Barrel Smoke

Speaking of pepper, here's another dose

2012-02-24T18:07:00.001-06:00

I'd like to try and imagine how this story went.

"Oh, hey. Yeah, you dropped this gun when you tried to rob us and we pepper-sprayed you and pounded you the first time. You want to buy it back? Ok, yeah, BAM, here's some more face-burn."

Have some pepper with your robbery

2012-02-23T22:19:00.000-06:00

I LOVE this video.

A pharmacist in Spokane, Washington got a little sick and tired of being robbed. Twice. By the same person. So, they got themselves a little can, well a BIG can of bear spray. The guy came back. The third time was not a charm. His buddies ended up calling 911 after he ran out of the store with Wonder Woman on his heels ready to inflict more pain on him.

Kudos for being prepared to fight back. However, the report said they "got serious" and put in eight cameras. Great. Now they will have video of whatever the bad guy decides to do to you before you can respond. Also, less lethal is a good tool, but it doesn't work every time and if you're real serious about your safety you will have a lethal option available.

All in all a great story with a good ending. It's one I can sit and laugh about watching some piece of junk get some return on investment.

More winning!! "Modern Family" at the gun range

2012-02-22T21:44:00.002-06:00

So, not long ago on "Big Bang Theory" there was a scene at a gun range. There was not really any of that "guns are bad" talk, although Leonard did graze his pinky toe being an idiot.

Tonight, I was watching "Modern Family" and a couple of the characters (Claire and Gloria) decided to go to the shooting range. The lead-up was very interesting. One of the characters was trying to avoid another in what seemed like a little embarrassment. It ends up, the avoidance was because she didn't want her little gun-range secret getting out. They both ended up going in and appearing to have a great time.

After firing a handgun a few times,
Claire: "Just such a great release, please don't judge me."

Gloria: "Why would I, it just makes me like you more."

This makes me smile.

International Anniversary

2012-02-20T21:12:00.001-06:00

This week, Mrs. 45er and I are celebrating 8 years of wedded bliss. About 2 weeks ago, I floated the idea of a "doubles massage" to which she more than immediately agreed. If I hadn't made up my mind, I did at the end of that conversation.

We did a French breakfast, then went for our massage. When we got to the room, thankfully I had thought ahead. I'll just say here's another great situation for pocket carry.

It was a Swedish massage and I will say it was rather fantastic. I have this freaky ability to relax just about anywhere. I've actually fallen asleep in a dentist's chair. No surprise, I took a snooze during the massage. In total disclosure, my relaxation technique was visualizing a draw and front sight focus during rapid fire. I'm a freak.

We got the "hot rock" therapy thrown in for free. Yes, it was nice, but when they use the adjective "hot", it's not just a sales gimmick. Those suckers were pulled from the fires of Mordor and stuck directly on my back. It was something like: mmmm, warm and wait, holy-heck-son-of-a-that's-hot. It took some getting used to.

After that, an Italian lunch. Then shopping followed by Thai for dinner. I've been wanting to sleep since the massage this morning. Now I will get my wish.

Happy Anniversary, Mrs. 45er!

Hunting Stories: How do you stop a charging boar?

2012-02-19T22:46:00.002-06:00

Take away his credit card?

Funny, but it doesn't work when 250 pounds of angry, hairy, razor-sharp anger is bearing down on you.

Many years ago in my previous life, I was a professional hunting guide on a very large ranch with a large number of exotic animals. On this particular hunt, the client and I were stalking a trophy wild boar.

Stalking is not the best way to hunt for the best or biggest boar when you're a guide. Hunting from a blind is really the way to go. It allows the guide to inspect the pigs and make sure you were getting A. a boar and B. one with nice tusks. Tusks, after all are a big part of the package. Judging pigs is one of the more difficult things you have to do as a guide. What is visible is only a few inches and the rest of the tusk is hidden in the jaw. You have to hope that you get a look at both tusks from a fair distance in failing light and pray that one isn't chipped or broken.

In the below picture; note the upper (smaller) and lower boar tusks. You can see where they match up perfectly. This is where they constantly rub together, keeping the lower tusk nice and sharp. These are about 7 inches long, a little less than 3 of those pointed inches will be protruding from the gums.

Pointy.

Back to the hunt. I was always flexible as a hunting guide. The customer isn't always right, but the customer should be happy. Keeping a customer happy means the salesperson (me) must explain the downsides and risks of certain decisions. After getting that out of the way, the hunt is on. I will say that some of my most memorable hunts were ones where we broke from the norm and did something different. This hunt was definitely memorable, but not in a great way.

We were stalking through an area that was cut through the "white brush." The ranch maintained the hunting areas by cutting down the thick brush to help with visibility and the new growth from the cut areas provided great forage for the animals. The "white-brush" in that part of Texas was unbelievably thick and thorny. These cuts were usually done in long, straight sections. In Texas, we call a long, straight clear section a "sendero." Senderos can be man-made or natural, but you know them when you see them and they offer great places to see game.

Something like this

In this particular hunting area we only had pigs and Aoudad. Neither of these animals are all that tall and the trails and paths they leave through thick brush are more like tunnels. During the day, the pigs like to lay in the thick brush and keep cool. It usually takes something to push them out and when you do they are running, of course. We walked along one of the cuts at the edge of the brush and could hear pigs ahead and to the right of us snorting and moving away. We had a good view for a fair distance down the sendero, so we decided to move slowly down toward the pigs and hope they started crossing in front of us. In a few minutes, they started doing just that. At first, it was a few small ones. I told the hunter to wait a bit, the larger boars usually followed at the very back of the pack - called a sounder (if they were even with the sounder). Sure enough, a big one came trotting out. I had about 30 yards while the pig trotted to determine it was a boar, decide if it was a good one and tell the hunter it was a "go." Then he had to make the shot. It all went quick and I could tell by the sound that the shot was a hit.

The downside is that the hit was too far back and low which meant a serious track. The trail led right into the brush and I got down on my hands and knees to crawl (yes, crawl) after this wounded pig. I sent the hunter around the side of the brush to the next clear cut. I told him to be prepared if I pushed this one out and if it was the wounded one, he should take it. I had my rifle (Remington 700 in 7mm STW with a very LOUD muzzle brake) laid across my arms in the crooks of my elbows. As I crawled along I heard something to my right. I rolled and saw a large boar approaching quickly, apparently spooked by the hunter. Luckily, he saw me and stopped, then turned and trotted off. So much fun already.

The STW

When I saw the wounded pig, it was in a strange position. It was quartered toward me with the right shoulder facing my direction, but laying behind a cluster of thick brush. I could see the head and snout (BIG sharp-looking tusks) and the front of the right shoulder. I brought the rifle up, resting on my elbows and looked through the scope. Flipping the safety off, I pressed the trigger and the rifle roared in the close brush. I usually wore hearing protection, but had not brought any on the stalk. It was in the days before the great electronic plugs that I wear now and we usually kept them in the jeep or blind, not with us on stalks. The first shot started the bells ringing. It also got the boar up on its feet. Yay for me. I had nowhere to run and nothing to climb. Honestly, in this thick stuff I couldn't even stand. It was best to lay here and keep shooting. The pig began charging me. As it turned it faced me directly. I had cycled the bolt and put another round directly in the center of its chest. It didn't slow down. I cycled the bolt again and the crosshairs rested on the left shoulder as the boar turned a slight corner. The rifle barked a third time and the boar fell and rolled toward me coming to rest about 15 yards away. Dust was everywhere and I had pieces of dirt and bits of brush all over me that had been blown up by the muzzle brake. My ears were not ringing - they were playing a stunning rendition of "Ride of the Valkyries."

This rifle holds two rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber without forcing things. That means I was empty. For this very reason, I keep an elastic ammunition holder on the stock. With the bolt open, I pulled one out, tossed it in the breech and closed the bolt just to be safe. I watched the pig for many tense minutes before making a move. When I was sure that I wasn't going to have a repeat of any of the previous excitement, I backed out. We retrieved the big guy from the other side after I had a chance to meet up with the client and relax a bit.

I have had many an exciting pig hunt, but this one by far takes the cake. At the time, Mrs. 45er and I were recently dating and I spoke with her on the phone almost every night. Needless to say, she was not pleased when I told her this story. I was excited and still running on adrenalin, I'm sure. I specifically remember her being less than thrilled. I think I was still invincible at that age.

Hunting Stories

2012-02-19T17:31:00.000-06:00

So, here is a little heads-up. I've been doing a little family research and looking at old pictures. I absolutely love looking back and seeing snapshots in time. Things that may have seemed inconsequential at the time can mean everything to your kids and grandkids while they are trying to piece together the story of your life. Maybe this blog can serve as something of a history for later. I will do all of the sitting and story-telling I can with the kids, but either through loss of memory (me) or lack of interest at a certain age (the kids), I'm sure a lot of it will be lost. So, on occasion, I'm going to write a story about what I thought was an interesting time. I have quite a few pictures and will do my best to dig them out and pair them with some of the stories I hope these yarns are as interesting as I remember them to have been.

I'm finding that as I construct my first story, it is quite a long one. I am trying to make it as interesting as possible. I'm sure my followers will be doing some skimming on some of these. :)

North Coast Brewing: Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

2012-02-18T11:51:00.000-06:00

This was a fantastic stout. North Coast Brewing (California) does some really good stuff and this one was incredibly good. The aroma is caramel and the pour is very dark and opaque.

Terrible picture, I know

The head is not too thick and is light brown. The flavor is caramel with a touch of coffee and a little bitter. It's not too strong and goes well with food. Wow, is it good. I got this one in a 4 pack of singles (12 oz bottles). At 9% ABV, I do recommend eating a little something with it. 0.o

If you are a stout drinker this is a good, smooth one for you. If not, this is a very nice one to start. :)

F___ you, now it's my turn...

2012-02-18T11:25:00.001-06:00

via Robb Allen via Gun Free Zone.

A 90 year old man is shot in the head by a residential burglar.

His response: "F__ you, now it's my turn," followed quickly by 5 rounds of .38, 3 of which hit the bad guy.

I had to re-link this because that old man is awesome. I hope he gets better quick and I couldn't care less about the piece of trash that shot him.

Thanks and Welcome

2012-02-17T22:32:00.005-06:00

I feel like I'm going crazy lately.

I've been so remiss in thanking new followers that I forgot which was the last I mentioned. I feel terrible about that. After some confusion on my part with Blogger not helping me at all, I would like to thank and welcome hh for deciding to try and follow my random ranting. hh has a blog called theantisoma and it is pretty cool. Also, thanks very much to Jatico for following. It took me a bit, but I found Jatico's blog, pioneeringaz and it is pretty cool and eye-opening. That will be an interesting read to follow.

Canada's Long Gun Registry, finally circling the drain

2012-02-16T15:25:00.001-06:00

I cannot tell you how ridiculous this whole thing was and has been. If you want to see a perfect example of a government turning law-abiding citizens into criminals, it was (and still is) North of the border. I had personal interactions with people that didn't want to pay to register something that was really just a family heirloom. Now you're a potential criminal. It was sad and ridiculous. Now, some of that idea seems to be flushing along with the millions they sank into the project. If you ever wonder what it would be like if Brady and NGVAC get their way, look at what gun-owners have to go through in Canada.

Mass shootings at Starbucks across the country

2012-02-16T09:22:00.001-06:00

Yeah, I didn't see that either. I Googled "Starbucks shooting on Valentine's Day" and do you know what I saw?

A whole lot of nothing. Crickets.

There were probably more firearms carried into Starbucks yesterday on a single day than there have been in a long time, if ever. I'm drawing that conclusion from seeing how many people not only said they were going to legally carry but wrote posts and took pictures afterwards. Huh, imagine that. We were right again. No blood in the streets. The fearmongers were wrong. Being right on this topic is getting boring.

Also, just an aside; what has happened to journalism? I thought a journalist was supposed to obtain views from both sides of a position. I saw a lot of news stories with quotes from only one side which couldn't even get a viable Facebook following for their little event. I'd be embarrassed if I was a journalist.

Two Ingredient Chocolate Mousse

2012-02-14T21:47:00.002-06:00

I discovered this recipe today and was very surprised. If you want a quick and easy, VERY chocolatey dessert. Here is your answer.

Making this is a matter of technique instead of a ton of ingredients and time. So, here it goes:

3/4 cup of water
8 oz Bittersweet chocolate
whipped cream for topping
ice and water for ice bath

You will also need:
Large bowl and smaller bowl that will fit inside with a little space (for making an ice bath)
whisk or electric beater with whisk attachment
spatula and/or spoon

Yeah, I know. That's it.

Put ice and water into large bowl and fill about 1/2 to 3/4 with water.

