Today is what I consider to be the first day of hunting season.  Today is the beginning of Dove Season.  The Dove Season will end on November 14^th.  The late Dove Season will begin on December 14^th and end on January 9^th.  The dog days of summer are rapidly slipping away.  The official start of Fall is only three weeks away.  It won’t be long until Teal Season (waterfowl) will be here, followed by Deer Archery Season and then Upland Game Season.  There is no question that Fall is my favorite time of the year.  I have to admit I cherish the many days I spent in the field during Pheasant Season.  Opening day was a big deal.  I grew up in Chatsworth, Illinois, in the heart of pheasant country.  Noon on the first Saturday in November was the official beginning of hunting season when I was growing up.  Hunters from everywhere came to hunt Livingston and Ford Counties.  In those days, every town had a noon whistle.  There were no atomic clocks or cell phones to let you know the exact time.  Every town was off by a few minutes.  You could hear those whistles for miles.  Whichever whistle we heard first is the one we took.  One warm opening day, we were standing in a plowed field ready to step into a beautiful grassy field and we heard one of the noon whistles go off.  Seven of us stepped into the field.  We weren’t three feet into that field and a huge flock of pheasants flushed.  The limit was two birds.  At 12:05pm, we had limited out.  On another day, we were hunting a draw in the middle of 100 acres of cover.  Suddenly, a pheasant flushed and someone in the hunting party shot.  My estimate was that following that shot, somewhere between 250 and 300 pheasants flushed.  I never took a shot, I just watched.  I knew instantly this was a once in a lifetime experience.  I can see the replay in my mind as I write this.  I wish you could have been there. 

Not all opening days were like that.  There was only one opening day we did not complete.  We had hunted for about a half an hour and had gotten a couple of birds.  It was a cold rainy day.  Rain, snow, wind, or about anything else couldn’t stop us from hunting opening day.  On this day, the cold rain turned into a raging sleet storm.  It didn’t stop the dogs or us, but the guns got covered with about an eighth of an inch to a quarter inch of ice and we couldn’t sight them.  That afternoon was spent eating chili and drying out shotguns.  Still, a great memory.  My friend, Marty Stein, loved his hunting dogs.  He had four Brittany Spaniels who were well trained.  He would work with them every day.  We would hunt two dogs in the morning, rest those two, and hunt with two more in the afternoon.  Those dogs were born to hunt.  You had to make them stop for their own sake.  One of the Brittany Spaniels was Dotty.  She loved to be loved.  We would rest every hour or so depending on how thick the cover was.  Dotty loved to jump up on the tailgate of a pickup truck and snuggle up to you.  It didn’t matter how wet she was.  She didn’t care and neither did anyone else.  All of these dogs wanted to be right next to someone.  They were also our greatest critics.  If they were hunting ahead of you and you missed a bird, they would look back at you with distain in their eye.  I am sorry those days are largely gone.

Last week, a U.S. Federal District Judge in Fort Worth, Texas, struck down a Texas law that prevented qualified 18–20 year old’s from getting concealed carry permits.  Illinois has a similar law.  The judge rightly pointed out that the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments do not have an age prohibition included in them.  If this ruling is upheld, it will have far reaching implications.

Some courts have ruled that a person’s civil rights are fully vested at age 18.  This has not been tried before the Supreme Court of the United States yet, but it is going to get there at some point.

Hawaii has brought their concealed carry regulations in line with the NYR&PA v Bruen ruling by the SCOTUS.  There are other states that will have to be forced into compliance.  It is too bad it has to be this way but the anti-gun crowd will not compromise in any way so we will have to fight inch by inch.   This litigation is very expensive.  If you haven’t donated to the ISRA Legal Assistance Committee, P.O. Box 494, Chatsworth, IL 60921, please do so today. 
Joe Biden is at it again.  At the Democratic National Committee meeting in Maryland, Biden reiterated his pledge to ban so-called “assault weapons”.  The President, who is a master at facts and figures, later stated that an AR15 bullet goes five time faster than any other bullet.  Gun owners need to wake up and realize how dangerous this guy is if they don’t already know.  Whoever watches President Joe, has got to keep him away from Hunter’s stash.

The Civilian Marksmanship Program/Army Marksmanship Unit classes scheduled for September 30^th, October 1^st and 2^nd are shaping up nicely.  Don’t miss this training opportunity.  Please check the info below and sign up today.

Illinois State Rifle Association 2022 Marksmanship 101 Rifle and Pistol M16 & M9 Match:
The CMP will be holding a travel Rifle and Pistol Marksmanship 101 Class at the Illinois State Rifle Association on Saturday, October 1 and Sunday, October 2, 2022.  The location is 1589 North 7000 West Rd. Bonfield, Illinois 60913.  Classes are held at the same time; you will need to choose Rifle or Pistol.

Rifle 101 will be a two-day class, with day one consisting of classroom instruction, range training, and practice.  Day two will be the firing of an M16 match, fired on Kongsberg Electronic targets.  The cost for Rifle 101 is $95.00 for adults and $85.00 for juniors.

Pistol 101 will be one day with classroom instruction, range training and practice, followed by firing of an M9 match.  The cost for Pistol 101 is $95.00 for adults and $85.00 for juniors.
CMP will be providing Rifles, Pistols and ammunition.  Competitors should bring the following if they have them: Mats, scopes, jackets, safety glasses etc.  Check in will begin at 7:00AM for Rifle & Pistol Saturday, October 1, 2022, and Class will begin at 8:00AM.
 
Lunch will be provided; if you have dietary restrictions, we ask that you bring your own lunch.
  
