Yeeeeouch!

That's gotta sting!
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/12/29/dc-ordered-to-pay-1m-in-historic-gun-case/

Face: Meet Fist

I was planning on posting about this story when I got home from work.  But then I noticed that Tam had already posted about it and done her usual fantastic job.  Then I noticed something unusual.  In the link that I found was a much longer interview and in that interview, the clerk stated:

Newsman:  Normally, Mothershead is armed.

Clerk:  You know, I would have shot him.

Funny how that is left out of other interviews.  Always carry your gun.  You never know when today is the day.  I love that he made him clean up his own blood.  The guy is lucky he was able to do it under his own power.

An open letter to hunters

Please, take your rifle to the range.
Learn how to shoot.  Practice shooting (this isn't just the once-a-year sighting in). 
Contrary to what I've heard people say, a "pie-plate" group at 100 yards is not good enough.  Practice until your groups are inside an inch, two at the most.  You owe it to the animals you are hunting.  If you can't cut it, don't go out.
Posted from the field where I have had to dispose of/put down a wounded deer for the second week in a row.

Unfortunately, the people reading this aren't my target audience.

High Caliber Pancakes

I wasn't much in the mood to do a recipe post today, but Mrs. 45er gave me a cute pancake tracer to make fun shapes, letters and numbers for the kids.  Of course, it took a turn and I thought it would be a fun post.  Why not throw in the recipe for the good old fashioned pancakes while I'm at it?

Chernobyl Zoo

It started with requested animals.  That's a lion and giraffe in case you couldn't tell.  I guess not a bad attempt for a first time.  So, the kids got theirs and I had some time to play with extra batter.

But, of course

Lesson learned, do the shape backwards and the nice looking side will be up for viewing.

Just so we don't have to have that debate

I had to hurry on these because the kids were almost finished eating.  This means everything stops again.  I just had to do 9mm so we didn't have to argue about whether or not the 9mm pancake was filling enough to stop you from eating vs just one .45 pancake or if you needed more 9mm pancakes.

So, now for the recipe.  This is an easy one and I highly recommend it over the box mix.  It's especially nice to have around in case you are used to using instant but just don't have any.  You'll find it isn't that much harder to do and has pretty much the same ingredients.

High Caliber Pancakes


1 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter or margarine (melted)
1 large egg

Large Bowl
Large Whisk or fork for mixing

The key to light, fluffy pancakes that are not too tough is to mix the batter as little as possible after wet and dry ingredients are mixed.  Stirring works the gluten in the flour and toughens the pancakes.  This is why restaurants that make large batches and have to keep stirring them end up serving tough pancakes.

Pour flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into large bowl.  Use whisk or fork to incorporate ingredients together before mixing in wet ingredients.  Melting butter in the microwave is very fast.  3 Tbsp melts in about 20 seconds in a small bowl.  Swirl if there are small pieces that haven't melted.  For wet ingredients, I recommend starting with at least a 2 cup measuring cup.  Pour in milk, crack the egg into a separate bowl to make sure it is good and there are no shell pieces.  Put egg into measuring cup with milk.  Use whisk or fork to premix these ingredients and break up the egg (less stirring of the batter).  Pour the milk/egg mixture and melted butter into the bowl at the same time.  Use the large whisk to incorporate the ingredients (a spoon is ok for this process, I find the whisk incorporates the ingredients quicker for less stirring).  All you are looking for is that the dry ingredients are mixed in and there are no huge clumps.  This will be only 7 or 8 stirs.  The batter will be lumpy and that's ok.  Do not keep mixing.  Let the batter rest for a couple of minutes before cooking.

Set flat top griddle (recommended ) at about 275 - 300 F.  A pan is obviously fine for this (medium heat), but makes cooking slow since fewer can be done at the same time.  Some recipes call for brushing oil or butter on your cooking surface.  I'm not a fan of this if you have good non-stick cookware.  The butter/oil just causes the first couple of pancakes to look funny.  Pour batter using ladle or cup with a spout into 3 - 4 inch rounds.  Cook a minute or two on the first side (until bubbles start to form and the edges are dry).  When edges are dry and underside is golden brown, flip pancake.  Cook until other side is golden brown.  Butter them up and pour on your favorite syrup.  Enjoy!

Recommended pairings - BACON.

Merry Christmas from me, too

I see most people are wishing everyone well and I wish to do the same.  Whatever holiday or celebration you are celebrating (or not celebrating) all I care about is that you do it with peace and love.

For me, I will say Merry Christmas to all and I hope it is a joyful one.

And just for you, here is a cookie fresh from the oven.

