The Hunt -- Day 5: Conclusion and Epilogue

After taking the 9-point at GP-120, I decided to spend the remaining day back in my own stand where I had seen very little the first 3 days. It turns out, the last day was NOT a charm. I didn't see a single deer the entire final day.

But that was ok, I had enjoyed the heck out of myself and managed to take a decent buck too. As I packed up my car and thought about how cool it had been to hunt at the camp, I knew I'd be back the following year, and this time I'd be eligible for a second stand.

A few things I learned that I'll employ in the future.

1. I need an ATV. Getting around on my B-I-L's ATV saved me the past 2 days. By the end of the trip, the 3/8 mile walk to my stand was proving to be too much for my old, out-of-shape legs. We need another ATV and I plan to acquire one before next season. I like this one:

2. I need a variety of stand options. My stand had been hot with deer just before my arrival. Then the winds came and the deer disappeared. I need an alternate location that is in heavier cover so that I'm not shutout by conditions. Update -- since my return, I've cut a deal with my B-I-L to acquire GP-120 for next year. I'll pay him for the stand, and he'll build a new one in a new location for his third. I was pretty excited about that!

3. I need to take my wife Cyn with me if I can get a cabin nearby. No, she's not a hunter, but there are plenty of other things she can do (like hang out in the Spa in Hot Springs!). The 2 day drive would be a lot better with her company and the family would get to see her too.

4. My 3-9 x 30mm VX-R scope was adequate for my 300 yard maximum range shooting lanes, but barely. If I see one at 300 yards, he's going to have to be a very good deer, standing broadside and still, before I'm going to feel comfortable taking the shot without a higher power optic.

5. My rifle was a good choice. Lightweight and powerful, I had no regrets after hunting with it for 5 days and placing a terrific 200 yard+ shot.

6. I had a bunch of junk I probably didn't need, like a grunt call I barely used and 48 bottles of water. It's been 3 weeks and I'm still drinking that bottled water.

Well, hope you found that recollection to be interesting reading. Back soon with the non gun/hunting entry I promised several weeks ago. Here's a hint -- it involves buckeyes, not bucks.

The Hunt -- Day 4 (cont'd): Tango Down!

As soon as I found the deer in the field glasses, it was obvious even from that distance he was a legal buck. I could see his rack jutting up about a foot or so above his head, and could see he was almost certainly 3 points on one side, as the very least. Still, something didn't look right, but I couldn't quite figure it out. That was until he took a step up the lane and looked directly at me with his head raised. Even though his rack was plenty tall and had at least the legal number of points, it was completely inside of his ears!

Unlike the previous two shootable bucks I had seen, this guy appeared to be in no hurry. I took a few minutes to text my B-I-L and let him know that I was watching a legal buck, size yet TBD. As this guy inched closer, I noticed that something else didn't seem quite right. As I studied in him the glasses, it looked like he was standing on one front leg. Eventually, he took a step forward, then showed me his right side. At that angle, I could clearly tell he was holding his right leg against his side, up in the air. Then I noticed him literally hop twice, literally walking on three legs. I texted my B-I-L and told him I had a smaller buck with a bad leg that he wasn't putting any weight on, and asked whether I should take him. My B-I-L responded, "yes, if he's legal."

By the time I got the text, the deer was threatening to head down the same path and into the woods that the earlier does and first buck had. Within 5 seconds, I acquired him in the scope and with just his shoulder to his rump showing (head and neck were already off the trail), squeezed the trigger.

The funny thing is, I don't even remember the sound of the gun shot or the recoil. My ultralight .270 WSM is known for it's ferocious report and bruising recoil, yet I don't remember either. Strange. I looked down the lane with my field glasses and I didn't see anything. I immediately began to doubt my shot. I had been pretty shaky that morning, and it was a formidible distance. I didn't feel that perfect feeling every shooter gets on a great shot, where the trigger feels so good when the sear releases that you know before looking through the spotting scope that you were dead on. Nope, I remember the trigger feeling sort of mushy against my finger when the sear released.

My B-I-L obviously heard the shot and texted "well?" "Not sure," I responded, "didn't feel all that good, he was walking off the path, and it was a ways down the lane." "Heading there now," he said. I waited for about 10 minutes then decided to go have a look. I walked out to the spot where I though he was standing and saw nothing. No deer, no blood, nothing. I texted my B-I-L that I thought I missed and I was going back into the stand and hope other deer show up. He called me and asked me why I thought I missed. I told him about all of the reasons that had me wondering. He told me to just sit tight, he'd be there in 2 minutes.

When he arrived he asked me where I thought he was standing when I shot. I stood on the spot and told him it could be up to 50 yards in either direction. My B-I-L told me that it's usually further than you think, so he was going to go into the woods on the spot and work an arc going further away. He told me to go to the end of the lane, and work an arc back toward him. Before I even reached the end of the road, I heard my B-I-L proclaim, "you know, you should never doubt your own shooting ability." It took about 2 seconds, but then it registered -- he had found my deer!

I walked into woods where he lay and we examined the fellow. He did not drop a spot of blood. We checked my shot location -- dead center left shoulder entry, precisely where I aimed. The exit was just behind the right shoulder, but for some reason, he just didn't bleed much. In any event, we looked at his right leg. It wasn't obvious how he'd been injured, but it was clear he hadn't used that leg in quite some time. It was so atrophied in the folded against-his-body position, that you couldn't even straighten it out. Up close, it was apparent the deer was older than I had originally thought. He was 9 points total (with one tiny fork that just barely counted as 9), and had fresh bark on the base of his antlers where he'd been rubbing a tree of some sort.

When we walked out of the woods, I realized that he was just about 210 yards away when I shot him. I had figured about 170 when I went down to look.

Here's the pics I took right in the lane:

When we got him back to camp, he weighed in at 132 pounds. He was quite the attraction with the rest of the members, with his atypical antlers and being essentially 3 legged. Everyone congratulated me, which is normal when you take a buck. What sort of surprised me, however, was how many of them thanked me for shooting him. Apparently, antlers like that are bad for the gene pool, so they called him a "cull" deer. Indeed, one member, shook my hand and told me "thanks, not many people would use a buck tag to take a deer like that which needed to be taken." I was certainly glad to do it.

In all, I was pretty proud. I had taken a wounded deer that was subject to being taken by predators, with atypical antlers that the other members wanted to cull. But most importantly, I had made a fantastic shot from a relatively long distance. I would spend the last 1.5 days hunting without any pressure.

The Hunt -- Day 4: I'm Surrounded

When I awoke at 5 a.m. on Day 4, I had a renewed bounce in my step, despite being exhausted from all of the early morning wakeups and late night catchups with family members. I was going back to a stand where the action had been vigorous only hours before. On top of that, a front had moved through the area overnight. The wind had died down significantly, the temperature had dropped into the mid 40's, and there was a slight drizzle on the tail of heavy overnight rains. In other words, conditions were perfect.

As I laced up my boots and started down to the cook shack for coffee, I remembered what one of the campers had said to me the night before -- DON'T wait until your last day to take a shot. I didn't plan on it. Today was the perfect day, and I had every intention of shooting something -- a big doe, the 7-pointer my B-I-L had seen so many times, whatever. As I walked up to the guys gathered around drinking coffee, I told them today was the day I was going to shoot a deer.

As I drove into the GP 120 stand, the first thing I noticed is that it had REALLY rained overnight. In fact, I had to put the Pathfinder into 4 wheel drive to get through the mudholes and make my way back in. But I managed and was in the stand and ready to go well before daylight.

