McDonald, the 2nd, and the States

The Supremes handed down their decision in McDonald v. Chicago today. This case follows D.C. v. Heller, in which the Supreme Court held a city ordinance banning the possession of firearms violated the right to keep and bear arms expressed in the Second Amendment to the Constitution. The Heller decision was limited, though, in that it only dealt with a firearms ban that was in place under Federal government authority, since it dealt with the District of Columbia.

Once the Heller decision was filed, a number of challenges to various ordinances limiting or banning firearms were made. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals, in a decision signed by now-Justice Sotomayor, held that the Second Amendment did not apply to the states. The Ninth Circuit, in a decision which has been referred for en banc review (which is on hold pending the word from the Supremes in McDonald), held that the Second Amendment did apply to the states, as it dealt with a fundamental right (I talked about it here).

Right now, the decision only appears to be available as a 214 page pdf. So, most importantly, the Supreme Court has ruled that the Second Amendment does prohibit state and local governments from restricting the right to keep and bear arms (too much). The decision is 5-4, with the Opinion of the Court written by Justice Alito and Justice Thomas concurring in part and concurring in the judgment. Justice Stevens dissented (no surprise) and Justice Breyer dissented, joined by Justices Ginsburg and Sotomayor (not really a surprise, either). Lots of meat there, lots to read. I'm sure scholars of Con law are working on analyses right now. In the meantime, the Sullivan Act's progeny are going to cost lots of cities and towns lots of money.

For further reading, but less than the 214 pages of the McDonald decision, Wikipedia has a pretty comprehensive article on the Second Amendment and Court decisions which I'm sure someone is updating right now.

Update
Well, having read the opinion of the Court, the concurrences, and one dissent, I'll add a couple of things.

First, there is a fair bit in here for attorneys who will argue as to the continuing validity of various restrictions on firearm ownership. On page 26 of the Slip Opinion, the Court cites to language from Heller describing handguns as being protected as they are the weapon of choice for self defense. On page 39, the Court describes the "central holding" of the Heller decision as "...the Second Amendment protects a personal right to keep and bear arms for lawful purposes, most notably for self-defense within the home." I predict this language will be cited in response to any argument that restrictions on automatic weapons, any long guns (including short barreled shotguns), nunchucks, switchblades, or suppressed firearms is unconstitutional. As the Supreme Court has held that the right preceding and underlying the Second Amendment is that of self-defense, only "undue" restrictions on weapons that are both "preferred" (which, likely, will mean in common use today) and "suitable" (which, likely, will mean whatever a given judge decides) for self defense will be overturned. Want a Remington 1100 chopped off right in front of the gas port and loaded with buckshot to protect the homestead? Don't hold your breath. This conclusion is reinforced by the plurality's admonition (p. 45) that it is important to keep in mind that Heller held a right to keep and bear arms is not "a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose".

Second, and very good news, is that the Opinion of the Court makes it pretty clear that Justice Breyer's repeated calls for an "interest balancing test" to decide whether given statutes infringe the right to keep and bear arms is, for now, not going to become law. The plurality twice notes, at page 45 of the Slip Op. and again on page 50, that it explicitly rejects such a test and that the majority in Heller did so as well. Combined, that's precedent. Also, the majority characterizes the Second Amendment right as "fundamental". The Seventh Circuit had held in this case that Chicago's handgun ban had a rational basis to a legitimate state interest. The "rational basis" test is less demanding than an "interest balancing" test rejected here. I believe this will only leave lower courts with "strict scrutiny" at the test for evaluating firearms restrictions. So, those restrictions will have to be narrowly tailored to accomplish a compelling governmental interest and must, in addition, be the least restrictive means of accomplishing that interest. While this is good news, you have to keep in mind that the limitations inherent in the right being protected as described just above. Great news for the folks in DC still trying to get handguns in the face of persistent foot dragging by the city government, though.

Justice Scalia's concurrance is a fairly vituperative calling out of Justice Stevens' dissent and political philosophy, I'd speculate that the tone would be a little different if Stevens was staying on the bench. Interesting read, depending upon your definition of interesting.

