Miss Kitty scores a card.

Laid back about fame.

From our friends at Borealis Press. Humbling to be part of this group. Mark Baldwin started a little card company in a Maine backwater....and eventually is marrying Texans on a borrowed estate. Its a very connected world.

Doe tagging

122 live weight, 95 field dressed, 85 freezer.

The Good Doctor and I crammed ourselves in an old tower and split up the compass. I watched the feeder and the back and he watched the treeline and the front. He was shooting. I was there to call the shots and drag bodies. Around 9:00 we had eight deer milling under a tree a tantalizing 60 yards out. They had a double twiggy screen and never gave a clear shot. After 15 minutes of eating whatever they were eating they doubled back the way they came in. All does. Several candidates.

We sat on that for a half an hour and then I got a little deer under the feeder. Two. Before three came out I had Sneed turned around and getting into position. Two nice does, one clearly the biggest and a yearling. 90 yards. We agreed on the shot and I locked up with binoculars. Sneed settled in, then went right through the trigger on his Remington.

At the shot she flinched and spun. The other two deer fled right, she ran left and pulled a hard turn, digging in to join the group. I could see the exit wound and the expression on her face. She stumbled and then went nose first into the grass, kicked a couple of times and was gone.

We sat and waited for her two friends to leave.

It's killing, deerhunting is. No doubt about it. We killed her to eat her, or for Sneeds family to eat her. I've got a couple in the freezer. My heart went out to her as I watched her run so hard after that mortal blow. We were happy, with the prize and the success of the hunt. First deer for the doctor in two years, but it's tempered by the directness of the process. You don't think about anyone killing for the sausage on your Papa Johns pizza, but they did. We do think about the complexities of hunting and killing your own venison. It's a good thing to go direct, sit in an old tower with the wind blowing out of the north, smell some gunsmoke and step around the blood now and then, so you don't lose contact with that cost.

Impressive.

Gun market in Pakistan. Too bad this area is in the grip of Islamic nuts.

Daily Deercam

This must be the second coyote. They never stop moving.

In the middle of the cam run, all by itself. Bigfoot!

Not a hair of a deer. There's a little pig sign, but cams dead on two units.

Katie Wintters birthday.

All I can say is: Thank God for Katie Wintters.

Islam Delenda Est.

Two stories from places where the religion of peace has repressed all other religions and gets to run things as they please.

Here....and here.

About like the Klan....only not so good on women's rights.

Update: What you would expect.

Scott Brown wins Mass Senate seat.

I sent money to his campaign....not the Republican senatorial committee. Direct is better. We'll see a lot of fallout over this the rest of the week.

If there was a Party of No........I'd join.

Congrats to the folks of Mass for their election of a republican. Diversity is more important than anything......they say. Now we have a little.

Daily Deercam

Three deer at the close feeder.

Two does the hard way.

Possum. The cam used to be on the little tree trunks to his upper right. It looked south, so now its switched looking North. Not as dramatic but the light is better.

Fresh recharged lantern battery for across the creek plus corn. Other cams running. Walked a bit looking for a place to move the third cam....just can't find anything likely. Did find a clean dog skull from group that crossed me when I was carrying suppressed 10/22. Lots of great habitat.

Holly Lake Ranch, a retirement area has a big deer problem. 1800 deer wandering around eating everything. It's past deer season. They can't think of what to do so they scheduled another meeting.

First Church of Christian Scientist, Tyler

Steeple burning.

Terrible loss to the church, congregation and city. 7th church to burn the last week or so.

At least two stations responded. Both new and close. Buildings looked to be a total loss. Roof fell on the sanctuary and all other wings.

Update: The latest news.

Daily Deercam

Does and nubbin buck in the daytime.

Still checking the branch.

Cold morning. Fur bristled up!

Old long-nose poking around.

Two little bucks.

Must be someone close.

Two nice does and a nubbin buck. Old camera site but new camera position.

I moved my oldest cam during the season to a scrape under the limbs of an oak. When I moved it back I changed the position from looking South to looking North. Today it had 1005 files on it. Many coons and squirrels but also two does and a nubbin buck that are in the area. Coyote. the other cams had a few but not like this.

Xavier is leaving.

Going to miss him.

Chicago Gang violence explained.

If you were ever curious as to what community organizers actually DO....

Spring semester starts today:

I prepared by killing and dismembering a large mammal. I think I'm in the groove.