Fighting back, the victim's interview

Yesterday I posted a story about a young lady that fought back and was injured, but drove away her attacker and survived.  Fighting back is obviously a tactical decision and should be calculated based on your ability and the situation (then accomplished with immediate and remorseless violence).  I was more than a little emotional at the time of the post and maybe I should have a "cooling off period" before I post, but it seemed generally well received.  You'll understand after you see for yourself.  This is the interview that got me so worked up.  It is really worth the watch.  I warn you it is pretty emotional and you can still hear the fear and pain in her voice.  No one should be put through this.  It's why I think women should most definitely take their self-defense seriously.  It's not just your life at the time of the assault.  It's your well-being, security and peace of mind afterwards.  Attacks aren't over after the assault.  They stay with you.  If you are prepared to take action to defend yourself, that empowerment can ease your mental stress and recovery in the aftermath.

Fight. Always fight back

This young lady didn't have a chance to find out what the jerk wanted.  He tried to climb in her vehicle and she started fighting immediately.  At least in a public place she had a chance.  With this type of attack, it's very likely that he was not there to take a purse (even though he left with it), but to try and abduct his chosen victim.

Also, (if practical) get a gun.  Practice with the gun.  Carry the gun (permitted if applicable).  Most importantly, be mentally prepared to use the gun.  If that's not practical, research legal methods of defense in your area (knife, kubotan, pepper spray).  An immediate violent response of any kind can turn the tables on an attacker quicker than you think is possible.

I just watched the interview on TV (not shown in the video with this story) with this young woman and as she got emotional, she said she screamed and "Nobody saw, nobody came.  I must have been in my car struggling for what seemed like eternity because I was there for a while trying to fight him off.  Nobody saw and it was really busy for a Monday at HEB.  Nobody heard anything.  It was like they wanted to ignore it."  She finally got her fingernails in his eyes and drove him away.

This.  This is why you must be prepared to defend yourself.  The good Samaritan mentioned in the article became involved after the perp had already stabbed her in the neck a few times and was trying to get away.  Unfortunately, not everyone will come swooping in to rescue you.  There are many studies and videos showing people standing around and watching terrible things happen.  Only you can protect you.  She is now fearful about possible retribution from the scum that attacked her.  Empower yourself.  Protect yourself.

The interview is not posted on the internet, yet.  I will post it when it is available.  It is emotional and quite powerful.  She saw him coming before he entered the vehicle.  She was able to fight him while in the vehicle.  Situational awareness and proper deployment of a firearm from retention would have ended this and she would not be living in fear right now.

Be safe out there.

On Communication, Food And Shopping

Mrs. 45er and I had a great day of shopping today.  There is a great town just North of here that has a huge and eclectic collection of shops and restaurants.  It's a very German town, so there is a lot of good beer, too.  There is also a fantastic kitchen store.  I can hear the collective eye-rolling from the guys, but this is something I actually enjoy doing with my wife.  Mostly because she shops like I do and we get to eat lots of great things.  

On Communication:

It's important.  I think I found the perfect tool for the married couples out there.  It gives a new meaning to the term "pillow talk".

Uhhhh

Or, more likely:

The dust-collecting side

We did a lot of wandering around and ended up in a candy store.  Nestled in between the chocolate and pectin-based fruit chews were these little boxes of joy.

Yum

Double Yum

Triple Yum

And before you ask, yes they are real.  What kid can't wait for their parents to go to the candy store and bring home a box of crunchy insects?  Tasty.  Ok, I can say I've had weirder things. 

If I was lost in the wilderness...  Maybe.

On the way out of the same store, there was this:

Yes, it says that

And yes, those are chocolate covered Jalapenos to the right.  I didn't try them or the chocolate covered pickles to the left (not shown).  This wasn't bad, but it really wasn't great.  I think with a better cut of bacon it could work.  The bacon needed to be cooked a little more to render more fat if you're serving it cold and give it a better crisp.  Anyways, now I can say I've had it.

Moving on, we got hot chocolate in a shop a few doors down and saw this:

Oh, the good old days.  I'm sure it had cologne of some kind in it.  This is the kind of town that had plenty of the old silver cap gun revolvers that brought back great memories for me.  The hot chocolate wasn't all that fantastic, so we kept moving.  

Next, it was the place with the great hot sauce/salsa for sale.  This place is fantastic.  It has almost everything right out there for you to taste.  I always end up leaving with something.  I also always have to head to the back room, which is the seventh level of hell for your tongue.

My kind of sign

By the way.  They aren't kidding around with that sign.  I tried a Bhut Jolokia sauce for the first time sitting on this table.  If you don't know what that is, it's between 850,000 and over 1 million on the Scoville Heat Unit Scale.  Habanero peppers top out at 350,000 or so and the puny Jalapeno is about 2,500 to 8,000 tops.  Needless to say, I didn't buy the sauce.  But I did try some things in this room:

The Inferno.  Dante is in the corner

You know, normal sounding sauces like:

Yes, they went there

And

So did they

So after this room, I go back to the front and Mrs. 45er asks me to try something to see how spicy it is.  My answer was pretty much "How the hell would I know, now?"  Subtle spice nuances were lost at this point.  It was all one burn.  I did end up with a great bacon chipotle grilling sauce.  I'll have to try it out and do a post on that later.

