The Mayo Clinic defines Seasonal Affective Disorder as “Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that’s related to changes in seasons — SAD begins and ends at about the same times every year.” For me it typically strikes around February and lasts until the first day of spring that’s warm enough to strip off my shirt, bare my torso and spread wide my arms to absorb the sun’s healing rays.

Any winter that has too many days that are too cold to make the 50 mile trek to my outdoor range,

Waiting for Spring and some wonderful outdoor range time.

generally exacerbates the severity of this condition. Particularly severe bouts can be identified by my running out of rifle brass with which to attempt new experiments in hand loading techniques. This is typically coupled with the production of more than enough loaded ammunition to get through the next two high power seasons without having to reload. Not that that’s a bad thing in and of itself, but the issue is that it ultimately leaves me with nothing fun to do!

Sure there’s plenty to “take care of,” the leaking shower head, shoveling the next 5″ of snow, mopping the wood floors with Murphy’s Oil Soap to get rid of the salt footprints leading from the door, but where’s the FUN?

OK, I’ve cleaned and oiled the bores on all the rifles. My indoor 3P smallbore scores are getting a little better, pistol scores are holding steady,

While Indoor activities help, SAD can still take the edge off, Oh Spring and High Power Season, where art thouu?

but there’s something missing. Perhaps it’s the melodic rhythms of a rapid fire prone relay, or the uplifting aroma of burned nitrocellulose and lead styphnate wafting on spring zephyrs. Mind you Hoppes and Champion’s Choice both smell great, but there’s nothing like the aroma of small arms in use outdoors.

So what can we do when the sound of Cam’s voice begins to induce somnolence and we’ve already watched every episode of this season’s Gold Rush three times?

My bet would be to go ahead and rip off a quick note to my local, state, and federal representatives letting them know that you’ll be watching them and that the first measurement that you will apply to them will be their level of integrity, and that the second will be their support of your Second Amendment Rights.

Just as I periodically fall victim to the symptoms of SAD, it seems politicians fall victim to the symptoms of forgetfulness and entitlement. It remains our duty to remind them of the extremely temporary nature of their tenure and that they serve at our pleasure, Why Cuomo, Schumer, and Skelos are still in office defeats my ability to reason, but I guess they’re keeping somebody happy, somewhere in their constituency, or they would’t still be around. But that being said, it can’t hurt to ring their chimes periodically and remind them that we’re still out there watching and waiting.

So, next time you walk up to your reloading bench scratching your head and wondering what you can actually do next, instead of uniforming brass that you really should flatten and scrap, why not write a few real SNAIL MAIL letters to your representatives. I did and believe you me, it helped!

If you’re still reading this, first of all, I am grateful, but more importantly, here’s a taste of what will be coming up this spring:

• Neck turning – Worth it or not?
• Run Out – Mystery, Myth, or Miracle?
• Dillon Square Deal B – Deal or not?
• Measuring Throat, Leade, or Bullet Jump – Remington 700 vs Marine Built M1A
• Ogives and the Meaning of Life – How Far-Out Can You Get?
• The Lead Sled – Does it Help?
• Volumetric vs. Weight – Practical Accuracy and OCD.

Stay Tuned!