Declaration of War

  Be it here acknowledged and resolved that a State of War exists in the Butler Creek watershed between Homo Sapiens (Humans) and the Procyon lotor (Raccoon) inhabiting this area.  This document formally announces combat operations commencing North of Butler Creek, West of Dean Church Road and East of 13 Club Lake.  This area is to be considered a free fire zone and any and all hostiles shall be immediately engaged with lethal force without further announcement or warning. 

Update: This is Part I of the Coon War.  

Loving That Web

  So, there I am, photographing an event, the opening of the new Ornelas Dorm building at Tyler Junior College, neck deep in current and former Apache Belles, hearing wonderful stories, engaging in fine dining, all that, when in walks another Texas curmudgeon, Congressman Fred Head, from Athens, Texas, who is married to an ex- Apache Belle, (still gorgeous after all those years with Fred.)  Fred hands me a card with that JESUS graphic on the back that you have to stare at the negative space to read and then starts telling me about how formative his years and the people at TJC were.  (Like duh.  You married a BELLE Fred!)  He goes on to tell me about the founder of the famous Drill teaming Belles, Margaret Stringer who had a devoted white poodle named Gavroosh.  When I transited from the dorm to the associated luncheon I went through Lindsey Lane to change batteries and googled up "Gavroosh" on the mac.  Turns out its "Gavroche", via Wiki, a child character in Les Miserables who is a singing fool.  White poodle.  Named for a French Child singer.  Makes sense.

  I report to Fred at the luncheon.  Jesus saves.

  Gotta love the web.  Gotta love life in Tyler.

CMP North Store, Camp Perry, Ohio

  Texas Team Members going to the Civilian Marksmanship Program North Store at Camp Perry, Ohio during the National Matches to buy a Garand and some ammo.  August 2008.  We checked the muzzle wear on the Garands and then looked over the best ones.  Found a couple of nice Garands in the Rack Grades.  We bought two- one for a club raffle and one of the guys bought one.

Commercial Row, Camp Perry

  If you have never seen it, here it is.  Last week during CMP Week: Commercial Row.

  Trigger Weighing and rifle inspection at the CMP Trailer also up.

Daily Deercam

 The woods are tinder dry and the yard burnt at the lakehouse.  It's suffering, though it had a little kiss of a shower sometime today.  Need more.  God drinks, I think.  Otherwise the weather would make more sense.

  The spiderwebs are gone from the trails.  Those black and white spiders that look more like crabs than spiders have cycled and the big red fat ones are next.  I wave a twig as I go down the trail.   Right now, it was clear for the 200 yards through the woods.  

  Twigs, leaves, shifts...the forest is very dynamic.  I have to readjust my trail in a major way when a treetop comes down.  Happens more often than you would think.  I cross water twice on this trail.  All dry.  Plenty of open water in the creek for deer, though I would hate to drink it.  People used to though, this whole bluff is a Caddoan Culture village site.

  The Moultrie took my photo when I walked up.  It's been 12 days on a rechargeable lantern battery.  Big card.  Good cam.  Wouldn't the Caddoan Witch Doctor have loved this?

  148 incidents and nearly 300 jpegs.  Eight coons.  Does.  The two fawns.  Zero bucks.  They ought to be out of velvet by now.  Haven't seen a one for the first time in four years of monitoring.  Usually I have them all identified by now.  Don't know what this means.

  The neighbors aren't seeing any deer.  They are here.  I see hoofprints cutting through moleruns in the pasture.

  This is a big, mature 4 -6 year old doe.  You can see just a hint of ribs showing, though her backbone is still flush.  She's experienced and able, developed chest and hindquarters, long face, grey and nearly rubbed bald along the top of her nose.  She's not putting on winter coat yet.  She's nursing two fawns with spots.  The rut starts in about 90 days.

Squirrel Water

  It's been really dry.  Came home to Texas and the lawns are dusty and leaves hanging limp.  This morning we got a trace of rain from the tropical storm that blew in on the Texas coast.  I was driving to my studio and a squirrel was out in the street hunched over apparently....smelling the bricks.

