Happy Thanksgiving

...just reminding everyone that no matter what goes on in life, there's always something to be thankful for. Take a minute today to think about and count your blessings.

I, for one, am thankful that I live in the greatest country in the world, that deer season starts Monday, and that I am not eating at my in-laws today.

Rifle season for deer checklist

If you're a serious hunter, you probably already scoped out the areas you hunted in the past, strategically hung your tree stands, and dusted off your guns like a million times. For those of you who only hunt once a year, here are a few pointers to make your hunting trip a safe and enjoyable one:

• Take the time to get to know the woods that you plan to hunt in. This will help you get more familiar with the areas where deer feed and travel, and it will lower your chances of getting lost (especially if you're going to hike to your tree stand at night).
• Exercise. Hit the gym and work the elyptical machine for 20-30 minutes a day, take a daily hike in the woods, take a few spin classes, etc. Being in shape will hep you carry that deer if you get one, or track one down for hours if you get a gut shot.
  
• Inspect your gun. Make sure it's functioning properly. Clean and grease it up well.
• Take a few practice shots. Any avid hunter will tell you that you should practice your aim before heading off into the woods. Yes, we kill animals when we hunt, but we want to make sure that our kill is as humane as possible. Why force an animal to suffer? Make the kill quick by hitting the right part of the body (heart or head).
• Let others know where you plan to hunt. Accidents happen, and if you don't let a friend or a loved one know where you're going they may get worried if you don't come home that afternoon.
• Cell phone. If you're lucky enough to hunt an area where you get reception, bring a cell phone with you (keep it turned off) in case of an emergency.
• Pack a first aid kid with you.
• Remember firearm safety and read up on the hunting laws. If you're a little rusty on either or both, you may want to take a hunter safety course. There's no shame being an adult and taking the free class with a bunch of 12 year olds. You're setting a good example for them.
• Leave the beer at home. Alcohol and guns don't mix.
  

If you have any other tips you'd like to share, feel free to add them in the comments below.

My son's first fish

What a view

Fun on Lake Wallenpaupack

Here's a good looking bass

5.5 lbs - I threw it back after taking these pictures so that someone else may have a chance to land it:

A few weeks late, but...

I promised to share some of my pics from my outdoorsy borthday getaway weekend, so here they are:

My Birthday

Today is my birthday, and although I don't believe that it's a national holiday (yet), I'm taking the remainder of the day off to enjoy some other aspects of life like trout fishing :)

A fishing weekend coming up!

Unfortunately, with so many outdoor projects at home (landscaped the front lawn, putting a deck around my pool, laying a paver stone walkway in the backyard, built a rock wall and a playground for the kids), I haven't had any time to really enjoy the great outdoors the way I'd like to. My outdoor experiences were limited to a fishing trip to Cape May, one camping trip, and a few mountain bike rides.

My birthday is Monday, and I'll turn 34. As part of my bday present, my wife reserved a weekend trip at Lake Wallenpaupack so I can do a few days of fishing, knowing full well that the only thing I cared to do for my birthday was to do something outdoorsy.

Hopefully, when I return, I'll have some great pictures to share with you all.

Archery season starts soon!

I don't know about you, but I'm gearing up for archery season. Like any avid hunter, I'm making sure that my bow is sighted properly so that there are no mistakes in firing that arrow. After sighting, I'll be practicing about a half an hour a day to make sure that my shots are accurate. The best rule in hunting is make sure of your shot - you always want a humane hunt.

Camping essentials: dryer lint

There are many fire starters to use when getting your campfire going. Some people prefer to have available some newspaper, toilet paper, or some other burnable material. Oh, and if you're not aware you can also use the bark from a birch tree.

One thing I like to take along with me is dryer lint (I store mine in a zip lock bag). It's extremely flammable.

Backpack essentials: pepper spray

I just finished reading last month's Field & Stream and found an interesting article on preventing bear attacks. One essential you'll need to have is pepper spray. Surprisingly, it has been proven to be more effective against bears than guns. Pepper spray was proven to be effective 92% of the time, when firearms only proved to be 66% effective. Personally, when I'm hunting I would prefer to have both available :)

How I surf fish

This post is for all you novices who aren't really sure how to fish from a shore line. Next time you visit the beach, try this technique and you might find yourself reeling in more fish than anyone else around you.

I took this approach by taking a mix of trout fishing using live bait and bay fishing (from a boat) techniques.

