Sledding at Page Park -- Bristol, CT

The winter tradition of sledding at Page Park continues! This light, fluffy snow is excellent for maximum sled speed.

Page Park is located off of King Street (Route 229) in Bristol, CT right across the street from Bristol-Eastern High School.

Ice Skating to Cure Winter Blues

If you're anything like me, you're always on the look out for opportunities to get outdoors during the winter months. Outdoor activities are especially sparse during the time after hunting season, but before the ice is thick enough for fishing. Ice skating is a fun family activity that can be done by people of all ages, and costs little money. Once you make the initial investment in the ice skates (you can get a decent recreational pair for around $50), outdoor ice skating is a free activity. Even if you don't have access to a safe pond, many towns now flood municipal areas for make-shift rinks. If you would rather go indoors, most local indoor ice rinks offer public skating time. Most charge $7 per person. Many also have skate rentals available for an additional fee. I recently went to the rink in West Hartford with my family. We all had a fun time, and we'll probably be returning for Martin Luther King Day. We've also made several visits to the local outdoor rinks.

Connecticut Firearms Laws

While surfing around I found a good summary (from the NRA) of firearms laws in Connecticut. This summary is applicable to rifles, shotguns, and handguns.

If you've ever been curious of the regulations, check out this 4 page summary.

http://crime.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=crime&cdn=newsissues&tm=556&gps=90_3048_1012_612&f=00&tt=11&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.nraila.org/statelawpdfs/CTSL.pdf

I also found a list of firearms training courses in Connecticut. Link below:

http://www.nrahq.org/education/training/find.asp?Location=USACT&Type=

-J

Sighting In Mossberg Slug Gun

I've recently ran into some unexpected trouble sighting in my Mossberg 500 for slugs. The Mossberg 500 combo comes with a field (smooth bore) barrel, and a rifled barrel for slugs. The rifled barrel is equipped with scope mounts.

The riffled barrel is capable of shooting sabot slugs accurately up to 100 yards. Be warned that it could likely take several boxes of slugs to get a tight group at this distance. I came with 4 boxes (5 slugs per box), and was barely able to get the gun sighted in at 50 yards. I've still got some work to do because it's still shooting a few inches low. Right now it's ok, but not perfect. I ran out of slugs, so I'll have to finish up on another day. Keep in mind that a box of 5 slugs can be about $13, so this will end up being an expensive exercise for me.

If I were to do it all over again, I would find some way to try to do some initial bore sighting before actually firing. Unlike a bolt action rifle in which the bolt can be removed for relatively easy bore sighting, there is no way to look down the bore of the shot gun while attached to the stock. Therefore, the only way to bore sight the Mossberg 500 is to remove the barrel from the rest of the gun. This can make fixturing difficult for bore sighting, since a standard gun vice will not hold just the barrel. I suggest using some sand bags to hold the barrel, while the scope and bore are coordinated. If I had done this to start I likely would have saved some ammo.

Deer/Venison Butcher in Central Connecticut

After shooting a deer this year, the weather was too warm to let it hang outside in order to pack the meat myself. Therefore, I had to take the deer to a butcher. The butcher did a much better job than I could ever do anyway. One problem is that it's not always easy to find a butcher that does deer.

I found a butcher in the center of Southington that packs deer. The contact information is below:

Southington Beef & Pork
347 Center Street Southington, CT 06489
(860) 628-7001

The meat is all packaged and labeled. There are steaks, roasts, chops, and ground meat. I've yet to eat any of the meat, but everything looks good. The price was a reasonable $85. Price will vary depending on the size of the deer. Be prepared to wait a while, as it took me 2 weeks to get the meat. As long as your aware of it, the wait is usually not an issue. I was expecting it to be done a little faster, so I grew a bit impatient. However, next time I'll know to expect about 2 weeks.

Book Review -- Historic Photos of Connecticut a Possible Christmas Gift for The Connecticut Yankee on Your List

Note: The publisher sent a complementary copy of this book to me in exchange for a review on Connecticut Outdoors.

