George Block

Let’s face it, when entering a pumpkin-growing contest big is better. Much the same can be said about growing roses and sumo wrestlers.

I guess that everyone over the age of 50 tends to look back and people under 50 tend to look forward. Its just the way it works. When I was a young writer, all my stories were things I was doing or going to do. Someone asked me my favorite hunting story this week. After all, I have quite a f…

We all have heroes. Last week, I told you about me playing baseball. So, you know I do love baseball and I do have some heroes there.

Like most adults, I have often thought what it would be like to play baseball for a major league team.

Well, here we are, a week past Easter, and the opening of trout season the day before.

It has probably one of the largest memberships of any sportspersons club in Washington County and is one of the best-kept trout fishing spots for opening day. I should know for I have been a member there since 1960. I am usually found on the grounds at least once a week all year long.

Well, here we go again.

Here’s the latest information I have on the gun show at the Arden Fairgrounds: it will be held April 10 and 11.

Occasionally, I discover an article in the Observer-Reporter that attracts special attention. Last week, one such article jumped out at me. It was the article that stated commissioners Diane Irey Vaughan and Nick Sherman were involved in the passage of a bill that would make Washington Count…

This afternoon I was sitting in the kitchen browsing through my Observer-Reporter newspaper when my son-in-law, Mike, walked through. He was on his way to his part time job as caretaker at Camp Agape, the beautiful church camp in Hickory. That’s when he said something that brought joy to my …

Last week, I brought to attention the works of Bill Ruger, who with the help of his partner, Alexander Sturm, took the Ruger company to third in the top-3 gun companies of all time.

I guess you could say that the firearm company I am talking about would fall into the third-place spot among the shooting fraternity. It has consistently held that third place over many years. I am talking today about the Ruger line of guns.

It’s not unusual for the bull to fly when hunters and anglers get together. Anglers will be arguing the merit of their favorite bass or trout lure while hunters and target shooters will be arguing guns and cartridges

With the temporary closing of the Gun Show at Arden and now the closing of the annual sportsman show at the Washington Crown Center, things have been a little depressing around here lately. So that’s why I thought I’d write about something good that has been happening.

Every state in the United States has a special icon that can go so far as to become bigger than the city and sometimes the state itself.

This week has been a little boring what with being shut in the house because of Covid-19. It used to be on these cold snowy days that I could still go out and scout for deer or take walks in the fresh snow. But these days it seems I am trapped indoors. Time seems to go faster while I move sl…

Last week, my readers read excerpts from an old article of mine callws “Ronnie’s Dumplings” first published in 1976 in the Pennsylvania Game News. This week I’d like to continue the story telling of what makes hunting such a pleasure to me.

I have heard described as “meat hungry” persons whose whole pleasure supposedly comes from the kill. They’re supposed to be blood thirsty egotists who must prove their superiority over that which they seek. Is that what hunting is all about? I doubt it.

As I sit and watch the snow pile up on the porch, I cannot help but think about the hunting season that just ended. A lot of my friends are calling to tell me their great hunting stories.

This week was the last week of the regular deer season. Usually after deer season, I start to think about the gun show at Arden, which normally gets me through an otherwise very boring time of the year. Every year the gun show is a big draw in our area. The crowds are unbelievable. People fl…

I can’t help but marvel at the beauty of the earth. It’s that time of winter with its bright white snow and crisp air. It is hunting season so for us who hunt, we are outdoors. The opportunity to spend time in nature is always good.

Often, a person gets what he or she deserves. This is true in everyday life and carries over to hunting and fishing.

I think it would be safe to say that last year’s archery, black powder season didn’t hurt the bear all that much. While not official, I have heard there were more than 1,800 bear downed this year.

Last week, I wrote about the importance of the performance of a bullet and subsequently the importance of an accurate bullet. I also said that the value of bullet performance goes a bit farther than accuracy alone. It is at this time of year, with the approach of the traditional deer season,…

It was one of those afternoons and the rifle range at the club was a busy place. I was thinking about that day because it was this time of year and everyone was sighting in before the big day. Of course, the big day was the opening day of deer season, or should I say the opening day of the o…

George Block writes a weekly outdoors column for the Observer-Reporter.