Update: First class done. They seemed like a personable and intelligent bunch!

Doe Tagging

Flash photo of the mud on the jeep window with the porch light in the background.

Crosshairs drifting back as I shot lefthanded with a borrowed rifle. This is the exit side. 82 lbs field dressed. Prime sized. I shot a Steyr .308 boltie of some kind with a big Leupold scope.

Update: Rifle owner tells me I'm shooting a .260. Great rifle at any caliber.

Doe tagging

Redhead and I went up Sunday for an afternoon sit and watch in one of the very nice stands of Clarksville. No does but 24 hawks on the way up and a nice drive and afternoon. Carried an 1917 Enfield and my Ruger in case she decided to shoot a deer. I got a little dry-firing out of her but that was all.

Might get another shake later in the week. Start school on Wednesday.

1903A3 back home.

Clarksville doe from last year, Nov 22, 2008.

I loaned it out in late October during the Vintage/Garand/Springfield/Carbine TSRA matches and just went and got it. Good to have it back home. Hope to shoot a doe with it....soon.

Daily Deercam

Little buck that walked under my tree.

Three deer bristled up in the cold.

New angle on one of my old cam sites. We'll see if I like it. Great woods today. Big cold rolling in this evening.

They lie to dishearten the citizens.

"That's what I will do in bringing all parties together, not negotiating behind closed doors, but bringing all parties together, and broadcasting those negotiations on C-SPAN so that the American people can see what the choices are," Obama said at a debate against Hillary Clinton in Los Angeles on Jan. 31, 2008.

Drudge has a link up on C-span daring the Democrats to open the sessions on the health care debate. Obama repeatedly PROMISED that this whole debate would be on C-span, then never lifted a finger to see that it would be. He also promised to publish all bills online for five days before voting on them. He wasn't vague about it. He shook his finger and pounded his fist as the crowd went wild. Then we never heard another thing about it, ever. I think they lie and then blatantly break their promises to discourage and dishearten people from participating in the process.

They run these soviet-style bureacratic programs out that no one has read....and jam them through on straight party votes. Slavery or rebellion.

Update: Little video of the eight, (that's 8, for you progressive types.) times Obama insisted that this would be open and on TV.

Next!

M1917 Enfield and client from 2007.

I think I'll break out the M17 for the next doetag. It's such a high-shooting rifle that you have to aim OFF the deer at the grass underneath, just above the ankle level to put a 30-06 slug in the heart at 100 yards. Probably use some of the Hornady loads left over from the Garand Match at Camp Perry.

Mine was bought from the CMP North Store at Camp Perry. An Eddystone with an Elmer Keith inspection cartouche.

1898 Krag back in the gun cabinet.

1898 Krag 30-40

Ran some break-free in and out of the barrel and q-tipped around. Wiped the fingerprints off and stowed the sling tight. Back in the cabinet. Hadn't shot it since I killed a previous doe a couple years ago. May never shoot again. Nobody but a hunting/vintage/nut like me would bother with it.

It's not any good for Vintage Rifle matches- been sporterized with a cut-down stock and Lyman peepsight on the rear. Barrel left full length- longest gun in the rack- even longer than the Win 52D .22 target rifle. Front sight replaced with a ramp and beaded blade.

Ought to take it apart and stone the sear/boltcatch interface to clean up the trigger pull. Very creepy on the second stage.

This rifle was in last years TSRA calendar. Miss October.

Gunbroker.com purchase. Under 300.00 Has big "WSA" carved on the stock. Serial number makes it a 1902 gun. 108 years old then.

Update: I have a P17 that shoots so high on it's lowest sight setting that you have to aim at the grass UNDER a deer at 100 yards. I think it's up next.

Update II: Ordered a new front sight from Numrich gun parts. Maybe it will be taller and get the muzzle down.

Gunfire on New Years

You would think with ammo prices being what they are, that folks would hold off on puncturing the New Year sky with hot lead. You would be wrong. Ammo prices be damned!

We had dinner at a friends house and then I retired to let the girl talk begin. At midnight here in the Azalea District, the neighborhood heated up like Tet.

Easy to tell the sound difference between fireworks and firearms. (Possession of fireworks inside the city illegal as well). You could hear mag changes and revolver reloads. I expected to hear a hot nine hit the metal roof of the house but I guess we were lucky.