All this munching has kicked up our appetite, so it's time to get lunch.  We found a nice place downstairs under the kitchen store.  Almost all of the buildings here are pretty old and very not ADA approved.  So, we head down some very narrow stairs and walk into the restaurant.  The first thing that hits you is the smell of a flat-top grill doing its thing and the pungent smell of sauerkraut.  This place has a good looking turkey reuben on the menu.  However, that's not what I had my eye on.

Now, that is yummy

Pecan crusted chicken with a creole gravy served with rice and candied ginger carrots.  This was fabulous.  Mrs. 45er had a good old shepherd's pie.  It was a chilly day and this hit the spot.  It was a great day.  We ended up not breaking the bank, which is nice and got some great exercise which was more than offset by lunch and the cup o' creme brulee we had for dessert.  You've got to enjoy life.  :)

An Incredible Story - A Girl And Her Gun

I was scrolling through the blogs I follow.  You know, the normal routine.  Skim and read as much as you can.  Make a point to hit the people you have connected with.  It was a normal night of catching-up.  Then the unexpected happened.  I clicked over to Another Gun Blog and was sent to a place I haven't really been before.  A Girl and Her Gun.  The serious and intense request by Mike to go read this post caught my attention and I had to look.  Then, when I got there I was pulled deep into the post and the story of the recent events of her life. The post has two things working together.  On the one hand there is a deep and honest story of the emotional journey that has led the writer to her current place.  On the other hand (and something that she showed class and did not attack) is the perfect example of how the anti-gun crowd feels the need to personally attack people for choosing to take control of their lives and defend themselves.  It is the one thing in life that drives me crazy.  Anti-gun people spew hate toward people that have guns.  Vegans spew hate toward people that eat meat.  Enviro-wackos, well they spew hate at pretty much everyone.  None of these groups think or care about the repercussions that their intolerance causes.  I'm extremely proud that this blogger is part of our community and I think it is worth a trip over to check her out.

Notice that I don't have class so I can attack the morons that spew the stupidity.  It's ok, I'll be their Huckleberry.

Muchas Gracias

Many thanks to both We The People and Flier389 for hitting the follow button.  I do my very best to respond to all comments and welcome anything you have to say (within reason).  We the People has a nice collection of hot-button posts, but you just have to check out the Dane Cook video.  I'm a big fan of Dane Cook and that one is hilarious (NSFW, but Dane Cook never is).  Flier, I could have sworn was already a follower since he's been a regular in the comment section.  I guess it was a surprise because he's already becoming blog-family.  Check out his blog linked above, the link isn't in the profile from the follower icon, but you should definitely check it out.  There are some great posts and wonderful stories there.  Thanks to both of you and to all of my followers.  I'll do my best to make it worth your while.

Booger Hook/Bang Switch

You know, keep the booger hook off the bang switch.  First, a bit of a pet peeve.  The headline is silly.  A gun in a carry-on did not accidentally discharge.  A gun removed from a carry on by an officer was negligently discharged by the officer.  But enough about how words mean things.  On to the snark:

No touchy.  I know you feel the need to because it's shiny, but no touchy.  Because you carry one on your belt doesn't make you a weapons expert, so no touchy.

The gun's owner was telling Phillips how to clear the loaded .22 magnum revolver when it was accidentally discharged, Phillips reported. 'The weapon was pointed down toward the screening table."

I'm just guessing here, but most likely the firearm in question is a NAA revolver which doesn't have a trigger guard.  Why are you cocking the hammer?  Why are you touching it at all in public if you don't know the firearm?  Just a few questions I had and I'm also relieved to see no one was hurt as a result.

Giggle for the day - Mentos and Coke car

Don't tell GM about this.  They are probably looking for a replacement for the Volt right about now.

Pig Bustin' Fun

Well, That Guy and I trudged out in the rain this afternoon intent on making a hunt happen.  We saw some deer this morning, but nothing worth taking.  Same this evening on the deer front.  Just a few yearlings.  But then, the couple of deer milling around bolted and in charged a pig.  Nothing makes a Texas hunter snap up their rifle faster.  He was pretty jittery and I knew I wasn't going to get the perfect shot, so I took the first one as soon as he paused.  It ended up really doing the job.  He was a boar and weighed in at about 80 pounds, the perfect eating size.  I ran out and dragged him back behind the blind and 15 minutes later I had a few deer back in front of me.  Still, just young bucks and yearlings.  Then...  they all looked up.  I glassed with binoculars in the direction where their attention was focused and I saw a flash of black and white in the brush.  Back up came the rifle, but this time the pig was moving across the hill in front of me at about 125 yards.  I snap-shot him in the neck and he went down.  Here's where I made the mistake I always warn people about.  I cycled the bolt out of habit, but then set the rifle back down on the bag.  I was just too sure of myself.  I saw the pig start to move a bit more than normal.  I got the rifle up just in time to see him get up and run up the hill.  The distances were ticking in my head as he ran through the brush.  135... 140  I saw a small opening through the brush and broke a shot.  A miss.  I scolded myself for trying to hit him in the head.  165... 170  No shot through the brush.  180... 185  and he finally broke into an opening.  It was my last chance before he reached the top of the hill so I broke the shot and he fell.  Out of sight.  Great.