P. 67 of the Slip Op.- Justice Thomas' dissent- A great (from an originalist perspective) treatise on the doctrines of selective incorporation, the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the 14th Amendment, and the 14th Amendment in general. Most legal textbooks are less informative. Personally, I think his argument that the Second Amendment applies against the states due to the Privileges and Immunities clause is logically and legally unassailable, despite the hundred and thirty years of (bad) decisions stemming from the Slaughterhouse Cases (which are a fine example of authority justifying its conclusion by tautology) and Cruikshank.

the rain

"The next day, at about three in the afternoon, the western horizon would be a wall the color of lead. On the front of the wall would be little clouds, pale silhouettes of torn cotton. I'd try to remain calm; baby storms would have been skittering by for a week now, teasing the powdery earth with sprinkles and infusing the dry air with a breath of mountain pine, but nothing had happened yet. I'd go back to work.
A half hour later, a dark blast of wind, laden with the odor of wet dust, would punch through the yard, swirling sand around the windows, rattling the panes. From the yard I'd see a wall towering over the town and know that we weren't going to have to water the asparagus again. We'd stand and inhale for a moment, stretching our arms toward the storm; then, as the hiss of a billion approaching raindrops bore down, we'd run. Pick up the hawk, call the dogs, slam the windows as the rain bashed in, soaking papers five feet from the sill. In the roaring cascade outside, we could not see the ground, hidden in the white smoke of atomized rebounding droplets. And then, hail--BB-sized, pea-sized--drifting in windrows beside the walk; thunder, shaking the house, lightning flashing all around, a nearly simultaneous bang and flicker. We'd grin and the world would smell like water."
Stephen Bodio, Querencia, Clark City Press 1990, p. 8-9.

Right now, we're in the "baby storms teasing" stage, hoping for the big ones to come in and wet things down.

blogroll

A few additions to the blog roll, a couple of which I've been meaning to add for a good while.

Long stalks, tense ambushes, tricky shots, and more, including movies, culture, and recipes for the lagomorphs collected. Rabbit Stew, Hubert Hubert's blog (mostly) on rabbit stalking with an air rifle in England.

Tovar Cerulli's thoughtful blog: A Mindful Carnivore, which, among other things, features a lot of thought about hunting from a former vegan who turned to hunting in part as a way of ensuring ethical meat.

Beautiful landscape photos of the Southwest at Crest, Cliff, & Canyon by Jackson, also known as Peculiar of Odious and Peculiar. If you can't get out in a big landscape yourself, get a taste of one there.

Last, there is author and gun writer Tom McIntyre's blog, McIntyre Hunts, pointed out by Steve Bodio at Querencia and Chas Clifton at Southern Rockies Nature blog.

birds on a wire

Courtesy of my Dad over in SE Texas, photos of the whistling ducks that have been hanging out on the powerline by their house every morning. Something just wrong about seeing that waterfowl silhouette from this angle and in such a location.








Ah, the melodious chirp of the duck, greeting the dawn!

revolver

Here recently Steve Bodio put up a couple of posts about revolvers over on Querencia and I thought I'd throw up something on the subject as well. Revolvers, like pump shotguns, are something mostly and, bestly, American. The Webley aside, most other-than-American revolver designs are more curiosities than commercial or military successes (bet there's a comment from someone about the Nagant). From the U.S., though, there are the entire series of Colt single actions, culminating with the Single Action Army, the Smith & Wesson top-break revolvers, the Smith and Wesson Military and Police in all it's various guises (one hundred and twelve years of production and counting!), and then there's this gun:



This particular revolver is a Colt "New Service" manufactured in 1934 and chambered for the .38 Special cartridge. The New Service model was the largest-framed double action revolver built by Colt and was introduced in 1897. By the time production ceased during World War II, three hundred and fifty-some thousand revolvers had come off the production line. The reason for the large frame is that it was originally designed to accommodate the .45 Long Colt cartridge. Thousands of New Service revolvers were sold to law enforcement agencies in the United States and abroad, as well as to the U.S. military. Also, a substantial number were chambered in .455 Eley (a slightly longer version of the famous .455 Webley cartridge) and purchased by Great Britain as military sidearms.

