I was lying about this Noontide and called to tell Moose that I had just eaten some of the roasted chicken he had prepared yesterday for my return. He said he was going to drop over with the Mooselette, #1 Granddaughter.

Mooselette and I have not seen each other for close to a month due to the Chemo and the Covid and all. She was most happy to see me in relatively good shape. I asked her what the deal was with her and the upcoming deer season. She's 10, and she's been out with her dad and me. She's been at deer camp for a few years, but has yet to pull the trigger. Most of that is that she's been too small up until now to shoulder a rifle, and she was somewhat neutral on actually doing the deed. This was the first time I'd gotten a definitively positive answer.

Da Shi' got serious in a fat hurry. This precipitated a hasty trip to Grandpa's Office and a search through the library for the dusty Hunter Ed material. She has agreed to start reading immediately. We'll talk later in the week.

My sons both had earned their pink Hunter Ed cards before age 10 and been hunting by now. KY no longer lets kids take the Ed or the test before age 12, but I think Mooselette needs that foundation. I'll give her the necessary training over the summer, and make sure she could pass the tests.

What this means is that instead of me being ready for action by 12 November, the date has now been moved up to 8 October, the Yute Opener. It also means I've got to get one more rifle ready for action before then.

Life comes at you fast. Here is Mooseboy on his first deer hunt in 2002:

Ah! The circle of life! Congrats!

If you need 30/30 bullets I can share. Even cast for practice or hunting

Go gettem Shaman that Lil girl needs the gramps...mb

Outstanding, and positively shamanic!!

Good deal! 😊

Yes, I have not been down to the Shamanic Secret Underground Reloading Facility for months now. I'll need to get down there and do an inventory. You may have caught the thread about my favorite Win PP FN 150 is now discontinued.

BTW: Just so y'all know, this is the Mooselette on her first actual trip out to the blind with Grandpa a few years ago:



. . . and here she is this spring out at the turkey blind

Grandkids are the greatest reward in life.

Yesterday was a big day. Team Moose came over. Daddy Moose grilled out a buttload of food including steak, chicken and shrimp, so that I'd have plenty of leftovers. Mooselette came along and we immediately went to work on getting her ready for season. Mind you, this was my first trip down to the Shamanic Secret Underground Reloading Facility (SSURF) in 2 months or so.

First on the list was deer rifle selection. We went through a number of rifles, including the Marlin 336, the Savage 340 (both in 30-30), and the Marlin 1894 in 357 Magnum. The only one that fit her was the Marlin 336. 20 years ago, it was her Daddy that shouldered that rifle. It all goes by so fast.



I have a surplus Bushnell 1.5-4.5X30 scope that I plan on throwing in. I'm also going to replace the Weaver Pivot Mount and add a cheek pad so she has a good weld.

We then adjourned to the office and started in on Hunter Ed. I gave her a brief history of deer hunting and why we have Hunter Ed. I also gave her a brief rundown on Fair Chase.

As a bonus, I brought out my copy of Dawn of Deer Hunting . . . . It has gobs of old photos including a mess of stereopticons. I have a lorgnette for viewing them, so she had a gas going through and seeing how deer hunting used to be done in 3D.





All of a sudden my batteries died, and it was time for a nap.

Thanks for the real-life, real-time account - and the history. A lovely progression, a very cute new lady hunter, and brings back so many memories.