When a cliche isn't cliche..

This is the time of year that we count our blessings and give thanks. How's that for tying a title to the first sentence? On a more serious note, I've actually heard of folks who are 'anti' Thanksgiving! I don't know if they're against having a holiday or the notion of giving thanks-either way they need some serious head examination!

Go ahead, count 'em!

For me, I do a little self check every so often for lots of things. Since this blog is geared so much towards hunting, I'll try to keep with the theme the best I can! The process usually starts with me recognizing that I'm taking something for granted, maybe getting bored with that same old rifle or backpack. That realization comes usually after hearing somebody complain about their situation. We all get caught up in 'doing what we do', and having our same old 'toys'. It's really easy to zoom along in our routine and begin to expect things to always be a certain way or to think what we have isn't good enough-I do this all the time! So after I 'catch' myself, I know I need to adjust and give thanks for what I have-which could make any day 'Thanksgiving'. So I'm thankful for the fact that I get to hunt 2 or more times a month and that I have great friends, just like family even, that not only are fun to hunt with, but lift me up and are willing to help when needed, and offer up constructive criticism when necessary. I'm thankful that I have the means to pursue my hunting and other adventures, and the health, even though I sometimes squeak a little at the joints! I'm thankful that we live in a country where we're able to enjoy our hobbies through both our affluence and personal freedoms.

There are so many things to be thankful for I could go on for pages! In keeping with the idea of a national holiday, and what it represents, I'm thankful for our country, still the greatest on the planet, and the greatest of all history. I'm especially thankful for the courage and bravery our forefathers had to forge our foundation in the face of such incredible odds. That has been and will be part of my prayers, both in the family dinner setting, and personal time.

I encourage everybody to weigh out what they have, compare it not to what you want, but to the standard of whether you are able to pursue your interests vs. not. Also remember that the poorest among us is rich compared to the majority of the world's population! Finally, give thanks to God, the author of all things-that's what the founders and early settlers did on Thanksgiving Day.

The article I can't seem to write!

For a couple years I've been writing and erasing the same article. I start out with different approaches every time, and I have plenty of knowledge on the subject, after all I've pored over countless rifle specifications, owned a bunch of awesome rifles, and handled and fired many more than I've owned.. So why I can't I write an article about the 'perfect' rifle? Is it because it doesn't exist? Am I just not capable of pushing out a dissertation about the adult version of the little kid's dream from 'Christmas Story'? Well, I am capable. I just know that the article would be in 52 parts, cover every possible rifle action type, caliber, game to be hunted, conditions expected to encounter, and last but not least (heck, maybe not even last) aesthetics.

It might seem easy to just tell you about one of my rifles that is pretty close to perfect. But that would be cheating. After all, it's still not perfect! It has most of the qualities admittedly, but I'm not settled on it as perfect...maybe that's the issue. I've never actually owned an example of the 'perfect' rifle! Maybe I need to build the perfect rifle-it for sure doesn't exist over the counter. Then again I just can't afford to build it! There are rifles that are extremely close to perfect-the Kimber Montana, the earlier version of the Remington 700Ti are two that come to mind quickly. But those each lack one thing that I think should exist on a rifle-iron sights. Yep, uglier'n a mud fence on a sleek, lightweight rifle but necessary if you should take a tumble and bang the scope on a rock. Yet, people do fall and hit their scopes regularly, and if it's a good scope, a lot of times it keeps zero. But what if it didn't? What if it rained the whole time? Dust storm? Animals not closer than 400yd? Or maybe you get lucky and your quarry pops up at 50yd-yes, it happens regularly!

Oh the endless details and inconsequential increments that make up the perfect rifle... What makes it worse is my perfect most certainly wouldn't be yours! I guess I'll go to Cabela's and do more research! After all, it IS my birthday today!

Feeling a bit 'sheepish'!

Yep, sheepish. Not about my new venture working for myself, though it is a little daunting at times, and uncertainty rules in this world, but that's not it.  I'm already practically bald, so it's not about being afraid of how I look in public! No, it's about having wanted to hunt a certain type of animal for years and deciding now that I'm going to make it happen! So the game is Barbary Sheep, commonly known in the USA as Aoudad Rams. You already knew this would be about hunting! Right? As if there were any other topic?

