Well, it took me 3 years to do it, but I am finally back to being a Coloradan. Unfortunately, I was unable to accomplish this in time to make a decent hunt, so I guess it will be wild hog this winter somewhere east of town and coyotes if I can find a place, till next spring at least.

Now that I am home again, it is time to take stock of my supplies and see what I need to hit up Santa for this Christmas. I am probably only missing a few less essential knick-knacks, but it is good to take inventory and check on the condition of things for some peace of mind.

In the meantime, I am going to have to rathole enough money away to make my next big hunt a good one. I am also going to have to do some networking and see if I can find some new people to hunt with. Many of my previous contacts I discovered are not going to work out as I'd thought, so it looks like I will have to start over here.

[EDIT] Oops. Wrong thread!

Sorry you missed out on hunting season.

Ever consider bicycling? it's low impact, highly aerobic, easy on the joints, fun, and has some survival preparedness value, as well.

I encourage you to support your local bike shop. They can outfit you with a decent non-suspension mountain bike, a helmet, lights (it gets dark early now), frame pump, heavy duty lock and basic toolkit for < $800. Have them replace the knobby tires with decent road tires, and there ya' go. You can even get an "indoor trainer" for off season. Usually they clamp to the front fork in place of the tire, and have some sort of friction rollers for the back.

If the budget is running a little tight pre-Christmas and post-relocation, there's always Craig's List and police auctions. A set of panniers ("saddlebags" that go over the rear rack and tires) extend it's versatility into the survival, no-gas realm.

Why a "mountain bike" for the road? The riding posture if far more comfortable and less intimidating for new or older riders, and the bikes are a bit sturdier. The efficiency trade-off is minimal for most fitness and recreational riders, and replacing the off-road tires with good quality road tires recaptures much of that, while still allowing occasional riding on dirt roads or improved trails.

I consider most suspension systems to be mere marketing ploys on most lower end bikes for recreational riders. They are great for technical and aggressive off-road riding on better bikes, but they add unnecessary complexity and weight for most casual riders, and the cheap ones don't work that well. Also, they are NOT for improved rider comfort. Get a gel saddle and gloves for that.

You can pick up a spare set of used wheels and mount off-road tires on them for those occasions when you plan to do mostly trial riding. That works well for me.

I suggest considering buying a basic used mountain bike for survival purposes, anyway.

Jeff

Maybe a pre-election precaution more than a current hunting need.

I looked at the wv hunting seasons before I went there ths weekend and didn't see anything in season worth buying a license for. While down there this big buck walked into my parents back yard and then my parents told me it was bow season, I had only looked at gun seaons.

Which reminds me, I stopped into a few sporting goods stores this weekend, and noticed rather alarmingly that the firearms sections were a bit nuts. I tried to buy a pistol, and the call-in on the background check is still delayed today. Apparently whoever is processing such requests is overwhelmed to the point that it is taking well over 24 hours to return an all-clear for the sale. This compared to it taking less than 5 minutes two months ago to buy a shotgun in Florida as a Colorado resident. Go figure.

When I say hunting, I was referring to big game hunting. Those dog sized deer in Central Florida are not much more than overgrown rodents it seems, and shooting gators as a non-resident seemed a bit cost prohibitive on the permit. Swamp hogs are big enough, but taste too muddy for my palate.

When they get elk to hunt in Florida, I may give you a call. One of my pals (the dive instructor) went to Georgia this weekend and shot a spike deer. It weighed 95 lbs on the hoof, probably less than 70 after he field dressed it. Them Georgia deer are a bit larger than the Florida variety I hear.

You need to visit the great rust belt... errr... the great white north if you want to bag some decent deer. Ohio and beyond should allow you to satiate your desire to fill a freezer. C'mon up!

mmmm, hepatitis.

Without trying to be political myself, this IS the political silly season, so people make all sorts of silly political claims. This can make folks get a little worried. Indeed, it is usually intended to do just that. But don't worry too much about our guns, in the short run.

