Okay, first the setup: I’m coming up on 2 years since Chemo. My energy and stamina are back to nominal. I’m still having trouble with neuropathy. Walking on level ground is cool. Walking on hills and off the beaten path is still a challenge. I’m just finishing spring turkey season here in Kentucky. I’ve got one tag filled and a couple days left to fill the other.

Last year, I was determined to try my Brown Bess on Spring Squirrel. Yikes. I was having trouble just getting around and then I tried to throw a 10 lb musket into the mix. I was still too weak to hold that mother steady. This year, I was sitting in the turkey blind with a pair of squirrels bugging me and realized I can at least hold my Mossberg 500 up long enough for a shot. I had Mooselette’s 20 gauge bolt gun along as well. It was a breeze. There was so little weight ahead of my left hand.

I’ve been thinking about a 12 GA bolt gun for some time. I got on GunBroker and put a bid on a Mossberg 295. I got it for $100 off the buy-now price.


It’s got the C-lect choke. I plan on putting a rifle sling on it so I can walk with both hands free. I’m still not back up to picking them off with a 22 in the leaves, but at least I can blast them.

Saturday was the KY Spring Squirrel Opener.

I went out with honorable #2 son, Moose. He is a dedicated squirrel hunter; I’m just a 40+ year novice by comparison.

We got out way before the squirrels woke up, and after walking the better part of a 1/2 mile, we decided to hole up at one of my turkey blinds. After about an hour of sitting around, the squirrels began to move. Moose shot one at fairly close range, and after watching another pass in and out of view at extreme range, we decided to get up and move. We had three more sightings, but never got close to another shot.

The Mossberg? It’s a good aimable shotgun. It would suck if I were trying to shoot a passing bird, but shoulders well for a static shot. It’s a keeper. The safety needs a bit more lubrication, but it was a good deal for a shotgun that is older than me and probably sat in a closet for 50 years.

Me? I’m a walking landform. Putting the sneak on squirrels or anything for that matter has always been dodgy at best. I’m much better at going somewhere and sitting down and sniping. We kind of knew this was going to be futile from the outset. The good news is that we tried this same hunt last year, and we got out to the furthest extent and I nearly had him go back and get the truck. This year, I was [bleep] out, but I was able to hike back to the cabin with some semblance of normalcy. I can now hold a shotgun up for an extended period without shaking. I can actually feel my feet again. This bodes well for the coming year.

I had enough energy left that I managed to go out and collect the gear left over from turkey hunting, and then went over to our biggest salt lick and replenished it with a bag of rock salt. Dig a trench, dump the bag, and cover it over. Back during Chemo I made the mistake of digging up a 5-gallon bucket of dirt for potting plants and wound up on Oxycontin for 3 days. Now, I’m seemingly back to normal. Moose came close by with the mower within the hour and found a freshly dropped fawn and several beds. It looks like my favorite doe group has survived intact and camping out within 50 yards of the lick.