A Day in the Woods.

[Colpy]

I'm on vacation.

I'm not doing anything significant, so I packed up a lunch, and a rifle, and my wife and I headed for a friend's camp.

It is wonderful to live in country like this. Drive for half an hour, park on the side of the road, step into the bush. Instant wild. It is truely amazing. It takes awhile to get clear of the sound of traffic, but it is worth it. This camp is on a lake at the top of a LONG hill. About four miles (up hill) to the lake, launch the boat left there at the end of the path, row 15 or 20 minutes across the lake, haul another 10 minutes up the hill to the camp.

We saw VERY fresh moose tracks, deer tracks, I saw 4 ruffed grouse (three weeks until hunting season!). Rested at the camp for a short while, had lunch, rowed about on the lake, then down the hill to the car and home.

Fired two shots at 150 meters at a target to be sure my rifle was on......two bulls. The rifle (Remington Model 7 .223 Rem., with 4X Leupold Compact scope)is my convenient gun, light, reasonably powerful, I carry it always in the bush, unless I am seriously hunting, in which case I carry a shotgun or a heavier rifle......

I love the woods.

 

[Kreskin]

Watch out for Dick Cheney!

You and your wife getting wild in the woods huh. Enjoy yourselves.

 

[Kodiak]

Sounds like alot of fun. I love being in the bush and camping, hunting I can do without. To bad my husband has lost interest in that kind of activity. I hope you and your wife have a great time.

 

[china]

Hi Colpy,Having spend many years in Yukon ,north BC,I know exactly what you mean when you describe the beauty of the wilde parts of NB . These are things that I miss about Canada ,things that you dont find here in China,stepping into the Nature ,not fighting it ,but being a part of it.

 

[gangstalking]

Wow I walked right into that one. It sounded so good and peaceful, with the nature and the family, the cute animal tracks, then boom the rifle comes out.

Well enjoy nature while you can, it might not always be there. Enjoy it be, one with it, don't kill it.

 

[hermanntrude]

i intend to find out the allure of such things when i move to northern alberta in a month's time. I can't wait to be away from beaurocracy and tripe. The town i'll be living in is currently only accessible by air, although if it rains a bit the river might be high enough for the barge to cross it again, but if it rains too much the road will turn into a quagmire!

I love it already

 

[Colpy]

Re: RE: A Day in the Woods.

Wow I walked right into that one. It sounded so good and peaceful, with the nature and the family, the cute animal tracks, then boom the rifle comes out.

Well enjoy nature while you can, it might not always be there. Enjoy it be, one with it, don't kill it.

So, why would the presence of a rifle change the essence of the day? Did it darken the sun, change the incline of the path, sour the freshness of the air?

Every animal on earth has at its disposal certain characteristics that have allowed it to thrive in nature. Man's advantage is that he is a user of tools. A rifle is a tool. It is the most natural thing in the world for a man in the bush to be armed. What is UNnatural is for him to be disarmed.

And I am not enough of an egotist to believe I could kill nature..

 

[gangstalking]

Re: RE: A Day in the Woods.

So, why would the presence of a rifle change the essence of the day? Did it darken the sun, change the incline of the path, sour the freshness of the air?

Every animal on earth has at its disposal certain characteristics that have allowed it to thrive in nature. Man's advantage is that he is a user of tools. A rifle is a tool. It is the most natural thing in the world for a man in the bush to be armed. What is UNnatural is for him to be disarmed.

And I am not enough of an egotist to believe I could kill nature..

It just does. The moment you mention a rifle it just changes the senario for me. Sure it does not darken the sky, or end the world, but there is the dark under pinning of man vs nature, to man in peaceful existance with nature.

See for yourself.

In the woods admiring Bambi.

It is truely amazing. It takes awhile to get clear of the sound of traffic, but it is worth it. This camp is on a lake at the top of a LONG hill. About four miles (up hill) to the lake, launch the boat left there at the end of the path, row 15 or 20 minutes across the lake, haul another 10 minutes up the hill to the camp.

We saw VERY fresh moose tracks, deer tracks, I saw 4 ruffed grouse (three weeks until hunting season!). Rested at the camp for a short while, had lunch, rowed about on the lake, then down the hill to the car and home.

Rifle, the mention of hunting season. Possibly thinking of shooting Bambi.

Fired two shots at 150 meters at a target to be sure my rifle was on......two bulls. The rifle (Remington Model 7 .223 Rem., with 4X Leupold Compact scope)is my convenient gun, light, reasonably powerful, I carry it always in the bush, unless I am seriously hunting, in which case I carry a shotgun or a heavier rifle......

