From the Heartland

This is my soap box, on these pages I publish my opinions on firearms and any other subject I feel like writing about.

Friday, April 29, 2005

Bad advice

Just get you one of these
I think the absolute worst advice I hear given to a person that is considering a firearm for personal protection is;

"Get yourself a ___ model ___ in ___ caliber, that is the only thing that is worth carrying." (or words to that effect)

Time and time again I hear or read supposedly well meaning people give that advice. Many times it comes from a friend or family member, often times it is repeated on message boards all over the internet.

Yes there are certain firearms that are not suitable for self defense. The Raven comes easily to mind along with several others. Advising a person what not to get is a whole different ball of wax than telling them specifically they need to get X.

Firearms like people come in many different shapes and sizes. To say that a specific sidearm is right for every one, just because it is right for you or that a famous so-n-so wrote it in a magazine is not good advice and potentialy does far more harm than good.

As most people that will read this are aware, serious firearms for self defense are either revolvers or semi-automatics. There are those that feel a low capacity revolver is obsolete and a person is not suitably armed unless they are carrying a semi-automatic with at least a 15 round magazine. The problem that some people have with the semi-auto variety is the strength it takes to cycle the slide. I have found this to be something that effects both men and women, especially those of smaller frame or an older age. For those that do not intend to become afficionados of pistolcraft or have difficulty with the operation of a Semi-auto the simplicity of a revolver may be the best option.

These are things that cannot be known until some time is spent with competant supervision handling various firearms.

In order for a person to be confident with a firearm it must be something they understand and be comfortable with its size and operation. A Barreta 92 is a reliable and formidable firearm, it is just too big for many people to handle and conceal without difficulty. Conversely a Khar can be a bit small for some people to shoot comfortably. That is not to knock either of these firearms, they are only mentioned as extremes.

Caliber is a consideration, but it should not be the sole determining factor in the selection process.


Caliber is really only important to the extent that a person can handle the felt recoil. Granted, as there are certain firearms that are not acceptable for self defense, there is a caliber threshold that should not be crossed. Generally speaking it is best to stay away from the twenty-twos, twenty-five, and thirty-twos for a serious primary personal protection handgun. The .380 caliber firearms should be the smallest caliber one should consider and truely there are few people that cannot handle the felt recoil of the .380's, the .38 special or 9 milimeter for that matter.

Certainly a 45 or 40 is a better choice than a 9 milimeter, however if a firearm in one of those calibers is too big for the users hand, too hard to conceal or has too much felt recoil the owner won't put in the range time or carry the firearm. This in itsself defeats the whole purpose of the aquisition in the first place.

Practice sessions must be enjoyable and if a firearm is two heavy to carry or hurts too much to shoot there will be any number of excuses for not putting in the time necessary to become proficient.

A sidearm is a personal choice that can only be made by the person that will own it. It doesn't matter a Tinkers darn how you feel about the gun you carry, it may or may not be the right one for me, or anyone else. That it works for you is the important thing.

If someone is intent on "helping" a person, it is far better to offer an array of suggestions. No it is not generally possible to "try out" all of the various options unless a nearby range has the facilities to rent any and all of them, which can also be an expensive proposition. Several trips to the range with friends and or family that own firearms will allow a prospective purchaser the opportunity to handle and fire a few different sidearms in various calibers, anyone of which may be the firearm that is best suited to the new shooter. Once the caliber question is settled in that it has been determined that the recoil of certain calibers is acceptable then a specific firearm can be sought.

If, for example the prospective buyer is comfortable with the recoil of no more than a 9 milimeter and can reliably cycle the action then all that remains is to "shop around" for a make and model that the recipient will feel comfortable carrying and want to practice with.

In the event that a person does not have the friends and family available to make the fore going a reality, the enrollment in a basic firearms safety class is a good and recommended option, especially if there is no or very limited experience with firearms. Many times the instructors of these classes will have various firearms available for use by the students.

Resist the temptation to proclaim the one gun that you have selected for yourself, take some time to introduce the new shooter to alternatives that may be better suited to their strengths and weaknesses. In the long run they will be much better armed and more enjoyably progress on the range with a gun that they will carry instead of leaving at home because it is to hard to operate, too heavy or just hurts too damn much to shoot.

