Hudl Highlights
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Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Monday, July 30, 2018
For the love of the Hunt
As I think back over the years of hunting with family, the best of friends and some very special dogs (they would almost fall into the family category).
Fond Memories come flooding back. From the early days getting started deer hunting as a young boy in southern Indiana, to watching handlers work their well trained dogs on preserve hunts in my teens, and more recently shooting wild quail doubles with each of my two sons in the Great Plains out west over our own "well trained" Brittanys.
I started going deer hunting with my dad when I was 6 years old. The first couple years I didn't get to carry a gun, rather watch and learn from him. But by the time I was 8, I was hunting. For the next 8 years I would count down the weeks to opening day, and the minutes to shooting light, then months to the next time the season would come in. By the time I was 16 I was pretty frustrated with my lack of success (having still not killed that first deer). While I would finally score both my first buck and doe that year, I'm not sure how many more years I would have attempted it had I continued to be unsuccessful.
This past fall I was with a very good friend in Northern Mi grouse and woodcock hunting. My friend "Jim" had his brother-n-law "Tom" with him and I had my dad "Pop" with me on the trip. I had met Tom before on other hunting trips, and knew a little bit about him. A retired doctor, extremely intelligent, and as kind as any man could be. But to a fault, a bit geographically challenged in the woods, with a life long habit of not quite keeping up with the dogs, and wandering off on his own. I knew that on the few trips I had been on with Tom that I had never seen him kill a bird and now that I think about it don't actually think I had seen him fire a gun. Regardless, he absolutely loves getting out and marching the miles through the woods with the rest of us. Now what I didn't know until this trip, is that in all the years he had been going grouse and woodcock hunting, he actually had not ever killed one of those birds. I'm not quite sure what that exact number of years is, but it was significant.
One morning on this trip this past fall we had hunted a familiar cover that we knew from years prior. The first part of the mornings walk had not been fruitful just as many walks in the grouse woods can sometimes be. We had left the cover and were regrouping in the 2 track to the south of the cut. After everyone caught up we entered a mature pine thicket south of the 2 track. Not far into the woods Tessi's collar started calling that welcome sound of point mode through the dense northern woods ahead of us 50 or 60 yards. (Tessi was Jim's extraordinary liver and white Brittany - a proven grouse dog) We all made our way through the grousetangled mess, towards Tessi. I was flanking the left edge of our line, while Pop and Tom were in the middle. I was the first to arrive at the dog, and just held my ready waiting for the rest of the cavalry. Soon after Pop and Tom arrived as well with Jim leading their way. Everyone readied as Jim walked out front to the dog. Tessi had not moved since locating the presence of bird sent on the ground, and still stood steady as he worked the area around her. All the sudden a brown feathered rocket headed for the sky as the leaves came to life. I had no shot, but the bird passed through a clearing in the sky in front of Tom and Pop. Tom squeezed off two rounds from his O/U Caesar Guerini. Feathers exploded from the bird and it came crashing down. Pop immediately shouted "GREAT SHOT TOM!" As Tessi quickly located, and returned it to Jim who passed it over to Tom. A WOODCOCK! (Tom exclaimed) He was grinning from ear to ear as Jim handed him his prize. You can see the excitement on his face in the pictures we captured shortly after that moment below.
Later that day is when I became fully aware that I had just witnessed (a man who had hunted this bird a really long time make contact for the very first time). As we went on that day I couldn't help but ask myself if I love hunting that much. You know, enough to spend years trying without success. That afternoon I spent a lot of time thinking about it, and even more over the last 9 months deciding to write about it. It's taken me back to those first 8 years as an immature dear hunter. I remember It seemed like an eternity not getting a deer when all my friends were getting their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd deer. Some of them even got Big deer that they had mounted and are probably still on their walls today. At times I was green with envy if I'm really being honest about it. But after witnessing this, it all came into perspective for me.
That's when I remembered what Pop had said to me as kid. (Probably when I was pouting after every unsuccessful hunt) "Matt its not always about killing something, its about just getting to go." I don't know that I ever fully learned that lesson until now. You see, he's right its never about success or failure. We are not hunting out of necessity. No one is going to starve if we come home empty handed. We're hunting to enjoy the time together as friends, and to enjoy the time with our dogs. To escape our work realities, or to just get away and reset. Its about life experiences that we share with others, and our connection with nature. I matured a lot as a hunter on this trip, and as for our friend Tom he may or may not kill another woodcock or even a grouse on a great day, but regardless he has a lifetime of memories from his trips already, and I'll never forget his excitement from that day.
