Merry Christmas!

The events of the past several weeks have brought about two distinctly different reactions as to how best to handle mass killers.  The first, as you might guess, is the traditional anti-gun screech for more gun control.  This happens every time something significant happens.  Not that the events in Las Vegas and Sutherland Springs were not terrible, but the siren call of the anti-gunners is certainly not the answer.  Many have come to realize that what they propose would only disarm the intended victims, leaving them even more vulnerable.

The other reaction is to become more proficient at defending yourself, your family, and those around you.   Many churches and other places of worship have taken the latter approach.  I have spoken to a couple of people who belong to churches that are forming their own defense teams.  One church in New York points out that “this is not a gun free zone” on their message board.

For quite a while, certain firearm schools have been teaching classes that go beyond just concealed carry.  The first of these are skill development classes.  Skill development classes do just what their title suggests.  Everyone should take the time for these classes.  If you have a combat league near you, it is certainly a cheaper way to develop your skills over a longer period of time.

The next step in the training continuum is training with another person who lives with you, or someone you work with on a daily basis.  If you have an encounter, they are most likely the people you will be with.  If you were trained together on team tactics, it would be a huge advantage for both of you and would certainly increase your chances of survival.  Any bad guy, with any sense at all, would extract themselves from the situation.  Of course, there may be multiple bad guys.   Either way, you have an advantage.

The next step is classes that deal with active shooter incidents.  An active shooter can be a deranged person, a terrorist or a gang.  These classes are designed for civilians in self-defense situations that may occur in churches, schools or businesses.  Gunsite Academy, in Arizona, has one of the best classes but I am sure there are others out there.

The skill enhancement classes are an important first step before taking any of the partner classes or the active shooter classes.  There are many of these classes around and everyone should seriously consider taking one of them.   The ISRA will offer these classes though several instructors in 2018.  Next year, Massad Ayoob will offer his MAG 80 class at our ISRA Range, from June 6th through 10th. The prerequisite is his MAG 40 class.  MAG 80 is on the upper end of the training continuum.  Remember, ISRA members receive a discount on this class.

It is interesting to note that the October 2017 NICS checks are the second highest in history.  The year 2017 may be the second highest in history, despite a somewhat slow start.  A recent NBC/Wall Street Journal survey indicates gun owning households have jumped from 41% to 48%.  It looks like less and less people are buying into the “government will protect you” baloney.

The events in Sutherland Springs, Texas, have brought out the anti-gun rattlesnakes from under their rocks.  The anti-gunners don’t want to hear that Stephen Willeford used an AR15 to stop the shooter.  But who gets the brunt of the criticism, the law-abiding gun owners?  It is time for the gun owners, who have been sitting on the sidelines, to get into this fight.  We have over 2,217,000 gun owners in this state.  We have a lot of gun owners who are delinquent in their ISRA dues.  The incident in Texas has, once again, shown that the only first responder who is going to show up in time to save you… is you.

Since the shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, I have talked to several people who are interested in more training.  Some have decided it is time to get their concealed carry licenses.  Those who have concealed carry licenses have decided to take another class to enhance their skills.  There are some who have decided to add a rifle to their defenses.  I suggest that everyone who decides to add a rifle for self-defense, consider taking a class immediately.  The ISRA has developed a basic AR15 class.  We are going to run the first test class in December, for ISRA Range members only.  For this class, you will need a FOID card, your own AR15 and 50 rounds of ammunition.  The class is approximately four hours long and will include both classroom and range time.  I will let you know how it turns out.

The pro-gun lobbyists have been working hard in Springfield; I want you to know we appreciate your phone calls, emails, letters and support.  It looks like both SB1657 and SB333 (the trailer bill) are dead, for the time being.  We have to start preparing for the 2018 Spring Legislative Session; January is not that far away.

