Jump to content

Spaulding Smails

Legacy Members
  • Posts

    1023
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by Spaulding Smails

  1. 8 hours ago, Red Five said:

    Wait, you ran a background check on him and that didn't come up? 

    Correct.  Background checks only show convictions.  Not arrests.  He was arrested and held, but didn't go to trial and wasn't ever convicted.  Otherwise, he had a spotless record.  

  2. One of those four burnouts that were falsely accused worked for me for about 3 years.  Decent guy.  Hard worker.  Just kind of kept to himself.  Clean background check when we hired him.  

    I didn't arrive in Austin until my stint on the 40 acres in the late 90s, so I wasn't super familiar with the murders.  I read the book "Who Killed These Girls?" about a year after I hired him.  I'll never forget reading that book, and getting to the spot where they mentioned his name.  It's not a super common name, so my jaw immediately dropped.  I happened to be on a flight at the time with no WiFi.  Couldn't wait to get to the internet to search a picture of him from 25 years ago.  Sure as shit, it was him.  I never brought it up during his tenure with me and neither did he. 

    • Hook 'Em 4
    • Like 2
  3. On 3/5/2022 at 1:25 PM, Atxracer said:

    Same. 3 am is the worst. All the deals and what could go wrong, tasks I didn’t get to the previous day, things I forgot about, new made up worries that I never thought of, things I am concerned with in the future, all roll through my head.  No good thoughts at all. Finally dismiss them, maybe send myself an email to get it off my head, wake up at 6 and realize how stupid my 3:00 brain was.  

    I don't think I've ever clicked on this thread, but the one time I do and speed scroll through the last page, and holy shit, this is me.  Always been a good sleeper.  Quick to sleep, can sleep anywhere, any time, no insomnia.  I'll be damned if the last year hasn't been full of the 3-AM-wide-awake-crazy-anxiety-and-random-thoughts deal.  Usually lasts about an hour.  I'll eventually fall back to sleep, and right as rain at 5 AM when the alarm goes off, but damn, it sucks and really puts me in a funk the next day. 

    Anyhow, I clicked on the link to bitch about my elbow tendinitis.  I'm a lefty and it's my right elbow, but what a pain in the ass.  It's odd because my strength is still fine, but it's weird angles that kill me.  I can't pick my coffee mug up out of the cup holder in my truck without wincing in pain.  I have to reach with my left hand.  It hurts to hold it straight, so I'm walking with my arm subconsciously slightly flexed, so I'm running into door jambs and banging my elbow which compounds the pain.  It sucks.  Time to go see a doctor, I suppose.

  4. I freed a skunk from a Have-A-Heart trap once.  It was after dispatching a .22 to his head, but I removed him from the trap, nonetheless.  

    @crimsonlonghorn why on earth did you even tempt fate by trying to let him out?  Nice job, but damn.  I wouldn't have thought twice about perforating a skunk.  

    • Hook 'Em 3
  5. 54 minutes ago, Cajun said:

    Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than smart.  Sold my ‘05 Nautique to a pal last Fall.  Gave him the friend price and he towed it back to Slidell.  Didn’t have the title (long story -mailed to ex gf’s house when I paid off the note) so, I told him I’d get that and then he could send me a check.

    Fast forward to earlier this week - I got the title in & called him up and now all I’m hearing is buyer’s remorse.  “l’m moving to Colorado”, blah blah blah.  He doesn’t come straight out & say he doesn’t want to pay up, but he says it, if you know what I’m saying.  I call my cousin over at BoatTown, explain the situation, & he makes a call to a guy who’s looking.

    Dude is not only going to take it sight unseen (I did send him pics), he’s paying $10K over what my buddy and I settled on.  Of course, gas to get it back from fucking Slidell, LA will take a nice bite from that, but hey, anytime I can load up on boudin is a good time!

    Hell yes!  Rather be lucky than good.  Nicely done, sir.  

    • Hook 'Em 1
  6. We're thinking about going there next year for our 20 year anniversary (June '23).  We got married in Ambergris Caye in '03, and we haven't been there since, so it may be a good time to return.

