Chapter 45: Preparing for the Hunt
American hunting culture originated when European immigrants first arrived in North America to hunt in the wild in search of food and clothing.
Today, hunting has become a civilian recreational sport in the United States, and everyone from the president to the common people can equally enjoy the fun of hunting.
While there are many people with guns in the United States, hunters make up only a small fraction of them.
It's not entirely about money, it's mostly about the distribution of resources, and the large animals that can get hunters excited are only distributed in a few states around the Rocky Mountains, and none of them are among the most populous states.
Each state in the United States has different hunting times, basically avoiding their breeding season, and the species that can be hunted are also different.
For example, the Northern Rocky Mountain gray wolf, a close relative of the British Columbia wolf, is a protected animal and cannot be killed in normal times.
However, when there are too many of them, only a small part of the hunt is allowed, sacrificing the individual in exchange for the balance of the entire ecology.
This year, the rain is abundant, and the grass and trees are growing vigorously, so there are more animals that feed on grass, such as elk and hares, and the number of gray wolves that eat meat has also risen, which is the eternal law of the biological chain.
But Flathead was too big to accommodate too many animals, so he increased the hunt for gray wolves.
Each state has its own hunting license, and it stands to reason that it is not legal to shoot a rabbit without permission, but well, it is easy to have acquaintances.
For example, Anderson just called in the morning, and Charles helped prepare a few blank documents in the afternoon, skipping all the training and everything, with a status identity, and led by Barton, an old hunter, he has nothing to worry about.
Montana has black bears, brown bears, golden bears, wolves, elk, long-eared deer, white-tailed deer, etc. to hunt, but Kodiak brown bears like Vinnie certainly cannot, they are as few as pandas.
Today I bought a license to hunt elk, white-tailed deer, and gray wolves, which can be used during this hunting season.
Detective Charles can be sloppy but not guns, and hunting weapons in Montana include rifles, pistols, muzzle loaders and shotguns, bows and crossbows, but special documentation is required.
Old Patton's Winchester M1894 shotgun has long been registered, as long as the files are backed up. In addition to the boy with a dead face and holding his father, Anderson, Martinez, Jones and Han Qianshan needed to buy shotguns.
Guided by Detective Charles, they cross the street and come to a small arms store.
In Augusta, the weapons shop is just across the street from the police station, and a customer has just come out of it with a long cloth bag on his back, and he seems to be a like-minded hunter.
"Welcome, Patton, and gentlemen. ”
The shopkeeper apparently knew the old cowboy, and when he saw them coming from afar, he immediately walked out of the store.
"Old man. Barton stepped forward and hugged the shopkeeper, turned back and said, "This is Raymond, I've known him since I was a kid, and this shop has been open since the First World War." ”
"Haha, let's all come in and take a look, are you going to hunt, or are you going to buy some guys to defend yourself. Raymond asked with a smile on his face.
"This young man is my boss, and those British Columbia wolves have been coming to our ranch to harass us a few times lately. If this continues, even people will not be safe. ”
"So you're going to buy shotguns, aren't you? I don't have many varieties here, but they're definitely the best!"
The shopkeeper Raymond stopped, pointed to the spear behind the old cowboy, and said, "See, this is the one I sold him 25 years ago." ”
Han Xuan walked into the store and said that it was a small arms shop, but in his opinion, it was not small at all.
Dozens of rifles, shotguns and the like were hung on the wall, and only small pistols were stored in glass cabinets, and the robbers and magazines were separated, and there were no bullets in them.
The old shopkeeper was dazzled by them, and pointed to the wall on the left: "If you hunt wolves, these guns are fine." ”
"They're too cunning, and it wouldn't be a problem if the five of you were together, Barton was a good hunter. ”
The boy followed his father and looked around, although there was a Smith Wesson 625 revolver in the house, but there was no shock here.
And even the little pistol was locked in the cabinet, and he didn't even touch it.
Martinez quickly chosen, holding Remington**, relying on the height of the person, refusing to let go, Anderson stared at him next to him, wanting to kill him with his gaze.
Next to him, Raymond said with a smile: "There is still stock in the warehouse, your vision is really good, this is the most popular type, what a beautiful big guy." ”
Jones picked out a Winchester shotgun that was the same as Old Patton, and Han Qianshan looked at it for a long time, and he didn't know what to buy, and finally bought a Remington M870 shotgun on the recommendation of the shopkeeper.
After arriving at the house, I interviewed for a try, and the checkout was only more than 2,000 US dollars, and the odds were wiped out, which is a rare big business in a small gun shop, and the owner also happily sent bullets.
Han Qianshan just wanted to pay, and found a delicate pistol under the counter, old Raymond saw that the owner of the money had not moved, and immediately understood, pointed to the pistol and said: "This is the civilian version of the M9 that has just come out of Beretta, Italy, and the US military has been equipped with this recently." ”
"The Colt M1911A1, which has been in service for 70 years, is no, it's the latest gem in town, and you want to sell it to you for $700. ”
Father Han was speechless for a moment, the treasure of the town store was only seven hundred, and he said, "Help me wrap it up." ”
The boy stood next to his father, touching the silver M9 in his hand, who could know the pain in his heart, he was too young, and he would have to wait a few years to play
After registering the social security account number, address, etc. at the weapons shop, the group returned to Charles, and each of them filled out the form, and he would help with the formalities.
Colorful clouds floated in the sky, the sun hung obliquely on the side of the mountain, and the grassland was illuminated by the sunset and turned orange.
There were many people who came out this time, Han Xuan could only sit on Patton's lap, his father was driving, and the three young people behind him were holding the shotguns they had just bought, hoping to come tomorrow.
When he got home, Fat Ding was standing on the grape trellis like Wangfu Shi, meowing to his master urgently.
McDull crouched under it, shaking her ears and baring her big teeth, as if she was happy to see her little friend unlucky.
"Don't sleep by the window, you deserve it. ”
The boy smiled and narrowed his eyes, brought the planks by the wall, and the fat cat crawled down the grape trellis and hurriedly drilled into the house.
After squatting in the cat litter to solve the big thing, he walked past McDull with his head up, as if it was not it that was panicking just now.
Two chinchillas came to the boy's side, and Han Xuan grabbed them one by one and put them in the palm of his hand.
They stood up, Minnie Mouse's gray belly bared, and she wagged her beard and begged for dried apples, which was her favorite food.
Mickey shrunk into a snow-white furball, his big tail hanging down from Han Xuan's hand, his two paws on his chest, and his small eyes staring at him all the time.
The boy was really cute by the two of them, and walked to the cabin with a smile and helped them get snacks.
Fat Ding was also interested in keeping up, and he hadn't eaten for a long time