Thursday, April 28, 2005

Werner wake up your dreaming

Councilman Terry Werner, seeking to be re-elected to the Lincoln City Council, was interviewed on a local radio station recently and poo pooed the fact that the city is losing almost a million dollars a year from lost Keno receipts due in large part to the smoking ban enacted in November.

Werner told the listening audience that Lincolnites need to give it a year and the money will be back.

Keep on dreaming Terry. If the citizens of Lincoln are wise next Tuesday you will be dreaming your way along the unemployment line. The fact is the smoking ban is hurting the city and a year is not going to help. Keno players and others have already taken their business elsewhere and more than likely keep it there.

Bring up how well it is working in California and other places all you want to, but it doesn't amount to a Big Red fumble here. In California and other places the smoking ban is statewide, let me say that again so that you will understand it STATEWIDE.

There are just too many towns within a five to fifteen minute drive of Lincoln for people not to go some place where their cigarettes and keno dollars are welcome. As long as the ban is not STATEWIDE the money is gone and will not be back Werner.

This is the same Terry Werner, along with Mayor Colleen Seng and a few others tried to dip into the citizens pockets with a special election last fall. This special ballot measure was designed to fleece Lincolnites of their hard earned dollars and fund Werner and Sengs pet projects.

When the citizens of the Capitol city turned out in record numbers for a special election and soundly defeated their grandios schemes, Mayor Seng and Councilman Werner accused the voters of ignorance and insensitive to the needs of the city.

Abe who writes on a Blog entitled Don't Let Me Stop You waxes eloquent about a recent survey issued to the candidates by the Neighborhood Alliance.

Supposedly the survey was non-partisan and the Alliance is not endorsing a specific candidate. They did however grade them according to the answers the gave. If that is not a back door endorsement I don't know what is; "The Alliance says Werner gets an A and if you love the Alliance ............

Actually the Alliance has made it easy for me as I can vote for up to three of the candidates. I know Ken Svaboda, I wrote a piece last year on Robin Eschilman, Mark Kollers radio ads and interviews have impressed me. I plan on taking this list to my polling place and pull the lever for the bottom three names.

See how simple politics can be.

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

You be the Jury

Lincoln Police Officers resently arrested a 15 year old boy as he crawled from the basement window of a 22 year old woman's house that lived nearby.

Of course the miscreant youths parents are buying into and defending his story;

A Lincoln teen told his parents he broke into a neighbor woman's house to talk with her, .....

The Police however have a different take on it;

.......but authorities allege he had other plans on his mind, according to court documents.

It seems that the Police have just a wee bit of evidence to support their allegations;

When police arrested the boy early Monday crawling out of a window of the woman's house, he carried a knife, duct tape, rope and a condom, according to court documents. He also wore a ski mask and gloves, and he was barefoot.

Police said evidence indicated the boy had planned to sexually assault the woman.


Mom and Dad explain;

..... he didn't wear shoes because he didn't want to make any noise ....

Of course they (the parents) have yet to explain the knife, duct tape, rope, condom, ski mask and gloves.

Well, was he or wasn't he going there to rape the woman????

The woman in this incident was very lucky due in large part to her improvisational skills and quick thinking she managed to avoid possible serious bodily harm.

Saturday, April 23, 2005

LB454 a good Law????

In response to a post I made on April 1st, Zendo Deb, a blogger I am proud to have on my Blogroll, left the following comment;

"I'm not sure any bill is better than no bill. Will this make a good law?

It is an excellent question and to answer it I felt a blog entry a much better forum than a response in the comments section.

Realize that this is my opinion and only my opinion.

This will not make good law by todays standards. It might have made good law 15 or 20 years ago. In that light it is not far removed from laws that the various states enacted during those years when CCW was first becoming an issue.

Since that time most, if not all of those states have modified their laws in a positive way by removing restrictions, enacting provisions for reciprocity and easing many of the other stringent requirements that have proven to be unnecessary.

Can and will this pending legislation be modified in years to come? I'm sure it will be, but at what price?

The price is the trust that Nebraska's elected officials do not have in the citizens that they have sworn to serve.

CCW has not been the "bloodshed in the streets", "shootouts for parking spaces" and "road rage incidents" that is was professed it would be. Given that why should the elected officials in the Unicameral subject the citizens to a 20 year old law that has been changed and modified in every other state it has been enacted in?

