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Thursday, June 18, 2009
A Lost Pastime? Shooting In The Sticks
Is it just me, or is everyone who enjoys shooting hitting the range these days? Packing up a fancy or unique rifle, picking up some fresh targets and heading to their local club to shoot a few rounds in a controlled, safe atmosphere.
What ever happened to the notion of grabbing your shotgun (whatever it may be) and a case of clays from Canadian Tire along with a plastic thrower, or a rifle with a few hundred rounds and heading out to the sticks with some cool refreshments, lively music and a heart full of mischief? Has the civilization of safety that surrounds us ruined this time-honoured rural pastime? It would appear that it has for most, but not for this guy.
Whether you find yourself amidst the glory and splendour of the Canadian Rockies in a gravel pit near the Spray Lakes above Canmore, Alberta, on top of a coulee along the Red Deer River, or simply outside of a friend's garage or quonset near any prairie town, shooting in the sticks represents good living and promises a good time. What could be wrong? Some responsible gunplay, a few laughs, maybe a cold beer or two and maybe some Steve Earle, Radney Foster or Whiskeytown on the car stereo. Add in fresh air, a cool breeze and a couple of good friends and you have a yourself a great day. You can also do as you please - shooting what and when you want, in any manner you choose.
Contrast that with the gun range - rules, rules and uh, more rules. Shooting at paper targets in an extraordinarily boring, uninspiring fashion with neither rock nor roll, limited refreshment potential and really, in my experience, little opportunity for true camaraderie. True, it depends on the range or club you're at, but shooting to me has always been partly about the sport, but also partly about the freedom that it represents. I view the range as the antithesis of freedom and hence, you will rarely find old Knox on a gun range these days. However, you might still find me in a stand of trees along a valley outside of Vegreville, with a propane burner and lobster pot full of delicious crustaceans, a mouthful of chew, a little Pilsner and Jay Farrar of Son Volt belting out "Live Free" on my truck's stereo.
Abandon the range I say. Shed yourself of the warts and shackles that it brings to bear, gather some friends or family and hit the sticks. Shoot yourself silly and embrace your freedom. Friends, it will cleanse your soul.
Posted by Knox Harrington on June 18, 2009 | Permalink
Comments
There you go again. Encouraging drinking and driving, illegal discharge of a firearm, and littering.
I like it. Except in my case, there'll be no booze, and the weapons won't all be exactly legal.
Posted by: dp | 2009-06-18 10:48:48 PM
See you there Knox, And I'll repeat what dp said...no booze...and maybe not so much paperwork.
Posted by: The original JC | 2009-06-19 4:41:45 AM
There are few more enjoyable ways to spend an afternoon than plinking at various objects. Even urbanites I've spoken to who do not at all like the idea of guns in private hands will admit that shooting galleries are fun, fun, fun. It beats trying to hang a plastic ring off a milk bottle, that's for sure.
Posted by: Shane Matthews | 2009-06-19 6:15:13 AM
There was about 2000 crows in my neighbors tree the other night. Feel free to shoot them if you wish.
Posted by: glen | 2009-06-19 8:27:52 AM
...what's the bylaw in Calgary regarding pellet guns? I'm wanting to shoot a bunch of magpies that raid robins and song birds nests around the area.
Yah, like glen, crows too.
Posted by: tomaxk7 | 2009-06-19 9:51:14 AM
"There was about 2000 crows in my neighbors tree the other night. Feel free to shoot them if you wish."
I don't know what province you're in, Glen, but in B.C. crows are Schedule C; they are always in season, with no bag limit. You can kill all you like. Depending of course on the lay of the land (nearness and orientation of neighbours, etc.), I recommend a .22 with hollowpoints for crows.
And Tomax, if they don't allow pellet guns, you could always try a crossbow with flu-flus. Archers are not restricted quite as much as firearms or even pellet guns.
Posted by: Shane Matthews | 2009-06-19 10:12:32 AM
Do you realize you are coming off as immature redneck idiots and branding this outdated tag on all your Llibertarian and conservative mouth breathing unibrowed co-horts?
I can see 16 year olds doing this but obviously your intellect has not advanced much.
I have copied this post to all my peers as yet another examplary way that the centre-right continues to "shoot itself in the foot" and miss an opportunity to appeal to new and urban voters.
This is where the votes are idiots.
God you people are stupid.
Posted by: epsilon | 2009-06-19 10:55:55 AM
Actually, Epsilon, the "rednecks" are in much better tune with Nature than the Dasani-wielding, airbrushed yuppies, because unlike yuppies, they actually LIVE in Nature, day in, and day out. They know where their food comes from. They know where their wood comes from. They know where their oil, their electricity, and their leather car seats come from, and it isn't out of a magic spigot at the Starbuck's down the street.