Pour the 3/4 cup of water into a saucepan and heat over medium heat until hot but not boiling. Break up chocolate into water and whisk until you have a smooth sauce.

Pour sauce into smaller bowl and set it into the ice bath. Immediately start to beat the chocolate with the electric beater (recommended) or whisk. As the chocolate cools it will incorporate air into the chocolate and begin to thicken and stiffen. Immediately remove from bowl so it does not begin to harden.

Spoon into ramekins and top with whipped cream and enjoy!

P.S. if the process isn't working, you can always put it back in the saucepan and start over, thicken it or thin it or just to smooth it out if it starts to get lumpy. The leftovers can be put in the refrigerator and heated up later to do it again. I'm sure it will make a great sauce as well.

Have Coffee, Will Travel

2012-02-14T08:33:00.000-06:00

So, I went to Starbucks for the first time in a loooong time today. I didn't go to Starbucks because they are pro- anything because they aren't. I just respect a business that says, "we're going to do what is legal, period" and not succumb to loud minority pressure. There are other groups attacking them from other sides today for their stance on other issues. I'm not so concerned about that. I lean pretty Libertarian when it comes to letting people cut their own path in life and live with the consequences or lack thereof. So, just on my one little pet issue I'm going to support them. I don't have to support everything else they do or say. If you think that is possible, I have a group of Republican Presidential candidates that would like to have a word with you.

Salu

2012-02-13T19:35:00.000-06:00

I have fallen behind on keeping up with blogs this weekend. We had a little get-together to celebrate a "life event" for an individual in our group of friends. It was a great time with friends and I will have to post on it soon.

We were protected by the hounds of hell.

Waiting for a table scrap of your soul

Actually, a few of the sweetest dogs helped to keep us warm on a night only a crazy group of guys would spend outside.

Drink'in The Sunbelt - Mikkeller and Jester King Collaboration

2012-02-10T22:07:00.000-06:00

Sorry, I started without you

Yes, it's spelled "Drink'in", not Drinkin'. I'm not sure why. This is one of those collaborative beers and I think they knocked it out of the park. Mikkeller is one of my favorite brewers out there right now. I've had a whole host of their beers and they've all been really good. This one is a "hoppy, wheat beer" per the label and that is exactly how it tastes. The aroma is hoppy and citrusy. The flavor is hoppy up front with a bit of bitter and a touch of citrus. It has a nice amber/orange color that is only slightly cloudy.

A word of warning on the pour. This is a bottle conditioned beer and that is where it gains its carbonation. It has a tall head and a huge amount of lacing, which you can see in the above picture. Here's the warning: this beer has a good amount of sediment settled in the bottle. Don't stir it up too much handling it and don't pour it all out at the end or you will end up with sediment in your glass. It's probably best stored standing up, not on the side.

They bill it as a beer that will do well in the Summer heat in Texas. I couldn't wait. Ok, I'll be honest. Not only could I not wait for the Summer, I bought this for a get together tomorrow night and couldn't wait until then either. I now have to go get another bottle. Jester King is a brewer from around Austin and Mikkeller is a "nomadic" brewer from Belgium.

and a really cool bottle

There is quite the story written on the label of the bottle and it will make an interesting read while you're sipping at a nice glass. :)

Mother scares away burglars with a .22

2012-02-09T15:57:00.001-06:00

There is so much going on in this story to talk about. Where you live doesn't make you immune to crime. It may decrease the likelihood, but it can still happen. What you can be is prepared with some kind of plan. If you don't have a plan, you run the risk of scrambling around trying to decide if you should use a BB gun to run off intruders or go search for that .22 rifle. Luckily, this woman had the time to do just that. It's pretty obvious the guys didn't know there were still people in the home. Otherwise, it could have turned out differently.

The mother locks her 10-year-old son in a closet and goes to confront the burglars.

"I started calling 911. I called five times. They kept hanging up on me," the 10-year-old said.

This. This is why you need a plan. The police took 25 minutes to arrive.

Meanwhile, mom has found a .22 rifle and moves to confront the people that have broken into her home.

"So I put the gun up and I'm going to shoot him. His back is to me and I realize I can't shoot a man in the back," she said.

She was obviously much more considerate of him than he was of her. A second burglar appeared out of the game room yelling she had a gun. The gun went off.

Sigh. If you feel you are threatened, putting on your white cowboy hat and acting like this is a black-and-white Roy Rogers movie could get you in serious trouble. Also, that part about her being "more considerate" - I didn't write that. That's all the reporter, which I thought was pretty awesome. Also, guns don't go "off".

Then the report trails off into a bunch of garble about how nice the neighborhood is and they have horses and stuff. Like that is a talisman against crime in some way. Well, maybe the "horses" are actually gun-free zone unicorns and they keep away crime. Somehow I doubt that.

To be positive, she did the right thing with the situation she was in. You go to war with what you have. However, a simple game plan could have left a lot less to chance and stacked the deck in the homeowner's favor. Having a firearm ready in the same place all of the time is a great idea. I have a couple of firearms that live in one place. I don't have to remember if I carried it that day and forgot to put it back if bad guys come calling. Yes, I do take them to the range for a workout, but they get cleaned (most times), loaded and put right back. The last thing I want my wife or me doing is scrambling around to try and find the right tool. Maybe it's just me, but I usually carry all of the time in the house too.

I try not to be overly critical of people that go through an event like this. I don't want to come across as negative or saying the homeowner was at fault. She did well for not having mentally prepared for such a bad situation. If this were my mother, I'd be proud that she did what she needed to do and showed great courage. My mind always works at angles such as: "how can I learn from this"/"what can this teach people?" I just would like people to realize that there is nothing wrong with preparedness. If you aren't lucky enough to have a few minutes to get ready, you could end up in a bad place.

Blogward!

2012-02-08T21:29:00.000-06:00

So, this thing is going around to award and highlight some good blogs. I received a few points of recognition from That Guy at Rock in a Sea of Chaos, Keads at Another Day....Another....., and Stephen at Standing Outside Looking In. Here's the thing about that. These are ALL great blogs and great people. Therefore, I'm truly humbled that they would pick me out of all of the blogs out there. These are three blogs that I do my best to follow on every single post. They would also have been some of my first choices to pass on the blog award. I think instead of passing awards back and forth, I should try to pay forward in the spirit of the meme and recognize some other blogs. Again, these three are in my top reads and if I had been in on this early, they would be on my list, so please if you haven't checked them out, do so. It's well worth your time and there is no question you will learn something.

So, I guess I should get on with it. So, I'm not much of a rules guy (besides the big 4), but here are the rules for the deal.

1. Copy and paste award on your blog
2. Link back to the blogger who gave you the award
3. Pick your five favorite blogs with less than 200 followers and leave a comment on their blog to let them know they have received an award
4. Hope that the five blogs chosen will keep spreading the love and pass it on to five more blogs.

This was so hard for me. If I follow a blog, it's because I like it or it provides me great information. To narrow down this list to five is like picking your favorite child. I will say that the three listed above would be in my list, except they awarded me, so I guess I can't pass back. I will just go with some of the blogs that recognized me when I was just starting and made me feel like it was worth it. FYI, Brigid would be in this list, but then I'd be "breaking the rules".

In no particular order:

North - Guns and general stuff about life. Everything from food to self defense options to life's philosophies. North was one of my first followers and gave me some strange feeling of accomplishment for that. :) Maybe I'm needy.

Old NFO - Wanderings, guns and keeping people grounded. He has offered good advice and I've tried to take it.

kymber - Sweetness, caring and prepping. Oh, and some food at her other blog. She's just too sweet and genuine and always has input even when I think I'm posting rambling nonsense.

These next two may break the rules, but I can't really tell so I'm going to act like I don't know.

Jennifer - Guns, life and self esteem. I know, that sounds weird, but I've seen Jennifer give emotional support to many people in her comments. She's strong and was also one of the first places I found.

Weer'd Beard - Guns, snark and goofiness. Another one of the first places I found and from what I've seen a great person that supports new bloggers, including A girl and her gun who I really really wanted to add as well. And so I just did.

Also, just for the heck of it, Duke. I need to stop. I'll just end up listing everyone.

I know, look at me the rule-breaker. Such a bad boy. :)

Now, most of you have already received awards and I think your existing response should already count, otherwise we'll be in a self-perpetuating cycle forever in blogdom. Everyone, know I love your stuff and I just didn't know what else to do besides copy my blogroll into the post. I really considered it, trust me.

Father saves 6 year-old son from mountain lion attack...

2012-02-08T15:47:00.001-06:00

...with a knife. Good on dad. I know a gun may have been better, but he reacted with what he had. Then again, maybe a gun wouldn't have been better in that situation.

"It had a hold of his face. The cat was clamped on his face," Jason Hobbs, Rivers' father, told KOSA-TV. "[I] reached down and got my knife out and stabbed the cat in the chest and let it go at that point."

That's pretty close quarters under extreme conditions. Then after the fact you're concerned about your young son, not the lion that is running off. I shudder to think about that type of situation, but kudos to dad for being all over it and having a means of defense. We carry protection for more than two-legged predators. Go daddy bears.

The kid looks swollen and sore, poor thing. I'm praying he'll be just fine.

Touching it in public

2012-02-06T09:00:00.001-06:00

I'm not a fan. This poor fellow shoots himself in the leg in the parking lot of a gun show.

"Police say he was reloading the pistol in the parking lot because loaded

guns weren't allowed inside the gun show."

I hate (hate) having to mess with my gun in public. It's one of the reasons I avoid "gun free zones". If I have to remove my firearm to enter a forbidden area that just cannot be avoided, I remove the entire holster without removing the firearm. The last thing I would ever want to do in public is mess with my gun. I'm not saying that I question my ability to handle one, quite the contrary. What I'm saying is that messing with it increases the likelihood of something screwy happening. "In public" is the last place I want that to happen. Now, for this particular incident I'm guessing that the majority of the basic rules were violated. I'm surely hoping that he is ok.

Lethal Headlock

2012-02-04T22:12:00.003-06:00

This from New Jersey, where you pretty much have to defend yourself with your bare hands:

...a former high school wrestler, pulled Davis off his friend and put the would-be robber in a headlock.

It was strong enough that Davis apparently choked to death, sources familiar with the investigation say.

Yikes. All this over a cell phone. I have seen in the news that smart phones are the newest target for thieves. While a cell phone isn't worth dying or killing for, the victim attempted to stop the theft (which I believe is a victim's right to do) and was put in a headlock by the robber. I think we can see from the end result that this can be deadly. Therefore the victim's friend's use of deadly force is justified, although I'm sure that wasn't his intent. That said, they live in New Jersey. I think the laws of time, space and physics change when you cross the border into that state and New York. I hope the DA doesn't do anything stupid here.

Gracias

2012-02-04T21:38:00.000-06:00

Welcome to a new follower, TinCan Assassin. He has a blog, Nine Pound Sledgehammer, that is quite good. The most recent post is something I really don't want to think about for a few years, but my time is coming. Kick back and relax, TinCan and I hope you enjoy it. Feel free to comment and I'll always respond. Thanks again.

Cool gun songs

2012-02-03T21:19:00.002-06:00

If you haven't heard of FXHummel1, he covers songs and re-writes lyrics that are pretty incredible. Sometimes they are funny, sometimes they are ranty (new word, trademarked) and sometimes they give you goosebumps. This one over at Everyday No Days Off is pretty awesome. Check that one out then watch some other ones if you haven't heard his stuff. If you're a gun nut (or even if you're not), you'll find yourself nodding your head to some of it and giggling out loud.

Post Falls Glock and Taco

2012-02-03T12:09:00.001-06:00

For all of your needs in one convenient place.

"Officials say the officer was changing his license plates and took his gun off. He then put it on top of his truck and it eventually fell off."

I will tell you the attitude that generate this: It is just another tool they work with every day. I worked with firearms day in and day out for years and you had to constantly remind yourself you were dealing with a tool that was a firearm or you ended up in a bad situation. It's not a cup of coffee that you set on the hood of your car.

More "sorry, wrong address" violence

2012-02-01T12:07:00.001-06:00

This one from Fitchburg, Mass. The FBI uses a CHAINSAW to enter the home of a young woman at home alone with her 3 year-old. Oops, wrong place. You figure they would review the tapes from previous errors (errors upheld by the courts) where the same thing happened and people died and figure maybe they want to make sure they are getting the right place.

Since it was a citywide sweep of some kind, there are apparently more people speaking out that they had similar incidences. I want you to think about what your reaction would be, home alone with your 3 year-old when a chainsaw blade pierces your front door. This really needs to stop.

It took them a two year investigation to get it that wrong. Double thumbs up, guys.

http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/12006574418493/fbi-targets-wrong-apartment-in-fitchburg-raid/

Performance Art

2012-02-01T10:51:00.001-06:00

That is what I'm calling this.

It's a literal interpretation of what O is attempting to do to small business and those that actually pay taxes in this country.

More Thanks

2012-01-31T22:41:00.001-06:00

Thanks to vadavid from Musings Over a Pint for hitting the follower button. It's a great place over there and worth the trip.

I appreciate you swinging by and feel free to comment whenever the mood strikes you. I have a feeling we'll be discussing some elixir of the gods in the very near future.

Armed grocery store customer stops robbery

2012-01-31T12:12:00.001-06:00

I saw this headline in the Chicago Tribune and my breath caught as I wondered what citizen dared to challenge the Chicago oppression machine and actually defend themselves. Oops, turns out it was in Milwaukee.

Story summary:

Perp enters Aldi grocery store with shotgun. Citizen with concealed firearm draws and fires. Perp turns inside out and runs like a rat in the light. Some random person with a gunshot wound shows up at the hospital.

Here's another perfect example of an individual taking their own defense seriously. This person doesn't have to wonder what the bad guy had planned. No robbing of store customers or rounding everyone up and marching them into a back room. This is the best kind of outcome. I'd rather wonder what would have happened if I wasn't armed that wonder what would have happened if I was.

Stone: Vertical Epic - A very big beer

2012-01-29T22:45:00.000-06:00

I mean figuratively big

The aroma on this one is malty and boozy.

The flavors are caramel malt and a huge hit of the Anaheim Chili with which it is brewed. It is also brewed with cinnamon sticks but I didn't really notice that, which I don't consider a very bad thing. There is a strong bitter note which sticks with you.

As you can see, it pours a cloudy, dark reddish amber. There is very little head.

This beer is not for the faint of heart and I can see it not being for just anyone's palate. Now, where I probably went a bit awry was drinking this now instead of letting it age for the recommended year. This is my problem. I want to cellar some beer, but I just have to pop one and try it first.

What were my thoughts? Ummmm, it didn't overly impress me. It was good, but didn't make me say "wow". The pronounced flavor of the chili takes some getting used to. I'm sure I could learn to like it, but there isn't any left at the store. :)

Recommend served with chili, steak or something that the beer will not overpower in flavor.

Cleaned some guns or Carteach is awesome

2012-01-29T22:30:00.000-06:00

So we did a range trip this weekend that involved a lot of different firearms. I had borrowed a Springfield XDm from a friend, so I really needed to clean that one up to get it back tomorrow. Now, about a million years ago in internet time Carteach did a fund raiser for the Wounded Warrior Foundation and it was quite successful. I was lucky enough to win a Sentry Solutions Armorers kit.

I will hang my head in shame and tell you I had not used it yet. Yes, I have cleaned guns since I got it, but I just didn't break it out and have to do sum lernin' and stuff at the time. Tonight I busted it out and got to work. I cleaned as normal using Hoppe's #9 and wiped everything clean. There are a few different products in the kit. Most of them are essentially dry lubricants. There was also some grease and a few Tuff Cloths. I was excited when I got this because I was looking for a high temperature lubricant for my P3AT. I carry very regularly, but have to leave things in the car sometimes. In Texas, vehicles internal temps get way up there and regular light oils just run off or dry right up. The dry lube and grease in this box were very high temp so I'm excited to see how that works for me. I can tell you right now that the difference was noticeable in the slide when the lubes were applied.

This package is very slick, indeed. :) I can't wait to get some range-time in with it to try it out.

The Starbucks "Thing"

2012-01-29T11:13:00.001-06:00

I really don't have any skin in the game on this thing. I'm not a coffee-phile. I don't drink it every day, but I do have one on occasion (and I LOVE the smell of it brewing). Starbucks isn't high on my list of businesses that I visit. That said, I will be visiting the local place and getting a cup of frothy, sweet caramelly goodness on that day. Not that the local place here will see any effects from this boycott, but it all goes to the national numbers.

I saw some posts and discussion in the gun blogosphere with passing interest. What I do see is a company standing up for itself and its bottom line and saying we don't have to do a damn thing if we don't want to. I can respect that. Starbucks didn't know what the backlash might be when they made that decision. They for sure didn't know that it would be a hugely positive thing for them. I wanted to see how organized the antis were on this deal. After all, their candle campaign was overtaken rather handily with a minimum of effort. I'm thinking they aren't the "giant" that they make themselves out to be or that the general public believes them to be. So, I found this site. Yes, it links to them, but the comments are the real story here. These commenters are people on Disqus, a commenting program used by a lot of news and other sites. These aren't gun-bloggers heading to a site from a link and hitting the comment field. These are your every-day news readers. The only comments I see that support the boycott initiative are coming from the site moderators. This could very well be a business boom for Starbucks. Way to go antis! Keep it up and more establishments will follow Starbucks.

Salvete!

2012-01-28T22:03:00.002-06:00

Welcome to two new followers.

huey148 has hit the follower button and I thank you for it. I don't see a blog in your profile when I click on your follower icon, so if you have one, please let me know and I'll put it on the blogroll.

MI2Tall is a friend and beer enabler of mine. His blog is in the blogroll and he has occasional posts. You should visit it if for no other reason than the picture on his header. It's quite nice.

Thanks to all and I appreciate you taking the time to check the place out on occasion.

Another into the fold

2012-01-28T20:42:00.000-06:00

No pictures and little detail (for various reasons), but I had a range trip today with another new female shooter. It was fantastic. She has had a bad experience in her only other hands on range trip. This was a very important range trip indeed. We started with .22 LR and some fun target shooting and breaking the ice. The ultimate goal was for her to shoot the full size Springfield XDm 9mm and really, truly enjoy it. The .22 was a hit and there were smiles. I spent a good deal of time working on proper fundamentals and in the end, we got our first round fired. It was dead on target. What was more important? The smile. It was enjoyable. She fired about 5 or 6 more rounds in a spectacular group and was happy and content. I had brought a lot more guns and ammunition, but she was very happy and wanted to end on a positive note. My advice when shooting is always take it slow. Usually I mean take it slow while working on your fundamentals. In this case, taking it slow meant this was a great first time and we have lots of time in the future to build on this experience. She was happy and I was thrilled.

The bonus on this trip was that we also had an unknown new shooter. Her husband and son had come along and the son told me he had never fired a handgun. Well, step right up. We had a blast. The husband had brought small oranges and grapefruit. I had brought balloons and high visibility targets. It was a fun time. By far the best was when I let the son shoot some fruit my Glock 23. I loaded it with some inexpensive Remington green and white box jacketed hollow points for a little more spectacular display. Vaporization of citrus is quite humorous.

I couldn't be happier. They are getting an XDm for her and we will be right back out to work on the next steps.

Unintended consequences - how animal rights activists expedite extinction

2012-01-27T20:10:00.001-06:00

Let me explain to "animal rights" acitivsts what is about to happen. There is a little something called "unintended consequences." It is usually what happens between the time a thought comes from your (nutty activist) brain and application in the real world.

A case in 2009 - Friends of Animals (FOA) v Salazar - was tried in Federal court (Washington D.C., surprise surprise) and the court ruled that a previous exemption from the endangered species act for certain species of antelope should not be valid. Among those are Dama Gazelle, Scimitar-Horned Oryx and Addax. All of these animals are extinct or very near extinction in their native habitat. Where are they thriving? Hunting ranches, mostly in Texas. You see, contrary to what some people will tell you, hunters are the main reason that these animals even exist in the numbers that they do today. These animals have VALUE to the ranches on which they live and in the market. It would be ridiculous for a rancher to destroy something that is worth money to him. Therefore, ranchers want herds of these animals. If possible, large herds and breeding herds. They are very interested that these herds stay healthy and happy and are fed well because they have VALUE to the rancher. In my previous life, I have guided or helped guide hunts on all three of these species and I will tell you that hunts for them were not all that common and the hunter paid well to take one of them (hence value to the owner). For your information, this was a plan implemented successfully by the U.S. Department of the Interior (Ken Salazar, plaintiff in the suit) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. I worked on a ranch that worked to sell the animals to re-establish herds back to their native habitat. Awesome all-around win, right?

Now, the decision on this court case takes effect in April of this year. Here is where I get to explain to FOA and activists in general what your short-sightedness will bring. Now the owners of the animals that must PAY to feed them will be required to purchase permits to have them (they are worth that much less) and also obtain permits and authorization to cull any of them (now even less). The restrictions will tighten and the "permits" to cull will be difficult to actually obtain. Captive populations of these animals will constantly decline until the only place you will be able to see them is in a zoo. That's right. Congratulations, FOA you are going to be responsible for the elimination of a large population of endangered animals. Yay for you, though you don't sound like much of a "friend". We'll see you in a few years when you are back in court trying to make the ranch owners pay to increase their populations again after they rid themselves of herds which have turned from something of value into a financial burden.

Well, how does the ranch owner reduce their population? They can't sell them and won't be allowed to hunt them, you say. You see, people that work with animals know animals better than any activist or federal judge. I know that the life span of most deer and antelope is pretty short (12 years tops for a dama and 20 tops for an Addax or Scimitar). The ranchers will separate herds so there will be no breeding. Why continue breeding something that has no value and is only an expense? Within 20 years at the most, the large herds of these that I would regularly on the ranch will be gone. Just so you will know, FOA, now as their teeth wear to nothing they will die from starvation (yay, nature!) instead of being culled as they get older and start to decline in health. The ranchers will begin to replace the herds with animals that will make them money.

Basically, a free market has allowed multiple endangered animals to thrive in healthy herds totalling in the thousands of animals. Enter the federal judge (we're here to help) and animal rights activists. Regulations come into play and the value declines or disappears. Kiss the product good-bye.

So, if you want to see a beautiful, ranging herd of these animals, I recommend booking a tour at the closest hunting ranch you can find within the next few years. After that you'll have to explain to your kids why the zoo is the only place they exist.

National Chocolate Cake Day??

2012-01-27T16:26:00.001-06:00

Um, ok. Not that I need a reason, but I guess I should show solidarity with all the chocolate cake farmers out there. I'll just have to sacrifice and make one. *Sigh*

Dad is great...brings me chocolate cake!

American Sniper: I met a hero today

2012-01-26T20:53:00.000-06:00

Actually a couple of them. Today was one of those days that was up and down and ended up turning out fantastic. The local bookstore was having Chris Kyle in to sign his book and I really wanted to attend the event. The problem was I had a meeting right through the middle of it. I was bummed about that. I finished the meeting and called the bookstore. I found out he was really planning on being out of there by 2:00 to get to another event. They assured me he would sign some books and I could purchase one if I missed him. With that in mind I headed to the event. Well, he was still there signing and the line was still HUGE. I went ahead and bought a couple of copies and got in line. I struck up a conversation with the gentleman in front of me who happened to be a local and also a SF operator as well. I'll call him "John". He looked the part. That proved to be a very enjoyable conversation and made the time fly. When we got up to see Chris, he was still smiling, shaking hands and taking pictures. We all knew that he was sticking it out past a deadline and he was being a champ about it. He was even apologetic for the wait. I was just very happy to see a turnout like that for him and support for a service member. Hearing some of the older guys in line talking about their days in the service with "John" was just as interesting as the book signing.

Goofy smile and all (mine)

So, hats off to Chris for being a stand up guy and not only toughing it out, but doing it with style. You guys know I'm a pretty hardcore bookworm and military is a huge favorite of mine. I'm thrilled to add this one to my collection (as well as one to That Guy's collection - Happy Birthday, my friend).

Chicago numbers vs Brady jaw flapping

2012-01-26T10:50:00.001-06:00

The Brady Campaign tried to brush off recent rocketing firearms sales to "fewer and fewer people buying more and more guns." While I wish I had the funds to be that much of a factor in such a significant increase, sadly it's not the case.

Less people buying guns?

Au contraire.

A 16% increase in state issued FOID cards in Illinois. Uh, that would be people new to the gun owning process. And not only that, but willing to go through the insanity that is the Illinois system to say "mommy may I" just to own one. Aw, Brady, your own bastion of all the gun control laws you deem holy is having to report the numbers. They sure are hard to argue with and I'm sure it pains Chicago to see law-abiding citizens exercising some rights. Note as well that the new FOID card recipients are "snubbing their noses at the city ordinance because they believe the registration process is too onerous." That should make an interesting court case as well.

More firearm defense news

2012-01-26T09:14:00.001-06:00

What is going on in Reading, PA? It sounds like people are fighting back.

A store owner returned gunfire after a masked man shot at him during a failed robbery attempt Wednesday night at 10th and Robeson streets, police said.