Why are a lot of states passing laws that lift the alcohol restrictions that they have had for years and Nebraska is passing a law with them in place? Why are other states changing or passing CCW laws with reciprocity or recognition in the bill (Ohio, Missouri) and Nebraska's representitives decline to even discuss it? The list goes on and on, but the point is that a lot of the things mandated in this bill have been a non-issue in the rest of the states and the citizens of Nebraska must be treated like first graders while the rest of the country is already in High School.

I find it amazing that any self respecting adult would willing to lobby for and accept that kind of treatment from people they have elected to represent them. They work for us, we do not answer to them.

The prevailing situation is a large degree of begging by the citizens for the Senators to enact a bill that will not make good law. The duty of a Senator is to vote the will of the people and their personal feelings.

Having said all that;

The problem is that there is just not enough interest in CCW by the citizens of Nebraska to pass a good law. That means that a law like this has to be the starting point. Over a period of time, a large part of the population of Nebraska will aquire a license/permit and they will become more interested in the subject.

This interest will make the citizens aware of the differencess between Nebraska and the other states. Nebraskans, at that point will wake up to the fact that they are under a thumb of oppression not felt in other states. Then and only then will this realization morph into a grassroots effort that it will take to make a silk purse out of the sow's ear that is LB454.

It was with this realization that I, and several other very good people sat before the judiciary committe and testified on behalf of this bill.

Good law? NO, but it is probably the only way to get the ball rolling in a positive direction.

Thank you Deb for your question, I only hope the answer I give does it justice.

Friday, April 22, 2005

Senator Chambers seeks to amend LB454

The esteemed Senator from Omaha has introduced AM1238 to amend Nebraskas pending CCW legislation.

In order to limit the number of firearms carried by any one individual in any manner Senator Chambers is proposing a mathematical quagmire that reads as follows;

Insert the following new sections:
"Sec. 23. To determine the number of pistols a licensee
may lawfully carry concealed under the Concealed Handgun Permit Act
or section 28-1202 on any given occasion (except if the United
States or the State of Nebraska shall be at war), the body weight
of the licensee shall be multiplied by ten-times the licensee's
(admitted) age, then divided into the year of the licensee's birth
plus one hundred thirty-seven and one-half, then add the number of
inches of the licensee's height rounded up to the next full inch
which shall be subtracted from the number of the current century
(2100), if the number of the current century exceeds the other
number, otherwise subtract the number of the current century from
the other number, then, after multiplying the size of the
licensee's right shoe by three-times the girth of the licensee's
waist after a full meal, measured and certified by a professional
tailor, subtract the sum obtained by adding together the digits in
the licensee's social security number (which number shall be made
known only to the licensing authority and any employee thereof who
shall be guilty of a Class IB felony for any unauthorized
disclosure of the number to any other person), then divide the
grand total by three-fifths of the number on line 17 of the
licensee's personal income tax return (federal) for the immediately
preceding year, but if the licensee is not required by law to file
a federal income tax return or if the licensee failed to file a tax
return for the immediately preceding year and has not been indicted
for failure to file a return, this step should be disregarded and
in its stead, the licensee's home address (no post office box
number is acceptable) multiplied by ten if the address contains
four or fewer digits but by six and five-tenths if such address
contains five or more digits, but in no case shall the number of
pistols carried concealed exceed the total number of the licensee's
pockets at the time of being approached, stopped, accosted,
interrogated, or otherwise contacted by any sworn law enforcement
officer and any other suitable hiding places including, but not
limited to: (1) Purses, (2) tote bags, (3) shopping bags of
whatever material or variety just so the pistol is not visible, (4)
umbrellas, (5) picnic baskets, (6) beverage coolers, (7) boots, (
bras, (9) bloomers, (10) shorts (jockey or boxer), (11) briefcases,
(12) backpacks, (13) hidden holsters or reasonable facsimiles
thereof, (14) baggy britches, (15) billowy shirts, (16) bulky
sweaters, (17) flouncy skirts, et al., (1 coats of any and every
kind and variety, (19) wide sleeves, (20) big hair, (21) hats, (22)
helmets, (23) prostheses, (24) canes and walking sticks of any and
every variety suitable for the purpose of concealing a firearm,
(25) lunch buckets or boxes, and (26) hollowed-out books and the
like.