Just as it became light enough to see the end of the Front lane (which I had driven on only a half hour earlier), I saw 2 deer standing down at the very end, a good 275 yards away. One thing I forgot to mention earlier. That lane, which is also the road you drive in on, ends at 275 yards because there is a 90 degree right hand turn onto it. In other words, the deer were standing basically on the turn in the road. That said, if you were driving toward the deer (like you do when you leave to go back to camp) and didn't make the turn, you would drive directly into the woods where a small trail came onto the road. It might be big enough to drive an ATV down, but it mostly looks like a game trail. You can see (with the right optics) up that trail about 30 yards. This will become relevant shortly.

In any event, I'm watching the 2 does thinking that they are likely heading toward me, to the mound with corn where the others had stopped the day before. They did move closer, but veered of the road to my right at about 200 yards where they were nibbling on some kind of foliage. I looked to my left for a second and saw another deer on the Back lane, only about 75 yards out. This one was close enough that I could tell right away it was a small spike buck. He walked to within 50 yards, straight toward me. As he got closer, I could see he was the same spike I had seen the evening before. At the 50 yard mark, he left the Back lane and walked into the woods. I went back to watching the does. By this time, they had crossed back onto the road, and had veered off to my left side. This whole time, I'm texting with my B-I-L about the early activity I'd seen. I told him they appeared to have left the lane and went into the woods, and I suspected would pop up again in the Stump lane in front of me, but that they were so far out there it might take them a good 30 minutes to traverse the woods and emerge again.

I grabbed my field glasses and watched the end of the trail, hoping maybe they'd come back onto the road and drift down into the 125 yard range where I could determine if they were big enough to shoot. At this point, I was READY to shoot a decent doe. As I was looking down the road through the glasses, I happened to be lucky enough to be looking at that exact moment. On the little trail all the way beyond the corner, out of nowhere a big buck was trotting directly toward me. His rack was well outside of his ears and well off of his head, so I knew he was a good buck -- at least 8 points. I put my glasses down and grabbed my rifle. He trotted up the EXACT trail the does had taken, straight onto the corner portion of the lane about 250 yards out, in to about 225, then off to the right side, disappearing for a minute. I figured out pretty quickly that he was on their scent, following them step for step, so I wasn't surprised when he stepped back onto the road and crossed to the point where they had entered the woods. What I was surprised by, however, is how shaky I was trying to put the reticle on him at that distance and feel like I would make a good shot. I never felt like I could. In a few seconds, he was gone. In a flash, it seemed. In all, I'm going to say it was about 12 seconds from the time I first saw him until he was in the woods and gone. And during that entire time, he was trotting, while I was shaking.

I cursed beneath my breath and told myself I needed to calm down. I texted curse words to my B-I-L about missing out on a good buck. Less than a minute later, I looked to my left and standing no more than 50 yards from me in the back lane, walking straight away from me briskly, was the largest buck I have ever personally seen in the woods. His rack was enormous, as was his body. I quickly repositioned my chair, sand bag, and finally my rifle. By the time I found him in the scope, he was already over 100 yards away, and still walking directly away at a brisk pace. I thought I had been nervous before, but now the red dot on my VX-R reticle was bouncing all over the place. I kept whispering for him to turn, but he just kept walking straight away. I contemplated briefly trying to place a shot through the shoulder blades and into the neck, but he was far enough away (130 yards plus) that the angle didn't really present that shot anymore. I knew I didn't have long to decide. In only a few seconds, he was 170 yards away and angling to the woods where I knew he would disappear. Just as he reached the edge of the woods, out of desperation I whistled loudly, hoping he would turn and freeze just long enough for me to try to place one in the kill zone. He never even reacted. Two seconds later, the biggest buck I've ever seen walked into the woods and was gone.

For a moment, I think I actually put my head down. I couldn't believe I had not been able to get a shot on that buck. I looked at my hands and they were still trembling. I let out a big sigh, raised my head, and glanced to my right. Once again, at the end of the Front lane, I saw another deer. I saw antlers, which at that distance, was a good sign.

I quickly texted to my B-I-L, "I'm Surrounded!" I couldn't believe how many deer I had seen in a 30 minute window, and now, after failing to get a shot at two good bucks, a third likely shootable buck had presented himself. I grabbed my field glasses to investigate.

(To be continued in the next installment!)

The Hunt -- Day Three: Finally, Things Start Picking Up

I wish I could tell you that I went to my stand in the morning and the wind had died down and I found myself surrounded by deer. But it simply wasn't the case. Though the wind had gotten a little better, there was still no movement in my area. In fact, the corn was literally beginning to pile up beneath the feeder. I surmised that because my stand is out in the open, where the wind is not buffered by heavy trees, it was even more affected by windy conditions than stands being hunted by others. When I came back to camp and told my B-I-L that I had seen absolutely nothing, he replied, "ok, that's enough of that. This evening, you're hunting in my stand."

My B-I-L has been a member for 3 years so he has the maximum 3 different hunting areas. He had been sitting in a stand he calls the "GP-120" (which is because it's located on 120 acres leased from Georgia Pacific) since opening day, and had seen a number of deer. The GP-120 stand has three long shooting lanes -- A 275 yard lane that is the road you drive in on, which will be on your right shoulder at the 3 O'clock (the "front" lane), a 170 yard lane directly in front of you at the 12 O'clock (the "stump" lane), and a 300 yard lane on your left shoulder at the 9 O'clock (the "back" lane).

This photo looks down the back lane on your left shoulder.

As you can see, it's in a much more heavily wooded area with tall, mature soft and hard timber.

When my B-I-L sent me out in the afternoon, he told me that at about 4:30, I was going to see a large 7-point buck on the Back shooting lane, and I was going to shoot it. He had been watching this particular deer and several others for days, but is at the point in his hunting career where he's only interested in two things -- a bigger mountable deer than he already has (most likely 12 points or better) and filling the freezer with older does. At 4:10 p.m., I received a text from my B-I-L telling me to get ready. Within 5 minutes, I saw my first deer on the Front lane (which looks a lot like the Back lane, only slightly wider and resembling more of a road). It was a little spike at about 250 yards. He gradually made his way up to a mound where we had scattered corn, about 120 yards away. He eventully stepped off the lane and headed into the woods. In about 15 minutes, he emerged directly in front of me in the Stump lane, at about 60 yards. He slowly made his way to the end of the Stump lane and disappeared. In all, he was in sight about a half hour, which was by far the longest deer encounter I had to date.

Meanwhile, before he left the Stump lane, I noticed 2 more deer on the Front lane, once again near the very end of it at about 250 yards. With the field glasses, I was able to determine that these were two young does. They took the same path that the little spike followed, and gradually worked their way toward me until they settled on the area we scattered corn. I put the scope on both of them at various times and contemplated taking the larger of the two. In a few minutes, I decided I was going to hold out for a buck -- I still had the rest of the evening and 2 more days to hunt. Still, I practiced putting my Leupold VX-R red dot reticle on the kill zone and imagined squeezing off a solid, on-target shot. I was surprised by how calm I felt as I looked down the scope at my target.

The two does stayed in the Front lane well into darkness. I waited as long as I could, hoping they would leave before I climbed down and drove back down over the same lane on which they had stood the past hour plus. Eventually, I climbed down and got into my Pathfinder, which I had parked in the woods almost directly beneath the stand.

I came back to camp reinvigorated. I had neither seen nor shot the 7-point, but watching a handful of small deer for almost 2 hours really improved my psyche. My B-I-L was disappointed I had not shot anything, but I went to bed convinced that Day 4 would be my day -- I planned to head back to GP 120 in the morning and tag one.

The Hunt -- Day 2: J-Dawg Bags a "Monster," I'm Still Hunting Hard

We woke up on Day 2 to even worse winds. It was hard not to be discouraged, but you can't control what you can't control. On the way back to our stands, J-Dawg and I discussed the fact that it was his last day to hunt, and if he saw a doe, he should drop it.

