Time To Shop For The 2010 Hunting Season?
So July4 has come and gone. Happy Birthday, America! For all the blemishes and rough spots, I still love this country and the freedoms I have here.
Summertime. Queue the Miles Davis solo now…
I was reminded during my last couple of trips back to NC that this time of year, high summer, was once my favorite season. During the calmer days, I’d be offshore chasing king and spanish mackerel, or diving the many wrecks in the warm, generally clear water. If I close my eyes and try real hard, I can still smell the coconut scented breezes that greeted me on the return to the inlet… an olfactory reminder of the masses of tourists, beach bums, and sun worshippers cluttering the white, sandy strand.
But I’m not in NC anymore. The ocean over on this coast, while it still exerts its pull on my soul, simply doesn’t offer the same allure. The water is cold, murky, and generally rough. The beach is rocky, kelp-covered, and often obscured by chilly fog. It’s pretty enough, in a distant, photographic kind of way… but it doesn’t mean “summer” to me. It just reminds me that I’m not in NC anymore.
So what’s a guy to do on a long, summer California day? Well, Cabela’s has just resolved that for me… I just received my hard-cover catalog! Pages and pages of gear, gadgets, and stuff… just waiting for me and my credit card. With a handy 800 number, or a website where I can just log on and start spending, they’ve made it easy as ever to load up on all the hunting gear I might possibly need. How cool is that? Except, well, I have scanned the book from one end to the other, and honestly can’t find a single thing I need! Is that a good thing?
But it is a nice book. It’s almost a shame to toss it in the recyle bin. I guess I could keep it on the coffee table… if I had a coffee table.
All that aside, this is a great time to start checking your hunting inventory. While I realize that everyone isn’t planning to set out for the A-zone archery opener this coming weekend, the regular seasons aren’t that far away. In less than two months, most of the country will be shooting doves, and early archery deer seasons will be right behind the dove season.
Two months is time enough to break in new boots, try out new loads, zero in the new scope, and work the rough spots out of a new action. So do the economy a favor, and break out those credit cards!
A new gambrel rig with scale, knee boots, Outdoor Edge Swingblade, and some new duck canvas gun cases made it to the top of my list this summer. Everything but the knife was from Cabelas Bargin Cave. I can’t wait to put that knife to work.
July 6th, 2010 at 6:58 am
It’s funny you should write about this, Phillip, because I was just thinking about archery season today. It’s still a few months out for us Michiganders, but I was reminding myself that the wife and I both need some new arrows this year.
Also, I should be checking the bow over, and getting ready to get some real good practicing in, because the season will be here sooner than we think.
I will not be helping out Cabela’s bottom line, but I will be helping a local archery dealer out. I just have to shop the local merchants when I can.
July 6th, 2010 at 7:27 am
I am cracking up over here because my next post is going to be very similar. I received my hard-cover catalog, too! I was laughing, excited and then sheer disappointment hit when I realized I have everything I need. I just need to practice and fine tune. So, to answer your questions… yes, I guess it’s a good thing not to have to ‘need’ to buy anything. (But that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun to see all the new gadgets and want to try them out!)
The season is fast approaching and I cannot wait.
July 6th, 2010 at 8:00 am
Damn, Albert got his hardcover in Afghanistan and I haven’t gotten mine in Cali? Something’s VERY wrong here!!!
I don’t need much either – I’m pretty well-stocked. But I can always use lots of ammo for practice, and I usually order it from Cabela’s or Mack’s Prairie Wings. I am all about the practice, now that I got my new adjustable-comb stock for my new shottie. Woot!
July 6th, 2010 at 8:32 am
Sounds like everyone is planning ahead! Good on ya!
I was out back shooting the bow yesterday, and I did realize that it might be time to take the bow in for a little adjustment. Might have to wait until after this weekend’s hunt, though. Bad practice to change things up right before a hunt.
Holly, that’s a different Albert above… the SoCal Bowhunter, as opposed to the Rasch. The distribution of the hard-cover catalog seems to be fairly random, but I have noticed that every time I get one, it’s usually been several months since my last order. Hmmm…
But yeah, I’m ready to get out and use the stuff I already own… AND HOW! Is it time to hunt yet?
July 6th, 2010 at 9:02 am
I couldn’t get anything if I wanted to (baby on the way), but I still go through the 3 Rivers catalogs I get (trad. archery). I’d love a one-piece, 45-50 lb. draw recurve, though.
July 6th, 2010 at 9:04 am
Holly, I believe you’re going to have to start spending more Cabelas Bucks…I’ve noticed that the delivery of the Cabelas Hardcover is directly proportional to the amount of money you ‘recently’ spent with them.
July 6th, 2010 at 10:32 am
Hmmm….I had just finished going through the L.L.Bean catalog when I opened this blog. The “hunting spirits” are at work!
I read through Cabela’s Bargain Cave flyer – nothing there I needed. I looked through Cabela’s hard cover – nothing there either. Today I got the L.L. Bean catalog and after flipping through it, I realized that most of my hunting clothes are junk! I need to buy all new stuff!
I’ll be spending the next several weeks figuring out how to drum up the funds to buy some of that neat stuff.
July 16th, 2010 at 6:35 pm