Barbary Sheep were introduced into the US early last century. They have adapted well and while their range is pretty limited, they have filled their habitat niche quite nicely. That habitat happens to be some of the most rugged, wooly, and steep country a person can hunt in! Of course, pretty much all wild sheep live in conditions that make most people not want to bother with them. Another advantage for sheep is that they have extremely sharp vision, and if they spot you, even at a few hundred yards, they tend to take off. So tough conditions, terrible terrain, extremely wary critters...hell I'm IN!!

So now it's just a matter of getting money saved up. It ain't cheap to hunt sheep! Hmm..that sounds like a good slogan. I probably should copywright it for future use! I do have a pretty low cost plan but it will depend on whether hunters back out if I can get to hunt or not. A long drive, most likely camping as close to the check station as possible, in the cold. A good way to start! If all that falls through, I already have an outfitter picked out for a guided trip. I first met this guy when he was around 11 or 12. Funny how the world is so small at times. He's got a place in west Texas that has not only aoudad, but javelina and various predators that are available to hunt. Getting a javelina would probably be a ton of fun too, but I'll have to decide which way I want to hunt them. They seem to be more fun if you can sneak in close. Oh well, anything that doesn't have horns and a bunch of hair growing down it's legs like chaps is going to be second fiddle when the trip finally does happen!

All I need to do is sell more landscaping work and decorative concrete jobs! Who's first?

 

Time for something new!

Things are pretty hectic lately! I'm working on getting a business off the ground-more than just the weekend warrior type gig, but a real venture. This venture will build on my previous experience of owning a landscaping company. It's hard to imagine working every weekend for almost 10 years if you haven't done it, but when you're making play money, that time goes fast! This time though, it's the real deal, a full time gig! Yep, I'm taking 'THE PACKAGE'. The early retirement package!  Thus ends 24 years of working for a corporate giant! So many thoughts I could share...let's just keep it brief and say that it was well past time and people should understand their skills and what type of work will make them happy-then run like hell and go do it! Ok, not so brief.

So in my golden retirement at age 47, I'll be out there hitting the sidewalk, LITERALLY! What do I mean? Well, call me if you're tired of your boring gray concrete and I'll come stain it or overlay it with stone patterns, stenciled patterns, cut lines, all that decorative concrete has to offer!

I feel like the genie in my daughter's Aladdin movie. The part where Aladdin finally grants his freedom and he's off to see the world! IIIIIIIIII'M OOOUTTA HEEEEEERE....!!

Always be prepared-no really, I mean it..

A few weeks late but better than not at all...



Ever hunted pigs in tennis shoes? Your nice tennis shoes that haven't even been broken in yet? What about your nicest pair of jeans, the kind you'd wear to a non formal event but when you still want to look nice. Well that's what happens when you're not prepared! After all, why would it ever occur to anybody (me) that getting together with hunting buddies only a few scant miles from the piggy woods might actually result in going hunting?

It's a graduation celebration!

One of my buddy Glenn's daughters, his second oldest child, just graduated from high school! I'm certainly proud of her, and knew that when I got the invitation to dinner with the family, I had to go. The place was in Denton, midway between where I live and where Glenn's family lives. It's a bigger city than Glenn's hometown and there's more to choose from for restaurants. So there I was in my normal work garb, just hanging out with Glenn's family. I hadn't loaded the truck with any hunting gear-after all, this was a celebration dinner and I didn't want to take advantage by entertaining my selfish interests! I mean, as I prepared to leave, it SEEMED selfish to load the truck with gun, ammo and gear, and maybe even a waste of time. Somehow though, I just sort of forgot how my friends think, and so when the offer came up to go hunting, at first I said 'no'.

What's wrong with ya?

'What do you mean 'no'? Just because you don't have any of your huntin' crap shouldn't be holding you back!' That's almost the verbatim quote that came from both Glenn and his wife Michelle. Simoultaneously. Both with the same tone that could just as well have been translated to: 'what the hell's wrong with you, boy?'. Well, hell...what WAS wrong with me not to be prepared for a spontaneous outbreak of pig hunting? I must be slipping.

You can already predict what happened next. You see, it's almost a perverse rule about hunting and other endeavors-the less prepared you are the more success you'll have. Now I'm NOT suggesting going afield unprepared, and in fact, Glenn had everything I would need to hunt without really even missing my gear! No, the perversion in that rule is that the lack of preparation MUST come by never having planned on doing the activity in the first place! Being stupid or forgetful before executing your premeditated plan for a specific event is excluded.

'You know what's gonna happen don'tcha?!'

