Shooting vs. Hunting... Time spent

[AtlLaw]

It seems the older I get the faster time goes and the less time I have to do the things I want to.     I don't know why that is...    Yesterday I took a half day off from work to go shoot some at my gun club, but after I got home all I could think of doing was taking a nap.     That was it, the whole afternoon and evening gone!     This started me thinking about time limitations and the choices we are faced with when it comes to how we use our time.  And you guys KNOW what happens when I get to thinkin!   

Now, I've spent most of my adult life and disposable income buying the guns I want, always thinking things like: I don't have one of these or I'll need this caliber for hunting that game or I love to shoot old military rifles or wouldn't it be fun to have a whatever to shoot!  And there is plenty of stuff out there to buy.  I've got a list of them!     A M92 in 44 Mag or 45 Colt - can't make up my mind which... SOLUTION! get one of each!  One rifle and one carbine!     And a M73 because they just so purdy!  A '51 Navy BP revlover and a '61 Navy cartridge conversion. And the list goes on!   

And of course don't forget projects!  I've got 2 rifles in the works and I can't get the thought that a Handi with a 26 inch barrel in 45- 90 or 100 would make a perfect large bore hunting rifle out of my mind!     The fact that I have a FAL that I got back from having the metal refinished over 3 years ago sitting on my work bench waiting to be reassembled means nothing when it comes to acquiring more toys!  Nor does the fact that I doubt if I will live long enough to kill another deer with each of the hunting rifles I now have; at the rate of 4 deer a year anyway...    It all boils down to TIME!

So, I've got a problem.  Since I don't have the time to use the ones I have, I can't justify getting any more weapons; not even to myself.  Does that mean I must give up getting anymore guns that I may want?     NO!  NO I TELL YOU!!!    I don't chase wimmins, my car is 7 years old and my motorcycle is 6, I don't drink hard likker or more 'en 2 - 3 cases a beer a week, I don't like sports (tv or otherwise) or play golf, all I do is work at my job, work around the house, meet/party with my brothers every so often, and play with my guns!

So I'm going to have to change my priorities.  I realised that most of my shooting was done with preperation for hunting season in mind; load bullets, fire for data, analize data, load more bullets, fire for more data...    Now don't get me wrong, that's fun to me.  But I am limiting myself!  My gun club has ranges for everything and anything I would want to do.  It's a 45 minute drive, but I have no alternative!  Since I sold my little cottage in the woods I can't shoot around my house without expecting intervention by local law enforcement personnel and them boys ain't got no sense of humor!   

Sure would be nice to be able to step out my back door and start shooting like I could when I was a kid though... 

Anyway, I got the facilities, all I need is the time to use them...    I got to work...  need the money...  The only way to get more time is to eliminate Kathie's "honey-do" list...    Now how I gonna do that??      

[Oldshooter]

Pardner...Sir,
I know the feeling, I recently bought a 24 gun safe and I still have a rifle or two behind the bedroom door!

I bought a new to me barrel the other day and I have yet to put a scope on it to sight it in.

I love to tinker with them and shoot but after season I rarely have the time. if it weren't for this site I would not do as much as I do know. after a little reading, I go out and see if I can duplicate the load and shoot a little or whatever the subject is. Now there is a woman who thinks I spend too much time here. But she is rarely right about anything 

[AtlLaw]

Now there is a woman who thinks I spend too much time here. But she is rarely right about anything 

Glad you smilein when you say that!     Them wimmins got less sense a humor then them PO-lice do!      

[SHOOTALL]

AtlLaw , next time take the entire day off ! sleep late , brunch , arrive at the range about 12ish , unload , eat snack shoot till about 4ish, clean up , go home to good dinner , shower ,get back rubbed drift off to sleep !
since it was fri. do it again sat. and sunday !

yea i dream too !