It really is just about "the love of the hunt".
Tom with his prize! (you can see the excitement)
Fond Memories come flooding back. From the early days getting started deer hunting as a young boy in southern Indiana, to watching handlers work their well trained dogs on preserve hunts in my teens, and more recently shooting wild quail doubles with each of my two sons in the Great Plains out west over our own "well trained" Brittanys.
I started going deer hunting with my dad when I was 6 years old. The first couple years I didn't get to carry a gun, rather watch and learn from him. But by the time I was 8, I was hunting. For the next 8 years I would count down the weeks to opening day, and the minutes to shooting light, then months to the next time the season would come in. By the time I was 16 I was pretty frustrated with my lack of success (having still not killed that first deer). While I would finally score both my first buck and doe that year, I'm not sure how many more years I would have attempted it had I continued to be unsuccessful.
This past fall I was with a very good friend in Northern Mi grouse and woodcock hunting. My friend "Jim" had his brother-n-law "Tom" with him and I had my dad "Pop" with me on the trip. I had met Tom before on other hunting trips, and knew a little bit about him. A retired doctor, extremely intelligent, and as kind as any man could be. But to a fault, a bit geographically challenged in the woods, with a life long habit of not quite keeping up with the dogs, and wandering off on his own. I knew that on the few trips I had been on with Tom that I had never seen him kill a bird and now that I think about it don't actually think I had seen him fire a gun. Regardless, he absolutely loves getting out and marching the miles through the woods with the rest of us. Now what I didn't know until this trip, is that in all the years he had been going grouse and woodcock hunting, he actually had not ever killed one of those birds. I'm not quite sure what that exact number of years is, but it was significant.
One morning on this trip this past fall we had hunted a familiar cover that we knew from years prior. The first part of the mornings walk had not been fruitful just as many walks in the grouse woods can sometimes be. We had left the cover and were regrouping in the 2 track to the south of the cut. After everyone caught up we entered a mature pine thicket south of the 2 track. Not far into the woods Tessi's collar started calling that welcome sound of point mode through the dense northern woods ahead of us 50 or 60 yards. (Tessi was Jim's extraordinary liver and white Brittany - a proven grouse dog) We all made our way through the grousetangled mess, towards Tessi. I was flanking the left edge of our line, while Pop and Tom were in the middle. I was the first to arrive at the dog, and just held my ready waiting for the rest of the cavalry. Soon after Pop and Tom arrived as well with Jim leading their way. Everyone readied as Jim walked out front to the dog. Tessi had not moved since locating the presence of bird sent on the ground, and still stood steady as he worked the area around her. All the sudden a brown feathered rocket headed for the sky as the leaves came to life. I had no shot, but the bird passed through a clearing in the sky in front of Tom and Pop. Tom squeezed off two rounds from his O/U Caesar Guerini. Feathers exploded from the bird and it came crashing down. Pop immediately shouted "GREAT SHOT TOM!" As Tessi quickly located, and returned it to Jim who passed it over to Tom. A WOODCOCK! (Tom exclaimed) He was grinning from ear to ear as Jim handed him his prize. You can see the excitement on his face in the pictures we captured shortly after that moment below.
Later that day is when I became fully aware that I had just witnessed (a man who had hunted this bird a really long time make contact for the very first time). As we went on that day I couldn't help but ask myself if I love hunting that much. You know, enough to spend years trying without success. That afternoon I spent a lot of time thinking about it, and even more over the last 9 months deciding to write about it. It's taken me back to those first 8 years as an immature dear hunter. I remember It seemed like an eternity not getting a deer when all my friends were getting their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd deer. Some of them even got Big deer that they had mounted and are probably still on their walls today. At times I was green with envy if I'm really being honest about it. But after witnessing this, it all came into perspective for me.
That's when I remembered what Pop had said to me as kid. (Probably when I was pouting after every unsuccessful hunt) "Matt its not always about killing something, its about just getting to go." I don't know that I ever fully learned that lesson until now. You see, he's right its never about success or failure. We are not hunting out of necessity. No one is going to starve if we come home empty handed. We're hunting to enjoy the time together as friends, and to enjoy the time with our dogs. To escape our work realities, or to just get away and reset. Its about life experiences that we share with others, and our connection with nature. I matured a lot as a hunter on this trip, and as for our friend Tom he may or may not kill another woodcock or even a grouse on a great day, but regardless he has a lifetime of memories from his trips already, and I'll never forget his excitement from that day.
