Collecting Field Gear

I'll readily admit to having some curmudgeonly habits, and I'll just as freely confess that I am becoming my father in a terrifying day-by-day upward spiral (I would say downward spiral, but I liked my Dad and believe I'm evolving, not devolving).

Lately my discontent has fallen upon two things; the dearth of quality American-made outdoor gear, and the seemingly endless tide of inferior overseas-made stuff being imported these days.

Don't get me wrong, I love usable 7.00 pocketknives as much as the next guy, and there is a freedom in using a cheap knife unavailable to those who shell out 50.00 or more for a quality knife; I don't cry if I shatter the blade of an imported cheapie. Neither am I suggesting that all imported goods are inferior to American-made wares; that's just ludicrous. I am saying, unequivocally, that I miss the era of high-quality American-made field gear. There are still some holdouts and renegades making good stuff with American hands, W.R. Case knives comes to mind, but even the venerable Marbles knives sent the production of their knives overseas, and is now in bankruptcy.

While Remington still manufactures several models of their rifles domestically, they also now import several new models, and I am uniformly under-impressed with the workmanship of the imports when I compare that workmanship to any of my old Remington 721s or 722s. Ruger still turns out high-quality American-made arms, and I'm an avid fan of both the resurrected Henry Rifle company and Heritage Arms.

All that being said, I have become a fan of the past. I collect older, American-made field gear, including knives and guns. With the older stuff I acquire not only goods of usually higher quality, but I also get the satisfaction of having something that traversed the American woods decades ago. If some of my rifles could talk, they'd surely have amazing tales to tell.

The only downside to picking up these relics is that they often require work to become serviceable again. I enjoy tinkering on things, so this aspect of my collecting is actually something of an asset to me, as I have a ready supply of projects to keep me busy on lazy Sunday afternoons. I'm sure my wife is grateful to get me out of her hair for a few hours on the weekends, and enjoy the run of the house, complete with watching the kind of television programs I complain about.

My advice to other sportsmen? Start collecting some of the old field gear like I do. It's fun, nostalgic, practical, satisfying, and provides the opportunity to at least daydream about being afield on days when the weather won't permit.