Well, after trudging up the hill in the rain, I found him close to the top and I had to drag him down in the mud.  It turns out I hit the neck in the perfect spot, but just about 1/4 inch high.  The bullet didn't connect with the spine itself.  This is how tough a pig is, that it gets up after that kind of hit and runs up a hill.  There were two unfortunate things.  #1 it was a boar and weighed about 150 pounds and stank to high heaven.  #2, the third shot as the pig ran up the hill was a quartering away running shot and entered too far back.  Unfortunately, this one wasn't going to be good for much and I didn't keep it.

It's still raining.  It rained the rest of the night.  I had to stretch a tarp over me to quarter out the smaller boar.  Everything I had with me is completely soaked, muddy and hanging in the garage.  Luckily, my mom had hot venison stew, homemade cornbread and hot chocolate waiting in the house.

All this miserable cold and wet and you know what?  It was a blast.

I did the best I could to get some pictures in the rain and make them blog-worthy (as little gore as possible).  This is the best I could do.  The rest showed the pigs better, but were just a little much for a blog post.

This is perfect for starting to make some sausage.  It's just about time to make the first batch.  I can't wait.

Dear New Restaurant:

If you're going to choose a sign to put on your front door, you have many choices.  This was my first visit to a newly constructed up-scale sandwich shop in town.  Not only did the store not have the "no guns allowed" legal  language sign (which is pretty much a "going out of business sign" in this area), they had an NRA sticker on the front door.  Whatever you think about what the NRA does, any business that displays their 2A beliefs that proudly has my business.  Oh, and the sandwiches were incredible too, which kind of helps.

You have GOT to be joking

This administration is just completely out of touch with reality.  The examples of this just keep coming but here is yet another one.

Sen. Susan Collins on Wednesday blasted the Defense Department for classifying the Fort Hood massacre as workplace violence.

I just don't even know how to discuss this.   Calling the Fort Hood shooting "workplace violence" is like calling a Nimitz Class aircraft carrier a dinghy.  This is either unforgivable ignorance or unforgivable misdirection.  I think it's a bit of both.  The misdirection has been intentional from the very beginning in the unwillingness to admit it was a terrorist act.  The ignorance is that the administration actually believes the public will fall for the line they are being fed.

First Real Mobile Post: From the Blind

I wondered why I would ever need to post from a mobile device.  I think this is why.  Nice, cold sunny day.  It's perfectly quiet.  I love being out here where it is calm.

Failure in Victim Selection

Well, this is the kind of thing that should happen more often.  If crime became nearly as dangerous to the perpetrator as it should be, then you'd see the cost of everything you buy drop dramatically.  Well, this guy learned the hard way.

Justin then kept his attacker collared until police arrived. 

Asked about his training, Justin offered only vague hints at his background: "Former military," "high-risk training," "Hostage rescue."

He said he makes a living in a variety of ways: "Sometimes I do clubs.  I do close protection."

Uh, yeah.  Apparently, the victim is 250 pounds of muscle.  What were you thinking?  Also, note in the story that the attacker chose to rack the slide for emphasis causing a jam.  Learn this lesson for yourself on whether or not you carry prepared or not.  Then, he decides to pick up the ejected round and show it to the victim.  Everything this guy does screams opportunity for a person carrying for protection.

The mug shot is priceless.

Milestone

Ten Gs

Ten Grand

One stack of High Society (if we were talking money, which I wish we were)

10 K

10^4

10,000

...views

Any way that you say it, I'm happy you all dropped by and I really appreciate that you took the time to peek in and say hello.  A myriad of thanks.

Submitted Without Comment

Because all of my comments would be censored...

Homemade Guns, How Not to Do It

I mean, HOLY COW.  When I heard PVC and a blowgun, I knew it couldn't turn out good.  This isn't from YouTube, so I couldn't embed.  This is unbelievably moronic.  That being said, I did some things a lot like this when I was this age, sooo....

Take that for what it's worth.  Anyway, after I saw this I tried to find it on YouTube by Googling and was truly amazed at all of the rest I found.  It's amazing these people aren't all dead.

Time off from the old grind-stone

Doing the hard work

A big project at work has kept me from taking much needed vacation and it has been building.  It's finally finished and I'm just taking vacation just so I won't lose it.  The good news (maybe not for my gracious readers) is that I'll be able to spend some time keeping up with the blogs.  Boy, is it ever needed right now.  Nothing special planned, just time at home and maybe getting some hunting in.

Wookiee Talk

Brigid had been doing some talking about Tam's Wookiee.  It made me chuckle and appealed to my inner (and sometimes outer) geek.  Then I saw this and just had to share.  Autobios for Star Wars characters.  Too funny.  The names of the others are just awesome.  My personal favorite is Andrew Tauntaun.  I almost wish they were real.

