in the setting.
Wish I had a camera instead of a rifle this time out. I put the rifle back on safe and turned to continue my walk.

Quite often you hear "So why did you come to Utah?" The only state I have ever been in that people will ask you that. Dispite a lot of backwards policies and laws... Utah is one of the few places where you can truely escape and go out into the mountains and feel free.

Didn't shoot that day.
Didn't have to clean my gun.
But somtimes "Going Shooting" isn't about the guns.

Welcome back to The Firing Line.

[Correia]

Amen brother.

[Dave McC]

Thank you, I needed that...

[Gopher .45]

I am glad to know there are people who go hunting who aren't in it for the killing! I love to shoot, be out in the wilds, but I don't hunt (although I love meat!).

George, with the way you write, I see a nice naturalist's picture book with wonderful pictures and just as creative writing in your future. Thoreau would be pleased.

[George Hill]

Thank you guys... very much.

Hunting isn't about the killing. Anyone who says different is not a real Hunter.

[Randy Cain]

For more on this subject, the book:

Meditations on Hunting
-by Jose Ortega yGasset

Highly recommended. I believe it's still available from the Gunsite Pro Shop.

[JoeHatley]

"I don't hunt to kill, I kill to have hunted".
~Ernest Hemmingway

I agree. Sometimes the best part of the whole hunting experience is just being outside.

Joe


------------------
Go NRA

[Bob Thompson]

George, I moved to Utah 20 years ago as an avid hunter and shooter and have never looked back. I am thankful for every day like yesterday out in the desert or up in the mountains. I now shoot more paper than animals but have always enjoyed the hunt. I've got to make the next TFL get together. Wheres all the rabbits? Not many up toward Park Valley. Multiple use BLM; niow theres a radical idea. Hope it stays with the new administration whoever it is. sincerely, Bob

[Correia]

Bob, I'm the guy that keeps the e-mail list of Utah TFLers for the get togethers, send me your e-mail address and I'll add you to the list.

And for bunny hunting in Utah, nothing beats Delta.

[skyder]

Talk, talk,talk.
When we goin' out??

[Porter-Glockwell]

Hey, I'm in Utah too. You can get my email address off my profile. I'm pretty new to TFL, but I would love toget together with fellow utah shooters.

[George Hill]

You guys start throwing some ideas together...
We'll see what we can arrange.

Note to Utah TFL members and those in the Surrounding areas... Make sure Correia has your email listed and its up to date.
BTW He is the TFL Secretary of Utah - a rather important position that could possibly be quite contriversial... especially with all the flak Florida's secretary of state is getting!

[Correia]

Ok, Bob and Porter have been added to the e-mail list. You guys throw some ideas around and let me know.

Yes I'm Secretary of Utah, I'm not really sure how that happened. Meiji-man is our Combat Photographer. Mrs. Kodiak cooks a damn fine brautwurst. skyder shoots to make fresh brass to reload. Cacea and TankGirl are cool folks, and there are always about half a dozen lurkers that show up too.

I know this is the internet and all, but I can't lie, I'm not nearly as attractive as the Florida Secretary of State.

[George Hill]

Dont be so hard on yourself Correia - All you need is a little make up.

Someone once said that even on old barn looks better painted.

[RWK]

Amen, George!

Three times this Fall I have invested a day on a friend’s ~500 acre farm with my trusty Remington 870 looking for doves, squirrel, and deer. Not one shot fired (maybe I am a lousy hunter). And not one moment wasted -– all told about twenty hours along the beautiful Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay under absolutely ideal conditions. I wouldn’t trade such times for anything.

[TheColdHeartedNinny]

Nice post George. I have often tried to express the sentiment that having a firearm with you doesn’t mean you have to shoot it, especially to the people who don't understand why I like to carry a gun. I grew up in Wyoming and worked on several ranches after high school. I've always liked to shoot and I never thought of firearms as anything more then a good tool. I thought of a nice rifle, or pistol about the same as a finely crafted set of inlaid spurs to admire, or as handy as a fence stretcher to use if I needed one.

I don't quite feel that way anymore. Sure I carry my pistol with me because I like to plink and I never know when I might find myself out on the west desert on a remote jeep trail. A good firearm is more then just a well-crafted tool. Owning a firearm is symbolic of what is good about America. I’m not going to expound on this thought because It would be “preaching to the choir” around here :)

The Irrational fear of firearms, and the lack of trust in the ordinary people who want to carry them concerns me. Maybe allot of American’s are getting languid, talking of independence and self sufficiency but not really wanting the responsibility of it. I have always held out a lot of faith in my fellow citizens. A vasts silent majority not represented by the liberal media elite. I still believe, though I was surprised so many voted for Al Gore and seemingly for more intrusive Government.

I feel good about carrying a firearm with me. I seldom have had any reason to fear for my own safety or that of my familiy yet having and being proficient with a firearm gives me personal satisfaction and piece of mind that is hard to explain to anyone who doesn’t have it or doesn’t think they need it. But to those of you who understand it, it’s a nice feeling to have with wife and sleeping kids pulling into some remote and poorly lit rest area while travleing the Interstate... Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving.

[George Hill]

Welcome aboard!

'bout time... youve been lurking long enough!
Make sure you get on Correia's email list for the next Gathering.

[Caeca Invidia Es]

Umm.... Can we have the next gathering in spring. I absolutly HATE the snow. Although the pony express trail is great for bunny hunting this time of year........ god I wish I had a car right now

[William R. Wilburn]

George,
Sounds like you might enjoy:

A Hunter's Heart: Honest Essays on Blood Sport

Collected by David Petersen
ISBN 0-8050-4423-X

One of the essays, "In the Snow Queen's Palace" by Mary Zeis Strange, while not the best story in the book, will haunt you, guaranteed. God-like decisions and responsiblities is a good way to describe the text.

[George Hill]

Actually my favorites are anything from Patric McManus.
Just reread Grasshopper Trap. One of the few books that actually make me laugh out loud.

[Caeca Invidia Es]

I'll have to write all these books down...... for the next time I can convince myself to "unplug"