Daily Deercam

  Two little bucks from last May and their mom.  Still hanging together.

  They will be with her until the rut.

  Some folks never get used to celebrity.

  Single buck showing a little rib.  Seems like they ought to be in better shape.  Doesn't look that old.

  Well, it's not THAT daily.  I hadn't been to the lakehouse in more than a week, closer to two.  Took the suppressed 10/22- the awful-est carrying rifle I have (I could sling up two Garands easier- I think it's the Hogue overmolded stock and definitely the weight)  When you have it in both hands its better, but it's both hands.

  Anyway, took a wandering path looking for shed antlers and snakes, turtles, tracks, gold, horses, liquor, wrecked planes, guns, bullion, et.  New big bird nest of some kind stuck in the big Holly tree where a big bird sneaks a nest in every year.  This spring I'm going up by ladder to have a look.

  Poison ivy leafing out everywhere.  Still no bugs.  Dead battery on the close cam and a card full of coons eating corn.

  Beavercam still out there and running at the TMA site.  Looks like it gets another night.

TSRA Mid-Range video up, Day One.

  First day of the Texas State Rifle Association Mid-Range Championship at Camp Swift, Texas.

 Update:  Day Two loading RFN.  Midnight.  I'm going to bed.

The Vernal Snakequinox

  Finally!  Today!  A quite healthy looking two or three year old water moccasin coiled in a sunny corner of leaves on a mid-stream log/stick jam at the Tyler Art Museum site.  I knew they had to be around...plenty of lizards, frogs and primo habitat.  First snake of the year.  He looked me over and slithered slowly into the logjam and out of sight.  I could have broken out some mad-monkey beaver-stick kung-fu but was happy enough just to see him first.

  I come in peace for all mankind.  Unless I have my suppressed 10/22...then there could be issues.

  Beaver cam up!  I pulled the plug on the dam again, maybe for the last time.  I think I am going to let them build Lake Robert back there.  Ought to be spectacular.  Since I'm a scientist, (Heck yeah I got data!) I stuck a plastic yardstick in the stream before kicking the plug out.  Seven inches of water out of the channel in 30 minutes and still dropping when I left.  More hot, wet, American Beavers tomorrow.

  Found a skull to go with a few random scattered bones I had noticed.  Coon probably.  And a large hunk of digested-looking hair with a little jeweled dog or cat collar in it.  "Macy" bit the dust the hard way though I expect it was an Olympic quality effort to get that nylon collar through any conventional digestive system.  Maybe it was a REALLY big snake.

  

  

Heck Yeah that's my photo on the cover!

  USA Shooting Sports magazine this month.  Easy shot.  Just fooling around with one of my little digital cameras during the match.  Shot the same view this last weekend at the TSRA Mid-Range Championship right below but on the 300 yard line.  Had to send them several file sizes.  Now that they have used one they will never escape the black penumbra of my email access....

TSRA Mid-Range Championship.

  The winners.  John Rhynard shot his Palma rifle: 593X69.  That's shooting, just dropping seven points over two days.

  Overview of the 101 competitors at the 300 yardline.

 F-O class rifle. (F-O stand for F-class , Open)

  Here's something to chill a progressive's blood:  A dad teaching his kid to shoot.  Lot of dad/kid combos on the line.

  Just home from Camp Swift between Elgin and Bastrop.  Lots of video coming up but here's a little photo sample.

  Course of fire was 20 shots with two sighters from 300, 500 and 600 on Saturday and Sunday.  120 rounds for record, all prone single load and fire.  Four catagories:  Service rifle, Match rifle, F-TR (bipod and scope) and F-O (open class).  Plus we had guard and sniper teams shooting with us.  101 folks plus the 30 or so military.

  20-35 MPH winds on Saturday and cold.  Hardly any wind Sunday but it reversed a lot, giving fits at 500 and 600 yards.  Rick Crawford said he had some five minute windage changes- talking off three MOA left and putting on two MOA right.  I believe it.

  Stayed in barracks inside a Homeland Security concentration camp.  Double wire, guard towers, baracks.  All gates open and nothing manned but there it was.  Work makes you free and all.  Evidently, that rumor is true.

