May 14, 2016 3 min read

I would be willing to bet the wren sassing this intruder is pound for pound the noisiest critter around.

It’s nest is right over my head, and I dare not remove my cap for obvious reasons. It isn’t raining, so I decided to work on my article for the Sunday paper outside.

We had so many gloomy days. When the rare nice day comes along, most of us don’t want to miss even a short piece of it. This is a strange atmosphere for I am usually inside the house, but doing this outside seems natural.

After all, I’m an outdoors writer – or at least that is what it says on my identification. I remember back when I worked for a living when one of my bosses – Ray Malevich – came up and asked me innocently, “What do you do when it rains?”

I didn’t understand the question and had him repeat it. He did, and I still didn’t understand. “If it rains,” he asked, “do you still type outside?”

“No,” I answered. “If it rains, I become an inside outdoors writer.”

As many readers will recall, my late wife, Eileen, loved the outdoors. She knew every wildflower and tree. She also hunted using a .270 for deer, and she loved to fish.

Back in the ’50s and ’60s, it was strange to see a woman on the stand clutching a bolt-action rifle in .270, or for that matter any chambering above .243.

Rarer yet was the fact this woman was bringing home decent-racked bucks. She was competent with a rifle and a handgun. Today, women hunting and taking part in competitive shooting is fairly common.

There are women who break more than 90 birds while shooting sporting clay and look at any high school rifle team. Girls are often the top shooters.

As most shooters and hunters know, there was recently a shortage of ammunition.

In fact, there is still a shortage of certain rounds. Many, including yours truly, asked what is going on? There was an article in “The Rifleman” publication attempting to explain the reason even common ones were hard to find.

Even .22s couldn’t be found, while .22 magnums are still all but impossible to locate.

In the article I’m thinking of, it was explained how the number of both gun owners and those who shoot guns increased to a high percentage of the population.

More people own a firearm or two, but the biggest increase in the number of shooters and ammo buyers was among women. More women are taking up shooting sports and carrying a gun.

With more gun owners, the demand for ammo is greater. Locally, be observant and you will notice a high number of women buying ammo or guns, which generates more questions about firearms.

What was once the domain of the male isn’t exactly dominated by males today. This is the why there is Ladies’ Day June 12 at the Dormont/Mt. Lebanon Sports Club.

While accurate shooting is not being stressed, it is a chance for ladies to shoot handguns or sit around and have somebody explain the workings of firearms and ammunition.

Safety, storage and cleaning of firearms are also in the discussion. Space will be limited. To register, email lisa.forlano@gmail.com. I will probably be there as well.

George H. Block writes a Sunday outdoors column for the Observer-Reporter.