Careful what u wish for(need to vent)

[Eddie_E]

I do feel bad for someone who grew up with me as a teenager is SD back in the late 1970's loosing out to the crowds. My friends and I got away with stuff that people on the East or West coast can't even imagine. 

We walked around with pellet guns at 12 yrs old. We drove 500 hp stock cars around behind the shop at 14 years old (in full view of I 90) with hundreds of cars going by. Built bicycle jumps in the middle of the street. Used fireworks legally and never got hurt. Setup informal ice racing on several lakes. We also used to drive up the backof Mt Rushmore and park on top of the presidents heads. (Alcohol was involved on this one). The best of all was around 1981 when 30 or so families built Mad Max/Road worrier vehicles and raced them around a random spot in the Badlands for a few weekends. Everybody from 12 yrs old to 70 yrs old took a turn driving. I'm not giving up that secret spot, but it was 15 minutes from Kadoka, SD. One of my best friends back then was a Smith from Black Hawk,SD. 

 

[tsmith]

I do feel bad for someone who grew up with me as a teenager is SD back in the late 1970's loosing out to the crowds. My friends and I got away with stuff that people on the East or West coast can't even imagine. 

We walked around with pellet guns at 12 yrs old. We drove 500 hp stock cars around behind the shop at 14 years old (in full view of I 90) with hundreds of cars going by. Built bicycle jumps in the middle of the street. Used fireworks legally and never got hurt. Setup informal ice racing on several lakes. We also used to drive up the backof Mt Rushmore and park on top of the presidents heads. (Alcohol was involved on this one). The best of all was around 1981 when 30 or so families built Mad Max/Road worrier vehicles and raced them around a random spot in the Badlands for a few weekends. Everybody from 12 yrs old to 70 yrs old took a turn driving. I'm not giving up that secret spot, but it was 15 minutes from Kadoka, SD. One of my best friends back then was a Smith from Black Hawk,SD.

haha!

sounds all too familiar! i was never much into the motor vehicles, but my best friend and I would call each other on the phone to compare who had the most birds around. then we would walk 7 blocks to each others house right through town with our Daisy 880 and Crosman 766 and shoot birds along the way. no one ever cared. or got hurt.

face it. we will never get the old days back.

i spent many summers in Rapid city to visit my Mom as a kid in the early 80’s

 

[Guest]

Not to step on toes but I was doing most of that in the 90's and early 2000's. While we didn't have the badlands there were plenty sand pits, fire roads and access to a military base for wheeled/motorized shenanigans. Though the fireworks were illigal(thanks to my buddies uncle in PA) we had bottle rocket wars but never lost a finger or eye. All this in my home state of Massachusetts. 

 

[Haganaga]

Also in Massachusetts, centerfire rifle hunting is illegal as the range is too great and the houses may be within reach. So bow hunting and black power rule the roost. I never went, but that was before social media. I’m sure I’d be an expert if there was back then. I jest. Like everything there are ups and downs. This forum is an example. I cut years of learning off simply by asking questions here answered by philanthropic experts. I learned that forums were a great resource years ago when I bought my first motorcycle. I learned how to work on it and some time saving short cuts that old salts had discovered. Some members even made parts for the bike. So you see, the dissemination of information has it’s good side. Just not so good for guarding secrets.

 

[Elbowgrease]

I feel your pain, but a bit differently. I will say that as far as air gunning I have tried to get a few of my buds into it. Only one caught on when I made him a nice offer on a well modified Mrod. As far as getting a permission around my area. Well good luck with that. Seems that there have been a few guys who went out with larger pellets then what the property owner/manager would allow and ruined it for everyone. There is also a tight group of air gunners who are closely in bead with AoA who seem to have exclusive rights to various permissions in the area. They will not share this info. Honestly, I get wanting to keep your spots a secret. But man it makes it impossible to find a good location because of some bad apples and those who want to keep locations to themselves. This kinda goes for other hobbies as well. Radio controlled rock crawler guys seem to be the same way, just not as bad. I have been told to go on facebook to locate groups but it seems to be the same mess. Close groups who are not keen on letting others in. I made a facebook account solely to find others. Ended up canceling my facebook account. Not big on social media anyway. Now if it was not for those numbers of people getting involved with the hobby and causing it to grow you really need to question where it would be today when it comes to tec advancement or in some cases if a hobby would still be around. They need to make money to continue. One issue I have ran into is a popular 4X4 location became so overrun with offroading that the area is almost entirely closed down because people could not stay on the trails and had to make their own. It sucks. But it is what it is.

 

[Huntman]

I feel ya. Im 52 and im a big bow hunter. In my little town back in the day I was the only one that bow hunted and shot bows yr. around. ( recurve and compound ) After awhile people started bow hunting and everyone started bringing there bows to me to work on, get them paper tuned or make them some arrows. Don't get me wrong i like helping out but two weeks before hunting season my phone wouldn't stop ringing and couldn't even get my own stuff done. I just always felt that gun hunting deer wasn't a sport or a challenge to me although there isn't nothing wrong with it. And as of bowfishing, its like crack to a crackhead! Ive fished tounaments for yrs and had airboats /fanboats and watched the sun come up many of morning on the water. Ive been married for 28yrs and before we got married ( true story ) I told her never try to stop me from hunting or fishing because its not going to happen. Got to love the great outdoors!