The Watcher

I like my dog for his ears and sometimes wild eyes. He's a fierce little thing and has a visceral hatred of mail trucks. Though he likes gunfire well enough. In fact he likes that a lot.

He likes to set up on the porch, too. So do I. You meet a lot of the congregation that way and it's better than being cooped up inside. That's what I think and I'm sticking to it.

Just Some Crazy Person

Good luck finding Hillary's emails.

God bless,

LSP

I Love Texas

Presented without comment.

LSP

I Love Texas

I love Texas.

Loooozer

It doesn't hold with abortioncrat Wendy.

It didn't turn blue.

It did say yes to open carry, almost.

Maybe Keystone will pass through and make us even more powerful.

Obama? Who is he, anyway,

LSP

Dog & Gun

Have you noticed that lib logic always produces the exact opposite of its intended result? Global Warming's a good case in point: It's hotter now, we're told by our billionaire green overlords, which is why it's colder, and in order to make everyone richer we have to be taxed more. With that in mind, I braved the freezing wind chill and took Blue Mephistopheles to the range. I wanted to achieve two things. To see how Blue Zeke would cope with gunfire and to improve my shooting with the Ruger American .17HMR.

It took a couple of shots to warm up and Blue Rustler found these exciting and fascinating. "I want to chase after the bullets," he thought, cleverly.

Blue Heraclitus was mistaken in thinking this and had to be tied to a steel target frame. This helped the shoot and I was pleased to see the tiny .17 HMR zingers moving at 2550 fps onto the bull. With a steady hand and a slightly higher power scope than I have (perhaps), there's no reason why you can't get groups in pretty much the same hole.

As it is, I was pleased with the shooting and untied Blue BarkaLot for a quick scamper up to the butts. He calmed down after that and enjoyed sniffing about the range when he wasn't watching me shoot swinging steel plates and various bits of debris.

A good morning for dog & gun. And remember, when they tell you things like "a video made them do it," or "it's colder because it's hotter," or "Islam is a religion of peace," or "we have to take your money so you'll be richer," and "we're going to disarm you so you'll be safer," don't believe them.They're lying.

Shoot straight,

LSP

Buccolic Idyll

Sometimes what I like to do when I'm taking Blue Ebeneezer for a morning stroll is take pictures of houses. 

Thanks a Lot

As you can see, all is well in our merry little slice of rural paradise, and that's the good part of town.

Demoncratz

Blue Obadiah lays the blame squarely on the shoulders of the limo-lib Illuminati elite who run this country. He hates them and won't listen to "nuance" and "reason." These, he snarls, are, "New York Times degenerate." Smart dog.

Good Dog

In other news, it appears Obama didn't bother to consult the Pentagon before attacking ISIS. Way to go, Commander-in-Chief. Obviously he takes this operation seriously.

Bad Dog

And a terror attack by Methodists, sorry! Muslims, to stab the Queen was stopped by U.K. police. Weird, eh? Like totally out of leftfield.

Ride on,

LSP

Mission Accomplished

Here in LSPland you wake up on a Saturday morning to the din of the chickens, say your prayers and wonder, "What next"? There's a few options, you can ride, shoot, fish, and all of these are good, but I didn't go down any of those routes. 

Karen's Was Established in 2006

No, I wanted bean and brisket burritos from Karen's Authentic Mexican Food, in Itasca.

So I climbed in the truck and went out and got those burritos. Were they good?

Oh yeah.

LSP

I Drove to Dallas

I drove to Dallas yesterday to visit a sick man in hospital. After that I fell back to to the DFW HQ with a view to meeting up with some friends at one of the local restaurants. Nothing fancy, just a pizza (they call them "flatbreads"...) and convivial company. But no. That was apparently too much for the team, one of whom "had to go hunting" early the next day. Interesting excuse.

DFW HQ

So I stayed in, creating a powerful marketing strategy for a restaurant/food blog called Cheapskates. The byline being, "We Want Great Scoff at a Great Price."  Stay tuned.

Home Again. Note Kyptek

Then, today, it was time to get back on the road for the country. No complaints there and tomorrow's plan is simple. Say the Mass(es), chair a meeting, go for a horse ride, maybe followed by a shoot.

Golden Void

Speaking of which, I suggested that the Diocese screen potential clergy on their ability to ride and shoot. "If you can't ride, and you can't shoot, you can'get in," I told our bishop, disarmingly. He didn't say no.

I take that as a promising sign.

God bless,

LSP

I Love Texas

Secede

Unlike our NWO overlords in Washington I won't lie, it's good to be back in Texas. For me, this means reconnecting with the people in the Missions and various firearms. I was a bit worried to discover that my sporter Lee seemed to be shooting a bit low, so I tinkered about in the fierce wind chill. Low and behold, it was dead on! Not bad for a 97 year old rifle.

Get On Target, For God's Sake.

But ancient battle rifle porch projects aside, excitement's building as Opening Day of dove season is right 'round the corner. I drove out to a parishioner's farm to scout out the potential action.

Polled Herefords

There were plenty of dove, unlike last year, and more than a few rabbits. So things look promising; the plan is to set up at first light with my Wittgensteininan ally GWB and shoot some dove. Then grill them, popper style.

Hours of Hunting Fun

Of course the dove may choose Opening Day to make themselves scarce and I may forget how to shoot in the general excitement of the thing. But we'll see.

Behold Your Ruler

In the meanwhile we wait with bated breath for the most powerful man in the world to do something about his genocidal friends in Iraq, Syria and the Levant. Good luck with that and remember, it's all fun and games until they chop your buddy's head off.

