A tale of two old goats

[adamkolesar]

Preface:

I’m back from nearly a month in Alaska getting caught up with all the work that piles up when you’ve spent nearly a month in Alaska. It’s past time when I should commit the myriad details of my Misty Fjords goat hunt to record. The post will be long and excruciatingly detailed, as that’s the type of post I really enjoy reading when I’m crammed into a subway car commuting around the NYC area where I live. I’ll break down my experience into chapters, giving interested hunters one man’s perspective.

This whole odyssey started last November with a dinner table discussion on where we might take a Family vacation. My twelve year old daughter prefers a winter climate and is an avid skier and loves her snowmobile. Given her age, the window for family vacations is beginning to close. We all agreed that Alaska would be a perfect destination. I was of course delighted that I might be able “add on” an Alaskan hunt at the conclusion of the Family vacation. I was left to plan the trip and managed to convince my wife that “since I’ll already be up there already”… She reluctantly agreed and the research (on two fronts) began in earnest. I’m fortunate that my wife enjoys North American game in taxidermy form as decoration. Our Family vacation would run from August 8ththrough the 25thand my hunt would begin on the 26th. Now what species to pursue?

I initially focused on a caribou hunt. I researched self-guided options, guided hunts, various herds, read Larry Bartlett’s books looked at every website and developed a Excel spread sheet to keep track of hunt details, outfitter communication, cost, extras, you get the picture. Rokslide was of course a valuable resource in getting hunt stories, outfitter and transport experience and all the gruesome details of an Alaskan caribou hunt. I’m what I would call a moderately experienced hunter, having been at it for about 10 years. A drop camp hunt wasn’t really in the cards given fellow hunters are non-existent in the environs of brownstone Brooklyn. I spoke with a few promising outfitters and was narrowing down the field. I was particularly interested in an outfitter that offered a draw hunt focusing on the Little Delta herd. The photos he forwarded were magnificent. My apprehension about a draw hunt was not being “successful” and scrambling late in the game for an OTC hunt along with fellow “unsuccessful” hunters in the same boat. I had but one start date; September 25th. So an OTC tag would have to be the ticket.

During my research, an outfitter or two offered Mountain Goat hunts. The costs were “in the ball park “as a sheep hunt was a complete impossibility from a budget standpoint. My Brother forwarded me a link to Kuiu’s “Don’t wait” video. Especially poignant given this was Jason’s final hunt. As a flatlander in his mid fifties (56 at the time of the hunt), the video was particularly relevant. I was inspired to change my plans from a tundra hunt and chase goats on their turf. My wife was a bit disappointed that we might not have a caribou in velvet but perhaps a mountain goat. She ultimately quipped, “it’s your hunt, you should chase what you want”. I’m pretty lucky!

So with zero frame of reference the research began. Fortunately I wouldn’t be starting from the couch as I had been doing CrossFit 3x weekly for the past year. That said, my sum total of climbing activity was surmounting the frequently broken escalators to access my above ground “subway” stop. Admittedly, the Smith-9thSt. station is the highest stop in the whole system.

First order of business was finding an outfitter who was available for a relatively early season hunt. A fair number of hunts start in September/October which is understandable given the goat’s pelage is in prime condition. I considered a couple of Canadian BC/Yukon outfitters but had to exclude them as transporting firearms when you live in NYC is an absolute nightmare! I ended up having to do a FFL transfer via UPS to Alaska. Unless you have a NYC long gun permit (which takes about a year and $360 to obtain) you’ll be arrested and your weapon confiscated at the airport. I keep all my rifles at our lake house in the Adirondacks for good reason. I considered Kodiak Island and the Haines area and spoke with some knowledgeable outfitters who conducted early season hunts. Ultimately I found Ed Toribio who runs Primo Expeditions out of Ketchikan. He was super knowledgeable and detailed exactly the type of hunt I was looking for. This would be a proper Southeast Alaska goat hunt. Ed has a reputation for putting his clients on big billys. He only takes three or four hunters a year in GMU 1A and knows Misty Fjords like the back of his hand. Additionally, he carefully “manages” his concession, keeping tabs on the herd and only taking the most mature goats that survive the preceding winter. He uses his connection with a local flight seeing guide to keep tabs on the goats throughout the year. Ed offered all manner of guidance answering a myriad of questions about gear and his approach and method of hunting. Ed is an Alaska Master guide and is a bit of a traditionalist, insisting on employing a packer as well as guide on all his hunts. I was a bit doubtful as to the necessity of an assistant on our trip, but the presence of the packer proved absolutely invaluable to the outcome of the hunt. Ed told me he sets up a comfortable base camp with abundant real food and as many comforts as a back country hunt will allow. His pilot flies a 1952 De Havilland Beaver and would take the necessary amount of trips to get people and gear safely situated on the shore of an alpine lake in Misty Fjords. After an overnight in basecamp we would backpack to set up spike camp and hunt the ridge tops. Sounded like a plan to me. In addition, Ed is a fishing guide, and offered salmon fishing as an option should I be lucky enough to tag out early. This was early December and I locked down the dates and submitted my deposit for a 10 day hunt. Now the preparation would begin.

 

[realunlucky]

Subscribed. Really enjoyed the preface can't wait to dive into the meat of this tale.

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk

 

[adamkolesar]

Getting ready:

Conditioning - The good news was that I had 8 months to prepare for this hunt once the deposit was sent and the paperwork signed. I began researching and purchasing the needed gear. One of the truest statements regarding this pursuit was the reminder that “Training IS Gear” offered by one of the on-line Mountain Fitness consultancies.

As mentioned earlier, I do CrossFit 3x weekly. While I had a reasonable base of fitness, a majority of my time is spent at sea level in an urban setting. I consulted with one of the Cross Fit trainers who knew my strengths and weaknesses and we developed a plan to meet about every 6 weeks starting in February and build the requisite skills and fitness for the hunt. We started modestly with single leg/arm stabilization and strengthening work. Like many middle-aged people, my joint mobility and range of motion was (and still is) terrible. The program would have an “A” day, conditioning and “B” day, strength. The first month was spent on improving single leg strength with an emphasis on ankle mobility. We also tackled shoulder girdle stabilization and range of motion. Given the demands of climbing with a pack (often on unstable terrain) the potential for injury is significant. Underlying these specific mountain training targets is CrossFit’s emphasis on core strength. I can’t over emphasize how important core strength is to managing a heavy pack, over uneven, unstable terrain, in a climb (or decent) through the alders and devil’s club. The next phase of training would build endurance in tasks simulating the elements of a mountain backpack hunt. The “A” day featured an AMRAP’s (as many rounds as possible) in a 30 minute session moving with intention between tasks. Things like rowing (which simulates a light dead lift), sled pulls, walking lunges and weighted overhead carry. The “B” day featured Squats, pull ups and weighted single arm rows. A major concern of the hunt was the capacity to make an accurate shot in the event we needed to “make a play” in the mountains to intercept a goat. The thought of being winded and making an accurate shot on unstable terrain in an awkward position plagued my thoughts. The final phase of training would address that concern. Both “A” and “B” days were devoted to an intense, rapid progression of tasks (usually about 4 exercises) with no rest between tasks. There would be equal intervals of work and rest between the 3 exercise “complexes. An example of one complex would be a 100 foot harness pull followed by Kettlebell swings, followed by slamming a weighted ball in repetition and finishing with pushups. I would work on returning my heart rate and breathing to baseline as quickly as possible. The added bonus of this phase of training was developing relative comfort with an elevated heart rate for an extended period of time without “blowing up”.

I did my best to apply this training in backpack hikes up an abandoned black diamond ski mountain near our place in the Adirondacks. I carefully added weight to my pack so as not to suffer an injury prior to the hunt. These hikes also allowed me to “shake out” my gear in a closer approximation of what I would face in SE Alaska. In hindsight adding a bit more weight might not have been a bad idea. More on that later.


Hickory Hill Ski Center

 

[adamkolesar]

Gear – Given the eight months I had to prepare, I could take my time acquiring the necessary gear from owning basically nothing. I could wait for clearance sales and bought a great many items on Ebay. I easily purchased half my gear in “lightly used” condition. I must say Kuiu holds its value in the secondary market! Here are the gear highlights:

Rifle: Went with a Remington Model 700 AWR (American Wilderness Rifle) in .270 Winchester. There was a bit of a story behind this rifle. The rifle isn’t an ultra lightweight , but not heavy. I liked the Grayboe composite stock and the matte Cerakote barrel and action. What I didn’t like was the barrel! During break in I noticed an insane amount of fouling after the first shot. Lands and grooves were completely fouled.
View attachment 124918


