Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner
I promised I would write about bow hunting.
I raised some strong disagreements when I wrote that muzzleoaders were ideal first hunting weapons for cash-strapped young men just starting their families. Reactions varied from agreement, to asserting that the .308 is a superior hunting round to any muzzleloader, to asking “why not just bow hunt?”
Since this is my personal blog, it seems appropriate to mention the biggest change in my personal life. So, for those of you who don’t have Facebook, here is your introduction to Mrs. Wilkinson.
Courtney is from Minnesota, and her and I met this past
One of the things I want to prepare myself and others for is to support a family. But that doesn’t necessarily mean making a lot of money. Food, shelter, and clothing can often be provided at much lower cost that what most people might think. For example, one very simple way to cut food costs significantly is to hunt. A rather small whitetail with a 110 lb live weight will yield 50 lbs of edible meat, which would cost you $371.25 were you purchasing the same amount of beef bulk. All for the price of a bullet and license–or, if you are willing to become proficient with a bow, for nothing more than the cost of a license.
But, unless you are going to jump straight to bow hunting (we’ll discuss bow hunting in a future post, but for now I’ll assume you are not going to start out with a bow), you need a serviceable hunting rifle. So what is a serviceable hunting rife? If you already have a rifle, how do you know if you need to buy another? (Hint: If you own a centerfire rifle, it’s probably serviceable as a deer rifle.)
A serviceable deer rifle has the following characteristics:
-Is of a caliber legal for deer hunting in your state
-Is capable of firing a projectile slow enough to not destroy large amounts of edible meat
-Is reliable enough that you feel comfortable firing it without worrying about it blowing up
If you have a rifle that has the above characteristics, you have a serviceable deer rifle. This advice is not for you. This advice is for the man that has no serviceable deer rifle and is looking to purchase his first rifle for putting food on the table. So what is that advice?
Buy a muzzleloader.
Why do I recommend this?
Several reasons. Firstly, you can’t beat the price. For less than $200 you can get a well-made inline that will last you for many years and put many deer in the freezer. Secondly, you can get that rifle shipped right to your door because the ATF does not consider muzzleloaders to be “firearms.” This means no paperwork or other hoops to jump through. Thirdly, it allows you to hunt a much greater time window. You can use your muzzleloader during regular gun-deer season, and during a special “muzzleloader only” season.
When choosing your muzzleloader, you have a number of options. These options are often grouped into three large categories: “Modern” muzzleloaders, “traditional” muzzleloaders, and “kit” muzzleloaders. “Modern” muzzleloaders feature such items as synthetic stocks, stainless steel barrels, integrated scope mounts, 209 shotshell primer ignition, and in-line primer loading with break-open or bolt-action designs. How many of these features a particular rifle will have varies from all to one or two–for example, you can buy a rifle with a synthetic stock, stainless steel barrel, and flintlock ignition.
“Traditional” muzzleloaders do not feature such modern improvements. They are generally beautiful weapons, with walnut stocks and brass buttplates and hardware, and feature either #11 percussion, musket cap, or flintlock ignition. “Traditional” muzzleloaders are the best looking of the three categories, are legal for “muzzleloader only” season in all states, and are also the most expensive. I do not recommend purchasing a “traditional” muzzleloader as your first hunting weapon, despite their beauty and traditional aesthetic. You are looking for practicality, and paying more money to not have a rubber buttplate or adjustable sights is not practical.
“Kit” muzzleloaders are a great first hunting weapon, if you are willing to put in the work. These rifles usually look much like “traditional” rifles, but come unassembled and usually feature a few subtle–and valuable–modern improvements such as rubber buttplates and adjustable fiber-optic sights. You have to assemble the weapon yourself, and finish the stock and barrel, which allows you the opportunity to personalize your weapon with hand-checkering, engraving, etc. “Kit” muzzleloaders are generally reasonably priced, and almost all are legal for “muzzleloader only” season in all states. This is my general recommendation to young men–the kits are not at all difficult, the cost is low, and you get a sense of ownership and pride in finishing it yourself. If you need a rifle right away, or you aren’t willing or able to put in the work of assembling your own firearm, then you should look at “modern” muzzleloaders.
“Modern” muzzleloaders generally offer the lowest cost and best value, and are also usually the ugliest. I recommend a “modern” muzzleloader as your first hunting weapon if you do not wish to assemble your own, but you do need to exercise care when buying one. You want to make sure that the muzzleloader you choose meets your state’s requirements for “muzzleloader only” season. For example, 11 states outlaw the use of riflescopes during “muzzleloader only” season. So, while you still might buy a muzzleloader that comes with a scope, and even use the scope during “gun deer” season, you will want to ensure that the rifle you buy is actually iron sight equipped if you live in such a state.
Certain other states prohibit the use of 209 shotshell primers in “muzzleloader only” season. Be sure to check your state’s laws–if you are in one of these states, you will want to buy a rifle that uses a #11 percussion, musket cap, or flintlock mechanism. Basically, you need to familiarize yourself with what is permitted by your state for “muzzleloader only” season before you go out and buy a modern muzzleloading rifle. However, even in Pennsylvania, notorious for only allowing flintlocks during “muzzleloader only” season, you can get a rifle that features other modern improvements while still being legal.
With a decent muzzleloader in your hand, you will be able to put much meat in the freezer for many years at a very low cost. If you choose to, you can even lower that cost further by making your own black powder and casting your own bullets. And while a Marlin 30-30 or a Remington 700 in .308 will put the deer away just as well if you have one already, hunting with a muzzleloader to begin with will make you a more proficient hunter.