Four on one. Not good odds, but what do you do when you get shot at? Return fire. It beats curling up under the counter. Also, I'm not sure why the officers thought that the bad guys had an "assault rifle with a silencer" but based on this statement alone, I'm going to say that the department may need additional general weapons training.

In the next story, ALSO from the Reading Eagle, a 65 year-old man minding his own business riding a bicycle on a trail is knocked down and assaulted. He fires in defense. The three that assaulted him are minors. One dies. You know this is going to be a tough one for this man to deal with emotionally. The sad thing is that it was not his decision to make and now he has to live with what someone else made him do just to survive. It seems like teenagers are acting like packs of dogs these days.

Firearm defense round-up

2012-01-25T11:06:00.001-06:00

There just happened to be two of these that I found today. The first is how our typical court system works for the criminal.

A man who was shot and killed after he allegedly broke into a home Monday night had been in

earlier that same day where he was facing theft and burglary charges.

Nothing like walking out of court that day on a felony charge and getting right back to your job that evening. Thankfully, since the homeowner was prepared, we don't have to wonder what assault or murder charges might have been added to the docket.

In the next story, I just had to chuckle at the picture:

"My adrenaline was just flowing at 100 mph," she said. "I just said, 'Stop right
there (expletive), or you're going to be dead where you stand."

Now, while I really don't condone inserting yourself into a situation where you aren't directly threatened, I can see how they are frustrated with crime in their area. As a bonus, there are two stories discussed in the second article.

Enjoy the reading!

Schooled at the drive-through

2012-01-24T18:58:00.002-06:00

I consider myself pretty effective at communication. It is a skill that is required in my field. I send messages in a corporate environment and even teach some classes. I believe that clear communication is somewhat important.

I pulled into the drive-through of a local fried fish fast-food establishment for lunch today. I was in a bit of a rush. A product of today's budget crunching environment is the typical question "would you like some condiments." I was lucky enough to be asked this time and I replied "one of each." I received a simple nod and the window closed. Now, my usual request is: one cocktail sauce packet, one tartar sauce packet, one ketchup packet and one malt vinegar packet.

The employee handed me my bag of food with a smile and I drove away. When I arrived back at work and began pulling my lunch and condiments from the bag, I issued an audible laugh which garnered looks of concern or confusion from some co-workers (I couldn't really tell which).

My meal was simply a piece of fish, a piece of chicken, a few shrimp and a smattering of french fries.
From the bag containing my lunch, I extracted:

1 ketchup packet, check
1 tartar sauce packet, check
1 malt vinegar packet, check
1 cocktail sauce packet, check

along with:
1 hot sauce packet
1 lemon juice packet
1 buffalo wing sauce tub
1 spicy thai dipping sauce tub
1 ranch sauce tub
1 condiment cup filled with barbecue sauce
1 condiment cup filled with honey-mustard

Literally, one of each and every condiment in the establishment as I had requested. Touche, drive-through employee, touche. I had no idea they even had some of these sauces. Words mean things and I failed the test. Thanks for the humorous reminder and I'll be more specific next time.

How to take a ribbing

2012-01-23T22:05:00.001-06:00

That is, this kind of ribbing:

These were forever yummeh. This is one of the rack or ribs off of a smaller boar that I got a little while back. I've been waiting for the right time to put this on the smoker. This weekend was perfect. We were home all day Sunday, so I thawed out one side of ribs and put a dry rub on it. I used a commercial seasoning mix since I didn't want to make up a homemade batch and it turned out pretty darn spectacular. I put it on oak wood smoke for 4 1/2 hours. Pork perfection.

Thanks to more friends

2012-01-22T22:11:00.000-06:00

Thanks to two new followers, Ron @ TOGblog has a blog callled The Old Geezer Blog. As soon as I set it to follow, the first thing I saw in my reader made me chuckle. I'm sure I'll enjoy following this one. I'm already getting to the achy knees and "get off my lawn" stage of life, so this may be a good way to foresee the future.

Also, thanks to Bob Johnson at Gun Politics. I've spent a little while over there and it is right up my alley. I like it.

The next is a belated addition to the blogroll. I realized I had missed that BlueEyedBaby had a blog of her own. It is I Wish on Shooting Stars and is a refreshing blog to read. I wish I was young and in college again. I apologize for missing you, BlueEyedBaby. I know you've been following since I was a baby blogger. My only excuse is I didn't know what I was doing back then.

Please don't be afraid to comment on anything at all. I will do my best to respond. Welcome all and thanks again.

Range Time (finally)

2012-01-22T14:11:00.000-06:00

I finally got out and did some shooting. It's been a little while and I had some things to check on. The slide from my Les Baer took a little tumble as I was cleaning it and landed on the front sight. Results on that one made me smile as I chewed out the middle of the target. Sigh of relief there.

I burned a couple of magazines through the P3AT and had no issues with the 9 round magazine, but some with the 6 round magazine. I've made the determination that this gun needs to be run relatively "wet". While that doesn't make me super happy, I think I have a solution. We will see. If not, it's going on the auction block.

I had removed the red dot sight from my AR for hunting season and slapped my scope in the quick detach rings on it. It turns out I didn't really need it, but I had to put the red dot back on and I wanted to make sure it was still on. The good news is that it hit real close, but was a tad low. I adjusted for that and we're back in business.

I let Mrs. 45er do some work with it:

Then I did a few reps of multiple target acquisition and mag change stuff. I also had an unintentional failure drill. It went click when it should have gone bang. I was happy that I went straight to the bolt and cycled it out, finishing the exercise. It's always nice to know that you revert to training when you don't know it's coming. What did I find that caused it, you ask?

Eeeek!

Wolf, steel ammo, yes. I haven't had problems with feeding or firing since I've started using it, but this was interesting. My guess is that the case doesn't have a flash-hole drilled into it so the primer ignition could not get to the powder and therefore blew back out of the pocket. My next thought was: I'll bet I could pop that piece of primer off and confirm my suspicion. My very next immediate thought was: What the heck are you thinking? Stupid and dangerous for no reason. In the trash it went.

As it got later, I did some laser sight training with Mrs. 45er and had a little fun with that. All in all a good range day. Then again, short of shooting yourself, when is range time not good?

Guy with concealed handgun stops a Waffle House robbery

2012-01-21T21:56:00.002-06:00

Over at No Lawyers - Only Guns and Money, there is a great story. I couldn't have said it better myself, so I'll just let you read it over there. I'd much rather read these stories than just another robbery.

Ok, I do have to add something. Robbing a Waffle House? Brain cells not working this morning when you picked the most likely place to meet resistance?

Why carry at/in blank?

2012-01-20T09:17:00.001-06:00

The fascination with restricting where law-abiding citizens can carry to defend themselves has always intrigued me. When you are writing legislation saying that citizens have to go through a stringent background check, training and/or classes, who are the people thinking that the people that would go through this process are dangerous at all? The statistics bear out that you would most definitely rather have a person with a permit to carry around you than almost anyone else. Here are some numbers from Texas.

For all of the offenses listed, license holders represent 0.1541% of the population of criminal offenders (101 out of 65,561). That's pretty incredibly low, right? Except it is skewed by exactly what I'm talking about right now. There are places that lincense holders are not supposed to carry and do either by choice or accident. The Federal ones are pretty standard (post offices and secure areas in airports) and Texas has laws that restrict carry in bars and amusement parks and allow hospitals and churches to post signs that make carry a felony. The unlawful carry numbers amount to 15 of these convictions. If those were eliminated, the rate is 0.1312% (86 out of 65,546) of crimes in Texas that exclude lawful carry are committed by license holders. That's pretty incredible. So, with that bit of information...

Why would you need to carry in a hospital? That should be a safe place, but isn't.

Why would you need to carry in a restaurant/bar? I'm not even going to say that should be safe. We all know it isn't. If nothing else, walking to and from the establishment can make you feel like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

Here is my favorite one: Why would you need to carry in church? It should be safe, but isn't.

This last one I hear pretty often. It is mostly the people that go to church that think this way. What is it about the doors of your place of worship that make you think it is a completely safe place? Is it the historical idea that a place of worship could be used as a place of shelter and safety? I understand wishing that were the case, but I've never been the kind of person to think that every nutjob will respect that ideal. In addition, there have always been, but especially now are people that are specifically targeting your religion with violence.

Criminals can strike everywhere. Don't think they don't know the law, too. It is their trade and they know they are breaking it. In turn, they know you will obey it. Gun-free zones are their playground. After all, they make a career of breaking the law. Don't let anyone convince you that a government regulated gun-free zone is ok. At least if a private property owner posts a sign, you can vote with your wallet.

Speaking of a Light in the Dark

2012-01-18T11:32:00.000-06:00

I am a huge (HUGE) proponent of the usage of white light. We all talk about "carry" and it generally refers to our carry firearm. I've seen some discussion of EDC (Every-Day Carry) and a lot of times it will include a light, but not always. Why not?

Many years back I was floundering for a way to carry my existing lights as part of my every day options. At one point, I brought a Surefire G2 Nitrolon in my pocket. Now, this is best suited for a nightstand or (maybe) weapon mounted light. To say that it was uncomfortable and bulky for a day on the town would be an understatement. At one point, I even stopped into a local gun store and came out with this:

Holy Bulk, Batman!

I immediately began making jokes about the bat-belt that my waist was becoming. In addition to an IWB holster with a Glock 23, a spare magazine in an OWB kydex holder, my cellular phone (smart phone no less, so the size of a small dog), I added this to the mix. I could tell right then it was an immediate no-go. I stuck it on my vest instead and switched from trying to make what I already had work to attempting to increase the inventory of lights that I possess. I love Surefire. This is where I say that Surefire has nothing to do with me posting this and I'd be shocked if they even know I exist. I know that Streamlight, Fenix and others have various offerings with attached clips as well as other manufacturers that make clip on holsters for your favorite light. Just make sure and get one from a reputable company and look at some reviews. I started to do some research of my own and decided on the E1B Backup (pictured at top).

What an immediate difference this thing made. It is short and fat (insert crass joke here). It fits perfectly in your hand and, more importantly, perfectly in my pocket (though sometimes a little rough on the fabric). The clip option is no different than what you would use for a folding knife and offers immediate access by your weak side hand. It immediately became and every-day carry of mine. My work attire is "business casual" and it doesn't stick out at all. As a matter of fact, with some styles of dress pants it's almost hidden completely:

So, why, you ask would you need to carry a light when you leave for work in the morning and come home before dark? "Oh, so many reasons" would be my answer. Let's talk every-day stuff. This light doesn't do too bad for only using one battery (1.3 hours on constant high and 37 hours on constant low setting). I still burn through the 123A batteries on this thing due to constant use. I buy them by the box from Surefire to get them at a much better price. I do know that lights are beginning to trend back to the AA option for ease of finding the battery, but for this stubby little guy, the 123A is really a part of the design that makes it work. I use this every day. You know how you use that knife of yours all of the time and don't know why anyone would go without one? After you carry a good, low-profile light for a couple of weeks, you'll think the same thing. "Regular" uses include; looking at computer wires under your desk, looking into the back of a supply cabinet in the house, taking out the trash after dark, or even hooking up the Christmas lights under the tree (yes, that was me this year), it's always there. But back to the serious question of why you should carry a white light. You can't shoot what you can't see. You can't identify a bad guy vs bystander that you cannot see. Plain and simple. When the power goes out (or is cut) in a building it's daylight outside, but pitch black in that cubicle farm with no windows where you work. One day on a whim you decide to meet up with the significant other for dinner after work instead of going home. Walking out of the restaurant, it's completely dark now.

As I mentioned above, I started trying to carry the Nitrolon because of a very specific situation. Mrs. 45er and I had started going to movies during the day when she was off of work and I had taken a day off to be with her. Sure, it's 100F in the summer in Texas and too bright outside to go out without sunglasses, but it's pitch black in that theater. My "what if" bell was going off like mad. This light only has a few options, but that is ok with me. It has a tail cap that you can push lightly for pulse on/off and push to click for constant on. The first push turns the light on at the 110 lumen setting, a quick second touch turns on the 5 lumen setting for battery saving every day use. I still find myself using it at the high setting for most things. I just like a lot of light. So, you have pulse at 110 lumens, pulse at 5 lumens, constant on at 110 lumens, constant on at 5 lumens and "off". I don't consider "off" an option, but I'm not in marketing/advertising. I am a real fan of a strobe option, but that wasn't a deal breaker for me on this one.

So, what was my point? This turned into more a "review" than what my original intent was, which is carry a light. Make sure it is any good, comfortable light that is reliable and makes sense for you and your situation. You'll find it entirely too useful and it might just save your skin. We always say "carry your gun" but you can't defend yourself if you cannot see your threat. Carry your light, too.

