Yesterday marked the 12-week mark in the countdown to the Rifle Opener in November.  It found me staying home from camp to escape the all-day rains that never quite materialized. 

So what needs to be done?

Odds and Ends

By this time of the year, I have all my clothes washed and put away.  I ran a couple of loads of leftover clothes from turkey season and got them stashed in sodium bicarb. 

See Baking Soda– the Shamanic Method

KYHillChick did some mending on the orange clownsuit.  I put a tear in the bibs crossing a barbed-wire fence last fall.  I try and have all my clothing figured out by now.

I like to do a quick run-through of the rest of my gear right about now.  If I need to order a replacement for a flashlight or some other gewgaw. It is best to do it earlier than later.

I have no major work to do on any of my existing stands.  The last time I was down to the farm, I went around and did some spot-checking.   There may be time to put up a new stand for Angus or Moose in September. We’ll see.  Usually mid-July is the best time to order new stands on places like SportsmensGuide.com.   The blinds may need a little work. There is still plenty of time for that. I know the roofing needs to be nailed back down on the Jagende-Hutte.

At the first sign of the summer heat breaking, I’m usually out clearing any shooting lanes. That may come this week or next.  Although, I have not seen any real need there.

The Deer Battery

At the end of July, I started seriously thinking about what I was going to carry this year. It was also the time I started pulling my deer rifles off the back of the rack and gave them a quick going-over with a clean patch. I use Ed’s Red, and after half a year stewing in the barrel, Ed’s has usually loosened some gunk that comes right out.

It is getting so that I am like a cat in the corn crib– too many choices.  It was about time to make some decisions.  On my first trip back to camp after our usual mid-summer hiatus, I brought the Ruger Model 44 and the Remington 7600, The Whelenizer.

Bob's Ruger Model 44 Carbine

The story of the Model 44 was simple.  I loved the rifle. It performed well on its first time out. I nailed a nice buck with it last year.  I also took it boar hunting in December.  The problem was with the scope.  The vintage  Aimpoint was too dark to see through at first and last light.  I swapped it out for a Bushnell Banner 1.5-4.5X30. The Dawn to Dusk coatings really do let in gobs more light.   I already had put one on the Whelenizer several years ago.

I got the Model 44 sighted in and used up the last few rounds of ammunition for it.  Last weekend I loaded 70 more 44 Magnum 240grain Hornady XTP over H110– same load as before. This rifle is ready for season.

The Whelenizer was a different case entirely.  I had decided to give it another try this year, using a 180 grain Speer bullet, thinking that it might make the recoil more manageable.  

See   New Load for the Whelenizer 

I had given myself both Saturday and Sunday to shoot.  I got 5 rounds through the Whelenizer and got it pretty well sighted in. The problem came Sunday morning. My shoulder was hurting.  Look, I’m 62. I can take a hint.  It is not that the 35 Whelen is too much rifle for me anymore, but it is too much for shooting whitetails.  I have plenty of other rifles in my battery that gets the job done with less.  This what I had figured out back in 2014 when I retired the Whelenizer for the first time after a record of 10 deer in 10 years.  It is going back on the rack until I can find something bigger than the local deer to shoot with it.  Moose comes to mind. Moose is on my bucket list.

Savage 99 in 308 WIN

The Savage 99 now has a new buttstock pad. I bought it back over the winter.  It improves my cheek weld.

Click on pic for Amazon link

I have been looking for such a pad for several years now.  When I changed out the scope on the ’99 about  10 years ago, I found myself lifting my cheek off the stock to get a good sight picture. The old scope was a 30mm. The new one was a 3-9X40 Bushnell.  I had to go to a higher mount to keep the scope free from the barrel.

The result was a not significant detriment.  I usually only use the Savage 99 in fairly close situations. However, I got tired of not having good solid contact.  I have stock pads that cost me $9, but they looked ugly on the Savage 99.  Leather ones usually set a fellow back $80 or more, and they usually have loops for ammo.  I got this for $40 on Amazon.

I usually take 3-4 rifles to Deer Camp for the first week.  The Ruger Model 44 is my new favorite for the treestands.  My Savage 99 is my GOTO rifle for the Opener.  The 8X57 Mauser Kar98 is my choice for replacing the Whelenizer and the Ruger Hawkeye 30-06 is the do-everything-else backup.  I have an extra week’s vacation to burn this year.  If the summer sighting-in sessions go as planned I have several other choices for the second week. More on that later.

Reading Material

I have been taking reading material with me when I’m hunting through most of my 40-or-so years in the field.  The big reason is that when I’m reading, I am quiet.  Over the years, I have learned to read a page or two and then lift my head and look around a bit.  It keeps my head still, and it makes the time pass.  I also keep my ears attentive.  Starting in 2012, I substituted a Samsung Android tablet for paperback books.  It is smaller than a paperback, and it is easier to stow.  Between Guttenburg.org and Amazon’s free or cheap Kindle selections,  I stay well-stocked in material. 

Click for Amazon link

This year, I’ll be taking a physical book out to the blind for the first time in years.  I just got my copy of Stephen Redgwell’s new tome, The 24Hour Campfryer.

Steve and I have been on 24HourCampfire.com together for years.  Steve’s a hoot.  I got a few pages into the first story and knew this book was going out to Midway for those long sits, waiting for the deer to show up at the Garden of Stone.

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