Island of the Blue Dolphins.

What a world it must have been before technology.  I've always thought if I could go back in history to any time it would be to the American plains during the Pleioscene.  It must have been amazing to see this island and the sea life around it.

Daily Deercam, October 30th.

  Starting to run cams.  Got three going as of today.  Lots of sign.  Guys across the creek aren't hunting this year so it will be a little quieter.  My trails are all full of fallen limbs and brush.

  These shots taken during full moon nights.  Not as dark at night as it looks in photos.  On a full moon even humans can walk around without flashlights.

Thought it was a little buck, but then looked a little closer.  He's actually pretty good.

Mom and kids.  Mom is on the scrape.

Had to blow this up but an OK buck but uneven.  

Another one.  Or the same one.

Sceptical doe down in the bottom.

Little buck.

More doe doubting.

File was pretty awful but the buck looks medium-OK.  Standing in scrape.

Sneaking around the scrape.

Little buck standing in the old scrape.  This scrape has been running for five or six years, every year, in the same place.  He's just a kid.  I add the corn to hold them for a moment.

One of the first trees I ever hunted in here, a big arching sweet gum down by the swamp is down.  Dead and gone.  Kind of strange to be outliving some large trees.  It was really a significant and stately tree.  I put a line of nails up the trunk so you could walk up it.  Never killed a deer out of it but always kept a stand there.  Used to have a double seat that actually got used once by Ali and I.  I shot at a coyote with an arrow while she watched.  Pretty crazy to come across it broken off from it's base and crashed into the brush.  Much of this was pasture in the 60s, now there is an eagle nest up on the ridge and I can text and surf the web while in a tree stand.  Hope to have another great year hunting. 

Terrell wrap-up.

One of the weaponized McDaniel boys firing a folding stock M1 Carbine in the Garand Match.

  I'm saying "Terrell", like people know what I am talking about- what I really mean is the Texas State Rifle Association Garand/1903 Springfield/Vintage Military/M1 Carbine Championships with a CMP Pistol LEG match on the end of it.  Two long days of short 30 shot matches.  Relay after relay of shooters on the 200 yard range firing while Dave Wilson crunched the numbers.  M1 Carbine on the 100 yard range and Pistol in one of the excellent pistol pits.

  Here's the Results:

Justin Utley:  Texas Garand Champion, 284X4.

Gregg Foster:  Texas 1903 Springfield Champion, 292X5.  National Match winning score.

John Jebavy: Teaxas M1 Carbine Champion, 370X4. A score that might win at Camp Perry.

Robert Langham: Texas Vintage Military Rifle Champion, 287X2.  Fifth repeat.  Six titles for his K31.

Daniel Miller, 1st Non-Distinguished Pistol for 8 points, 259.

Kyle Horschler: 2nd non-Distinguished for 6 points, 256.  Kyle drove up from Corpus Christi to shoot this match.

All told there were about 130 separate matches shot by individuals.  Most folks shot more than one so there weren't that many participants but there were 50 or 60.  The weather was very pleasant for Texas in October and the Terrell range a perfect venue.

  Thanks to Alan Wilson, Ken Gaby, John Jebavy, John Ilzehofer, Gregg Foster, Dave Wilson and Roy Plumlee for calling the lines and doing the work it takes to put on a major event like this.  Ron Leraas might have done something and you just couldn't tell.  I don't think I heard a discouraging word all weekend.  Great folks.

Ron Leraas waits out a relay.  Ron was 2nd in the Garand Championship with a 283X4.

Double Distinguished Justin Utley firing Rick Crawford's 1903 Springfield.

Gregg Foster improves his mind in the October Texas sunshine.

McDaniel with his M1 Carbine.

More McDaniel Carbine.  I tried this one year in the carbine match.  It nearly works.  The hand position is much better with a folding stock.

The hat I wear when I want to scare children.

Plumlee directs last stragglers on the pistol LEG.  Terrell runs turning targets.

The steady hands of Roy Plumlee, (Double Distinguished, Rifle and Pistol), weighing Pistol triggers for LEG match.

Distinguished Rifle Gregg Foster winning the Springfield match.

Distinguished Rifle Ron Leraas with his Garand.

Alan Wilson, Utley, Jebavy, Langham and Dave Wilson.  Five guys but six Distinguished badges among them, and Jebavy is still working on his.