If a person is not a mathematical genious and is unfortunate enough to be found guilty of violating section 23 as amended by Senator Chambers the following punishment shall apply;


Sec. 25. Any person who violates section 23 of this act
is guilty of an infraction. In addition to any other punishment
imposed by the court, the defendant shall be required to go about
unarmed for a number of days equal to six times the sentencing
judge's age divided by the number of the courtroom where the
sentence is pronounced, subtracted from two hundred fifty, and
multiplied by two, but in no case fewer than one hundred eighty
days.


Senator Chambers assumes that some will carry under these circumstances (as do drivers with suspended licenses) and offers the following as punishment for not following the terms of the original punishment;

Sec. 26. If the defendant fails to comply fully and
completely with the going-about-unarmed requirement of section 25
of this act, the defendant shall be taken into custody and after a
hearing shall be transported by the sheriff of the county where the
proceedings were had to the facility or location where the Nebraska
State Patrol conducts firearms training and there the defendant's
trigger finger shall be shot off by Nebraska State Senator Jeanne
M. Combs (LB454 Sponosr)using a pistol of her choice but which must be approved by
the Superintendent of Law Enforcement and Public Safety. Execution
of the punishment shall be without the benefit of any type of
anesthesia other than flavored malt liquor.


Senator Chambers is not without heart though and will not require a person to be denied what is rightfully theirs;

Sec. 28. Any offense punishable by the shooting off of
the trigger finger must be punished according to the provisions
herein made and no other. The trigger finger or any parts,
portions, shreds, fragments, bits, pieces, other remnants, or
leftovers shall be offered to the defendant for disposal in the
manner the defendant deems appropriate, otherwise cremation shall
be employed.


Please note that the Senator wants you to have your finger, or what's left of it back.

The fore going is not the proposed amendmant in it's entirety, only selected portions of it that is offered for inducing abdominal cramps, knots, increased hypertension, baldness and the urge to vomit. And yes the rest of it is just as bad. By introducing fertilizer of this nature the good Senator from Omaha intends to slow down the process with needless debate in order to dely any kind of vote by the full Unicameral before the end of the term.

Friday, April 15, 2005

Where were the guns??

Operation Falcon
Dubbed operation Falcon the U.S. Marshals Service, last week in joint co-operation with Police agencies all over the country executed warrants on 10,340 of the targeted 13,851 people they were looking for.

Interdeparmental co-operation to the extreme
A massive undertaking to be sure and extremely good work by all of the agencies involved. They took some serious criminals off the street and for that we all need to be thankful for the bravery and hard work these public servants accomplished.

The most suprising statistic is that with all of the drugs that were found and arrests that were made, especially among the gang bangers and homicide warrants, there was only 243 firearms seized. This is in no way making light of the hard work that these dedicated men and women performed, they did their jobs with the utmost professionalism. It would seem however that based on the terrible information that the Brady Bunch and the Million Commie Mommies have been promulgating for years that there should have been more guns recovered.

Sarah where were the guns
We have been led to believe for years that guns need to be controlled, registered and/or banned to keep them from the hands of the criminal elite. Well last week an untold number of America'a dedicated Law Enforcement elite from all over the country engaged the enemy and only two percent of the criminals had guns. Even that number may be misleading in that more than one or even multiple firearms may have been seized from one location.

It would seem that the mythical "Gunshow Loop hole" is not what it is cracked up to be.

If you know someone that was involved in Operation Falcon thank them, If one of the police agancies in your area was involved call the Sheriff or Chief and thank them. I have been critical of police actions in the past and will continue to be in the future when the situation warrants. I have also made it a point to give credit and praise where and when it is due and will continue to do that as well.

It is way to easy to find fault or place blame
We criticize loudly when the cops do something wrong, we should also have the wisdom to give praise when they do something that has such a positive effect on society as Operation Falcon. Call them and thank them.

Wednesday, April 13, 2005

We are paying these people to educate our kids?

Zendo Deb has the low down on a developmentally challanged 16 year old high school student whose sexual assault in the school audatorium was filmed by another student last month.

The school Principal called the Girls father but cautioned him not to call police because of the bad publicity it would cause.

Dad didn't listen and the Principal is in the unemployment line. Three other admin types have only been reassigned.

