GUN GUY DETOUR

Those of you who know me well know that I am something of a firearms enthusiast, and have been a member of an Internet forum called ``Canadian Gun Nutz`` for quite a number of years.  I have met, in person, dozens of folks from this forum, and have corresponded with many hundreds more.  And if you had told me twenty years ago that I would be ``Pen pals`` with a bunch of folks I never met, and corresponding by computer I would have told you that you were smoking cheap dope.  But here I am...........

So there are three gun guys I REALLY wanted to meet in western Saskatchewan, all within an hour or so drive of each other and only about a three hour detour from my planned route to the Saskatoon area.  I had forgotten that there are indeed parts of the Prairies where one can watch one`s dog run away from home for three days.  Photographic evidence:

First stop was Rosetown SK where I had a brief but thoroughly enjoyable chinwag over a coffee with Jim, aka 44Bore on Gun Nutz.  Jim is still employed as a professional and sometimes his time is not his own – and one of his staff booked a client for him shortly after I was due to arrive.  (Or at least that`s the cover story!).  He has a family member who lives in Ontario, and I hope that he and I might get together back there the next time he visits.

Jim and I in the Rosetown Coffee Emporium:

Next I drove to Plenty, SK, over some of the roughest roads I have travelled this trip, with more of those prairie breezes pushing my rig around.  Plenty is right next to that famous town to which I have often heard reference made, first name of which is BUTT.  There I met Rich aka RR on Gun Nutz, and his wife Nancy.  I had an extensive tour of his shop, before we hit the Plenty Hotel for wings, only 45 cents each on Wing Night and very tasty.  Too bad you have to drive over the anti-tank traps to get there.  After dinner, Rich showed me his gun collection, and then off we went to meet his buddy Garnet, aka Dusty61 on the Nutz.  Between the three guys I was visiting, I have done dozens of deals back and forth, and it was like Old Home Week when I visited Garnet`s Gun Room.  He has at least half a dozen rifles that were formerly mine, and I rather suspect that once I get home he will have another one, and I will have a custom Sako in 6.5 Rem Mag.  As was the case with 99trix in Hinton, Garnet had some work cut out for him after I left, to clean the drool off his shootin`irons.

Garnet and Rich

Garnet and I

Rich and I

I spent that night in Rich`s driveway, and got away yesterday morning to Biggar (New York is big, but this is Biggar) and then on my old buddy Ray`s house on a large acreage outside of Saskatoon.  I have known Ray since 1973, and his wife Judy since about 1977 or so (IIRC), and have only seen them on our RMC Class of 1977 reunions every five years, so it is great to have an opportunity to catch up.  They have a gorgeous home that they built themselves, and a garage that any person of the male gender would be delighted to call his own.  (I hasten to add that there are no doubt persons of other genders, neither gender, transgender, gay, lesbian, antediluvian stick-worshippers, whatever, who would also enjoy a HUGE garage.)

Speaking of which, I now know that the people who live in Fallis pronounce it ``fall`` as in the season, plus ``is``  like fawlis.  Who knew!  (A:  Judy knew.)

So I have a licence to hunt whitetail deer here, with my Muzzle-loader, and we have been out yesterday and today with murder in our hearts but nothing in our sights.  I am sure that the sixty kph gale and lashing torrents of rain have nothing to do with the absence of deer.  By now on this journey, I know that I have lost my status as a game magnet.  In fact, I think I must have received a negative charge last time I was at Camp Swampy.  I may have to resort to some of those weird things Suzy and I did when we were trying to conceive a girl once upon a time.  HAH!  Fat chance!  In the entire 20^th century, there were only two girls born in my family on my father`s side......  Anyways, Suzy read this book about how to influence the gender of your child, right there when you were trying to make the little person.  Some of the lurid details are not fit for publication in a family-oriented blog, but amongst them I do recall having to soak my (ahem) jewels in a puddle on a rotted stump, then wave a bag over my head whilst clucking like a chicken.

Actually, some of those details may not be exactly what the book prescribed, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.  You know, like using a feather is kinky, but using the whole chicken is perverted.  BUT!!!  If it brings back my hunting luck, it`s worth a try, right!

Anyways, Ray is off doing some chores whilst I am allowing my exterior hunting garments to drip somewhat drier so they are merely damp when we go out later this afternoon.  And it is a good chance to catch up on my blog too.  Please wish us luck!

Doug