It wasn't 15 minutes after it was light enough to see that I got my first text from J-Dawg: "got a big doe. should i shoot it?" I didn't notice it when it arrived, so my reply of "yes" was a few minutes tardy, leading him to respond that I was too late. I told him on the next doe to shoot first, and text after. It was probably only a half hour later when I heard a gun shot that seemed to come from his direction. I texted my B-I-L telling him I thought I heard J-Dawg shoot, to which he responded, "yep, a doe. I'll go pick him up in a bit."

I was sitting there smiling, glad J-Dawg had shot one when I noticed a doe looking directly at me from about 40 yards away. She was standing just to the right of the roadway which is directly ahead -- the same roadway where I had seen the spike the day before, only she was between me and the woodline at about half the distance. I have no idea where she came from. I never heard her or saw any movement -- I just looked up for a minute and she had instantly appeared. She seemed to be a pretty young deer, from what I could tell. I flipped open the covers on my scope and put the cross hairs on target. She was so close, I might have been able to kill her with a sling shot. She walked across the road, making sure to stop broadside and tempt me to pull the trigger. In all, she must have stopped a half dozen times giving me clean, broad side kill shots as she sauntered counerclockwise from about my 2 o'clock position to my 7 o'clock position. I thought she was heading to my feeder (85 yards out at my 9), but she never strayed more than a 40 yard semi-circle away from before heading into the woods on my left flank.

That was really cool. I knew right away I wasn't going to shoot that doe, but it was awesome to be able to watch her through the scope, knowing I could if I wanted to.

In the meantime, I got the following text from J-Dawg: "I got down to pee. That doe I shot wasn't a doe -- it's a button buck. FML. I broke the law!" It was followed by "how the hell was I supposed to be able to tell it was a buck from 75 yards????" I told J-Dawg not to panic, that my B-I-L would know what to do. The general rule in Arkansas is that a legal buck must have 3 points on one side. In the meantime, J-Dawg had already texted his mom, who had gone online and determined that shooting a buck with horns less than 2 inches was also legal. My B-I-L subsequently confirmed. Apparently, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission had already pondered and answered J's question -- you're NOT expected to tell that a button buck is actually a buck and not a doe. Thus, it's not illegal to shoot them thinking they are does despite the 3-point on a side general rule. The only downside? You have to use a buck tag to register what you thought was a doe, leaving you with only 1 buck tag for the remainder of the season. Oh well, much better than breaking the law.

I learned a while later that my B-I-L had picked up J-Dawg and his deer and were headed back to camp. Just before 11, when I planned to climb down and head in, I noticed a deer on the edge of a young pine thicket just behind my stand. It's hard to tell in this photo, but if you see what looks like a roadway behind the feeder on the pre-scout post, you can see the area where I saw it. I'm not sure whether it was a buck or a doe. I just saw it's back half as it stepped into the pine thicket. Once again, I thought it might be headed to the feeder. After waiting another half hour without seeing her again, I decided to hike out and go see J-Dawg's deer.

By the time I got back to camp, my B-I-L and J-Dawg had already skinned J's deer. When I saw it hanging on the rack, I knew why it hadn't taken long. The poor little thing was about the size of a healthy German Shephard (the smaller, canine version -- not a sheep babysitter from Eastern Europe). We gave J-Dawg infinite amounts of grief over that monster he downed the rest of the day. But hey, he saw one, his aim was true, and he made a legal kill. I think he and I both learned a valuable lesson that day -- if you are going to take what you think is a decent size doe, you should always be sure she's with other deer so you can make a relative size comparison. It's hard to tell a decent size doe from a medium sized dog from that distance without having another deer nearby to do a comparison. Oh well, it was a good shot and I'm sure those tenderloins turned out to be pretty tender!

On my way back out to my stand for the afternoon hunt, I decided to film the last little bit of the drive in so you get a little better sense of the territory. Here's what the drive looks liked from behind the wheel of my Pathfinder.



The wind continued throughout the afternoon and made for miserable conditions at my stand. In fact, over a 3.5 hour period, I caught a glimpse of one buck. It was being chased by 2 domestic dogs at my 3 O'clock, out about 300 yards. I could tell it was a buck, which from that distance and considering I only saw it for about three seconds, probably means it was a pretty good one. I spent the rest of my time entertaining myself by reading about the previous day's Michigan victory over Illinois on my Ipad.

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You have to love modern technology!

When I got back to camp, I learned that I was one of three hunters who had seen the same dogs chasing my lone deer of the day. One of them (who saw it just before it passed into my area) confirmed that it was indeed a very nice buck. Unfortunately, it's a little hard to get a decent shot at a bounding whitetail at 300 yards when you have all of 3 seconds.

At this point, I was 40% finished with my 5-day hunt, and had only been in a position to shoot one small doe. I'm not going to say I was not enjoying myself, because just being out there was terrific. However, for the first time since I decided to join the camp and make this trek, I was beginning to wonder if I might go home empty handed.

When I got back to camp I heard similar stories where many hunters just weren't seeing the deer they had seen only a week earlier during the blackpowder hunt. I kept telling myself, however, that it only takes one.

The Hunt -- Day One: A Slow Start

I awoke to my alarm at promptly 5 a.m. to hear the wind howling. After wrangling J-Dawg, I filled my backpack with Vitamin Water, bottled water, jerky and nuts. I tried to give him equal rations, but he didn't have as much room -- it turns out his mom packed him several goodies of his own. Unfortunately, we realized we left his hunting clothes in his sister's car, so J-Dawg set out on opening morning wearing shorts, boots and a long sleeve shirt. I gave him a heavy fleece shirt to take to the stand with him so he wouldn't freeze, but we were both so pumped the cool, windy morning didn't seem to matter.

I put three .270 WSM cartridges in my right front pocket, made sure I had my orange hat and vest, and after messing around for a bit, left camp promptly at 5:30 a.m. under the cover of total darkness. We had planned our route the day before -- I would drive J-Dawg to his stand (a loaner from my B-I-L) then drive as close to mine as I could get before hiking in. In all, it was about 15 minutes and 5 miles. (I will embed a video in a later part of the series that will show the last mile or so of the drive, which is essentially 4x4 territory.)

After arriving at my parking area, I strapped on my pack and began hiking in on a trail suitable only for 4-wheelers and bulldozers. After what seemed like a mile (we later estimated it to be between 1/4 and 3/8 of a mile), I finally emerged near my stand. Though I was never a boy scout, I would have made one proud in packing my bag. I toted probably 10 bottles of water/vitamin water, 2 pounds of nuts and jerky, a box of ammo, field glasses, a flashlight, a deer grunt, a camo fleece pullover, a flip video camera, my blackberry and of course, that hunting essential -- my I Pad. It didn't take but 1 day's worth of hiking for me to realize that I probably didn't need to carry so much stuff.

In any event, I was in my stand a good 20 minutes before it was light enough to see. With the wind continuing to howl, I waited for the deer to arrive. And waited. And waited. At 7 a.m., my automatic deer feeder spun a half pound of corn onto the ground. Being the optimist, I figured the deer heard it go off and were probably beating a path to my stand at that very moment! But as the minutes dragged past, I neither saw nor heard anything. Of course, the wind was blowing so hard, a herd of elephants could have tromped through the brush behind me and I probably wouldn't have known it.

Finally, about 8:30, a small deer appeared on the roadway/shooting lane directly in front of me, on the left side of the head-on view photo from my pre-hunt scouting post. He was walking right toward me at about 75 yards, right in the road gap in the treeline. I could tell right away he was a little spike. He took about five steps toward me, turned to his left so he was broadside in the road, then in 2 or 3 steps walked into the cover of woods. He wasn't much of a buck, but it was great to see a deer - any deer - after sitting there for 2.5 hours with nothing happening but a handful of shots in the distance from my fellow camp members.

