It is inevitable. Sooner or later, I will report that I have bitten off more than I can chew. I came dangerously close on a Wyoming elk hunt back in 2017 when I struggled to climb the Absaroka foothills south of Cody. A borderline miracle shot saved me. Though four years older, I’ll try the same thing again in November. This time I’ll be seventy pounds lighter, and hopefully, that will make a difference.

Another occasion may well present itself in early November when I attempt to conquer a Cabo San Lucas tuna off of the Baja coast. Will I possess the necessary strength? And then there’s the South Dakota West and East River deer hunts. Can I handle those once again? I have no desire to embarrass friends, but I could mention names of friends who have already hung up their shotguns and rifles. It’s my opinion that they quit too soon. So when do we old-timers say enough is enough? I say keep at it! We will one day get the message in the field, but the way I see it, better to attempt and fail than quit too soon.

Mike Hall and I have booked a Saskatchewan waterfowl hunt for late September – early October. Thus far, Canada has not reopened its doors to American tourists and sportsmen. It’s just my opinion, but I believe that Canada is punishing us for closing down the pipeline project, and I don’t blame them one bit. Why did President Biden shutdown the pipeline? It’s just my opinion again, but I believe it was because the pipeline was a President Trump project. While I applaud the advances being made in electric vehicles, we’ll be consuming oil well into the future, and it’s time for Congress, both sides of the aisle, to sit around a table, identify our top priority problems and needs, and come up with solutions. I’m currently disgusted with both sides of the aisle.

Presuming that Canada will again open its doors, I needed a 12 gauge shotgun with 3” chambers as I had given my 12 gauge Model 870 Remington magnum pump to a young hunter who didn’t have a shotgun. There was a time in my life when every firearm in my gun safe was American made, and our vehicles were Fords, Chevys, or Dodges. Since that time we have owned both a Honda and a Toyota, and my Italian Franchi over & under 20 gauge shotgun points like no gun I have ever brought to my shoulder.

Late last spring I went into the Mitchell Cabela’s looking for a 12 gauge magnum for our coming Canada adventure. I was leaning toward an over & under, and for a long time I have admired CZ firearms from Czechoslovakia. A half dozen CZ Redhead Premier O/U 12 gauge magnums sat on the gunroom shelf. I admired the guns, but thought the thousand dollar price tag was beyond my budget. Then I spotted a CZ Redhead minus the owner’s manual. It showed little to no wear, was missing a few choke tubes, and priced in the mid-$400 range. I snatched up the gun, had CZ send me a manual, and purchased new choke tubes at Mitchell’s Precision Reloading. Look out Canadian ducks and geese…..if it reopens!

Two weeks ago I reported that we made a trip to Cincinnati to watch our Cubbies. While in the Lafayette, Indiana Cracker Barrel restaurant, we saw two men armed with semiautomatic handguns. On an Ohio River cruise prior to Saturday’s game, I saw another man with a semiautomatic pistol tucked into his waistband. Is this an eastern thing, or would I see these same arms in Sioux Falls, Brookings, or Mitchell? Tell me.

While I firmly believe that our 1st and 2nd Amendments are the very pillars of American Freedom as we know it, both are under great fire. Although we have the right to bear the aforementioned arms, I feel it is a sad day indeed when guns need to be carried in family restaurants. Perhaps it is a necessity. I realize that if some wacko gunman opened fire in that Cracker Barrel, I’d be grateful that an armed citizen was there to protect me and mine. Still, I see this as a sad but unfortunate commentary on our times.

See you next week.