Penetrating the Gun-Free Force-Field

So, I see this story today.  Anyone that has gone through a class for concealed carry has been grilled over the fact that a US post office is federal property.  There have been arguments over whether you can even legally possess a firearm in a vehical in the parking lot.  These are hugely off limits for anyone that legally carries a firearm.  And yet...

A 29-year-old postal employee was charged with two counts of attempted murder Friday after authorities said he used two guns to fire shots inside the main post office in Alabama's capital city.

My only guess is that he doused himself in magical unicorn urine to penetrate the gun-free zone.  The only other thing that might work is powdered freeze-dried elf scat.  Oh, there is one other thing.  BREAKING THE LAW.  Yeah, that works to penetrate gun-free zones, too.  Thankfully, no one was hurt in this particular incident.  Luckily, the running and hiding worked for once.  Me, I'd rather be able to defend myself and stop the threat.

Beef Slab and Bloody Caesars

So my parents got their meat back from the steer that was sent to the processor.  I know how lucky I am.  Forget the grass-fed, no hormones, blah blah blah in the supermarket.  This is pure, free-range stuff.  The way cattle were supposed to be raised.

Flintstones, table for two

I mean, that's a sirloin.  If there's one thing I know, it's that I'm spoiled.  Not only great, free-range beef fed by my dad, but look at the size of that thing!  The Shiner was just for perspective.  Well, ok, it was for perspective at first.  So, that was consumed during the grilling process.  What else are you supposed to do with it?

It's seeeaarrrific!

So, what really goes with a great steak?  Well, lots of things.  But, in particular I've grown particularly fond of a drink that a restaurant called The Keg (located in Canada) serves with their steaks.  It's the Bloody Caesar.

Yummy

So, just for kicks, here's my recreation of their recipe:

The Bloody Caesar

Good Vodka (I use Dripping Springs Vodka)
Worcestershire Sauce
Tobasco
Clamato Juice (stay with me, here)
Celery Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
Crushed Ice

So, here's the fun part.  There isn't a "recipe".  It's really to taste, so I'll just give guidelines.  You can rim the glass with a lime and celery salt if you like.  I usually don't.  I just add the celery salt into the drink at the end, but you can also do both which I will do for parties when presentation kind of counts.

Fill the glass with crushed ice (regular ice is ok, too).  For the liquid ingredients, put the vodka in first.  This gives you the ability to regulate the amount of alcohol.  Next, add the Worcestershire sauce.  I put around a couple of teaspoons and sometimes up to a tablespoon depending on the mood I'm in.  I really don't measure, so I'm guessing here.  Follow that with a couple of dashes of Tobasco, then top up with Clamato Juice.  I really do NOT like Clamato all that much, but it really is great in this drink.  Add a few dashes of celery salt and a few grinds of fresh ground pepper.  Stir well and enjoy with a great rare (or medium-rare) steak.  Cheers!

Rocketman...

I'm surprised I didn't see any mention of this in the general blogosphere today.  This is pretty darn cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4arnATc04U

You know he had to be going smoking fast.  It would suck to hit a bug, much less a bird.

Success!

Well, this morning was my first Whitetail of the season.  I took a very long spike that I passed on earlier and regretted.  He needed to go.  Sorry, no pictures.  I was going to, but a 7mm STW to the neck is not very conducive for a blog post picture.  Anyway, meat in the refrigerator!  When I opened our deer fridge (yes, we have one for deer in the garage) I saw quite the assortment of deer quarters in there from my dad and brother.  It looks like we have a bit of work ahead of us in the next few days.

The Taj-MaBlinds paid for themselves just on today's hunt.  We (That Guy and I) headed out this morning after a full night of rain.  After some slipping and sliding in the truck to get to the back of the lease and then some slipping and sliding on foot to walk to the blinds, we settled in.  About 30 minutes later the rain came pouring down again.  There's nothing like that warm, dry feeling when it's cold and raining just outside.  I commented about how bad it sounded to complain about a little wet and cold, but That Guy said he wasn't ashamed to be comfortable.  I have to say I agreed.

Hello/Welcome/Thank You

Hello and welcome to justcook and dakotas5.  Justcook seems to have quite a nice little blog involving culinary arts.  What's more interesting than that is I saw a post for breaking down a deer and making acorn flour.  Not your typical cooking posts, there.  dakotas5 has a new blog and appears to have fire in the belly.  I'd like to thank both for clicking the follow button and I hope it is an enjoyable experience.  If you're interested, swing over to the follower section and click on them and check out their place.

I have to say that my follower count doesn't make sense, so if I missed you because I don't see you thanks for following somewhere.  If you're following super-secret-anonymously, well thanks for that, too.  I welcome all.

Also, in the line of thanks, I'd like to thank Craig over at keepitsimplesurvival for linking me.  I really appreciate anyone that thinks well enough of the writing to send people over.  Thanks very much.