Yes, I knew what would happen-pigs and plenty of 'em! Mud, blood, wet grass and tons of fun! It's usually on a hunt like this that you encounter massive herds of pigs at night that blend themselves in with a herd of cattle. It's one thing to target a pig at night and the challenges of the dark. It's another to hunt in, around, or through a herd of cattle! Combine both and you have a high adrenaline, high concentration and extremely cautious hunting experience! So after huddling ourselves together and maneuvering through the herd in order to get a clear shot, WITHOUT getting stomped by freaked out cattle, we had our second pig of the night! The first one, the one I shot, wasn't nearly as cool as the stalking through half crazed, rabid longhorn hunt. No, just a run of the mill trot across a plowed field, in tennis shoes, trying not to face-plant in the stubble and still manage a shot on a very young sow. But hey, for being unprepared I think I did pretty good!

And what if I DID have 5k to go hunting..?

If you had 5000 dollars laying around what would you go hunt? A good question for sure, and it can be seen posed on every hunting forum that exists. We like to dream! Heck, I can dream pretty big but sometimes you have to wonder if it's worth getting all spun up over. Still...those dang aoudad in the rugged southwest Texas land where everything has thorns, spines, teeth, claws and sometimes a little poison to back it up, have beckoned me for years.

Keeping that in mind, I read an article where a woman bus driver was given 190 THOUSAND dollars (yes with a K) by folks donating on the internet for her to have a vacation!! I couldn't believe it. Should I become an internet beggar? Is it really begging if you just come right out, say what it's for, and ask for it? I mean, that's how I'd do it..

So where's my dang 5k?

Wellcrap. Yes, that's one word, and it's a real word just because I put it in my blog. If the evil corporation I work for can make up words so can I. Anyway, I digress. The 'wellcrap' factor is reality setting in. I have a business to get off the ground-one that is soon to be my full time gig! I know where I can put 5k and turn it into MUCH more, and the best thing about it is I will direct where it goes and how it gets spent according to my reality. Such as it is.

Oh, and as to the begging-that's not in my nature. And yet, somewhere there's an aoudad ram out there just waiting for me..

Life moves fast!

Man, we’ve been on the road a lot in the last 2 months! Most recently we went to Texas Tech in Lubbock to see my daughter graduate! It was neat to watch the ceremony and look back on the years she’s been in there, but how the heck 4 years has gone by escapes me! I guess that’s what happens when we get older-they say it does anyway. Fact is, the ‘older’ folks warn us about time moving more quickly as you get older, but we don’t listen because usually, well, we’re younger and think we know about all that. Well...they’re right. So four years ago we dropped off our little girl with mixed emotions of hope, anticipation, excitement, and some sadness too. It’s a strange feeling that everybody’s parents could tell you about…sort of. Overall it’s a positive expectation of a bright future ahead!

My daughter’s degree is in Interior Design, with a minor in Architecture. The interior design program at Texas Tech is extremely demanding, and in that field, their program is one of the finest in the country. Now I should mention a word of caution here. You see, while your kids are off learning, you as a parent can’t help but learn things too! Things such as an understanding that Interior Design is not all about picking paint colors and fru-fru decorations! In fact, my daughter was quick to point out (in a most annoyed way) ‘DADDY, WE’RE NOT PILLOW FLUFFERS!’.  There was a very heavy CAD component, understanding of ADA, building codes, fire, electrical and general local codes where applicable, as well as structural information and probably some other things I forgot. The architects may design the overall building structure, but the interior layout including even such things as outlet locations and door locations for internal spaces, and so many other things, right down to the furniture, and yes, color and decoration schemes, all are part of the job of an interior designer. So wow, I sure never knew all that beforehand!

Four years. Man. I remember something getting in my eyes as we left Lubbock that fall-must have been the dust out there. Funny it wasn’t a problem on the way in… So began lots of weekend trips of either us heading out there or her coming home. A surprise birthday trip that first fall, and the subsequent event centered road trips there on out. I even got to fly to Lubbock to do an emergency repair on her car so she could come home at one point! I’ll mention here that I hate car alarms-worthless pieces of crap that annoy everybody and disable your car when they malfunction is what I say. Anyway, a free plane ticket, a view from a few thousand feet in the air, some minor surgery and viola! We were on the road home with time to spare! We got first hand images of crazy flooding one year. The football field, most of campus, water was everywhere and DEEP! Then there was a haboob. Yes, haboob is what I said. Quit snickering, this is a college level event! The word ‘haboob’ has an Arabic origin and simply means dust storm. BIG dust storm! We’re talking, stay inside, don’t open any doors or windows, and hope you can figure out what your car looks like afterwards when everything in the parking lot resembles giant piles of red dust! We went to a corn maze, got apple butter from an orchard, made all our trips through Benjamin,  where slightly west they actually have road signs warning of wild hogs crossing the highway! The roadside views of spectacular country and huge ranches like the 6666 (four sixes) and the Pitchfork, the cattle, the horses, cowboys (real ones) wild pigs, coyotes, deer, Betty Boop painted on the side of an old gas station.. All the things that are really cool but you begin to view as commonplace when you make so many trips back and forth. We’ll be missing all that stuff!