The Facts:

Title: Historic Photos of Connecticut

Author: Sam L. Rothman

Publisher: Turner Publishing

Cost: Cover price is $39.95. The book is available on Amazon.com for $28.76

Historic Photos of Connecticut by Sam L. Rothman is a collection of photos, all black and white, chronicling some of the most interesting moments in Connecticut history from 1878 through the 1960s. It's hard cover and glossy, with 206 pages. The book uses captioned photos in chronological order to guide the reader through the coming-of-age of modern Connecticut.

The book starts in 1878. This was the year the state capitol building was completed in Hartford. The book is then split into 4 sections, each titled to with the theme of the time. The first section goes from 1878 through 1916, considered the "gilded age" of Connecticut. The second section from 1917 to 1938 focuses on the impact of the Great Depression, WWI, and the transformation of Connecticut into a manufacturing center. The third section from 1939 to 1945 focuses on WWII. The final section is titled "Peace, Prosperity, and the Future". It runs from 1946 through the 1960s.
Throughout the book, some of the most famous points in Connecticut history are hit. There's a picture of the Charter Oak, Mark Twain's home, WWII soldiers, and the Great Flood of '55.

The book is an easy read, and something that can be thumbed through at leisure. Most of the captions are short, yet descriptive enough to give the background necessary to fully understand the photo. As I examined each photo, I was struck by a few things. First, I noticed how formerly people dressed in years past. Even in a candid shot of men loitering outside a store you see them dressed in full suit and vests. A far cry from the jeans and T-shirt you would likely see on the men today. I also noticed from the photos that Connecticut has always been a cultural melting pot. Several photos going back to the 19th century show people from many different backgrounds interacting together long before "diversity" was a common buzz word. One of my favorite photos in the book is a picture showing 5 young boys sitting on a curb looking at the latest edition of The Hartford Courant newspaper. The headline on the newspaper reads "Germany Surrenders -- Unconditional Terms Accepted". It's V-E day. Although one can't be sure, the boys appear to be of different backgrounds, including one African-American boy.

I come at this book from the perspective of a life-long Connecticut resident. I'm someone who's familiar with Connecticut history, so I was able to grasp the author's general themes for each section. I wonder if someone not from Connecticut would be able to get a full sense Connecticut's character based on this book. The book focuses a lot on life in the larger cities (Hartford, New Haven). Would a non-Connecticut reader understand the dichotomy of Connecticut ranging from the highly industrialized cities to the traditional New England farming communities that existed worlds apart within such a small state? Hailing from one of these small, rural Connecticut towns, I would have preferred a higher percentage of photos focusing on life in the rural communities of Connecticut. To me, the history of Connecticut is not complete without touching on the small towns (think town greens with Congregational churches, covered bridges, and dairy farms) that give Connecticut a true New England flavor, in addition to displaying the industry and wealth that characterized the cities and Gold Coast. However, in defense of Mr. Rothman, I suspect the number of photos he had available to chose focusing on urban life far outnumbered the rural photos.

Aside from this small criticism, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Historic Photos of Connecticut. I gained insight into past life in Connecticut, and boned up on my history while doing it. The photos in the book focus on real life and real people. Through the faces and fashions of the people in the pictures one gets a sense of life in Connecticut that can't be fully understood by reading text book-type accounts of history. I recommend the book as a Christmas gift for anyone with Connecticut roots, or a book that you might consider adding to your own collection.

Late Season Success Puts Venison in The Freezer

On the last day of the rifle/shotgun season I was able to bag a deer on state land. It was not a monster buck, but when you have an empty freezer and the season is coming to an end, one cannot be picky. I ended up getting an average doe. I did not have her officially weighed, but she was somewhere around 100 pounds -- nothing special, but better than nothing. I took the final two days of the season (Monday and Tuesday) off from work with the sole purpose of filling my state land tag. The tag is for either sex deer (buck or doe). I put a lot of time in the woods this year between New Hampshire and Connecticut, so it was nice to not come away empty handed.
The woods in northwest Connecticut seem to be filled with wildlife. In the final two days of the hunting season on public land I saw 2 coyotes, a flock of turkeys, numerous squirrels, and 4 deer.

The venison is presently being packaged at a local butcher. This is a butcher that is totally new to me. Look for a possible future recommendation on this blog if everything turns out well.

