Howard's tool-time tips

Out & About, by Howard Delo

Gadgets and gizmos have always fascinated me. While not particularly mechanically inclined, I still like messing around with tools and making "improvements" on outdoor gear. My wife has seen the results of my handiwork and, consequently, rarely asks me to fix things around the house. I don't feel slighted at all. Her reluctance to enlist my talents leaves me more time to break my own stuff rather than ruin our stuff.

Back in my early teens, I discovered archery. For those of you unfamiliar with the chronology of the sport, long bows were still regularly used then and recurves were "the new wave." Compound bows were a thing of the future. I shot wooden arrows which had everything glued on. Naturally, my brother, future brother-in-law and I decided we had to make our own arrows, so we bought all the equipment necessary to do so. For the most part, our arrows shot as straight as the few "factory" arrows we still owned.

Next, fiberglass arrows with inserts and interchangeable tips hit the market. I was on Cloud Nine with these new gizmos. A few years later, aluminum arrows were introduced and my experimentation with doo-dads continued.

About that same time, Illinois (my home state then) legalized muzzle-loading rifles for deer hunting. My brother and I immediately jumped on that bandwagon because of the greater range afforded by the firearm (100 yards with the black powder rifle versus 30 yards with the bow).

Besides the "improvement" in hunting capability, the idea of needing a powder measure, short starter, patch knife, powder flask, capper, a "possibles bag," and all the other gadgets and hoohahs for shooting and maintaining one of these historically styled, side-hammer firearms made my switch-over to this new hobby inevitable. Sadly, my interest in archery paled in the light of this fresh, gadget-rich endeavor.

We were shooting black powder target matches nearly every weekend of the year. There were several muzzle-loading rifle clubs in the area and, if we weren't at our "home" club practicing or shooting a match, we were at a match sponsored by another club somewhere in northern Illinois. This pace continued through high school, but slowed considerably with the beginning of my college career. Everything related to the outdoors took a back seat because of the time necessary for college studies.

My muzzleloader went with me as I changed universities and states. My second and third big game kills ever were accomplished with my 50-caliber black powder rifle. As time passed and earning a living became the main focus of my life, I became more active with my muzzleloader.

Then, around the mid-'80s, so-called modern in-line muzzleloaders became the new thing and everybody was buying one. The black powder emphasis shifted almost exclusively to hunting and gadgets were greatly simplified for the guy interested only in pursuing game with a muzzleloader and not in the historical aspects of the sport. I cooled to this approach.

You've probably already guessed my next move. After I retired from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, I came back to "modern" archery with the compound bow, release aids, carbon arrows with plastic fletching and interchangeable points, bow sights, stabilizers and all the other goodies.

There's another reason I enjoy archery. I can practice in my backyard and not bother my neighbors. To shoot my black-powder rifle, I need to drive to a shooting range in Anchorage. The convenience factor isn't even comparable.

I haven't given up on muzzleloading, I just don't do it as much as I used to. I've also developed other outdoor interests, like handgun hunting, which eat into my available time.

I'm amazed at how the number of gadgets required by a particular sport seems to dictate my level of interest in that sport. That must be why swimming and tennis never lit my fire.