One of the hallmarks of the 5R barrel is the reduced fouling and longer intervals between cleaning. It took over an hour of cleaning and on the next shot, the same heavy fouling. The second session of de-fouling with Sweets 16 revealed the real culprit, circumfrential machining marks about 3/8ths of an inch from the muzzle’s crown. I can only imagine what he throat must have looked like to create such a high degree of copper plasma. This situation was not going to be resolved by the likes of me. The rifle was brand new and to Remington’s credit, they replaced the barrel and action and gave the rifle a new serial number. They test fired the rifle at the factory, and now the Remington shoots sub MOA all day long. Many hours were spent at the range in preparation of the hunt. Another limiter for Eastern hunters is lack of access to a range exceeding 200 yards. I let the outfitter know about this potential limitation. I would have to keep my fingers crossed that a shot would present itself within that range.

Ammunition: Once the Remington was squared away and shooting straight I was determined to develop my own loads. Many hours of reading how tough goats are had me a bit apprehensive about using the .270 Winchester. I also figured O’Connor loved his .270 and killed a few “white goats” in his time, so there you have it. I’m a big fan of Nathan Foster and his Terminal Ballistic Studies series. His advice on wringing maximum performance from the .270 Win is getting to 2950fps with the 150g Nosler Partition. I’m a big fan of the Partition and incrementally developed the target velocity via 54.5g of IMR 4350. That ends up being 2.5g over book maximum. The rifle liked the load, and there were no undue signs of pressure. With that velocity, I was right on the doorstep of the .270 WSM. Again, getting my precious hand loads to Alaska was a minor miracle when shipped via UPS from my FFL.

Backpack- Ed the outfitter offered me his lightly used Mystery Ranch 6500 at a great price. Actually he offered a “try before you buy” so I could train with the bag during my prep. Mystery Ranch stuff is built like a tank. That said the 6500 is awfully heavy at 10lbs. Ed advised me of a myriad of more modern light weight bags, but I was looking to defray cost the best I could. I will say, that extra weight was a bit unwelcome on the climb out. Mystery Ranch customer service is first rate and the bag is a quality product. The bag performed well during the hunt and overall I was happy.

Boots- I’ve got old gnarly, flat feet with bunions. Boot fit is a challenge. Ed provided a list of preferred boots. His personal pick were Meindhl hunters offered from Cabela’s. The boots were discontinued when I tried to purchase them last Winter. I ended up with Scarpa’s Kinesis Pro GTX. They fit great in my apartment, on gentle hikes, walking streets etc. The fit went to crap the minute I tried them on a real backpack hike up the aforementioned ski mountain. Toes, top of feet, heel slip, you name it. What a bummer! No way the Scarpas would work. Back to the drawing board. The better news was that Meindhl re-appeared this Spring as Meindhl America. I bought a pair of Vakkum Hunters and was delighted. Much more generous toe box made the difference. I trained in earnest and was happy with the result. I mentioned Ed was a bit of a traditionalist and recommended I get calks installed by Hoffman’s of Idaho. I went with the cermex spikes and had the boots back to me in about a week, giving me enough time to continue my ski mountain training before leaving for Alaska.

I have to say, for a hunter without a lot of mountain experience, the calks really help! Sure grip with every step, especially in the jungle. There are two downsides though: Firstly descending a flat rock face is a bit of an adventure and stalking quietly can be a real challenge. I kept my trail running shoes in my pack in the event a quiet stalk was in order.

Camp Shoes: Altra Lone Peak – Great training shoes and lightweight, fast drying camp shoes. Big toe box and super comfortable.

Trekking Poles – I’m not a bad ass like Jason Hairston and didn’t think the Ice Axe was my cup of tea. I went with Leki’s Micro Vari Carbon Poles (based on Kuiu recommendation) You can find them for less than half the suggested retail if you look around. They are light, and I found them indispensable throughout the hunt. The construction seems robust enough. When you’re never sure of your next step and doing everything you can not to twist or strain something they’re a God send! That said, I ended up snapping one on a decent in a drainage. Fortunately I didn’t kill myself with a fall. I was bummed, and used a broken down “walking stick” my guide gave me. Leki is going to replace both pole at no charge to me, so at least they stand by their product. Perhaps a bit too much “side loading” during my decent.

Goal Zero charging equipment – Given my Android phone was my sole camera and source of reading material I wanted to make sure I had power in the back country.

I used the Venture 30 portable battery and Nomad 7 solar charger. The Nomad 30 maintained my phone to the point that the solar charger wasn’t needed. No complaints. My kid really loved the set up during the family vacation portion of the trip.