Deer, It's what's for dinner

Yum.  My dad got another Axis Deer.  It's the second he's gotten this season and my brother has gotten one as well.  There have been a few Whitetail fall as well (nothing by me, yet), but if you've ever eaten Axis it's just unmistakably better.  I haven't been able to spend the time in the field and, in all honesty, tend to be extremely (too) picky early in the season.

Anyway, where was I?  Oh, yes.  Axis Deer.  They are a beautiful animal.  Also known as the chital (or cheetal) and pronounced as the latter is spelled.  They originate in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal.  They have adapted insanely well to Central and South Texas.  The climate is perfect for them.  They do not have a "breeding season" as Whitetail Deer do.  Breeding is year round and a doe can have multiple fawnings in a couple of years.  There is something of a love/hate relationship with these deer in Texas (mostly love).  You see, they are free-ranging now.  They escaped from game ranches decades ago and have set up shop and taken over.  The love portion is the great meat and beautiful hides.  They travel in large herds and I've been known to pick more than one (much more) out of a single herd.  The "hate" portion of the relationship is the direct competition with indigenous deer and (not indigenous) livestock.  The incredible table-fare they provide pretty much outweighs any negative view people have.

and the presentation is fabulous

On the other hand, we have the much maligned (and rightly so) wild pig.

 This one was taken by my brother on Thanksgiving night.  Sorry for the small picture, but it was emailed.  Then, there is this...

Sharply dressed

Nasty little buggers.  Well, this one wasn't little.  It weighed in at 245 pounds.  Also, those tusks are serious.  I've seen what they can do and it isn't pretty.  It looks like between this and the deer that have been taken so far, we are looking at our first batch of sausage.  I'll post when we do that, you can count on it.

Great Divide - Smoked Baltic Porter

Another beer review? 

Why, yes.   Actually, this one has been in the fridge for a while.  I had some on our guys' weekend a few weeks ago that a friend brought and he brought me an extra bottle in exchange for some scope rings I had sitting in a box.

Smoky Goodness

Not a bad trade, I would say.  Well, it's not as over-powering as you would think.  There is definitely a smoke to the aroma as well as the taste.  The label says it uses traditional German malt and hops (lending a definite caramel malt note) as well as "Bamberg smoked malt".  I will say it is not a beer that is for sitting and drinking by itself.   The smoke, while not overwhelming, is definitely a little much without something to cut it.  Recommendations for a pairing are anything from the grill and especially a good sausage or bratwurst.  A steak would be fantastic.  We actually had it with some nachos and it was great.  It is definitely a darker beer, but the color is deceptive.  It is not heavy at all.

Into the pint of darkness

Pulling off a good smoked porter isn't an easy thing.  I haven't liked them in the past because I've had some pretty terrible attempts at them.  However, this one and one other I've tried have pulled it off well.  If you want something a little different with a nice grilled meal of meat or seafood, it's worth a try.  On the other hand, it really would go well with just about anything not too mild in flavor. 

Enjoy.

Welcome and Thank You

I jumped on real quick to respond to some comments I saw on my email today (I don't get to do any posting at work - silly rules) and was shocked to see a great jump in followers.  At first I thought it was me being so awesome, but then I realized it was Stephen at Standing Outside Looking In being extremely kind (which is nothing new, really).  I welcome all of the new followers since I've seen your comments over there and I know your a great group of people.  Thanks to Tom, kymber, Rev. Paul, mmasse, and nimrod243 for hitting the follow button.  I will spend the next little while making sure I follow if you have a blog and updating my roll.  If I miss you, please let me know.  Sometimes peoples' blogs do not show in their profile and I don't get them in the blogroll.  I'll always respond to comments, just give me time, I swear it will happen :) 

Thanks again.  I look forward to great conversation with great people.

Cruising on the CETME Failboat

I was all atwitter.  That Guy gave me a CETME picatinny rail receiver mount that didn't work so well for him and I slapped it on my CETME.  It sure did FEEL solid.  I ignored the voice of experience in my head.  I don't know why I do that.  It was telling me "You know about mounting scopes and there is nothing holding this mount to the receiver except a couple of clamps.  It's going to suck under recoil".  But my eyes were saying, "Wow, doesn't it look cool when you pop the scope in the quick detach mount on there?"  Range time was a disaster.  The bore-sighter lied and said 5 inches high.  Ok, so let's try over 5 feet low.  I set up a target a little less than 5 feet high.  I taped targets from top to bottom. 

I aimed at the bottom.  BOOM.  Nothing. 

I aimed at the middle.  BOOM.  Nothing. 

I aimed at the top.  BOOM.  Nothing?  Was that dust?

BOOM.  Yep, definitely dust, but in front of the target, not behind.

And, oh wait, there's a hole in the target.  Great!  But, wait there are LOTS of holes in the target.

Hmmm.  BOOM.  Ohhhhhh.  I'm shooting rocks in FRONT of the target.  Hence, the rock shrapnel which has now rendered my target all but useless for determining where the rounds are hitting.  There is no scope that can adjust for over 5 feet of elevation at 100 yards.   Back to the drawing board.