Is this what public schooling is coming to?

And speaking of smoking

Comedian Ron White performed his act entitled "Drunk in Public Tour" at the local Pershing Center. As part of the performance White smokes a cigar, an act that may have him in trouble with the local Constabalary.

It seems that there is no exception in the total smoking ban ordinance for theatrical productions. It was in one of the early drafts, but apparently it didn't make the final cut and now White may be cited for a violation of the Lincoln Ordinance. Not only could White could face up to a one hundred dollar fine for his first offense but the people responsible for the event could be fined as well.

If the Lincoln smoke police cite the performer and the proprietors it will bring to about a dozen citations that have been issued for violation since the ban took effect January 1st 2005.

Police sources say that it is not fair to give White a pass and enforce the law on local businesses.

If White is cited and as word spreads about the meticulous enforcement of the ban, one has to wonder how many theatrical acts and/or productions will take a pass on Lincoln. Not only is the city suffering from a loss of revenue from Keno (as mentioned in the previous entry) it may well suffer a decline in revenue that entertainment celebrities generate with their presence in the Capitol City.

The City Leaders are and have been screaming poverty for some time, but it seems that at every turn either they or the citizens do things that shrink the already diminishing income that the city has already spent or committed.

UpDate 4/15 10:45:A citation for Ron Whites smoking violation will be issued to the company that manages the Pershing Center, Chief Tom Casady said that since White is long gone he is off the hook and will not be cited.

Millions in Lincoln revenue up in smoke

Last November the high moral tone of Lincolns self appointed elite spoke loud and clear and at ballot in general election they voted for a total and complete ban on smoking in all public establishments within the city limits. This ban not only included the bars and nightclubs it also included the smoke shops whose only products are tobacco.

Much doom and gloom was prophesied about bars losing business and closing because of the the ban. Many of those that cut their nose off to spite their face answered that things like that did not happen in the other politically correct communities and states that have enacted such laws and ordinances. California has always been held up as the prime example by those that favored the ban. But Lincoln is not California and the ban is not statewide. As has been seen there are numorous communities with bars and clubs within short driving distance of Lincoln that are all too happy to rake in the money that the snobbery of Lincoln has cast aside. Money that paid for library books and park projects.

Keno is big business for 30 licensed locations in Lincoln, many of them bars and nightclubs. Keno players are a dedicated lot and do not like to have their games and concentration broken because they have to step outside for a smoke. Under contractual license agreement the city of Lincoln recieves fourteen cents of every Keno dollar played. Figures for January, the first month of the ban indicate that the gross revenue is down nearly five hundred thousand dollars over the previous January. At fourteen cents on every dollar that represents a one month loss of about a seventy thousand dollars in income the city has come to depend on for Librairies and Park projects.

Where has the money gone?
It seems that many of the bars and restaurants from nearby communities, that offer Keno as a form of entertainment, have experienced an increase in the revenue they receive from the game played in their establishments. In some cases this increase is by as much as 25%. One bar in particular that mentions the 25 percentage realizes between four and five hundred thousand dollars a month from Keno gross. That means their gross has increased by nearly one hundred thousand dollars in one month. That one bar its self represents a probable loss of fourteen thousand dollars to the Lincoln city coffers. And that dear readers is just one bar in one town near Lincoln.

Another bar boasts a 5-8% increase in revenue since January of this year. Consider that for every one hundred dollars increase these nearby business report as an increase over last year probably means a fourteen dollar loss to the city of Lincoln.

There hasn't been much in the way of figures being bantied about concerning the loses that area bars are experiencing just from lack or liquor sales over the same time period last year, but it has been the subject of conversation to say the least.

The gist of it is that Lincoln is losing a lot of money since the ban went into effect. Not only from Keno and liquor sales either. For every employee that isn't hired or has to be let go because an establishment does not have the customers it used to accounts for more untold amounts of dollars in lost revenue, both tax to the city and profit to the business.

With the financial problems that face Lincoln at this time any loss of revenue is hard hit and will be felt. Already there is talk of tax increases and other means of raiding the pockets of the citizenry to make up the deficit caused by the high moral tone of the West Coast Wannabes last election cycle.