I hunted until 11 a.m., but saw nothing else. I wasn't too discouraged yet -- though the wind was really whipping about (no doubt causing the deer to stay put far more than usual), the pictures in my game camera told me that most of the deer near my stand/feeder came by in the evening. So I hiked back out, jumped in the truck and picked up J-Dawg on the way back to camp. He had seen a few does and a decent 8 point that he couldn't get a shot at. While I was hunting in a clearing with a woodline through it, he was deeper in the woods where it was a little quieter from a wind perspective.

We headed back to camp and ate biscuits, sausage, eggs, hash browns etc. prepared by the camp cooks, who would be preparing 2 big meals a day for the entire opening week. We learned pretty quickly, however, that most of the hunters quit between 9:30 and 10, and had eaten all the bacon and gravy! But we didn't mind -- we came to hunt, not eat. J-Dawg only had 2 days, and I only had 5. We decided we would hunt first, and eat what was left. And from that point on, we were typically the first ones out of camp, and the last ones in.

Back at camp, we learned that a half dozen or so hunters had bagged decent 8 point or better bucks. However, most were disappointed with how many deer they had seen, blaming the wind and weather. Many hunters had not seen a single deer, which was incredible to them considering most stands had been "overrun" with deer the weekend before during the blackpowder hunt. In fact, my B-I-L had shot a large doe the week before after picking her out of a crowd of NINE sitting in a single shooting lane.

We loaded up at 2 p.m. to head back to our stands. The wind remained ferocious throughout the afternoon. I stared for hours at the areas around me, waiting on the deer that had been captured on my camera only days ago to return for the corn scattered beneath the feeder. But it wasn't to be on that afternoon. I stayed until it was good and dark at 5:45 without seeing a thing. Through text messaging, I learned J-Dawg had seen nothing either, while my B-I-L continued to see a fair number of deer, including a couple of decent 7 and 8 pointers -- he was holding out for a BIG deer.

Back at camp we filled up on pork chops, pinto beans, corn bread, and all sorts of goodies. The deer might have proved disappointing on day one, but the food continued to be awesome. We had hunted hard, and were tired. We hung out with family as long as we could, then made them go home so I could shower, relax with a cocktail, then get to sleep. 5 a.m. and Day 2 would be here before you know it.

The Pre-Hunt Part 2 -- Scouting My Stand

Early Friday morning (less than 24 hours from the open), my brother-in-law and I hopped on four-wheel ATVs and headed out to scout the camp and spread a little corn. My stand turned out to be about 2 miles from camp (as the ATV flies). It's a 5' x 5' box stand with a floor roughly 6' off the ground. This is lower than a typical box stand (which is good for my fat butt), but sits up on a mound so it's adequately raised for good sight lines and shooting angles. Here's a pic I took and sent to my wife, who responded that it looks like a tree fort of some kind (which admittedly, is true).

The first thing I noticed about my stand is that my shooting areas were wide open and plentiful, and overlooking a creek bed. Imagine if you are looking directly ahead, and a creek surrounds you in a semicircle. And on both sides of the semi-circle creek bed, trees are left uncut, but that all the trees beyond the creek and between you and the creek are cut. Yeah, I suppose that's pretty hard to imagine. Here's some pics to try to explain.

Here's what I see directly ahead of me while sitting in my stand.

Here's what I see when I look to my right.

And here's what I see when I look to my left. If you look closely, you'll see my automatic corn feeder just before the tree line.

Here's a view from my feeder (on my left shoulder), back to the stand. In fact, it would probably be a lot easier if I just show you a video.


After we filled the feeder with corn, we grabbed the memory card from an infared game camera attached nearby. When we finished with my area, we scattered corn near 2 of my BIL's 3 areas then headed back to camp. When we pulled up the pics from the game camera, we saw several deer, including 2 nice 8 point or better bucks. We also saw a number of turkeys and even a few dogs.

Soon thereafter, J-Dawg arrived and we took him out on the 4 wheelers and the truck to show him my BIL's stand where he would be hunting the next morning. By late Friday afternoon, the camp was bustling. Several other hunters were now on site. A number of them were sighting in rifles on the 100 yard range sitting just beside my BIL's and sister's camper, where I stayed. At some point during the afternoon, my kids, granddaughters and nephews began to arrive to visit. About an hour after dark, the fish fry commenced. A handful of camp members cooked cornbread battered catfish, hush puppies and french fries in open fryers outside the cook shack. To that we added cole slaw, several dessert choices and gallons of ice tea. It was a damn fine meal, and a good way to kick off the hunt. After visiting with my family members for quite a while, we settled in to try to sleep a few hours on the eve of the hunt. I set my alarm on my blackberry for 5 a.m. and managed to sleep a few hours, wondering what I'd see.

Up next -- day one of the hunt.

The Pre-Hunt Part 1 -- Getting There.

After a few telephone calls delayed my departure from Philadelphia until well after 10 a.m. on Wednesday morning (3 days before the open), I finally set out for Southern Arkansas. This is what my car looked like just before heading out:

After a pretty awesome 2-day drive that took me through central PA, Cumberland, Maryland, most of W. Virginia, much of Kentucky (stopping overnight in Lexington) and Tennessee, I finally crossed the Mississippi and into Arkansas about midday on Thursday.

I arrived at "deer camp" late Thursday afternoon, 2 days before the season opening. I spent 21 hours on the road to get there, daydreaming about all the big bucks I might see to pass the time. When I arrived in the remote area in Bradley County, Arkansas, my brother-in-law was there to meet me at the highway and lead me back to camp. I took the photo's below on my drive into camp to demonstrate its remote nature.

After about a mile drive through the woods, I arrived at camp. The camp consists of a large "cookshack" that contains a big cooler, sinks and cooking facilities, along with several tables and chairs to accomodate hungry hunters. It was about the size of a typical diner/family restuaraunt, with indoor seating for 50 or so, with outdoor picnic tables that would accomodate another 24+. Attached to the cookshack was a bathroom with 2 toilets and one shower.

There were a number of cabins and mobile homes that are permanently affixed to the camp (complete with electrical, sewer and water service) that belong to the various members, as well as a number of campers that are brought in only for the hunting season. Finally, the camp includes a deer cleaning area, complete with walk in freezer to store the venison until you take it to a processor. In other words, the camp has everything the hunter needs to get the job done. Here's a photo:

I later learned that there are currently 31 member units (units can be families) which can each have up to 3 hunting areas/stands per unit. These units split 5,300+ acres, with hunting areas being a minimum of 1/4 mile x 1/4 mile areas. The membership charter allows up to 37 member units maximum. I joined as an in-lieu, or probationary member. After 3 years, I can become a full member with voting rights. Each year of membership allows 1 hunting area up to a total of 3, so I arrived with a single exclusive hunting area assigned to me. If I rejoin in following years, I will have up to three exclusive hunting areas. Available hunting areas are typically "drawn for" each year, though members do tend to trade areas. Once you have an area, it's yours until you no longer are a member, offer it up for drawing (in exchange for another area you may draw) or trade it to another member.

Up next, I'll get into the pre-hunt scout and a little more about the camp itself.