The mount has threaded screws so you can change elevation, so I haven't lost hope.  Yet. 

I pop off the scope and loosen the mount.  I see what I will call evidence of "slippage" of the mount on the receiver.  Remember the little voice?  Now it was saying, "I told you so."  I hate when he's right.

Also, I will add here that the rifle itself is just fine for what it is.  A battle rifle.  It will shoot inside of 15 inches using open sights at 300 yards and the spread is all me, I'm sure.  Mounting optics seems something of an afterthought in the design.

I debated trying it again and I had done a bit of research to see what I was getting into.  I wasn't pleased with the terms "fiddle" and "tinker" to make it work.  We're talking about a scoped rifle I was intending to take game with.  I owe the animal more than that.  I expect 1 MOA or less or it doesn't go into the field.  I also didn't feel like using a whole package of JB Weld like I saw in this humorous video.  Really?  I don't begrudge anyone whatever they want to do to their stuff, but I'm kind of past the "rigging" stage of firearms ownership.  I'm liking the nice stuff I own now.  So, I'm following the path that That Guy has decided to go down and sell this and maybe another gun I don't use and get an AR-10.  You know, something with a rail as part of the design.  I'd love to go with a SCAR-H, but I'd have to have a whole lot of CETMEs to sell to get there.

Old Newness

It's amazing that you can excite your self just by rearranging the stuff that you already have.  A good friend of mine, That Guy, had a rail that mounts on a CETME.  He didn't have much luck with it.  On his last hunting trip down here he brought it and left it with me.  I finally got around to slapping it on my rifle last night.  Sorry, just cell phone pictures.  I was too lazy to pull out the other camera.

The cool thing is that I have a Leupold scope that is in a set of A.R.M.S. quick detach rings.  It was mounted on my AR for hunting.  It's done a pretty good job on the AR so far, I got 4 deer with it two years ago and a couple last year.  However, I just feel lacking in some versatility with that .223 round.  Especially with big pigs running around.  I've really been wanting to try out a .308 and this might be the answer.  That is if it patterns well.  Coming off of the AR to the CETME, the bore-sighter says the scope is 5 inches high and an inch left.  I'll be taking it out this weekend to see what it does.

So far, I like the look of it and the ability to switch the scope back and forth and just sight it in without having to do a lot of ring and base work.  So, in theory - awesome.  Reality?  Well, I guess we'll test that out this weekend.



Mikkeller "It's Alive!" - It's more than alive, it's darn good

This was not really what I expected.  This is a Belgian Ale brewed using wild yeast.  I've had this kind of thing before and it was almost like being punched in the mouth.  I'm a fan of Mikkeller, so I thought I would give them a try.  This was nothing like I expected.

So much anticipation

From what I understand, it is mellowed by some bottle aging.  This gave the beer a great complexity and really tamed down the yeast.

The pour:

Big Head.  Really big head.

 Like:

HEED! PANTS! NOW! sized head

HEED!

The flavors were:
Slightly Fruit
Wheat/malt - pushing the yeast factor, but more of a caramel malt

Lightly Bitter at the end

I really liked this beer.  I'm a huge fan.  Mikkeller in general has been very good to me.  They've got some great stuff.  I will put this in the pretty great category.

All Aboard the Butthurt Express!

So, we made our annual trek to the pumpkin patch/fall festival thing around here.  Yes, it's a little late and already past Halloween and everything, but what the heck.  I'm going to tell you anyway.

Here's a little peek into the hell that is the kiddie train...

Awww, can't be that bad right?

Oh, yes it can.  This monstrosity is also referred to by a friend as the Asspain Train.

All Aboard!  No, really.  On a board.

Yeah, that's a 2 x 6 that they expect you to straddle. 

The good news is that Mrs. 45er decided to take the hit this year (again). 

But it's for the kids!  Ow, ow, ow.

The things we do for our children.  Still, it's a fun place for the bitty ones.

The Point

you missed it.

Gimme the money or the roach gets it!

So, I don't know what's up with this story.

A San Diego-area teller was confronted by a bank robber carrying not only a semi-automatic pistol but also a white plastic pesticide sprayer.

It's entirely possible the perp said there was something in the container that might be a threat.  Who knows?  I don't even know how I'd respond to this if I were carrying.  I would hope that the time it took to process the crazy wouldn't cause me to hesitate.