Cheers,

LSP

Brandon Texas

I'll be driving off to Windsor/Detroit next week so I thought I should get some practice time at the range. That takes me through Brandon.

Brandon's Post Office

There's not a lot there, some dirt roads, a few houses, an abandoned Presbyterian church, a small Post Office and a Co-Op.

Brandon's Co-Op

Some people are afraid of places like Brandon. Perhaps they should be.

T Posts

I find the Brandonites I know friendly, unlike the Austin leftists who'll rip you off in the maze of a labyrinth and at the drop of a dreadlock.

Shoot, Ride, Fish

Shoot straight,

LSP

Hunt Safari Style, in Texas

It was the final full day of The Dream and we had a several objectives, Viz. Shoot large hogs, a friend to shoot his first Auodad, and for everyone to catch fish. We were partly successful.

Just Where Are The Pigs?

Our shooting party drove out at first light(ish) to find the ancient enemy, Tuskers. Sure enough, we did. There they were! On a far away hill, maybe 800 yards off. Everyone dismounted and moved forward, chambering rounds and glassing the distant hogs. A long shot for sure, and we were hoping for closer contact, so we moved on, guns at the ready and adrenaline flowing. Nothing. 

Maybe The Pigs Are Here

Philisophically inclined GWB decided to take a shot... missed, and the pigs ran. Never to be seen again. Still, fair play to the shooter, off-hand 600-800 yard shots aren't the easiest of things, even if your target is a massive, predatory porcuswine.

Fish

Fresh from the pigs, the team got down to fishing and did alright, 5 Bass (I think) and some Sunfish. Lots of fun and a fried chicken lunch came in tasty too. Then, after a refreshing cold one by the pool, remember, this is the Dream, it was time to hunt North African mountain goats.

Oryx

We set off in search of one or more of the several herds. Spotted! Dismount, chamber a round, safety on, stalk. We got close, but they ran; time to drive on. After several false starts we found a couple of stragglers, mixed in with a small gang of Oryx. Now, it was near dusk and probably the last opportunity for our friend, CB, to get his kill. If he wanted the goat he had to take this shot, but it was a challenge because the animal was mixed in with the exotic Oryx and we weren't able to shot them. A challenge shot, for sure. CB decided to take it.

Good Shot, CB

We got into position, moving stealthily with the wind through the brush and as close to the animals as possible, to within about 80 yards. CB hunkered down, rested my Lee Enfield sporter on some sticks and scoped out the goat. Minutes passed. Then the Oryx parted, and the shot was clear. Cross hairs on, breathe, squeeze the trigger, shoot! The goat went down, shot by CB (well done) and the mighty .303 Brit.

Random Truck Gun

We finished off with war stories around the lodge's outdoor fire. The larger logs, and they were large, were named after ships, HMS Nelson for example, or politics, Old Tory etc. GWB shot a bobcat across the river with the .303. Project gun? Vindicated.

Old Tory

But I won't bang on. A more than good time was had by all. Huge thanks to MM for the party and congrats to CB and DV on their shots. Excellent result.

God bless,

LSP

Hunt On

Legend has it that most of the world's Auodads live in Texas, as opposed to their native North Africa. That may or may not be true, but it's rare to get an invite to an Aoudad hunt and I wasn't slow to refuse. Good fun at a friend's ranch and a chance to shoot the wiley, skittish, North African mountain goat. So I loaded up the truck with guns and headed south.

Where's the pigs?

The first day we drove about in GWB's truck, scouting around, hoping for hogs and sure enough, a big black pig broke cover in front of the vehicle and out we got, fast as you like. Safety off, shoot! But the animal was moving fast and lived to fight again another day. Same story with a turkey, but this time a shot connected and the bird went down. Brisk business and a good result. Well done GWB.

Turkey

The next day it was Aoudads. We spent some time in a blind but didn't shoot. Long story short; it didn't seem right to take the shot and we packed up, full of Aoudad tension, to break for lunch, the plan being to get out again in the afternoon. I was going to skip, thanks to a deadline, but our Guide, TRF, (Top Ranch Foreman) suggested I come out for "a quick circle." 

LSP

Soon enough we were in the truck and on an Aoudad, half-hidden behind a bush on a bluff at around 150 yards. This was my shot and I didn't have time for another, thanks to the deadline, so it had to be right. I held on the animal's left shoulder and squeezed the trigger. Remember, it's not every day that you get to do this; was the shot on? Well, I didn't see the beast go down.

Well Done CML!

We clambered up the bluff to find out what had happened. I felt I'd shot high and missed but before long we found a significant amount of blood. The goat had been hit, but where was the body? Nowhere, apparently, and I began to think that I'd wounded it, which is a nightmare. But, if it had run off wounded, where was the blood-trail? It wasn't there. A disturbing mystery. 

GWB & TRF

My Wittgenstinian ally, GWB, solved it by looking over the edge of the bluff. Being a fan of formal logic, he'd worked out that the blood-trail must be where we weren't looking. The only place was over the bluff, and there it was, caught in its horns by a thicket; I'll leave you to enjoy the Abrahamic parallel. It wasn't large, but I'd killed it cleanly with a shoulder-shot and it was the animal that presented itself to me. 

MM got the Trophy

For me the hunt was over, but the rest of our party got to work, bringing in successively larger beasts as the day went on. The best went to MM, our hostess, who shot a trophy ram at 200 yards at the end of the day. What a good hunt! 4 shots, none easy, and 4 kills, the last being the best of all and that was as it should be; MM had given the invite.

Huge thanks to MM,

LSP