As a practical matter, a new President would be able do almost nothing meaningful about gun laws without an enabling Act of Congress. So I don't think things will change suddenly after January 20th, 2009, or even very much over the long run. I'm not trying to make some partisan point, but merely a practical preparedness observation, regarding whether we need to act immediately on any plans to acquire additional firearms or ammunition in advance of some potential legal impediment.

While Democrats are likely to gain large margins in Congress, and many Democrats fail to recognize that the 2nd Amendment protects an important civil right, they are politicians, after all. They do recognize that there is little for them to gain and much for them to lose by actually trying to pass new, strongly anti-gun laws. Like other hot-button issues, its safer and better for politicians to just talk about them, without having to run the risk of actually doing something about them.

There has been little discussion of gun owner's rights in the national political debate this time around, and neither presidential candidate has shown much enthusiasm for upsetting the status quo, especially in light of the recent USSC ruling. So whatever changes may come will most likely be nibbles at the margins, rather than strikes against the heart of 2nd Amendment civil rights.

So, my advice is to watch the news, and plan accordingly, but don't panic. If you plan on buying a new firearm with supposed evil "assault rifle" features or aspects, you might want to do so fairly soon, like over the next year or two. If you have your eye on a Barrett or something else exotic and imported, or plan on making large or mail order ammunition purchases, or engage in private transactions of used firearms, you should maybe get that done, too.

But I see no need to rush out and buy that new hunting rifle or shotgun, or stock up conventional ammunition BEFORE January 20th.

Please feel free to PM me if you'd like to discuss the partisan political aspects of this, but on this forum, let's stick to the potential impact of politics on practical aspects of planning and preparedness, assuming our beloved moderators consent.

Jeff
NRA Member, multiple firearm owner, CCW permit holder, and frequent recipient of silly, alarmist political messages.

I agree, Jeff, and I have no immediate plans to do any major stocking up because of who might be elected tomorrow. But... the margins that you speak of being nibbled away may very well be ammo. Maybe they won't outlaw guns but they can make it extremely difficult and/or financially impractical to obtain ammunition and/or loading supplies, and it would have the same net result. I wouldn't look for too much legislative activity regarding firearms/ammo in the near term but if the anti-gun folks take control in this election and then get re-elected for another term, it could get ugly.

The political winds change over time. The price of liberty is eternal vigilance. I don't view our natural rights, generally, or our Bill of Rights, specifically, as an a la carte menu, from which one may pick and choose. Yet, people on all parts of the political spectrum often seem to concern themselves only with certain of these rights, which they champion vigorously, while ignoring or even being hostile to others, and thus undermining the whole.

Interestingly, when expressed in terms of their practical application to specific cases, political researchers have found that it would be difficult or impossible to obtain majority support from Americans for ANY of the first 10 amendments. Most everybody supports "free speech," for example, but far fewer support the actual 1st Amendment right of Nazi's to march through largely Jewish neighborhoods in Skokie, Il.

What this means in preparedness terms, to me, is that, although we've had a pretty successful 200 year experiment with participatory, representative democracy, support for it's basic underpinnings is somewhat shallow. There is always some possibility of things going haywire rather suddenly.

I often think of the citizens of Sarajevo, in the former Yugoslavia. They had managed to live in peace with their neighbors, in relative prosperity and stability, for many years, seemingly having set aside old divisions and tensions, and their futures must have seemed bright, indeed, in 1984, when they hosted the Winter Olympics. Contrast that with what happened to them a just few short years later, beginning in 1992, when they fell under the longest siege in modern history. Things change; be vigilant, and stay prepared.

More specifically, I do agree that any changes to current federal laws are likely to impact ammunition and private transactions in firearms, ammunition and reloading supplies. I also think that the current USSC may take a more hands-off view towards potential state regulation than they would to federal regulation.

Jeff