Tyler has written laws against this kind of thing, increased the penalties and issues a warning from the police before New Years every December. It only gets worse.

I bet there is a lesson in there somewhere.

Our neighborhood has a lot of Mexican immigrants in the apartments and rental houses. I'm glad they are armed with functional firearms. An impromptu fireworks display that breaks out at the little park on Vine and Lindsey Lane every year. They take the kids. All illegal. Don't seem to worry about ICE.

I thought about stepping out on the third-story stair and putting an 8-ball or Garand in the air, but I've gotten too old and cautious. Plus I wasn't coming out of cover with so much lead in the sky.

Happy New Year! Here we go!

Update: Something very Juan Gaulto about a whole population that ignores the Feds, the locals, the city and the state and just lives their lives as they please. Family folks. Church goers. Gotta love 'em.

Update II: In the 100 arrested cockfighting story, near the end, the Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler says he had NEVER seen cockfighting in his county before. Hahahahahahahahahahahaha! Good one!

Clarksville doetags.

112 year old rifle. 3 year old doe.

Harness up and drag out.

Venison Tartare. 45 degree weather cools them out quick! Coated with fat inside and out.

Not as easy as it looks.

Two eight points bucks, both legal sized came by about 9:15. I'd been sitting in a box stand in one of my hosts green but frosty fields texting and watching the treelines. The bucks were moving along, one a little nicer than the other, snatching mouthfuls of winter rye backlit by the sun.

I'd been on the road at 5:15 from Tyler coming up to hunt the morning and maybe afternoon. The trip is 117 miles on mostly vacant good pavement so it was an easy drive but hard to get out of a warm bed and face the frosty dawn and donut-shop coffee. The donut shop folks are always SO friendly....and the coffee is universally bad. Lotta deer in fields and powerlines on the way up.

Coyote at dawn, hull-down over the crown of the field. No shot by the time I transitioned from binocs to iron-sighted 1898 Krag.

Doe appeared in the trees under the hill at about 10:00. 150 yards. The Krag shoots just over the beaded front sight at that distance. It's not a pure Krag...someone sporterized it years ago cutting the stock back and replacing the ladder sight with a lyman peep. Creepy two-stage trigger that could be improved. I got an intentional mind-set and a good sight picture and started the trigger.

One thing about open sights: you can see the animals react. She spun away and disappeared under the hill with her tail flagging high. That usually means a miss but I felt like the shot broke well. Hadn't fired this rifle since I shot a doe offhand two years ago. Replayed the shot in my head a few times. Maybe a little high. Could have hit a twig in the trees. A few minutes later though, I saw a vulture turn on a wingtip, then another and they landed very low in the tree branches. I figured she was down under the hill.

She was sprawled out in a boggy patch about 20 yards from where I shot her. Bullet hit three inches high but good enough. I had to harness up like a sled dog with a bit of webbing and drag her out. Flagged down some guys to put her in the back of the 4-runner and got her to the rack for weighing, dressing, skinning, quartering and stashing in an icechest. She cooled out quick. 45 degrees.

First deer of this season. First doetag at Clarksville this year. We have until the end of February.

Daily Deercam

Handsome lady from across the creek.

In the fog.

Standing....

Then lays down. They love laying down in the open at night.

Scraping.

Clock is running on deer hunting at the lake. Rancher said someone had killed a big 11 point upstream. No photos. He hadn't been seeing many deer. I drifted over the creek in my alpenflage and watched the brush until the sun went behind the ridge. Hiked back to the pasture and sat in my tree until dark. Nothing around. Wonder if the bucks are herded up?

Happy New Year!

Pilfered a Dallas Morning News at brunch and saw all the same stories that I'd read the night before on the net: CIA missed Nigerian Bomber Clues. Army missed signs in Ft Hood Jihadist shooter, TSA head lies to Congress, TSA goons threaten blogger, Quds force leader and hero exchanged for Brit and murdered bodyguards, Texas lawmen accused of child porn.

So in 2010 I think it's going to be a case of "meet the new bosses, worse than the old bosses." I'm going to cut costs, save money, enjoy my wonderful private life but be wary.

No trophy buck but a lot of hours in the field.

None of us know what the next year will bring but regardless of circumstances around I hope to have a joyous and insightful 2010! Best to all.

Oh yeah: Islam Delenda Est.