Fenix HL60R headlamp. Nice bit of gear. Quality aluminum construction, 9 different light setting and re-chargeable via the Goal Zero set up.

Hammers Shooting sticks – This was a last minute addition suggested by the outfitter. I typically shoot over a pack, but circumstances might dictate something different. These were the low rise variety and fold with elastic Para cord within. The sticks would prove invaluable…

Sitka Gaiters – Bought these used on Ebay. Worked fine however they were terribly loud while stalking! I’m pretty sure the previous owner found the same thing. Sitka has likely remedied this by now with a change in fabric.

Nikon Monarch 5 Binoculars – Purchased these as factory refurbished years ago. 10x42’s. They worked great for me. The Guide utilized Vortex spotting scope and binos.

KUIU Puffy pants – A surprise bit of gear. Really helped supplement my Big Agnes 30 degree water resistant down sleeping bag. A couple of nights exceeded my bag’s rating. I was happy to have some additional insulation!

The remainder of my gear was a mix and match of the usual suspects clothing wise.

I’ll call out various items in the hunt recap which follows.

 

[RCL]

Super write up.
Thank you

 

[DAOutfitters208]

Could you post a photo of the the boots with the caulks installed? I have been thinking about doing this for a few years but didn't know they did it to hunting boots!

 

[Ownthewest]

This is a great write up! Can't wait for more. Thanks for sharing!

 

[adamkolesar]

Could you post a photo of the the boots with the caulks installed? I have been thinking about doing this for a few years but didn't know they did it to hunting boots!

Here's a image of my Meindhl Vakuum hunters with cermex calks installed. They are removable/replaceable. Hoffman's will install on any boot for $150 and will complete the work quickly.

 

[Brownbear932008]

Wow awesome that is my dream hunt at this point in my life. Awesome animals

 

[adamkolesar]

Time to hunt.

Day 1 – After a fabulous Alaskan family vacation ending in Fairbanks, I dropped my wife and child at the airport for their red eye back to the East Coast. My flight left at 8:00am on what locals call the Alaska Air “milk run” to Ketchikan; Four stops starting in Anchorage.

The Journey begins.
I made sure to purchase flight insurance given this is Alaska and sure enough the flight to Ketchikan was not without incident. Weather was moving in fast and shortly after take off from Juneau, the plane was struck by lightning necessitating the plane landing as soon as possible for a maintenance check. The better news for me was that given Juneau airport was closed due to power outage, the plane would have to skip two stops and go straight to Ketchikan. There were a lot of bummed out folks, but I drew the lucky straw and arrived in Ketchikan two hours early. I phoned Ed and he and the crew came to pick me up by boat at the dock , a stone’s throw from baggage claim. We were headed back to Ed’s place on the water’s edge in Ketchikan. This would serve as HQ for the hunt.

Ed's impressive dock facility
Once we arrived I got acquainted with TJ the lead guide and Garrick the packer. TJ aged 38 was from Montana and has been guiding in Alaska for many years with Ed and Dan Montgomery. Before that he worked for the Forest Service and spent time fighting wild fires. This would be his first, of around seven, hunts of the season. He had spent the Summer as captain on a charter boat. Garrick, in his early 20's was fairly new to the game and hailing from Utah. He had helped out on an archery goat hunt a couple of weeks earlier. Once we finished a dinner of Halibut Lasagna, the offer to fish for humpback salmon was quickly accepted. We spent the evening catching and releasing numerous humpy’s.

Happy fishing!

Day 2 – The forecast of low ceiling and near constant rain was indeed correct. No need for an early rise. The day was spent picking up my tags and speaking with the biologists at the Ketchikan F&G office.

A display of local residents at the Ketchikan F&G office
We then went to Frontier Shipping to pick up my rifle and hand loaded ammo, which arrived intact. The clerk remarked that it was a minor miracle I received the ammo in short order as the package “should’ve” been on the barge. I was happy for the apparent beaurocratic “oversight”. I had to fill out the requisite FFL background check before I could receive the rifle. Next stop was the range to check zero given the rifle was shipped. Thankfully the only adjustment was two clicks to the right for windage and we were good to go. Ed and TJ would spend a good deal of time that afternoon reviewing the proposed hunting area and more importantly establish an approach from the lakeside basecamp. Ed had been keeping an eye on this specific area and knew that it held a couple of big, mature goats. The primary tool was Google earth, combined with Ed’s intimate knowledge of Misty Fjords so any gray areas could be filled in.

The all important planning session
The plan was to re-cut a trail that Ed established three years earlier. More on that later. The rest of the day would be spent in the time honored rain day tradition of watching Jim Shockey and company on the Outdoor channel. Tomorrow’s forecast looked much improved. We were loaded and ready once our pilot gave us the green light.

Day 3 – We awakened to much improved conditions. Ed’s deal with his pilot is he flies hunters after his last trip of flightseers which is typically 1:30 to 2:00pm. We loaded our gear in Ed’s truck and awaited word that we were a go. The Float dock is only a 5 minute drive from Ed’s house so things happen quickly. Intermittent clouds dissipated and the call came in. Ed’s pilot flies a DeHavilland Beaver with plenty of room for our gear. Ed provides a very comfortable base camp. Abundant real food, larger tents, a stove, chairs and table, a chain saw to cut wood even an inflatable raft with outboard (which was on “reserve”) in the event our planned route to the goats was impassible.

Getting it done.
The plane was loaded, and off we went. Our basecamp was on the shores of a beautiful alpine lake deep in Misty Fjords, fairly close to the Canadian border.

The flight in!
The trip was about 20 minutes in duration. After a picture perfect landing we unloaded and set up base camp in short order. The area was choked with blue berries and huckleberries along with a few piles of scat from those who enjoy that fare. Once camp was set up, we got the spotting scope out and watched a huge black bear on the ridge feeding for hours. It wouldn’t be the first bear we would see. Night fell and off to sleep. We had set up tarps over the tents which worked great to keep any of the light rain that fell throughout the night off the tents and basecamp gear.

Day 3- Time to go. We awakened to bluebird skies and warmish temps. We hastily ate breakfast and loaded our packs for what would be the first spike camp nestled in a saddle overlooking our hunt area.
The immediate challenge was re-establishing the three year old trail through the jungle. TJ was mildly concerned that he had spent the summer on the deck of a charter boat and might be a bit out of shape (a completely unfounded concern!). He would lead the way hacking through the alders and devils club cutting the trail all while wearing his pack. I would be the tourist stumbling through and hanging on for dear life and Garrick would stop every 10 feet or so and flag the trail. Off we went.




Welcome to the jungle.
Given the rain the night before I donned my Kuiu Yukon suit. I bought the jacket on Ebay in excellent condition making sure I washed it in the recommended water proofing detergent before the trip. The pants were on clearance directly from Kuiu. They worked as described. One tip here. If you’re in-between sizes like me, buy a pair of suspenders. The waist cinch of my pack kept pushing down the waistband on the rain pants. The other critical bit of gear is gloves. I had the kuiu attack gloves, but any pair of work gloves would suffice. You grab an awful lot of devils club in order to help you up some of the steeper pitches. It’s hard to describe just how arduous making your way through the jungle is to those who haven’t experienced it. I had a guide hacking through the worst of it ahead of me, and it was still difficult. The recommended calks on my boots did work like magic over any slick root or log. Also planting a foot on a moss covered bit of mud provided great confidence. The aspect of getting through the forest that I didn’t expect was the massive steps needed to ascend this terrain. Imagine climbing for hours on a stairway where you skip three or four stairs with each step (and cover those steps with bacon grease). TJ suggested I ditch the trekking poles as I would use the devil’s club to pull myself and the pack up the trail. TJ was moving effortlessly through the undergrowth dutifully clearing the heavy stuff, while Garrick placed the fluorescent surveyor’s tape behind. This went on for about 4 hours before we cleared the jungle. All the while I had Axel Rose singing “Welcome to the jungle” in my head. Once we cleared the alders, it was time to rock scramble.

 

[adamkolesar]

OK. Some of the images got a bit jumbled on the previous post, but you get the idea.
The story continues...

A needed break (for me at least)

Picking a line up the giant boulders provided a different set of challenges, but everything was doable with the requisite occasional sketchy sections. We spotted a lone goat in saddle across the valley during our ascent. The goat was about 800 yards away and completely inaccessible. We observed the goat (while I rested) and made our way up to the spike camp saddle. The whole journey took a bit over 5 hours. I for one was happy to arrive. We relaxed, had a snack and started glassing.


