{"id":95763,"date":"2018-08-28T15:22:29","date_gmt":"2018-08-28T19:22:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/blog\/?p=95763"},"modified":"2025-12-23T05:40:29","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T11:40:29","slug":"first-deer-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/first-deer-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"First Deer of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"First<\/a>

Mossberg\u2019s Linda Powell and Ryan Newkirk of Steinbeck Vineyards approach a gorgeous vineyard buck. A big, heavy-antlered fork-horn, this buck would never grow any more points; many of these deer are two-by-twos at full maturity\u2014but look at the antler mass!<\/p><\/div>\n

On August 11 a friend of mine from back East texted me and I responded that I was deer hunting. \u201cBoddington,\u201d he came back, \u201cit\u2019s August\u2026around here we call that poaching!\u201d On the surface, it seems crazy. Here on the Central Coast, August temperatures soar above 100 degrees and wildfires are headline news. Even so, it\u2019s deer season! The \u201ccoast zone\u201d rifle deer season opens the second Saturday in August. This year opening day was the 11th<\/sup>; it could open as early as August 8\u2026but never later than the 14th<\/sup>. This is the earliest rifle deer season in the Lower 48!<\/p>\n

If you get a buck a long way from a road you better carry a pack frame; the days heat up quickly, and it can become a footrace to the cooler. That said, it isn\u2019t all that bad. Daytime temperatures are high, but humidity is low and the Central Coast has one of North America\u2019s greatest temperatures swings, an average of 39 degrees between high and low. So if it\u2019s 90 at noon it will be down in the 50s at dawn, and usually cools in the late afternoon.<\/p>\n

\"First<\/a>

Middays heat up quickly, so if you\u2019re a long way from a road you need to get your deer out as quickly as possible. These are usually small-bodied deer; packing a field-dressed deer on a pack frame is often practical.<\/p><\/div>\n

The hunting day is short; you get a few hours of deer movement in the morning and evening. There can be some daylight movement to and from water. I\u2019ve taken a couple of good bucks at blistering noontime\u2026but often I don\u2019t worry about it, instead napping away the hot hours or, God forbid, getting some work done.<\/p>\n

\"First<\/a>

Although the Central Coast has high daytime temperatures during the August season the temperature swing between high and low averages almost 40 degrees and it cools off quickly at night. A buck taken in the afternoon can be hung overnight, but a morning buck needs to go in a cooler!<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why August?<\/h2>\n

\u201cBecause it\u2019s always been that way.\u201d I first hunted the Central Coast when I was a young lieutenant down at Camp Pendleton in the mid-70s. The August season had been in place for decades. Unlike much of California, the \u201ccoast zone\u201d offers over-the-counter tags (no drawing), with a second tag available. It\u2019s bucks only and, also long traditional, a \u201clegal buck\u201d must have a fork in the upper half of one antler<\/p>\n

Much of the coastal hills are blanketed by thick chaparral brush and summers are long, hot, and dry. Deer densities are low, and antler growth is modest. At full maturity, many bucks never go past two points per side and four-point antlers are rare. Honest, the hunting is difficult enough that just about any legal buck is prized! So far this probably doesn\u2019t sound spectacular, but along the Central Coast this is \u201cour deer season\u201d and we cherish it.<\/p>\n

\"First<\/a>

Donna and Craig Boddington surprised this buck while out hiking before the season. This is a great buck for the coast zone, and he still has some growing to do\u2026but bucks like this are few and far between!<\/p><\/div>\n

There are benefits. It\u2019s a long rifle season, running into late September. This is important, not just for time afield but because these deer go into full rut about September<\/a> 15, the earliest deer rut I know of. The tail end of our coastal season is almost certain to catch major rutting activity. These deer enjoy a mild winter, with November rains greening things up. Their major stress period is the hot, dry summer; they rut early so the fawns can be born in the mild spring.<\/p>\n

For we coast zone deer hunters this means that the end of the season is usually the best. The weather cools down, and bucks come out of the thickets and cruise for does. The last week of the season is a time when unknown bucks appear out of nowhere; this is when some of our bigger bucks are taken. At the beginning of the season many bucks are still in velvet, but by early September most bucks are in hard antler.<\/p>\n

