New Fishing Gear

I've been wanting a kayak for a really long time but I had no place to keep one until now. We moved into a house a couple of weeks ago and as soon as we finished unpacking and getting the house set up I went and picked this up.



It is a Tarpon 140 (14') made by Wilderness Systems. This model should be great for both the bays and surf. You guys need to buy some reels that hold a little more line because I plan on using the kayak to take the shark baits out farther than we can cast.

I took the boat out to Lake Houston for its maiden voyage and took this picture. I can't wait to get it salty!

Information Overload can be a good thing

I was browsing the internet for some reloading information the other day and I stumbled across a website that I found completely amazing. I really enjoyed all the tables and articles about hunting rifle trajectories and ballistics and the calculation of maximum point blank range.

If you have some time and a little curiousity about your favorite rifle ballistics go to:

http://www.chuckhawks.com/index2d.rifles.htm

I visited the Gun Show this weekend

Did anyone else go see what was for sale this weekend. Maybe due to superbowl it was very small event. Many fewer venders than normal.

I looked at some semi-autos at the gun show on sunday. But I was mostly daydreaming because just can't go spending that kind of money right now.

AK47: $350
SKS : $159
I didn't see many american semi-autos, one AR-15 for $900
Lots of really long AK/SKS magazines for sale

I was VERY tempted by a .44 Magnum Ruger carbine one guy had for sale at $200. It was built on the same short frame as the Ruger 10/22 but it had a tubular magazine that you loaded from the bottom like a shotgun instead of the 10/22 box magazine. It seems that a carbine version of the .44 Mag would be much more accurately shootable than the revolver and every bit as fun.

Pigs still in area but not in the tree

Chris, Big John and I went out yesterday we checked traps, sighted in a bit with the help of one of the coons we caught a few days ago and then went for a walk.
We walked way out into the brush behind the pond at the annex all the way back to where the property line is. It was wet!
After much splashing around we started to head back when we saw six to eight pigs in a variety of colors (black, brownish-red and grey).
Chris ran a left hook and I a right, John went up the middle and started the shooting with his .243
The shots ended with a large black squealing but running pig.
Everyone chased after them trying to keep them in sight. Then the pigs crossed over a little muddy path and into the brush on the other side. Chris and I were both in hot pursuit and didn't notice the fence that was half laying down just before the path. Both of us hit it, tripped and fell hard onto the far side. Big John said that when he came to the fence he knew someone had just hit it because it was swaying and rattling fiercely.
We searched over the swampy conditions for and hour and a half but found no blood and no bodies.
We unfortunately have shot and gone home without dinner for the first time since October.