It really is just about "the love of the hunt".
Tom with his prize! (you can see the excitement)
Pop, Tom, Tessi, and Jim - showing off his bird
Pop, me, and Tom with a grouse I shot over Tessi on the same trip
Pop, me, and Tom with a grouse I shot over Tessi on the same trip
Friday, February 23, 2018
American Epidemic - What are we waiting for?
Six years ago (shortly after the Sandy Hook tragedy) I went in and met with the Principle of my children's school and expressed my concern with our children's safety. The meeting was a lot of shared concerns at the time but at no fault of hers has led to no action. Still today 6 six years later what we have learned in preparation of these tragedy's has materialized into nothing more than a daily prayer, and constant worry for their safety. I understand there are countless different opinions, beliefs, and worries about how to handle this situation, and while I share some of my own I am willing to lay them aside to focus on what will truly make a difference in the safety of our children. In a time of so much divisiveness, its imperative that we all lay down our personal agendas to find a solution to this epidemic. So just for a few minutes lets forget about political affiliation, religion, or what we personally want and focus on what will make our kids safe, immediately, and then in the long term.
To do this lets explore the truths of the situation -
1. Evil exists in the world - It always has, and always will. Evil dates back as far as history itself, no matter what your measure of history is. So its safe to say that nothing is going to suddenly remove evil from the world.
2. Some people - no matter what the 2nd amendment says should never have a fire arm. Gun lover or not, myself and every other person in the world can agree on this point. There are just some people that are either mentally incapable of managing the responsibilities of possessing a fire arm, or simply fall into the category of my first point and are to the core evil. (Perhaps its my shallow personality but I see no difference, except in the extreme situation of the mentally handicapped.)
3. To much loss of life has already occurred not to do something.
4. Society rarely reverses course. As a country we've unarguably been on a course away from religion and the belief that we answer to a higher power. So regardless of personal belief as a country we're not going to suddenly start to focus on morals, and value human life more than we do. in fact, one could argue that it will continue to get worse.
5. Video games are here to stay. Its the parents job to instill right from wrong, not the virtual gaming industry. If we're holding industries to the standard of moral direction, the alcohol, pharmaceutical, and motion picture industries are all in for a major overhaul. (None of which is going to happen)
So accepting these truths, lets talk options -and assume regardless of opinion nothing is off the table and maintain an open mind.
Increased gun control - Imagine for a moment that congress totally revamps the 2nd amendment. Forget about all the opposition to this possibility. Just imagine that all semi auto guns are banned and a process of confiscation is started immediately.
1. How long would it take to collect, confiscate, and destroy 300 million weapons (thats just the ones we know about, there are possibly again that many unknown)
2. Are the criminals that are going to use these weapons going to turn in the ones they have?
3. How many of these weapons will remain in circulation regardless of the efforts made?
4. How do our other laws work regarding possession of illegal items? I started this out saying that we are going to be honest. So, in being honest... They don't. I am not a pot smoker or user of any substance, but I could find and purchase these items today if I wanted to. We have immigration laws that are supposed to prevent illegal aliens from coming into our country, but there are millions of illegals. Making these weapons illegal would only create a new "drug-type" business. Evil people would still get them, just the same as drug users get drugs.
Quite frankly- I would guesstimate that it would take generations before the gun laws would start to limit the number of these situations.
Arming Teachers - this to me is almost as absurd as confiscating guns. If we're being honest most teachers tend to be more liberal in their views in the first place. Obviously not speaking for all! So, its fairly safe to say that its not likely that most are entirely comfortable around guns anyway. Not to mention they didn't sign up to be swat officers, they are teachers. They love our kids, and do a service that most of us as parents are not even capable of doing. (Guilty, I confess) So while in the environment we live in, there is more required than just teaching, this going way to far to expect of them.
So if both of the previous items will not work, how to we immediately and long term protect our children? As many people do, I look to the past to see how situations have been addressed previously to see how to address the future. on 9-11 a group of terrorists hi-jacked airplanes and flew them into buildings killing 3,000+ people. Following that time there was a very uncomfortable period of time where people dealt with the adjustments that were made in our security and infrastructure. However, since then, there has not been another instance of loss of life (in this manor) on american soil. So why is this approach not exactly the same, and please don't use money as the answer. Is our infrastructure which has an approved 1.4T spending budget more important that our schools? We all know the answer to that.