Coastal Bucks<\/h2>\n

Exactly what these coastal deer are is a matter for conjecture. California has the most mule deer subspecies: Columbia blacktail to the northwest; Rocky Mountain mule deer to the northeast; California mule deer to the southeast; and the little-known southern mule deer from Orange County (below Los Angeles) south into Baja. We call our deer blacktails or \u201ccoastal blacktails.\u201d In appearance, they are closest to Columbian blacktail, but there is California mule deer influence; in some individuals, it can be seen in ears that are a bit too big, or tails that don\u2019t have quite enough black.<\/p>\n

\"First<\/a>

This is a fork-horn or \u201ctwo-by-two.\u201d This is not an unusual configuration for many coastal bucks at full maturity. Many never grow more than two points, sometimes with eyeguards and sometimes not\u2014and very few reach the classic four-by-four mule deer configuration.<\/p><\/div>\n

Taking the strictest approach, Boone and Crockett\u2019s southern boundary for Columbia black-tailed deer lies to the north, so B&C considers our deer \u201cmule deer.\u201d Because of habitat and genetics, it\u2019s unthinkable that one of our coastal deer could ever grow antlers large enough to be a record-class mule deer. It\u2019s also unusual for one of our deer to achieve the Boone and Crockett minimum for Columbian Blacktail. We think of outside spreads of 17 or 18 inches as wide, and only occasional bucks reach the low 20s. Clean \u201cfour-by-fours\u201d are very rare; our very largest bucks may be \u201cfour-by-threes,\u201d \u201cthree-by-threes\u201d\u2014or even giant fork-horns.<\/p>\n

\"First<\/a>

This three-by-three was taken near a waterhole on blistering midday. With long August daylight there is usually some daytime movement\u2026but not much! This buck is a three-by-three, a nice buck for the area.<\/p><\/div>\n

Wherever you hunt deer it\u2019s wise to hunt them for what they are, not what you wish them to be! I doubt the deer really care what we call them, but since they received no recognition anywhere else, in their record-keeping system Safari Club International accepts them as Columbian black-tailed deer. I usually just call them \u201ccoastal blacktails\u201d but, by any name, I like to hunt them.<\/p>\n

\"First<\/a>

This \u201cspike-fork\u201d is fairly typical of many coast zone \u201clegal bucks,\u201d meaning a fork in the upper part of one antler. There are usually bigger bucks around, but on public land a legal buck is a genuine prize.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Places to Hunt.<\/h2>\n

Finding good areas to hunt these deer isn\u2019t easy. There is plenty of National Forest nearby and some patchwork BLM, but deer densities are not high. Thanks to water and agriculture concentrations are mostly on private land. We\u2019ve lived in the Central Coast for 25 years; like most local hunters I\u2019ve developed access, but it comes and goes so I\u2019ve tried it all, from public to private. We are also in the heart of California\u2019s feral hog hunting; most of our local outfitters also offer deer hunting and control the majority of the private land<\/a> tule elk tags.<\/p>\n

\"First<\/a>

Ryan Newkirk and Donna Boddington glassing for deer in Steinbeck Vineyards. Regrettably, many vintners fence out deer; the Steinbeck family manages their wildlife and accept some depredation. The tradeoff: They are producing really nice bucks!<\/p><\/div>\n

The last few decades have seen major growth in the Central Coast\u2019s wine industry. For the 2018 deer season, Donna and I had a new and unique opportunity, joining Mossberg\u2019s Linda Powell, Riton Optics\u2019 Brady Speth, and fellow writers Andrew McKean and Bryce Towsley to hunt deer literally among the grapevines at Steinbeck Vineyards. Many vineyards are game-fenced, and few vintners tolerate losses from wildlife. The Steinbeck family does, managing their deer along with their grapes.<\/p>\n

\"First<\/a>

Looking for deer in the vineyards is literally row-by-row\u2026and once found they can disappear in an instant.<\/p><\/div>\n

Looking for deer from row to row was different<\/em>, but the deer love it, and with abundant nutrition both body and antler size are considerably bigger than what we\u2019re used to with our local deer. Donna shot a real monster on opening morning, the rare four-by-four, still in velvet but fully formed underneath, one of the best bucks I\u2019ve seen on the coast zone. After six days we were hoping for just one more buck to fill us out. It doesn\u2019t get much better than that\u2026and these vineyard deer yield some of the best venison I\u2019ve tasted!<\/p>\n

\"First<\/a>

Donna Boddington took this buck on opening day 2018, August 11 in Steinbeck Vineyards. Still in velvet, this clean \u201cfour-by-four\u201d is a huge coast zone buck. Donna used a Mossberg Patriot in 6.5mm Creedmoor topped with a Riton scope.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"First<\/a>