In October & November Illinois had many articles on the Chicago gun trace report. As in the past few years, Chicago area gun dealers were singled out because they had a high proportion of the gun traces.  There are a couple of things I would like to point out about gun traces.  First, those stores have never been charged with any wrong doing.  Every person who bought a gun at those stores passed the background check and went through the waiting period.  Gun stores in Illinois and across the United States are heavily regulated.  Typically, the anti-gunners seem to blame the stores for the gun traces.  There are many reasons a gun is traced.  It may have been reported missing or been found on a person who should not have had it.  The other point is the same gun may be traced more than one time for the same gun.  If ten police agencies were involved in an investigation, they may have all traced the same gun.  Therefore, you have ten traces even though it was one gun.  Trace data does not tell law enforcement if a gun has been previously traced.  I was told by one shop owner that he had the same gun traced twenty-five times.  Some think that a particular gun store may be targeted and the same gun is traced and retraced just to run up their trace numbers.

We are always hearing about the number of traces and the number of guns picked up.  But have you ever noticed we don’t ever seem to hear very much about what happened to those people who were arrested?  Last week, we were fighting HB4117 which, if passed, would give you a class 2 felony simply by having a gun trigger job on your gun, or a variety of their things that would make your gun shoot better and faster.  If you or I could get a class 2 felony (3 to 7 years) for that, what in the world are the really bad guys getting, do you suppose?  I have not seen any billboards saying this guy or that guy got 7 years in prison for being a felon with a gun, have you?

Maybe this is why.  Let’s take the case of Simone Mousheh.  Simone Mousheh was arrested in 2016 for selling two of the four guns she had purchased to a gang member with no FOID and a domestic battery conviction.  Selling to a person with no FOID card is a class 4 felony (1-3 years).  The straw purchase is a class 2 felony (3-7 years).  Simone received 13 months’ probation and 15 days in the Sheriffs Work Alternative Program, hardly a slap on the wrist; more like a hug and a cookie from grandma.  I’m sure there are many more cases like this.  Gun owners have complained for years there is no real punishment for gun criminals – this is just one example.

So what is this all about?  All the articles about trace data always seem to come just before another push for gun control.  The media is acting as the Navy, softening up the legislative beach before the anti-gun crowd launches their latest attack.  The stage is set for a renewed effort to pass SB1657, the so-called Gun Dealer Licensing Bill.  SB1657 is a draconian bill with just one thing in mind – to drive gun dealers out of business.

Just so you know, we are not supposed to talk about the drug-fueled gangs that drive the murder rate up in Chicago, or the 49% dropout rate in Chicago public schools, or the fact that the city is taxing businesses so heavily that they are moving out of Illinois and Chicago, or that some of the kids who do graduate from the public school can barely read and write, so we won’t.  I won’t tell if you don’t.

Speaking of anti-gunners, many of you are familiar with Gabby Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly.  They formed an anti-gun group known as “Americans for Responsible Solutions”.  They recently changed the name of their outfit to the “Giffords”.  Whatever they call themselves doesn’t matter; their goal is still the same.  Recently some members of the Illinois House and Senate have been getting calls from Mark Kelly personally, verbally twisting the arms to vote for anti-gun legislation, namely SB1657.  The point for everyone to take from this is the anti-gun crowd is turning up the heat.  We will see more of this.

Many people do not understand what a lobbyist does, in particular, a pro-gun lobbyist.  Let me explain. A pro-gun lobbyist works for things you never knew you needed, defends against things you never knew existed, in conditions that are a mixture of espionage and palace intrigue.  The pro-gun lobbyist must not only take today’s political conditions into consideration but also must anticipate what may happen in the next two elections.

Perfect Christmas Gift is an ISRA Membership! It Gives all year long…

JOIN at:  www.isra.org or 815-635-3198

Thanks for your support and being a member!

For those ISRA members needing assistance applying for a FOID card, please email: mary@isra.org.

IGOLD 2018 has been rescheduled for Wednesday, April 25, 2018.  We plan to you in Springfield!

What a magical time of year. The temperature fluctuations, the turning of the leaves & that golden autumn glow at dawn. As outdoorsmen this is our favorite time of the year. We are so focused on making sure our deer stands are in the right place, the duck blind is brushed and ready for season and trying to get our last fishing trip or two done for the year. It seems like there is no time to sit still which is exactly the way I like it.

For almost a year now Mike O’Bryan and I have been trying to get together to do a little fishing on this paradise he calls Irish Acres. On a monthly basis I get to see many great pictures of Mike and his friends with crappie, bluegill, Muskie and bass. This lake seems to be a diamond in the rough and to say I would like to fish it was an understatement. Sadly, schedules always seemed to be in the way or it was cold and rainy and we just couldn’t seem to get there. Well Mike dropped me an email saying the crappie bite was on and he was wanted to see if me and the wife would like to go catch a few fish. We decided to take a beautiful Sunday Morning and go catch some fish.