Discussing pest control is not infantile, especially if you live in a place where the government won't do it for you. Ranting and hissing and spitting like a cat in heat, on the other hand, is much more associated with 16-year-olds, specifically 16-year-olds on the rag. Urban centres may be where the votes are, but giving the appalling state of Canada's cities, thanks in large part to the preferred policies of the people who live in them, they're the last ones to be calling anybody "stupid."
Has anyone noticed, besides me, that guns are only a problem in the cities--and yet it is the city folk who think they have the best solution for everybody?
Posted by: Shane Matthews | 2009-06-19 11:19:33 AM
And Tomax, if they don't allow pellet guns, you could always try a crossbow with flu-flus. Archers are not restricted quite as much as firearms or even pellet guns.
~Shane Matthews | 2009-06-19 10:12:32 AM
Don't try it Tomax. Two 13 year old boys with one bow and a couple of arrows drew 4 Calgary police cars containing 8 cops. I don't know what they were shooting at, no one was near them so no danger, but ain't worth it.
Posted by: Speller | 2009-06-19 11:54:57 AM
Of course, Speller, that advice was subject to local bylaws, which should always be checked. Also, you can't discharge any kind of weapon on property that is not your own without the permission of the owner, and it's a safe bet those 13-year-olds did not have hunting licenses.
Still...eight cops for two kids with an archery set? Sometimes I think our police, or at least our urban forces, have truly gone insane. Are they to start chasing speeders with Apache Longbows next?
Posted by: Shane Matthews | 2009-06-19 12:11:24 PM
"and miss an opportunity to appeal to new and urban voters."
Actually let's do that shall we? We would need to begin with a total ban on handguns (because everyone knows guns are responsible for violence).
Let's see ... the next step would require the top tax rate moving to 95% (to really stick it to the rich because they never produce anything of value).
Just for kicks perhaps we could regulate how much carbon industry should produce (why stop at industry ... we could prevent people from breathing and cows from flatulating).
Ah what the heck! Let's just establish a dictatorship of the proletariat and get it over with.
Posted by: Charles | 2009-06-19 12:28:20 PM
Are they to start chasing speeders with Apache Longbows next?
~Shane Matthews | 2009-06-19 12:11:24 PM
They don't have Longbows, yet, but they do have 3 helicopters, so far, in the Calgary Police Airforce and they are for car chases. (8^D)
Posted by: Speller | 2009-06-19 12:30:36 PM
Epsilon...you are, I think clinically hysterical.
You don't like guns? Tough!
Maybe you will use a peace sign to defend your rights....or a flower to rid your house of rats...whatever.
And if I'm a redneck...then I'm a damned proud redneck who will stand up for my rights. And your whiny opinion is meaningless to me. Send that to all your peers.
Posted by: The original JC | 2009-06-19 2:10:46 PM
Tomax. I needed to rid my roof of a bunch of pigeons a few years ago. I called the city (Calgary)and they offered to come out and shoot them, with a pellet gun. I said I had one, they said go ahead. So I did.
But nowadays you'd probably get a SWAT team in your yard about 5 seconds after some brain washed hysterical person called the police.
Posted by: The original JC | 2009-06-19 2:13:32 PM
"And if I'm a redneck...then I'm a damned proud redneck who will stand up for my rights. And your whiny opinion is meaningless to me. Send that to all your peers."
Game, set, and match.
Posted by: Shane Matthews | 2009-06-19 2:31:55 PM
What I always find challenging is that a person either has to be a "redneck" or a "Dasani-wielding, airbrushed yuppy" (although I did enjoy the latter label).
Can't a guy wake up in the morning, put on his Gerry Spence buckskin jacket (with tassels), have a Cafe Americano at Starbucks, grab an Egg McMuffin at a McDonalds drive-through (although I actually prefer the new McDonald's coffee to Starbucks, but that's another blog), head to the country in his fancy SUV for a day of gunplay, stop for a few pickled eggs and a cold MGD at the Carsland Hotel, then go home for a nice dinner and a solid bottle of wine? Is there new room for a "country gentleman" in our crowd?
Posted by: Knox Harrington | 2009-06-19 2:45:33 PM
The answer to your question, Knox, is yes, of course there is. I live in the suburb of Surrey myself, hardly ranch land. For the record, it's not so much the sensibilities of urbanites that I dislike, so much as their oft-suffocating pretensions, frequently driven by ignorance and intolerance that they try in vain to hide.