The second senario is all Elmer fudd or that scense from my cousin Vinny when he is wondering what he should wear to go hunting, and Marisa Tomie responses. It's really funny if you have ever seen the movie. That's what it put me in mind of right away.

Sure it's an advantage that we have to be armed, and to arm ourselves but have you seen how much bad that has done for use over the years?

I think when I first read your post, I was just oh that so sweet, then out comes the rifle and you mentioned something about it's hunting and I was all like oh. That pretty much where my thoughts were.

(Oh yeah and I did not see the reply to this post or I would have answered sooner, thanks for pointing that out in the other post.)

 

[Colpy]

You're welcome!

This has to be my favourite topic of debate.

We agree on one thing, My Cousin Vinny was hilarious!

It just does. The moment you mention a rifle it just changes the senario for me. Sure it does not darken the sky, or end the world, but there is the dark under pinning of man vs nature, to man in peaceful existance with nature.

There is no "peaceful existence with nature"! Nature is wild, it is cruel, it is a killer. There is a certain peace with the recognition and acceptance of the fact that you are simply a part of something so much larger than yourself, a recognition of your own insignificance in the greater whole, but that is an internal thing.......externally, at the base of it all, our existence long depended on killing, as does that of every predator.

A question......do you eat meat?

I ask it of all the folks with whom I debate hunting, for reasons that should be obvious.

Sure it's an advantage that we have to be armed, and to arm ourselves but have you seen how much bad that has done for use over the years?

Man, are you asking the wrong guy!
Being armed has kept me ALIVE over the past several years. I work on armoured trucks, transporting millions of dollars, and I train fellow employees in armed self-defense.

Being armed is the most natural state in the world for me.

As it has been for all of humanity for the majority of our history.

Without arms, we are at the mercy of those who would rule us, steal from us, kill us, oppress us. Arms are tools, neither good nor evil, an extension of the man that uses them.


.

 

[humanbeing]

Well, I am a vegetarian who isn't made too happy by others shooting animals. But who am I to say what others can or cannot do? I might complain, but the most it does is anger or annoy others. (The best I can do is show others alternatives who are willing to listen - which is not what this thread is about.)

That said, there is nothing like a day in the woods, no matter how it is spent. Unlike a day on the computer, which leaves your brain feeling like jelly, and eyes completely stressed out, and limbs like noodles, a day in the woods keeps you feeling sound in both mind and body.

A day in the woods is the best way to spend a day... especially when it is followed by a night in the woods around a fire with friends. Nothing like that to inspire deep thoughts and good conversation.

 

[gangstalking]

Re: RE: A Day in the Woods.

You're welcome!

This has to be my favourite topic of debate.

We agree on one thing, My Cousin Vinny was hilarious!

A question......do you eat meat?

Man, are you asking the wrong guy!
Being armed has kept me ALIVE over the past several years. I work on armoured trucks, transporting millions of dollars, and I train fellow employees in armed self-defense.

Being armed is the most natural state in the world for me.

As it has been for all of humanity for the majority of our history.

Without arms, we are at the mercy of those who would rule us, steal from us, kill us, oppress us. Arms are tools, neither good nor evil, an extension of the man that uses them.

I can still watch that movie and get a laugh everytime.

I don't eat meat anymore, I gave up meat a really long time ago, but I do eat fish like salmon still. I do understand that is killing, and would be happy to give it up, if that's what was needed.

In your line of work, I can see where you would have this perspective.

I get it weapons don't kill people, people with weapons kill people, but if we all did not have weapons, then there would be fewer dead people.

Guns just put me in the mind of killing, cause that's what they are used for. Nature however should be special, away from all the rage and violence of the real world. I just can't imagine going for a walk to look at deer and other animals and then coming across someone packing heat. It just seems out of sync somehow.

I disagree that being armed is natural for most people, but it has been at the heart of humanity since almost the begining, and it has given humans an advantage, which I won't argue with, but it's also given us reasons to hurt and opress each other and out do each other with who can build the better mouse trap, except we tend to be the mouses.

 

[humanbeing]

I've actually gotta agree with Colpy on people being armed. It can be a good as well as a bad thing.

Look at Spain in 1936 or Hungary in 1956... in 1936, some of the people of Spain armed themselves, and it was these parts where fascism did not gain an immediate foothold. Of course, the country went under Franco's rule eventually, but as they say, "I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees". Same is true in Hungary, they bravely fought an invasion from an overwhelming force by arming themselves, and held out for some time.

So these aren't the two finest examples that I have come up with, but who knows exactly what kinds of problems have been diverted by people having some kind of potential strength of their own.


The major problem I see though, is that taking away the guns doesn't address the core problem, basically.

The best thing we can do is encourage and facilitate the processes under which people respect one another, so that they couldn't be bothered to want to shoot another person within their own society (murder) or another society (war).

