Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Transferd to Calf

Merry Christmas Aces N 8's.
You are the best and you get it..

Find the Blarneystone Pub in Clairemont and hopefully they still have traditional Irish music. Used to be my favorite pub, lived close enough to walk home.

I definitely get it. I put more value into the work and effort that goes into real hunting. The pairs of boots worn out from countless miles in the mountains, the feeling of success in wild places where it really is man against beast and the fulfillment one gets from doing it the right way....not the easy way.

Spending thousands each year to lease a 100 acre junkyard dirt patch and sitting in an elevated, heated blind over a corn feeder doesn’t seem like much freedom to me but that’s because guys like us have grown up in the mountains and on the ocean and we know what real freedom is, not the man-made construct that tries to redefine the term to soothe their imprisoned souls.

I'm a fan of the outdoor and hunting channels on TV and I always shake my head when guys are hunting whitetail over a feeder. That ain't hunting. Get caught doing that here in California you'll be in jail and lose your hunting privileges for life. I'd like to see some of those fatasses in the blind try to stalk the wily California blacktail like we do out here.

I'm a Career Counselor in the Army its my gig/job. Everyday I have troops come in my office and tell me how much they hate Alaska. Too a guy like me I can't fathom that, but most of these Soldiers are not die hard outdoor guys. They own firearms do the occasional shooting etc, but they are not worried about another states gun laws or politics. That is the furthest thing from there mind. Most are looking for better weather, more things to do with the family etc. If I had an endless supply of assignments to Hawaii I have a line out the door. If the Army had a post in San Diego or outside LA no not Ft Irwin, like they did in the 80's I have Soldiers lined up for days wanting to go. I was stationed in Korea for a year I thought I was going to hate it cause I couldn't go shooting, chit I had the time of my life, I found other things to do baseball games, doing the tourist thing it was a blast. Anymore to the younger generation its about location location. If I ever ended up in California I make the best of it and find things to do, find folks who do the same stuff as I do and learn from them. Unfortunately we all clump you guys in with L.A, I did that with my inlaws who live in central California I mentioned something about them being in southern California they quickly corrected me and said no we live in central California. Anyhow Have a super groovy Christmas!

There’s nothing quite as challenging or as satisfying as hunting the mountains of the west. Many guys have no concept of what it’s like not having cellphone service for a couple weeks when you’re in the mountains hunting. Or not being more than a few hours walk from the pickup truck. Or having to carry everything you need to survive for a couple weeks on your back in the most rugged country imaginable.

I don’t feel sorry for Californians when thinking in the context of outdoor “freedoms”. California is a beautiful and biologically diverse state with a wide variety of opportunities. I do feel sorry for guys to that don’t have those freedoms, they can’t just set out walking in one direction for days and days without seeing another person or even a trace of another person. I do feel sorry for guys that have to pay good money for a chunk of fenced cactus and sagebrush, if they want to be successful they have to have a more enticing blend of deer feed in their automatic feeders and not slam the truck door when headed to their blind for a cold beer.

To the OP....good luck on your transfer and don’t pay attention to the negativity. Life is what we CHOSE to make it and the quality of our lives does not depend on the politics of the day.

Freedom is as much a state of mind as it is a state itself.

It's sure as hell not Maine or some other states I think I'd rather live in but at least you won't have to deal with the negatives of long cold winters. Being a shooter and hunter you'll meet plenty of like minded people. Don't know about bench rest shooting opportunities and the politics suck but Salmonellas right, there's plenty of hunting and fishing. You've got to live where you can make a living, might as well make the best of it.

79S, Great post and spot on.

Merry Christmas.

ps....As far as I’m concerned you live in Paradise, or you’re at least close to it. Alaska still represents, at least to me, the last all around free state.

It's beautiful country to ride a motorcycle. Motorcycle camping is good there too.

If it wasn't for the weird people, California would be one of the most popular states.


Wait.


With the weird people, it is one of the most populated states.

If they left, and weirdos weren't allowed in, it would soon be repopulated.
It is one of the most awesome states . And I have traveled extensively in the lower 48 and
Canada.

Mountains, Ocean, plains.
Rain forests, desert.
Huge cities, desolate open country.
Oranges, citrus in general.
Produce, nuts, grapes, grains, beef ranches, computer chips.......

Ignore them Sal.
They think they are great.

Every Alaskan is exactly like Big Stick!

Merry Christmas from California, folks.

Hopefully a white one here tomorrow, instead of 37F and rain like the last two days.

Yes, some of have to shovel snow,.................then again, I'm not in San Diego like my relations.

Geno

happy Kwanzaa to you..

I figured when Weatherby moved to Wyoming that it was done. However, there are some hunting writers still living there. I hope you do well. I just know that other than Monterrey Bay and the big trees there isn't much of a draw. I felt that when the Hawley mansion in Hollywood hills were broken into and had its swords stolen that that was about it.

Here is a fellow I know, (pretty good hunter for a Californian) with a buck he killed a couple weeks ago (pretty decent for California). 🤣

And Merry Christmas to all!

Really?

Mossback.....so how much did that buck cost him? You think the average person can afford to hire Doyle Moss and his posse and pay for private land/auction tags? Great for him, but let's be realistic here.

I agree.
I haven't used a guide since 2001 as mandated by Alaska law.
The prices of guided hunts these days are absolutely obscene.

The guy in the photo does extremely well on his own, but has a tremendously successful business that allows him to hunt the entire planet.
You can hate him for being wealthy, going guided and also for being a Californian...🤣

What the deer is pretty decent for California or the guy in the picture is pretty decent for a Californian?

Where in Maine are you currently?