Squirrels & Stupidity

It is not the squirrels that are stupid.......
Would-be squirrel-killer injured after taping cartridge to BB gun

Not feeling that the BB gun was powerful enough, he taped a .40 cal round to the end. The round fragmented sending the genius to the hospital. He is also a prohibited person and received a "sworn complaint". The sworn complaint was in lieu of arrest due to his being in the hospital. Otherwise, I expect that he would have been taking a different ride.

I will give this a one Flaming Squirrel rating!

  I think that the earlier post:
Do You Smell Fur Burning, still takes the top prize.

Do You Smell Fur Burning? - Update

Person torching squirrel fur starts apartment fire

I must be lacking some advanced culinary techniques in squirrel preparation. We always skinned the tree rats prior to cooking for our evening meal. I had never heard about using a propane torch to burn the fur off first. I wonder if you clean them before the propane fur treatment or just wait for them to pop? I believe that this falls into the category of, "What a maroon!"

Update.........
Since being posted, there have come to "light'" other misadventures involving squirrels which leads me to starting the "Flaming Squirrel" rating system. This will consist of a rating from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest (dumbest?) rating. I will place this as being the current champ with a rating of 4 "Flaming Squirrels".

So much for Flake

16 Republicans who voted to proceed on the Senate gun control:
Alexander
Ayotte
Burr
Chambliss
Coburn
Collins
Corker
Flake
Graham
Heller
Hoeven
Isakson
Kirk
McCain
Toomey
Wicker

So much for liking that Flake guy. Let's see how he votes as it goes forward.
I expected no less from McCain. I would love to see a strong constitutionalist run against him. The odds of that happening are.............

Senator Flake's Response

I have been contacting my senators and congress critters about gun control and such. Always be polite! Below is Senator Jeff Flake's response. It is not known if this is a canned response but it is a fairly good one. I am starting to like him more but we will see where his votes carry him.

"Thank you for contacting me about gun control legislation.

In the wake of the tragic December 2012 school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, there has been a surge in the introduction of congressional legislation attempting to address gun violence. A ban on assault weapons, restrictions on ammunition and magazines, and increased background check requirements have all been proposed.

As you may know, I support the Second Amendment, and I do not believe our society needs more laws restricting gun ownership. What we really need is to do a better job of keeping guns out of the hands of those who should not have them, while ensuring that those who break existing laws are fully prosecuted.

To that end, I do not support universal background checks, which would be extremely costly, create further delays for those eligible to buy guns, and apply to private transfers between family members, friends, neighbors, and even firearms passed down through wills. I do support making the existing background check system more effective in order to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill. For example, many states and federal agencies are not providing the required disqualifying records of individuals barred from buying guns to the federal National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), which checks the names and records of would-be gun buyers to determine if they may possess a firearm. For this reason, I am an original cosponsor of S. 480, the NICS Reporting Improvement Act of 2013, which would require states and federal agencies to report individuals involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital, those incompetent to stand trial in a criminal case, and those found not guilty by reason of insanity – among others – to NICS. S. 480 was introduced by Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on March 6, 2013. The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, where it is awaiting further action.

Thank you again for contacting me. Please do not hesitate to do so again in the future. I also encourage you to visit my website, which may be found at flake.senate.gov."

Elk Hunting - Again!

Surprise, surprise! I have been drawn for elk again. This time I have a cow hunt in 7E. I put in for a premier spot (can you say - low odds?) for bull for my first pick and a high odds cow hunt on the second choice. I realize that I did not do a report on my last hunt that utilized an outfitter. I will modify this post later with details from the hunt in November. This outfitter was pleasant to be with. We had good shelter, food and company. There were some bull elk but we did not get to drop the hammer on anything. I will explain the rest later, but for now........woooohoooo!!!!

Unintended or Intended Consequences?

"Illegal Border Crossings Double, Border Becomes Less Secure as Beltway Gets Close to Deal on Immigration Reform"

Every time that our elected officials talk about "comprehensive" immigration reform, the result is a new wave of illegal aliens. My stance has always been that the federal government must perform one of its primary tasks of defending our borders before we talk about anything else. I must see that there are real results as I will take no politician's word. Nappy's claiming that the border is secure is not proof of anything but a willingness to lie.

There are places that I no longer hunt along the border. The reasons vary for me to abandon these areas. Some are so overrun that the game has left the area (Calabasas). Other areas are flat out dangerous to be in (Ruby, Buenos Aires Wildlife Refuge). My better half basically has asked me please to not hunt certain areas. She doesn't sleep well and constantly worries if I am camping there. These are the same places we used to go together to camp for a weekend in the Santa Rita Mountains for fun.

I always talk to the Border Patrol agents. They ask if I have seen any illegals and I ask if they have seen any deer. The officers used to tell us to stay away from the Ruby area as it was the drug runners corridor. Sound advice as it is rugged and dangerous territory. We now see various areas with warning signs saying to stay out as it is too dangerous. Do any of you from the government really expect us to believe you when you say it is secure? We are being warned off of our own land!

There was a time (1980s) when the drug runners were armed and the coyotes running people were not. This has faded to all being armed. If you stayed out of the way of the drug runners, you were pretty safe. You are now allowed to carry a firearm while archery hunting in Arizona due to this danger. I personally know people who have been shot at by smugglers/runners only for being in the area and seeing the bad guys.

Our government officials have failed us miserably. Do you ever wonder what else is coming across the border aside from the Mexicans? I hope that the general populace never has to pay with loss of life and property on a grand scale due to this government failure.

All the Border Patrol agents that I have met afield have been courteous and professional. This catch and release program must be so frustrating for them. My hat is off to the BP agents trying to do their jobs with both hands tied behind their back.