The revolver is fitted with a Fray-Mershon "Sure Grip" adapter and, as you can see, has lots of holster wear and wear in general- not surprising for a working pistol carried on a regular basis. The grip adapter is designed to fill in the stocks a bit and improve double action shooting.





My father started with the Border Patrol in the early 60's and, interestingly enough, was first issued a .38 Special Colt New Service, albeit one fitted with a heavy barrel, rather than the tapered barrel of this pistol. Dad recalls the Colts as having a remarkably good trigger, which is high praise considering he carried and shot thousands of rounds through a Smith and Wesson Model 19 in the course of his later career. You can read a short article about the New Service revolver in the Border Patrol here.



One of the attractions of firearms for those of us who enjoy guns is their durability and history. Some of the more useful and durable designs were produced for decades and used around the world. Any given gun can be beaten into junk, but a lot of worn old pistols, rifles, and shotguns have years of use behind them and, if cared for a bit, left in them still. While worn finishes, nicks, and scars aren't necessarily sought after features, the stories that attach to the dings render them less marring.

So, what makes this old gun special? No particular romance is associated with it and it would be nothing special to a collector, as those folks mostly look for pristine condition. On the other hand, there is this provenance- the pistol spent a career in the U.S. Customs Service, belonging to a family friend who, at one point, was the District Director of Customs for the Port of San Diego. The original owner has long passed so any particular stories attaching to the gun are unavailable. The pictures, though, tell of thousands of hours of carry and likely hundreds if not thousands of shots fired at the range. So, this old pistol has a family connection and over seventy-five years of use- it's good for another seventy five, or longer, too.

Up North (NM)

Last week we had the opportunity to hang around a bit in far northern New Mexico, up near where the Sangre de Cristos cross over into Colorado. A short drive near dusk on the highway leading to the York Canyon Mine, which cuts through a portion of the Vermejo Park Ranch, provided us with the chance to watch Merriam Turkeys- including a gobbler with a couple of hens who obligingly strutted and called, elk- including a small bachelor band of bulls, one of whom already had three feet of velvet over his head, lots of mule deer, and a couple of bears. Apparently, this road is well known for providing bear sightings. After A asked if I wanted to drive up there to "see the bears" I explained that bears are pretty rare in NM, even where they do well, and that we'd be lucky to see one. A's previous drive up there resulted in a couple of bears, and, true to (her) expectations, we saw a couple on this drive. One was quite big, all black, and wary. The other was this young blond fellow, who found grazing on green things much more important than worrying about the pickup stopped on the shoulder of the road some fifty yards away:



He even grazed through the fence and got a bit closer:



The next day, we drove on through the Valle Vidal and saw more deer, another bear that, like the one above, was quite blond. He was, however, much larger and didn't hang around close enough to get his picture taken. We saw more turkeys, too. Three bears sighted in two days is exceptional, in my experience.

Snow is still in the shade, everything is green and there is water everywhere; very much like you'd expect the Rockies, even down in their southern tail, to look.

Goldilocks rifle

A few years ago, dissatisfied with the rifle I carried for big game hunting, I purchased a brand new Savage Model 116, which is that company's long-action, bolt action, rifle made in stainless steel. One of the reasons I chose the Savage was that it came with the company's then new "Accutrigger", which features a center blade on the trigger that must be depressed in order to then press the trigger and fire the rifle. The Accutrigger was a big step in triggers available from factory rifles, as is not only adjustable, but is free of creep and breaks (that is, releases) very crisply. At the time, it was the best factory trigger available and it may still be. Another factor leading me to this particular model of rifle was the rust-resistance of stainless steel. In addition, it came with a synthetic stock, which does not cause changes to point of impact the way wooden stocks can as they minutely warp or flex due to heat or humidity. The actual rifle that I bought came as a package with a scope and nylon sling. The package was less expensive than just a bare rifle, though in the end all that remains of the package is the barreled action, one scope base, and the sling swivels.