Movie review(ish) - "Rum Diary", the movie without an ending

So, the wife and I had purchased a couple of Groupons the other day.  A great deal on a movie and a drink at Alamo Drafthouse.  If you haven't been to one, treat yourself and go.  They're an awesome place to watch a movie.  So, we decided to see "Rum Diary".  You know, the new Johnny Depp deal from Hunter S. Thompson and blah, blah, blah.  It looked kind of funny so we decided that was the one.  Well, it was actually pretty good.  Depp and the other actors did a good job.  The story was just fine, lots of boozy acting and the funny parts were funny.  So, here's my part of the story.  I had a couple of drinks with my meal during the movie, so I really had to use the restroom.  I figured by the way the storyline was going that I might as well go because they hadn't even gotten to the big ending and that would probably take a while to unfold.  I came back a few minutes later and the movie was over.  I asked my wife, "well, what happened".  Her answer: "nothing".  They literally built the movie up to the ending and it was just...  meh, sorry.  What's more, after the not ending, it was the literal sail into the sunset and epilogue wording on the screen.  I can understand if you've told an actual story, then decide to say how your character finished their life.  In this instance, we're talking about a work of fiction, so this type of thing plays more like, "sorry, we ran out of time for the whole story, so this is how it ends".  The previews and advertisements should have said: "from the alcohol-addled mind of Hunter S. Thompson" and then I would have said, "Oh, I get it".

As it stands, I guess I just don't get a story without an ending.

Get your head right

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2011/11/04/d-dot-drivers-refuse-to-run-routes-bus-riders-stranded/

“If it’s to the point where if the driver is not safe on the bus, then the passengers are not safe, then the citizens are not safe. You know, what about them too? We have no security, you can’t get the police, nobody is doing anything to protect us. And I’ve been begging the mayor and the council for two years to do something to help us,” said Gaffney.

The emphasis is mine.  This is the attitude that allows rights to be infringed upon.  My protection is someone else's responsibility?  Now, when they need protection (police call time referenced at 30 minutes in the article) they have limited resources since they've allowed the government to restrict them so severely.  The sad thing is, they do have options (even in Detroit) to take responsibility for their own personal protection but are still thinking the wrong way.   This is not me blaming anyone, it is just a warning.  This is why it is so important to fight for your rights.  The government will gladly take them if you offer them up, then leave you all on your own.  What is the saying?  "Fire, water and government know nothing of mercy".

Dankeschön

While I was out for a while I obtained another follower.  A thanks to Tom for hitting the follower button.  I do my best to respond to all comments and will gladly post a blog link if you have one.    Welcome and slap me around if I get out of line.

Guys' weekend, completely worth it

I guess it's finally time for me to spill it about our annual trip which has affectionately been called the Red River Gun Run.  This is a spectacular weekend filled with amazing food, fun with friends, lots of shooting and great beer tasting in the evening.  Then, there's the fishing, hiking and general gun with friends.  So, now on to pics.  Oh, and a warning.  I'm not feelin' all up to it with the word stuff, so I'm going to do my best.  This will be less of a novel and more of a kid's picture book.  Here goes.

Braaaiiins!  Uh, I mean Caaaake!

It was right around the time of one of the guy's birthday and someone brought this work of genius.  I may not have mentioned, this is trip leans in the zombie shoot direction.  The cake maker that brought the cake found these fantastic little plastic zombies to fight the plastic army men.

Melee!

 On to the drink.  We drove up the first day and got there in time for dinner and then a nice outdoor movie and beer tasting.

This one was especially yummy

Remember me?

The Duchesse was just great.  You may remember the Life and Limb from my previous post.  I'm not going to turn this into a review post because you'll see that it would turn into quite a monster.

The first day was about relaxing and getting some things set up.  It was a great time to do some fishing.  I didn't say we caught a lot, but the weather was perfect and it was relaxing so it was a great time.  Dogfish Head made it that much better.

Looks Fishy!

But it wasn't all that much.  We still caught a few.

Deer and Dillo

Nothing like floating by wildlife and enjoying the scenery.

Trifecta of Goodness

A very good white port, a great sea-salt chocolate and a wonderful cigar.  This was a good night.  Each night was spent outside under a covered patio with a fireplace. 

Warmth for the chilly night

Movie

This one was 28 Days Later.  Great movie if you're into that kind.

Speaking of zombies.  This is the day of the zombie run.  This year, we featured some older targets from the zombie targets website and some of the newer targets from Birchwood Casey.  The smaller rat splatter target turned out to be quite a difficult little guy.

No pizza for you!

Below is That Guy with his awesome Saiga 12 Gauge shooting some Fiocchi luminescent tracers.  I should have used a time-lapse, but I chose to just run a fast shutter and caught it in a couple of shots.

I believe this night's dinner was the Chicken Marsala with Prosciutto that I made and did not take any pictures, of course!

After dinner, more relaxation and some more tasting.

Great beer, Mikkeller Draft Bear

That right there was a string of great beer.

So, the next day was fishing, hiking and more shooting.

No exciting pictures of us walking in the woods, but then the final night.  Time for the traditional steak dinner.

And a salad!  The Cashew Tahini dressing was a real hit with the salad.

Oh, and wine.  Except, we couldn't find a corkscrew, so we skipped preparedness and went to improvisation.

It worked wonderfully.

Then, a couple more tasters.

So, the trip is over.  Unfortunately, these go by so quickly.  Now we have some great memories and soon we'll have some great video to watch.  So, this is one of the reasons I've been off the grid.  The other two reasons I will post about later.  Sorry about all of the pictures, but it's probably easier than reading my babble as I try to explain it all.