School infrastructure & security reform - The answer is simple, and while funding it may not be with a little sacrifice and common sense we can all prevent this from happening again. We need armed security in our schools immediately. I'm sorry if is uncomfortable but that is the world we live in. There is armed security at the mall, and everyone still goes there to shop. There is armed security at the airport, the bank, and and almost everywhere else you may go. Lets prioritize our teachers and children's safety over turf football fields, and even over smart boards in our classrooms. Hell I would even tolerate a little over crowding in each classroom if it meant that I knew my kids were protected day in and day out. Common sense priorities folks. I am not suggesting that one part time security guard is the answer. I'm saying this is a criminal problem so we need the professionals in our schools protecting our loved ones in the proper ratio. There is formula that someone much smarter than me can come up with, but just guessing I would say in a school of 2,000 its probably 5 or 6.
Reformed gun control legislation - Some of my closest friends and family members will likely shun me for venturing from the far right leaning post that I typically reside on, but I ask for complete open mindedness from my readers, so I am practicing what I am preaching here. I'm in support of more comprehensive back ground checks, and a waiting period. I don't want Psychos to posses a firearm any more than any of our friends that lean the other way! So yes, background check the hell out of them, and if you find a red flag stop the transaction, and investigate it. I'm for waiting periods too. Its like this, regardless of what your intentions are with any type of firearm. I cannot think of any "good" situation where an urgent purchase of a firearm is needed. Here are some examples.. I want to have an AR in my safe in case this country goes to hell in the spur of a moment, okay don't wait until it does. If your not responsible enough to plan ahead on this, then perhaps your not responsible enough to have the firearm. Get your background check, go through your waiting period, and if you pass those, then by all means Mr law abiding citizen enjoy your AR 15 at the range, and sleep well at night with safely locked away in your safe just as I do.
Friends and family - we simply cannot continue to travel down this road of sticking our heads in the sand and consoling the victims families. Bad parents are not suddenly going to be good parents, and evil people are going to continue to be born and do evil things. The 2nd amendment exists not to only protect our right of hunting, but to defend ourselves against a government should we ever need to. Last I checked most of us fall into 1 of 3 categories. You detest the republicans, you detest the democrats, or you detest the president. Regardless of which it is for you personally, you may want to reconsider supporting giving away that right, because it will be one or more of those 3 entities in charge of you when you do. I understand that these changes are uncomfortable, so is standing in an airport security line. But I'll take that over the alternative.
A good friend of mine said last week "If giving my AR-15 back would prevent the loss of 1 life, I would return it in a second with no regrets", and I can say I would do the same, but it truthfully wouldn't make a difference. The next school shooter is already born, probably already has the weapon he will use, and is already preparing to kill innocent people that may be your child, spouse, or friend. Look into the future, and look past guns, will a bomb be the next weapon of choice in an unprotected school or worse?
Security & Infrastructure - What are we waiting for? Tomorrow may be too late.
To do this lets explore the truths of the situation -
1. Evil exists in the world - It always has, and always will. Evil dates back as far as history itself, no matter what your measure of history is. So its safe to say that nothing is going to suddenly remove evil from the world.
2. Some people - no matter what the 2nd amendment says should never have a fire arm. Gun lover or not, myself and every other person in the world can agree on this point. There are just some people that are either mentally incapable of managing the responsibilities of possessing a fire arm, or simply fall into the category of my first point and are to the core evil. (Perhaps its my shallow personality but I see no difference, except in the extreme situation of the mentally handicapped.)
3. To much loss of life has already occurred not to do something.
4. Society rarely reverses course. As a country we've unarguably been on a course away from religion and the belief that we answer to a higher power. So regardless of personal belief as a country we're not going to suddenly start to focus on morals, and value human life more than we do. in fact, one could argue that it will continue to get worse.
5. Video games are here to stay. Its the parents job to instill right from wrong, not the virtual gaming industry. If we're holding industries to the standard of moral direction, the alcohol, pharmaceutical, and motion picture industries are all in for a major overhaul. (None of which is going to happen)
So accepting these truths, lets talk options -and assume regardless of opinion nothing is off the table and maintain an open mind.
Increased gun control - Imagine for a moment that congress totally revamps the 2nd amendment. Forget about all the opposition to this possibility. Just imagine that all semi auto guns are banned and a process of confiscation is started immediately.