The first season, I carried the rifle as-sold. Lucked into an elk, too. Before the next season, though, I got rid of the nylon sling and replaced it with a good leather Whelen sling. The Whelen sling is a simplified and somewhat lighter version of the military slings used for highpower rifle competition. Not only does it work as a carry strap, but you adjust the upper section to form a standing loop that you can slide on your upper arm in order to steady the rifle from a sitting, kneeling, or prone position. This is much more steady than a "hasty sling" and, if you have some time to set up your shot, will really help accuracy. The Whelen sling isn't as stiff as one of the aformentioned military slings and is a bit less complicated, made of less material and with fewer parts.

The second change to the rifle I made was to replace the inexpensive variable-power scope that came on it with a Leopold fixed four power model. The shorter Leopold scope required an extended front base, which intrudes a bit over the top of the action. This isn't ideal, but isn't really a problem. I was surprised to have to do it, though, given that the scope pretty far forward as I tend to crawl the stock a bit, particularly when shooting sitting. In any event, the fixed scope is brighter, more sturdy, and more simple than a variable.



In that guise, I carried the Savage for another couple of years and another elk. At some point, I replaced the factory recoil pad, which was a bit hard, with one of the Pachmayr "Decelerator" models. Even then, I could not warm up to the plastic stock. For one thing, when you shot the rifle the stock made a sort of harmonic "sproing!" note, which is just a bit odd. More importantly, the fore end is too flattened on the bottom and the corners of it are a bit too sharp, making it fairly uncomfortable to carry over the course of a day. To me, the plastic felt a bit cold. Further, the mold lines running down the top and bottom of the stock were also surprisingly annoying until I took some fine sandpaper and smoothed them down. Last, the stock is noisy when a branch or twig hits it. This is surely a minor thing, but still hunting is partly about confidence and minimizing every sound you can control. The extra noise from any source is hard on my confidence and, who knows, might make a difference.

Not being willing to finish my own stock and wanting to maintain the stability of a synthetic, I got a laminate wood "drop in" stock from Boyd's. Because laminate stocks are essentially plywood- thin layers of wood held together by glue, they don't warp or move with weather. While not nearly as pretty as a nice piece of walnut, laminates look better than plastic, to my eye, and are quieter, too. On the other hand they are heavier than most synthetics and natural wood, all that glue adding weight.

Unfortunately, "drop in" wasn't quite drop-in and I had to do a little work to get the action and barrel into the stock. Also, the Boyd's stock didn't have bedding pillars like the factory stock. The pillars are tubes of aluminum or steel that fit around the action screws (which hold the rifle in the stock) and which relieve stress on the action and generally improve accuracy. Off the rifle went to the gunsmith for pillar bedding (and to replace the thin pad on the Boyd's stock with another Pachmayr Decelerator. Once done, the Boyd's classic style stock, while not entirely classic in lines or materials, is much more comfortable to carry and shoot than the original stock.

In all, the Savage started out as a pretty light, fairly accurate stainless steel rifle with a good trigger. Now, all up, it weighs 8 pounds, 12 ounces, which isn't too bad, to my mind. It balances right about the middle of the action and, with that weight, the 30-'06 cartridge doesn't beat you around with recoil. I've spent about the price of the rifle on the new scope, stock, sling, recoil pad, and work, but the result is getting much closer to a rifle that, for me, is "just right".

pasque flowers

A few weeks ago we came across a nice stand of pasque flowers in a not-too-old burn.





Kind of appropriate given that one of the names for the flowers is "prairie smoke".




So, how many morels are in this picture?




Hope you didn't spend too long looking, as the answer is "none". This is a second spring trying to find black morels. We know they can be found in NM, if rarely. A local restaurant has a commercial forager that brought some in one time while we were there. He found them "at about 8,000 feet" in a mountain range that is fifty miles long and has at least that much elevation for pretty much the whole distance. So far, we've gotten some time on the ground and established places where the mushrooms aren't, at least at the time we were there, assuming that we didn't overlook them.....

flying viszla

'Cause life isn't just about hunt tests.

