Back from the M.O.N.

Middle of Nowhere.  Boy, was that a great trip.  We ate, fished, hiked, shot, tore around on four-wheelers and enjoyed some great beer in the evening.   I barely have time to post this, but I will say it was an incredible time.  I have tons of pictures and I'll have to sort through them to find some good ones for you.

For now, head over to That Guy's place and vote for our patches.  That's right, I'm completely leeching off of his already written post.  I'm that worn out (or lazy) right now. 

TOTUS hi-jacked!

I'm sorry, I find this story just full of joke-filled humor.

When you see President Obama speak, there is a pretty typical setup including the presidential seal on a podium, the see-thru Teleprompter and a portable sound system.

Thieves saw the truck carrying that equipment and couldn't resist the target.

So, someone has absconded with TOTUS (Teleprompter of the United States).  I'm not quite sure what that means for POTUS.  Maybe it will give us a reprieve in listening to the drivel since we all know that TOTUS is the puppetmaster.  Or, maybe without a prompter a real agenda will slip out. Or the truth.  Whichever.

Excuses

It's what I have instead of posts, lately.  It isn't for lack of ideas.  I have some interesting ones.  It's just a time thing.  Here is one excuse for lack of posting...

Time Vampire

Awesome, so far and after this one there is another waiting in the wings.

Oh, look.  More time suck

And in the middle of all of that, in a couple of days is the big blow-out guys' weekend.  Lots of great food, having fun and shooting.  More blog content to not have time to post.  Awesome.

Ammo Change

This is a short one.  I was really happy with the Hornady Critical Defense in the .380 pocket rocket, but I thought I would try something different.  Just to, you know, try something different.  Well, I was very impressed with the Speer Gold Dot that I got my hands on.  It fed wonderfully and the damage it did to the jugs made me very happy.  I wouldn't be concerned at all carrying this stuff for defense.  I quickly changed out the mags and filled them up with this stuff. 

With .223 for comparison

Overall, I'd say I would be happy with either.   I'm very happy with the development of modern ammunition and bullet technology allowing us to carry even more concealable firearms.  Go Team!  :)

Welcome the new

New follower, that is.  Thanks to LB from Bullets and Biscuits (two of my favorite things) for hitting follow.  I hope it's as entertaining for you as it is for me.

Happy Halloween - Now bring the funny

This just made me laugh and laugh.  It's a haunted house that has a camera set up for the big shot like they do on roller coasters.  I'm guessing by the man-cuddling going on that it was pitch dark and they were navigating by tactile response.  I had tears rolling from the laughter.



I call this one "Never leave a (wo)man behind, because you can't"



Game cameras, the full monty and such...

Parental guidance suggested...

It's not all that bad, just a funny picture from a game camera that I think one of the guys on my lease (That Guy) has taken it as a personal slight from said young buck.  We're also talking big, nasty pigs here so if you can't take the sight of a bunch of swine eating up a bunch of free food, go no further.  (No, I'm not talking about another "Occupy: Your City Name Here").  Porkers first:

OCCUPY 45er's lease

Note: the laying around living off of things that aren't intended for you.  The similarities are striking.

Anyway, we have plans for these guys.  Serious plans.  The logisticis simply amount to getting a few people in the blind and doing some pig taking out.  It shouldn't be a problem, you saw the pictures of the blind, right?  :)  We can get three people in there very comfortably.  The plan is that I'm going to use my AR and That Guy is going to bring his Saiga.  We have a third person and I'm working out what we may want in his hands.  It isn't going to be pretty.  Then, after that we may put out traps to catch what is left.  These things are just starting to move into our area and I'd like to get a jump on them before they get out of control.  Wild pigs can be as irritating as a taint-pimple.

If it's not too late, which I fear it is

So, yeah, on to the questionable content of the post.  Game cameras are fun things.  You get great shots of nutty things (future pun not really intended, but I'll take it), like acrobatic raccoons.

I've named him Coondini

And the deer are thinking, "Dinner and a show!"  From the mischief he is inflicting, I think That Guy feels he has a date with 55 grains.

You get nice shots of the young bucks and get to have a jump start on your game management.

Not a bad, young buck

Then, there are just the things you get on camera that catch you completely off guard.  Last warning, this is the full monty (deer) edition. 

So, you can see it in his face here:

No one's watching

So, imagine flipping through your pictures, looking at antlers, judging age and deciding how you're going to annihilate pigs when this pops on your screen:

Come on, get a ROOM!



 Wait, what?

The funny thing is that there were three great shots preceding this, and I was too busy looking at antlers to notice.

Mrs. 45er:  "What the, is that...?"

Me: "What?  He's pretty young, still small but..."

Mrs. 45er:  "No, what he's doing.."

Me: "Huh? Oh, Bwahahahaha"

Yes, it was juvenile, but it caught me so off-guard that it kicked over the giggle box in my inner 12 year-old.  So, now I'm sharing this (most likely inappropriate content) with you.

EDIT: I just decided not to be totally classless and get all censorship-happy.

Building the Taj MaBlind

I have had a lease for a few years with a couple of friends of mine.  The first year we just hunted in chairs in the open which really is enjoyable, but after a while it's nice to at least have a place to take cover (and sleep).  A couple of years ago one of the guys was able to get his hands on some huge shipping containers.  That first year two of us put ours together and they are quite spectacular.  His has been stored in the barn unfinished due to time and travel constraints and we figured it was finally time to get it finished out and ready to hunt in.  If you can find a place that has these, they are really easy to re-model with some spare 2x4 and other lumber and maybe that scrap shelf board and brackets you pulled out of the old closet.  We spent very little on these, just screws, time and some "oops" paint from Wal-Mart to protect it from the elements. 

In the beginning...

We had actually been working on this one previously and had finished the roof.  We removed the existing top and framed it with 2x4.  We put it back on with a slight elevation in the front to run rainwater off the back of the blind.  We had spare tar paper and tin for the roof.

We had each owner sit in their blind to get a good idea for window height.  My theory is a little low is ok since you can put another sandbag under the rifle, but you can't push a shelf down if it is too high.

Time for shelves.  This one had less shelving that our previous ones and the hunter using it it wanted a window cut on the end for how the blind would be placed.

After the paint job.  Five gallons of "oops" paint at Wal-Mart in a reasonable color isn't that expensive and it needed about 3 gallons. 

The plan is to get some spray cans of brown and green and spray it just to break up the pattern.  It really isn't all that necessary since deer don't care, so it's mostly for the hunters.  His plan is to put plexi-glass windows in while he is sitting and hunting.  Not a bad way to pass the time, I guess.  It was raining the day we finished this one (thank goodness) so we built it in the barn.  We weren't able to move it out because of the mud, but we did run out and pull some pictures from the game cameras.  I'll have to post those later.  Some were hilarious and one in particular may not be suitable for a family post, so I'll have to post a warning.  Stay tuned...



NOT smart

Accidental shooting waiting to happen, get yours now!

I can't even remember what I was searching for when I found this.  Lately, I've been wondering if companies even run things by focus groups anymore.  Like the Pomegranate Green Tea I got yesterday.  My first thought (after spitting and gagging) was: "Has anyone ever tasted this before?"  I mean you think you'd have a few people try it first.  Then there is the above little gadget.  Maybe one person in the group like me that would unapologetically say "You're a moron"?  No one?  Anyone?