Adventures in Connecticut Pheasant Hunting

In the shopping world the day after Thanksgiving is known as Black Friday. It's THE day for the retail business. In the world of Connecticut pheasant hunting, the day before Thanksgiving is THE day. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving is the last day for the state to stock pheasant for the year. That's they day the DEP dumps any remaining pheasants. I managed to take advantage, and to get one bird. It should have been more, but once again my poor shooting left my game bag lite. I'll definitely have to find some way to become a better shot with the shot gun between now and the 2009 season. Despite the misses, it was a good, long day in the field. Everyone in my group managed to get a bird.

The pheasants were not eager to fly on this cold day. We found one cock bird in the middle of the ice of a small pond. The ice was probably only about a quarter inch thick, but it was enough to hold the bird and keep him away from us. I think we'd still be standing there waiting for that bird to move if it was not for some other hunters who came along. They led their Springer Spaniel to the edge of the small pond, and once he saw that pheasant he did not hesitate to dive into the frigid water. He scared up the bird so that we were able to get a shot at it. The owners of the dog were nice enough to defer that bird to us, even though it was their dog that did the hard work! Thanks to Skippy and his owners.

Now that pheasant season is all but over in Connecticut, I'll start concentrating on finishing out the deer season, then eventually doing some ice fishing during the cold winter months.

Ruffled Grouse (Partridge) All But Extinct in Connecticut

I just returned from a week long deer hunting trip in the back woods of central New Hampshire. One very noticeable difference between the Connecticut woods and the New Hampshire woods was that New Hampshire had an abundance of partridge. Without even trying I flushed seven partridge in four days of deer hunting. Thinking back on the past years of hunting in Connecticut, in which I’ve heavily hunted pheasant, turkey, and deer, I have not seen or heard one partridge in the Connecticut woods.
The ruffled grouse used to be abundant in Connecticut. It was not uncommon in my youth to scare one up while walking. Although I have not commissioned a scientific study, it’s been my observation that today the ruffled grouse is all but extinct in Connecticut. I spend most of my time in central and northwest Connecticut, so perhaps partridge are still present in Fairfield County or east of the river. However, I recently read an article in American Hunter magazine discussing the decline of partridge in New Jersey, so I suspect the decline I’m observing is statewide.

I’m not sure why the ruffled grouse is able to thrive in New Hampshire, but not in Connecticut, especially considering other animal species previously only observed in the north (black bear, moose) are now calling Connecticut home. New Hampshire certainly has more forested acreage, but it would seem Connecticut would have at least some forest habitat that could support a ruffled grouse population.

Am I alone in this observation? I’d be interested in hearing any theories out there as to why partridge seem to be missing from the Connecticut woods.

Down, But Not Out

Yesterday we finally had some pheasant hunting action. Up until this point, most of my pheasant hunting this year has not been much more than a long walk through wet fields. I had kicked up only a few birds, and those that had been kicked up were out of gun range. Yesterday was a different story. We found birds, and had decent shots at them. The only problem was that I missed a wide open shot at a bird! There was no excuse. We knew the bird was there, and it was in a wide open field. I just straight up missed. It was the kind of miss that's going to bother me until I get my next bird. If I don't get another bird this year, it's going to bother me throughout the entire year. Let's hope it does not come to that!

A second bird I shot at went down, although it was with my second shot. Me and another guy both shot at it, so there's still some question as to who actually hit it. Regardless, the bird went down. It was likely the same bird I missed in the field the first time. As we approached the area where the bird went down we saw a pheasant running. This bird had nine lives! Just after, we heard shots a short distance away. It's likely some other hunters took the bird off the ground. It was a slap in the face to down a bird after just missing one, but not be able to collect it. It serves me right for missing the first wide open shot.

The weather was rainy, but warm. I knew that the pheasants tend to sit in the wet weather, but I really had never seen just how tight they sit until yesterday. We got to within 5 feet of a bird, and it did not move. If it was not for some luck and an eagle eye, we likely would have just walked right past that bird. If you go out in the rain, be aware that the pheasants will really sit.

Despite the misses and the rain, you can't really ask for a better day pheasant hunting. We found birds, harvested birds, and had a lot of action.