Many thought that Lincoln would be saved by a statewide smoking ban that was winding its way through the unicameral. This however is not to be as the state wide legislation was snuffed out by a vote of 19 for and 26 against. Another small thought to be saving grace was also extinguished recently when Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey vetoed a similar ban passed by that cities council.

Although the Lincoln city council passed a partial ban last year and in the dead of night a few weeks later recinded that one and passed a total and complete ban, it is the High Minded citizens of Lincoln that voted for the ban on the November ballot that are entirely responsible for the loss of millions of dollars in revenue that will gladly be accepted in the neighboring communities. Communities that will now have the money that Lincoln used to have, to buy library books and and fund municiple projects.

Sunday, April 03, 2005

Chain Ranch Canton, Oklahoma

Authors note: I finally got the pictures of the hunt developed so I can post them with a story. Unfortunately I was unable to get my digital camera to work so I couldn't get any pictures of the first part of the hog hunt. After locating a suitable replacement (a disposable) I was able to get pictures of my subsequant harvest.

There was only three of us
What started out as a hunting group of 5 arrived at the Chain Ranch in Canton, Oklahoma as a party of 3. My oldest son and my buddy from Kansas had last minute emploment issues and had to cancel out. That left myself, my brother Jim and my buddy Hodgdon.

We arrived at the bunkhouse about four PM on Monday the twentyfirst and met with one of the Chain Ranch owners and guide Newly Hutchison. We hadn't even unloaded our gear yet and Newly was offering us the opportunity to hunt that evening. We hadn't planned on that and elected to get our gear stowed and in order before we went afield.

Newly and I

Tuesday Morning
The next morning we fell out ready to hunt. The Chain ranch is a large property and we piled into Jim's Ford 4X4 and followed Newly out a secluded section of the ranch for a morning of spot and stalk hunting. He left us off there with some dircertion and a bit of advice for success. The weather wasn't very co-operative and we didn't see a single hog all morning. Being cold and windy the pigs were holed up in the thickest parts of that section of property and try as we might we just couldn't get any of them to move. The alternative was to get down on our hands and knees or even belly and crawl through the brush in order to roust them out of hiding, something the three of us were reluctant to do. There are other ways to prove ones manhood than crawling into the thick underbrush after animals with tusks.

A Compass is a Good thing
Hunting that section of the Chain Ranch I am glad that I had the forethought to have brought a compass with me and the knowledge of how to use it. Even standing on some parts of the section, visability was only a matter of feet in places and it is extremely easy to get turned around. I'm not sure that we would have gotten lost, but that electro-magnetic global positioning device kept us from wasting hunting time wandering around getting our bearings again should we have gotten disoriented.

Authors note: If you spend time in the outdoors a GPS unit is a fabulous thing, but as with all things that require batteries Murphey's Law dictates they will be dead the moment you need them most. Orienteering with a compass is a good skill to have.

After making our way back to the bunkhouse for lunch Newly loaded us up and took us to another section of the ranch for the evening hunt. We spent Tuesday evening sitting in ground blinds that had been erected along known travel routes.

Tuesday Evening
After having been in the blind for a couple of hours I began to hear the grunts of a small herd pigs headed my way. Presently about 6 or 7 strutted into view and I began to size them up for a possible shot. After about 5 to 10 minutes I selected the biggest in the bunch and settled the sights of my 629 on his left shoulder. Squeezing off the shot I noted the pigs re-action and knew I had made a good hit with the 240 grain 44 caliber soft point. At that point they all ran in several directions including the one I had shot. I mentally marked the last point I saw him and settled into wait at least a half hour.

By now it was dark and flashlight in hand I went to the place he was standing when I fired. To say the least I was dissapointed when I didn't see any blood that would have indicated a hit. I did note however that as he ran off marks in the dirt showed that he was dragging his front left leg, indicating that I did have a solid hit. tracking him to the brush at the last place I had seen him I elected to wait for Newly to pick me up before proceeding farther.

When Newly arrived he had already picked up Jim and Hodgdon. For the next twenty minutes we scoured the brush looking for further sign and or traces of blood using flashlights. We decided that since there was no rain in the forecast that we would be better suited to return in the morning and use the daylight to find the pig.

