New Security Rules for Air Travellers

Michael has some inside info on upcoming rules.

Bloomberg's Blueprint

Snowflakes in Hell has the document. This is a list of 40 recommendations sent to the White House. It is intended to make gun ownership more difficult. Read the synopsis by Sebastian as it is worth your time to know what the opposition is up to.

Merry Christmas!

I have a couple of stocking stuffers to show as they are almost as amusing as they are useful. The first item is used to try to call in predators.

I have no idea to the effectiveness of this Mouse Squeeze but it sounds like every other toy squeaker. I could use any of the dog/cat toys in the house as they sound identical to these untrained ears. I had asked my daughter if I could borrow one of her dwarf hamsters but she insisted on knowing why I wanted it. I just wondered if you squeezed one a little if it sounded about the same. I still don't know the answer to that question and have been banned from getting near her hamsters. Oh well.

The next one will come in useful. I could have actually used it last black powder hunting season as we got a little rain.

Condoms for my smoke pole!

I Like Archery - Sometimes.

My oldest daughter and I went to the archery range in the Tucson Mountain Park on the morning of Christmas Eve. You would have thought that I had never shot that bow before. It had been a while (last January) since I had shot it. I discovered that my right hand plant was not correct and finally got that solved so I could continue with the few arrows remaining. There is no leeway on arrows using a 70# bow when hitting the wood frame on the target or missing and launching off into the rocks. I eventually trashed/lost all eight arrows that I had brought much to the amusement of my daughter. I also managed to mess up pretty good a couple of times and snapped myself. Did I mention that I had forgotten my arm guard? Looks like this:

I thought the first time really stung but it admittedly really lit up the second time.


I was going to go hunting on the 26th but decided that further shooting was required prior to trying to stick a deer. Back to the range later today.

Save the SEALS Petition

Seal clubbing - favorite past time of military brass and Congress.

Exploding Chewing Gum Blows Off College Student's Jaw

Didn't his mother tell him to quit snapping his gum? Probably missed the lecture about not dipping your gum in explosive compounds.

Black Friday Shopping

I typically will not do any shopping the day after Thanksgiving but........
Dick's Sporting Goods sale on ammunition (buy on, get one, limit six total) was just too hard to pass up. The sale included the Mega UMC boxes. I was there at 6 AM as I slept in. The sale started at 5 AM. The limit was purchased and I am back safely cocooned in the house. Now this is my kind of sale!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

The Bucks Were Not Cooperative

The trip was a fine one. My Bronco ran great and had little difficulty with the old jeep trail. I drove in the day before season started to set up camp. It was quite breezy so setting up the 12'x18' tent by myself very interesting. It wasn't too bad until it was time for the rainfly. It was amusing and a little frustrating but I have learned to expect such challenges. We make up some one-pot meals to freeze before the trip that make dinner real easy. The first night was some fine leftover beef & noodles. The tent was a little noisy through the night as the wind never really let up.
Part of the camp is a folding stand with a regular toilet seat on it that I made up out of some leftover aluminum angle and stainless steel chain. A spot is picked a little way from camp providing some privacy distance. It is really nice to have a spot to sit. As you get older you will appreciate not trying to squat and balance.
I went out opening day and it was windy. I saw 5 deer with one of them being a very little spike. I passed on the little guy. There was also a dead kit fox that someone had blasted with a high power round. The tail looked nice so I cut it off to take home.






I also saw two Coatimundi and got to watch them working a hillside for things to eat. I thought about shooting the larger one and getting it mounted but that opportunity did not present itself. I did not want to shoot it with a 50 cal muzzle loader so it needed to be close enough for pistol.



I saw more bear scat in this area than I have seen in the last 20 years. There has always been sign but not this much.

