Preparing to head “Up North” this year for opening day of firearm season I began to get my hunting gear together. Many items are durable/reusable so this just means trying to remember where I put them last year when I got home.
It also meant a trip to the sporting goods store for those things that are perishable such us Deer Attractants which each year promise to lure the really big bucks to my hunting location. I think they just repackage them with fancier labels each year because they always smell the same (terrible) to me.
Last year I was suckered into a lure that was like burning incense on a stick. It promised to be effective for over a mile to “drive bucks wild”. I have visions of stoned Bucks sitting around the smoking incense in camp chairs with a Pabst Blue Ribbon in their hoof.
As I wandered through the isle of the store I couldn’t help but notice all the camo underwear that is now available. Maybe it is just me, but I don’t recall ever being outside in a deer blind in my skivvies. These high tech unmentionables are made of the latest scent trapping materials that I must spray with neutralizer after washing with my scent killing bar of soap.
When did they come up with so many different types of camo? I count at least 30 different shades and varieties of wood, grass, and leaves. One company even has a camo material that changes color with temperature to match the seasons.
I remember when hunters wore red plaid Woolrich jackets and Stormy Kromer hats. If it was really cold there were hats that had big furry ear flaps (Think Elmer Fudd).
Back then heavy wool socks kept your feet warm, and I remember I feeling a little bit sissy the first time I used those air activated toe warmers. This year I saw lithium ion battery powered heated insoles for your boots that come with a remote control so you can adjust the temperature of your feet without taking your boots off.
Choice of guns and cartridges were limited too. There were a few big thumpers, but the most common guns were lever actions in 30-30 or bolt actions in 30-06.. Grandpa did not have a special cartridge with a string of letters like WSSUM to signify it was the latest Super Duper Long or short Ultra-Magnum low drag high velocity reduced recoil wiz bang.
A few years ago my son Ben and I went hunting on what we called our “Retro-Hunt”. I used my 1952 Savage 99 lever action in 300 Savage and he used my 1951 Winchester Model 94 Lever in 30-30. My only concession was that it sported a modern optic while Ben used the iron sights.
While not a productive hunt that year we did have a lot of fun. One of my friends with us remarked that he saw a few other hunters with Savage 99’s and the rifle seems to carry a lot of street cred with the older hunters
Which brings me back to, How did Grandpa ever get a deer without all these modern gadgets we have today?
I am beginning to think all this new-fangled stuff is aimed more at taking me than in taking a deer!