CMP is conducting seated (classroom) Range Officer Level II - Highpower Rifle and Bulls-Eye Pistol classes on Friday, September 30, 2022.  Rifle 8:00AM-Noon - Pistol 1:00PM-3:00PM.

You must complete Range Officer Level I Online Course before taking Level II.  Currently, registration is only open for the Range Officer Level I Course.  For information, contact Amy at acantu@thecmp.org or Kim at kfilipiak@thecmp.org.

Reminder: The Massad Ayoob MAG 80 Course, September 7^th-11^th at our range, is an intensive study of defensive firearms that teaches extreme speed for hits, and includes shooting at greater distances, and management of such contingencies as weak hand draws, one-hand only reloads and malfunction clearing if wounded, etc. Students receive several hours of hands-on training in handgun disarming, and in countering attempts by an attacker to disarm them. Shooting while moving, and the use of long guns for defense, are among the areas covered. Round count: 500 handgun, 100 long gun. Prerequisites: MAG-20/Classroom plus MAG-20/Live Fire; MAG-40 or LFI-I.  Contact Andy Kemp at 208-771-3413 or Andy1911@imaxmail.net

Tidbits:
September 1, 1939 - World War II officially begins with the German invasion of Poland.  The Polish Armed Forces were woefully equipped and trained.  They were not ready to fight WWI in 1939, let alone World War II and face the highly mechanized German Army.  The German “blitzkrieg“ sliced through the Polish Army like a hot knife through butter.  Of course, the Russians were in on it also.  The Russians captured roughly 4000 Polish Officers and executed them all.  When Joseph Stalin was asked about the Polish Officers, he simply replied “They’re gone”.

The Germans looked down on the Polish people who were Slavic and considered them an inferior race, so the murder of the Poles was acceptable to the Germans.  The word slave has its roots in the word Slavic.  Slavs were constantly enslaved by their enemies.  In their defense, the Poles did not want to fight anyone.  They were not aggressive.  They were primarily an agrarian nation.  The vast plains of Poland made it hard to defend and easy to invade.  During WWII, the Polish Underground fought the Germans the best they could.  Their bravery was unquestioned.

September 2, 1945 - Japan surrenders, officially bringing an end to WWII.  American troops were engaging holdout Japanese on the Northern Islands until late in 1946.  The two atomic bombs dropped on Japan and the threat of Russians invading Japan forced them to surrender.  Had they not surrendered, Operation Olympic and Operation Coronet were planned.  The United States did not want to invade Japan.  Operation Olympic was to take place on November 1^st, 1945 (X-Day).  It would have involved 42 aircraft carriers, 24 battleships, 400 destroyers and destroyer escorts, 14 United States divisions, and 5 British divisions.  On August 8^th, 1945, the 8^th Air Force had already started receiving B-29s to replace the battle-weary B-17s and B-24s.  Fighter planes of every description were readied to be transferred for the attack.  The target was the Japanese Home Island of Kyushu.

The second phase was Operation Coronet which was scheduled for March 1^st, 1946 (Y-Day).  The target was the Japanese Home Island of Honshu.  This invasion would require all the Navy ships aircraft and 25 Divisions, with another 20 Divisions to follow.  Honshu is where Tokyo is located.  The estimated causalities were enormous.  Some estimates were as high as one million casualties.  Some estimated the war might last several years.  Frank Knox, Secretary of the Navy, concluded that an invasion would have to occur to end the war.  Fortunately, that did not happen.

September 3, 1783 - The Treaty of Paris is signed, officially ending the Revolutionary War.  Congress ratified the Treaty on January 14^th, 1784.  The British diplomats did not show up for the official portrait of the signers of the treaty because they were embarrassed.

September 6, 1915 - The first prototype army tank named “Little Willie” is produced.   Little Willie was a failure, but it was a start.  The top speed was 2 mph and it was always getting stuck in the mud.  Little Willie would be proud of his great, great, great, great, great grandson, the Abrams M1A2-68, tons of fighting fun.

September 6, 1776 - The American Submarine “The Turtle“, tries to attach a time bomb to the British Ship HMS Eagle which was British Admiral Richard Howe’s Flagship.  It failed because of the iron bottom.  The bomb exploded but damaged neither ship. 

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For more information, visit www.isra.org
Upcoming Events:

Saturday, September 3, 2022
Range Work Day
ISRA Steel Challenge

Sunday, September 4, 2022
Bonfield Muzzle Loaders
Black Powder Shotgun
ISRA 3Gun

Monday, September 5 & 12, 2022
Military Benchrest League

Tuesday, September 6 & 13, 2022
Tuesday Night Irregular Rifles

Wednesday, September 7 & 14, 2022
MAG 80
F-Class League
Benchrest League
Paper Steel League

Thursday, September 8, 2022
MAG 80
Smallbore Prone/F-Class League

Friday, September 9, 2022
MAG 80

Saturday, September 10, 2022
MAG 80
Metric Smallbore Prone Championship

Sunday, September 11, 2022
MAG 80
Conventional Smallbore Prone Championship
Covet Carry Handgun
Gun & Trade Shows

Westville Gun Show – Westville, IL
Fireside Event Space
Dates: September 10 & 11, 2022
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00
             Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: Free

Kankakee Gun & Sportsman’s Show – Kankakee, IL
Kankakee County Fairgrounds
Dates: September 17 & 18, 2022
Hours: Saturday: 8:00-3:00
             Sunday: 8:00-2:00
Admission: $6.00

Boot City Opry Guns, Knives & Outdoorsman Show – Terre Haute, IN
Boot City Opry
Dates: September 17 & 18, 2022
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00
             Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $5.00

McHenry County Gun Show – Woodstock, IL
McHenry County Fairgrounds
Date: September 18, 2022
Hours: Sunday: 7:30-1:00
Admission: $5.00