Boddington and Ryan Newkirk skinning a buck taken from Steinbeck Vineyards. Apparently these deer appreciate good wine; this is an extremely large-bodied buck for coastal deer, and the layer of fat is unusual. Vineyard bucks are exceptionally tasty!<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On August 11 a friend of mine from back East texted me and I responded that I was deer hunting. \u201cBoddington,\u201d he came back, \u201cit\u2019s August\u2026around here we call that poaching!\u201d On the surface, it seems crazy. Here on the Central Coast, August temperatures soar above 100 degrees and wildfires are headline news. Even so, it\u2019s deer season! The \u201ccoast zone\u201d rifle deer season opens the second Saturday in August. This year opening day was the 11th; it could open as early as August 8\u2026but never later than the 14th. This is the earliest rifle deer season in the Lower 48!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":95772,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_specdata_upc":"","_specdata_placement":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1220,1239,13,1217,4320,1219],"tags":[1210,1208,332,1207,1209,1263],"featured":[],"hunt365":[4089],"class_list":{"0":"post-95763","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-huntgear","8":"category-big-game","9":"category-craig-boddington","10":"category-hunt365","11":"category-hunting-hunt365","12":"category-technique","13":"tag-august","14":"tag-blacktail","15":"tag-california","16":"tag-deer","17":"tag-hunt365","18":"tag-hunt365top1","19":"hunt365-hunting"},"yoast_head":"\nFirst Deer of the Year<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On August 11 a friend of mine from back East texted me and I responded that I was deer hunting. \u201cBoddington,\u201d he came back, \u201cit\u2019s August\u2026around here we call that poaching!\u201d On the surface, it seems crazy. Here on the Central Coast, August temperatures soar above 100 degrees and wildfires are headline news. Even so, it\u2019s deer season! The \u201ccoast zone\u201d rifle deer season opens the second Saturday in August. This year opening day was the 11th; it could open as early as August 8\u2026but never later than the 14th. This is the earliest rifle deer season in the Lower 48!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/first-deer-of-the-year\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"First Deer of the Year\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On August 11 a friend of mine from back East texted me and I responded that I was deer hunting. \u201cBoddington,\u201d he came back, \u201cit\u2019s August\u2026around here we call that poaching!\u201d On the surface, it seems crazy. Here on the Central Coast, August temperatures soar above 100 degrees and wildfires are headline news. Even so, it\u2019s deer season! The \u201ccoast zone\u201d rifle deer season opens the second Saturday in August. This year opening day was the 11th; it could open as early as August 8\u2026but never later than the 14th. This is the earliest rifle deer season in the Lower 48!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/first-deer-of-the-year\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gun Reviews and News | GunsAmerica.com\/Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gunsamerica\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-08-28T19:22:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-23T11:40:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/IMG_7887.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Craig Boddington\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@gunsamerica\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@gunsamerica\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Craig Boddington\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/first-deer-of-the-year\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/first-deer-of-the-year\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Craig Boddington\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a6c857232d9e946629929ee8c1498e1a\"},\"headline\":\"First Deer of the Year\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-08-28T19:22:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-23T11:40:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/first-deer-of-the-year\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1633,\"commentCount\":8,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/first-deer-of-the-year\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/08\\\/IMG_7887.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"August\",\"Blacktail\",\"California\",\"Deer\",\"Hunt365\",\"hunt365top1\"],\"articleSection\":[\"#HUNTGear\",\"Big Game\",\"Craig Boddington\",\"HUNT365\",\"Hunting\",\"Technique\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/first-deer-of-the-year\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/first-deer-of-the-year\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/first-deer-of-the-year\\\/\",\"name\":\"First Deer of the Year\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/first-deer-of-the-year\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/first-deer-of-the-year\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/08\\\/IMG_7887.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-08-28T19:22:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-23T11:40:29+00:00\",\"description\":\"On August 11 a friend of mine from back East texted me and I responded that I was deer hunting. \u201cBoddington,\u201d he came back, \u201cit\u2019s August\u2026around here we call that poaching!\u201d On the surface, it seems crazy. 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His work has been published in Australia, Canada, England, Germany, Japan, Russia, Scotland, and South Africa as well as the United States. He retired from the USMC Reserves in 2005 with the rank of colonel after service in the Gulf War in 1991 and the Persian Gulf in 2002-2003.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/author\\\/craig-boddington\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"First Deer of the Year","description":"On August 11 a friend of mine from back East texted me and I responded that I was deer hunting. \u201cBoddington,\u201d he came back, \u201cit\u2019s August\u2026around here we call that poaching!