I know Eileen has been gone for quite a while and yet I miss her presence more than usual at this time of year. Perhaps it is the change in temperature or the brightly colored leaves, but it is just as deeply felt as I prepare for the upcoming deer season. Both the yellow and reds of the tre…

Always remember when shooting a rifle at a range, you are dealing with 2 lines. One is the line of sight and the other is the line of the bullet’s trajectory. The line of sight always starts out above the line of the bore, unless you are shooting the rifle upside down.

A few weeks back, a letter to the editor caught my eye, and while rereading it this week, I thought it was one of the best outdoor-oriented letters to come before me.

So far, I haven’t heard of anyone downing a big buck, but the cooler weather sure has increased deer movement. I have noticed quite an uptick in the number of deer particularly the number of fawns. It is normal for deer to have twins but there are a lot of little late fawns this year. My gue…

I don’t know if you have noticed but there is a major lack of firearms in local stores. Of more importance, there is also a shortage of ammunition. It is very difficult to bag a record buck without both. Of course, one can always enter the archery season with ammo that can be used more than …

It has been some time since I fished Walnut or Elk Creek with a fair amount of success. As early as September, you would find us motoring north to the shores of Lake Erie. With good reason, we fished the feeder streams early as an attempt to catch salmon or sometimes a steelhead trout.

A successful hunt begins with anticipation and ends with a sense of relaxation and a slow return to the real world.

I must confess, for most of my life I have thought how nice it would be to sit at the mouth of a cave on top of some remote mountain and give advice to others.

I enjoy driving country roads. Not only was I watching for unusual landscapes but watching for uncommonly seen wildlife. For instance, seeing an animal that is rarely spotted in one area might be common somewhere else. While common in the mountains of Pennsylvania, a bear encounter is unusua…

Summer is zooming by and very soon will be nothing more than a plastic bag full of memories.

We humans look at numbers to tell us what is desirable and/or what represents great battles. With thousands taking part, there was the great tank battle at Kiev. When one hears the number 300, he or she cannot help but be reminded of the fantastic delaying battle at Thermopylae as well as th…

A couple of evenings ago, I stopped in at the Dormont-Mt. Lebanon Sportsmen Club, hoping a close friend would still be there shooting.

Government that governs least governs best. So said one of the founding fathers. The fewer laws on the books, the better for the people of the country. With that being said, I believe most people would agree with that precept. It is usually when the discussion is political but, in a way, doe…

Last week in this column, I wrote about the week during the deer rut that was given to the archers, adding onto the longest hunting season in the state. I, like many others, are asking why we are adding this week to what is already a long season? I mentioned a few statistics and tried to rea…

I guess it depends on your interest in deer hunting and if hunting is your hobby or your passion. This story is of a more serious nature. Not my usual storytelling and gun talk.

I would swear that this same gentleman standing at the register was in the store yesterday. After talking guns, a bit, I asked him if he had been standing in the same spot yesterday and he replied “Yep, and I hope I’m not standing in this same spot tomorrow.”

I don’t believe it, but we are almost into July. I think this year’s July 4th celebration will be quieter than usual but still there will be a bit of fireworks as we celebrate the birth of this nation.

Kismet – sometimes things must happen. This is true in life, and true in hunting and fishing. A tail-hooked fish is an example of fate lending the angler a helping hand. A hitch in an otherwise great performing reel is an example of fate favoring the fish. Perhaps a tough drag should have su…

I cannot cut grass now. I am preparing lunch, and on top of that its 95 degrees in the shade.

It was 1906 when America’s greatest cartridge was introduced and adopted by the military. Soon it would be accepted by the average hunter, although the price of a rifle so chambered kept sales low. Gun owners as a whole didn’t trust a cartridge that didn’t have a close to half-inch hole down…