To be technical, we will likely have one or more road trips to Lubbock still in our future. The Interior Design program is actually slightly longer than four years, so my daughter has a few more classes to finish up over the summer, at which point she will get her diploma and officially be transitioning into the job market. We look forward to that next chapter as well as welcoming her back home at least for a while as she searches for that first career step. Congratulations to the class of 2012!

Going to the dark side. Again.

I think I’ve finally hit on the magic combination for actually KEEPING an AR15. I’ve bought, sold, built, borrowed and hunted with AR15’s for over 10 years. During that time I’ve put up with them hanging up on every stinking thing that I wear, walk through or sometimes even just stand near. I’ve cursed the improper fit (for me) of most of them, and general uncomfortable feel compared to my beloved bolt action rifles. However, those reasons were never really the overriding factor for me deciding that I just didn’t want to hunt with an AR. It’s the caliber. Jeff Cooper called the black rifle a ‘mouse gun’. As far as I’m concerned, he was right, and my thought process was ‘why am I putting up with these shortcomings for a rifle that I don’t feel confident shooting anything larger than coyotes with’? The venerable .223/5.56 will certainly kill pigs and deer, but the limitations of the cartridge make me feel that it is inadequate as a hunting round for the animals I pursue in north Texas.

For many years I’ve hunted with bolt action rifles of various calibers. I have a ‘blueprint’, so to speak, that all my bolt action rifles fit: good triggers, stainless/all weather materials, exact scope height and placement on the receiver, as well as accuracy enhancing stock treatments such as free floating or glass bedding. My rifles handle smoothly, are accurate from either offhand or shooting sticks, and I can bring them to bear ‘lightning quick’ even when slung on my shoulder. Take that you clumsy AR’s..

But I still had ‘that itch’

Shooting semi-automatic rifles is fun! Being able to fire another round to almost the same point of aim without having to take the rifle off your target, or your hand off the trigger in order to cycle a bolt, is also very good when you may want to shoot more than one pig. Pigs can go from standing still to Mach 5 at the sound of a gunshot, and if you’re not fast, you’ll never get a second shot, whether needed for follow up or another target. I’m pretty decent with my bolt actions but I can’t hold a candle to the speed of an AR15!

So here comes my buddy Glenn with his new AR15, custom built, in 6.8SPC. Now I had read about that cartridge and it sounded like just what the AR15 needed to work well in a field full of variety. I used Glenn’s a few times and even killed a couple pigs with it. I begrudgingly gave it a rating of ‘fun, lethal and fast’-that being the overall package of cartridge and rifle. Still the AR just wasn’t getting me excited as a hunting platform. Of course, Glenn was stacking critters up with his and keeping me abreast of his success as good friends always do. ‘Wow. That thing sure seems to be working for him’ kept rolling around in my head. So I set to the task. I knew it would happen and this time I would be prepared when black rifle fever fully took hold of my OCD induced over analysis and ‘I want-it-itis’!

Going to the dark side

Everybody else saw it coming before I did. Well, I saw it coming but just didn’t want to admit it. I had spent some time badmouthing the AR platform for all it’s damnable traits, and yet here I was waiting my turn to dance with the devil. I felt like a sellout.

So, before I came to my senses,  I ordered an AR15 parts catalog from Brownell’s. Man, those parts sure were sexy sitting there on that page. Just THINK how cool my AR would be if I had THAT flip up sight and this free float hand guard. Oh LOOK, they even have dust covers that can be engraved with logos! You could get match grade widgets and battle worthy gadgets…but WAIT! Stop the OCD. I knew what I needed, the criteria was easy enough! Hunting! Not zombies, not showing off at the range-just hunting. I wanted to carry the rifle in the field without hassle and getting so mad with it that I wanted to throw it in the nearest pond, plus being able to bring the rifle quickly to bear without ripping my shirt off in the process.  Ok, I can focus, really, I can. The solution (configuration) was so easy it almost made me laugh. Instead of a rifle festooned with widgets and flip up devices everywhere, rails on every possible surface to grate against me, and weighing in like the sumo wrestler of hunting rifles, all I needed was a basic service rifle. An Eotech sight with flip away magnifier, a place to mount a light, a decent trigger, 6.8SPC caliber and viola-the little black rifle that could!! No wonder I never saw it coming-it’s too simple!