Terrell on Saturday.

Tomorrow is day two at the Terrell Rifle and Pistol Club.  The BIGGEST Pistol LEG Match in Texas and surrounding states will be run then.  Bullseye pistol shooters are generally so un-welcoming to newcomers that their matches are very sparsely attended.  Hard to find a Bullseye pistol LEG match that gives more than one LEG outside of Camp Perry....except for the one put on by the rifle team at Terrell and at Panola in May.  Both of those matches give five or six legs.  Lots of new shooters or at least people willing to give it a try.  I won the pistol LEG at the Dallas Gun Club Regional match.  They gave one six point leg because only nine folks shot.  I won the Terrell match last year, got 10 points and a gold metal and legged out.

OK, rant about the fine sport of Bullseye Pistol committing suicide OFF.

Young child with Garand today on the line.  Even the ammo he is firing is older than he is.

Andy Wilkins explains the fundamentals.

Scoring targets on one of the early relays.

70 year old rifle.

Firing line.

Wes Van Bramer.

Mitchell Hogg.

Bill Aten firing his Garand.

Can there be anything cooler than being an American and Texan firing a Garand at a TSRA Championship just outside a major city?

My restocked, rebarrelled CMP baby.  My position came apart under the recoil today in the prone rapid- right elbow came out and it drove me out of my natural point of aim.  It still LOOKED good but I shot eight shots out the right side of the 10 ring...all the way to the seven ring.  Ruined a nice score. First shot was an X, elbow came out.  I moved it back in and the second shot was a 10.  Put in the eight-round clip and it jumped out again and I quit fixing it, thinking it looked OK.  Wasn't.   Hence the silver below in Garand.

Today's medal take.  M1 carbine, Garand, 1903.  Shot a 100X5 with the 1903 Springfield in the prone slow fire.

Big day tomorrow.  We will shoot several more relays of Garands, 1903 Springfields, Vintage Military Rifle, M1 Carbine and a Pistol Leg match for Distinguished Pistol Points.  John Jebavy leads M1 Carbine right now with a very strong 370.  I'm leading 1903 Springfield with a 286X7.  Rusty Hogg is leading VintageMilitary with a 284.  Gregg Foster is leading the Garand scores with a 279.

  Alan Wilson, Dave Wilson and Ken Gaby are running a nice smooth match.  Come shoot.

Packing up for TSRA Garand Champ.

  Dryfire.  Reseat 30-06 ammo.  Garand.  1903 Springfield.  M1 Carbine.  K31 Swiss.  Garand clips.  K31 extra Mag.  M1 Carbine Mags.  .45acp ammo.  30-06 ammo.  K31 ammo.  Carbine ammo.  Cart.  Scope.  Glasses.  Shooting glasses.  Clothes personal items.  Camera.  Other camera.  Cell phone.  Charger.  Camera battery chargers.  Money.  Sight black.  Shooting glove.  Shooting mitt.  Cleaning supplies.  Sweatshirt.  Ammo pocket pouch.  Leatherman.  Chapstick.  Knife.

Garmin.  Water.  Snacks.

Doc Range at Temple a few years back.

Your Local Government at Work.

Two years to capture a monkey.    Of course it's a "MYSTERY" monkey.


Unrelated:  More Mystery Meat.  Or something.

Can we declare civilization over with?

Texas State Rifle Association Garand/Springfield/Vintage/Carbine Championships.

 Doc Range last year on the line with his Garand.

 This weekend.  You can shoot your old rifles, as much as you want!  Plus there is a bullseye pistol LEG match, the largest in the whole country outside of Camp Perry!  Saturday and Sunday at the Terrell Rifle and Pistol Club.  It's a team fundraiser for the Texas Highpower Rifle Team.  Run by the great and competent folks at the club.  I'll be shooting both days and trying to win one championship or another.

  The TSRA, by the way, is responsible for EVERY SINGLE ENLIGHTENED TEXAS FIREARMS LAW IN TEXAS.  Without them, they would have made us into Chicago, or worse.  Concealed carry, (and the updates that make that law more rational every session.)  Car carry.  Castle doctrine.  Parking lot possession.  Hunting with suppressed rifles.  Crossbow hunting.  They did every bit of it.  Amazing that Texas hunters and shooters are clueless about this.  You ought to be a member.

