July 2020 • Nebraskaland 27
you feel like you're working for it or do you feel like it comes
to you? Are you fi ddling your head too much to resettle the
gun? Look it over and make sure it's in sound shape. A new
gun can have a cracked stock or a blemished barrel, which
can explode, crack or shatter.
Make sure you're ready for the recoil. It's rare, but ask if you
can test-fi re the gun. This is the strangest business. You can
buy a car and test drive it, used or new, but to buy this $1,400
gun, you must purchase it to see if you like it, and then you
can't return it. The industry has that wrong. Every gun that's
sold should be allowed to be test fi red.
How can a gunsmith help?
SR: I let the operator tell me what's bothering them. The
gun can't do any talking. I can't feel what they feel. Is it
hurting you? Does it pop you in the chin? Does it rock your
shoulder too much?
Then I look at how the gun fi ts and where the pad is resting
on the shoulder. Before I do anything to the gun, I check
to see if the shooter has a fl inch by asking them to shoot
with empty shells. If there's a bad fl inch, then we have to
clean that up before proceeding. There's no one-size-fi ts-all
diagnosis for every person. You have to bring the patient in
and go over it.
Julia Plugge of Lincoln pheasant hunting during a Becoming an Outdoors-Woman
event at Clear Creek Hunting Lodge in Bartlett.
