Since it’s cold outside, we’re in between major hunting seasons, and it’s dark at six o clock at night, I figured I would order some new books and do a little reading.  I mentioned in an earlier post that, despite a decent-sized book collection, I do not own any hunting-related books.  With that in mind, I sat down with my Barnes and Noble gift card I received as a Christmas present, and changed that little problem (And it’s about time.  I wrote the original post almost a year ago to the day).

And what particular books did I order?

Well, after reading Holly’s recommendations in this post and after seeing this particular book mentioned in many different places, including the post I mentioned previously, I settled on James Swan’s In Defense of Hunting. I love the idea of this book, simply because I think it is going to provide me with some great information that will help me to address anti-hunters and non-hunters alike; I think it will add more structure and information to backup my pro-hunting stance.

Plus, when Holly wrote this paragraph about the book I was immediately intrigued:

He also asserted that vegans tend to be in therapy quite a bit, whereas he’s found hunters to be pretty well-adjusted. I initially thought that was really uncharitable until I started seeing some anecdotal evidence that supported his contention.

I can’t wait to read that part.  And I’m curious to read about the anecdotal evidence that she mentioned as well.

I also deviated away from my normal book choosing habits, and ordered a book strictly for pleasure.  I normally read for pleasure, obviously, but I usually read about something I want to learn.  With my second choice, though, I went out on a limb, listened to a few of my favorite bloggers, and ordered Hemingway on Hunting.

Hemingway was mentioned a few times as a recommendation in the original post I wrote, and a co-worker of mine (who doesn’t hunt I might add) recommended him as well, so I went out on a limb and purchased it.  This particular book contains different excerpts from Hemingway’s hunting repertoire, and I’m looking forward to reading this compilation.

Hopefully these two books will arrive by the end of this week, and once I get through them – heck, even as I come across something good in them – I will be sure to write about it here.

It’s been awhile since the advice was given, but I thank everyone for your input, and I’m looking forward to digging into these selections.

It’s about time I added some hunting-related books to my library.   Don’t you think?

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For Christmas my wife bought me Arguing with Idiots, the new book from Glenn Beck.  And while I don’t agree 100% with everything Mr. Beck says (I do tend to agree with 95% of it, though), I still was excited to see an entire chapter devoted to the Second Amendment.

Beck does a nice job covering the main issues pertaining to the Second Amendment, including an explanation that covers the Preamble and how it doesn’t negate the fact that ordinary citizens are entitled to their right to bear arms.  But the two parts of the book that really stood out for me, I’ve covered (here and here) on this blog before – the plain and simple fact that, under the best of circumstances, the police cannot respond to a life-threatening situation in time;  and also, despite the media’s claims, that having a gun in the home does not automatically lead to an accident, especially involving a child.

Now I am not police-bashing whatsoever, and I have complete respect for anyone who wears a badge, but the simple fact is that police response times, especially with the budget cuts that many communities are experiencing, are not that stellar.  Having a gun in the home, or on your own person, is the only effective means to protect yourself and ensure that you have adequate protection if you happen to be the victim of a crime.  Simply calling 911 will not help.

Mr. Beck actually points out some very, very scary statistics pertaining to this point:

In 2002 the D.C. police force’s response time to a “Priority 1″ call was 8 minutes, 25 seconds.

The police response time to 911 calls in New York City:  7.2 minutes; Los Angeles:  10.5 minutes; Atlanta and three neighboring counties, 11. 1 minutes; Philadelphia, almost 7 minutes; St. Petersburg, Florida, just over 7 minutes.

If after reading my original post on the subject, and after seeing those frightening statistics on police response times, you’re still unconvinced about having a gun in the home, I’m concerned for you and your safety.  I can only describe those stats with one word: frightening.

The other point that Mr. Beck touches on, and that I previously wrote a post on as well, is that having a gun in the home does not lead to an accident, especially involving a child.  In the post I wrote I covered many common household items that harm and kill more kids per year than guns do.  In fact, I pointed out one household activity that is very dangerous for kids – much more dangerous than a gun in the home – and Mr. Beck touches on this dangerous household activity as well:

Of course, most people don’t fly or contract respiratory illnesses every day, but they do usually bathe, and that’s super-dangerous for children relative to having guns in the home.  In 2003, children 14 and under suffered 56 fatal gun accidents.  But that same year, 86 children drowned in bathtubs and 285 children drowned in pools in 2003.

For kids under 10 years old, the numbers are even more dramatic.  As noted by economists Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, “The likelihood of death by pool (1 in 11,000) versus death by gun (1 in 1 million-plus) isn’t even close.

Guns in the home, even with young children present, are less likely to cause injury or harm than a swimming pool, or a bath for that matter.  It’s funny how that is the case isn’t it, especially with the way that the media sensationalizes gun accidents; they would make you believe that gun accidents involving children happen every day.  And when was the last time you heard a news story about a child drowning in a pool or in the bathtub?

It’s good to see that Mr. Beck and I agree on some common sense gun-related items.  It was also nice to see, especially after doing my own research and writing my own posts on the subject, that someone else took a look at the data (facts) and saw it the same way I did.

It was……..refreshing.

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Right now it is freezing cold – 1 degree according to my weather.com desktop application. And it is suppose to get colder; all the way down to -7 by the time the night is over. Then, you throw a -15 to -25 degree wind chill on top and it becomes downright unbearable; not exactly the makings for a lot of outdoor activity.

With all this cold, and being stuck inside in order to stay alive, I started to look through some old magazines. I was searching for a good hunting or fishing article to read, and then I realized that I have read these same magazines about 15 times now; time to move on to something different.

Then I started going through my bookshelf, and noticed something rather disturbing: I don’t really own any outdoor-related books. I have a few Ted Nugent ones – that I have already read – but they are more “what I believe in” type books, then they are outdoor books.

Usually, if I buy a book, it is history-related, and somehow I have not added any hunting or fishing books to my library. That is pretty sad, and almost inexcusable if you ask me. How have I overlooked this particular thing for so long? I think it ultimately has to do with the fact that we have gotten so much snow, and that it is so cold out, that hunting has come to a standstill. Because of that, and because I am pretty much house-bound, I thought reading a good hunting book would hold me over I guess.

This is the point where I need your help. I need to hear some recommendations for some good outdoor reading. And I’m not really talking educational outdoor reading here, either, but I will take all suggestions.

Please, fill up my comments sections with some good outdoor book recommendations. It may keep me from freezing to death.

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