Bacon

According to the authors of Charcuterie, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, one friend and fellow cook, and many, many posts on the web, curing your own homemade bacon is easy and results in a very good product.

Having messed about a bit with meat and sausage and pate and cooking and such, I figured to give making bacon a go. For my first try, I got a couple of nice pork bellies that had the rind off and cured them as described in "The River Cottage Meat Book", using juniper berries, bay leaf, black pepper, brown sugar, pink salt and coarse sea salt. Each day, I rubbed the meat with a bit more of the cure and poured off any of the collected liquid. After a five day curing period the bacon (really pancetta, since it wasn't smoked) was good, but very salty.

Undaunted, I tried again. I've made duck prosciutto (directions from Michael Ruhlman here), which is about the most satisfying bit of meat curing ever, so bacon, reputedly easy, shouldn't be that far out of reach. This time, I cured the pieces of pork belly in a bag in the refrigerator with a generous amount of the same cure, but didn't pour off the brine. I used quite a lot of cure in the process and, after five days, rinsed the meat really well with cold water, then left the pieces of belly on a rack over a pan in the refrigerator overnight to dry some. The next morning, I set them out to smoke, using mixed apple and oak wood which I had soaked in water overnight.



A tin of water between the fire and the meat kept the temperature at 125 F and under.



Eight hours of smoke



The bacon came out pretty, slicing nicely and with good color.




Unfortunately, I'd let the smoke get a bit too heavy and this bacon was, again, very salty. Soaking the slabs for a couple of hours in cold water (changed once or twice) took care of both of those problems, but I still didn't get the result I was hoping for. Next batch, I tried a version of the cure from "Charcuterie" and the amounts suggested there, which was more sodium nitrite (pink salt) proportionally and only an ounce and a half of salt for a five pound piece of pork belly. Also, rather than the very strong sea salt I used kosher salt. For flavor I used brown sugar and black pepper, along with bay leaf. I cured the pieces of belly (this time with the skin on) for seven days in a bag in the refrigerator and didn't pour off the liquid. After that, I rinsed and dried them, let them air dry a bit, then smoked them for six hours at an even lower level- keeping the temperature down to around 100 F and keeping the fire down so that it only produced a trickle of smoke. This was both aided and complicated by a gusting wind- springtime in New Mexico.

This bacon, once cut from the rind, is harder to slice than the other slabs, as not as much liquid has been removed. It also cooks down a bit more in the pan. On the other hand, the flavor is what I was aiming for the first time. While somewhat more salty than commercial bacon it has just a bit of smoke to it and a nice, meaty flavor and texture- definitely good stuff.

So, another step on another learning curve.

"shades of gray"

I find it amazing how a good songwriter can use almost any subject matter. Fifteen years ago the Oklahoma City bombing was committed. To blow the song's punchline a bit, here Robert Earl Keen sings about the aftermath of that event; dealing with the subject tangentially, and respectfully, in the course of telling a darned good short story set to music.

the more things change

"We had spent the summer in New Mexico, and, during a brief stop in Santa Fe, we had been grilled on why we live in New York by that group of Eastern-refugee remittance men the place specializes in--the people who half-retire at forty-two in order to devote themselves to talking about a novel they might write and and overseeing the repairs of any cracks that might develop in the adobe walls of their house and discussing water rights their land carries by virtue of the original Spanish land grand and raising a herd of twelve or fourteen particularly elegant goats."
Calvin Trillin "The Dance of the Restaurant Trotters" American Fried (1974)

Persistence

So, last fall we were driving out after a slow day duck hunting when we spotted a drake mallard in a riverside drain. Uncharacteristically, the bird didn't fly, so we eased past it a good ways then walked back down the road to flush it. The drake went down wing tipped and swam for the bank. We got the dog on the spot and this is the video of the retrieve.