  Did they do it without you?  If so, SHAME ON YOU.

Terrell.

I think that's Mitchell Hogg shooting my Les Baer in the Pistol LEG.

Five State Vintage Champs and one National Champ with this little Swiss K31.

Utley and I won Distinguished Pistol badges last year.  Double Distinguished.

Comment to post: Mountain Lions on Game cam.

Worth a look.

Overhead and underfoot.

Five-foot diameter twiggy nest.  Eagles, probably, unless the Redtails got into meth.  Never seen an eagle nest in the area, though there was one for years about five air miles away.  The brush area below had been heavily showered with bird lime.

Little Copperhead was in the creek.  I made a mean face and now he is hiding.  Left him alone.  Pretty far back.

Daily Deercam

  Not much.  One cam wasn't working at night.  I pulled it.  I think I have replacement.  Nothing but raccoons on others.  One little buck and a rabbit make the scene.  Always surprising to see what shows up on deer scrapes besides deer.

Madmen

  Anyone that shoots anything is my friend....though when Joe Runnels called me and wanted a little adult supervision while deer rifle zero-checking two weeks before season I was trepidatious....the line would be packed with those folks who shoot once or twice....once or twice a year.

  Sure enough, it was standing room only at 31 West Range on the 100 yard rifle range.  MANY families with an assortment of rifles, from British sporterized WWII .303s to AR clones, all intent on zeroing in for the opening day of deer season.  Bored kids were poking around in the gravel for brass, wives standing around while hubby fiddled.  Bad scopes, lousy technique and a lot of windage and elevation knobs being cranked the wrong ways.  I'm happy that people shoot but amazed that many deer get killed.

  I had a nice spotting scope- Rick Crawford's old 25 power Kowa on his good stand.  Pasters.  Pushpins.

  I put up two 25 yard pistol bulls-eyes, one over the other at 100 yards and we started sorting out the three or four pretty good rifles that Joe keeps on call.  No problems: all his guns started off on the paper out of a nice Lead Sled rifle rest that he had along.  We even clicked over an AR with a little 4 power mil-spec knock off on it.  I used the standard loud voice to turn the line on and off and clear rifles while we were downrange but even then the guy next to us fiddled with his Mossberg while folks were in front of him.  I know everyone is excited but it gets scary.  Need to stand away from the open and empty rifles while folks are downrange, period.

Runnels on the AR.

  Brought my Ruger #1 and Remington 700 .308 to shoot cold bore shots and see if the zeros were where I left them last year.  They were.  Cold bore first shot checks are very much like what will happen in a deer blind- you won't be shooting a warm-ed up gun.  I won't clean them now until after the season.  Both of them were top of the X-ring at 100 yards with my handloads.  I'll wipe the fingerprints off now and them but that's it.  They are both in camo socks so they won't attract an eye in the brush.  I'm such a skinny guy that I can hide behind them.

Remington .308 with a doetag from last year.  Under the sock is a Gander Mountain cheek rest I built up to get good head position.  Joe sold me this rifle last year and it is set up to shoot pretty well.   

  Finished up by shooting a little 25 yard bullseye .22 with my old Ruger #1.  There's a pistol LEG match next weekend after the Garand/Vintage/Springfield/Carbine matches at Terrell.  My Les Baer and box are loaned out to James Pennington in Minnesota.  Going to have to borrow a pistol.   I needed the practice.  I hadn't shot a round of bullseye pistol since I legged out at Terrell with my pistol last year.

Beware old men with old rifles.  This rifle won the TSRA Springfield Championship once and the CMP Springfield SENIOR trophy at Camp Perry last year. ( I know:  Handicapped parking, but still, they have to give it to somebody!)  Its a great pleasure to carry and shoot.  1969 Lake City FMJs do the trick.

Nice little AR set-up.

Rem 700 and a doetag.....the hard way.

Last buck I killed with Ruger #1.  God only knows how many deer have been killed with this little 7X57.

The Swiss.  They shoot.  I've won the TSRA Vintage Rifle Championship four times with this rifle and the National Vintage Rifle Championship once.  The doe, not so much.  I just shoot whatever the Swiss shot.  GP11.  It works.