The Morning After
That was not one of the better nights of sleep I had I can tell you that. Even though I was sure we would find him in the morning it was a gut wrenching night knowing that I had not recovered an animal that I had attempted to harvest. Morning could not come soon enough and after putting Jim and Hodg on stands Newly and I spent the next couple of hours on hands and knees tracking the pig I had shot the night before. We eventually found some frothy blood that most hunters know is indicative of a lung shot. That pig travelled over three hundred yards with a broken shoulder and perforated lungs. As I mentioned at the begining pictures at that point were not an option.

Wednesday Evening
That Wednesday evening found us again in ground blinds. I had been on stand for nearly two hours before the first pigs started to show up and in that time I was treated to the songs of birds the cackle of a flock of Turkeys and the antics of a herd of goats. The goats were all full curl rams of several species, including Texas rams and any number of exotic species.

When the pigs began to show themselves I watched several of the smaller ones play around as the adults went about their business rooting up the countryside. In a previous post I mentioned that I had been torn between two firearms for this hunt and settled the quandry by electing to take two pigs. One with each gun.

Yes there were some bigger pigs in this bunch than the one I did take with my Grandpa's old rifle, but the colors of this on intrigued me, it was getting near dark and it presented me the best opportunity for a clean shot.

When I fired this pig was slightly quartering away and aiming for the opposite shoulder I sent a 170 grain 32 caliber projectile on its way. Knowing I had again made a good shot I watched as the hog hunched twice and ran from view. Moments later I heard her go down and thrash in the brush. Feeling confident that she was done for and hadn't gone far I left the blind and went to where she had been standing when I fired. Blood sign at that point indicated a good hit and I started in the direction that she had travelled.

Being carefull not to walk on the trail she had taken I looked for further sign of a good hit. There was very little in the way of blood sign and I again found myself on my hands and knees tracking a pig through the thick under growth. Other than the intitial point of bullet impact there was very little sign and with the aide of a flashlight I finally found my harvest 80 yards away.

I had known that wild hogs, either Russian boar or the Feral Pigs that we were hunting are a hardy lot, but I couldn't realize just how tough they really are until hunting them. I am not exagerating one bit when I say that even though I shot that last one (100lbs) through both lungs and a shoulder with a centerfire deer rifle I had less blood to track than most of us guys loose from a small shaving nick.

My second pig

Now the real work begins
The rest of the evening was spent rendering freshly harvested pork down for human consumption while recounting for anyone that would listen the events that led to the harvest.

Authors note: Yes some of the meat I harvested was part of our Easter Sunday dinner.

The next morning was Thursday and niether Hodgdon nor my brother had harvested a pig. Not that they hadn't seen any, quite the opposite that had probably each seen more than I had. They just felt they hadn't seen one they deemed worthy of shooting. They did admit to a good time and expressed a real desire for a return hunt.

I reccomend the Chain Ranch
If you have been considering a hog hunt of some type you could not go wrong with the Chain Ranch. Compared to some other places the rates are more than reasonable. To stay at the ranch buckhouse will cost 50 dollars a day per person and the ammenities include sattelight television showers, laundry facilities and a full kitchen and outside grill.

As for the hogs, Newly has a no-harvest no-pay policy. If you don't find one to your liking there is no charge (except for the bunkhouse stay). If you do harvest a hog Newly chagres a flat 100 dollar trophy fee. It doesn't matter if the pig wieghs 500 pounds or 50 pounds the fee for taking a hog is only 100 dollars.

We'll be Back
We had a great time and and are already making plans for a return trip that will include more hogs and deer.

If anyone is interested in hunting at the Chain Ranch Newly Hutchison can be contacted at 580-886-2910. If there is a fair amount of hunting going on at the ranch things can get a bit hectic and you may have to leave a message, but Newly will call you back. Just let him know what your interested in and a call back number.

Friday, April 01, 2005

Now the real work begins

With a vote of 5-2 the Nebraska Unicameral Judiciary Committee sent the Concealed Carry legislation LB454 to the full floor of the Senate today.

Ernie Chambers, who sits on that committee and most likely one of the two decenting votes, has promised a vigorous fight in opposition to this bill.

All of the Senators in the state of Nebraska need as much input as can be provided from this point on.

Senator Jeanne Combs has indicated that there have been two Senators that have changed their mind because of the positive response they have received from their constituants. For those in favor of this bill pressure must be brought to bear and kept on the rest of the members in order to this a reality.

If it reaches his desk the Governor has said he will sign it.