We arrived around 8am and Mike had the boat ready and Rocky (his yellow lab) was anxiously awaiting the arrival of his new friends. Mike gave a tour of the beautiful facilities he has on the property and let me tell you it was a great place and set up perfectly. Once we hit the water we stopped by the first brush pile and it sure didn’t take long to start catching some crappie. If you read my articles you know I love my crappie so I was super excited. I look over at Leah and she has this big smile on her face, Rocky is guarding our fish so they don’t get out of the live well and Mike is sitting there enjoying the beautiful morning. That is what life is about. Making new friends and catching fish as fast as we can throw it out there.

I must admit, I believe the wife out fished me. At one point she decided to change to a pink and chartreuse tube and she caught a fish on nine casts in row. I have to admit, I’m the luckiest man alive to have a wife that enjoys fishing, maybe even more than I do. (Yes, she reads this)  We fished for around three hours and we stopped keeping fish after the first hour and a half and I am sure we boated over 100 crappie that morning. It was a great time with great guy.

Now that I had my crappie it was time to start thinking ducks. I was only a couple of weeks away from our annual North Dakota trip but first I wanted to get Ella out teal hunting. The last three years we really haven’t had any teal on our club so expectations weren’t high. We did decide to flood early because we were sick of fighting the dang beavers and also it was so dry. After talking with my friends no one seemed to be up to go hunting and I didn’t know if I should take Ella if there was nothing to look at. I decided to go that Saturday by myself. It really wasn’t bad. Saw quite a few teal and I was able to convince a couple to come within range. Of course, after calling my friends everyone was up to go on Sunday. Our group met out there early and I showed them where they were landing. Ella did join me for this adventure. This kid always makes me smile. She loves to spend time with me in the outdoors and nothing make me happier. Unfortunately, Ella and I were not on the right location Sunday. But we were able to watch the others harvest a few ducks and just sit and  talk with her as the sun comes up is worth its weight gold.

The time has come for the annual trek to North Dakota. This is something I look forward to every year. What is amazing for me is, it’s not all about the amount of ducks we will see or harvest. It is so much more.  See, this was our 9th year and we really have made several friends in North Dakota and it has become as much about the relationships we have made as it is the hunting. For months, I have been watching their weather and it has been identical to ours. The only difference they had less rain then we have had. Nine years ago when we first made this adventure we had water absolutely everywhere. There were bean fields, corn fields and wheat fields completely flooded. Everywhere you looked there was water. Never in my life had I seen anything like it.

When it came to our second year we were thinking we had this all figured out but when we arrived there was no water in the same locations that were waste deep just 12 months ago. We learned real quick that where you hunt one year will most likely not be a place you hunt the next. Now in the ninth year when we arrived there were sloughs that where 20 plus acres large that were dry as a bone. I knew this year was going to be unique. No snow to speak of for the last three years, no fall rain in 2016 and no rain all summer long. After talking with some locals we realized conditions had been much worse just a few weeks before we arrived. They were telling us that most pot holes and sloughs had dried up. Farmers had been mowing cattails and many had tiled the location that use to get wet for when the rains come.

Two weeks before we arrived, they received a couple of hard four inch rains plus a few other 2 inch rain that started to refill some areas. There is no doubt I was nervous about scouting day. Me and my buddy Al always go up a day early to find the birds and make contact with our friends. As we were driving around trying to find the birds we knew it would be a tough year so we needed to put a few extra miles on to find a concentration of birds to hunt. As always we found of couple of new spots that were 30 to 40 miles out of our normal area. It was actually State ground that anyone could hunt and it was just loaded with green wing teal, mallards, wigeon and gadwall. Only problem is big water and no boat allowed so you have to be on the spot or you just watch them fly all day.

Once we decide on three locations to hunt we head to talk to our good friend Bill. He is the first person we stopped and talked to in North Dakota some 9 years ago and I always look forward to the visit. I will never forget driving down this road and all of the sudden it ends at his house. My dad is in the back seat saying “if you go up to the house you’re going to get shot.” I said “Dad, this is not Illinois, how else are we going to meet people?” Dad wanted no part of this. He said you boys go ahead and I will wait in the truck. I tried to talk him into it but there was no way he was going to that door.

