Mar 31, 2018 4 min read

Mike was working in northern Pennsylvania and I was home in Washington County. We were on the telephone and I was describing a rifle I had just purchased. This bolt action .270 was a store brand but one that had been built by the highly respected FN plant in Belgium.

I explained to Mike that the rifle was not in perfect condition because of the scratches and dents in the stock from nothing more than normal wear. Mike’s response was one of the hunting and shooting truths that need said as a reminder. A perfect rifle has no history. It’s one that has no story to tell for each scratch represents a hunt. With that, I thought about the many scratches and dents on an old model 70 in the gun safe and just how true Mike’s statement was. A well-used rifle will show minor marks from honest use, and if capable of speech, could tell many a story. The pristine rifle can only tell tales of spiders and dust as it spent its lifespan in a closet.

Along the same line, two guys I work with were having a disagreement about what was really nothing. Don had started the conversation, saying he needed to buy new brush pants for small-game season. It seems Don’s trousers were in pieces from working in the briars with his beagle. You see, Don was a rabbit hunter and he thought we deer hunters were wasting our time.

Charlie, on the other hand, was a hunter who I can only describe by saying that he had deer hunted for 30 years and never saw a deer while hunting. He even owned a farm in Butler County. What more can I say?

Charlie started things when he told Don about the quality of his pants. Saying if Don bought quality clothes instead of cheap junk, then his pants would last. Don came back with, “If I sat around in my clothes as you do, my pants would last for many years.” It’s like, if you work hard at finding deer, then your gun will have marks on its shiny finish.

In my safe lies a seldom-used post 64 model 70 with a nasty scratch on its barrel. When I look at the bad wound on the barrel, I don’t feel bad because I am reminded of a doe that I downed with what was probably my best shot ever. She was running full speed and I hit her right through the heart as she weaved through tangles. The shot was only at 50 yards but was extremely difficult. The scratch was put there by a barbed wire fence that was near where I leaned the rifle while dressing out the deer. It’s a reminder of a good hunt more than a lowering of value.

I can think of many occasions when a fine rifle was marked by an accident, but one was because of my stupidity. Pat had downed a buck across a picked corn field. Since he was recovering from a broken ankle, I was on my knees dressing the 8-pointer and happened to look across the field only to see another buck watching us. It was slightly more 300 yards to where it stood, so I lay down resting the .270 across the body of Pat’s deer. Now we had to drag two to the truck. No, the mark it now carries wasn’t from the shooting but is an unnoticed spot where I failed to wipe away the blood. It not only reminds me to be more careful when cleaning but reminds me of a good shot and a buck that shouldn’t have watched two idiot humans out in the open. Mike was right.

• April 14 is an important day with trout season opening in Western Pennsylvania. The streams will be crowded as house-bound anglers finally get to wet a line. But wait a minute, you say, isn’t that the day of our local gun show at Arden? Yep, you got it. They occur the same day.

This does create a dilemma and a tough decision for many of us. I think I’ll complain to Fred and ask him why didn’t he schedule the show the next weekend so we could enjoy two important days instead of one confusing day. If I go to the show, then I’ll wonder if I should have gone fishing. If I go fishing, then I’ll wonder if I am missing the best buy ever.