Southern Tier Creme Brulee Stout

2012-01-15T15:02:00.000-06:00

This is a pretty fantastic beer and is solidly in the camp of "unusual". If you can get it, I'm jealous. If you can't, I'm sorry and I'm with you. It isn't distributed locally and we have to beg and bribe friends that travel to the distribution area to grab a couple of bottles.

Brewed Heaven Juice

So, what you're probably thinking is either "Ewww" or "Too Sweet". It has a fantastic beer flavor. It is a great stout. It is also not syrupy sweet. When you pour a glass, the caramel aroma is the first thing you notice. The first sip has the exact taste of creme brulee with just a hint of sweet. As a matter of fact, that's when the bitter from the stout takes over. If you want something different (let's call it a dessert beer) then this might be for you. However, don't be fooled and give this to a beginning beer drinker. It is a stout and is pretty complex. I have one more bottle for now and I'm trying to think of a special occasion to crack it open.

Seared Venison Medallions

2012-01-13T22:53:00.002-06:00

I guess it's obligatory food posting time. I haven't done one in a while (not for lack of taking pictures). I just have all of these awesome pictures and then don't do a post. Yeah, I don't know either.

This one is awesome and easy. Get you some venison backstrap. I prefer the center-cut from the backloin for these medallions. Cut the steaks about 2 to 2 1/2 inches thick. Wrap a strip of bacon around and tie with twine. A simple tie with two twists will suffice. Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper on each side. Sear over very medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes or so per side (that includes rotating 1/4 turn). Then turn on the side to sear the bacon to make sure it is crisp. The center of the venison should (always) be medium to medium-rare. Venison (in this case Whitetail) should never really be well-done. And... Voila!

Heaven, table for one

Served with Israeli pearl couscous and steamed broccoli. Pretty incredible.

Friggatriskaidekaphobia

2012-01-13T10:56:00.001-06:00

No, I haven't developed a weird disorder nor am I speaking in tongues.

It's your word of the day. It is the irrational fear of Friday the 13th (Happy Friday the 13th, by the way).

An alternative word is paraskevidekatriaphobia.

Your homework is to use it casually in a sentence today and not get slapped or arrested. :)

Homeowner puts up a solid fight

2012-01-12T22:12:00.002-06:00

It's your worst case scenario. Why would you want a long gun for home defense? What kind of crazy person would think they need an AR-15 for self defense? Well, the kind of person that wants to be prepared. I just saw this story on the news. Bad guys breaking into homes with an AR-15? I'm sure they don't care if homeowners are home and aren't there to cuddle.

Investigators say Wharmby [homeowner] grabbed a shotgun just as two men entered his home. Police said one of the men was armed with an AR-15 assault rifle, and there was a gunfight in the kitchen. Wharmby suffered a gunshot wound to the face, but police say he was able to fire several shots at the suspects, hitting both of them.

That is some will to fight and live, there. The story gives the impression that he was hit before dealing the shotgun justice. Don't let anyone tell you that this was a situation where he was shot because he chose to defend himself. Someone breaking into your home with a rifle (or any firearm) isn't there to discuss politics. I hope the homeowner is ok and I'm thinking the surviving suspect is going to prison for a long time since he will be charged with the murder of his accomplice.

Born This Way

2012-01-12T19:51:00.005-06:00

I guess he was born a socialist? Whatever, this is hilarious.

And yes, someone has way too much time on their hands.

Carry your gun

2012-01-11T22:21:00.002-06:00

... and be prepared. Here is a crazy video and story from North Texas. When a homeowner tried to stop someone from attempting to steal a car:

One of the suspects rushed to the door, slashed the homeowner and attempted to chase him into the home, Haltom City police said. But the homeowner escaped inside.

No reason to run, just draw the firearm you should have on you. The trash is getting pretty brazen these days. I think it's time for more citizens to exercise their right to self defense.

The DNC Chair: A Gift

2012-01-11T17:32:00.001-06:00

Is there any doubt in anyone's mind that Debbie Wasserman Schultz is either A. off her rocker or B. in the process of falling off of her rocker? I just happened to scan over the news and saw this story. In a discussion about "who is to blame" for the Giffords shooting (yes, they are still trying to assign blame elsewhere even though they know who did it and why). So, she is trying to re-ignite the hypocritical "tone" debate from a year ago. If you wonder why this person should even matter to you, some knuckleheads thought it would be good to appoint her as head of the DNC (Democrat National Committee). This means she is essentially the mouthpiece for the Democratic party. To be blunt, she is a gift to her opposition. Her recent statement in relation to the Giffords shooting regarding the Tea Party:

"The discourse in America, the discourse in Congress in particular . . . has really changed, I'll tell you. I hesitate to place blame, but I have noticed it take a very precipitous turn towards edginess and lack of civility with the growth of the Tea Party movement."

Remember the "civility" debate? Somehow, speech is responsible for someone's actions. This is a very slippery slope to go down. But, that's not why I think she is ridiculous for saying something like this. Here is why I think she is ridiculous:

All of the below quotes were straight from Wasserman Schultz.

"Some seniors will end up dying because they are forced to put off getting that pain checked out due to huge out-of-pocket costs that will skyrocket for them. … This plan would literally be a death trap for some seniors."

Death trap sounds like pretty un-civil speech.

"Aren't we at the point where the closer we get to chaos, the more concern that there should be about coming to the table and compromising with Democrats? This is not leadership. This is almost like dictatorship."

Dictatorships aren't all that civil, either.

"Unfortunately, the Republican leadership in the House right now seems to have been strangled by the tea party."

That's pretty violent speech, there. I think the sales of garrotes skyrocketed after that comment.

"We do not need to end Medicare. We don't need to throw people who are younger than 55 years old to the wolves which is what we do."

Call me silly, but being torn apart by wild animals sounds pretty horrific to me.

The thing is that I completely disagree with her. My posting her quotes is not about me saying, "yes, I agree and look you did it too." My point is that she is a hypocrite. I think that hyperbole and exaggeration are nothing more than speech. Speech is protected by the 1st Amendment, remember. Absolutely, words mean things. Yes, you can say stupid things and people will view you as a fool. Yes, you can lie and will be seen as a liar. Yes, you can say irresponsible things and be seen as irresponsible. In Ms. Wasserman Schultz's case you can say something hypocritical and be seen as a hypocrite. None of that makes you complicit in someone's act as a raving lunatic.

With all of that said, the sad thing is that the whole premise of her quote is flawed. I'm not a member of the Tea Party by any means, but what exactly is she talking about? To quote another person "Show me the money!" Where is the quote(s) from the Tea Party with the "lack of civility?" Not once did I see anyone in the news provide proof that the Tea Party organization said or did anything inciteful. If they did, you would have heard about it, trust me. If you hear this much about what people like this think they MIGHT be saying, imagine if the party had actually said it.

Why does all of this even matter? Just log this into your little memory box. You'll be hearing more from her with this year being an election cycle.

Time to relax

2012-01-11T10:15:00.001-06:00

So, on our guys trip, That Guy introduced me to white port and sea salt dark chocolate. I was in the local spirit establishment a while back and thought I would grab some for Mrs. 45er as a stocking stuffer. Last night I opened up the bottle and unwrapped the chocolate. I must say, this is a great combination. When we did this with the guys we also had some fine cigars, but the Mrs isn't into stogies. I know, imagine that. This particular brand of white port was sweet, not too heavy and had a good flavor. The chocolate has a fantastic dark chocolate flavor with just hints of salt. The combination is very good. In case you don't know, salt enhances certain flavors and chocolate is one of them. Lindt did a good job on this one.

A light in the dark

2012-01-08T16:48:00.003-06:00

Weer'd has a light a candle campaign. I agree there is only one way to stop violence. Defend yourself against it. Here's the Les Baer. I admit the pictures turned out more like a vigil, but I rather like them. This is my less regular carry piece, but still makes trips out with me.

Here is the workhorse carry piece. The Glock 23.

Wow, another defensive shooting

2012-01-04T11:20:00.001-06:00

...with a different answer from the dispatcher.

"I can't tell you that you can do that but you do what you have to do to

protect your baby," the dispatcher told her. McKinley was on the phone

with 911 for a total of 21 minutes.

Imagine that. Common sense. Do what you need to do. I totally understand the dispatcher saying they could not actually advise the homeowner to use deadly force. However, this contrasts very sharply with the dispatcher in my previous post that told the homeowner to disarm. Also, the homeowner mentions she has two guns. Good for her. "Two is one and one is none."

This post also really dovetails into a post by Agirlandhergun where she discussed that women are aggressively prepared to defend their children, but not themselves.

"I wouldn't have done it, but it was my son," McKinley told ABC News

Oklahoma City affiliate KOCO. "It's not an easy decision to make, but

it was either going to be him or my son. And it wasn't going to be my

son. There's nothing more dangerous than a woman with a child."

This sounds like a compelling argument. It's the old "mama bear" adage. The problem here is that without mom, that child lives a life without a mother. That is unacceptable to me. The only way you can defend your children is to defend yourself. I do understand the raging-bull defense attitude that comes with children. Trust me, I do. I'd rather you just trust me than test it. However, I also know that providing for my children means coming home to them every day. I have to protect myself in order to do that.

P.S.

I'm providing separate links since I'm posting this from mobile and I'm not sure they're going to work.

http://gma.yahoo.com/okla-woman-shoots-kills-intruder-911-operators-okay-091106413.html

http://agirlandhergun.blogspot.com/2011/12/labels-labels-everywhere-but-not-single.html?m=1

Teenager defends his home

2012-01-04T09:23:00.001-06:00

...and the dispatcher is doing her best to get him killed. I understand the desire to protect the responding officers, but to tell a victim during a hot break-in to put down a firearm is reckless. Thankfully, this young man seems to have a great head on his shoulders and was thinking completely rationally.

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/10553140/

After the brother got on the phone, the dispatcher ordered him to put down his shotgun.

"I don't know how many it was (who broke in). Just one came around the corner.

I got one more in the chamber. I'm going to shoot again," the boy said.

Dispatcher: "Do not, while I'm on the phone, do not fire that firearm again, OK."

Teenager: "What if another one comes in the house, ma'am?"

Yes, what if? This seems to be a pattern we've seen in 911 calls where the dispatcher is treating a homeowner like a police officer. Homeowners are not in the business of negotiating with potentially armed and violent intruders. Instructions like this during a frantic state might be obeyed by a young person (or anyone). Then after being told to put the gun down, here comes the other intruder and you're toast. Good job to him for keeping his head and doing the right thing to protect him and his sister. I certainly hope he will not suffer mentally for having to do this and he understands he did the right thing.

Welcome and Thanks

2012-01-03T18:43:00.002-06:00

A welcome to my newest follower; Rose. Thanks so much for following and I'm sure you're wondering why you bothered with the lack of posting lately. Holidays. What're you gonna do? Thanks for following and I'll do my very best to respond to comments. I don't see a blog to post on my sidebar in your profile. If you have one, please let me know so I can follow as well.

Yeeeeouch!

2011-12-29T15:23:00.001-06:00

That's gotta sting!
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/12/29/dc-ordered-to-pay-1m-in-historic-gun-case/

Face: Meet Fist

2011-12-27T21:11:00.003-06:00

I was planning on posting about this story when I got home from work. But then I noticed that Tam had already posted about it and done her usual fantastic job. Then I noticed something unusual. In the link that I found was a much longer interview and in that interview, the clerk stated:

Newsman: Normally, Mothershead is armed.

Clerk: You know, I would have shot him.

Funny how that is left out of other interviews. Always carry your gun. You never know when today is the day. I love that he made him clean up his own blood. The guy is lucky he was able to do it under his own power.

An open letter to hunters

2011-12-26T19:29:00.001-06:00

Please, take your rifle to the range.
Learn how to shoot. Practice shooting (this isn't just the once-a-year sighting in).
Contrary to what I've heard people say, a "pie-plate" group at 100 yards is not good enough. Practice until your groups are inside an inch, two at the most. You owe it to the animals you are hunting. If you can't cut it, don't go out.
Posted from the field where I have had to dispose of/put down a wounded deer for the second week in a row.

Unfortunately, the people reading this aren't my target audience.

High Caliber Pancakes

2011-12-26T09:52:00.001-06:00

I wasn't much in the mood to do a recipe post today, but Mrs. 45er gave me a cute pancake tracer to make fun shapes, letters and numbers for the kids. Of course, it took a turn and I thought it would be a fun post. Why not throw in the recipe for the good old fashioned pancakes while I'm at it?

Chernobyl Zoo

It started with requested animals. That's a lion and giraffe in case you couldn't tell. I guess not a bad attempt for a first time. So, the kids got theirs and I had some time to play with extra batter.

