I awoke this morning to uncharacteristic quiet and darkness…no glow from the alarm clock, no nightlight glow squeezing around the bathroom door, no hum of the refrigerator.
The power was out.
Since I couldn’t make coffee, the WiFi was down, and I didn’t have anyplace I needed to be, I cuddled up to my wife and we did what old married couples do when presented with some extra alone time in bed….we went back to sleep.
After a while, the power came back on with a vengeance and woke me up. Every electronic doodad in the house beeped or blooped with excitement, lights came on, fans started blowing, refrigerators and freezers whirred to life to catch up…And I could make coffee.
Drinking my first cup, I looked out the kitchen window at the miserable weather outside, and I was glad to be inside.
Winter is a miserable time of year for a fair weather shooting enthusiast like myself. Frankly, standing in the rain while it blows sideways at 34 degrees is not my idea of fun. I decided to make a list of foul weather activities for the fair weather shooting enthusiast.
1. Go visit your local gun store. My favorite, Gator’s in Kelso, has a wood stove in the corner that makes it easy to stand around, soak up some heat, engage in some technical discussion, swap stories, and whittle away a blustery day. You’ll find that the rest of the activities on your list may well lead you to your FLGS(Favorite Local Gun Store) also.
2. Collect all the brass you’ve been saving. Sort it. If you reload, put it in the tumbler to polish. If you don’t reload, take it to your FLGS as trading stock and get it out of your way.
3. Reload your ammo. Now is the time to get a good back stock of hunting ammo loaded up. You’ll be too busy with mowing, chores, BBQ’s and such this summer, and fall will sneak up on you. Load it up now so you can practice and zero your rifle this summer, and hit hunting season with plenty of ammo and practice. Head on down to your FLGS when you discover you don’t have the right bullets, or your die still has a case stuck in it from last year, or the dog ate your shell holder.
4. Detail strip, clean and oil your guns. A good takedown from a cold, fresh perspective is a great opportunity to discover corrosion, wear, and loose fasteners. If you’re like me, you probably ran a bore snake down your hunting rifle ‘just for now’ and it’s been sitting in the safe like that since October. Pull ol’ Reliable out of the safe and take care of her and keep her Reliable. Head on down to your FLGS to replenish your cleaning and maintenance supplies.
5. Clean your workbench. Clean and organize all your tools, put them away in an orderly fashion. Yeah…I ain’t doing that either. I’ll head to Gator’s first.
6. Check the dehumidifier in your safe. Rejuvenate your silica gel, check and ensure your electric dehumidifier Rod is warm and working. Go to your FLGS to increase desiccant capacity.
7. Sort, organize and inventory your ammo. Reload or visit your FLGS to fill deficiencies.
8. Bolt that gun safe down. I know you’re out there. You bought that safe, and put it where it is, not 100% sure that it was going to stay there….so you never bolted it down. Two guys and a hand truck can take away your entire gun collection in a few minutes, and then open that safe with their meth fueled frenzy at their convenience at their den of iniquity. Face it..that safe hasn’t moved since you put it there. Make sure it doesn’t. Buy beer and call that buddy that works construction..he’s got the tools and he’ll help.
9. Inventory your guns. Take at least three pictures of each..one of each side, and a very clear one showing the model and serial number. Email the pictures to yourself via a remote email program like Yahoo, so those pictures will be saved remotely, or open a separate, private photo storage account like Photobucket, ShutterFly, or Flickr and upload them. Hopefully, you’ll never, ever need to use those pictures, but they can be invaluable in case of a fire, natural disaster or theft. Take that gun you found in the back that you don’t like any more down to your FLGS and trade it for something cool.
10. Avoid doing any of the above. Write a Blog. Head to Gator’s knowing you accomplished something today. ;-
Mark Spreadborough
Fire Mountain Outdoors
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