1. How long would it take to collect, confiscate, and destroy 300 million weapons (thats just the ones we know about, there are possibly again that many unknown)
2. Are the criminals that are going to use these weapons going to turn in the ones they have?
3. How many of these weapons will remain in circulation regardless of the efforts made?
4. How do our other laws work regarding possession of illegal items? I started this out saying that we are going to be honest. So, in being honest... They don't. I am not a pot smoker or user of any substance, but I could find and purchase these items today if I wanted to. We have immigration laws that are supposed to prevent illegal aliens from coming into our country, but there are millions of illegals. Making these weapons illegal would only create a new "drug-type" business. Evil people would still get them, just the same as drug users get drugs.
Quite frankly- I would guesstimate that it would take generations before the gun laws would start to limit the number of these situations.
Arming Teachers - this to me is almost as absurd as confiscating guns. If we're being honest most teachers tend to be more liberal in their views in the first place. Obviously not speaking for all! So, its fairly safe to say that its not likely that most are entirely comfortable around guns anyway. Not to mention they didn't sign up to be swat officers, they are teachers. They love our kids, and do a service that most of us as parents are not even capable of doing. (Guilty, I confess) So while in the environment we live in, there is more required than just teaching, this going way to far to expect of them.
So if both of the previous items will not work, how to we immediately and long term protect our children? As many people do, I look to the past to see how situations have been addressed previously to see how to address the future. on 9-11 a group of terrorists hi-jacked airplanes and flew them into buildings killing 3,000+ people. Following that time there was a very uncomfortable period of time where people dealt with the adjustments that were made in our security and infrastructure. However, since then, there has not been another instance of loss of life (in this manor) on american soil. So why is this approach not exactly the same, and please don't use money as the answer. Is our infrastructure which has an approved 1.4T spending budget more important that our schools? We all know the answer to that.
School infrastructure & security reform - The answer is simple, and while funding it may not be with a little sacrifice and common sense we can all prevent this from happening again. We need armed security in our schools immediately. I'm sorry if is uncomfortable but that is the world we live in. There is armed security at the mall, and everyone still goes there to shop. There is armed security at the airport, the bank, and and almost everywhere else you may go. Lets prioritize our teachers and children's safety over turf football fields, and even over smart boards in our classrooms. Hell I would even tolerate a little over crowding in each classroom if it meant that I knew my kids were protected day in and day out. Common sense priorities folks. I am not suggesting that one part time security guard is the answer. I'm saying this is a criminal problem so we need the professionals in our schools protecting our loved ones in the proper ratio. There is formula that someone much smarter than me can come up with, but just guessing I would say in a school of 2,000 its probably 5 or 6.
Reformed gun control legislation - Some of my closest friends and family members will likely shun me for venturing from the far right leaning post that I typically reside on, but I ask for complete open mindedness from my readers, so I am practicing what I am preaching here. I'm in support of more comprehensive back ground checks, and a waiting period. I don't want Psychos to posses a firearm any more than any of our friends that lean the other way! So yes, background check the hell out of them, and if you find a red flag stop the transaction, and investigate it. I'm for waiting periods too. Its like this, regardless of what your intentions are with any type of firearm. I cannot think of any "good" situation where an urgent purchase of a firearm is needed. Here are some examples.. I want to have an AR in my safe in case this country goes to hell in the spur of a moment, okay don't wait until it does. If your not responsible enough to plan ahead on this, then perhaps your not responsible enough to have the firearm. Get your background check, go through your waiting period, and if you pass those, then by all means Mr law abiding citizen enjoy your AR 15 at the range, and sleep well at night with safely locked away in your safe just as I do.
Friends and family - we simply cannot continue to travel down this road of sticking our heads in the sand and consoling the victims families. Bad parents are not suddenly going to be good parents, and evil people are going to continue to be born and do evil things. The 2nd amendment exists not to only protect our right of hunting, but to defend ourselves against a government should we ever need to. Last I checked most of us fall into 1 of 3 categories. You detest the republicans, you detest the democrats, or you detest the president. Regardless of which it is for you personally, you may want to reconsider supporting giving away that right, because it will be one or more of those 3 entities in charge of you when you do. I understand that these changes are uncomfortable, so is standing in an airport security line. But I'll take that over the alternative.
A good friend of mine said last week "If giving my AR-15 back would prevent the loss of 1 life, I would return it in a second with no regrets", and I can say I would do the same, but it truthfully wouldn't make a difference. The next school shooter is already born, probably already has the weapon he will use, and is already preparing to kill innocent people that may be your child, spouse, or friend. Look into the future, and look past guns, will a bomb be the next weapon of choice in an unprotected school or worse?
Security & Infrastructure - What are we waiting for? Tomorrow may be too late.
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