That night, I had some freeze dried Italian Beef Pasta. We normally try out freeze dried foods at home first to see if it is fittin' to eat. You really want to stick to the common types of food. Chicken Stew, Beef Stew, Chicken & Rice, you get the idea. Time to divert to another time and place. We were backpacking along the Georgian Bay in Canada and one evening we had freeze dried food called Turkey Tetrazzini. There six of us and no one would eat it. We dubbed it Turkey Tetrachloride. this is when we started tested things prior to being out in the boonies. Now back to the current time line. Italian Beef Pasta sounds pretty normal doesn't it? Tasted good! I have never had gas like this aside from being ill! You did not know if you should go ahead and let one go because the pressure was great enough that you could easily drop a load in your shorts. I went over to that little seat about 6 times before bed. Nothing but gas. Heck, I could have won one of the crepitating contests! I figured I should move the seat closer to the tent as this had no indications of letting up and was getting cold out. Finally, everything seemed comfortable enough to crawl in the sleeping bag. I woke up about 2 in the morning and thought I was going to explode. Can I make outside to the seat? Unzip the bag, get your shoes on (no small feet, no pun intended), and stand up to a thunderous roar that would make any mountain man proud. No mess, no fuss. This baby should have been witnessed. We usually try to rank farts by three qualities. Ranked 1 to 10 for each category of loudness, duration and olfactory quality. An easy 26 but not a 30 as it was lacking in some of the necessary olfactory components for a perfect score. That seemed to be it for the evening. No other distress except for copious amounts of gas. I don't think I will buy that one again.

Saturday afternoon, my hunting partner rolled in. There was a little rain earlier. I was only rained on just long enough to make me go back to camp to get a poncho. It naturally stopped raining when I got back to camp. I had seen more deer that day but nothing I could grow antlers on.

Sunday was gorgeous as the wind was down and it was warming a touch. You could take a nap in the afternoon leaning against a tree with no problem. Monday was much the same except that evening we saw a lion about 146 yards (yes, I carry a range finder) from camp. He had disappeared by the time the rifle was gotten off the hood of the truck. We watched until it was dark but no more lion. Darn, I always carry a lion tag just in case.

We both broke camp on Tuesday. I hunted Wednesday as a day-hunt off the observatory road with no better luck.

How long is your wife supposed to chew on the fox tail to make sure that the hide is good and soft?

Deer Season Approaches!

My muzzle loader and I await the start of the season with great anticipation. I really enjoy camping and hunting. It is also looked forward to as this is my first vacation for the last year. A couple of years ago we had discovered that if you were in a certain spot in camp, raised one arm, stood on one foot and held your mouth just right, you could get the cell phone to work. I guess that is a good thing. My better half thinks so as she worries about me, especially if I am alone. She does not seem reassured when I make statements such as, "If I die out here, it won't be for lack of firepower."

You are allowed to carry a non-hunting pistol when archery or muzzle loader hunting here. That is defined a weapon with a barrel length of less than 6" and no electronic sights. I will carry my 4 5/8" Super Blackhawk while hunting. It is not uncommon for me to carry more than one pistol when in camp and keep a rifle handy. I had discovered during one cold elk hunt that my jacket seemed heavy. I had the SBH on my belt but was using the jacket as a storage device. Three more pistols were in different pockets. I had the 1911 (45acp) in one pocket, EAA (9mm) in the other pocket, a PF9 in my vest pocket, and various magazines. Guess I was going for the NY reload style of carry. I am not that paranoid as some target practice was taking place earlier and weapons had been placed in convenient places. It was too heavy so I put a couple away.

Wish me luck!

People hired by Obama as Czars

Western Powder

I am impressed with their Blackhorn 209 powder and customer service. I had stopped by their booth during the Phoenix NRA Convention. They had advertising graduated vials for the Blackhorn 209 powder. I had thought I was a little piggy at the time as I took three of them. They are very handy, especially at the range for advanced measurement of powder. I wished I had grabbed a dozen.

Cruising the web showed me nothing comparable so I contacted Western's customer service. I had a return email in about an hour! These vials are going to be marketed but haven't hit the web sales yet. They can be purchased directly if you contact customer service. You can't beat the promptness and friendliness of the responses. I purchased a dozen.

The more I shoot with the 209 powder, the better I like it. I have had some difficulty with a particular brand of sabots for reloading without swabbing. This is more of an isolated instance so I would say that Western's advertising on this product is spot on. there a breath of fresh air for you - works as advertised.