As Al and I walked to the door I was nervous. I didn’t know whether someone would bring a gun to the door, start yelling at me or what the heck was about to happen. As Bill came to door, he opened the door and said come on in guys. We introduced ourselves and Bill introduced his wife Charlene and we began to chat. He started calling the geese flying rats and no one around here likes them. Kill all you want just don’t shoot a pheasant. Fair enough.

I figured this was about the end of the conversation when Charlene whips ups some cinnamon rolls and puts them in the oven. Next thing I know she is filling us cups of coffee and Bill looks at me and asked if we were staying. After I told him yes, he grabs his plot map and starts looking for areas he has seen ducks and geese. To top it all off he picks up the phone and started making phone calls. He was calling people to find locations to hunt. This would never happen in Illinois. It’s really sad that we can’t feel the same way in Illinois. I must be honest I have tried to get permission to hunt on many places in Illinois and usually the results end the same. Unfortunately, so many people have been burned by bad eggs that it reflects on all of us. That’s why no matter where you go, you have to leave it better than you found it. If you don’t, you will be ruining hunting locations for you and for others.

As everyone is hitting the woods deer, mushroom, turkey, pheasant,  rabbit and duck hunting please remember to be respectful of others and landowners.

May your sunrises and sunsets be magical!

We had a great vacation down south, yes we went to the heart of Dixie in Mississippi.  I have been to this area many years ago when I was a kid and things have changed a lot to say the least. Of course the old people are pretty much all gone and there is a new generation taking the reins. The cotton fields flourish, the old antebellum homes are still here but life as the old south once was is history. You would think in a lot of places you were back in Peoria or Chicago but in isolated areas you can still see what it used to be like when I was young, for that matter a 100 years ago. We saw a few mom and pop stores but like home Walmart and convenient stores have taken their place. You have to search but can still find some of the old south’s charm even in these days of change.

Last year we went to Shanksville Pennsylvania’s 911-Memorial, Gettysburg, Williamsburg area then Virginia Beach with our good friends Jerry & Connie Waller and they joined us again this year to explore Mississippi.

One locally owned place we enjoyed was The Old Country Store in Lennan Miss. near Port Gibson. We had a buffet with some of the best fried chicken, ribs & pork chops in the world with all the extra fixins.  The owner Arthur Davis was at his restaurant greeting and singing to customers. He uses a delicious recipe from his Grandma for the chicken and opens 7 days.

We explored the ghost town of Rodney to find a Presbyterian Church built in 1829 that has a Union cannon ball lodged in the front of building.  A great story goes with that battle. Then went to Winsor Ruins see photo for more info.

I found a confederate statue in Port Gibson and was surprised it was still standing. I asked some of the locals when they thought it would come down and there reply was it never will. The town which now is 95 percent black have no qualms about this statue that has been there for over a 120 years. They respect their past and don’t think it is any more than a tribute to a time when people wanted their independence from the US.

As I walked through the cemetery with the 100’s of dead confederate soldiers I looked at the names, they were the same as if being back home. Names like Jones, Williams, O’Neal, Sullivan, Humphrey, Keller and Smith; the same people but in a different part of this great land.

This was an experiment by the south to have their own country just as we fought against the British during our Revolutionary War. They are still proud of their families who sacrificed all to try to be separate and establish their own country. Remember all of us were and still are Americans and always will be. We cannot change what happened or white wash and interpret the great rebellion as anything else but an experiment gone aerie.

The death of 760,000 Americans is a pretty staggering sacrifice for such a small country or any country for that matter.  Once you take a long trip down south and not hurry through the remnants of this war you get a real feeling of what happened.  This new generation of idiots who don’t care nor do they want to learn about this country’s history, but want to change it to fit their own narrative.

We spent time at the old court house in Vicksburg and had the pleasure to meet and spend a lot of time with the past curator Gordon Cotton a lifelong Vicksburg residence. Gordon who I found to be a look alike of Shelby Foote the famous Civil War author even had the same mannerisms. The local folk’s perspective on what the hell went wrong and what happened is refreshing.