[mcwoodduck]

Before I moved to Northern CA I would get to the range one day almost every weekend to do a little plinking, shoot in a match, or get out to the other club to smoke cigars and play with the BB guns to shoot trap.  The trap clu was 10 min from the house, the rifle range was 35 Min from the house and had a 50meter 22 range in the back yard at the house.  Now it is a 2 hour adventure with two trips across the golden gate bridge.My ammo bills have trippled as my nephew goes with me and WOW can he turn a brick of ammo into a pile of empty boxes and brass.  Be that brick 22 or 223.  So far the 308 and the 30-06 guns have not slowed him down I may have to start letting him shoot the 375H&H to sore up his shoulder a little.
As far as hunting I get to go on two to five trips a year.  Dove, maybe a pig hunt, deer and Duck in NC at Christmas, and possibly an elk hunt with either Chad or Rob. I am hoping next year to again make Turkey season in NC with Dad, Oh and A couple of weekends quail hunting, or I have spent a few days and nights getting rid of pests like Ground Squirls, Cotton tails, and Coyote. 
WOW I get to hunt more than I thought.
What I need to do is bring a 22 pistol to the office and sneak off to the range around the corner for lunch on Fridays or some other days.
And I too have spent a bunch on a bunch of rifles, shotguns, and handguns to meet every need and condition in the field. 
I need to rethink some of them.  I'll make you a list of stuff in case any of it fills voids in your hunting irons.

[Graybeard]

Ah so, Grasshopper ya reminds me of me so much.

I've been on that eternal quest to own at least one of everything made for most of my life. I've finally come to the realization that there isn't enough time left in my life to shoot all I have now and while I do have a back yard range to shoot them in I find that punching holes in paper is not nearly as rewarding as it once seemed to be and that doing it alone is not nearly the fun it was when doing it with my best friend now long since gone to the happy hunting ground.

I no longer have any private land to hunt and am just not able to climb those hills and drag those deer back to the truck the way I once did so tend to skip hunting on public land as well.

I've not set foot inside a gunstore or gone to a gunshow all this year so far. I've managed to not buy a single gun this entire year so far. I'm not sure if that's to be considered progress or backing up really but at least I've not added more to the back log of guns sitting waiting for me to get around to taking them out to the range for their first time.

Speaking of naps, what ya need to do my friend is retire like I did then ya get to take one each day and can time it to whatever time of day seems most appropriate without it messing up the rest of the day for doing those other things both wanted and needed.

Of course that doesn't mean I'm anymore caught up than anyone else. The grass is way over due to be mowed and trimmed and the fish down at the pond keep calling my name and asking when I'm gonna invite them to a fish dinner. Little do they know they will be on the menu and not guests doing the eating.

I've got guns to clean before the PD shoot and ammo to reload and guns to shoot and be sure they still hit where they once did. I'm way over due on reviews that need to be written and dang it seems there is no end to it. I think what I need is a helper if only I had the money to hire one. Ain't life grand.

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

  After reading the above posts, I am not sure if I should speak. We live in a very small western town. The rifle range and trap range is three minutes from my house. Ground squirrels, the same, prairie dogs a bit farther, coyotes where ever you see 'em. I can hunt elk with in 10 minutes and deer and antelope even less. Our bird hunting is not that great two kinds of grouse, and waterfowl. But few folks hunt either. Usually, I get about twodozen grouse, and maybe that many waterfowl, depending on how be big game hunting is going. I usually shoot a little everyday. Mostly rifles and pistols.But I try to get 500 rounds of clay targets each summer. Almost every morning I am not hunting coyotes, I hunt some other type of game Mostly I take a trip after the seasons close here to visit friends in Pa. and do some turkey and deer hunting. Then usually a mth. for quail and dove in Az. This year it may be varmits as the quail are scarce I don't buy as many guns as I used to, but still have one or two I haven't shot. And I am looking at a .45 in 1911 because I don't have one and never did. Very sad On the down side it is cold, and windy here, and the nearest big town over 100 miles. On second thought that last thing is not bad. Most of the the time I wish it was a whole lot farther.