What you'll need:
3-way fishing swivel
Saltwater rod
Size 1 saltwater hooks
3 oz saltwater sinker
squid bait

First, cut the squid bait in a trapezoid shape similar to the way you see it below:

The trick is to cut the squid about 4" - 5" long, about 1/2" - 1" wide at one side and down to 1/4" - 1/2" on the other side.


Next, set up your rig as follows:

Note: the line from the swivel to the sinker should be between 8" - 18", and the line from the swivel to the hook should be between 12" - 18".

This rig works because when the sinker settles to the ground, the current will make the bait flap around in the water above the ground. I use a similar rig in freshwater areas like rivers and streams where the current is stronger than usual (like after rain).

When you bait the hook, you want to make sure that you put the thicker end of the cut squid through the hook. Put two pieces of squid on the hook!!!! Most fishermen put only one squid on the hook, but putting two pieces will make the fish more curious because the bait is presented differently. Plus, putting two pieces on the hook makes the bait look more realistic under water. Note: hooking on two wax worms in trout streams is just as effective, especially during the hot summer when the fish don't want to bite and near the opening day of trout season. But in trout waters, it's best to use a small treble hook. Last time I went trout fishing, I caught a 2 1/2 lb. trout near Tunkhannock, PA (most legal size trout are too small to weigh) using 2 wax worms on one hook.

When fishing the surf on the beach, I usually try to cast about 20 yards out and leave just enough slack for the line to settle. Count to 60 (slowly) and reel in a little bit of line (this best works by tipping the rod up and reeling in slack). Count to 20 (slowly) and reel in a little more line again. By the third or fourth time around if you have no bites, recast. Last time I used this rig, I caught 4 legal size flounder off the coast of Cape May in less than 30 minutes.

Stripercam.com

This is not an endorsement, but I thought it was cool for you to check this site out. The owner of a bait and tackle shop in Cape May, NJ put this site out there for you all to see live fishing action around Cape May.

Outdoor fun in Cape May, NJ

Last weekend, I went to Cape May, NJ with my family to enjoy the beach. I'm not the type of guy to law down on the beach and do nothing, so I decided to take a fishing trip on the Lady Chris and do some surf fishing afterwards. My daughter went with me, too. Despite being caught in a severe thunderstorm, it was a great weekend for fishing.

Ruger SR9 Recall

As an outdoor enthusiast, I admit that I am not a big gun enthusiast. However, I do own a few guns for hunting purposes even though my primary choice for big game is archery. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania now allows archery hunters to carry a handgun for protection. This spring I bought a Ruger SR9 for that very reason. I had it for about 5 months and never fired it.

If you own an SR9 and haven't heard about the recall, you may want to check out the link which gives you more information about this very important safety retrofit. According to Ruger.com, "some Ruger SR9 pistols manufactured between October 2007 and April 2008 can, under certain conditions, fire if dropped with their manual safeties in the "off" or "fire" position. The pistols will not fire if the manual safety is in the "on" or "safe" position."

More specifically, the guns that are affected have a serial number of "330-29999 or lower." Also, you will know if your gun needs to be retrofitted because the trigger assembly looks different.

Before retrofit, your trigger assembly looks like this:

After retrofit, your trigger assembly looks like this:


If you're unsure about whether your gun needs to be retrofitted, you should call the SR9 recall hotline at 1-800-784-3701

You should also call the hotline if your SR9 needs retrofit. There is no cost to you, the consumer. Ruger is replacing all parts for FREE.

To participate in the recall, you may go online to the recall page or call the the recall hotline number. Once Ruger is ready to retrofit your pistol, the company will send you a box to ship your pistol directly to their factory free of charge. They promise to return your pistol within 2 weeks at no cost to you and send you an extra magazine. In the mantime, Ruger advises that you do not use your SR9 until it is retrofitted.

I just received my retrofitted SR9 (still haven't fired it) 4 business days after it was sent back to the factory for recall. They did send the extra magazine, as well as a Ruger hat and bumper sticker back with the repaired pistol. I also found that the customer service staff was extremely friendly and helpful during this process - something rare these days (Jeff Quinn, editor of gunblast.com agrees - see his article here). Even more rare is that the customer service staff spoke English and were not outsourced to some company in southeast Asia.

If you want to know specifically which parts are being replaced, you can view the PDF of the retrofit changes here.

Please note that this post merely serves as a public service to owners of the SR9 and is not intended to serve as a means to argue for or against gun ownership rights. This post was neither solicited nor approved by Ruger.