Here are some ways to pass the time during winter doldrums
I can only think of one person who would disagree with my saying the hunting season is all but over. And he hunts 365 days a year.
I guess there will be an automatic increase in the number of days for archery hunting, probably 4 or 5 if and when Sunday hunting is legalized. Come to think of it, the firearms hunter might gain a couple of days, too. Now we face the doldrums of winter and are going to let everyone know we are bored. I have always felt that January and February are the gray months. Ice and snow usually are common earth covers and trees stand silhouetted against a dreary sky. However, this year it looks like it is more the muddy season than anything else. There are a few things that help a bit to make the two wintry months tolerable.
This would be the gun and sport shows held during the winter months. It seems to begin this month with the first of the 2019 gun shows at the Arden Fairgrounds. The January gun show will occur on the 12th and 13th of this month. It is the winter shows that seem to attract the most people and this is not only a good place to swap and buy that collectible firearm you have always wanted, but a good place to meet with old friends and see who can shoot the farthest and who can down the biggest animal.
Not only will firearms be purchased and sold but there will be a lot of what are called accessories found at most gun shows. There will be dies for the reloader along with brass and powder. Holsters and handgun grips along with gun books will be plentiful. The fairgrounds show is the biggest one close to home and also the first one this year.
My friend Matt Shoemaker of Macon County Outfitters in Missouri works just two shows, both in Pennsylvania: the huge show in Harrisburg and the Allegheny Sports Show at the Monroeville Convention Center. Now you know why the majority of his clients are from Pennsylvania. I might not feel like taking the drive to Harrisburg but hopefully I will attend the Allegheny show that takes place Friday, Feb. 15 through Sunday the 17th.
There is a strong possibility that I will be found at Shoemakers booth trying to convince him that Pennsylvania hunters are among the best, though we have trouble passing up a small buck to get a chance at a larger one. Macon County Outfitters runs a great hunt that offers rifle hunting over a seven-day period that falls in the northern Missouri rut. Remember, Missouri is one of the nation’s top trophy deer states. It holds first place with a non-typical buck scoring 333 7/8 and the No. 3 typical, scoring 205. That No. 3 buck falls behind only the Jordan buck and the Hansen buck. Of course, there are a large amount of other outfitters and charter boat services at the Monroeville show.
Closer to home is the show held at the Washington Crown Center on Friday Feb. 8 through Sunday the 10th. It is at this show that the youngster who wins the George Block Conservation Scholarship for the 2018 season will be awarded. It is also the place I will be measuring deer again with a little help from my friends.
I hope both events are well attended as they usually are. This also will be a good place to meet your local officers of the Game Commission and the Fish Commission and ask your questions. If you have a good question, don’t be afraid to ask; complaining to me is of little good. That is why they are there and they don’t bite. But whatever you do, treat these dedicated men and women with courtesy. It’s all right to disagree but do it in a proper manner with respect for the other fellow, even if his or her opinion is the opposite of yours. Much the same could be said when talking to the men and women who donate their time to the County Sports League.
So there you have it, a list of stuff to do during these gloomy days of winter. Mark your calendars and I’ll possibly bump into you at the gun show at Monroeville in the booth or at the Crown Center Mall. Oh, and maybe at the announcement of the scholarship or measuring your buck. Wait, I no longer have the winter doldrums. There is too much to do. Well, I better go get in a nap before the busy days ahead.