So now what?

So far I’ve only killed two pigs with my little 6.8. I know the limitations of the cartridge, my limitations, the rifle’s limitations, and I also know that this one rifle will serve me for whatever game I typically pursue. And you know what else? I haven’t wanted to toss this one into a pond! That’s because my rifle was thought out by me from the beginning to be hassle free, match my ergonomic requirements and is topped with a sighting system that has the speed and ease of target acquisition that, as far as I’m concerned, cannot be matched by anything else. If pigs were scared before, they ought to be terrified now!

Goodbye Boar Hunter mag...what a shame!

Some of y'all may know that I've written a couple articles for Boar Hunter Magazine. I know I need to get on the stick and get some articles out to other publications..I've been lazy, but now, my 'first' is no longer. I wouldn't say it's like losing a friend, but it was comfortable knowing that they may not always publish my articles, but that they liked my writing and style enough to publish my ramblings on occaision!

The worst part of this loss is how needless it was for this to happen. Sadly, after some changes with the staff and I'm not sure what else, they just never could get it-and keep it-together. Best of luck to those involved with Boar Hunter as they pursue other ventures!


And now for something completely.....the same.

Let's go pig hunting. Let's go metal detecting. Let's go fishing! Spring is, uh, springing and it will soon be hotter than 40 hells out there, insect and snake infested, and just harder to do everything that we all like to do. Of course, that doesn't scare me one bit!

On the agenda this summer is bowfishing! I did that once a couple years ago and it ranks up there as one of most fun redneck sports! Just go try it...you'll see!

Enough computer time though-my hunting boots have a speck of dust on them (gasp)!

2012 The end of the world? Well I'm just too busy for that..

Oh boy! Doom and gloom! We're all gonna die, or at least all those other people are gonna die while us cool people that bought survival gear make our way through what's left of the world and live truly free utilizing only the vast knowledge of survival that can be imparted to those at the time of purchasing an AR-15 and 2000 rounds of ammunition! Whew! Almost ran out of virtual breath on that one! But wait, there's more-if you order before 12, or is that 21, wait, 12-21-12, we'll also throw in a coffee mug, t-shirt and your very own army survival manual!

Seriously. This crap is out there. Ok, I'm jealous. Why? Because these yahoos had the FORESIGHT to set up all sorts of 'we're gonna die' websites so they could hawk their wares. Yep, they're getting rich off the end of the world. And I'm not. Yet anyway..

In the meantime I think I'd rather go pig hunting! Or metal detecting! This year it'll be both of those plus whatever other mess I can get into, like getting a kayak and going fishing. That sounds like fun to me and just happens to open me up to a whole new world of gizmos and gadgets! Me like.

Recently I dipped into my store of 2012 ammunition and killed another pig! Starting off 2012 with a bang-could there be any other way? No fantastic story here...guy enters woods, finds creek, looks for the freshest hog sign and waits till dusk, blasts a pig in the ear, drags the pig back to the truck after falling down in the creek, normal bread and butter pig hunting. We don't have much time with the end of the world approaching so from here on out everything will be condensed into the 'Reader's Digest' version.

More fun in store with Spanish trail stuff. I have several sites to work at once now and can look forward to lots of headaches and a strong desire to whack my head against some of the boulders that these guys love to mark up with all the confusing signs and symbols they liked to use! Still, it's really quite incredible to see and touch rock carvings that were put down by Spaniards in the 'New World', before any of us were thought of. The coolest part though is that people nowadays walk RIGHT past this stuff and can't 'see' it. Every so often you'll hear somebody marvel at nature's wonder of making that boulder look like an animal, or how cool it is that the shadow across that rock face looks JUST like a bird. Just mention to them ONE TIME that those things were modified to be that way and see how fast you go from 'just some dude' to 'that nutcase'! Oh well, maybe it'll pay off for me one day...they say one in 50. I have a lot to do.

I'll be out there doing one of those things when nothing happens on 12-21-12!