But, of course

Lesson learned, do the shape backwards and the nice looking side will be up for viewing.

Just so we don't have to have that debate

I had to hurry on these because the kids were almost finished eating. This means everything stops again. I just had to do 9mm so we didn't have to argue about whether or not the 9mm pancake was filling enough to stop you from eating vs just one .45 pancake or if you needed more 9mm pancakes.

So, now for the recipe. This is an easy one and I highly recommend it over the box mix. It's especially nice to have around in case you are used to using instant but just don't have any. You'll find it isn't that much harder to do and has pretty much the same ingredients.

High Caliber Pancakes

1 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter or margarine (melted)
1 large egg

Large Bowl
Large Whisk or fork for mixing

The key to light, fluffy pancakes that are not too tough is to mix the batter as little as possible after wet and dry ingredients are mixed. Stirring works the gluten in the flour and toughens the pancakes. This is why restaurants that make large batches and have to keep stirring them end up serving tough pancakes.

Pour flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into large bowl. Use whisk or fork to incorporate ingredients together before mixing in wet ingredients. Melting butter in the microwave is very fast. 3 Tbsp melts in about 20 seconds in a small bowl. Swirl if there are small pieces that haven't melted. For wet ingredients, I recommend starting with at least a 2 cup measuring cup. Pour in milk, crack the egg into a separate bowl to make sure it is good and there are no shell pieces. Put egg into measuring cup with milk. Use whisk or fork to premix these ingredients and break up the egg (less stirring of the batter). Pour the milk/egg mixture and melted butter into the bowl at the same time. Use the large whisk to incorporate the ingredients (a spoon is ok for this process, I find the whisk incorporates the ingredients quicker for less stirring). All you are looking for is that the dry ingredients are mixed in and there are no huge clumps. This will be only 7 or 8 stirs. The batter will be lumpy and that's ok. Do not keep mixing. Let the batter rest for a couple of minutes before cooking.

Set flat top griddle (recommended ) at about 275 - 300 F. A pan is obviously fine for this (medium heat), but makes cooking slow since fewer can be done at the same time. Some recipes call for brushing oil or butter on your cooking surface. I'm not a fan of this if you have good non-stick cookware. The butter/oil just causes the first couple of pancakes to look funny. Pour batter using ladle or cup with a spout into 3 - 4 inch rounds. Cook a minute or two on the first side (until bubbles start to form and the edges are dry). When edges are dry and underside is golden brown, flip pancake. Cook until other side is golden brown. Butter them up and pour on your favorite syrup. Enjoy!

Recommended pairings - BACON.

Merry Christmas from me, too

2011-12-24T12:34:00.000-06:00

I see most people are wishing everyone well and I wish to do the same. Whatever holiday or celebration you are celebrating (or not celebrating) all I care about is that you do it with peace and love.

For me, I will say Merry Christmas to all and I hope it is a joyful one.

And just for you, here is a cookie fresh from the oven.

Fighting back, the victim's interview

2011-12-21T19:57:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I posted a story about a young lady that fought back and was injured, but drove away her attacker and survived. Fighting back is obviously a tactical decision and should be calculated based on your ability and the situation (then accomplished with immediate and remorseless violence). I was more than a little emotional at the time of the post and maybe I should have a "cooling off period" before I post, but it seemed generally well received. You'll understand after you see for yourself. This is the interview that got me so worked up. It is really worth the watch. I warn you it is pretty emotional and you can still hear the fear and pain in her voice. No one should be put through this. It's why I think women should most definitely take their self-defense seriously. It's not just your life at the time of the assault. It's your well-being, security and peace of mind afterwards. Attacks aren't over after the assault. They stay with you. If you are prepared to take action to defend yourself, that empowerment can ease your mental stress and recovery in the aftermath.

Fight. Always fight back

2011-12-20T22:46:00.003-06:00

This young lady didn't have a chance to find out what the jerk wanted. He tried to climb in her vehicle and she started fighting immediately. At least in a public place she had a chance. With this type of attack, it's very likely that he was not there to take a purse (even though he left with it), but to try and abduct his chosen victim.

Also, (if practical) get a gun. Practice with the gun. Carry the gun (permitted if applicable). Most importantly, be mentally prepared to use the gun. If that's not practical, research legal methods of defense in your area (knife, kubotan, pepper spray). An immediate violent response of any kind can turn the tables on an attacker quicker than you think is possible.

I just watched the interview on TV (not shown in the video with this story) with this young woman and as she got emotional, she said she screamed and "Nobody saw, nobody came. I must have been in my car struggling for what seemed like eternity because I was there for a while trying to fight him off. Nobody saw and it was really busy for a Monday at HEB. Nobody heard anything. It was like they wanted to ignore it." She finally got her fingernails in his eyes and drove him away.

This. This is why you must be prepared to defend yourself. The good Samaritan mentioned in the article became involved after the perp had already stabbed her in the neck a few times and was trying to get away. Unfortunately, not everyone will come swooping in to rescue you. There are many studies and videos showing people standing around and watching terrible things happen. Only you can protect you. She is now fearful about possible retribution from the scum that attacked her. Empower yourself. Protect yourself.

The interview is not posted on the internet, yet. I will post it when it is available. It is emotional and quite powerful. She saw him coming before he entered the vehicle. She was able to fight him while in the vehicle. Situational awareness and proper deployment of a firearm from retention would have ended this and she would not be living in fear right now.

Be safe out there.

On Communication, Food And Shopping

2011-12-16T23:16:00.000-06:00

Mrs. 45er and I had a great day of shopping today. There is a great town just North of here that has a huge and eclectic collection of shops and restaurants. It's a very German town, so there is a lot of good beer, too. There is also a fantastic kitchen store. I can hear the collective eye-rolling from the guys, but this is something I actually enjoy doing with my wife. Mostly because she shops like I do and we get to eat lots of great things.

On Communication:

It's important. I think I found the perfect tool for the married couples out there. It gives a new meaning to the term "pillow talk".

Uhhhh

Or, more likely:

The dust-collecting side

We did a lot of wandering around and ended up in a candy store. Nestled in between the chocolate and pectin-based fruit chews were these little boxes of joy.

Yum

Double Yum

Triple Yum

And before you ask, yes they are real. What kid can't wait for their parents to go to the candy store and bring home a box of crunchy insects? Tasty. Ok, I can say I've had weirder things.

If I was lost in the wilderness... Maybe.

On the way out of the same store, there was this:

Yes, it says that

And yes, those are chocolate covered Jalapenos to the right. I didn't try them or the chocolate covered pickles to the left (not shown). This wasn't bad, but it really wasn't great. I think with a better cut of bacon it could work. The bacon needed to be cooked a little more to render more fat if you're serving it cold and give it a better crisp. Anyways, now I can say I've had it.

Moving on, we got hot chocolate in a shop a few doors down and saw this:

Oh, the good old days. I'm sure it had cologne of some kind in it. This is the kind of town that had plenty of the old silver cap gun revolvers that brought back great memories for me. The hot chocolate wasn't all that fantastic, so we kept moving.

Next, it was the place with the great hot sauce/salsa for sale. This place is fantastic. It has almost everything right out there for you to taste. I always end up leaving with something. I also always have to head to the back room, which is the seventh level of hell for your tongue.

My kind of sign

By the way. They aren't kidding around with that sign. I tried a Bhut Jolokia sauce for the first time sitting on this table. If you don't know what that is, it's between 850,000 and over 1 million on the Scoville Heat Unit Scale. Habanero peppers top out at 350,000 or so and the puny Jalapeno is about 2,500 to 8,000 tops. Needless to say, I didn't buy the sauce. But I did try some things in this room:

The Inferno. Dante is in the corner

You know, normal sounding sauces like:

Yes, they went there

And

So did they

So after this room, I go back to the front and Mrs. 45er asks me to try something to see how spicy it is. My answer was pretty much "How the hell would I know, now?" Subtle spice nuances were lost at this point. It was all one burn. I did end up with a great bacon chipotle grilling sauce. I'll have to try it out and do a post on that later.

All this munching has kicked up our appetite, so it's time to get lunch. We found a nice place downstairs under the kitchen store. Almost all of the buildings here are pretty old and very not ADA approved. So, we head down some very narrow stairs and walk into the restaurant. The first thing that hits you is the smell of a flat-top grill doing its thing and the pungent smell of sauerkraut. This place has a good looking turkey reuben on the menu. However, that's not what I had my eye on.

Now, that is yummy

Pecan crusted chicken with a creole gravy served with rice and candied ginger carrots. This was fabulous. Mrs. 45er had a good old shepherd's pie. It was a chilly day and this hit the spot. It was a great day. We ended up not breaking the bank, which is nice and got some great exercise which was more than offset by lunch and the cup o' creme brulee we had for dessert. You've got to enjoy life. :)

An Incredible Story - A Girl And Her Gun

2011-12-14T21:50:00.000-06:00

I was scrolling through the blogs I follow. You know, the normal routine. Skim and read as much as you can. Make a point to hit the people you have connected with. It was a normal night of catching-up. Then the unexpected happened. I clicked over to Another Gun Blog and was sent to a place I haven't really been before. A Girl and Her Gun. The serious and intense request by Mike to go read this post caught my attention and I had to look. Then, when I got there I was pulled deep into the post and the story of the recent events of her life. The post has two things working together. On the one hand there is a deep and honest story of the emotional journey that has led the writer to her current place. On the other hand (and something that she showed class and did not attack) is the perfect example of how the anti-gun crowd feels the need to personally attack people for choosing to take control of their lives and defend themselves. It is the one thing in life that drives me crazy. Anti-gun people spew hate toward people that have guns. Vegans spew hate toward people that eat meat. Enviro-wackos, well they spew hate at pretty much everyone. None of these groups think or care about the repercussions that their intolerance causes. I'm extremely proud that this blogger is part of our community and I think it is worth a trip over to check her out.

Notice that I don't have class so I can attack the morons that spew the stupidity. It's ok, I'll be their Huckleberry.

Muchas Gracias

2011-12-12T18:33:00.002-06:00

Many thanks to both We The People and Flier389 for hitting the follow button. I do my very best to respond to all comments and welcome anything you have to say (within reason). We the People has a nice collection of hot-button posts, but you just have to check out the Dane Cook video. I'm a big fan of Dane Cook and that one is hilarious (NSFW, but Dane Cook never is). Flier, I could have sworn was already a follower since he's been a regular in the comment section. I guess it was a surprise because he's already becoming blog-family. Check out his blog linked above, the link isn't in the profile from the follower icon, but you should definitely check it out. There are some great posts and wonderful stories there. Thanks to both of you and to all of my followers. I'll do my best to make it worth your while.

Booger Hook/Bang Switch

2011-12-12T18:00:00.001-06:00

You know, keep the booger hook off the bang switch. First, a bit of a pet peeve. The headline is silly. A gun in a carry-on did not accidentally discharge. A gun removed from a carry on by an officer was negligently discharged by the officer. But enough about how words mean things. On to the snark:

No touchy. I know you feel the need to because it's shiny, but no touchy. Because you carry one on your belt doesn't make you a weapons expert, so no touchy.

The gun's owner was telling Phillips how to clear the loaded .22 magnum revolver when it was accidentally discharged, Phillips reported. 'The weapon was pointed down toward the screening table."

I'm just guessing here, but most likely the firearm in question is a NAA revolver which doesn't have a trigger guard. Why are you cocking the hammer? Why are you touching it at all in public if you don't know the firearm? Just a few questions I had and I'm also relieved to see no one was hurt as a result.

Giggle for the day - Mentos and Coke car

2011-12-11T18:36:00.001-06:00

Don't tell GM about this. They are probably looking for a replacement for the Volt right about now.

Pig Bustin' Fun

2011-12-10T21:33:00.001-06:00

Well, That Guy and I trudged out in the rain this afternoon intent on making a hunt happen. We saw some deer this morning, but nothing worth taking. Same this evening on the deer front. Just a few yearlings. But then, the couple of deer milling around bolted and in charged a pig. Nothing makes a Texas hunter snap up their rifle faster. He was pretty jittery and I knew I wasn't going to get the perfect shot, so I took the first one as soon as he paused. It ended up really doing the job. He was a boar and weighed in at about 80 pounds, the perfect eating size. I ran out and dragged him back behind the blind and 15 minutes later I had a few deer back in front of me. Still, just young bucks and yearlings. Then... they all looked up. I glassed with binoculars in the direction where their attention was focused and I saw a flash of black and white in the brush. Back up came the rifle, but this time the pig was moving across the hill in front of me at about 125 yards. I snap-shot him in the neck and he went down. Here's where I made the mistake I always warn people about. I cycled the bolt out of habit, but then set the rifle back down on the bag. I was just too sure of myself. I saw the pig start to move a bit more than normal. I got the rifle up just in time to see him get up and run up the hill. The distances were ticking in my head as he ran through the brush. 135... 140 I saw a small opening through the brush and broke a shot. A miss. I scolded myself for trying to hit him in the head. 165... 170 No shot through the brush. 180... 185 and he finally broke into an opening. It was my last chance before he reached the top of the hill so I broke the shot and he fell. Out of sight. Great.

