Back in the Saddle

I have not felt much like writing for the past few weeks. There has been so much to do. However, I did finally manage to get back out to the farm and get some stuff done. I started off by building some shelves in the bedroom to take my hunting gear. Moose and Angus came out and cleaned out one of the sheds. We had quite a storm last spring, and it came close to knocking the whole thing over. The only thing holding it up at the moment is the siding. We are going to finish the job and then build a new structure on the site.

Moose and I went squirrel hunting together. It was probably the first time in over 10 years. It was also my first time since Chemo. I brought my Brown Bess musket filled with an ounce of #6 shot. We encountered half a dozen squirrels but never got a shot. The little buggers are still able to hide in the canopy. Mooselette and I had similar results yesterday. I took her out for her first squirrel hunt where she was actually armed and dangerous. We did not see a squirrel after two hours in the Hundred Acre Wood, but she had a good time. She was aching for a squirrel, but happy to be out with her grandpa nonetheless.

I’d had her out with me in the same spot when she was about 4, and she really didn’t like it. Things are considerably different now. She was bored and mad I made her leave her doll behind.

Getting Ready for Deer

It’s less than 60 days to the Rifle Opener, and the funeral put us back a bit. I was able to start getting the rifles out and try them. The TC Compass in 7mm-08 is now shooting fine with its new load of Hornady 139-grain SPs over WIN StaBall 6.5. The second rifle I brought out was not nearly so easy. I’ve been working on and off for a decade to bring the Rem 7600 in 35 Whelen, The Whelenizer, back into service. My latest attempt was using 180-grain RN Speers, but this was before 2 bouts with Cancer. I tried it out with the rounds I loaded back in 2020, and they were not all that accurate and they chrono’d well below my expectations. I had been hoping to resurrect the Whelenizer as something more like a hot 35 Rem-ish deer killer. That’s okay. I just put it back on the rack and brought out the Mauser from Hell, my sporterized KAR 98. It is a fine safety blanket. I have nothing to prove with it, but I will bring it to camp as a backup.

Mooselette had her Savage 340 in 30-30 out this past weekend and we got her shooting on the paper at 100 yards. I have to say that she has taken to centerfire rifle better than either Daddy Moose or Uncle Angus. Last year, with the Marlin 336, she realized the rifle was not going to hurt her. Since then, she has been displaying excellent form at the bench and able to put rounds downrange with reasonable results. She also takes three adults criticizing her form with decent humor and puts it too good use. Most of all, she enjoys shooting. I noticed this also in the run-up to turkey season: she’s just a stone-cold killer with a firearm. I’ve never seen a kid ice down like that. She really sets her mind to it.

Making The Jump

To be open and honest about it, the only thing keeping me in Cincinnati was Mom, and it has been that way for ten years. Mom was in a facility just 5 minutes from the house, and she depended on my daily visits. When Mom passed, I proposed to KYHillChick that since we both had gotten clean bills of health from our oncologists in the past month (5 years for her, 1 year for me) we should hie ourselves away to the green pastures of the farm while we still could. My girlfriend agreed, and so we’re off to Bracken County. It will take quite a bit of work on the place to make it ready for full-time occupancy, and I plan on adding on a bunch so there are enough beds for whoever comes to stay. More on that later.

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