Some guys hit for average. Some guys swing for the fences.

Looks like Dylan McKenna is one of those hitters who takes a big cut every time.

The 12-year-old from Skowhegan is on the lookout for his "grand slam" now, after harvesting a moose, a bear and a turkey already this year. Deer season, of course, begins Saturday.

Most recently, McKenna bagged the moose, a 700-pound bull with a 50-inch antler spread. I can't help but think the moose looks even bigger than that, though.

Good luck to Dylan and all the young hunters like him, the ones hoping to hit their grand slam during deer season.

It's a bit of a history lesson at local gun retailers these days.

Seems that the black powder rifle - affectionately referred to as the muzzleloader - is in high demand this fall. It's not because hunters suddenly have an affinity for old traditions, or even because the muzzleloader is often a cheaper purchase when its taken straight off the rack.

Nope, the black powder's ascension to popularity has everything to do with last winter.

"The deer population's not up, and everybody knows that," said Gary Hamilton of Neilson's Sporting Goods in Farmingdale this week.

And because last winter was so harsh and decimated the state's deer herd # by as much as 25 percent, according to some outdoorsmen # hunters know finding deer during November's firearms season is going to be difficult. Having a muzzleloader at their disposal only increases the chances of putting venison in the basement freezer.

Muzzleloader season is the first week of December statewide, and then the second week of December, too, in roughly half of the Wildlife Management Districts around Maine.

"For the average working guy, there's only four Saturdays to go out and hunt," Hamilton said. "With a muzzleloader, you've got a couple extra weeks. The hunting's going to be hard, and it's just a way to increase your chances (of getting a deer)."

Read more about hunting rifles in today's Kennebec Journal or Morning Sentinel.

-- TB

I exceeded the bag limit Saturday but never fired a shot.

While sitting in a blind with Ryan, as his shotgun remained idle, I blasted away.

Philip, left, and Paul collected their decoys without a bird in the bag either.

While my companions kept their powder dry, I blew through a memory card of photos - almost 2 gigs worth - to create this posting. At 9:30 a.m. we went home cold, wet and mystified by the lack of ducks. A delightful duck hunt and I have proof.

I am a dedicated nimrod with a Nikon. The transition from 12 gauge to 600 f/4 commenced a decade ago.

I started giving it all away - from gear to gullies - to my duck hunting crew. Paul received my blinds and flyways. Ryan obtained hip waders, camo and decoys. Philip hunts with my old shotgun and canoe. I kept the lenses and camera bodies.

Now I rarely return from hunting without something aside from laments.

The men who introduced me to hunting as a child, Uncles Bob and David, appreciated that photography season never closes. They encouraged me, as an adult, to pursue wild game with a camera.

On a rainy day two weeks ago, my uncles and I ate lunch in David's kitchen next to the ripping wood stove. Bob stated that a slug of song birds were migrating through the farm that day. David said a that bush beyond the barn was mobbed by Robins.

I heeded the advice of my guides and pursued the berry bush.

After an hour, the photo of a Robin chomping berries was captured and filed in my memory card.

Bob and David never moved away from the wood stove. They claimed that the view - of a photographed crouched in pouring rain - was too good to ignore.

Photo by Andy Molloy
SPARED: Flights of sparrows are passing through on fall migration with stragglers feeding along the Kennebec River. A few, such as a Song Sparrow, may stick around for the upcoming winter.

My 40-horsepower Johnson outboard motor is a lot like me.

We're about the same age. I'm 43. The motor is 36. We're both getting long in the tooth, cranky and slower to start up first thing in the morning. But once we get going, we run smoothly.