Two nights in Shiloh, Tennessee, then Vicksburg, Port Gibson and the beautiful city of Natchez Mississippi. It has 100’s of homes that are some of the most beautiful displays of early architecture in the United States. To see homes built in 1780’s and 90’s was really neat. We stayed in a beautiful Mansion in Natchez called the Dunleith Country Inn in their renovated old Dairy Barn.

If you love America and history you should see these wonders of the south not far from our home state of Illinois. By the way Illinois sent 260,000 volunteers to fight in the Great Rebellion and if Illinois didn’t show up the Civil War in the west would not have happened. There were 38,000 just at Vicksburg and my second Great grandfather fought with the 28th Illinois. I guess I love America with passion and the south is a big part of it and should be on your bucket list if not already there.  I found that the folks of Mississippi are some of the nicest people in whole country. We met a good friend Jeanie Miami, through Airbnb.com and stayed at her beautiful 1890’s home.

Now a short story of the old Rednose gone but not forgotten. It was about 1981 and at that time most of the old timers were gone except for Paul and Bill who were actually the oldest ones even Frenny was still going, close to being 90. I tried to hunt as often as I could working at Caterpillar Tractor and working 2nd shift. I left about 4:30 in the morning and headed south to Duck Island. The fog was as thick as I have ever seen it. The only way I could find my way was staying on the main roads and crossing my fingers. When I got close to the turn off I missed it twice but finally got on the old gravel road.

It wasn’t just the road but deer were a big issue in the mornings. Driving through the gravel pit just about put me in the drink going off the road would have been a 30 foot drop. I did but don’t know how I was on the road to the club. I stopped the car and rolled the window down to hear thousands of geese sitting on Big Lake. I thought when they come out to feed in the fields I might get a shot. Walking out to the field was eerie, the fog was thick and the air was heavy. Just before any lite I could hear them flying 30 yards coming right at me. I shot 3 times with number 2’s and five lesser Canadas came falling.

After I picked them up and started back the fog was not as bad but still very thick. I drove up to the shack to see Paul and Julie cooking breakfast. After a great morning shooting a few ducks it was time to go. I gave Paul all of the geese and he headed home. I thought it was just a great day at the old club. I drove home and on the radio I heard there was a terrible wreck near Tremont on Allen road, nine men on their way to work at Caterpillar were killed in a van in the fog. Their van was hit by a semi and it exploded and all the men burned to death. It was one of the worse accidents ever in the state.

And now back to Paul the old Dutchman who lived in Springfield was 3 blocks from his home when his VW station wagon hit a brick in the road and the car flipped over. Ducks and geese went flying through the car. Paul an old WW1 German army infantry man was as tough as they get. He crawled out and told the Police officer he would walk home. He had blood all over him from cleaning game and when he came to the door Julie almost passed out but he was fine.  It was a day in November that I will never forget as long as I live.  Another memory long ago at the old Rednose Gun Club.Remember our Veterans this Nov. 11th. Good luck with hunting season this fall. Be sure to keep your worm wet & your powder dry – Harry

SPRING: MID-MARCH THRU MAY
Largemouth Bass Largemouth Bass will move in to the backwater lakes in early spring. Normally during this time of year, the bass will be in calmer water and become more active as the day progresses, mainly due to increasing water temps. My two favorite baits in Spring are 1/4 oz white spinner bait with a single silver Colorado blade and the Team Supreme Rascal Ultimate jig, black/blue matched with a zoom salty chunk, black with red glitter, fished around downed trees.

Smallmouth Bass
Smallmouth in early Spring will stay in the main channel if the water levels aren’t too high. 1/4 oz jig heads matched with grubs or ringworms work well behind wingdams and main channel points. Later in Spring, smallies will migrate to spawning areas, away from the heavy current of the main channel. Flipping jigs into shallow, rocky or sandy bays with little current will produce good smallies, as will Cabela’s Gravedigger crankbaits, worked along riprap bays.

SUMMER: JUNE THRU SEPTEMBER
Largemouth Bass In the summer, Largemouth bass will move into logs with heavy current or go to backwater pad fields mixed with duckweed and eelgrass. My two favorite baits during this time are floating frogs, such as snag proof’s tournament frogs, scum frogs, and my most popular Spro’s Dean Rojas bronzeye frog. Another one of my favorite baits is, again, the Team Supreme jigs combined with zoom craw chunks.