 

[gangstalking]

Re: RE: A Day in the Woods.

The major problem I see though, is that taking away the guns doesn't address the core problem, basically.

The best thing we can do is encourage and facilitate the processes under which people respect one another, so that they couldn't be bothered to want to shoot another person within their own society (murder) or another society (war).

Sad, but true. Unarming people will not solve human nature. However could it ever really be possible to teach people to respect one another so that they do not want to murder or go to war. It seems that since the dawn of time, this has been at our core, and will continue to be.

However you are right, taking the guns away by force won't fix this, we have to make people respect and value each other enough so that maybe they will not feel the need for this. Also to value our world around us would be another good thing we could try to do in the process.

 

[Nuggler]

I'm with Colpy on this one.

Although I don't hunt anymore due to physical limitations, I used to. Every fall. Carrying a firearm never detracted (for me at least) from the beauty of the woods in fall.

People who hunt mostly come from hunting families. We were raised that way. Hunting, fishing, camping. Those that don't hunt will NEVER understand those that do. I for one, have given up trying to explain "why" I enjoyed it. Got so I used to say that sneaking up on a little rabbit and blasting the shit out of it really made my day. Not true, but the non hunter soon left. :lol:

When we went camping it was usually in bear country and dad packed his cut down .12 ga. with an ample supply of buckshot. As much as I like and respect nature, the thought of a bear making a meal of one of my kids sort of ruined my day, and I was determined to make sure this never happened.
We saw many bear. They all ran away. That's what they do, except for the ones, every ten years or so, that don't.

Only once we broke camp in the middle of the night and took to the canoes to get away from a bear whose territory we had unknowingly invaded. The shotgun was on standby but never used. I believe animals can sense fear, and in our case, it didn't because we weren't afraid. We were just doing the sensible thing and leaving, loudly, smashing fry pans together and shouting, etc. Very confusing for a bear don't you think?




:idea:

 

[hermanntrude]

Those that don't hunt will NEVER understand those that do

not too sure about that. Gonna try my hand at hunting this year, never done it before. I've always believed, though, that i shouldn't be eating meat if i can't kill it myself. Now's the time to test myself, see how hypocritical I am.

 

[Nuggler]

:lol: Giv'er Hermann: Don't pull a "Cheney"

Most people who eat meat would never consider killing their own.

Check out some web sites (if you haven't done so already) regarding the quick field dressing of game to ensure it doesn't spoil.

You may have seen a fellow (it's in an add for hunting in Canada), packing out some moose antlers on his back where the antlers stick up above his head. That's on TV for god's sake. DON'T DO THAT. If you tried that in the bush of Eastern Ont. someone would shoot at you, seeing just the antlers.........bad idea.....bad. Unless you want to be mounted on somone's wall......

Good luck.

:idea:

 

[feronia]

Personally I enjoyed the old Winchester but it stuck quite a bit. It's been quite awhile since I've been hunting.

 

[gangstalking]

I can understand the desire for hunting to an extent, and the need to be armed to protect yourself. I can understand this and even to some degree respect this. I however was just not raised that way, and it does take a little bit more to wrap my mind around it.

 

[#juan]

Colpy

You would have gotten a kick out our backyard the other morning. Our backyard opens onto a large wooded area. At the very back of our lot there is a rock outcropping that slopes up into the trees at about thirty degrees. Yesterday morning the motion sensor turned on the back door light at about five AM. I looked out the window and there was no less than seven deer in our back yard. Two big bucks(ten or twelve pointers) jousting, and the other five watching. Forgetting that the window was wide open, I called Jan to get me the camera but they heard me and bounded off into the trees.

 

[Colpy]

Colpy

You would have gotten a kick out our backyard the other morning. Our backyard opens onto a large wooded area. At the very back of our lot there is a rock outcropping that slopes up into the trees at about thirty degrees. Yesterday morning the motion sensor turned on the back door light at about five AM. I looked out the window and there was no less than seven deer in our back yard. Two big bucks(ten or twelve pointers) jousting, and the other five watching. Forgetting that the window was wide open, I called Jan to get me the camera but they heard me and bounded off into the trees.

Yes, I would have liked that..........blacktails where you are, if I remember correctly.

The city of Saint John is widely dispersed, with a lot of undeveloped areas throughout..........working at night, I often see white-tailed deer in the city, and have seen groups of seven or eight calmly feeding in the front yard of a group of row houses, just across the street (Visart) from a major shopping mall.

The biggest buck I have ever seen was standing on the SIDEWALK of a street in the north end (right where Somerset St meets Cranston Ave., for any Saint Johners) He was HUGE, and looked quite at home, unworried.....
It was 4 AM.

Amazing animals.......