This week started off with a bang… Literally! Okay, not funny. But seriously shooting guns feels great. I think Molalla culture may have worked its magic on me; I wear all camo, love to shoot guns, and live in a motorhome.
But no, seriously I went shooting guns with my family on Sunday. I shot my grandfathers 357 and my step fathers .22. The AK47 in the photo above belongs to my brother. I actually didn’t shoot that one, I just wanted to hold it. I plan to buy a gun pretty soon, probably just a .22 rifle, or perhaps a rifle powerful enough to take down a deer. I’d like to go bow-hunting, but if I can’t get any deer with that, I’ll just use a gun. I think guns don’t have the ethics or skill they way bow-hunting does, and guns come from the industrial economy, but I want subsistence here, so I don’t really care. I know that guns won’t last forever, so I learn to hunt with a bow and arrow and traps too, but right now I’d like to provide myself with as much “free food” as possible. Though the cost of guns, ammo and hunting license’s don’t really make deer hunting “free.”
The rest of the week I felt weak and tired and depressed and spent working at my job. I haven’t felt as deppressed as I have this last week in years. I laughed, telly Penny, that I thought about those silly “stress points” scale that dictate your anxiety and depression levels. You know, moving to a new place = 200 points, the death of a loved one = 400 points, etc. I have moved to Molalla, lost contact with most of my friends and started working at a new job. The weather also turned cold and nasty again, adding to my melancholy. So yeah, aside from unloading a few rounds of hot lead, I didn’t do shit this week. We’ll call it a feral failure.
Urban Scout’s Laundry List Week 55:
1. Construct and set Deadfall Trap. (Nope)
2. Write about Bleeding heart and that other plant. (Nope)
3. Build a compost pile. (Nope)
4. Finish my Collapse Vs. Rewilding draft and post it. (Yes!)
5. Paint Motorhome. (A little)
So yeah, this week we’ll try something new; reverse psychology. I will do nothing on my Laundry List:
Urban Scout’s Non-Weekly Laundry List for Week 56:
1. Do not construct a dead fall trap.
2. Do not write about Bleeding Heart and that other plant.
3. Do not build a compost pile.
4. Do not write a blog on AdBusters Vs. Rewilding.
5. Do not write a blog on Meaninglessness Vs. Rewilding.
6. Do not finish painting motorhome.
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7 responses to “W55: A Sunday Picnic… With Guns!”
Oh dear …
Aside from weight of both gun and ammo, there’s another great reason to consider a .22: they’re cheap!
There are certainly plenty of things to learn and practice when you kill your own deer, even if it is with a gun.
Call it a stepping stone between roadkill and bow-hunting.
I agree with Rebecca. The real work begins after you harvest the deer. You could still work on all the things required for the hunt, like tracking, camo and take your shot from bowhunting range if that makes you feel better. I know from experience how much time and skill it takes to bow hunt with all primitive gear. Get some meat!
Sorry to hear you’ve been depressed. Loss is tough even when it may be best in the long run. I got fired from the worst job in the world recently – I hated it – yet, it bummed me out losing it, like I failed or something. I should have quit a long time ago, but had to be “responsible” and all that shit. Breaking free from civ is tough, all the allure, all the addictions, all the pretty crap that blinds us to the real struggle. Your inspiration helps keep me from giving up on the journey. Thanks.
Hey Urb,
That is a great shot (pun intended) of you and the sweet AK-47. I want one!
My grandfather taught me how to shoot a rifle (30.07), hunt, kill, hang and skin deer. It’s been a long time since I’ve done any of that.
Sorry you’re depressed. I hope you feel better soon.
Shusli
That ak-47 looks bad ass but too brutal just to be use for shooting a deer, heh! Agreed on .22 but you need to point that in the head and sure thing is that you can’t do that. so a rifle will be sweet… 🙂