doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Ammo, this crap is getting old

One good thing that came out of this ammo shortage....the Democrats in Memphis shot all their ammo up last 4th of July....1 week prior to the 4th and 3 weeks after it literally sounded like a war zone....

Jan. 1 2021 rolls in.....very little gun fire then it dawned in me why.

Theyz all mostis outz of bulletz...

There is always a sunny side.

Hello tut, We can load (reload) all of the 257 Roberts ammo that you would like to. I sure hope that you have saved your empty cases...... Jent

Been thinking about this, Stan. I can't speak to the mindset or intentions of preppers. It's not my thing. But all aging hunters should welcome the infusion of young blood into our ranks. Sky busting with semis is the junior hunting equivalent of a 16-year-old boy's first "successful date." We should be happy they are out in the field, we should offer our advice and guidance when they come ashore, or maybe motor over and pay them a visit when the birds have stopped flying. We need young hunters. I know, I know, us older guys finally got the best hunting spots all dialed in and our guns right on the money, and it's a pain to have to deal with people crowding us. I feel your pain, honestly, I do. Big picture is we need that next generation of gun owners

Unfortunately....the younger generation doesn’t like advice or tips for the “old heads”. The generation in between the younger generation and the old guys are the same way....with a few exceptions of course. My observation of sky busters in the last few years are guys with gray hair all the way down to teenagers. I have to say....there seems to be a lot more guys out there with gray hair sky busting than there are teenagers or young kids. In the last year or two it seems a new generation of hunter has hit the marsh....they usually show up with 5 or more guys.l, all with beards and face paint, 10 minutes before shooting time..in a boat that sounds like a nascar..with a cooler of beer, screaming, hollering and high fiving every-time they unleash a volley at a flock of spoonbills. They leave their beer cans and empty hulls floating in the marsh and litter the parking lots with dead bird carcasses. On slow days...they like to shoot blackbirds, coots & crows...you know, just for kicks.
The uplands have gotten no better with the influx of “new hunters” either. Apps like OnX gives these adults & kids the power & confidence to argue with land owners about trespassing, etc. no matter how wrong they are. I’ve seen little regard in respecting posted land by this new generation.
New hunters young & old....I’m not impressed.

Because of COVID this past year, perhaps, the forests and streams I managed to attend were very busy. Since hunting and fishing are normally considered largely "solitary" pursuits, this wouldn't be seen by many "old guys" as a positive development. Even considering the significant need for recruitment of new hunters, I too have observed some of the less-than-positive activities described by LeFusil and was... accordingly, disappointed by it. Demographic shifts affect many things, and the outdoors crowd is changing as well. Instant gratification and social networking have given rise to values and behaviors that won't likely mesh well with folks of a more "traditional" persuasion. I see no real solutions on the horizon, only more people afield and more changes to how outdoor activities are conducted. I'm not ready to throw in the towel just yet, so I keep trying to get a bit-more remote or even to find access to more "exclusive" locations. The law of diminishing returns, however, seems to be fighting me on that count as well.

I hate slob hunters. To me if a hunter does not show respect for the game and the land they ought to stay the heck home. I was taught to leave things as good or better than you found them. Passed that on to my kids. Watched this last duck season while my son picked up every spent shell and empty soda can at a blind sight we hunted on public land. He did that without my mentioning it. Raise them right and they do it right. Let them do it without any guidance and don't be surprised if they know any better.

Invited a young hunter this year to hunt with us. This marsh had only a couple prime spots and we had one of them by drawing. His spot was almost as bad as the parking lot for birds. He was enthusiastic to say the least. But he thought every duck that flew by was a mallard. After an hour he learned how to spot a spoonbill from a mallard when they flew over the decoys. My son could discern the difference long before that but he has been hunting with me for years. David was able to explain the difference to the other hunter and teach him what to look for. We value mallards a lot more than spoonbills, which we do not shoot. He calmed down and began waiting until birds were in range before shooting. Even remarked that they were a lot easier when the get closer. He just needed a bit of education like we all have at some point in time. We all need to encourage and educate younger hunters. They are our future.

I did not mean to convey that I am against all younger duck hunters. I'm afraid that's what I did, and I apologize for my poor wording. I feel quite the contrary. I raised two grandsons to hunt game birds of all kinds, and they still do, often now without me. This past season the ducks were few on my land. I let the grandsons have at them without me even being along. They did very well I think. The lessons taught them seem to have been remembered, and followed.

My post was more about those that Dustin described much better than I did. Sadly many, if not most, of those had no mentors to teach them.

SRH

Well, since I opened this can of worms, I will toss a few more out.
No question about it, wild places seem to be attracting a lot more interest than say, ten years ago. The rangers in several states tell me this and my experiences are telling me this. Meeting hunters in truly remote places where I had the run of the entire region is an odd, definitely unhappy feeling. But to that new guy, who just fled his own favorite spot that was over-run with new people, my place has lots of room. It's all a matter of perspective.
About those empty shells that go floating and bobbing away on the water's surface: I was told the crabs use them to lay their eggs, and that they provide more egg cover and protection than almost any natural location. I have caught crabs with eggs, but I have never seen a crab lay its eggs, so I don't know about this claim. Anyone?
Skybusting sucks for a bunch of reasons, obviously, but it is also a measure of enthusiasm. In a two week period I have managed to miss a huge, no make that enormous, male bobcat that I called in twice, in exactly the same location, because my heart rate rocketed and I could not get control of the gun. First time was with a scoped heavy barrel Remington 700 BDL .223 that makes a single 1/4" hole 'pattern' at 100 yards off of a bench, and which i have taken many critters with. Instead of collecting my tomcat, I missed him three times at 65 yards. He looked so awesome against the white snow that I was just unable to pull myself together. Then yesterday I called him in again, and I missed him five or six times or was it ten times with the open-sighted AR15 at exactly the same place I missed him two weeks ago. Again because I was totally rattled and could not take a deep breath and focus. He looked freakin AWESOME against that white snow! And so huge! So call it terrestrial skybusting, but it happens to even the most experienced and excited of us. That cat is probably inspecting a new cave or overhang in Tioga County right now. I feel like a fool. End of season shots at ducks and bobcats tend to be on the longer side. Hail Mary mindset. Or something. Don't judge me

Missing a bobcat at 65 yards with a scoped rifle isn't sky busting, it's not even akin. Shooting at ducks at 80-90 yards with a shotgun is.

Lots of new hunters is a good thing, overall. Many of them may grow up to be supporters of the 2nd Amendment. I hope so. But, it doesn't change the aspect that right now they are contributing to the consuming of large amounts of ammunition, and that contributes to the shortage we are experiencing. That was the original point of my post.

Best to you, SRH

And why are people skybusting? That was the point of my post...
All the best