  We are in the Tyler Azalea District and the streets are paved with real ceramic brick laid down in the 30s.  They've worn and developed a little concave feature that was holding a few drops of water. You can't even see it unless it rains.  The squirrel was going from brick to brick drinking these little pools of water.

  I thought about where the nearest open water is from the studio.  It's about four hundred yards or a little less down to the rock lined creek.  Probably beyond this squirrels territorial range.

  I've seen them wire walk and climb brick buildings but I had never seen this before.

  Earlier we were watching a squirrel across from the coffeeshop that is notable because of his tail, broken and hanging limp in the last 1/3.

Greek 30-06 Ammo from the CMP

  Last year, at the National Matches and the Texas State Rifle Association Garand Championship we shot HXP Greek 30-06 that seemed pretty good.  Not so at Camp Perry this time.

  When you go through in-processing and pick up your packet and scorecards the CMP issues ammunition for any Garand, Springfield, M1 Carbine or Vintage matches you are in.  You get two boxes of 20 rounds for every match.  The M1 Carbine folks get one box of 50, (Lake City).  Even if you are shooting a Swede or a K98 in the Vintage match they give you two boxes of 30-06.

  We shot Lot-2043-HXP-77.  I didn't hear anyone have much good to say about it.  I couldn't get it to group with my Springfield 1903A3 or Ricks Garand.  Both are pretty good rifles.  Justin Utley couldn't get a score out of it with his Garand or his Springfield when we shot on the same firing point either.  I saw a tracer out of one of his rounds.  

 

 All of us are NRA High Masters and Distinguished Rifles.  When I switched to my K31 in Vintage Rifle that afternoon on the next range over I shot a 100X4 to get started on that match using Swiss GP 11 ammo.  With HXP I think I shot a couple of Xs the whole match. 

  Bottom line: This lot isn't much good.

Gregg Foster Shooting Vintage Rifle

 Foster and I shared my K31 on Rodriguez Range at Camp Perry.  We were on the end target, #59.

  Vintage Rifle.  We both shot gold medals.  Gregg and his 17 year old daughter got LEG points at Perry in the EIC match, starting their journey toward Distinguished Rifleman Badges.  She shot a personal best 480 on Viale Range.  Pretty tall cotton for a 17 year old young lady shooting a service rifle AR15.

  

Final Ride off Viale Range, Camp Perry, Ohio.

  Riding out of Viale on the Shooter Shuttle on Sunday, August 2 after the Springfield Armory M1A Match at Camp Perry.  Some folks are wearing their red M1A Match shirts.  Lots of rolling carts and shooters.

  First video.  It's an uncut eight minute shuttle ride to the parking lot.

Texas Junior Team at Camp Perry

  Lined them up and shot them after the Whistler Boy Match.  Stan Jaroz and the Texas State Rifle Association National Match Junior Team.  

Real Manly Food at Rock River

   (Or: Goodbye and thanks for all the fish!)

  Rock River on Commercial Row had hot dogs all week.  Springfield Armory had Tea, Gatorade and popcorn.  

  I haven't counted my pens though I was discombobulated during the LEG match when a guy on the firing point pulled out  CMP blue pen and it didn't WORK.  He tried making those little circles you make when a pen dies in the corner of the scorecard.  No luck.  He tossed it back in his cart with a disgusted grunt and started searching for another.

  "Pen from last year?" I offered, hopefully.

  "Dunno", he said.  "I've swiped so many of them over the years that they are the only pens I own."

Cat on Commercial Row, Camp Perry.

 Home.  What a word!  After ten days of being gone, seven of them watching the wind with a good rifle across my knees I forgot I had another life.  A business.  A daughter.  A house.  A cat.  The Redhead.  Neighbors.  

  Certainly forgot about Texas heat.

  Sorting and stacking.  Post cascade on the way in the next week.  Lots of video to edit.