Posted by: Shane Matthews | 2009-06-19 2:53:26 PM
Here, here Mr. Speaker.
Posted by: Knox Harrington | 2009-06-19 2:55:36 PM
We have a couple of bird baths with clean water for song birds,[heated in the winter for the birds that don't migrate]. It's just not that nice to see garbage, and bodies of baby songbirds in these birdbaths put there by crows to soften them up for better eating. I quite dislike crows for that reason. Maybe there is a way to get rid of them, I don't know ,but I will contact the City of Calgary and find out.
Posted by: glen | 2009-06-19 3:38:01 PM
i prefer a dirt wall against a hill. but sometimes a range can be fun.
Posted by: shel | 2009-06-19 6:26:23 PM
~epsilon, for your future relationships:
...nagging is like kryptonite to a guy.
...a prissy exterior, coupled with a kind of bratty offendedness, gets annoying.
jus' helping you on your quest for happiness. :)
Posted by: shel | 2009-06-19 6:47:47 PM
My brother-in-law shoots rabbits with a pellet gun, and makes a bunch of rabbit pies for Christmas. I wouldn't recommend using one in any city. The restrictions on pellet guns are almost as bad as real guns.
I got shot in the eye with a pellet gun, about 40 years ago. Good thing it was old, and worn out.
The dumbest thing I ever did was stand 3 feet from a frozen spruce tree, and fire a 357 mag at it. I was testing to see how much penetration it had, and the bullet bounced straight back, hitting me right in the mid-thigh. I was wearing kevlar chainsaw pants, and several more layers, so the bullet didn't break the skin. It sure did hurt.
I think all this gun talk is getting epsi hot.
Posted by: dp | 2009-06-19 6:54:28 PM
"stand 3 feet from a frozen spruce tree, and fire a 357 mag at it"
Egad! Mind my ignorance, but isn't 3 ft from anything dangerous with a pistol, let alone 357?
Meaning, kickback splinters and percussion?
Too much rum?
Posted by: tomax7 | 2009-06-19 7:11:40 PM
I used to fill empty pop cans with water and whack them with a pellet gun. It was fun watching them jump clear off the wall. One did a complete somersault and landed upside-down almost in the exact same place. Another great distraction was tossing them onto a lake and sinking them like battleships. I'd still happily do that today, although of course now I'd dive and retrieve them so as not to pollute--something a 12-year-old boy doesn't always think of.
And, of course, it would be tempting to attempt the same exercise, even once or twice, with the .30-06. In that case retrieval would not likely be an option. At least not without a sluice box. :-)
Happiness is milk cartons filled with water, a lakeside campsite at sunset, and a bag full of 12-gauge slugs.
Posted by: Shane Matthews | 2009-06-19 7:27:25 PM
No, Tomax, just young and stupid. I had enough sense to angle the barrel down, or I probably wouldn't be getting any father's day gifts.
My brother did something almost as dumb. We wanted to build a fire, to warm up for lunch, but no one had matches. We decided to try something people do on TV all the time. We made a nice pile of dry wood, poured on some gas, and my brother crouched down, covered his eyes, and fired a 44 mag into the center of the pile, from a foot away. Any guesses what happened? It blew every stick of wood 10 feet in every direction, and never made a spark. It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen.
Posted by: dp | 2009-06-19 7:27:42 PM
Might have had better luck with a .38 snubby, dp. :-)
Posted by: Shane Matthews | 2009-06-20 8:38:08 AM
In your dreams dp. You all come across as a bunch of low life trailer trash apes. WoW, what a turn on.
Posted by: epsilon | 2009-06-20 4:45:45 PM
And you come across as their bitch, Epsi. A trailer-trash, she-ape bitch with delusions of of being an uptown she-ape bitch. I hope for your sake you eat only bananas, because it's a safe bet that if you do eat meat, you don't kill it yourself. Somebody should give you a tour through an abattoir sometime, and maybe a logging camp, a mining operation, and a factory or two for good measure, so you can see where all your stuff comes from. If you don't like guns and have nothing to add to the discussion, just stay clear and let others enjoy it. We couldn't care less about the disapproval of Miss Flaming Poop.
Posted by: Shane Matthews | 2009-06-20 6:55:12 PM
In your dreams dp. You all come across as a bunch of low life trailer trash apes. WoW, what a turn on.
Posted by: epsilon | 2009-06-20 4:45:45 PM
Well us low life trailer trash apes like to keep our gun skills sharp, just in case the folks in Europe need us to save their asses again.
Unlike the decent people in Germany who were disarmed and then bullied into Nazism (subject to opinion) we won't let the government take our guns. And we especially like the French, they've always been there - when they needed us..."low life trailer trash apes"...
