SPORTS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
A13
SHOOTING THE BREEZE
What to buy?
M
y boy is 14
years old, and
his summer
wages are burning a hole
in his pocket. Despite
his ability to shoot and
hunt with my rifles, he is
dying to have a rifle of his
own. I can understand that
because I was 14 once
too. The question is, what
to buy?
My own first rifle
experience wasn’t the
best. My wonderful, but
firearm illiterate, father
took me down to the
local hardware store and
asked the worker there
what to buy. The dude
pulled out a Winchester
94 in .30-30 and a Rem-
ington 700 in .30-06 and
told me to pick one. No
other helpful advice was
offered. Being a student
of Louis L’amour at the
time, I opted for the .30-
30. After all, the Sacketts
could work pure magic
with their lever guns. I
did take my first buck
with it, and it worked
fine.
However, as I grew as
a hunter and shooter, the
.30-06 would have been
the much better choice.
The kid dreams of
hunting everything from
moose to mice, from
Alaska to Africa, so I
think a bolt gun is the
way to go. I will let him
try out some different
brands, and ultimately
the choice will be his,
but probably with a gen-
tle push for a Tikka or
Remington. While I own
many different makes, I
have always been partial
to the look and feel of
Remington. That being
said, the last several Tik-
kas I have shot have all
been tack drivers with
very smooth actions.
Now, what car-
tridge to feed it? The
6.5 Creedmoor is out.
Yes, it is a good round.
No, it is not an elk-kill-
ing machine. Yes, peo-
ple have done it and
will continue to do it. I
once saw
a dude
build an
entire
cabin
with
Rod
nothing
Carpenter
but a dou-
ble-bit
ax and hand saw. Just
because it can be done
doesn’t mean it should
be done.
I’m thinking hard
about the 7mm-08, .308,
.270 or .30-06. The
7mm-08 just isn’t very
popular anymore and
isn’t really much of a
step up from the 6.5 so
probably not.
The .308 is fine. Usu-
ally very good accuracy,
lots of availability and
recoil will be a bit less
than the .270 or .30-06. I
know lots of folks swear
by it, but I just have some
mental hang up with the
.308. I’m sure my psy-
chologist has a diagnosis
for that.
I like the .270 a lot.
I have always had good
success with it, and the
rifles I have shot have all
been very accurate. But
the .30-06 — well, can
you really go wrong with
the good ol’ ‘06? It is the
American workhorse of
calibers. The do-all rifle
that all others are com-
pared to. Definitely good
enough for elk. And as
an added benefit, Dale
would stop harassing
me about owning one. I
could load it down just a
bit so he could work on
recoil management and
then step it up as he grew.
Yep, I am leaning that
way.
So, a Remington or
Tikka in .270 or .30-06 is
my final choice. Now all I
have to do is talk him into
seeing things my way.
What do you think
he should get? Let us
know at shootingthebree-
zebme@gmail.com.
Rod Carpenter is a
husband, father and
hunting fool.
SPORTS SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, OCT. 10
Prairie City volleyball vs. Harper, 4 p.m.
Grant Union volleyball vs. Heppner, 6:30 p.m.
FRIDAY, OCT. 11
Grant Union cross country @ Tiger Invite in La Grande,
11 a.m.
Ukiah/Long Creek soccer @ Four Rivers in Ontario, noon
(MT)
Ukiah/Long Creek volleyball vs. Wheeler/Condon in Long
Creek, 1 p.m.
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Grant Union Prospector Mason Gerry rushes as Taylor Hunt blocks Kennedy’s Bruce Beyer (3) and Brady Traeger (12) in
Friday’s game in John Day.
Prospectors fight to the bitter end in 42-14 loss to Trojans
Grant Union
football faces
league opponent
Stanfield Friday at
7 p.m.
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Grant Union Prospec-
tors were challenged by Ken-
nedy’s running back Bruce
Beyer who kept the scoreboard
churning for the Trojans Fri-
day night in John Day, scoring
four touchdowns in the team’s
42-14 win at Three Flags Field.
Beyer also kicked six suc-
cessful PATs for Kennedy.
The Trojans were up 7-0 in
the first, and early in the sec-
ond, Grant Union had a fourth
down with two yards to go
when Prospector running back
Russell Hodge took the hand-
off nine yards from quarter-
back Devon Stokes for the first
down.
