The BIG Day

The BIG Day

     Do you remember the day you got your hunting license?   I do.  It was 1993 and I

was 12 years old.   I took the Hunters Safety class in a small room at the Modesto Foursquare church, where I grew up.   I remember that day so clearly, just like it happened yesterday, because for me it was the beginning of making some of my favorite memories.  

     Hunting was such a big part of our family that every year we would take our family vacation up to Highland Lake in Alpine County California.   This D-6 Zone is where we would deer hunt every year.  While the men would go out hunting for the day, my Mom and Grandmother (who had zero interest in hunting) would stay back at camp where they would spend the day reading books, visiting, taking walks, relaxing and preparing supper.   As a young boy I had to stay behind with the ladies in camp, which wasn’t a bad thing because there was a lot to do.  I got to go hiking and exploring around the lake.   I also got to fish and shoot squirrels in the trees with my BB gun.   But when I turned twelve and got my hunting license I was invited to go hunting with the men.   As a twelve-year-old boy, to be able walk over Highland peak with my dad and grandad with a real gun over my shoulder meant I was one of men.  Well, at least that’s how I felt.  

     Now that I am thirty-six years old and I have a few kids of my own it looks like my hunting heritage is going to continue to get passed down to my kids.  My oldest son, who is eleven, just passed the California Hunters Safety course and, like me, this will be a day he will not soon forget.   Not long after he received his license I took him on his first pheasant hunt.   Nothing can describe this day except pure joy. To be able to share this moment with my son was one of the coolest moments for me as a dad.

     I often wonder why it’s so much easier for us to want to share things that we love, like the great outdoors but when it comes to our faith and love for Jesus Christ we don’t jump at every opportunity?     The Bible says:

“I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”

(Acts 20:24, NIV)

     Not only do I want to share my passion and love for the outdoors with others, but I want to have that same joy in sharing my love for the Lord with other people.   As much as I want to pass on my hunting heritage to my children, their faith in Christ has a much higher eternal value.   "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. "These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. "You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. Deuteronomy 6:5-7

      I commit that the name of the Lord will be praised in my house and I will teach my children not only to love the outdoors, but also to love the one who created it all.  Will you?

Written By, ProStaff Kevin Ratliff

Peaks & Valleys

Peaks and Valleys

 Have you ever waited in anticipation for something, and when the time finally came, it didn’t turn out the way you thought it should?

I recently had the privilege of going on a once in a lifetime fishing trip to Alaska with my dad and my brother.   You could say that my expectations where exceptionally high for this trip.  The three of us had been planning and anticipating this trip for almost ten years, saving every penny to make it happen.

Now, if you’re thinking that I’m going to say that we had an awful trip, then you’ve never been to Alaska.  It was absolutely breathtaking.  From the snow covered mountain tops, the rapidly flowing crystal clear waters, to the multitude of majestic wildlife around us, there was nothing to be disappointed in.

But yes, the fishing itself was a little different from what I expected.  Remember, I had the last ten years to paint a picture in my mind of how every second of this trip was going to look like.   In reality, I had never even been to Alaska.  Did Alaska disappoint? Not in the least.  Going fishing down the Kenai River one day then fishing the Kasilof River another was perfect. Not to mention fishing for giant Halibut, which was absolutely incredible.  But, for me to be able to experience it with two of my favorite people, my brother and my dad was beyond anything I could have ever imagined. Even though my unrealistic picture of fishing in Alaska was a bit skewed and unfair, I had the time of my life.

If you’re wondering what my unrealistic view of fishing in Alaska looked like, well, don’t laugh, it was this….Me, fishing just off shore wearing hip waders with giant grizzly bears on each side of me taking turns pulling up fish. “One for you, one for me, one for you, one for me…..”  My reality was actually that we fished from a boat with a two fish a day limit and it took all day to get those two fish.

I’m not complaining, because, as the saying goes, “a bad day of fishing is better than a good day in an office”.   The truth is, we never had a bad day of fishing.   While my expectations were unrealistic, every day was actually quite extraordinary.     