Booker located the mallard in a beaver hole. At about the two minute mark Booker starts digging and eventually gets the bird to flush from the hole, then runs him down. Unfortunately, most of the action occurs into the sun and behind a Russian Olive. Edited a bit for length:

getting the kinks out

"Graceful" isn't really an option, how about "athletic"?







"Chesapeake rampant"

What's in your pack?

What do you all carry for a day pack, if you do, when chasing elk or deer?

I'll go first (and here provide the disclaimer that, while this post has links to various companies selling bits of gear, that's just for illustration purposes- those products linked are things I've bought that work well for me- this is not meant to be a commercial):




This pack is an Eberlestock J105, designed to be a fairly low-profile day pack which can expand to carry out an elk quarter. I'm a big fan of the idea of saving a whole round trip from kill to truck.

Cinched down for hunting:



Then opened up:



Near or far, uphill or down, I'd rather make that first trip with a load on my back. On the other hand, you don't want something too cumbersome or that's noisy at all during the times that you're stalking. Nowadays there are a number of packs out there designed to carry fairly small going in and pack a load coming out.

For years I carried a Nimrod lumbar pack (an early version of their Pinnacle model)that had a pack sack that you could unroll, fasten to the shoulder harness, and then use to carry out a quarter. I adopted the Nimrod a bit too early, later models have some improvements that would make it more comfortable and functional. The biggest problems with the Nimrod are that it has a pretty limited capacity when the pack sack is rolled and stowed, the padding on the shoulder straps is too soft, letting them collapse and get uncomfortable, and, more importantly, under a load the hipbelt rolls and fails to provide adequate support. I think the hipbelt has been fixed in current models by the addition of vertical stays. The Nimrod is fairly light and doesn't get much in the way when going through brush, both of which are very nice. While it does provide a way out with the first quarter of an elk, you only want to carry a front quarter, with maybe the backstraps, as the model I have puts some pretty good hurt on you when it is loaded up. Later ones might be better.

As for the Eberlestock, I'm still making up my mind about it. For the cons, first off I'm not fond of wearing a daypack all the time, as, even cinched down, it hangs up more then a lumbar pack when going through brush or ducking under limbs in the p-j. Also, the darned thing is heavy (9.5 pounds empty!)- the inevitable price of a really sturdy structure and heavy duty fabric, as well as a wealth of pockets. For the pluses, it is quite comfortable, carries a hind quarter comfortably (I've packed out five elk quarters, four of them hindquarters, and an oryx hindquarter along with the backstraps and head all in one go, with this pack at this point- no really hard carries yet, though) and those pockets do allow you to stash gear you seldom access well out of the way and not have to dig through it. Also, two large pockets are on the outside of the pack and compression straps once the main compartment is unzipped and loaded, which keeps the bits of gear out there from getting crushed, much.

In the photos up above, you'll see a rectangular opening at the top of the pack- that's a rifle scabbard that lays along the back stays.



I've used it when packing meat a couple of times, but generally I feel more comfortable carrying my rifle in hand with a load. It was handy walking out in the predawn dark on a muzzleloader hunt, as the un-capped rifle fit all the way down to the lock and I had both hands available for stumbling. As to the gear in the pack, first off alongside the rifle scabbard but opening from the other side of the pack and also right up against the internal frame are two pockets, the upper with a hydration port for a water bladder and tube. I don't use a tube hunting- one more thing to hang on brush- but the pocket does locate a water bottle nicely high and right up against you:



Growing up, we never carried water or packs, just threw a couple of candy bars in our pockets, along with maybe an apple. Of course, waffle-weave cotton longhandles and Levis, along with cotton t-shirts and cotton flannel or wool shirts were also what we wore. As I got older and started staying out a bit longer and ranging farther, I started carrying a bota bottle. Now I use a Platypus water bottle. The advantage of a soft bottle like this is not only that you can tuck it out of the way in a corner of the pack, but that you can squeeze the excess air out of it as you drink so your water doesn't gurgle or slosh, making your stalk the much quieter.



