solamente73

Thread title includes “a lot of ducks.” I wish. For 12 years our group has been duck hunting Port O’Connor. We’ve slayed everything from teal to pintails to buffleheads to redheads and more… plus Ross and specklebelly geese. We hunt with family who live there and guide for a living. Last weekend (re-opening weekend) was the first time NOT A SINGLE SHOT WAS FIRED. Not one. Nothing was flying. Going to and fro we’d scare up some rafting redheads and buffleheads, but that was it. From the blinds, we counted ~30 flying ducks all weekend, AM and PM. Our guide said he’d seen more birds on Sunday AM than he’d seen in all of November. We looked back over time, and this has been the trend. We’ve decided to push our annual re-opening weekend trip to January to see if we can get more birds. So, next duck trip will be January 2026 (wow, it’s weird to type that). Fishing was good, though, as we were prepared to cast with the blast. Reds and trout. Everyone hooked up. Some pics. It’s a reminder - a day at the coast, no matter the haul, is better than a day just about anywhere else.

Seconded on the 10mm. At my farm, I used to carry a Sig Scorpion 1911 in .45 until twice I ran into sounders at night and it just wasn’t enough to make a dent in them - not enough firepower, no light, not enough capacity. Even finishing off big rifle-wounded pigs, the .45 just didn’t quite do it. So, I procured this G20 10mm and never looked back. It’s a glock, so I don’t care about mud, water, dirt, or corrosion like I did with the 1911. 15 rounds of 200gr Federal Fusion (though I might switch to the new 200gr Federal Solid Core). Streamlight TLR-7A is compact but illuminates entire fields. One Tigris nylon holster adjusts to fit the G20 plus light and doesn’t care about sweat or elements. Old ass leather belt completes the rig. Once used to it, it’s not too heavy to open carry on the farm all day long, and I wear it all the time. I’ve used it to finish off one hog and kill another - one shot each. The FN 510 is a great gun, and CHIEF Jr. will love it. Put a micro red dot on it, suppress it, and have some real fun!

I’m watching the game for the first time… on your point about not being a pussy today, on his pass to Gunnar to go up 14… doesn’t he step up in the pocket and take a hit? I was like, whoa, right on. The coverage I have is inconclusive. ETA: great phrase: “Quinn had a fantastic game that wasn’t perfect.”

I’m glad that worked out for you! I bought that same unit but have had a problem with the rifle platform, so I haven’t posted yet. The thermal exceeded my expectations, though, and Outdoor Legacy is solid IMO. Please feel free to post what you are using it for here - I’d love to see it!

Tried a new butcher shop that recently opened up nearby. Quality meats at local grocery prices. Pre-made sides were spot-on. Fillets for the wife and kids, and they were excellent. The prime strip was very good but seemed to equate to what I can get at my favorite grocery butcher counter - but that’s OK. Looking forward to supporting this place.

Family fillets. My 8 and 10 year old boys have NO IDEA how good they have it. As usual, with a hint of mesquite.

Good luck, man! So happy for (jealous of) you. If you can, chronicle as you go. Can’t wait for pics!

Y’all know I cook over fire. But up here, near my farm in NE Texas, my neighbor had me over for dinner last night, and thus made me appreciate cooking steak on a griddle: Hard to tell in that pic, but the steak was medium rare and seasoned to perfection. It was… incredible… So from a pure fire guy to y’all who griddle or sous vide or whatever… perfect your method and appreciate the results. There are many ways to get a great steak, and perhaps that is part of the greatness that is ‘STEAK.”

@USCATX check out https://www.youtube.com/c/TheLateNightVisionShow and literally call Outdoor Legacy and Jason and/or Hans will hook you up. I haven’t posted about this yet, but I was looking for a thermal for a 6.5 Grendel pistol and I researched for months. Part of the research was watching that show. I called the shop, and Jason called me back in 5 minutes. We spent an hour OTP working through use cases I never thought about. He gave me solid options and actually saved me $ by me not choosing something that was overkill for my needs. I bought and I’m putting together the platform - hope to post soon. Regardless, at a minimum you get an opinion from those guys - zero sales pressure when you call. Good luck, and post results!

Anyone know what's up with @deadshank? He's a quality poster on a lot of threads, but he hasn't logged in since June 6. Hunting season is upon us and we need to hear about his adventures at deer camp.

The fam wanted to celebrate the end of the first week of school with some more meat butter finger food. A couple of CM prime strips over mesquite.

^That post is a tad borked. Edit time ran out. Apologies. To make amends:

Masochist. ^This right here. All 12 trophies will be euro mounts (that's my style) and the hides will either be fur or leather product; I'm still working out what I'm going to have made (rifle cases, ammo carriers, wallets, etc.) vs. what will be "rugs." There are two additional "cull" animals that I'll use for leather product and for barware. Karoo Taxidermy out of Graaf-Reinet is doing the work. I toured their facility and it was an incredibly impressive operation. They seem to successfully scale volume, quality, and specialization. I had met the owner back in January and had communicated with staff prior to flying over, so I had pretty much made up my mind before the safari. Even then, I encountered no better option before, during, or after the trip. ___________________________ If y'all want to see what a South African taxidermy outfit looks like, here you go. I probably focused more on the skulls than the shoulder/full mounts because of my interest. Reminder - this is NOT my taxidermy, just my taxidermist. Spoilered for the pics: The spoilered above looks like chaos but every single item, no matter how large or small, is labled/tagged and tracked from receiving to shipping. The half-day was worth it to learn how it all worked.

Sorry for the delay in updates, but life has been busy since getting back a month ago. Day 3 was a day of both success and disappointment. Spoilered for longcat. TL;DR: While continuing to search for the elusive bushbuck, I was fortunate to come across this gorgeous impala. 162 yards, DRT with a spinal shot. Capped off the day with a couple of “policeman’s coffees” around the camp fire. More to come…

Treefiddy? For this mission, it could be 20-200 yards depending on where I walk up on them. Hence trying 6.5G on thermal - seems the right balance for what I encounter.