Well, after trudging up the hill in the rain, I found him close to the top and I had to drag him down in the mud. It turns out I hit the neck in the perfect spot, but just about 1/4 inch high. The bullet didn't connect with the spine itself. This is how tough a pig is, that it gets up after that kind of hit and runs up a hill. There were two unfortunate things. #1 it was a boar and weighed about 150 pounds and stank to high heaven. #2, the third shot as the pig ran up the hill was a quartering away running shot and entered too far back. Unfortunately, this one wasn't going to be good for much and I didn't keep it.

It's still raining. It rained the rest of the night. I had to stretch a tarp over me to quarter out the smaller boar. Everything I had with me is completely soaked, muddy and hanging in the garage. Luckily, my mom had hot venison stew, homemade cornbread and hot chocolate waiting in the house.

All this miserable cold and wet and you know what? It was a blast.

I did the best I could to get some pictures in the rain and make them blog-worthy (as little gore as possible). This is the best I could do. The rest showed the pigs better, but were just a little much for a blog post.

This is perfect for starting to make some sausage. It's just about time to make the first batch. I can't wait.

Dear New Restaurant:

2011-12-08T21:45:00.001-06:00

If you're going to choose a sign to put on your front door, you have many choices. This was my first visit to a newly constructed up-scale sandwich shop in town. Not only did the store not have the "no guns allowed" legal language sign (which is pretty much a "going out of business sign" in this area), they had an NRA sticker on the front door. Whatever you think about what the NRA does, any business that displays their 2A beliefs that proudly has my business. Oh, and the sandwiches were incredible too, which kind of helps.

You have GOT to be joking

2011-12-07T23:24:00.001-06:00

This administration is just completely out of touch with reality. The examples of this just keep coming but here is yet another one.

Sen. Susan Collins on Wednesday blasted the Defense Department for classifying the Fort Hood massacre as workplace violence.

I just don't even know how to discuss this. Calling the Fort Hood shooting "workplace violence" is like calling a Nimitz Class aircraft carrier a dinghy. This is either unforgivable ignorance or unforgivable misdirection. I think it's a bit of both. The misdirection has been intentional from the very beginning in the unwillingness to admit it was a terrorist act. The ignorance is that the administration actually believes the public will fall for the line they are being fed.

First Real Mobile Post: From the Blind

2011-12-06T15:22:00.001-06:00

I wondered why I would ever need to post from a mobile device. I think this is why. Nice, cold sunny day. It's perfectly quiet. I love being out here where it is calm.

Failure in Victim Selection

2011-12-06T11:43:00.001-06:00

Well, this is the kind of thing that should happen more often. If crime became nearly as dangerous to the perpetrator as it should be, then you'd see the cost of everything you buy drop dramatically. Well, this guy learned the hard way.

Justin then kept his attacker collared until police arrived.

Asked about his training, Justin offered only vague hints at his background: "Former military," "high-risk training," "Hostage rescue."

He said he makes a living in a variety of ways: "Sometimes I do clubs. I do close protection."

Uh, yeah. Apparently, the victim is 250 pounds of muscle. What were you thinking? Also, note in the story that the attacker chose to rack the slide for emphasis causing a jam. Learn this lesson for yourself on whether or not you carry prepared or not. Then, he decides to pick up the ejected round and show it to the victim. Everything this guy does screams opportunity for a person carrying for protection.

The mug shot is priceless.

Milestone

2011-12-05T11:29:00.001-06:00

Ten Gs

Ten Grand

One stack of High Society (if we were talking money, which I wish we were)

10 K

10^4

10,000

...views

Any way that you say it, I'm happy you all dropped by and I really appreciate that you took the time to peek in and say hello. A myriad of thanks.

Submitted Without Comment

2011-12-04T22:06:00.001-06:00

Because all of my comments would be censored...

Homemade Guns, How Not to Do It

2011-12-04T21:40:00.001-06:00

I mean, HOLY COW. When I heard PVC and a blowgun, I knew it couldn't turn out good. This isn't from YouTube, so I couldn't embed. This is unbelievably moronic. That being said, I did some things a lot like this when I was this age, sooo....

Take that for what it's worth. Anyway, after I saw this I tried to find it on YouTube by Googling and was truly amazed at all of the rest I found. It's amazing these people aren't all dead.

Time off from the old grind-stone

2011-12-04T14:30:00.000-06:00

Doing the hard work

A big project at work has kept me from taking much needed vacation and it has been building. It's finally finished and I'm just taking vacation just so I won't lose it. The good news (maybe not for my gracious readers) is that I'll be able to spend some time keeping up with the blogs. Boy, is it ever needed right now. Nothing special planned, just time at home and maybe getting some hunting in.

Wookiee Talk

2011-12-03T15:57:00.000-06:00

Brigid had been doing some talking about Tam's Wookiee. It made me chuckle and appealed to my inner (and sometimes outer) geek. Then I saw this and just had to share. Autobios for Star Wars characters. Too funny. The names of the others are just awesome. My personal favorite is Andrew Tauntaun. I almost wish they were real.

Penetrating the Gun-Free Force-Field

2011-12-02T22:43:00.000-06:00

So, I see this story today. Anyone that has gone through a class for concealed carry has been grilled over the fact that a US post office is federal property. There have been arguments over whether you can even legally possess a firearm in a vehical in the parking lot. These are hugely off limits for anyone that legally carries a firearm. And yet...

A 29-year-old postal employee was charged with two counts of attempted murder Friday after authorities said he used two guns to fire shots inside the main post office in Alabama's capital city.

My only guess is that he doused himself in magical unicorn urine to penetrate the gun-free zone. The only other thing that might work is powdered freeze-dried elf scat. Oh, there is one other thing. BREAKING THE LAW. Yeah, that works to penetrate gun-free zones, too. Thankfully, no one was hurt in this particular incident. Luckily, the running and hiding worked for once. Me, I'd rather be able to defend myself and stop the threat.

Beef Slab and Bloody Caesars

2011-11-29T22:30:00.001-06:00

So my parents got their meat back from the steer that was sent to the processor. I know how lucky I am. Forget the grass-fed, no hormones, blah blah blah in the supermarket. This is pure, free-range stuff. The way cattle were supposed to be raised.

Flintstones, table for two

I mean, that's a sirloin. If there's one thing I know, it's that I'm spoiled. Not only great, free-range beef fed by my dad, but look at the size of that thing! The Shiner was just for perspective. Well, ok, it was for perspective at first. So, that was consumed during the grilling process. What else are you supposed to do with it?

It's seeeaarrrific!

So, what really goes with a great steak? Well, lots of things. But, in particular I've grown particularly fond of a drink that a restaurant called The Keg (located in Canada) serves with their steaks. It's the Bloody Caesar.

Yummy

So, just for kicks, here's my recreation of their recipe:

The Bloody Caesar

Good Vodka (I use Dripping Springs Vodka)
Worcestershire Sauce
Tobasco
Clamato Juice (stay with me, here)
Celery Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
Crushed Ice

So, here's the fun part. There isn't a "recipe". It's really to taste, so I'll just give guidelines. You can rim the glass with a lime and celery salt if you like. I usually don't. I just add the celery salt into the drink at the end, but you can also do both which I will do for parties when presentation kind of counts.

Fill the glass with crushed ice (regular ice is ok, too). For the liquid ingredients, put the vodka in first. This gives you the ability to regulate the amount of alcohol. Next, add the Worcestershire sauce. I put around a couple of teaspoons and sometimes up to a tablespoon depending on the mood I'm in. I really don't measure, so I'm guessing here. Follow that with a couple of dashes of Tobasco, then top up with Clamato Juice. I really do NOT like Clamato all that much, but it really is great in this drink. Add a few dashes of celery salt and a few grinds of fresh ground pepper. Stir well and enjoy with a great rare (or medium-rare) steak. Cheers!

Rocketman...

2011-11-28T22:18:00.001-06:00

I'm surprised I didn't see any mention of this in the general blogosphere today. This is pretty darn cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4arnATc04U

You know he had to be going smoking fast. It would suck to hit a bug, much less a bird.

Success!

2011-11-26T18:30:00.001-06:00

Well, this morning was my first Whitetail of the season. I took a very long spike that I passed on earlier and regretted. He needed to go. Sorry, no pictures. I was going to, but a 7mm STW to the neck is not very conducive for a blog post picture. Anyway, meat in the refrigerator! When I opened our deer fridge (yes, we have one for deer in the garage) I saw quite the assortment of deer quarters in there from my dad and brother. It looks like we have a bit of work ahead of us in the next few days.

The Taj-MaBlinds paid for themselves just on today's hunt. We (That Guy and I) headed out this morning after a full night of rain. After some slipping and sliding in the truck to get to the back of the lease and then some slipping and sliding on foot to walk to the blinds, we settled in. About 30 minutes later the rain came pouring down again. There's nothing like that warm, dry feeling when it's cold and raining just outside. I commented about how bad it sounded to complain about a little wet and cold, but That Guy said he wasn't ashamed to be comfortable. I have to say I agreed.

Hello/Welcome/Thank You

2011-11-26T17:48:00.001-06:00

Hello and welcome to justcook and dakotas5. Justcook seems to have quite a nice little blog involving culinary arts. What's more interesting than that is I saw a post for breaking down a deer and making acorn flour. Not your typical cooking posts, there. dakotas5 has a new blog and appears to have fire in the belly. I'd like to thank both for clicking the follow button and I hope it is an enjoyable experience. If you're interested, swing over to the follower section and click on them and check out their place.

I have to say that my follower count doesn't make sense, so if I missed you because I don't see you thanks for following somewhere. If you're following super-secret-anonymously, well thanks for that, too. I welcome all.

Also, in the line of thanks, I'd like to thank Craig over at keepitsimplesurvival for linking me. I really appreciate anyone that thinks well enough of the writing to send people over. Thanks very much.

Deer, It's what's for dinner

2011-11-25T20:08:00.000-06:00

Yum. My dad got another Axis Deer. It's the second he's gotten this season and my brother has gotten one as well. There have been a few Whitetail fall as well (nothing by me, yet), but if you've ever eaten Axis it's just unmistakably better. I haven't been able to spend the time in the field and, in all honesty, tend to be extremely (too) picky early in the season.

Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes. Axis Deer. They are a beautiful animal. Also known as the chital (or cheetal) and pronounced as the latter is spelled. They originate in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal. They have adapted insanely well to Central and South Texas. The climate is perfect for them. They do not have a "breeding season" as Whitetail Deer do. Breeding is year round and a doe can have multiple fawnings in a couple of years. There is something of a love/hate relationship with these deer in Texas (mostly love). You see, they are free-ranging now. They escaped from game ranches decades ago and have set up shop and taken over. The love portion is the great meat and beautiful hides. They travel in large herds and I've been known to pick more than one (much more) out of a single herd. The "hate" portion of the relationship is the direct competition with indigenous deer and (not indigenous) livestock. The incredible table-fare they provide pretty much outweighs any negative view people have.

and the presentation is fabulous

On the other hand, we have the much maligned (and rightly so) wild pig.

This one was taken by my brother on Thanksgiving night. Sorry for the small picture, but it was emailed. Then, there is this...

Sharply dressed

Nasty little buggers. Well, this one wasn't little. It weighed in at 245 pounds. Also, those tusks are serious. I've seen what they can do and it isn't pretty. It looks like between this and the deer that have been taken so far, we are looking at our first batch of sausage. I'll post when we do that, you can count on it.

Great Divide - Smoked Baltic Porter

2011-11-23T16:27:00.000-06:00

Another beer review?

Why, yes. Actually, this one has been in the fridge for a while. I had some on our guys' weekend a few weeks ago that a friend brought and he brought me an extra bottle in exchange for some scope rings I had sitting in a box.

Smoky Goodness

Not a bad trade, I would say. Well, it's not as over-powering as you would think. There is definitely a smoke to the aroma as well as the taste. The label says it uses traditional German malt and hops (lending a definite caramel malt note) as well as "Bamberg smoked malt". I will say it is not a beer that is for sitting and drinking by itself. The smoke, while not overwhelming, is definitely a little much without something to cut it. Recommendations for a pairing are anything from the grill and especially a good sausage or bratwurst. A steak would be fantastic. We actually had it with some nachos and it was great. It is definitely a darker beer, but the color is deceptive. It is not heavy at all.