[Oldshooter]

After reading the above posts, I am not sure if I should speak. We live in a very small western town. The rifle range and trap range is three minutes from my house. Ground squirrels, the same, prairie dogs a bit farther, coyotes where ever you see 'em. I can hunt elk with in 10 minutes and deer and antelope even less. Our bird hunting is not that great two kinds of grouse, and waterfowl. But few folks hunt either. Usually, I get about twodozen grouse, and maybe that many waterfowl, depending on how be big game hunting is going. I usually shoot a little everyday. Mostly rifles and pistols.But I try to get 500 rounds of clay targets each summer. Almost every morning I am not hunting coyotes, I hunt some other type of game Mostly I take a trip after the seasons close here to visit friends in Pa. and do some turkey and deer hunting. Then usually a mth. for quail and dove in Az. This year it may be varmits as the quail are scarce I don't buy as many guns as I used to, but still have one or two I haven't shot. And I am looking at a .45 in 1911 because I don't have one and never did. Very sad On the down side it is cold, and windy here, and the nearest big town over 100 miles. On second thought that last thing is not bad. Most of the the time I wish it was a whole lot farther.

OK OK quit braggin'       glad someone gets to shoot a lot!

[Carl l.]

Fellow's I hate to say this, but the problems you are going through now, I have been there. It's called getting old. Carl L.

[nomosendero]

AtlLaw, looks like you need to learn speed napping.

[stubshaft]

AtlLaw , next time take the entire day off ! sleep late , brunch , arrive at the range about 12ish , unload , eat snack shoot till about 4ish, clean up , go home to good dinner , shower ,get back rubbed drift off to sleep !
since it was fri. do it again sat. and sunday !

yea i dream too !

And the problem with that is??

[burntmuch]

Now Im pretty sure I dont have nearly the number of guns you boys have, but like said above Ive got a few that will probably never see the woods again. at least till the boy uses them. Going to the range aint nearly as fun by my self as it used to be. Much more fun when I can make smaller groups than my older brother. But that happens less & less. Never seems to be time for that anymore. Couple nights ago we (wife & 3 kids) were pulling into my driveway, seen a line of turkey coming out of my woods into neighbors field. That usually means theres a Tom or 2 in my woods. I could feel the turkey tag in my wallet quivering. I looked over at the wife & just knew. I wasnt going out there . Now Im no whooped pup, I get to hunt & fish more than any of my friends or brothers. But not that night. % years ago. I woulda went & argued later.
Ive got some pretty good motivators to keep me shooting & hunting & stuff. My 8 y/o twin girls are chomping at the bit to hunt & fish with me. Dont know what Im getting at here. For me I just try & enjoy what I get time to do. & keep buying guns, Thy,re better than a savings acount


Oh yeah. with all that said. A good nap is nothing to be ashamed of

[LONGTOM]

Man, you all need to get out and hunt more.
It's nice to go to the range once in a while but like posted before, half the time you can't get on for all the people.
I live less than 4 miles from our local IZAAK WALTON LEAGUE, am a member and haven't been there in over two years.
Other than to check a scope or sight in a new gun I prefer to spend my time out in the wide open world of hunting.
Punching holes in paper to me was always a bore.
Once it is sighted in I prefer to do all my shooting at game.
Makes one a far better shot plus you get to spend time doing what we all love the best!
Have been doing this for over 40 years and it seems to work for me.
A lot of the times I don't even kill anything.
I just go and watch.
There is no better time spent (next to time spent with my family) that satisfies me better then hunting.
That is my world and I only have to answer to nature.
I am very lucky to own a 200+ acre farm and can go on a minutes notice.

Now, as for guns.
I could build a nice house with what is tied up in them.
Five safes and they are still double stacked in a couple of them.

Richard: You said something about a good model 73,
How about a complete set of all the 73s in Oct barrel in rifle form with factory letters.
Don't shoot them much anymore as the value has gotten up there but still enjoy taking one out once in a while.

BTW, if anyone has an ORIGINAL HENRY double rim fire cartridge that will fire I will give a hundred $ for it just so I can say I shot my 1865 HENRY one time.
I have 16 of them and none will fire.

