Gearing up; whats new this fall.

     The grouse season is just around the corner. I haven't checked, but early goose season is probably already open. I don't feel like it's the advent, nor do I feel ready. Sure, I'm constantly train with Ginger, and shooting skeet, but gone are the days of making all kinds of lengthy plans, and mapping out destinations. Now when the season opens its just, off I go. It's nice to know your coverts intimately, but the thrill of heading into the unknown, that feeling of excitement and expectation doesn't attach. Still, I wouldn't miss it for the world.

     While the grouse season up north opens October 1st I generally don't start seriously hunting until around the 15th of October. Generally it's still quite warm before then, and unless there has been a heavy rain there can be a lot of leaves still up on the trees. That said, It's been quite some time, perhaps 10 years or more since I've made an early season, opening day dash to Maine. In the past I'd spent a few early days in the Down East region, and often shot an opening day grouse there. I love the state of Maine, and am considering making a quick, budget trip up there.

     As the weather is still quite warm during the earlier part of the season I thought it would be a good idea to get a shirt more suited to the weather. Hunting clothing are usually quite warm. I decided to go the athletic route.

What do you think?

     And now a quick word about Under Armour. There has been a lot of people going on about Under Armour being anti-hunting. This is not true. Yes, UA did fire one of their Prostaffers. Yes, the firing might have been contivertial, or unjust. But UA has not stopped supporting the field sports and hunting. UA still has hunting pro staffers. Still makes hunting apparel. Still produces the Ridge Reaper TV show. UA still supports hunting. They just fired one individual. If they'd have fired one of golf or tennis pros, would they then be anti- golf, or anti-tennis? Lay off the hype.

     I've picked up some new kit for the upcoming season. As I've stated before, my primary hunting boots are Wellies, but  I'd been contemplating giving lace-ups a try. I took the plunge, and bought a pair of Cabelas by Meindle. I'd been looking at Meindle boots, and hearing good things about them. After hearing a serious grouse fool, cover dog fool, hunting guide friend rave about them, I knew they had to be good. As fate would have it, they were not only on sale, but the young man working the register at Cabelas gave me the military discount in lieu of a public safety/first responder discount, which cabbalas doesn't offer (yet Bass Pro does).

     I also found a great deal, online, of a light weight, packable, breathable, water proof shooting coat. So I now own another article of Musto clothing. Truthfully, one can't go wrong with Musto. This coat, as well as the new boots, will be making the trip to England with me this year. 

     I also decided it was time for a new upland hunting vest. I like a strap vest, but I carry quite a bit of stuff with me, so I need storage space.  Because I often walk/hike a long way into the woods on my outings I also wanted something that has a lumbar belt to carry the weight on my hips. I looked at quite a few. Some were nice, others not quite there. 

     One of the first vests I looked at was the LL Bean Pat'ridge II. I really wanted to like this vest, but it needs improvement. The lumbar belt was nice, but the vest lacked adjustability in the back. The belt is attached too high to the game bag, so the entire back section rides up, and the straps bulge out. A loaded game bag would pull down and back at an uncomfortable angle. If changed slightly, this vest would be very nice.

     I also looked at the LL Bean Technical Upland Vest Pack. Believe it or not, this thing is pretty nice. It's not got much style, but it has got lots of adjustability, and storage. No doubt this could be an all day hunting vest. The issue that kept me from buying it was the pockets. The front pockets are basically designed so that a box of shells fits right into each pocket. Who keeps that many shells, and only shells in their pockets? In addition to shells I carry a knife, GPS, EMT gel, a compass, a snack, and several other small essentials up front. With a couple of proper pockets, this vest could be a keeper.

     The Browning Bird n Lite vest was also on my short list. This vest has been around for a while, and gets the job done. Nothing kept me from buying this vest other than a better deal coming along. 

In the end, I ended up ordering a Q5 San Carlos vest through a friend who is a pro staffer for Q5. Unlike the others, the San Carlos rides lower, primarily around the hips, with only the straps running up your back. I like this because I tend to sweat right in the middle of my back and don't need a vest helping that along. I haven't got the vest in hand yet. I'll be picking it up next weekend, but I'll be sure to review it later.

     Q5 also makes an upland bird belt. I am very intrigued by the belt, but don't think it'll satisfy my requirements as a hunting accessory, however, it may make a nice dog training belt at some time in the future.

     And that my friends, is all I've got for you.

And Then There Was One.

     Love them or hate them, big box stores are a way of life.To the outdoors enthusiast this can be a benefit, or a bust. My experiences have been mixed, leaning towards the poorer end of the spectrum. Filling out a big box store with enough employees is tough. Getting people with knowledge of the department you plant them in is a challenge, too, I'm sure. While I'm certain that on all levels of the sporting retail world the intention of the employees is good. Save for the most special of specialty shops, where the staff is made up of part-timers who are only working to get the employee discount and guide as a full time job, most people are spending 40+ hours a week in the store and the odd weekend in the outdoors. Couple that with the fact that football season and hunting season are the same time of the year, and I'll bet you there are some employees who don't even remember how to load their slug gun. But like I said, big box stores are a way of life, and that brings me to the point of all this. Rumors abound that Bass Pro Shops is trying/planning to buy Cabelas.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it, Here!!

     What does all this mean? I don't know, but I doubt it'll mean either retailer actually starts carrying things sportsman and sportswomen actually want (on a regular basis, that is. Sure, we occasionally find something we want). Anyway,......

Big Box Break Down.