I don't what it is about us rednecks, For some reason we always seem to find time to bail out the Euro-snobs between pig killins and guttin chickens and the like.
Think I'll go have some Australian Shiraz by the pool. :)
Posted by: The original JC | 2009-06-20 8:06:07 PM
"Think I'll go have some Australian Shiraz by the pool. :)"
i've never tried it. but i like a good armagnac. (the French are good for something (heh)).
~epsilon, do you never just get primal? there are some things a woman does that just make me glad i'm a man. incredibly feminine things like watching her put on makeup in the bathroom, the natural way she handles kids, the way she tucks herself into me while we're walking around chinatown and she feels insecure or cold. stuff like that. these things are beautiful to me. they appeal to my male nature.
likewise, when she watches me cut down trees and haul 'em around, make fires, fix cars, shoot a gun and bring home venison (and cook a good evening meal), she loves it.
fundamentally, there is one irreducible primary:
the individual, alone, within his environment. when a man shows his competence and survival skills within his environment, this shows a potential mate that he is worthy of her and gives her value by helping her survive.
have we become so metrosexualised that we have forgotten this? at heart i don't think so, but i feel sorry for the man who has lost his way (and for the woman who treats him with contempt, but is stuck with him).
Ken comes with Barbie, but Barbie comes with GI Joe. ;)
Posted by: shel | 2009-06-20 9:28:42 PM
...I think that's it. We've been neutered. Metrosexual is the result of years of belittling, badgering, and national she-male think tanks.
Is it me, or when I see these young male Japanese kids around town, I find it hard to figure out which sex they want to be.
Posted by: tomax7 | 2009-06-20 9:45:16 PM
Don't be so hard on Epsi. It's only a facade. Most women protest, and implore their men not to fight and act like savages, but they're always dissappointed when there's no bloodshed.
Don't you remember when you were a teenager, at bush parties? There was always one girl, who screamed and wailed every time a fight broke out. She'd do the same thing at every party. She'd always date the roughest and toughest guys. She made a career out of trying to break up fights, but in reality, she was hooked on the adrenaline, just like the guys.
All Epsi needs is a polite invitation to join the party.
Barbie comes with GI Joe? That's a good one.
Posted by: dp | 2009-06-20 9:55:54 PM
Tomax- Asians seem to have different triggers for sexual attraction. I think it's partly because of overcrowding. No room for macho mating rituals.
I can tell you from experience, Asians love it when they get to act like we do. They love the fact we're allowed to own guns. They enjoy getting close to anything wild, even though it scares them at first.
I'm afraid that Asians were exposed to the worst aspects of western culture, and thought all Canadians listen to Boy George, and watch Canadian Idol. They'll figure it out, eventually.
Posted by: dp | 2009-06-20 10:17:25 PM
"Don't be so hard on Epsi. It's only a facade".
yeah, you're right. it's just kinda sad that she's been metro'd to think this way.
girls like that don't respect their guys, and (frustratingly for the girls) can't figure out why.
Posted by: shel | 2009-06-20 10:53:06 PM
I have linked these comments to over 100 friends and colleagues of all political persuasions to illustrate how out of touch far right white males are from modern political realities.
I invite and encourage you all to keep up your primal ape like chest beating.
This is just too rich!
Love,
Epsi
Posted by: epsilon | 2009-06-21 12:46:38 AM
I have struck the mother lode!
You no-minds are so fucking stupid! it's like taking candy from a baby!
Love it!
Posted by: epsilon | 2009-06-21 12:51:47 AM
LoL! We are going to put up a website devoted to reposting all the nonsense you losers post here!
You guys are too dumb to understand how pathetic you sound but you are absolutely hilarious!
Stay tuned morons!
Love from all of us!
XOXOXOXOX
Epsi & Friends!
Posted by: epsilon | 2009-06-21 1:01:23 AM
Dammit. It's raining, and work got postponed. I had my guns all packed to create mayhem on the prairies.
I'm going back to bed for an hour, then getting up to watch Horsepower TV. Maybe if the rain eases up, I'll work on my '69 Chevelle.
Oh yes, it's Father's Day. Maybe, if I squeeze my girlfriend just right, she'll get up, and make me breakfast.
Sometimes, even primal apes need a day off.
Posted by: dp | 2009-06-21 7:22:38 AM
You no-minds are so fucking stupid! it's like taking candy from a baby!
Love it!
Posted by: epsilon | 2009-06-21 12:51:47 AM
Major inferiority complex at play here.
Poor Epsi, saying to all her friends...Look at me!
See how smart I am? I need attention and I've found people we can all get smug and feel like we're better than....