  Lousy shooting.  Worse than last year.  Just can't get used to aperture sights, and it shows.  Best string was a 195X6 or so.  Should have taken my AR15 instead of match rifle.  Fun anyway.

Video Frenzy

  OK, here's his date.

  The swashbucking winners of the NRA Regional Match.  Rick Crawford (gold) on the left, Hunter Pieper (Bronze) on the Right and David Lee Boehen (Silver) on the top.  David legged out the next day.  He's a Capitan of the Golden State California Junior Rifle Team.  We get to see him at Camp Perry.  He actually came to see one of OUR juniors, a girl.  So he had a date, won a silver NRA medal and finished his Distinguished Rifleman's Badge.  Nice weekend, huh? 

  It ain't shark juggling but its still a skilled sport.  Seven new videos up.  The Bayou Rifles NRA Regional has a little clip now, along with Nez Rongero, Walt Haley, Norman Shew, John Wilder (Distinguished Rifleman Badge) and a couple of Tyler Junior College pieces.  Bayou Rifles EIC match coming next....and this weekend is the Texas Mid-range Championship at Camp Swift. 

  The fun never stops.  Until Obama makes it illegal of course.  For the Children.  And the Mexicans.  And the children of the Mexicans.  (if they could just resist buying those grenades, rocket launchers and AK-47s at Texas dealers and gunshows, we'd be OK, right?)

  So, I'm shooting paper as long as possible.  Everyone should!

  I've taken Nez, Walt, John and Norman down at least once each and added stuff, edited stuff and put the back up.  Trying to be better.  

  Check the Blackfork6 Youtube Channel for shooting, shooting, shooting.

  Update:  Bayou Rifles Club Regional Match and CMP/EIC LEG match both up.  Happening!

Distinguished Rifleman Badge Videos up.

  Over at the Blackfork6 Channel on Youtube.  Walt Haley, badge number 1910 and Nez Rongero, badge 1234 are up.  More coming as I get editing time!

  Takes 30 points in EIC (Excellence in Competition) matches to earn a badge.  You have to be in the top 10% of the finishing non-distinguished shooters to get points.  

  Sound easy?  OK.  One of the LEGs has to be an 8 point award, preferably 10 points for a win.

  The match is a 50 shot rifle match with a service rifle.  (Garand, M1A or AR15)  10 shots standing at 200 yards, 10 shots sitting rapid fire at 200, 10 shots prone rapid fire at 300 yards and 20 shots prone slow-fire at 600 yards.  No sighters.  Every shot counts.  You can't make a mistake.

  Someone pointed out that there are more people who have climbed Mount Everest than have Distinguished Rifleman badges.  They have been awarding badges for over 100 years and less than 2000 civilians have them.  The armed forces give the same award, but un-numbered and they can shoot a slightly different match shot by large numbers of inexperienced troopers.  Cannon fodder.

Update:  I'm #1639.  Notice- I haven't made a video about me and Hell, I was THERE! 

Update:  Nelson Shew up.  Trying to edit a jumbled morass of John Wilder video into some kind of structure.  Those guys are some old-time serious shooters and coaches.

The Best Time of Year

  It's the vernal Equinox, the Photographer's Equinox, and Springtime.  Not a flea on the cat since late December as far as I can tell with a flea comb.  Tap water temp is perfect for black and white process and printing.  Pollen is putting a golden sheen on everything.

  The deer must be enjoying the spring.  New growth, full of protein is everywhere, all fresh and tender.  Insects really haven't gotten going yet.  No fawns for another month.  The weather is mild and pleasant.  No hunters in the woods.  No territorial or mating conflicts.  The does will start splitting up and finding a thicket to fawn in soon.  Terrific time of the year.

  I managed a Silver Medal in the EIC match on Sunday.  Other than that I was just a guy with a rifle.  Never found anything to read the wind at 600 yards at Bayou Rifles.  We had a fair amount of wind with pickups and let-offs, plus changes in values as well as clouds putting the target bank in shadow and sunlight.  Lots of juggling.  Shot a couple nice groups with a rifle I was still zeroing.  4X clean at 300 in the EIC.   If you don't shoot any eights, you can win the match.  I shot a few eights standing at 200 yards and at 600.  The usual great crowd of folks shooting along with me.

