By: Ted Nugent
Whew! That was crazy exciting! Talkin’ about Gonzo springcleaning outrage! A bewildering whirlwind vortex of shrapnel infested dust has finally settled here at CampNuge as I just wrapped up the most insane auction in the history of insane auctions! I painfully soldoff a lifetime overabundance of incredible guns, one of a kind iconic guitars, artistic knives, beautiful wildlife artwork masterpieces, scads of historical bows and arrows, custom trucks and hotrods, legendary rock-n-roll memorabilia and unique career paraphernalia from rock-n-roll hell.
All of a sudden my barns, shops and closets have room to move in!
Though TribeNuge always conducts some sort of basic springcleaning as an annual ritual of reorganization, cleanup and streamlining responsibility, this auction was surely a once in a lifetime ultra-cleanout that should have probably happened a long time ago, but better late than never as the saying goes.
As Shemane and I continue to settle into our new Texas home, we are still in the process of getting things organized and as we haul boxes from old house to new house, this is the perfect time to sort out the truly desirable goods from an accumulation of marginally lesser desirable items.
And though my auction soldoff more than 400 individual items, as we go through our stuff now, I am reminded why I had the sale to begin with. I still have a crazy amount of really cool stuff to keep me more than busy, happy and adventurous.
And though I soldoff more than 100 awesome firearms and probably that many old bows, don’t ever feel sorry for me for any lack of sporting goods.
Surely crazy gonzo auctions of this borderline obscene level are rarely necessary in life, nonetheless some degree of springcleaning is always a good idea for the better organized amongst us.
Let us simply focus on the post-season sporting goods cleanup and review, shall we?
I found a number of bloody arrows I failed to cleanup during the season, along with a couple shotguns, rifles and handguns.
Then there are the bloody, muddy boots, mucky Mossy Oak clothing, an upland birdvest full of blood, feathers and debris, a knife or two still caked with bloody debris, and more than a smidgen of hunting gear that needs some varying degree of cleanup, rehab and sorting.
I don’t know about you, but my year-round sporting gear maintenance and inventorying is just about as much fun as the hunting itself, and after the season comes to an end, it is time to begin the process all over again.
I am forever the frugal consumer, and I will wash off and rehab my arrows and broadheads over and over and over again and again to maximize the life and use I can get out of them. Remembering the days of my bowhunting youth, I would go to the ends of the earth to heat and straighten out my cedar shafts as each arrow was cherished pure gold in my back quiver.
I do the same today with my plethora of Gold Tip carbon arrows and array of broadheads, milking the last possible use out of them as if there are no more to ever be available.
God knows I have more Mossy Oak jackets and suits than you can imagine, but I take extra loving care to keep my favorites in good, scentless condition for eternal usage.
Of course guncleaning is essential to responsibly take good care of our precious firearms, and quite honestly, the cleaning process is rather relaxing and fun. Fondling guns for any proper reason is good for the soul.
I tend to discover new and advantageous treestand locations all the time, but those ambush setups I plan to re-use next season will need some tweaking and safety review at this time of year. Loosening straps and repositioning ladderstands a little bit is always a good idea.
A good cleaning and bleaching of my walk-in cooler is important, as is the post season maintenance of my venison hauling ATVs and trucks.
I know turkey season and good fishing is coming on now, but having all our ducks in a row for next hunting season begins with an important ritual of springtime cleanup.