I’m back from the farm. I got a lot of chores done on Saturday. Moose and Mooselette were not coming until today. I could have stuck around, but I had stuff to do back in town.
The last thing I did was roll out to The Jagende Hütte. It was a somber homecoming. This was the first ground blind I constructed on the farm. I made it out of a packing crate in 2002. Little Angus watched me take a doe out of it in 2003 and that rocked his world. After that, I did not have much luck with it. It was all but abandoned by 2009 when SuperCore first started coming out. He took to the blind and hunted deer and turkey out of it for all the time he attended deer camp. Last year, was his last hunt. I keep prodding him, but it just ain’t happening.
Everybody else has their own favorite spots. I decided to stay on the ground this year. That left me as the guy taking over The Jagende Hütte. I went out yesterday to check it out and install a new folding chair. The first thing I noticed was that a fairly massive trunk had fallen over the door– no damage, and the door still opened enough for me to get in. Another few inches and the tree would have crushed the blind.
Inside, it was as if I’d never left. That felt strange. I cannot say how long it has been, at least as long as a decade– nearly two. It hit me for real right then that SuperCore was not coming back. He’s just up the road, in town. I can call him whenever I want and go to lunch, but something significant is gone and it ain’t coming back.
The view from the windows of the blind was the same, except the barn at Broken Corners is completely fallen in, and the little red farmhouse on the top of the next ridge is now a whopping big place and huge construction scar. I plan on using The Jagende Hütte for the Rifle Opener– first time in 23 years I won’t be hunting out of the stand at Campground.
Sighting In
I got my deer rifles sighted in for the season. I wanted to mix it up a bit and left the 30-06 Ruger Hawkeye behind. This will be the first time in years I haven’t hunted with a 30-06.
Here’s what’s coming:
- Savage 99 in 308 WIN. Hornady 165 grain Interlock over H4895
- Mauser Kar 98 iin 8X57. “The Mauser from Hell” 170 grain Interlock over H4895
- TC Compass in 7mm-08 139 grain Interlock over StaBall 6.5
I Can See!
Last year at this time, I was contemplating cataract surgery. I brought out the Rossi 92 in 44 Mag for sight-in and it was complete mush in the sight picture. If I closed my left eye, I could still see three of everything with my right. I booked the surgery for early January and spent the winter dealing with it. I got my new glasses in the spring. Unless I’m reading up close, I don’t even need glasses, and the world stopped being a dim yellowish mess. Yesterday was the big self-reveal with the Model 92. Could I shoot with it?
Yes and No.
The good news is that I could see a target at 100 yards to aim and shoot. In that respect, it’s Mission Accomplished. The problem is that the sights on the 92 are adjusted all the way down and I’m still firing over a foot over the target. I’ll have to deal with this later, but it won’t be before this deer season. I had bought this rifle for close-in treestand work, and that is not on the schedule for this year.
This is probably the last year I’ll be making these pre-season pics. By next season, I’ll be permanently moved to the farm, and I’ll have the entire deer battery at hand and I can hunt with a different firearm every day of season.
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