\u201d On the surface, it seems crazy. Here on the Central Coast, August temperatures soar above 100 degrees and wildfires are headline news. Even so, it\u2019s deer season! The \u201ccoast zone\u201d rifle deer season opens the second Saturday in August. This year opening day was the 11th; it could open as early as August 8\u2026but never later than the 14th. This is the earliest rifle deer season in the Lower 48!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/first-deer-of-the-year\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"First Deer of the Year","og_description":"On August 11 a friend of mine from back East texted me and I responded that I was deer hunting. \u201cBoddington,\u201d he came back, \u201cit\u2019s August\u2026around here we call that poaching!\u201d On the surface, it seems crazy. Here on the Central Coast, August temperatures soar above 100 degrees and wildfires are headline news. Even so, it\u2019s deer season! The \u201ccoast zone\u201d rifle deer season opens the second Saturday in August. This year opening day was the 11th; it could open as early as August 8\u2026but never later than the 14th. This is the earliest rifle deer season in the Lower 48!","og_url":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/first-deer-of-the-year\/","og_site_name":"Gun Reviews and News | GunsAmerica.com\/Digest","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gunsamerica","article_published_time":"2018-08-28T19:22:29+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-12-23T11:40:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/IMG_7887.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Craig Boddington","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@gunsamerica","twitter_site":"@gunsamerica","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Craig Boddington","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/first-deer-of-the-year\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/first-deer-of-the-year\/"},"author":{"name":"Craig Boddington","@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#\/schema\/person\/a6c857232d9e946629929ee8c1498e1a"},"headline":"First Deer of the Year","datePublished":"2018-08-28T19:22:29+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-23T11:40:29+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/first-deer-of-the-year\/"},"wordCount":1633,"commentCount":8,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/first-deer-of-the-year\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/IMG_7887.jpg","keywords":["August","Blacktail","California","Deer","Hunt365","hunt365top1"],"articleSection":["#HUNTGear","Big Game","Craig Boddington","HUNT365","Hunting","Technique"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/first-deer-of-the-year\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/first-deer-of-the-year\/","url":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/first-deer-of-the-year\/","name":"First Deer of the Year","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/first-deer-of-the-year\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/first-deer-of-the-year\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/IMG_7887.jpg","datePublished":"2018-08-28T19:22:29+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-23T11:40:29+00:00","description":"On August 11 a friend of mine from back East texted me and I responded that I was deer hunting. \u201cBoddington,\u201d he came back, \u201cit\u2019s August\u2026around here we call that poaching!\u201d On the surface, it seems crazy. Here on the Central Coast, August temperatures soar above 100 degrees and wildfires are headline news. Even so, it\u2019s deer season! The \u201ccoast zone\u201d rifle deer season opens the second Saturday in August. This year opening day was the 11th; it could open as early as August 8\u2026but never later than the 14th. This is the earliest rifle deer season in the Lower 48!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/first-deer-of-the-year\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/first-deer-of-the-year\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/first-deer-of-the-year\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/IMG_7887.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/IMG_7887.jpg","width":1200,"height":800,"caption":"Donna Boddington took this buck on opening day 2018, August 11 in Steinbeck Vineyards. Still in velvet, this clean \u201cfour-by-four\u201d is a huge coast zone buck. Donna used a Mossberg Patriot in 6.5mm Creedmoor topped with a Riton scope."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/first-deer-of-the-year\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"First Deer of the Year"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/#website","url":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/","name":"Gun Reviews and News | GunsAmerica.com\/Digest","description":"Gun Reviews, Industry News, and Product Reviews for Rifles, Pistols, Revolvers, Shotguns, Optics, and Ammunition. Looking to purchase a firearm online? 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His work has been published in Australia, Canada, England, Germany, Japan, Russia, Scotland, and South Africa as well as the United States. He retired from the USMC Reserves in 2005 with the rank of colonel after service in the Gulf War in 1991 and the Persian Gulf in 2002-2003.","url":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/author\/craig-boddington\/"}]}},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/IMG_7887-150x100.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95763"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":227226,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95763\/revisions\/227226"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95763"},{"taxonomy":"featured","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured?post=95763"},{"taxonomy":"hunt365","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hunt365?post=95763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}