They Are Twins

I went to the Sportsmans Warehouse in Mesa and the layout is identical to the one in Marana. I mean that it really is identical including the facia and elk outside. One big difference is that they have about four times the inventory of powder etc. I was looking for more bullets for my smokepole and the one at home was out of the 245gr HP Powerbelts. It is only natural that when one settles on a bullet that shoots well in both rifles that it is out of stock. It would appear that certain locations have more pull when it comes to receiving shipments.

The Mesa store had three packages that went into my cart. Not being satisfied with the additional 60 bullets, I went to Bass Pro last night and picked up 60 more. This acquisition should make sure that I have enough to get through one more range trip and the hunt.

Muzzle Loaders Are Fun!

I went back to the range on Saturday for another round. It went unmentioned in the previous post that I had some difficulties with the old smokepole (Traditions) that was converted to a 209 primer nipple. the primer would get stuck every other shot or so. One of them was really stuck and it was unmovable at the range. I later removed it while cleaning after removing the nipple and plug. It was a real pita to get out. The factory said that they have no problem with the 209 conversion but always use the pricey Rem Clean thingy primers. It got converted back to the #11 percussion cap since I can't use the newer 209 powder with that style nipple anyways. Pyrodex is really, really stinky.

There was a 4X Redfield on an old 30-30 so I decided to put the Leupold back on my wife's .243 and the fixed on the Traditions. Nice combo as you can get 2" groups at 100yrd if you swab every so often. Pyrodex leaves a lot of crud - all of them do except the new 209. Did I mention that Pyrodex stinks?

I had an old red dot sight resting and just begging to be put on something so it went on the new CVA rifle. Sweet! That shoots nicely although the 5moa dot is kind of large at 100yrds. You could still shoot 3-4" groups even thought the dot covered all.

It is time to leave the setups alone and shoot them once more prior to deer season. I believe that I must now develop my plan for surrounding the deer with cleverness!

SBH & Blackpowder Day at the Range

Finally - I got over to the range to play with my shortened SBH. I will need to play with some sort of modification for the front sight as it is too short and the rear has no more downward adjustment left. I ran 150 rounds through it sighting and playing. 6" high at 15 yards. Maybe I can superglue a little fiber rod on top of the sight. Aside from that, the revolver still patterns well so the re-crowning work went well. I am satisfied with the alteration.

I have never shot a muzzleloader before but thought that it might be a good idea since that is the deer hunt that I was drawn for. I have an older inline (Traditions Buck Hunter) that was given to me by my father a few years ago. I had not shot it until Saturday morning but I did replace the plug and nipple to use the 209 primers. I also bought a low end CVA pivot action since a fellow should always have a backup weapon during hunting season. Both are 50 cal.

I purchased some of the new Blackhorn 209 powder that isn't as smokey, doesn't foul, more powerful, allows the use of sabots without any loading difficulty, cleans up with regular rifle solvents, and is advertised to do everything but load itself. The literature shows pictures of 209 nipples. The Traditions nipple has a big red X through it. That is another reason I bought the CVA.

I took the Leupold 2x7 off my wife's rifle (I will get her another one) and stuck it on the CVA with see-through rings. This doesn't work. The scope does not have enough adjustment to dial it in. You could look at it from the other aspect that the mount/ring combination does not have the proper cant. I took it off and shot it with the fiber optic dot "iron" sights. I love that pivot action. Most of that advertising for the 209 powder is good for my rig except that part about that there is no problem with having to clean between shots with sabots. You could hardly set a bullet after four shots. The palm of my hand is bruised from trying to shove the rod down. Fortunately, I also had some Powerbelt bullets that some of the shooters on a blackpowder forum like. I could load those without any great difficulty and continue shooting. The combo of 209 powder and Powerbelts shot well.

The Traditions was loaded with Pyrodex RS. You almost could not load a second sabot. I switched to the Powerbelts and some other similar bullet that Dad gave me. Both of these worked fine without a lot of swabbing. Pyrodex is definitely smokier than 209. The target disappears momentarily after each shot.

