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Hey, folks.
I've been up in Portland for about a year and a half now. I grew up in the boonies of central California (Modesto, Tuolomne River area), and learned to shoot when I was a kid. My dad was a ww2 vet, 11th airborne in the Japanese theater and shot 1st in his regiment with the M1 carbine. He taught me and both my brothers to shoot. I grew up with .22s (Winchester take-down 22 pump and a Mossberg semi-auto) and an old level-action 25-35 that was my grandpa's made around 1916. We always used iron sights, hence the name.
Recently, I expanded to his old Beretta jetfire in .25acp (SO small, argh!) and won a 12ga (Stevens 320 3" with an 18" and 28" barrel) in a raffle. I lived in a few places in CA and finally got out and up here to Portland after college. I've been shooting with the shotgun a few times, but am still really green with it. The .22s I'm fine with. The .25 is like the "noisy cricket" from Men In Black - tiny, noisy, and more trouble than it's worth. Plus I can't hit a 12" target from 15 feet because my hands are twice the size of the pistol and I can barely hold onto it. The 25-35 is my favorite, but ammo is pricey if you can even find it. I did find some cheap and available "metric equivalent" 6.5x52R, but haven't tried it yet. I'm a bit apprehensive about it because while it works for some, it doesn't work for all, and I don't know what that would look like if it didn't work. Exploding barrels are not something I want near my face.
The main reason I'm joining here is to make connections with people so I can learn where and how to hunt. I grew up shooting but never hunting. Not only am I looking to start hunting small game like rabbits (no limit, no season), and eventually deer/elk, but I'm looking to be able to completely eliminate store-bought meat. I like the idea of an animal living its days outdoors as being humane, but more importantly, a lot of store-bought meat makes me sick. I'm allergic to a lot of foods, especially corn, and the disinfectants and soaker-pads used all over meat counters and processors are made with corn. It gets on the meat and I wind up chained to the bathroom for a day.
Anyhow, I'm in Saint Johns. Highway 30 is close and I want to get out there. I did take the CA hunter safety class, but I haven't picked up a license yet. I'd be happy to tag along and learn this season, or help build blinds for rabbits to make burrows for next year's population. I've never used a scope, and I don't really have any interest in learning to. My personal style is to keep using ironsights and to hunt on my feet, not in a blind. It just seems more sportsmanlike to me... and I would get incredibly bored sitting in a blind for any length of time.
I've been up in Portland for about a year and a half now. I grew up in the boonies of central California (Modesto, Tuolomne River area), and learned to shoot when I was a kid. My dad was a ww2 vet, 11th airborne in the Japanese theater and shot 1st in his regiment with the M1 carbine. He taught me and both my brothers to shoot. I grew up with .22s (Winchester take-down 22 pump and a Mossberg semi-auto) and an old level-action 25-35 that was my grandpa's made around 1916. We always used iron sights, hence the name.
Recently, I expanded to his old Beretta jetfire in .25acp (SO small, argh!) and won a 12ga (Stevens 320 3" with an 18" and 28" barrel) in a raffle. I lived in a few places in CA and finally got out and up here to Portland after college. I've been shooting with the shotgun a few times, but am still really green with it. The .22s I'm fine with. The .25 is like the "noisy cricket" from Men In Black - tiny, noisy, and more trouble than it's worth. Plus I can't hit a 12" target from 15 feet because my hands are twice the size of the pistol and I can barely hold onto it. The 25-35 is my favorite, but ammo is pricey if you can even find it. I did find some cheap and available "metric equivalent" 6.5x52R, but haven't tried it yet. I'm a bit apprehensive about it because while it works for some, it doesn't work for all, and I don't know what that would look like if it didn't work. Exploding barrels are not something I want near my face.
The main reason I'm joining here is to make connections with people so I can learn where and how to hunt. I grew up shooting but never hunting. Not only am I looking to start hunting small game like rabbits (no limit, no season), and eventually deer/elk, but I'm looking to be able to completely eliminate store-bought meat. I like the idea of an animal living its days outdoors as being humane, but more importantly, a lot of store-bought meat makes me sick. I'm allergic to a lot of foods, especially corn, and the disinfectants and soaker-pads used all over meat counters and processors are made with corn. It gets on the meat and I wind up chained to the bathroom for a day.
Anyhow, I'm in Saint Johns. Highway 30 is close and I want to get out there. I did take the CA hunter safety class, but I haven't picked up a license yet. I'd be happy to tag along and learn this season, or help build blinds for rabbits to make burrows for next year's population. I've never used a scope, and I don't really have any interest in learning to. My personal style is to keep using ironsights and to hunt on my feet, not in a blind. It just seems more sportsmanlike to me... and I would get incredibly bored sitting in a blind for any length of time.