Expectations can be high or low, reasonable or unreasonable, good or bad

Our expectations are not always correct because of flaws in our logic and the bias of hope and desire.  Sometimes, we “get our hopes up” based on a false idea or a misreading of the evidence. Often, we may form our expectations automatically, without any effort.  Our expectations can bleed over into any area of our lives.

When it comes to my relationship with Jesus, my expectations are high based on my knowledge of what His word tells me. Romans 8:39 states that “neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

There may be many things in this life that will disappoint you but Jesus and His love for you isn’t one of them.

I know of too many people who have low expectations for Jesus because of their skewed facts and or faulty logic.

One thing that I know and the Bible encourages, is that those who trust in the Lord SHOULD expect good things from Him. “Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.” (Psalm 62:5).

You see, those who live in the fear of the Lord have this promise from Proverbs 23:18: “There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.” The godly are justified in having great expectations.

So set your expectations High, because Jesus will only take you as far as you are willing to let him.

Written by, ProStaff Kevin Ratliff

The Reward

It was a crisp, cold Saturday morning.  The time was 2:30 a.m. and my alarm started ringing.  I hit the snooze button and for the life of me I couldn’t remember why my alarm was set to go off so early.  I put my head back on my soft, comfortable pillow, wrapped myself back in my comfy warm bedding and closed my eyes. Just as I closed my eyes it hit me, “I’m hunting this morning!”  That’s why my alarm was going off.  It was time to get out of bed and start moving.  This was the big day.  It was the day I had been anticipating for an entire year.  It was the first day of my first elk hunt and I was so excited.  Now, I don’t know if this happens to anyone else or if it only happens to me but I can never sleep well the day before a hunt. You can call it nerves, you can call it excitement, you can call it whatever you want, but for me it happens.

On day one of my elk hunt I hiked four miles into the backcountry. I got to a nice ridge that looked over a big meadow with aspen on both sides and decided to sit and glass the area for a while.  Of course, that turned into a couple of hours and all I ended up seeing was a few cows and a nice mule deer, which I didn’t have a tag for.  I decided to start moving again and hiked for a couple more hours until I came across a nice, heavily used game trail.  I figured this would be a good place to spend the remainder of the day.  When the sun started to set I knew I needed to get back to the cabin before it got too late. “Man!”  I was ready to eat dinner and go to bed that night.  I never seem to have a hard time falling asleep on the second night of a hunt.

The following morning, before the sun was even up, I was on the trail heading back to another ridge I had seen in the distance the day before. As I was hiking I must have spooked something big, because I heard a thundering crash, about a hundred feet below me, as if something was high-tailing it out of there.  When the sun finally started to peak over the top of the mountains I saw a herd of elk two canyons over.  However, it appeared to only have cows and spikes in the group.  I sure had hoped I would see a bull I could shoot but nothing turned up in that herd so I kept hiking.

I finally arrived at a spot that felt just right.  Oh boy, I had a feeling this was going to be a good hunting area. There was a good amount of cover from brush, aspen, pine, to spruce with a nice open draw going up and over the mountain.  I had never been elk hunting before, but everything I had read about it told me that this would be a good spot.   I asked myself, “If I were an elk would I be in this area?”  My answer was a resounding “YES, absolutely!  Good cover, a good food source with a quick exit over the mountains just in case something wanted to kill me”.  So I sat down and waited…and waited…and waited.

When there were only two or three hours left of daylight, there they were, two bulls, right at the edge of the timber. Unfortunately these two bulls were on the other ridge just past the opening and across the thick row of aspen. Not nearly as close as I was hoping they would be.  I knew I didn’t have much time to get to these bulls so I quickly grabbed all of my gear and set off.  My plan was to stay above them by going around the tree line instead of through it.  It paid off, just as I was coming to the other side of the aspen I saw both bulls feeding and facing away from me, the smaller of the two bulls was right in the open while the bigger 6×5 was a little covered up in the brush so I chose to wait.  I knew I didn’t have much daylight left but I sure wanted shoot the larger elk.  Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait long.  Suddenly the bull stepped out into the open giving me a perfect shot, so I took it.  I was shooting my Remington 270 with a 150 grain core-lokt bullet. The bull took two steps and then piled up.  My first elk was down!  I started making my way over to it and as I got closer my heart was still racing, “Wow, it’s way bigger than I thought.”  I knew I was going to need help, so I got on the radio and called for some extra hands to help me get my bull off the mountain.