Bad Hotels

  The motel was so bad that we met two undercover policemen in the lobby when we were checking in.  They were looking for a suspect.  It's the kind of place you go to LOOK for a suspect.  Several FEMA families still in residence.  Cracked-out hookers dashing into the breakfast bar to cram handfuls of muffins in their hoodie pockets.  Scenic.  Days Inn on Hwy 6 in Alvin if you are looking for a hideout.  

  Cheap though.

Update:  Half the brass already tumbled.  Neighborhood smells like a bouquet of flowers from all the wisteria.  Absolutely astounding girlfriend seems even more astounding after three days of Rifle shooting.

I'm green.

  I'm shooting this weekend at the NRA Regional Match at Bayou Rifles South of Houston.  We shoot a team match Friday, the NRA Regional 80 shot match on Saturday and a 50 shot EIC match on Sunday.  

  All my ammo is recycled.  I'm shooting Lake City brass from 2003 and 2004.  These cases have been shot three or four times, including the US Armed Forces shooting them once.  After I shoot them this weekend they will get cleaned, sized, trimmed and reloaded another couple of times.

  The USG never reloads cases, ever.  

  So the Government decision to crush their once-fired brass, instead of selling it at auction is a pretty big deal to competitive shooters as well as commercial reloaders.  It's a pointless waste of a valuable resource.

  Of course it does stick a finger in the eye of firearm enthusiasts, which must the point of this new regulation change.  They hate us.  They are intent on destroying us.  They are quite happy to do it incrementally, bit by bit as anyone in government knows.  

  Does this make me love and respect the government?

  There are rumors that this has been reversed, but notice, the rumored reversal is NOT for 50 cal brass.  They are using the old excuse of terrorism.  Notice:  even with the reversal, they get their little bite.

  I doubt very much that terrorists reload.

Update:  New front post on the AR- a wider one.  Loading, packing.  Haven't shot this rifle across the course so no zeros at 300 and 600, but I can make a good guess.  Shot it this morning off the bench at 200 and then one little sitting group.  Ought to be able to interpolate from there.

It's True!

  700+ hits yesterday and just tweaking with 300 for today.   It must be true: once you've seen a few hot, wet, hairy beavers, you've seen 'em all.  I know!  Let's look at ART!

Sculling Snappers, Swearing Beavers.

  Hull down.

  I'd like to get my hands on the guy who ruins my dam, just once!

  Hauling out.

  Big turtle #2 passing.

  Seal it.

  The sweat of his brow, the spit of his mouth, the enamel of his teeth.  

  Does this angle make my butt look big?

  You think YOU are discouraged.  Consider these Beavers.  Every night they dam up the water.  Every day I tear it down...and for WHAT?  

  Construction, (especially after hours night construction) takes time-and-a-half and a sturdy work ethic.  You think these Beavers are getting a check?  Nope.  It's all sweat equity.  

  Every construction crew I worked with used coarse language, if not from time to time then as a basic lingua constructiva.  You think these overtime dam builders are swearing about some simian who is cutting the dam every night and dumping the habitat downstream?  For Art?

  Book it.  These are some swearing Beavers.

  This ain't just putting on a hardhat and turning on the mill neither.  This dam has to be gnawed out of sticks in the dang forest.

  So, a little dam deconstruction today.  Easier to destroy than build, for sure.  Afterwards I drifted along the streams looking for Southern Snappers and (just like arrowheads: look and you find): there one was.  

  Sculling back and forth.  I got my Nikon.  It wasn't the turtle from the day before- no hole in the shell.  About the time I was getting bored a second snapper hauled himself over the sandbar.  The count is three Southern Snappers along one little stretch of creek.  Very nice.  I blinked and the turtle hauling out changed his mind.  He watched my tree for longer than I cared to stand it.  Sapiens isn't going to match patience with a reptile, ever.  I can outlast a squirrel or a deer but even a frog can outwait any hotblooded mammal.  I left.  But three turtles!  Who knows, there could be 30!  No sliders, no softshell and no snakes yet...but three nice southerns in 200 yards of pooled stream.  Oh my.