It sure would be nice to be able to sit around a camp fire with all of us shooting the bull and spend a few days hunting together!

Yes Richard you can bring the 120, I can set up the 500yd range for you & us to play on!!! 
With your ammo of course.



LONGTOM

[Fred M]

Just sitting here dreaming, contemplating how to reload all these
empty cases I need for gopher shooting. Thinking hard how to rejuvenate that Ruger#1 243 I had rebored to 6.5-284. All these projects takes so much time and thinking while sitting in my lazy boy chair looking out the window seeing the snow blowing , that is at the end of April. Temp is at -7C.

My thoughts are back in Arizona and the warm sun shine, heated swimming pool and cool lemonade and no projects. Though I had to repair a borrowed shotgun I used for skeet shooting. The stock bolt came loose and cracked the pistol grip on a light weight Franchi 20 Auto.

Life of old folks can be a pain in many ways, whatever ails must be brushed aside and not fretted to any further extend if that is at all possible. At 79 one has less and less time to do things because most of the time is used up dreaming planning and wishful thinking. Talking your 3 mile walk every day becomes just a battle of wills and seems to accomplish nothing but sore legs.

With all these little inconveniences life is good, or not too bad if you will. All the above inputs are well received and compare with my experiences.

My friend Dr. Lange from Germany send me and article from Prof.
Dr. Dr Manfred Spitzer University of Ulm.
"Seit net zu den Alten" Meaning be nice to the Old. If you are, your mental outlook toward old age is tranfered to yourself and has in effect beneficial aspects of your own old age when you get to it.

[SHOOTALL]

stubshaft , whats wrong , nothing but the wife and kids mess it up alot .

speed nap is that like a power nap only slower ?

[AtlLaw]

Sorry I haven't acknowledged some GREAT responses here... it's that "time" thing again!   

I told Kathie that I'd had an epiphany in writing that post.  I also told her that as a result of said epiphany that things were going to change.  I'm going to shoot more... like 3 or 4 times a week.      She said "Fine, I think you should.  I'll go with you and bring a book to read."



Well, that ain't to bad.  And always being one to push things, I then stated "I'm also gonna stop buying as many guns and put that money toward some hunts!"  "Good" she said.  "where do you want to go first?"



Sounds pretty good huh?  Well it is, until you read the fine print!     There are conditions like... she goes on all my hunting trips.  Now her idea of roughing it is having to stay at a 4 star hotel.  For my hunting trips, she insists that any Lodge we stay at must have an appropriate itinerary for spousal units while the men folk are hunting.  Naturally this includes an on-site spa (with masseuse) and side trips for sightseeing, shopping and enjoying the local color.  Cocktails and evening entertainment would be nice, but not absolutely necessary since "this is a hunting trip I suppose one must be prepared to make some sacrafices."   

I had thought, thanks to threads here on GB's, that a nice Black Bear hunt in Maine would be a fun trip.  Now her initial reply was "Oh good!  The only place I've ever been to in Maine is Kennebunkport!"  Yup, her and the Kennedy's...    Anyway, thanks to her conditions I've already eliminated every Black Bear outfitter up there that I've heard about.      Darn shame... woulda been a great test for my 45-120... 

Then there is also her insistance that one hunting trip for me = one trip to where ever she wants to go.      Can you imagine? 

You want to go back to Cancun?  Fine.  I only have one condition... We go during Spring Break!   

[mcwoodduck]

They have a trip that is for you in Africa then.
It is on a train.  Dinner is Black tie and there are all the first class options.
Every so often the train stops for bird or big game shooting.  And if the spouce does not want to shoot they have events for them as well.
I will try to find out more for you.  But I need to look through a couple of old Double gun journals to find out more information for you.

[Oldshooter]

Good grief man, if you can't help him at least don't help the bear!   

