A fixed sled and a moose hunt to plan; a good week for the outdoors columnist

Several things have happened either to me or for the local area since my last column. All these are good things. Some you’ve heard me talk about and some not. Here goes….

I picked up my snowmachine last Saturday from the Hatcher Pass Polaris folks in Willow. They took my nonrunning snowmachine and had it running like a top. The technician, Ron, went through the machine, checking belts, hoses, the track, and fittings. He replaced the antifreeze, the crankcase oil, and spark plugs. He cleaned up the fuel tank internally and the carburetors and tuned the engine. Broken fuel lines were replaced as was the battery. He freed up and lubricated the corroded steering system to where it turns very easily now. He had the machine running, well, like a top.

He took the machine out for several test runs as he progressed through the work and told me he had the machine going up to 60 mph on each trip. I told him I don’t think that machine had ever gone 60 mph. His reply was, “Now it has!” And, best of all, the total cost of the service came in well under the limit I had set when I dropped off the machine.

Did I say the machine is a 1991 Wide Track model? Ron told me, for a machine that is 27 years old, it was probably in the best condition (after he fixed it) that he had seen. I was very pleased with how things turned out and I can’t recommend those guys highly enough for their professional Polaris maintenance expertise.

The drawing hunt permit winners were announced last Friday. I had applied for several and, as I was scrolling down the list in the email, I noticed my usual “not chosen” statement beside each species I had applied for. Then, at the very end, there it was. I had been selected for an antlerless moose permit in hunt DM403 of GMU 14A. I was thrilled!

I had applied for almost 30 years for an antlerless moose permit in GMU 14A and had never been selected. My wife drew one up around Willow several years ago but did not harvest a moose. Now I am the happy permit holder of an antlerless moose permit and the permit was for the hunt where I live. My house is very near the center of the DM403 designated area!

While we’re talking drawing permits, I’ve been following the daily updates of Board of Game (BOG) activities at their ongoing meeting in Dillingham. I noticed the board had reauthorized the antlerless moose hunts in GMU 14A for the 2019 season. In addition to that, they bumped the number of permits up to 2000, so the odds of getting a permit will be a little better.

At this same BOG meeting, I had a proposal about allowing the use of crossbows in certain non-general season hunts. This was the first proposal addressed when the board went into deliberation and, I’m happy to say, was passed. The board did amend the proposal to only apply to the Central/Southwest region which I had expected anyway. When I originally introduced the proposal two years ago at the Fairbanks statewide meeting, ADF&G had said they wanted the proposal to be deliberated at each regional meeting rather than be considered as a statewide proposal.

Things are heating up on the national scene regarding gun control because of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting. I haven’t read a lot about the story since it’s been reported everywhere and endlessly. And, to be frank, I think that endless reporting is a big contributor to the whole problem of “mass shootings.” The “copycat” mentality is very much at work here because the shooter receives his “15 minutes of fame.” For someone with mental issues to begin with, that may be all that is needed.

Another point that I just don’t understand is why the object rather than the perpetrator is being blamed for this activity. Alcohol doesn’t cause drunk driving; spoons and forks don’t cause obesity. Why do some people think a firearm causes mass shootings?

In this particular case, it sounds to me like the FBI and the whole “mental health system” failed. From reports I have read, this kid had been repeatedly reported as unstable, possibly dangerous and potentially threatening, yet no help was offered, or a mental health evaluation performed.

The firearms background check system is broken. Fix the things that are already law first before trying to pass new laws.

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. This column is the opinion of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman or its parent company, Wick Communications. You can leave Delo a message by emailing sports@frontiersman.com.