The journey to spike camp one

Glassing

Setting up camp

Almost immediately we spotted two goat high on the ridge we intended to climb that evening to scout the bachelor group in the target area. They were two big goats (to my eyes) about 450 yards straight up the mountain. They were right on the skyline and fed down just a bit. It was impossible to determine if they were billys for our vantage point. Another factor was unknown terrain beyond the skyline. We watched them feed for about an hour before they returned to the other side of the ridge. Meanwhile our friend the bear was happily feeding on berries down the ridge about 300 yards away. We set up spike, ate some food and observed the target area across the valley. We saw two or three goats feeding and/or hanging out but TJ predicted that the bigger goats would come out from the shaded cliffs once the sun was lower in the sky. Later that afternoon we started our ascent to the top of our mountain to get a better look at the plateau we would be hunting. The climb was challenging at times and I occasionally noted that an area or two would be really challenging to descend. Once we reached the top we observed dozens of goat bedding areas. The top of the mountain was a lush alpine meadow. If I were a goat I would hang out here.

The ascent to observe


Getting into position

Seemingly within minutes we spotted a goat within 50 yards. It was most certainly a nanny and we watched quietly as she worked her way away from us. We then set up an observation area that gave us a great vantage across the valley. We weren’t there 10 minutes before another bigger goat was walking on a small ridgeline right behind us. This goat demanded a closer look. We carefully observed this goat trying to establish if it was a nanny or billy. Now I understand just how difficult this task can be, even for experienced guides. The coat was just long enough that we couldn’t establish the presence of an undercarriage. We watched and wondered at this goat for a good 10 minutes. TJ mentioned something that turned out to be absolutely true. When you see a really big, old billy, there’s never any doubt. We let this goat pass. As early evening progressed we spotted the older billys. Each had their own bed away from the others. They hung out bedded for a good while and then slowly worked their way out of site to their evening lair. While this was happening a “Booner nanny” appeared over the edge of the meadow we were glassing.


That's a big nanny!


She could care less!

We froze and we watched her for about ten minutes as she fed within 6 yards of us. She was indeed a bruiser. If one was an archer, the opportunity might be irresistible. It was an awesome experience to observe a mountain goat at close range for that length of time. We returned to spike with the trekking pole coming in handy for that self-arrest on a particularly slippery-steep bit of trail. Mountain House, some Ramen and off to sleep with a plan in place.

 

[TC406]

Awesome story so far, can't wait to hear the conclusion!

 

[pondera]

Wonderful story, don't skip any detail!

 

[Nick Muche]

Great writeup man!

TJ is a great friend of mine, you were in good hands! You got a damn fine mountain goat as well, wouldn't expect much less out of TJ either. Very well done!

 

[adamkolesar]

Great writeup man!

TJ is a great friend of mine, you were in good hands! You got a damn fine mountain goat as well, wouldn't expect much less out of TJ either. Very well done!

TJ was fantastic. He's got a true hunter's instinct and was driven to get us on on a big goat. He takes his hunts personally (in only the best way). He also was a fantastic mentor to our packer Garrick. The guy is "all in" for his client as well as the whole team. I was lucky to hunt with TJ and Garrick.

 

[wind gypsy]

Awesome write up thus far, I'm excited to read the rest of it.

I considered a couple of Canadian BC/Yukon outfitters but had to exclude them as transporting firearms when you live in NYC is an absolute nightmare! I ended up having to do a FFL transfer via UPS to Alaska. Unless you have a NYC long gun permit (which takes about a year and $360 to obtain) you’ll be arrested and your weapon confiscated at the airport.

This part caught my attention, and prompted me to read what goes into getting a permit. It seems absolutely crazy. I thought it was bad flying guns out of LAX with folks who get confused about how to check it..

 

[adamkolesar]

Awesome write up thus far, I'm excited to read the rest of it.



This part caught my attention, and prompted me to read what goes into getting a permit. It seems absolutely crazy. I thought it was bad flying guns out of LAX with folks who get confused about how to check it..

Getting a long gun permit in NYC is a bit of a nightmare (by intention). The application is 9 pages long. You must have a written and notarized affidavit from each member of your household stating their awareness and acceptance of a firearm in the house. Then there is a single precinct house in Queens that accepts the application, and then the 9 month to one year wait to see if they'll grant the permit. Each firearm needs its own application. The real message to fellow Roksliders is to always check your luggage (firearms) through to your final destination if you fly through LGA or JFK. There are horror stories of firearm seizures at baggage claim if a hunter might stop over in n NYC for a visit.

 

[jcw]

Great write up.