Shooting the smokepoles was a lot of fun. It is slow going and you will spend more time at the range when sighting in but that is actually a good thing as I like being at the range. I met people who normally would not have spoken to you due to their curiosity over what you were shooting. I only got a couple of sour looks from a guy downwind. Oh well, maybe I should put a drop of Old Spice in a hollow point. I am sure that it would be nice smelling then!

I stopped at Sportsman's Warehouse on the way home and bought a handle to slip over the rod as it became obvious that one is required if you are going to the range for a session or three. More Powerbelts were added to my collection.

Anyone want a bunch of those 50/44 plastic sleeves (sabots)?

Recipes

I see that it is becoming fashionable to post recipes on your blog. Not to be left behind......

STEAMED SKUNK
1 Skunk
Salt
Water
Seasoning

Skin, clean and remove the scent glands. Put in a strong solution of salt water and parboil for about 15 minutes. Drain off this water, add fresh water, season, and steam slowly for about 1 hour or until tender.

Mmm, mmmm, mmmm, mmmm ,mmmm - makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

I have quite a few recipes for wild game and some other oddities. Let me know if there is a particular critter that you can't find a recipe for and I will see if it is in my database and post it.

SBH Cut & Finish

I wanted to be able to carry a "real" caliber of handgun while archery/muzzle loading hunting. You are allowed to carry a sidearm here as long as the barrel is less than 5". I had a gunsmith cut/recrown the barrel from the original 7 1/2" to 4 5/8" then off to Mac's Shootin' Irons for a Tuff-Gun finish in matt black. The weather won't be much of a concern on this one.

Before (stock picture)

After

I am pleased!

The Bronco Lives!

It has been a long journey mainly due to how busy the engine rebuilder was/is and me being a master procrastinator. The engine rebuilder (Phoenix Engine) had a 4-5 week backlog that turned into 7 weeks. They had over 400 engines in the shop for rebuild when I dropped mine off. they still had over 400 engines when I picked mine up. the poorer economy has definitely boosted the number of people who are keeping their old iron over buying new.

Oh no, The engine is gone!

It's back.

The 351W HO rebuild consisted of a 60 over bore, new crank (kind of stock), balancing, hotter cam, Dart Iron Eagle heads, Edelbrook dual plane intake, summit shorty headers, and a Holley 80457S carb. The felt HP increase is quite noticeable even on the tight new engine. It hasn't been on a dyno and it is unlikely it will but the shop expect that this one will turn close to 350HP and 400 torque. That is probably optimistic but it drives like it is close. We will see when it is fully broken in.

Have I Been Lazy or What?

Let's try the "or what" portion of the title as to why I haven't blogged as I should.

I changed jobs during this time period which caused quite a few extra chores to be put on the list. Some people were concerned that the "boss" was leaving but the corporate dedication to the Tucson office is not dependent on an individual. I know that it will be more difficult for some as their duties will increase as will the complexity of the job. I know that Kevin is in that position. All I can recommend is to run with it and ask for more money!

It was really difficult to get in the necessary dove hunting time as I was leaving the old job. I actually went ten of the fifteen hunting mornings . The legal limt was obtained all days except two when I had morning meetings at work. Darn work interferes with fun stuff like hunting, shooting, reloading, fishing, camping, napping, etc. Hard to do all the fun stuff without money though. The alarm would go off at 4 AM so that I could get in the morning constitutional and a snack prior to taking off. I love to get there a little early (OK - at O'dark thirty) to hear the coyotes and watch the sun come up but others do not seem to feel the same. I asked my wife and daughter if they wanted to go and even offered to make them a piece of toast in the morning but to no avail. They seemed to have no interest as soon as I mention the time. My daughter told me something like, "Have fun with that". I don't think that is a positive response even though it was said with a smile.

The Bronco is back on the road. The rebuilt engine runs great but it had a fuel delivery problem. That will get corrected this weekend seeing that dove season is over. It was a difficult choice sometimes. Should I work on the truck or go hunting? The truck was delayed.

I will get back on the stick and post more regularly.

Tribute to Ted Kennedy

Mom has always said that if you don't have anything nice to say then...........

I will link to another piece but I have nothing to say.