In the little pocket below the water bottle pocket I stash my first aid kit and two lights- the first a little headlamp that burns a long time on three AAA batteries, the second a little halogen flashlight that runs through batteries very quickly but that casts a bright beam quite a ways. The little first aid kit is augmented by a couple of WMI's handy little cut kits, which have what you need to take care of a gashed finger or hand in a little envelope, and extra moleskin. Cutting myself while field dressing or developing a blister are by far the most likely injuries in my experience. I also have a couple of feet of (orange) Velcro tape in that pocket, as it is really handy for holding things together or tightening things up.

Eberlestock put two long pockets on either side of the pack that open from the top or the sides. A spotting scope or tripod fits pretty easily. Not carrying either of those very often, I don't get a whole lot of use from the pockets but stash a ditty bag in each side with things I don't get into very often. Note that the pockets have a light colored lining, another nice touch.



One bag is stuff for handling a carcass.



A number of pieces of parachute cord or thin rope are really handy when dressing an animal out by yourself. Not only is it useful to tie legs off out of the way, but three times I've had to tie off a carcass I was field dressing to keep it from rolling or sliding down the hill I was working on. Also, at least three fairly long pieces are handy for hanging quarters that you are going to come back for. That's also what the game bags are for, one bag can stretch over two elk quarters and will keep off dirt and flies while you carry the first load out. I may have a bit more cordage than I need, but I can't recall ever thinking "Gee, what am I going to do with all this rope?" whereas I've wished for another foot or two of line on more than one occasion. The little ziplock has two of the big, 2.5 gallon ziplocks and a couple of 1 gallon ziplocks folded up in it, all for carrying and keeping clean heart, liver, tenderloins, and other bits of meat. I carry a pair of nitrile gloves or the long plastic "field dressing gloves", not so much out of worry about blood-borne disease as for ease of clean up. Once your hands get gory, you bloody everything you touch and even wet-wipes aren't great at getting the blood off. The Wyoming saw isn't absolutely necessary, as you can dress an elk without one, but it makes the job easier and, if you kill a bull elk, it is far lighter to carry out antlers on a skull plate as opposed to the whole head. Another option is to leave the saw in the truck and bring it to the carcass after the first load of meat is out. The marking tape (usually two rolls) is for finding my way back to the carcass. I don't mark right up to my elk, as I don't want anyone walking away with one of my quarters.




In the other side pocket lives a bag containing a very basic "stuck overnight kit".



Metal cup for heating water, very light nylon bucket for holding water, two ways of making fire, firestarter paste, film canister filled with cotton balls soaked in vaseline, candle (also a form of firestarter), emergency blanket (2), dry socks (not pictured), Cyalume stick for a nighttime signal and a whistle for a daytime signal. As you can see, I'm pretty concerned with fire starting. That's because if I'm cold and wet on a cold and wet night, my fire starting skills aren't going to be at their best and dry wood hard to come by. If it's dry and pretty weather, a fire won't be nearly as big a concern and I'll just need one of those matches ;)



Also in that pocket lives a little Otis gun cleaning kit. It has a nylon covered metal cable that can work as a ramrod and the whole kit weighs four ounces. If you jam the muzzle of your rifle in snow or mud, you'll really want a ramrod for cleaning that bore. It's a seldom-used item but a nice bit of insurance.




In the top pocket of the pack, which you access from the harness side, I carry the myriad little things I might want to access at any time. Scope cover (which I seldom use and may go away), ultralight tripod (camera is usually in my pocket), bandanna (dressed in synthetics and wool, a piece of absorbent cotton can be really handy), some energy in the form of chocolate and power bars, compass, (maps, too, if I'm carrying any of that area), spare rifle cartridges, spare .22 cartridges if I've got a pistol with me for small game, short piece of cord for carrying such small game, spare knife (very light), bit of duct tape, toilet paper, wet wipes, fleece beanie, and gloves. A neat trick is the fact that thirty .22 long rifle cartridges will fit in a film canister and not rattle.