[petemi]

Richard...Cancun is out....swine flu.  There's none of it in Maine yet  That'll get you out of havin ta lay in the sun drooling over those bikinis.  Ain't too many bikinis in Maine even in the summer

Patty was at me this morning...."What do you guys chat about that takes so much time?"  When are ya gonna split the wood and till the garden...Is the tractor running.....are the horse fences fixed......when are ya gonna clean up the yard.....the grass is growing, we'll need the lawn mowers tuned up......apple trees need pruning....etc. etc.    Geeeeze, sometimes I wish I lived in a high rise condo  When she retires, I'm moving out to the deer blind.

I don't know how many guns I own, it's not as many as a lot of you.  The good part is I can step out any of the 3 doors on my house and shoot.  I really only punch paper to sight in.  After that it's hunting and plinking, and I do that here at home too.  I love to put 20 or 30 water filled jugs at random distances out to 300 yards and have an offhand shoot with a couple of friends, each taking turns.  

I'd have to guess the time spent shooting, hunting and napping is about equal.

I'd have to mortgage the place for a thousand years for that Africa trip.  I think I'll just stay on the paid-for farm and murder bambi.

Pete

[SHOOTALL]

AtlLaw , As experinced a fellow as you seemed to be and all .
Look man take both your wife and girl friend with you . They can entertain each other while you hunt . you have the advantage in that both will always want to come on the trips , so nither will rock the boat !

[AtlLaw]

if you can't help him at least don't help the bear!   

Thanks Randy... I didn't know ol' McWoody disliked me so much!     Thank Heaven Kathie doesn't read these posts!   

take both your wife and girl friend with you . They can entertain each other while you hunt

Now there's an idea!     I'll bet no one would ever find my body though... 

havin ta lay in the sun drooling over those bikinis.

Bikinis!?     Two words Pete... NUDE BEACHES!   

Patty was at me this morning....

I tell ya, them wimmins be all alike!  I just don't know if it's instinct or their momma's teach 'em... 

I can step out any of the 3 doors on my house and shoot... I'd have to guess the time spent shooting, hunting and napping is about equal.

Sometimes you can be downright nasty!      

[SHOOTALL]

The idea was not org , a guy i was on a hunting trip does just that . He has a trust fund that pays over 6 fig. a year so all i can figure he is worth more to the wife alive !

[mcwoodduck]

I don't dislike you.  Just Like Kathie better. 
OK may be the black tie for every dinner is a bit cruel.     OK very cruel.  But I have seen A Harley tie or two.  Even saw harley cuff links and cumberbun in the black and orange. 
But you would have the hunt of a life time, The boss would be happy.  You also need to explain to her that the further out you go out into the woods what would be 2 stars in the city becomes 4 stars or more in the woods.
i am looking into other places that the lodge is nice and the food is great but she will be board out of her mind and will not want to jopin you the following years.
What do you want to Hunt?
Deer, Elk, bear, boar, Water fowel, upland birds...
How about looking at.
Tumbleweed Lodge  for Pheasant.
www.tumbleweedlodge.com
You can also try www.treksafaris.com
www.highlandhillsranch.com
www.prairieskyranch.com
www.heartlandlodge.com
www.riverbend.com
www.deercreeklodge.com
www.ddoutfitterswyo.com
www.riverhillslodge.com
www.whiteoakplantation.com
www.heartlanddeer.com (Canada)
www.heartland-wildlife.com
And then there are some areas like Paso Robles where you can go wild boar hunting and wine tasting.

[Oldshooter]

Heck now you're making me want to get my tux out and go huntin! 

Those sound good pard!


(I have one ya know, bought it when the second daughter got married, trying to save a buck!)

[Graybeard]

In Texas you could hunt and stay at the YO Ranch, Indian Head Ranch, 777 Ranch and at least one more I can't think of at the moment. Ya ain't gonna get a bear but you'll get four or five star treatment and all the amenities the wife wants.

They can fix you up with a variety of African game animals some from India as well as buffalo aka American bison, elk, white tail deer, fallow, axis, red stag and who knows what else.

[mcwoodduck]

Friend just came back from the YO two years ago and said it has changed and not for the better.