In no time at all, I was back at camp telling my story. So much time went into planning and preparing for this hunt. I just couldn’t believe it was over. After so many hours looking at maps, going to the gym, reading blogs and articles, and talking to local hunters, it all finally paid off.  All the hard work was coming to an end and now it was time to enjoy the reward of my labor, with fresh elk steak.

As my hunt concluded and I was driving home I was reminded of my bible reading in Proverbs 13:4 “Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper.”

I can’t remember the last time I wanted something so bad that I was willing to put in as much time and hard work as I did to achieve my goal on this elk hunting trip.  I wish, as a pastor, I could tell people that being a Christian means your life gets easy and that following Jesus means that you always get to take the easy path.  That wouldn’t be the truth.  Thinking about it I realized that if it was easy, the rewards of following Jesus wouldn’t be as rewarding. The reality is that in following Christ you don’t always see the reward right away. In fact in some cases life may even get a little harder but Galatians 6:9 tells us, “Let’s not get tired of doing what is good.  At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up”.

When it came to my elk hunt, even after all of the anticipation of getting my elk, there were times I wanted to call it quits, especially after sitting for hours on end and not seeing any sign of elk.  However, I knew I couldn’t quit. 2 Thessalonians 3:12 reminded me that, “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.”   Well, I was willing to work hard in order to reap the rewards of this hunt.

The big question this brings up is “How willing am I to work just as hard, if not harder, to see my friends and those I come into contact with come to know Jesus?” I sadly confess that I often put more time and effort into reaping earthly benefits then I do into reaping eternal benefits.

My challenge, to myself, is to work wholeheartedly unto the Lord putting more time and more of myself into the things that have an eternal reward for others, as well as myself.

Written By:

Kevin Ratliff (Pro-Staff)

Ballistics - What's Right For You

Because of new regulations enacted a couple of years back, portions of California require hunting ammo are prohibited from containing lead so as not to harm condors. Now I am all in favor of experimenting with new components but being forced to use something I don’t agree with is another thing. That being said I move forward. Local deer in our area are not known to be tough to bring down with a well placed shot from any number of calibers. With that in mind I decided that the 270 would be an easy one to start with. That and 270 bullets were the ones that were on sale at that particular time. The rifle I would use is a Winchester model 70 synthetic stock equipped with a B.O.S.S.  (Ballistic optimizing shooting system) .  Bullets traveling down a rifle barrel cause it to vibrate effecting accuracy . The boss is an adjustable weight that reduces or eliminates the vibration, improving accuracy. Effective? Yes. Loud? Absolutely. Cheating? Maybe. So my bullet of choice noslers etip, a 130 grain polymer tipped projectile with no lead in its construction, suitable for use in Lead free zones. Unlike other no lead bullets these do not have grooves cut in them to reduce pressure caused by the bullet being in contact with the rifling of the barrel, more Bering surface of the bullet, more pressure. Less Bering surface, less pressure. Nosler recommends starting powder loads at minimum velocities for that reason, keeping an eye on things to stay safe. Powders. I experimented with three, IMR 4350 , IMR 7828 and Accurate Arms 4350 with IMR 4350 coming out on top . Groups under an inch at 100 yards gave me plenty of confidence for shots out to three hundred yards considering I don’t like to shoot big game any farther. 200 yards is more like it for me. Speed? I never did chronograph any of these but according to Noslers reloading guide I was getting about 2950 feet per second, which is plenty fast enough. Performance. Did they work? Yes they did. The second buck I took was at about 200 yards at a down hill angle. I held just a hair low because of the steep angle. He stepped forward when I was squeezing the trigger and I Caught the back of both lungs and the exit wound wasn’t as big as it used to be with leaded bullets, but he didn’t go anywhere and expired soon enough. Performance was better than the first buck I took a few years ago. The bullet did not exit the deer and he traveled 50or 60 yards in kind of a big curve without a blood trail, but he didn’t get away.  Yes I will keep using them. I just got some more in 7mm and first round testing gave me some good tight groups in my Ruger 7mm Remington magnum. I can’t wait to try them on some critters or anything for that matter.