Final Preparation for the Hunt

Well, if everything remains in accordance with the game plan, I'll be on the road in a week for the hunting trip to southern Arkansas. This past week, I managed to check off a few more items from the pre-hunt punch list, ordering the following from Cabela's:

A Knight & Hale grunt call:

Under Armour blaze orange vest and cap (not very attractive, but legally required):

A Streamlight Scorpion LED flashlight (for those early, pre-dawn trips to the stand):

... and finally, another box of the Winchester XP3 Extreme Elite ammo, in .270 WSM:

I also took one more trip to the rifle range, where I had to make my final ammo choice, fine tune my scope and get a little more comfortable with the rifle. After going back and forth with Federal standard big game loads and the Winchester Extreme Elite, I opted for the latter. At 100M, the Winchester rounds were a good 2.5" higher than the Federal rounds. This is not surprising, as the Winchester rounds travel significantly faster and have a much flatter trajectory. Once I convinced myself that I could accurately place the Winchester rounds in tight groups (which for whatever reason, I initially found harder to group than the Federal rounds), I made my decision and dialed in my Leupold VX-R for that ammo. My goal was to set the scope 1.1" high at 100 meters, which according to the ballistics chart provided by Winchester, would make the 130 grain load dead flat at 200 meters and down about 5.5" at 300 meters (which is the longest shot I'll potentially see for my shooting lanes). (Interesting side note: Until I purchased this rifle, I had no idea that bullets actually rise initially before beginning to drop.)

My efforts resulted in the final three round grouping below. (The numbers on the target are 1 inch increments.) The first two shots were those that are touching, just left of center. From there, I adjusted upward 4 clicks (1") and right 2 clicks (.5"), and fired the third round. I decided to stop right there. While I wasn't dead above center an inch like I planned, I've learned that when I mispull the trigger with this rifle, I tend to miss a little right. Thus, I'm ok with being a half inch left of center at 100 meters.

Finally, I charged up the Flip video camera so I can try to capture some video of the hunt. Hopefully, I won't forget to pack it next week. More importantly, I hope I don't forget my non-resident license. With that, the tools are ready. Word from SouthArk is, the deer are ready. I guess the rest is up to the shooter.

Gearing up for the hunt ...

Actually, I've been gearing up for the hunt for a while, in the literal sense.

I'm sure I mentioned this before, but I acquired an annual membership in a hunting club in southern Arkansas where my sister and brother-in-law are members. After putting together the pieces of a nice shooting setup (Kimber 8400 in .270 WSM with Leupold VX-R optics), it's finally almost time to go shoot some deer.

I have decided to drive down. I want to take several firearms just to shoot around if I have the chance, and flying just didn't seem like a good option under those circumstances. Besides, it will be nice to have my truck to motor around between the camp and my stand area. Still, not looking forward to the 30 hour round trip. My kids manage each direction in a single driving session, but I plan to split it up over 2 days each way. I'm too old and cranky to be in the car for more than 8 hours in a day.

I'm planning to hunt 5 days (or, up to 5 days, since that's the duration of my non-resident license) but I suppose it's possible I could bag my limit (2 deer, under the aforementioned license) sooner. I sort of doubt that, though. Teen Jared Hicks will be joining me in the stand for opening weekend, and I'm pretty sure he'll be taking the shots those first two days while I watch and enjoy the experience of the hunt for the first time in over a decade. (For those who don't know Jared, he's my ... hmmm... not sure what you call it. He's my kids' little brother, born to their mom a number of years after we were no longer married. I just call him J-Dawg.) Last night, I booked reservations at a nearby hotel so daughter Kristen and granddaughter Bella can be nearby to visit as well (yay!).

It's been quite an experience getting ready to go. Thanks to my B-I-L Marion, though, it hasn't been difficult to do it remotely. He set me up with a stand with 4 long shooting lanes (up to 300 yards each) and a settled food plot which is seeing heavy action. He's absolutely awesome to do that for me, and he and my sister are hosting me in their on-site camper. Speaking of on-site, they are already moved into the camp and will stay there until late December. According to facebook, they've already bagged their first doe (assuming black powder) and are well on their way to refilling the freezer.

If things go according to plan, I'm going to charge up the Flip video camera and try to shoot some video to bring back. November 12th is the open, and I'll be back in Pennsylvania by the 21st before embarking on another non-gun adventure (more to come on that later) the week after, so look for any hunting videos to arrive in early December.

Taking a Very Good Pistol, and Making it Great!

I'm guessing that if you're reading this, you probably remember my intial post professing love for my S&W M&P 9 mm. As I wrote then, it's a fantastic firearm right out of the box. However, one of the cool things about it is the ability to upgrade it with relative ease.

And upgrade, I did.

Sights.

I started by adding Tru Glo fiberoptic sights. The install was WAY more complicated than I realized. First of all, you have to be sure to remove the sights in the proper direction, as there is only one way the dovetail sight mounts will fit into the slide. Second, those things are REALLY in there. It takes a hell of a whack to remove them. If you don't have a vise to hold the slide, this can be quite challenging. Finally, you'll find the same difficulty in moving the new sights into place. However, if you are like me you might not be comfortable whacking the hell out of your new fiber optic sights.

There are a few tools that can help. I looked into "sight" tools designed specifically for removing/installing sights on my gun. However, they were incredibly expensive for a one time install (approaching $200), and are more suited for gunsmiths who will use them repeatedly. As importantly, I couldn't seem to find any tools in stock. As a result, I ended up just purchasing some reinforced nylon "punches" and beating the sights into place with elbow grease, a large hammer, and patience. I marred the finish on the front sight a bit, which sucks. But I did manage to get them installed.

When I first shot her indoors after that modification, I wasn't sure I was going to keep that setup. But then, I shot outside a few times in IDPA events, and I realized what all the fuss was about. Fiberoptic sights practically glow outdoors, even in overcast conditions. Finding the sight line couldn't be easier.

Trigger.

From there, I looked for ways to improve the trigger feel. As with many standard service pistols, the M&P trigger has a rather long pull, with lots of pre-travel (trigger movement before the firing pin releases), lots of over-travel (trigger movement that continues after the firing pin releases) and a lack of a clearly identifiable reset point (i.e., the point where the firing mechanism resets as the trigger moves back forward after firing). Apex Tactical created a drop in kit to improve these characteristics known as the Duty Carry/Action Enhancement Kit ("DCAEK") which replaced a number of parts. I installed mine with a lot of patience and a few tools, though many might find it to be a bit much and may prefer to take it to a gunsmith.

After installing the DCEAK, the difference was noticeable. The pull lightened to about 4-5 pounds, and the pre-travel and over-travel were reduced significantly. I was pleased. Then Apex upped the ante by creating a new kit that included an entire trigger replacement (the Forward Set Sear and Trigger Kit, or FSST). After learning from the DCAEK install, the FSST install was a snap.

And what a difference the FSST made. Travel issues were eliminated completely and the trigger feels incredible. It's as close to a custom single-action 1911 trigger as you'll find. Well worth the moderate price tag (~$150).

Barrel.

Finally, I ordered a custom match barrel from Storm Lake barrels. This part is the easiest imaginable install -- it's a single part replacement that literally drops in. The hardest part about installing this barrel is waiting the 2 months it takes for Storm Lake to make it once you've ordered it. That said, it's worth the wait. The accuarcy improvements are significant and apparent. What's more, after 250 or so rounds, I still haven't experienced a single mechanical failure on this firearm (which was a concern for me in adding this barrel because the feed ramp that loads the rounds is on the lip of the barrel and differs in design from the original).

In sum, I took a very good weapon and made it great. It's by far my favorite handgun to shoot in my collection. I haven't shot an IDPA event with it since the barrel and FSST install, but I can't wait to do so.

Here's a pic showing the modified trigger and a glimpse of the new stainless Storm Lake barrel:

Range Report: SIG 556 Classic Tactical Combat Rifle

I finally had a chance to shoot the new SIG 556 so I thought I'd share my reactions.  In sum, it's probably no surprise to hear me say she's fun to shoot.  I only ran through 140 rounds (which is nearly the shooting equivalent of the blink of an eye with this particular firearm and 30 rounds magazines), but here's a few initial thoughts.

For such a small round (comparatively), she barks!  I was surprised at how loud she was.  Granted, it was at an indoor concrete "bunker," but still, with these little bitty rounds, I figured it would be more akin to a .22 than to my .45.  The best part wasn't the report of the powder, but this cool sound from what I think was the actual lead traveling at 2800 fps -- sort of like the whistle you would imagine hearing if a tiny, supersonic jet flew past your head.  It gave me the sensation that I was sending lead MILES AND MILES down range.

