Guns and Culture

Up here in the north woods, winter is trying to settle in. The temps hover around freezing, it snows, it melts, it snows a bit more. The trees are bare and remarkably silent. A bit of snow muffles everything, it seems. Serious winter will be here soon enough, but for now we get our first taste. Gives us the chance to make sure the snow blower or plow truck is ready, before it gets real.

We're a few days away from the firearm deer season opener here in the UP. The light cover of snow is prized by hunters, because it makes even a novice into a first rate tracker. The silence of the woods will soon be punctuated by the reports of deer rifles, and hunter orange becomes the fashion of the season. It is common wisdom in these parts, that one doesn't venture into the woods without some article of clothing in hunter orange. Doesn't matter that you're on private land, or even a ski or hiking trail. The possibility that some disoriented hunter, disregarding all the rules of hunter safety, might mistake your movements for  prey, and take a shot at you, would be deemed largely your fault if you are not appropriately attired. 

Which brings us to guns. Touchy subject nowadays. Completely political, and completely out of hand. American gun culture has become obscene. So let me tell you a bit of a story about a distinctly different gun culture. Hunting and guns in the woods of the UP have a long and valued history. Hunting has long been a respected skill, and hunting rifles valued tools, often family heirlooms, passed from generation to generation. Taking a deer meant the difference between a family having a supply of meat for the upcoming winter months, or subsisting on vegetables from the root cellar. It is really only two generations past, that this was the reality, and the reason that deer hunting is still strongly a part of the culture in the UP. 

That said, hunting has changed, in many ways. First and foremost, the local groceries stock meat year round, so forced vegetarianism is no longer a threat. It should be noted however, that many families still rely on harvesting a deer as a significant supplement to the grocery budget, and would feel the financial pinch of a failed hunt. Few, if any, would starve, it should be noted. But the tradition remains strong. As a rite of passage for adolescents, and an opportunity for bonding among fellow hunters, it is cherished by many.

Next we must look at the actual act of hunting. This too has been debased. Myself, I have never shot a deer. I often feel a pull at this time of the year, presumably the genes of my grandfathers getting excited at the prospect. I have gone so far as to buy a license, and spent time sitting in wait, but have never pulled the trigger. I have always attributed this to the aftermath of pulling the trigger. That's when the work begins. Dragging the animal out of the woods is annually the cause of a few heart attacks, and a butcher, as required to process the carcass, I am not.  

But to get back to the topic of hunting, few actual hunters remain. I know only one fellow who actually hunts in the traditional sense of the word. Historically, hunting was a very physical activity. To be successful, one had to spend time in the woods, getting to know the daily habits of the deer to be hunted. Knowing these habits, the hunter could reasonably predict the behavior, and make a reasoned guess as to where to position himself (or herself) for the optimal opportunity for a shot. Weekend hunters might employ what was referred to as a "game drive," where a group would encircle a given tract of woods where there appeared to be deer activity, position a few hunters in optimal shooting positions, and then walk through in a line, forcing deer to move towards the shooters. This was not without obvious risk, giving a nod to geometry. 

But all that has changed. First and foremost with the advent of "baiting." The average hunter of today drags into the woods a prefab blind, or the materials to construct a blind, positions it in a spot of their liking, and then proceeds to establish a "bait pile" of fruits and vegetables known to be appealing to deer. The hunter then spends hours in the blind, which is most often heated, waiting for a deer to make it's way to the pile, at which time it can be shot, point blank, from the blind. To call this "hunting" is beyond me, but it is the norm of today's hunters. The very ancestors whose traditions they prize would view this with disdain.

Finally, we make our way to guns. The classic rifle used in UP deer hunting has historically been a 30/30 lever action carbine. Fairly lightweight, sufficient power to effectively kill a deer, and foolproof while walking through the snowy or rainy woods. Open sights were preferred, as the maximum shooting range in the woods was typically well under 100 yards, and a scope risked fogging in the cold weather. Holding 6 rounds, it offered the opportunity for a second shot, though not instantaneously. This was enough rifle for any competent hunter. Any hunter who required a semi-automatic rifle was viewed with suspicion. The mark of a skilled hunter was the lethal positioning of the first shot. If you expected to have need for a spray of bullets to bring down your deer, perhaps you should hunt in an area a long way from other hunters. It is not uncommon today to the hear the rapid fire report of a hunter using a semi-automatic rifle, but any true hunter knows that anything beyond that first shot is simply hoping against the odds for a hunting miracle. Nonetheless, for reasons that have nothing to do with hunting skill, the array of semi-automatics of varying calibers in the woods is staggering.

Which finally brings me to guns and culture. I am a gun owner. I own guns in the long tradition of life in the UP. I have spent many hours teaching my children and grandchildren gun safety, and respect for the solemn role guns hold in our local culture. It has now become, in some political circles, controversial to admit to gun ownership. I am saddened by the turn gun culture has taken in the US. Gun culture has been cheapened and sensationalized. Instead of revered tools, guns have become toys for the paranoid or insecure. Cheap handguns and knock-off AR-15 rifles are now the norm. These guns, or the sentiments of those carrying them, hold no place in the traditions of the UP.