Written by, Pro Staff Rick Tonkin

Dad's Legacy

My Dad took me on hunts with him before I ever put my first baseball glove on. Before I could hold a gun my Dad had me out with him on almost every hunt.

Dad passed away in 1999 at the age of 69, he was a major influence in my life in every way. From the way he treated people, conducted his business, loved my mother, sister and I, the respect he had for the Lord, and most definitely for how and why he hunted.

He was my mentor and the best example of a responsible outdoorsmen that any child could ever have. He is the reason I passionately love, respect and support the hunting and shooting sports as I do today.

My dad was an Italian immigrant and grew up innorthern Italy, about an hours drive from the Swiss boarder. He was born and raised in the small cobbled stone town of Ferno Italy.  Dad was an only child and his father was not present for most of his childhood, but he was fortunate to have two uncles, his mothers brothers, who raised him on hunting. His Uncles were Game Wardens in theprovince of Veresa Italy. Not like game wardens here in the states, that are employed by the state or federal government. Although they were licensed by the province, they worked for private land owners as well as looked over what little public hunting land there was.

Dad grew up hunting waterfowl, pheasant, grouse, deer and his very favorite game of all, Pheasant. At the age of 20 my Dad immigrated to the United States in 1950. First to New York for a brief time then on to San Francisco. He worked for an Uncle in the janitorial business, while going to night school to learn English. While attending classes he met my Mother Chelestina Stoia, and just a few years later they were married. Dad started his own business soon after getting married to Mom, and with several years of hard work and the support of my Mom, he built a very successful retail grocery business. He then began to rekindlehis childhood passion of the hunting and shooting sports.

I can remember all the hunts I went on with dad. They were all such great learning experiences as well as bonding times. All that he taught me and all that we experienced together is what influences me today to want to continue on with the hunting and shooting sports and to passionately share them with anyone that has any interest, specially with the younger generation. Dad was the perfect example of what a hunter is, a conservationist first and foremost, but as a hunter he was also a mentor, a friend, a partner and an encourager. Dad taught me the importance of respect for the game I hunted and the properties in which I hunt them and for the people that owned or manager those properties, whether they be privately or government owned. He taught me how to respect my weapon and my fellow hunters as well as to respect the opinions of those that did not hunt or understand or share our passion for hunting.

The stories I could tell of our hunts would literally take days to tell. From the challenges, to failures, successes and the laughs, I was exposed to it all and I loved it all. My dads hunting buddy’s were all great mentors and examples as well. They did have a good laugh at my expense from time to time, but the fact that I was one of the guys, was so much fun and meant so much to me.

While writing this article, I have gone through the gamete of emotions, from tears to outright laughing out loud, due to all the wonderful memories from all our hunts and hunting trips together. I don’t have a Son, but instead I have two beautiful daughters. They tried their hand at hunting, and although they have no objections to my passion for hunting or for hunting in general, they did not follow in my footsteps. I do though, have a few hunting buddy’s that have Sons, Daughters and or Nephews that they share their passion of the hunting and shooting sports with. I’ve hunted with all of those young people, and because I’ve been blessed to hunt with them, I do know how my Dad felt when he hunted with me, and for that I am very blessed and thankful to be able have to shared the legacy Dad left with me, with those young people.

I close by saying this. Take a kid hunting, and if you do, and you give them the opportunity to grow up with the sport, then just watch a young person grow up with a mature respect for the outdoors and the creation that God has made for us to rest in and enjoy.

God bless
Gian Rossini