Smallmouth Bass
Smallmouth bass will move on to main channel wingdams and closing dams, and eelgrass points with good current flows on them. Two favorite baits for these conditions are Rebel Pop-R’s in the early morning or cloudy days, and swimming jigs in 1/4 oz white colors on eel grass points.

FALL: OCTOBER THRU NOVEMBER

Largemouth Bass
Largemouth bass will start to move out of current and go back to the deeper bays again, away from the main channel current. Two favorite baits are Cabela’s Gravedigger crankbaits and Team Supreme’s 1/4 oz to 3/8 oz Rascal jigs match with zoom craw chunks. Largemouth’s have a tendency to congregate in large numbers during this time of year and can be easily pinpointed in the deeper areas of the backwater lakes.

Smallmouth Bass
Smallmouth bass will also congregate this time of year, but they will concentrate on wings and closing dams in the fall. As the eelgrass begins to die off during this time, the smallies will move off of their grassy points, so you can target main channel rock, as well as closing dams and wings. Doing this with crankbaits is a good pattern to target these fish. Cabela’s Gravedigger and Bagley crankbaits are good choices in chartreuse and black patterns. When casting crankbaits, make sure that you are banging off the rock, as this will generate many more strikes. Also, ringworms and tubes on 1/4 oz jigs in natural colors in deeper areas along wingdams and closing dams as the fall progresses.

Conclusion
These tips and tactics will give anyone a better shot at catching more and bigger fish in all seasons of the year. Thanks, and good fishin’.

Bruce and I like small towns and we often go to them to report and take pictures on events they have for an excuse to get together. On a Saturday, we drove out to the Mackinaw area where the Mackinaw Historical Collections group, headed up by Kathy Friend, was dedicating a sign. That’s right, a sign to honor Lora Brock.

It seems that way back in 1937 she donated 25.15 acres to the folks of Mackinaw and Kathy and her friends decided to re-dedicate the park. A small group gathered and we were entertained by a lovely singer named Katelyn Armbrust, who asked everyone to join in.

A relative of Mrs. Brock spoke briefly as did Kathy and her friend. It was a typical small-town gathering paying tribute to a generous citizen of Mackinaw who gave them the land and the lake to enjoy as long as they lived. The group included Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and a few words by the local high school coach who took the team to the Illinois State Championship.

The Village of Mackinaw was founded in 1827, and in English means “Turtle.” It is a pleasant, quiet place and is the second oldest community in Tazewell County. Camping, fishing and sports are the main theme, and folks from all over the area come to meet and greet their friends and fellow town folk. Enjoy the photographs by Bruce Brown.

Opportunity to Learn Shotgun Shooting Safety & Skills

CHANDLERVILLE, IL – The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) and the Illinois Conservation Foundation are sponsoring a wingshooting clinic for youth, young adults, and women on Saturday, June 10 and Sunday, June 11 at the Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area (JEPC) near Chandlerville, IL in Cass County.

The JEPC Youth/Women’s Wingshooting Clinic is an introductory clinic designed for boys and girls ages 10-15, young adults ages 16-18 and women of all ages interested in learning to shoot or improving their ability to shoot a shotgun at moving targets. The youth/ women’s clinic is provided at no cost to participants.

Youth/Women’s wingshooting clinics are about learning to safely shoot a shotgun at moving targets with reasonable reliability. The clinic starts with a shotgun safety presentation at 10:00 a.m., followed by a short small group hands-on shotgun orientation session with each group’s wingshooting instructor. The afternoon is spent in the field shooting clay targets. Shotguns and shotshells are provided. Not only do the participants learn to safely handle and shoot a shotgun, but they learn that being skilled at shooting clay targets is a lot of fun. This clinic is taught by instructors certified by the IDNR and the National Sporting Clays Association (NSCA). The participant-to-instructor ratio is four to one. Typically, participants are grouped with others of similar shooting skill ability.

Advanced registration is required. Registration forms for the JEPC Wingshooting Clinic can be accessed at https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/recreation/ wingshooting/Pages/default.aspx. Once the Wingshooting Website is accessed, click on the “Calendar” button; then click on the date to access the registration forms. Follow the instructions on the forms.