Into the pint of darkness

Pulling off a good smoked porter isn't an easy thing. I haven't liked them in the past because I've had some pretty terrible attempts at them. However, this one and one other I've tried have pulled it off well. If you want something a little different with a nice grilled meal of meat or seafood, it's worth a try. On the other hand, it really would go well with just about anything not too mild in flavor.

Enjoy.

Welcome and Thank You

2011-11-22T20:07:00.000-06:00

I jumped on real quick to respond to some comments I saw on my email today (I don't get to do any posting at work - silly rules) and was shocked to see a great jump in followers. At first I thought it was me being so awesome, but then I realized it was Stephen at Standing Outside Looking In being extremely kind (which is nothing new, really). I welcome all of the new followers since I've seen your comments over there and I know your a great group of people. Thanks to Tom, kymber, Rev. Paul, mmasse, and nimrod243 for hitting the follow button. I will spend the next little while making sure I follow if you have a blog and updating my roll. If I miss you, please let me know. Sometimes peoples' blogs do not show in their profile and I don't get them in the blogroll. I'll always respond to comments, just give me time, I swear it will happen :)

Thanks again. I look forward to great conversation with great people.

Cruising on the CETME Failboat

2011-11-21T20:24:00.000-06:00

I was all atwitter. That Guy gave me a CETME picatinny rail receiver mount that didn't work so well for him and I slapped it on my CETME. It sure did FEEL solid. I ignored the voice of experience in my head. I don't know why I do that. It was telling me "You know about mounting scopes and there is nothing holding this mount to the receiver except a couple of clamps. It's going to suck under recoil". But my eyes were saying, "Wow, doesn't it look cool when you pop the scope in the quick detach mount on there?" Range time was a disaster. The bore-sighter lied and said 5 inches high. Ok, so let's try over 5 feet low. I set up a target a little less than 5 feet high. I taped targets from top to bottom.

I aimed at the bottom. BOOM. Nothing.

I aimed at the middle. BOOM. Nothing.

I aimed at the top. BOOM. Nothing? Was that dust?

BOOM. Yep, definitely dust, but in front of the target, not behind.

And, oh wait, there's a hole in the target. Great! But, wait there are LOTS of holes in the target.

Hmmm. BOOM. Ohhhhhh. I'm shooting rocks in FRONT of the target. Hence, the rock shrapnel which has now rendered my target all but useless for determining where the rounds are hitting. There is no scope that can adjust for over 5 feet of elevation at 100 yards. Back to the drawing board.

The mount has threaded screws so you can change elevation, so I haven't lost hope. Yet.

I pop off the scope and loosen the mount. I see what I will call evidence of "slippage" of the mount on the receiver. Remember the little voice? Now it was saying, "I told you so." I hate when he's right.

Also, I will add here that the rifle itself is just fine for what it is. A battle rifle. It will shoot inside of 15 inches using open sights at 300 yards and the spread is all me, I'm sure. Mounting optics seems something of an afterthought in the design.

I debated trying it again and I had done a bit of research to see what I was getting into. I wasn't pleased with the terms "fiddle" and "tinker" to make it work. We're talking about a scoped rifle I was intending to take game with. I owe the animal more than that. I expect 1 MOA or less or it doesn't go into the field. I also didn't feel like using a whole package of JB Weld like I saw in this humorous video. Really? I don't begrudge anyone whatever they want to do to their stuff, but I'm kind of past the "rigging" stage of firearms ownership. I'm liking the nice stuff I own now. So, I'm following the path that That Guy has decided to go down and sell this and maybe another gun I don't use and get an AR-10. You know, something with a rail as part of the design. I'd love to go with a SCAR-H, but I'd have to have a whole lot of CETMEs to sell to get there.

Old Newness

2011-11-18T23:16:00.000-06:00

It's amazing that you can excite your self just by rearranging the stuff that you already have. A good friend of mine, That Guy, had a rail that mounts on a CETME. He didn't have much luck with it. On his last hunting trip down here he brought it and left it with me. I finally got around to slapping it on my rifle last night. Sorry, just cell phone pictures. I was too lazy to pull out the other camera.

The cool thing is that I have a Leupold scope that is in a set of A.R.M.S. quick detach rings. It was mounted on my AR for hunting. It's done a pretty good job on the AR so far, I got 4 deer with it two years ago and a couple last year. However, I just feel lacking in some versatility with that .223 round. Especially with big pigs running around. I've really been wanting to try out a .308 and this might be the answer. That is if it patterns well. Coming off of the AR to the CETME, the bore-sighter says the scope is 5 inches high and an inch left. I'll be taking it out this weekend to see what it does.

So far, I like the look of it and the ability to switch the scope back and forth and just sight it in without having to do a lot of ring and base work. So, in theory - awesome. Reality? Well, I guess we'll test that out this weekend.

Mikkeller "It's Alive!" - It's more than alive, it's darn good

2011-11-14T21:17:00.000-06:00

This was not really what I expected. This is a Belgian Ale brewed using wild yeast. I've had this kind of thing before and it was almost like being punched in the mouth. I'm a fan of Mikkeller, so I thought I would give them a try. This was nothing like I expected.

So much anticipation

From what I understand, it is mellowed by some bottle aging. This gave the beer a great complexity and really tamed down the yeast.

The pour:

Big Head. Really big head.

Like:

HEED! PANTS! NOW! sized head

HEED!

The flavors were:
Slightly Fruit
Wheat/malt - pushing the yeast factor, but more of a caramel malt

Lightly Bitter at the end

I really liked this beer. I'm a huge fan. Mikkeller in general has been very good to me. They've got some great stuff. I will put this in the pretty great category.

All Aboard the Butthurt Express!

2011-11-13T20:47:00.000-06:00

So, we made our annual trek to the pumpkin patch/fall festival thing around here. Yes, it's a little late and already past Halloween and everything, but what the heck. I'm going to tell you anyway.

Here's a little peek into the hell that is the kiddie train...

Awww, can't be that bad right?

Oh, yes it can. This monstrosity is also referred to by a friend as the Asspain Train.

All Aboard! No, really. On a board.

Yeah, that's a 2 x 6 that they expect you to straddle.

The good news is that Mrs. 45er decided to take the hit this year (again).

But it's for the kids! Ow, ow, ow.

The things we do for our children. Still, it's a fun place for the bitty ones.

The Point

2011-11-12T09:24:00.001-06:00

you missed it.

Gimme the money or the roach gets it!

2011-11-08T15:20:00.000-06:00

So, I don't know what's up with this story.

A San Diego-area teller was confronted by a bank robber carrying not only a semi-automatic pistol but also a white plastic pesticide sprayer.

It's entirely possible the perp said there was something in the container that might be a threat. Who knows? I don't even know how I'd respond to this if I were carrying. I would hope that the time it took to process the crazy wouldn't cause me to hesitate.

Movie review(ish) - "Rum Diary", the movie without an ending

2011-11-07T19:31:00.000-06:00

So, the wife and I had purchased a couple of Groupons the other day. A great deal on a movie and a drink at Alamo Drafthouse. If you haven't been to one, treat yourself and go. They're an awesome place to watch a movie. So, we decided to see "Rum Diary". You know, the new Johnny Depp deal from Hunter S. Thompson and blah, blah, blah. It looked kind of funny so we decided that was the one. Well, it was actually pretty good. Depp and the other actors did a good job. The story was just fine, lots of boozy acting and the funny parts were funny. So, here's my part of the story. I had a couple of drinks with my meal during the movie, so I really had to use the restroom. I figured by the way the storyline was going that I might as well go because they hadn't even gotten to the big ending and that would probably take a while to unfold. I came back a few minutes later and the movie was over. I asked my wife, "well, what happened". Her answer: "nothing". They literally built the movie up to the ending and it was just... meh, sorry. What's more, after the not ending, it was the literal sail into the sunset and epilogue wording on the screen. I can understand if you've told an actual story, then decide to say how your character finished their life. In this instance, we're talking about a work of fiction, so this type of thing plays more like, "sorry, we ran out of time for the whole story, so this is how it ends". The previews and advertisements should have said: "from the alcohol-addled mind of Hunter S. Thompson" and then I would have said, "Oh, I get it".

As it stands, I guess I just don't get a story without an ending.

Get your head right

2011-11-04T13:56:00.000-05:00

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2011/11/04/d-dot-drivers-refuse-to-run-routes-bus-riders-stranded/

“If it’s to the point where if the driver is not safe on the bus, then the passengers are not safe, then the citizens are not safe. You know, what about them too? We have no security, you can’t get the police, nobody is doing anything to protect us. And I’ve been begging the mayor and the council for two years to do something to help us,” said Gaffney.

The emphasis is mine. This is the attitude that allows rights to be infringed upon. My protection is someone else's responsibility? Now, when they need protection (police call time referenced at 30 minutes in the article) they have limited resources since they've allowed the government to restrict them so severely. The sad thing is, they do have options (even in Detroit) to take responsibility for their own personal protection but are still thinking the wrong way. This is not me blaming anyone, it is just a warning. This is why it is so important to fight for your rights. The government will gladly take them if you offer them up, then leave you all on your own. What is the saying? "Fire, water and government know nothing of mercy".

Dankeschön

2011-11-03T21:43:00.000-05:00

While I was out for a while I obtained another follower. A thanks to Tom for hitting the follower button. I do my best to respond to all comments and will gladly post a blog link if you have one. Welcome and slap me around if I get out of line.

Guys' weekend, completely worth it

2011-11-01T22:26:00.000-05:00

I guess it's finally time for me to spill it about our annual trip which has affectionately been called the Red River Gun Run. This is a spectacular weekend filled with amazing food, fun with friends, lots of shooting and great beer tasting in the evening. Then, there's the fishing, hiking and general gun with friends. So, now on to pics. Oh, and a warning. I'm not feelin' all up to it with the word stuff, so I'm going to do my best. This will be less of a novel and more of a kid's picture book. Here goes.

Braaaiiins! Uh, I mean Caaaake!

It was right around the time of one of the guy's birthday and someone brought this work of genius. I may not have mentioned, this is trip leans in the zombie shoot direction. The cake maker that brought the cake found these fantastic little plastic zombies to fight the plastic army men.

Melee!

On to the drink. We drove up the first day and got there in time for dinner and then a nice outdoor movie and beer tasting.

This one was especially yummy

Remember me?

The Duchesse was just great. You may remember the Life and Limb from my previous post. I'm not going to turn this into a review post because you'll see that it would turn into quite a monster.

The first day was about relaxing and getting some things set up. It was a great time to do some fishing. I didn't say we caught a lot, but the weather was perfect and it was relaxing so it was a great time. Dogfish Head made it that much better.

Looks Fishy!

But it wasn't all that much. We still caught a few.

Deer and Dillo

Nothing like floating by wildlife and enjoying the scenery.

Trifecta of Goodness

A very good white port, a great sea-salt chocolate and a wonderful cigar. This was a good night. Each night was spent outside under a covered patio with a fireplace.

Warmth for the chilly night

Movie

This one was 28 Days Later. Great movie if you're into that kind.

Speaking of zombies. This is the day of the zombie run. This year, we featured some older targets from the zombie targets website and some of the newer targets from Birchwood Casey. The smaller rat splatter target turned out to be quite a difficult little guy.

No pizza for you!

Below is That Guy with his awesome Saiga 12 Gauge shooting some Fiocchi luminescent tracers. I should have used a time-lapse, but I chose to just run a fast shutter and caught it in a couple of shots.

I believe this night's dinner was the Chicken Marsala with Prosciutto that I made and did not take any pictures, of course!

After dinner, more relaxation and some more tasting.

Great beer, Mikkeller Draft Bear

That right there was a string of great beer.

So, the next day was fishing, hiking and more shooting.

No exciting pictures of us walking in the woods, but then the final night. Time for the traditional steak dinner.

And a salad! The Cashew Tahini dressing was a real hit with the salad.

Oh, and wine. Except, we couldn't find a corkscrew, so we skipped preparedness and went to improvisation.

It worked wonderfully.

Then, a couple more tasters.

So, the trip is over. Unfortunately, these go by so quickly. Now we have some great memories and soon we'll have some great video to watch. So, this is one of the reasons I've been off the grid. The other two reasons I will post about later. Sorry about all of the pictures, but it's probably easier than reading my babble as I try to explain it all.

Back from the M.O.N.

2011-10-24T18:08:00.000-05:00

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!

2011-10-18T09:17:00.000-05:00

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

2011-10-17T22:04:00.000-05:00

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.