It could be the way the grip feels in the hand – like an extensive of the arm, or a good old friend. Or it could simply be the way the steel feels, and the powerful feeling associated with accurately sending projectiles downrange with extreme accuracy.  Or maybe it’s how the mind feels when trying to align with a target downrange in order to deliver a small yet powerful payload; or the way the pistol barks and responds to your exact pressure on the trigger.

Whatever it is, it’s simply addicting and I miss it.

I haven’t shot the pistol since last year, and this year – and I truly mean it this time – I’m shooting it as much as I can.  I love the discipline and skill that is required to shoot a pistol accurately, and I truly have no idea why I haven’t done it more in the past couple of years.

I hope to put many rounds through it this year, and I hope to get more accurate with it, especially at longer ranges.

What more could one want out of an afternoon?  And who wouldn’t want to burn through some lead when given the opportunity?

I definitely need to keep my promise this year, because I have an itchy trigger finger.

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I recently stumbled across an article on Mlive.com, from the Grand Rapids Press, that contained some startling information.  Apparently, up to this point, Michigan hunters are really taking advantage of the new crossbow regulations in the state.  I had a feeling that allowing crossbows to be used by more of the hunting population would get more hunters in the woods, but I honestly had no idea that the DNR would issue 45,000 crossbow stamps in the first year.

I honestly consider this a win in two ways, though:  It allows for more hunters to get back into hunting – who maybe didn’t have the desire before – which increases our hunting population (a good thing in today’s hunting downtrend); and it allows our local sporting goods stores to make a little money while riding the crossbow bandwagon – Bob’s Gun and Tackle in Hastings has sold more than 250 already this year.

The big question I still have, though, and one of the questions that prominently featured in the crossbow debate, is whether allowing crossbows significantly increased the number of deer harvested during the archery season.  Many hunters were apprehensive about crossbows being used, because they felt it would increase the number of hunters in the woods, and thus increase the number of deer being killed.  With the deer population we have in Zone 3, though, I figure killing a few more deer in that area was a good thing.  Only time will tell, though, if these particular hunters’ fears were warranted, and that allowing more hunters in the woods actually transpired into a significantly larger number of deer being killed.

I will be scouring over the deer harvest reports once the end of the hunting season is upon us, and I will be checking to see if the deer harvest numbers have significantly increased from 2008.  I honestly have a feeling that we won’t see much change in the deer harvest numbers.  The only thing that will have increased is the amount of hunters in the woods.

I realize that many Michigan hunters don’t want to see an increase in hunting numbers – we already have about 7 hunters per square mile.  But I’m the type of guy who wants to see our hunting heritage stick around for years to come, and if crossbows encourage more people to get out and hunt, I’m all for it.

For now, we’ll just have to wait and see if the 45,000 crossbow permits issued up to this point were detrimental to the deer population.  I have a feeling that that is not the case.

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I know, I know, here it is bowhunting season and I’m writing about shotguns.  I honestly couldn’t help myself, though, after reading this post.  When you mention a Remington 870, I just start to get all mushy inside.  I forget about my bow, forget about deer hunting, and think about all the experiences the 870 and I have been through.

I’ve owned my Remington 870 12ga. for about 10 years.  I didn’t have my own shotgun – I always borrowed guns from family – and I decided that it was about time I bought a gun.  After some research, and after talking with a few family members and friends, I decided that the 870 was probably my best choice – an excellent all purpose shotgun that would fair well against multiple game species.

And that it did.

The 870 and I have pushed through thickets in search of rabbits;  it helped me kill my first deer with a firearm; it was instrumental in helping me knock down my first pheasant; and I had it in tow when I killed my first turkey this season.  I have obliterated multiple clay targets with it, and shot many a slug through it as well.  It is just a good all around gun.

Honestly, I have only owned one other shotgun – a single-shot New England 12ga. – because I just never needed another firearm to get the job done.  The 870 has allowed me to hunt multiple animal species and has never failed me once.  And if we’re being fair, I probably didn’t  take care of the gun as well as I should in it’s early years, and yet it still has never failed me; the gun is scratched, gouged, and has plenty of character marks on it.  But I don’t consider that a negative thing, because each one of those marks tells a story about past hunts.

My 870, that I affectionately call my “trench” gun, has been there through thick and thin and has provided a variety of different table fare for me and my family.

Remington definitely got it right when they made this gun, and apparently people can’t get enough of a good thing, because Remington recently built their ten millionth 870.

Apparently a lot of people have the same love affair with the gun that I do, and like to hang out in the “trenches”.

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We’ve had our 3-D course for a number of years, and quite honestly, I just don’t get sick of it.  We’ve changed it up a number of times, but it doesn’t matter what the setup, I just love spending a couple hours shooting the course.

If you read this blog at all, you know that we can’t do anything without making it some sort of a competition; and the 3-D course is no exception.  On Monday night we paired off in teams, and I’m happy to report that my team won 3 out of the 4 rounds we shot – losing one round by 5 points.

As fun as the 3-D shooting is, though, it’s also very beneficial.  You honestly can’t find a thing out there that more closely resembles shooting at a live animal.  I’ve shot video shoots, and indoor archery shoots, but none of them come as close to mimicking the real thing as 3-D shoots.

And while the competition is fun, and allows for some great bragging rights, the competition aspect of our 3-D shoots also mimicks another huge part of shooting at a live animal:  the pressure.  It’s just some honest ribbing between family members, but if any one of them tell you that they don’t feel some sort of pressure, they’re lying  – plain and simple.  Sitting there – all eyes watching – while you take your shot can wear on the nerves.  But it also prepares you for the moment of truth, and allows you to learn to keep your cool under pressure.

I look forward to our 3-D course competitions.  Obviously, I love the 3-D shoots because I love to shoot and I love the thrill of victory.  But the main reason I shoot is to prepare myself the best I can for the moment of truth.

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Last Sunday night, Jeff, our cousin, Ron, and myself, all headed out to the cousin’s property to shoot our 3-D course.  Our regular readers will remember that we’ve had this course for a couple of years now, but every year it has changed somewhat; and got blown away by a tornado at one point too!

In years past we’ve shot from one stationary position at multiple targets, but this year we changed all of that.  We now have 5 targets we shoot at, with three shooting stations.  By doing that we’ve allowed for a little more flexibility with the shots, including the 60 yd shot we were shooting the other night.

Unfortunately we haven’t had a lot of time to shoot the 3-D course this year, but we keep working in time when we can.  I figure the more shooting the better, and it just makes me feel much more prepared come season.  It always helps that it’s a whole lot of fun as well.

I didn’t shoot my greatest on Sunday, but considering that I only missed the 60 yard target, I’m still pretty pleased with myself.  I would never take that shot in the wild, but it just makes 20 and 30 yd. shots seem like a cake walk.

Jeff was the reigning champ on Sunday night.  He won 4 of the rounds, and I only won 2 of them.  It’s okay, though, because the competition just makes us better prepared for the moment of truth.

And we are counting down the days until we can experience that moment of truth.  I love bow season and all the preparation that comes with it!

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