Things looked promising
when Stokes connected with
wide receiver Jordan Hall for
a 14-yard touchdown pass,
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Grant Union Prospector center Eli Wright (60) prepares to
snap the ball in Friday night’s game against Kennedy.
the Prospectors trailing by 1
point. However, Kennedy then
started their onslaught, taking a
21-6 lead at the half.
Grant Union’s defense had
some bright moments in the
third with Frank Douglass
tackling Kennedy for a loss of
yards, bringing up second and
11, and Hodge deflecting Ken-
nedy quarterback Dylan Klein-
schmit’s pass intended for Bra-
den Traeger. Prospector Eli
Wright also recovered Kenne-
dy’s fumble with 6:30 left in
the quarter.
Although the situation
looked bleak for Grant Union,
Kennedy leading 35-6 going
into the fourth, the Prospectors
continued to battle.
With four minutes left,
Prospector Quenten Hallgarth
rushed for a first down, then
added eight yards, and brought
up another first down in the red
zone.
In the final minute of the
game, Prospector Taylor Hunt
rushed five yards up the mid-
dle to score a touchdown, and
Maverick Miller scored the
2-point conversion on a pass
from Stokes.
Hunt said his team “kept
fighting and pushing” to get the
final 8 points.
Grant Union head coach
Jason Miller described Ken-
nedy as a “good quality, well-
coached football team.”
“The line on both sides of
the ball is tough, the running
backs are tough,” Miller said
of Kennedy. “We’ve got to get
better. We need to improve our
toughness.”
Grant Union, now ranked
No. 26, has faced five strong
nonleague teams for five
straight losses. Each team
they’ve gone up against
is ranked in the top 16 —
the Trojans, the defending
2A champions led by head
coach Joe Panuke, are ranked
No. 4.
“We’ve had a tough early
schedule,” Miller said. “We’ll
see if our guys can respond to
that.”
The Prospectors host the
Stanfield Tigers at 7 p.m. Fri-
day for their league opener.
“I think we’ll be where we
need to be for league,” Hunt
said.
Communtiy
Presentation
Integrated Timber Harvest, Vegetation and
Road Management for Elk and other Wildlife
Grant Union football vs. Stanfield, 7 p.m. (homecoming)
SATURDAY, OCT. 12
Grant Union volleyball vs. Stanfield, Weston-McEwen, noon,
2 p.m.
Prairie City volleyball @ Crane, Burnt River in Unity, 1:30 p.m.,
3 p.m.
MONDAY, OCT. 14
Ukiah/Long Creek soccer vs. Umatilla in Long Creek, 4 p.m.
TUESDAY, OCT. 15
Grant Union volleyball vs. Union, 5 p.m. (senior night)
OREGON CAPITAL
INSIDER
We’re investing in Salem
coverage when other
news organizations are
cutting back.
Get the inside scoop on state government and politics!
A MAN
WAKES
UP in the
morning
after sleeping on...
an advertised bed, in advertised
pajamas.
He will bathe in an ADVERTISED TUB, shave with an ADVERTISED RAZOR,
have a breakfast of ADVERTISED JUICE, cereal and toast, toasted in an
ADVERTISED TOASTER, put on ADVERTISED CLOTHES and glance at his
ADVERTISED WATCH. He’ll ride to work in his ADVERTISED CAR, sit at an
ADVERTISED DESK and write with an ADVERTISED PEN. Yet this person
hesitates to advertise, saying that advertising doesn’t pay. Finally, when his
non-advertised business is going under, HE’LL ADVERTISE IT FOR SALE.
Then it’s too late.
AND THEY SAY ADVERTISING DOESN’T WORK?
DON’T MAKE THIS SAME MISTAKE
Advertising is an investment, not an expense. Think about it!
Blue Mountain Eagle
MyEagleNews.com
Don’t get left behind, call today! Kim Kell 541-575-0710
Presentation Topics include:
• Th e use of silviculture and fi re to manage vegetation for elk and other wildlife
• Integrating vegetation and road management to meet multiple objectives that include
retaining elk on public lands and minimizing elk impacts to private lands
• Successful examples and methods of public involvement
• Presenters: Michael Wisdom, PNW Research Station & Darren Clark, ODFW
October 17, 2019 • 6:30-8 p.m.
Grant County Regional Airport