Tweaker

Over dinner with friends recently, we were talking about some gear or other and one of my friends says, "Well, you're a tweaker, like me, so I'd totally expect that...". I recognized that one word sums up a lot of my approach. No matter whether it's a rifle, boat trailer, or a ski boot, seldom is anything from the factory "just right". And one of the things I enjoy is making my gear better, or better adapted to my needs and preferences. A few examples:

Mountain Bike
Could have just hit the local shop and picked up a nice 86-speed with dual suspension. But no, I had to start with a stock SE 29er and build the ultimate hardtail single-speed. Disc brakes, indestructible Profile cranks, custom-built wheels. The result is bomb-proof and a blast to ride.

CZ 452 Rifle
CZ builds a nice little .22LR rifle. Well crafted, exceptionally accurate, nice trigger. Could I leave mine alone? Oh, no. It started with a Montana sling strap and some Uncle Mike's swivel mounts (both super-nice, btw). And then a trigger job to lower to a 2# pull and a more even, consistent pull. Then a new more rigid firing pin and spring. Topped it off with a Bushnell scope and Warne mounting rings. Most recently found a beautiful machined trigger guard from PID Products to get rid of the roughly finished crappy looking stock one. A beautiful rimfire that's a wonderful to shoot - and really not much money in it. Of course, my Ruger 10/22 had to have a trigger job and a few other mods, too.

Steelhead Swinging Rigs
No, just owning a single switch rod with floating line on one spool and spey line on another wouldn't do. First it was a full-size Scott ARC-1287-3 rod. Then an Abel Spey reel. Then another switch rod, the excellent Scott L2H, so one rod could be rigged for indy fishing and the other for swinging. And, naturally, I decided to switch from full lines to shooting heads and running line, for more flexibility. But, I'd say I now have every possible Great Lakes steelhead scenario covered.

Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker
Didn't think the lowly smoker could get upgraded? Wrong! After haunting a few online groups, I upgraded the stock door to a Cajun Bandit stainless steel one. Looks great, seals better. And I found that the stock water pan made it nearly impossible to manage the fire. So that gets replaced with a Brinkman charcoal pan that's lower and has a flat bottom. Presto! Easy access during long smoking sessions to add charcoal, redistribute, etc. I'm sure more is coming on this one.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. My ability to leave well enough alone seems to be non-existent. But I think these sorts of mods are half the fun.

-Sean-