No question about it, big box stores are a retail reality in this country. Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, and Best Buy are household names. And many of us frequent wholesale clubs like BJ's and Costco in search of deals as well. Getting most of your shopping done under one roof saves time and money spent on gas. With gas prices creeping up, and lead prices now high, saving money at the gas pump, and in some cases, on daily necessities may be the only way some of us will be able to have any money left over come the shooting season.

The outfitting industry has their big box stores too. Cabela's, Bass Pro, and Gander Mountain are this countries big three, with cataloges full of glossy pictures of everything a sportsman could want, and then some. But in reality, the idea of the big three falls short of the expectations. My experience has been that the selection, and in many cases the hired help aren't exactly dialed in.

I've been to two Cabela's, the Maine store, and the Connecticut store. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. The lay out of both stores seemed to be nothing more than a afterthought, and the selection at both stores was lacking, with large gaps, both on the racks and in the inventory selection. To make matters worse, I've found the atmosphere at the Maine store, to which I've been several times, rather depressing. While the store was still filled with lots of goodies, the customers all seemed to just be wandering about in a fog. Perhaps they were in a the same state of increduliousness I found myself in every time I went there; perplexed that a store so large, and with so much stuff, didn't have a single thing I was looking for. How does that happen?

Gander Mountain left me a little less disappointed. I'd detoured to Watertown NY to visit the store on the way home from grouse camp last year. Id only gone there to take a look, wanting to buy nothing more than an atlas. The atlas they had in stock, but the general impression of the store left me with the feeling I was shopping in a Building 19.

Bass Pro Shop isn't quite the disappointment the others turned out to be, but suffers in other ways. Perhaps the biggest blunder at Bass Pro, and something Cabela's suffers from too, is lack of a regional marketing strategy. The store in Foxboro, Massachusetts sells camo patterns that would look great, and be efficient on an antelope hunt in Wyoming, but fail to carry much in the way of upland bird vests, or pants. I guess they haven't noticed that in Mass deer and pheasant are the two most widely hunted species. Why carry a sex scented bear lure? Bears mate in the spring, and here in New England our bears season is in the fall. A food scent, such as anise, which is in the catalog would make more sense.

Even worse than not finding what you want is finding something you do want, but also finding out it's way over priced. I don't bother to look at the gun selection at Bass Pro anymore. Twice I've pointed out to the management guns that were tagged too high. One gun was a discontinued model that even with a sale price $300 less than the ticket was still over what I could have bought it for down the street. That was before Christmas, and as of last week at least one of those guns was still there collecting dust. But let's end on a positive note; Bass Pro's interior, and atmosphere is lively and exciting. Walking through the store is almost like being in an outdoors themed Disney park.

I'll not rant about the hired help, but will say this; working at an outfitter five days a week still means you're only hunting two days a week, if your wife lets you. If you hunt more than two days a week, your experience, and expertise may be of a higher level than those in the embroidered uniform. Trust yourself, trust your judgement. This assessment doesn't only apply to employees of he bigger outfitters either. Here is Mass we've got a family run outdoor store that I've witness passing along extremely suspect advice, and even make stuff up as they go. When the employee behind the gun counter looks at a shotgun for a full sixty seconds, and still can't tell you the make or gauge of the gun, I say shop elsewhere; Even if the outfitter has nifty commercials on TV.

All hope is not lost, however, and I am not as cynical a man as the previous paragraphs might have you thinking. There are a couple of places here in New England where one can, in my opinion, comfortably shop for, and usually find what they need. Number one on my list is The Kittery Trading Post in Kittery Maine. What makes this place special to me is their marketing departments understanding of what hunters and fishermen in New England need. If you need it, they'll have it. Maybe not the brand you wanted, but another version. They've also got some knowledgeable people working there; the shotgun department in particular. I'm quite fond of LL Bean, too. Though I've not had many conversations with the employees there, I've also never failed to find what I'm looking for either. I find LL Bean to be a no frills outfitter, with a good selection of the basics. As a die hard grouse hunter, I've no trouble pointing other bird hunters towards Bean when they might need to replace some gear.

Lost in the Supermarket

    Iconic punk band, The Clash, of the late 70's and early 80's had a tune called Lost in the Supermarket. I must admit, I've had days when I've shut down key operating systems of the cerebral kind and left a supermarket unaware of why I'd bought some of the garbage in my cart. Being a bit of a gastronome I'm usually focused, thinking of little more than the task at hand. Today, however, I was pleasantly surprised, and amused when I came upon the gift card center at the local Stop & Shop. According to the sign on the gift center, it's now easier than ever to buy an appropriate gift for anyone. Just get them a gift card. This holds true when shopping for the sportsmen (or sportswomen) in your life. When pressed with getting them a gift, all need to do now is just run on down to your local Stop & Shop and pick up either a Cabelas, or Bass Pro gift card.

    
     Its evident that the influence of these big box outfitters is growing, spreading through our society. Yet so frequently we read in outdoor sporting publications that the number of hunters is shrinking nation wide. As I drove home, I wondered if this was true, and what my role is in preventing our disappearance. Not having kids of my own, I've had little chance to introduce children to hunting. I've taken kids fishing before, but fishing remains widely popular, and requires little effort to start. I've also taken non-hunting friends on bird hunting trips. Usually friends who've helped me with dog training, so they could see the results of their time. I've got hunting friends with children, but even they are split, one friend frequently taking his kids fishing, or to the deer blind during the season, and another who tries to insulate his kid from his passion for hunting. Seems I'm planted firmly in the middle somewhere; wishing I could introduce a child to hunting, and the responsible use of our resources, but instead introducing adults when the situation arises. No less important, either.