I'm not a fan of the hooded front site and rear diopter.  In fact, I was sort of wishing I had skipped that option all together and applied the savings to a solid optic.  The front site is too large to feel like you are aiming with any real precision.  As for the diopter, it was hard to move by hand while trying to site in, and I couldn't even drift it far enough to make the necessary correction.  Out of the box, she was about 6 inches to the left and 2 inches low at 20 meters.  I'm already planning the optics package to remedy the situation.  I knew I would eventually go optics when I bought her, but figured I would keep the diopter so I would at least have the option.  Now, I can't really see myself ever relying on that diopter again, so I may as well remove it and sell it.

I had one "mechanical" issue while firing.  I've since learned that it was most likely due to a bad brass casing in a round I discharged.  The gun jammed at about round sixty.  When we examined her, we found a round sticking halfway into the breech.  I was able to dislodge it and much to my surprise, this is what I found:

The lower is the round that was stuck in the breech.  The upper is the reason why.  Apparently, after the upper fired, the extractor basically ripped the top of the brass off, leaving the rest of it sitting in the breech while the lower round tried to load on top of it.  You can't tell just by looking, but the lower round is actually bent.  The gun cycled so hard that when it shoved the new round into the half-casing, it bent the new round.  If you try to roll it, it wobbles across the countertop.  Other than that little failure (which was pretty frightening at the time), the rifle shot flawlessly.

In all, it feels pretty good to shoot.  I will admit that it does feel a little heavy after 90 rounds or so.  That said, there's is only enough recoil to let you know that you're shooting a real rifle, so it's easy to stay on target and keep sending rounds as fast as your trigger finger allows.  I'm ready to put another 400 rounds through her at some real distance.  Of course, I'm going to need a decent optic first.

Well, it's been a while so there's LOTS to catch up on ...

First order of business -- new additions to the family.  In my last post, I discussed my desire to take Tanner's up on an offer that seemed too good to pass up.  I think the day after I made that post, I came home with this:

Yep, that's a SIG 556 Classic battle rifle with a rotary diopter rear site.  The price on these things fell about 40% in the past 8 months.  The biggest reasons for the price drop seem to be (1) the rifle is about 1.5 lbs heavier than a standard AR-15 (8 lbs total), it lacks the standard AR-15 quad rails, upon which accessories (such as vertical shooting handle, tactical lights, etc.) can be easily added, and (3) it was way overpriced to begin with (the former pre-drop price was nearly double that of a decent, entry level AR-15).  I personally find the styling and enhanced AK-47 shooting action too cool to resist, though will eventually be looking to add a standard AR-15 to my collection as well.

In other news, I also finally broke down and purchased a full-sized gun safe.  I opted for the Browning Theftguard.  A stock photo with someone else's collection is shown here:

Now I can stop storing my rifles under the bed and my ammo and other gear in the closet.  Cyn is happy.

Since my last post, I shot an official IDPA classifier.  It wasn't as fun as an IDPA fun match (where you can shoot moving targets, from cars, etc...) but it's a good test of skill and is plenty entertaining.  The classifier is designed to test a standard IDPA skill set (reloading, shooting from different distances, from both hands, moving frontward and back, etc...) while using a pre-determined set of stages to help differentiate your skill level and give you a standard measure upon which to improve.

I was pleased to classify as "Marksman," but a little disappointed that I could have classified at the next level ("Sharpshooter") if I had made up about 13 more points by slowing down a little early in the match and focusing a little more on accuracy.  My scores can be seen here.

Finally, I added a Storm Lake match barrel and an Apex Tactical forward set sear and trigger kit to the S&W M&P 9mm I use for IDPA shoots.  Here's what she looks like now:

That's enough for now.  I'll be back later to post range reports from both the SIG 556 and the M&P with the new barrel and trigger.  As a preview, I'll say for now that I am really happy with both.

Ok, so i was all set to choose the M&P 15 MOE, but THEN ...

My local dealer is having a one-day deal on the SIG 556 Classic with a rotary diopter.  I fell in love with this rifle by looking and holding it a few months back, but I read some bad reviews (primarily too heavy @ 1.5 lbs over the average AR-15 weight) and too overpriced (about $1400 with a rear diopter, $1600 with a SIG brand cheap-ass red dot optic.  Here it is:  Isn't she sweet?    What a great deal.  Now I'm a little conflicted. At full retail, it's a no-brainer -- I'd go with the M&P.  But at this price, the SIG is such a great bargain, I might have to reconsider.  Thoughts?

Choosing my next firearm ...

When I set out to build my collection, I had a few key needs that I wanted to fill on a priority basis:

1.  Pistol for Home Protection  -- check.
2.  Pistol for Personal Protection -- check.
3.  Smaller Pistol for Personal Protection when wearing light clothing -- check.
4.  Pistol for Competition Shooting -- check.
5.  Back-up Pistol for Home Protection -- check.
6.  Versatile Hunting Rifle -- check.

The next step was to accesorize as needed:

1.  Multiple magazines for all firearms -- check.
2.  Holster, belts and mag holders for heavy/light carry and competition -- check.
3.  New sights, barrel and trigger system for competition shooting -- check.
4.  Optics and sling for hunting rifle -- check.
5.  Range bag and hunting backpack -- check.
6.  Cleaning kits and gunsmithing tools -- check.
7.  Plenty of ammo for all firearms -- check.
8.  Pistol safes to keep all pistols locked -- check.
9.  Hard case to transport hunting rifle -- check.

So, what's next?  The obvious missing elements to forming a well-rounded collection (aside from a safe to keep them all in) are an assault rifle and a shotgun.  Indeed, whether it's for sporting carbine competitions, clay pigeon busting or zombie annihilation, everyone should own at least one AR-15 and one shotgun.  I would also like to have one long-range pistol in the form of an FNH 5.7.  Some would say that I need a revolver or two, but for some reason, I just can't get into them.  I really like the semiautos and can think of several others I'd buy before I would even consider a revolver.

At this stage, a shotgun is simply out of the question.  This is true because when I buy a shotgun, I'm buying a BADASS over/under shotgun that can withstand the pounding of shooting thousands of clay pigeons at the local table-trap range.  Those shotguns, my friends, don't come cheap.  None of my guns or wish list future guns are cheap, but a truly well-crafted sporting shotgun is not cheap on a whole other level.  Think decent used japanese sedan price range.

I'd REALLY REALLY REALLY like to buy the FNH 5.7 and it would require the least capital outlay of the bunch (which matters since I've been cut off from "house money" for firearms purchases and forced to rely on my personal allowance until 2012).  However, it's kind of hard to buy another handgun when I don't own a decent assault rifle or sporting carbine.

Thus, I think the logical choice is an AR-15.  I've had my eye on the S&W M&P-15 MOE.  At first, I really wanted it in flat dark earth (shown in the link).  Lately, I've been thinking all black is the way to go.  I'm going to have to give this some more thought.  Yep, I think that's the right choice.  I can spend the rest of the year accumulating magazines and saving for the insanely expensive optics I want to mount on it,  then look into the FNH 5.7 around the holidays.  That leaves early 2012 to accumulate funds for the right shotgun before the trap shooting season gets into full swing. 

I guess it's about time to talk rifles for a change ...

I've had my eye on two tactical rifles for the past several months:  the Sig 556 Classic and the S&W M&P-15 (AR-15).  After reading several bad reviews of the Sig, I was pretty much ready to pull the trigger on the M&P-15 when I suddenly decided to join a hunting lease in Arkansas.  That changed everything ....