Get a life.
Posted by: The original JC | 2009-06-21 7:38:02 AM
Sometimes, even primal apes need a day off.
Posted by: dp | 2009-06-21 7:22:38 AM
The weather has put the brakes on my plans too.
The wife is off to Yoga and I think I'll throw on a slicker and take the dogs out for a run in the trees....
God I love living in Alberta. :)
Posted by: The original JC | 2009-06-21 7:39:41 AM
heh. i knew you couldn't resist coming back, epsi. ;)
Posted by: shel | 2009-06-21 8:40:37 AM
I have linked these comments to over 100 friends and colleagues.......................
Posted by: epsilon | 2009-06-21 12:46:38 AM
Most if not all of number 5's "friends and colleagues" are Atlantis Rising adherents who spend most of their time looking for aliens, underwater cities, magic crystals, Mayan calendars, etc. Their main concern with guns is that you don't shoot any ET's.
Posted by: The Stig | 2009-06-21 9:02:30 AM
"We've been neutered. Metrosexual is the result of years of belittling, badgering, and national she-male think tanks."
I prefer to think of it as a cultural test that separates the men from the boys, Tomax. Women talk big from behind a desk, but put them in a survival situation and the first thing they look for is a man to help them out of it.
I know there are some exceptions to this, and most men have nothing for admiration for a woman who can hold her own. (There are a few "macho" types with frail egos who are threatened by such women, but they aren't terribly numerous.) In my experience, these independent gals receive far more condemnation from their own sex for "betraying the cause" than they do from chauvinist males.
By the way, Epsi. More women are taking up hunting and shooting than ever before. Some women, at least, are constructive and practical enough to discover that there is more pleasure in going hunting with their men than in belittling them for it.
Posted by: Shane Matthews | 2009-06-21 10:37:18 AM
"I have linked these comments to over 100 friends and colleagues of all political persuasions to illustrate how out of touch far right white males are from modern political realities."
And I'm sure Sunera Thobani, Jennifer Lynch, Wendy Cukier, Susan Aglukark, Betty Krawczyk, Briony Penn, Belinda Stronach, and other women of equally commanding reputation and enormous credentials will act very quickly to make all sorts of hay at the behest of Miss Flaming Poop.
"I invite and encourage you all to keep up your primal ape like chest beating."
(THUMP THUMP THUMP) ARRGGHHHH! Me bite off wonder trollop's HEAD, taste GOOD!!! (CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP) (smack smack) (BURP) Mmmmmmmm.....(HIC) BEEEERR! (CHUGGA CHUGGA CHUGGA) (DRIP DRIP) (HIC) (BURP) ZZZZZZZZzzzzz....
{repeat if necessary)
Posted by: Shane Matthews | 2009-06-21 10:45:38 AM
"I have struck the mother lode!"
No, Epsi, that was your ass. It keeps getting in your way. It's your signature feature, apart from your mouth, and that always has both feet in it.
Posted by: Shane Matthews | 2009-06-21 10:46:49 AM
"And I'm sure Sunera Thobani, Jennifer Lynch, Wendy Cukier, Susan Aglukark, Betty Krawczyk, Briony Penn, Belinda Stronach, and other women of equally commanding reputation and enormous credentials will act very quickly to make all sorts of hay at the behest of Miss Flaming Poop."
I forgot to add Kim Campbell.
Posted by: Shane Matthews | 2009-06-21 10:48:30 AM
Come on Shane, I almost had her won over. You have to stop messing with my action.
Posted by: dp | 2009-06-21 10:56:06 AM
Epsi- I'm a sensitive guy. I have empathy for your situation. Here's one of my favourite songs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQYKyg1mdx0&feature=related
Posted by: dp | 2009-06-21 11:17:48 AM
"Come on Shane, I almost had her won over."
dp, trust me. In this case it's better that you lose. Guys don't let other guys get saddled with a dud like that, if they can help it. It's a duty of men.
But in the event that you DO win her over, be sure to ask her, before committing, that just in case you should require them, where exactly she will be keeping your balls. Because it's a safe bet she won't allow them to remain attached while she's around.
Posted by: Shane Matthews | 2009-06-21 11:50:03 AM
Keep it up mouthbreathers!
Love it!
You pigs are so easy to manipulate!
HAHAHAH!
You hillbillies are good for a laugh as boring, uneducated and duh-umb as you are!
HAHAHAHA!
Especially you Shane! You are sooooo cute when you get pissed off and all hot spitting mad!
HAHAHAHA!
Epsi & Friends
Posted by: epsilon | 2009-06-22 6:14:47 PM
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