A few weeks ago, I ordered a custom flag from a company called The Flag Makers. When I received the flag, I was very happy with the quality, but distressed to find that one side of my double-sided Nordic Cross flag was backwards, with the vertical bar of the cross at the fly end rather than the pole end. I immediately called The Flag Makers, anticipating having to go through a rigmarole to get my flag fixed.
To my surprise, The Flag Makers is a company that still takes customer service seriously. When I first called
Brandon asks:
For those of us who were born and raised in the soft, squishy suburban cesspool of careerism and consumerism, this ‘return to the land’ idea can be very overwhelming. We have been since birth in a state of perpetual infancy, mentally conditioned to see the state, corporation, and grocery store as our manager and provider. Many of us graduated college and are barely scraping buy, with poor job prospects. Buying rural land seems as far away as becoming a millionaire. So, a change of mindset is needed. Advice to those of us on how to reorient our mind out of the dependent, learned helpless mentality toward a more pioneering spirit would be helpful. Strategies toward this end would also be good. Some of us would just like to know where to start.
First, stop eating out.
If you don’t have a crock-pot, buy one. Throw meat, beans (dry), vegetables, and some seasonings in it in the morning with some water, and have a hot meal waiting for you when you get home. If you eat boxed cereal for breakfast, switch to oatmeal, grits, cream of wheat, or other cheap hot cereal. Don’t buy the instant packets, buy the generic, long cooking variety. If you don’t want to get up early enough to cook it, put it in the crock pot and let it cook overnight. If you just can’t live without cold cereal, learn to make your own granola.
The green field represents the northern conifer forests which never lose their leaves, and the eternal life Christ gives to His followers. The Nordic cross represents Nordic heritage and the sacrifice of Christ. The white of the cross represents the snow which blankets the ground for half the year, and the spotlessness of Christ which he imputes to His followers. The black crossed bars of the cross represent the iron bars of the martyr’s prison, and the persecution that all who desire to follow Christ are promised.
From a reader:
I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on what many today are calling “The Benedict Option,” though that’s not the name under which I first heard it. My first exposure was this post, “Back to Qumran.” I have been in the shadows of what some call the Prepper Movement for some time (preparing for the future just makes sense to me) so the idea of a “prepper’s retreat” was well known to me, but a retreat for the express purpose of religious and cultural continuance and strengthening was a new twist. I think it may be one of the key aspects of preparing for future persecution – build communities now, unplug our children now. When the storm hits, it will be too late. And when the storm hits, I think a vast majority of the “Christian” edifice in America will crumble.
I saw an article the other day rightly pointing out some of the advantages of renting, rather than purchasing, your home. Conversation on the advantages of renting over owning seem to have increased of late, and the points they bring up are valid. Aaron Clarey, in his book Bachelor Pad Economics, gives a succinct run-down.
The other day, while on a long layover in Atlanta, I stopped in the airport chapel. Since my Bible was in my checked bag, I grabbed one of the Bibles provided by the Gideons and sat down to read. Now, the Bible I generally read from–a gift from my parents–is an ESV, but this Bible happened to be a KJV. I elected to read some Psalms, and in the 22nd I found this verse:
Save me from the lion’s mouth: For thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.
This grabbed my interest. I searched out all the Bible verses about unicorns, and did a short study. Perhaps one of the most interesting passages was Job 39:9-12, which speaks of the folly of trying to harness a unicorn to a plow and turn him into a farm animal:
Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? Or will he harrow the valleys after thee? Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? Or wilt thou leave thy labour to him? Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?
As much as you may want to put the strength of the unicorn to work in your fields, you cannot, because it is contrary to his nature. To be harnessed to a plow defies the very being of the unicorn. Even if you declare that you have a right to plow with a unicorn, it doesn’t change the fundamental impossibility of the task. The very essence of the unicorn defies the harness.
This seems to be lost on many today, as they proudly declare the right to bind unicorns to the plow.
And that makes me think about rainbows.
It would seem rainbows have gained immensely in popularity recently. I find it a bit odd. See, the rainbow is a promise of God, but not a glad promise. Rather, it is a solemn and sober promise.
The rainbow signifies that God will not again destroy the world by water. But it signifies more than that. It is a reminder that the world will again be cleansed, not this time by water, but by fire.
The rainbow reminds us that the second cleansing of the earth is fast approaching, and that it will not be a happy day.
The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter; the mighty man cries aloud there. A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements. I will bring distress on mankind, so that they shall walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the Lord; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the wrath of the Lord. In the fire of his jealousy, all the earth shall be consumed; for a full and sudden end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.
You can’t bind a unicorn to a plow, and you can’t change the inherent meaning of the rainbow. It is a promise of hellfire to all who refuse salvation, a destruction as sure as that of those who refused to enter the Ark.
Note: In a departure from the usual fare, I thought I’d try my hand at religious distopian fiction. This post is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to real people, events, or places is completely unintentional.
The man Leslie was currently calling “Dad” found it.
He wasn’t really Leslie’s dad–Leslie had never met his dad, but he had called 11 men dad over the past 10 years. At 14, Leslie couldn’t really remember much before that.
“Just wait until your mother comes home” the man had said. Leslie sat on the edge of the bed and wondered what his mother would do. Like everyone else Leslie knew, his family was Christian. Like all the other children in his neighborhood, Leslie went to public school, where he had been taught all about Jesus and Christianity. Christianity, he had learned, was all about loving your neighbor, tolerance, and not judging. Or, more accurately, only judging certain things: certain sins were of course antithetical to Christianity’s ethos of tolerance and therefore anathema. These cardinal sins included racism, sexism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, and slut-shaming.
It’s not what you’re likely to hear in church this weekend, but it’s true nonetheless.
Oh, you might hear “this world is evil,” but it seems no one is willing to talk about how it got that way. You might be told to resist the temptations of Satan, yet how often are you reminded that he is powerful, and he is watching?