Chapter 5

The next few days and weeks flew by. I finished the quivers, and went over my gear. I made note of a few things I wanted at Cabelas, but I planned just to stop at the one at KC, so Loren could see one of the big stores. Loren and I consulted back and forth on food, and I bought some non-perishables to stock up the camper. Cooking gear, bedding, a case of MRE’s for an emergency, a tool kit and some spares, were all put in place. I also upgraded my first out bag with some heavier-duty stuff.

I called my buddy, Steve, out in Oklahoma, and got permission to hunt his friend’s farm for feral hogs. I talked to the owner, who told me “Hell yeah! Kill as many of the sons of bitches as you can. They’re taking over the place. I wouldn’t care if you opened up on them with a chain gun!”. We would need to stop by his house and pick up written permission before heading to the farm. The farmhouse would be closed up, but there was an electric outlet I could hook to, and a frost proof valve I could use for water. There was also an outhouse, for our convenience. Steve said he might come out for a day’s hunt, too.

Upon thinking about it, I decided that we ought to have at least one backup rifle so that if we wounded a pig, or had one charge, that we could shoot it. I’d looked over Oklahoma rules, and there were no restrictions on weapons for pig hunting, so we’d be fine there. I got out a Remington 742 in .308 Winchester and a Marlin lever-action in 45-70 to sight in. I was also planning on carrying a .357 Magnum revolver. With my CCP, I was legal in every state we’d be in but Illinois, so I’d have to unload it and lock it up. I wasn’t planning to stop in Illinois anyhow.

I figured to let Loren practice with the rifles before we took off. The .308 was gas-operated, so I didn’t think the recoil would bother her too much.

Eventually, I’d done about all I could do ahead of time, so I was reduced to practicing with the weapons, and getting a little crazy with anticipation.

Eventually the day arrived when Loren would get here. She’d left a day earlier and spent the night at her niece’s house, and then driving here, so I expected her around noon.

Linda was sitting in the kitchen as I got ready to make some Reuben Sandwiches for lunch. “I’m really looking forward to seeing Loren again.”, she said. “You’re not leaving tomorrow, right?”

“Right. I’d like to practice together with the bows a little, and also shoot the rifles. I know Loren’s done a little shooting, but just with .22’s. I want to make sure she’s comfortable with the .308. If not, I guess we’ll have to try something a little lighter in recoil.”

“I know that .308 was about all I wanted to handle, back when you took me shooting. I kind of wish I’d gotten more interested in it”, Linda sighed. “It was something we did together, before I got to where I can’t walk too far.”

“No reason we can, still. They put in a wheelchair ramp at the shooting range up in the State Forest, so you shouldn’t have any trouble walking up that. Heck, I could even get you a crossbow, if you wanted to do archery. It’s not quite the same as a regular bow- more like a cross between archery and riflery.”

“I suppose. We could at least do some .22 shooting. I know my joints can handle that.”

“Sounds good. We’ll have some good days to go to the range after I get back, I’m sure.” I grinned at her. “Just don’t go showing me up by becoming Annie Oakley, reincarnated, like Loren has with the bow!”

“No promises!” Linda chuckled at me. “She really got good, really fast, didn’t she?”

“She sure did! She was a natural athlete in school, came close to being state singles women’s tennis champ one year. Her dad was a top amateur tennis player, and her brother was a tennis pro. I guess it’s not too surprising that she’d be good at something she’s enthusiastic about. She has the discipline to practice hard, which I don’t. That’s what I’ll always be a bit of a duffer. I like to be good enough to have fun, but I just don’t have the desire to practice hard enough to be top-notch.” I chuckled a little, myself.