One way to make an outdoor, hunting, shooting, collecting enthusiast happy is a great event that is going on this weekend. It is the summer gun show at the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center going on this weekend in the North Exhibition Hall. The Gun collectors association holds four shows a year and each one is well worth the trip! My oldest Son, Hunter and I are the normal participants and we meet my Father in Law and Brother in Law from West Alabama at the show and end it by going to lunch.
It is a tradition we have enjoyed for close to two decades now and we have bought, sold, traded for many rifles, shotguns, pistols, knives, swords, bayonets, old silver coins, war memorabilia, and other assorted collectible items. It really is like a candy store for guys who love guns and we all “are one”!
My youngest son Walt, is at home for the summer from college and went with us today so it was an even better day for him and his brother to have fun together and for “old dad” to enjoy them both as a “guys day out”. The summer gun show really helps to break up the summertime blues and helps us to hang on until hunting season gets here and dove season is only a couple of months away!
At today’s show, I was glad to see a real good turn out of folks but, did not find too many bargains to bring back home. We only took a pistol and an old British bayonet to sell or trade and came back home with both of them. I did purchase an 1877 French long bayonet with scabbard for a decent price and should be able to get a fair profit from it on E-bay or the Bulletin Board. I also picked up a couple of old shotguns that are pretty neat, one of them is an old LC Smith Double Barrel and the other is a very nice Colt Double Barrel which is a very rare gun that should bring a premium price.
Gun trading really is a great hobby and very gratifying. My other favorite trading, buying hobby is silver coin collecting. However, I was very disappointed today at how high everyone had their silver coin prices set despite that silver price has traded downward over the last few months. Needless to say, I did not buy any coins today and considered going back tomorrow and selling some of mine if I could get the kind of price they were asking!
Anyway, it was another good Saturday to enjoy time away from the rigors of work and have fun with my sons and that makes for good memories to enjoy for years to come.
Last Saturday I went fishing over in Tuscaloosa at my brother in law’s and fished a pond they stocked about three years ago with F1 Tiger Bass. If you have never fished a pond or lake with a good stock of those bass and you get the chance, DON”T pass it up! These fish hit like a normal bass twice their size and are great fighters all the way to the bank or boat.
Even though the weather was sunny and HOT, they were still relatively active and I caught 26 or 27 and kept 6 to fillet for a future meal, before retreating from the heat to go visit my sister and brother in law who live within site of this particular pond. After a 3 hour visit, I returned at dusk to the pond for what I thought would be the best action of the day and on the first cast, I had a big girl with a bad attitude nearly snatch the reel from my hand! I finally reeled her in and did the “Bill Dance” thing since we release all the biggest and smallest back in. I fished for another 30 minutes without a strike and called it a day. The bass had been much more active during the mid day when it was hot and windy than in the cooler, calm evening. I believe when the water got calm, they got spooky and would not bite. I had noticed during the day when they were biting best, I caught more fish in areas of the pond where the wind was pushing water than I did in the corners where the bank protected the surface from the wind.
But, isn’t that part of the best about being outdoors? Observing, considering, strategizing about which method, which materials, which presentation will bring you the desired results as you seek your quarry. Whether it is a big F-1 Tiger Bass, a limit of doves taken by finding the best “spots” in a field that the doves choose to fly over, Getting that deer stand set-up down wind over a promising deer trail or finding the strut zone of an old boss gobbler. Those are the cerebral stimulating exercises in the outdoor world and I love each of them so much that life without hunting, fishing and the shooting sports would be a terrible torture for me.
Next Weekend is the HUGE World Deer Expo in Birmingham so I will be right back up at the BJCC to enjoy some more outdoor sports indoors! Hope to see you there! Check it out ! http://www.birminghamdeershow.com/
Until next week,
Post Oak OUT……. doors
Gun Show Finds, Old Shotguns and Bayonets found today at the gun show in Birmingham. postoak
June is a month that flies by so fast, you might miss it if you don’t get outdoors and do a little of that “carpe’ diem” stuff! Seize the day to go try your luck on a pond, lake, creek, or river. Central Alabama has miles of shoreline and acres upon acres of beautiful lakes to dunk a cricket, drown a worm, or cast a line with your favorite lure for a big bass or a nice bream on an ultra-light reel. I love to fish and plan to take a couple more trips before June has slid right off the calendar.