I do not consider myself a hunting fanatic, but I do enjoy the hunt.

As the big game hunting season approaches here in NY, I thought I might share a bit of hunter's lore with you, my darling readers. I was raised to be a hunter. As far as I know the Lenhards have been hunters since 200,000 BC. This is evidenced by an early painting completed by one of my great ancestors.

When I was a young man I carried a Remington model 1100 12 ga. shotgun. I loaded it up with 5 rounds and put 5 more in each of my coat pockets. I figured this way I could shoot 15 deer. I quickly discovered that one doesn't go out in the afternoon and shoot 15 deer. I also discovered that I didn't need 15 bullets to kill one deer, although I do know someone who once did.

Most of the deer that I have shot, I shot only once. I learned that a single well placed bullet had a more desirable effect than half a dozen or so wildly fired slugs. Some of the things I learned about a well placed shot;

• eliminates the need for tracking a wounded deer
• reduces unnecessary suffering for the deer
• prevents the production of adrenaline and makes for tastier meat
• causes the deer to bleed out properly and makes for tastier meat
• reduces the cost of ammunition and auditory damage during firing
• eliminates shot damaged meat from bone shrapnel and hemorrhaging
• makes for easier and cleaner butchering of the deer

I matured as a hunter and decided to invest in a single shot muzzleloading rifle. My trusted friend and companion season after season has been my Thompson Center Hawken.

Here she is lying on my bed.

At first all my hunting buddies made fun of me and my single shot primitive firearm. That is until I put a bullet through a quarter at 100 yards. I started taking a deer with every shot. One shot. One deer. No fuss. No muss. I prefer to use a patched roundball and measured powder rather than the modern specialty bullets and pellets.

Art, an old time hunting buddy finally decided to jump on the muzzleloading wagon with me. We would get together and talk the talk of the black powder aficionado. One day Art asked me if I swedged my balls.

"What's that you say?"
"I like to swedge my balls."
"Uh-huh. And exactly how does one swedge their balls?"

It get explicitly graphic at this point so I must leave the rest of our conversation to your imagination.

Bullet Swage

If you all are real nice to me maybe next time I will tell you how I use my ramrod to seat my balls against the powder load.

So, do you know any one who swedges their balls?