With that, I needed a rifle that was fit for hunting whitetail deer.  After kicking it around for several days, I finally decided to go with a Kimber 8400 in .270 Winchester Short Magnum.  I already know Kimber makes damn fine pistols, and this rifle certainly appears to be typical Kimber quality fit and finish.  I opted for the .270 WSM because it was a terrific balance of power and velocity.  A 150 grain Winchester Supreme Elite round drops less than 34 inches at 500 yards.  That's about 2/3 of the drop of a 30-06 at that distance.

I added Leupold VX-R optics at 3-9x40mm.  It has a "Firedot" reticle that actually lights up on the target.  Interested to see how that works.  It took nearly a month for the jackasses at the gun shop to mount the damn thing, but I guess it's better late than never.

In any event, I am shooting it for the first time this weekend, so we'll see how it fires.  In the meantime, a few pictures:

Since we're talking about pistols ...

or at least, since I'M talking about pistols (zero comments to date on this blog), I may as well move on to the next one in my collection.  I chose the next pistol because I learned that when it comes to carrying one around, (not unlike fashion accessories) there are times when certain guns are better for certain situations or attire.  For example, while I love my Kimber CDP and its thunderous, threat-eradicating .45 caliber power, it's not always easy to carry if you're wearing shorts and a T-shirt.  For those times, I chose the Sig Sauer P238 in .380 ACP shown here:

It's ultra-compact (it literally fits in the palm of my hand) so it's ideal for any situation where carrying something more bulky isn't practical.  In fact, most people who carry this and other guns this size simply carry them in the front pocket.  I prefer the tiny inside-the-waistband holster option shown here:

As far as how this little firearm performs, my impressions on the key aspects are set forth below.  In sum, I had high expectations for the SIG, and they were mostly met or exceeded.

Trigger Feel. The trigger has a short, crisp pull. It's in no way on par with my Kimber 1911 (nor would I expect it to be), but for a gun this size, it's VERY nice. I think it might be a teeny tad heavy for my liking, but not so heavy it affects accuracy much.

Sights. Bright and easy to find on follow ups. Nicely done SIG. If ever I need it, they glow like crazy in the dark.

Fit in the hand. Well, it's a small framed auto, so it's going to feel a little awkward on the pinkie to some. Just picking it up, it doesn't feel as comfortable as say the Bodyguard on the pinkie. However, it does feel great near the thumb, especially while shooting.

Shooting Feel. Here's where this little gun starts to stand out. The recoil is incredibly light and smooth. I know what you're thinking -- it's a friggin' .380, OF COURSE the recoil is light and smooth. True -- no .380 is going to vigorously roll back the hand of any half-grown man (or most women and children for that matter), but compared to peer offerings such as the S&W Bodyguard and the Beretta Tomcat (I've shot both in recent weeks), it's a dream to shoot. The contrast between the SIG and those guns is striking. I was sort of surprised by the discomfort I experienced shooting the Bodyguard, and downright angry with the Tomcat after about 100 rounds.  [NOTE: Regarding the Tomcat, emptying a mag from that little .32 ACP beast was like having someone hit me 7 times with a ball peen hammer between the thumb and index finger -- I couldn't WAIT to stop shooting it.]  The SIG on the other hand, felt like pushing tacks or staples into soft corkboard. Hard to describe -- it was just very smooth and controlled, and comfortable.

Accuracy. In a word, surprising for a gun this size and caliber. I easily hit center mass at 15 yards, and shot groups at 7 yards that I would have a hard time duplicating with my full size M&P (4.25" bbl).

Other considerations. I did experience 3 failure to feed's in the 100 round outing. Obviously his failure rate is unacceptable for a CCW application. However, I learned with my Kimber that this can happen during the break in period and completely disappear after a few hundred rounds.  The last 150 rounds have been flawless, so I'm hopeful she's broken in to the point where future failures won't occur.  Also, SIG sort of ticked me off with the decision to include only a single magazine.  This gun is one of the most expensive in its class, and Sig can't throw in a single extra magazine?  Come on guys, really? More importantly, however, fully securing the mag into the mag well (to avoid having nothing happen when you pull the trigger) is not as easy as it should be. It's hard enough to secure a flush .45 mag (which is why I like the tac mag extensions on my Kimber) but on the tiny .380, it's a whole other level of not-easy. SIG has figured out a fix for two of my complaints with their new extra round, pinkie extended magazine. However, I can't seem to find one in stock anywhere on the planet. Moreover, I think at least one of them (together with another flush mag) should be included with every P238.

All things considered, I'm very pleased so far.

Rating:  **** (of *****).  You're probably figuring out by now that you won't find too many guns which are still in my collection that are rated less than ****.  If I don't really like it, it goes bye bye.

It's sort of like playing cops and robbers, but with LIVE ammo ...

That's the description I recently provided a co-worker when he asked me what exactly I meant when I said I went "IDPA" shooting over the weekend.  More technically, IDPA (which stands for "International Defensive Pistol Association") is an association formed to allow its members to practice shooting skills in simulated self-defense scenarios.  Shooters are classified as either novice, marksman, sharpshooter, expert or master for a given weapon (standard or enhanced service pistols, custom defense pistols or revolvers).  By far, the easiest way to describe IDPA is to refer you directly to one of the many you tube videos on the subject, like this one:

So anyway, I shot my first IDPA event a few days ago.  It was a lot like the one depicted in the previously posted video.  I shot from behind barrels, from behind desks and through car windows.  I shot at still targets, disappearing targets, and swinging targets.  I shot with my left hand.  In a word, it was AWESOME.  It's SO much cooler than just shooting pieces of paper at my normal indoor range.

As for how well I shot?  Well, I finished 32nd out of 38 semi-auto shooters.  (Results can be seen here:  New Holland IDPA Scores (May 1, 2011)).  Among the beginners and novice level shooters, I was roughly in the middle of the pack, which exceeded my well-published pre-shoot goal of "don't be last!"  In all, I was pretty happy.  I committed three errors that I consider major: (1) failing to shoot two bad guys (FN, or "failure to neutralize" for those keeping score); (2) dropping a mag to the dirt while doing a tactical (non-empty gun) reload rather than stowing it on my person; and (3) "sweeping" the muzzle of the gun over my left arm while climbing out of the car to shoot more bad guys -- a genuine NO NO (for obvious reasons).  I didn't even realize I did the last error until I saw the replay on a video that another competitor had recorded.  (NOTE:  Speaking of which, if the aforementioned other shooter emails me the vids of me event, I'll post.  Unless they make me look like a dumbass, in which case I'll delete them.) 

My M&P performed well, though it's a lot tougher to acquire and shoot multiple targets in an IDPA situation than I had anticipated.  The two main components of score are speed and accuracy.  I can tell you, I wasn't particularly fast, nor should I have been.  In fact, if anything I was probably trying to be a little too fast for a beginner.  As a result, I wasn't particularly accurate either, scoring 65 "points down" which was a relatively high figure.  Points down are added to your time for not making center hits (which can range from just-off of the 10" center target to my perviously-mentioned FNs).

Nevertheless, despite the errors and the less-than-spectactular score, I had a great time, and plan to shoot these events regularly.  The next match at New Holland is a "classifier," which means my score will translate into a classification, which I will then wear like a scarlet letter until I shoot another classifier that translates into a new classfication.  I hope to shoot better in that one.

Beauty + Function = Kimber ...

If you find yourself in the market for a hand cannon (e.g., a .45 ACP) and can manage to scrape together a few extra coins, you should definitely check out a Kimber.  Based upon the century old 1911 auto platform invented by John Browning, Kimber pistols are truly works of art.  I opted for the ultra miniaturized Ultra Custom Defense Pistol II, which combines a very concealable 3" barrel platform with several Kimber custom shop features, such hand checkered grips, night sights and ambidextrous safety.

