|
After decades of experience
shooting and customizing guns so they can withstand the rigors of Fast
Draw and other competitive shooting sports like CAS, Bob Munden has a lot to say.
Enjoy this edition of In His Own Words and read previous articles
in the archive section below. Check back every month for more of Bob's straight talk!
TOPIC:
Hunting
Q: Do you hunt?
Bob Munden:
Absolutely! Hunting opportunities was one of the primary reasons I moved
our family to Montana in 1978.
Becky and I discovered Montana in 1969 when we first went on tour
performing for school assemblies. Our first show was in Freedonia,
Arizona. Then we traveled up through Utah doing sometimes 4 shows per
day at schools in different towns. The schedule was really tough. After
performing all over Utah, our schedule took us to Montana, where we
covered that state quite extensively as well. It was love at first
sight. You know that we don’t have anything to say about where we are
born, but we do have a lot to say about where we end up. Montana is
where I wanted to end up. Here in the Rocky Mountains there is still an
abundance of wildlife on public land and more freedom to enjoy the
shooting sports without the hassles and expenses encountered in some
other states.
Every fall we plan our family get-togethers around the big-game hunting
season. The season ends around Thanksgiving, which works perfectly for
socializing and hunting. Our daughters and grandkids love to hunt with
me, I think mainly because I have great eye sight (would you believe
better than 20/20 even at age 66?) and I have a knack for finding game.
I have been hunting all of my life, first in
my imagination, later with
a pellet gun, a bow, shotguns, rifles and handguns. My early years were
spent in Anaheim, California where I hunted with a slingshot or pellet
rifle among the walnut groves. At that time there was a bounty on crows
because of the damage they were doing to commercial crops. I used to
hunt where Disneyland is today. It was nothing but orange and walnut
groves. In fact, I watched them bulldoze the trees to start building
Disneyland. A side note here: When Walt Disney cut the ribbon to open
his park in 1955, I was right there. I had sneaked in through the area
of the Jungle Cruise attraction . The park wasn’t surrounded by fences
yet.
Later, when my family of four brothers and one sister moved to the San
Bernardino Mountains, I was in hunter’s heaven. We lived in Big Bear,
California which, at that time, had a very small population. I roamed
free and studied and hunted deer and birds. I mowed lawns and did other
odd jobs to make money, then I bought a bow and became quite proficient
with it. My uncle Floyd gave me a rifle so I could help feed my family.
Though we were quite poor because my Dad was severely injured during
WWII and couldn’t work for a long time, we never starved. When I could,
I would go down to the desert to hunt as well. Though I was just a kid
in high school, I helped other hunters find game. Word got around that I
knew the habits of deer and could guide hunters. A few came up from
“down the hill,” in the Los Angeles area, to hunt with me. I charged
$50.00 to guide and $100.00 for a successful hunt. The money I earned
paid for my school clothes and shoes and all-important basketball shoes.
I hunted all over those mountains and later “down the hill” in Hacienda
Heights and the Hollywood hills, which are now filled with homes.
Sometimes I would ride my bicycle from Big Bear all the way down to
Apple Valley and back. Those were the days…
In the middle of my Fast-Draw competition years, I suddenly found myself
married with a baby girl. Hmm… A wife, a baby – and in between jobs
while living in Central California, our cupboards were as empty as my
wallet. So what did I do? I took what little money I had, bought a small
bag of marbles and a Wrist-Rocket slingshot; sought out some quail – and
put meat on the table. Crawling through prickly brush with a mouth full
of marbles is not something I recommend. But, I fed my family.
I love to hunt mule deer because they are crafty. They are very
challenging physically and mentally to hunt. If possible, I hunt every
year with our daughters, son-in-laws, grandson and granddaughter. My
wife Becky hunted with me for years but has retired from it. Still, she
really enjoys the play-by-play stories on our return. We hunt mainly
close to home, driving 40 to 50 miles to our favorite spots. We drive
the roads, spot game and then trek up the mountains to stalk and make a
good shot. Because we have all put in the time at the gun range to
practice and be ready, the hunt is usually successful. For me, hunting
season is the best part of the year. Sometimes it is just two of us and
sometimes we all go in several vehicles. Some of the best memories of my
life are of hunting with my family.
I have hunted in several states and in New Zealand. I have flown to
Alaska several times over the years to hunt and bag big game. When it is
feasible, I hunt with a handgun. I favor my nickel-plated, S&W .44
magnum model 29 with 8 3/8 inch barrel, or my stainless-steel, Freedom
Arms .454 Casull with the 7 1/2 inch barrel. I don’t use a scope on my
handguns. If I am close enough to use a handgun I don’t need a scope. I
made a video of a 75-yard shot with my Freedom Arms on a Brown Bear on
Admiralty Island in 2001.
Do, I hunt? Yeah, I do. – Bob Munden
------------------
Do you have questions about Bob Munden's Six-Gun Magic
gunsmith work on single actions, Marlin
Lever-Action Rifles, Stoeger (or IGA) Double-Barrel Shotguns, Smith &
Wesson Double-Action Revolvers, the Bond Derringer and other guns? Call
Munden Enterprises at (406) 494-2833 (8am- 8pm MST), or
visit our
contact
page.
ARCHIVE:
Click on any topic below to access
previous
In His Own Words articles.
|
Privacy Policy
|
Copyright ©
1998-2008 Munden Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved
