Neanderpundit

I swing by Gander Mountain on my way home from the reserve, just to see if there’s a chance I can get some info on setting up my new bow.

I have not fired a bow in years, so I have a lot of questions, and even though it was Black Friday, I managed to find the guy that sets up bows, and get him to answer my questions.

He says they’re open till ten and would I like to go get the bow and he can set it up.

So I run home and load the bow and as much of the stuff associated with it as I can carry, and head back.

Now, I’m not a HUGE fan of Gander Mountain. I like to deal with smaller stores, and Gander Mountain is along the lines of bigbox places, so it’s not my favorite choice- but this guy (a kid, really) sets up my bow, nocks it, puts on a peep, shows me what arrows to buy, shows me how to set up my release, cuts the arrows to size for me, and DOESN’T CHARGE ME A THING.

I end up with a half dozen arrows to begin with, and a decent bow case, and I’m out the door under $60.

Customer service isn’t dead. I’ll be damned.

In other news, I was skunked again yesterday, and I suspect I’ll be skunked again today. Still: Any day afield and all that.

For the last several years I have been in the habit, whenever hunting, or hiking, or just being outdoors, of stuffing plastic shopping bags in my pockets and carrying them with me. I use them to pick up the detritus of those who have gone before me, and carry it back out. Today I got a couple of beer bottles, several soda cans, a bunch of candy/food wrappers, and the.. ahem.. condom left over from a deepwoods assignation. Thank god I carry surgical gloves with me when hunting. And to the adventurous couple, nobody enjoys a bit of outdoor nookie more than me, but pick up your leavings and throw them away. To the guys drinking Bud around a campfire in the woods? Drinking Bud is it’s own punishment.

Know what happened next? I took my bags to the nearest parking area garbage can, and there were two guys doing the exact same thing. I was impressed. And pleased. Nice guys, we shared stories, showed one another what we were hunting with, got some quality time in between walks. It’s a damned fine thing to see people who give a shit, and damned rare as well. Anyone calling me an environmentalist is subject to a swift kick in the nads- but there’s no reason to leave shit lying around. I want those woods just as clean as they are now when my grandschildren hunt them.

Spent time afield this morning, and I got heavily skunked.

Two things:

Took the nephew with me- his very first day hunting in his life- and he enjoyed it, despite not seeing deer.

We werent’ in the house for the cooking and swearing.

Any day hunting is better than any day doing anything else. And I now have a bow, so I can get one more season in before winter is up.

I think you have to get skunked X times be successful, so I got one out of the way.

Afield again tomorrow. Wish me luck!