Kimber Ultra CDP II (.45 ACP)

This tiny little aluminum-framed beast weighs in at 24 ounces unloaded, making it one of the lightest (if not the lightest) .45 ACP 1911 frames on the planet.  That comes in handy when you want to carry something with real kick that won't pull your pants down. [NOTE:  More to come later on concealed carry and permits.] 

Speaking of real kick, any of you that shoot know that recoil is typically a function of three things -- bullet weight, powder load, and gun weight.  I'm not a math guy, so I'm not sure what equation to use to explain this phenomenon.  Instead, I will simply tell you this -- when you pull the trigger on this high caliber, light-ass gun that barely fills your hand, you won't have to wait for your ears to ring to know that you've sent lead downrange. 

What sets this gun apart from the others in my collection, however, goes beyond beauty and concealibility.  This little SOB will flat out shoot.   A couple of weeks ago, I put 28 rounds (4 mags) into the hi visibility portions of these targets from 30 or so feet (ignore the other holes in the Target that Kristen sprayed all over the place.  :-)  ).

10 Meters, No rest, approximately 1 minute

1911's are known for their remarkable accuracy, but most of them are in 5" or 4" barrels.  3" barrels typically are not known as accurate shooting platforms because (1) longer barrels generally equate to greater accuracy, and (2) the distance between the front and rear sights on shorter barrelled firearms makes it harder to shoot accurately.  All of that said, a week after this picture was taken, I placed 4 of 7 rounds on 1" round dot targets from 30 feet.  In sum, this gun's accuracy doesn't seem to be limited much by it's barrel length.  Human-sized targets should easily be struck from distances out to 25 meters.  In fact, my Kimber's only limitation seems to be me.  But hey, I'm getting better!

One more thing on 1911's.  There probably isn't a more beloved pistol platform in the world.  These pistols have served as the primary sidearm through almost every U.S. military conflict since the Civil War.  Only relatively recently have they begun to be replaced by service pistol platforms (such as my M&P 9mm or Glocks) for military and law enforcement use.  Still, they have a remarkable civilian following.  These platforms are the primary choice of nearly all serious competition action pistol shooters.  Out of the box, the action, trigger feel and accuracy are hard to beat.  1911's are hand and custom built by any number of talented gun artisans, and can range in price from $450 (Taurus) to over $10,000 (Volkmann Custom).  I am told by some of acquaintences who share my hobby of gun collecting and shooting that every person should own at least 3 1911's.  [Please don't tell my wife that, though -- she'll only shake her head and mutter "good grief."]

Why I love my M&P 9mm ...

1.  It's ergonomically perfect.  This firearm might not be the prettiest on the planet, but I can't tell you how many times I've heard others who own it claim it just "feels" right in the hand.  It's balanced and has a natural on-target cant when loaded.  Feeling comfortable in the hand is an important component of a good pistol.  Here's a basic photo from a poor angle, but you get the point:

Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm (full-size, 17 rounds)

2.  It's Accurate.  Right out of the box, an average shooter will have very little trouble putting rounds on target (or at least, close enough to count).

3.  It's Incredibly Reliable.  I'm nearing the 2,000 round mark without experiencing a single failure of any kind with all types and brands of ammo.  That's a Glock-like and nearly unheard of reliability rate in a semi-auto.

4.  It's Easily Upgradeable.  Without getting too technical, for about $90 and 90 minutes of your time (or 20 minutes of time from a quality gunsmith), you can replace several trigger components (sear, springs, etc...) which will improve the trigger pull significantly (increasing accuracy).  There are also a number of gunsmiths who perform upgrades on these guns on the cheap.  It also has standard rails for a light or other add ons.

5.  It's Great for Action Pistol Shooting.  There are few reasonably priced pistols that are as suitable right out of the box for IDPA competition.  If you are so inclined, you can spend a few extra dollars for a trigger kit and perhaps some new sights (like I did), and be WELL equipped in the Standard Service Pistol category.   This past weekend, of the 15 or so shooters in my beginner's squad, I counted 5 M&Ps and no more than 2 of any other variety.   (Note: I'll have more on IDPA later.)

OVERALL RATING: **** (of *****).  This pistol fits many categories very well.  For a full size 9mm, it has few peers in its price range.  Most pistols in that price range are going to be *** or below, but the upgradeability and superior reliability make this weapon a cut above the others in the marketplace. 

The Basics -- Where To Start

1.  Identify Your Purpose.  If you ask 100 current firearms enthusiasts which gun you should buy, you'll get 500 different answers.  If you dig a little deeper into those answers, you'll quickly get to the bottom of why so many gun enthusiasts own multiple firearms, and why they can't just give you a single answer to that single question.  The reason is pretty simple really -- different guns are good for different things.

Common uses for firearms include:  hunting, home defense, personal protection, target shooting, competitive shooting and collecting.  Very few firearms, if any, fill each of those uses.  Of those that might, none of them fill each use in a good to great manner.  That said many gun owners, if forced to choose a single weapon, can identify one they feel fits the most needs at one.  Fortunately for me, I'm not most gun owners.  I'm a big believer in having the right tool for the job.

2.  Measure the Depth of Your Pockets.  I'm a big believer in wish lists -- having hopes and desires make life more interesting.  But the most awesome gun on the planet does you no good if owning it is little more than a pipe dream.  In today's world, if you're primary purposes is home or self defense, you can buy a moderate level (reliable, safe and accurate) handgun for $400-$600.  If you are tired of carrying around that pile of cash, you can opt for a tricked-out custom carry piece that will set you back $1350-2500. 

3.  Know Your Skill Set.  Some guns are way more complicated to operate, shoot and maintain than others.  If you are a handgun beginner, you probably want a standard service pistol, which is typically a "point and shoot" type of weapon.  Most of these guns will work great for home defense, can be carried if necessary, make great target/practice weapons, and are suitable for entry level competition.

My Choice for Weapon No. 1.  As I mentioned in the Blog Intro, I chose the S&W M&P full size in 9mm as my first firearm.  I wanted home defense first and foremost.  What the 9mm may lack in brute force per round, it makes up in sheer volume -- 17 rounds per mag.  In addition, for shooting lots of rounds on the cheap, 9mm is the best centerfire option available.  It's also a good choice for getting started in competitive action shooting, is incredibly reliable, easy to use and easily modified/upgraded.  I'll get into more details on this particular firearm in my next post.

How It All Started ....

About six months ago (October 2010), after several weeks of kicking it around, I decided a wanted a firearm.  You're probably thinking that I found myself in a threatened position one day and began thinking of a firearm as some sort of equalizer.  Well (thankfully), it was nothing that exciting.  I hadn't owned a firearm in more than 10 years and didn't suddenly develop a need.  Nope, this was all about want.  After all, while they serve all sorts of legitimate purposes, guns are pretty damn cool gadgets even when you don't need them.  In a matter of days, I convinced my wife that (1) a 9mm handgun would make the perfect Christmas gift and (2) that I needed to go ahead and get it in November "just in case."  On Thanksgiving weekend, I picked up my first handgun -- a Smith & Wesson M&P full-size 9mm. 

In the weeks that followed, I quickly discovered that a want can become a hobby which can become an obsession.  In less than six months, I had purchased 6 firearms and all sorts of related gear, and had competed in my first shooting competition.  During that time, I found all sorts of new reasons to expand my collection, and to expand my interest in all sorts of guns-related things.  This blog was launched because ... well frankly, I think my wife is tired of hearing about this stuff.  In addition, I have learned so much in such a short time that I thought it might be sort of cool to log the process.

So, if my aim is true, My Guns Go Bang will be a chronicle about me and everything guns -- from choosing, buying and caring for firearms, to shooting them for fun and competition, to viewing them as investments and heirlooms.   Without further delay, time to load and make ready ....