Now that I’m the father of what a popular local bumper sticker calls a “Native Montanan,” I’m under even more pressure to learn some basic Montana skills, if only so that I don’t embarrass the poor guy in front of his friends later on. I’m doing all right so far. Two years into my Montana residency, I’ve already achieved journeyman status at standing next to my grill with a can of Pabst in my hand, floating down the Blackfoot on an inner tube, and reacting to every new City Council resolution by exclaiming “this is Big Brother government at its worst!” But those skills will only carry me so far. To approach true Montananness, what I really need to do is get better at killing things in the woods. My first efforts at hunting, last fall, were a bit of a bust, not least because I don’t own a rifle/Sutton Stokes, New West. More here. 

Question: Earlier in today's main thread, you read how Thom George bought his first gun when he moved from New York to Idaho. What have you done to fit into the outdoor culture of the Inland Northwest?