One item of clothing I always carry is raingear, usually stuffed down in the main compartment of the pack. Some of the breathable raingear is really nice- quiet yet still waterproof- and forms the layer I'm most likely to be pulling on and off as weather changes, as well as the most important wind-breaking and water-shedding layer should the weather go bad. Most of the time I'll also wear or carry a fleece pullover.

This is more gear and pack than I really want to lug, but so far I'm willing to pay the weight penalty. All-up, this weighs seventeen pounds with a full (1 liter) water bottle and a .22 pistol on the hipbelt. The gear is intended for a long day hunting by myself- out before daylight and back in the evening, with the off chance of having to spend the night out or having a problem a couple of miles from a road in rough country.

So, what's in your day pack?

daffodil

First daffodil this year.


Update- and just 24 hours later:



Down in the Southwest we should never complain about moisture, and I'm not, but spring is a hard season to love.

consumption

"Aldo Leopold once said; 'A wilderness without wildlife is of no use to me, a wilderness without wildlife is just empty country;' and he is right, and for some of us, walking on the land without tasting of its bounty is just empty walking. Some can survive on the sustenance provided by simple beauty, especially those that live far from the land. Others need to return with meat to feed their families and somehow justify the hours they spend in cold and lonely and lovely places. And yes, there are those that require the hides and horns of animals to substantiate their hunting tales, a brute addition perhaps, but a necessary addition, to their love of the silence and the beauty of the land. But we must all remember that whether we carry a gun or not, the strip-mine shovel digs for us. We are all takers. Takers removed by degree, not dimension, from the strip-miners, loggers and roughnecks. The only difference is in the giving back."

Bob Jamieson "Breaks", Gray's Sporting Journal, Volume Eight, Issue 4, Fall 1983, p. 46.

starting the week with cute

My folks were in South Texas visiting my aunt and uncle recently and went out on a ranch looking to put a nilgai in the freezer. The nilgai didn't cooperate, but Dad did walk up on this baby scimitar horned oryx, which also range on and off of this particular ranch.




A bit too young to successfully run from predators, he laid very, very still and concentrated on being invisible while his mom hovered nearby and Dad got a few telephotos. Check out the bitty little horn buds!

pâté

Before sausage, but in the same sort of category (as Brett of Trout Caviar points out in comments a bit earlier) we recently experimented with country style pate. For a dinner with friends we ended up trying three different variations. As a basis, we looked to the pigeon pate recipe from The River Cottage Meat Book.

The first version consisted of duck and goose hearts and gizzards, along with the breast meat off of a teal that was a bit shot up. This pate was flavored with dewberry jelly, white and black pepper, garlic, bay, and red wine.



The next was made with half of the breast off of a Canada goose (also a bit too pellet-riddled to be suitable for roasting or other treatment). It was flavored with juniper, garlic, bay, and port.



and the last was made with the meat of a slightly freezer-burned grouse. The grouse was flavored with apple jelly, thyme, bay, a bit of cayenne, cardamom, black pepper, and Calvados.



The mis:



We have a local source for good bacon, which they'll kindly slice very thin. You stretch those slices out even more thin, then line your mold with them.


Duck and goose bits:



You sauté an onion, brown the meat in the remaining bit of fat, then deglaze the pan with your choice of alcohol and pour the liquid over the meat, which you then grind (along with the onion) and mix with the jelly and spices. For fat in the pate, we ground our meat with some raw pork belly.



Once packed in the molds, you cover your pate with buttered parchment paper then bake them in a water bath in a slow oven.



Once done, the top of the bacon (which becomes the bottom of the pate) is nicely brown from the butter, while the remainder is quite white due to the water bath. You aren't done, though, as you leave the covers on, weight the pates, then let them chill for a day.






The process was a bit of work and somewhat time consuming, but not really that bad, particularly given how long a pate lasts and their suitability for freezing.


Final presentation. The grouse turned out to be a bit crumbly. The very dry meat of that bird needed more liquid than we had put in. A bit more highly spiced, it was an initial favorite with the tasters. All were good, though, and I think this may be the very best use for waterfowl gizzards and hearts.