    I'm thinking of renting a house on Ambergris Caye.  Short of searching VRBO / AirBnB, any recommendations on cool beachfront houses to rent?  We're 50/50 on whether or not to include the kids or go solo.  If we do go solo, that opens up trying to get a really cool hotel suite.  We stayed at Portofino when we got married, and most of the wedding party stayed at either Ramon's or Victoria House.  Open to suggestions on high-end but boutique-ish hotels as well.

  7. @fattyflattie great minds think alike indeed!  I always gravitate towards shooting the tan ones for some reason.  Psychologically, I tell myself they taste better.

    @BabaYaga I've done cabrito on the iron cross before but never a pig.  I'm sure it would be excellent.  We wanted to eat it that night, so we threw it straight over oak coals on the grill.  

    @Lat22 same here.  I even told my wife that I was gonna bust a piglet if they came out.  First time that plan came together.  Even got to clean it in broad daylight.

    @davidg it was outstanding.  Even the hams were tender.  Only downside is how small the tenderloins were.  Pretty much two bites on each side and they were gone!

    • Hook 'Em 2
    • Like 1
  8. I have not personally built one, but my buddy's Baffin Bay cabin has an outhouse with a composting toilet.  I'm guessing they're a few hundred bucks new.  No hole to dig.  Works pretty damn efficiently.  A few scoops of peat moss at the end of the weekend.  Just build a little box around it.  

    • Hook 'Em 1
  9. 2 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

    So you currently have a truck that gets gallons per mile, and you only have half of your fuel storage and no way to measure what’s in there.  That’s awesome.  

    Hahaha.  Yep.  You nailed it.  Kind of less than ideal, right?  I've only driven it a few times.  Topped off with fuel twice.  Based on my rough calculation, I think it gets about 10 MPG.  Definitely drinks the petrol.  Taking it to the shop in a few weeks to get all the little things fixed including the fuel situation and gas gauge.  

    • Like 2
  10. 2 hours ago, otisdog said:

    Appears to have the 2nd tank, which is a good thing. Old man had a '75 (I think) with the full time 4wd. Had 70 gallons worth of tanks , needed them all.  My brother and I were framing  houses at the time, living in Pasadena and driving to San Juan Capistrano daily for work....142 mile round trip, we were barely breaking even.

    Yep!  Dual tank.  One of the issues, though, is the dual fuel tank selector doesn't work.  Windows need new seals, fuel gauge is broken, heater doesn't work and the carb throttle linkage needs adjustment.  On the plus side, it's got a bad ass semi truck air horn that is LOUD.  Fun truck for sure.

    • Like 1
  11. Bummer @crimsonlonghorn.  Good lookin chicken.  Hard to tell from the pictures, but are they Bantams?

    We've lost our fair share over the years.  To your point, sometime's you understand it's just part of nature.  Other times, it hits hard.  My daughter was heartbroken when we forgot to close the coop and lost our two ducks to a fox.  The other one that my wife was most upset about was a Bantam (Vanilli who's sister was Millie).  We didn't realize she had started laying eggs down the hill.  Didn't count chickens when we put them up one night, and she got whacked while sitting on her nest one night.  Big pile of white feathers right next to a pile of eggs.  Always a bummer.

  12. 3 hours ago, hookemATL said:

    With deer season behind me, I want to think about some ways to improve my chances and in general just get some projects on the books for next year. 

    I borrowed a popup blind from a buddy this year, but I think I want to "build" a simple platform style 2-man blind that will get me up off the ground and honestly just give me something fun to do.  I have access to all kinds of raw materials out at the farm, including enough cedar to build a bridge over the River Kwai 3 times over.  Ideally I could do a combo of cedar posts and some of the lumber my dad has stored out there.  Any tips/plans/ideas would be greatly appreciated.  I wouldnt call myself a Jesus level carpenter, but competent enough.

    Food Plot - I have never done this before but think it would help increase deer activity and in general provide some benefit to the wildlife in the area.  I am completely ignorant to what to plant and when to plant it, but I have all the implements necessary to put in a decent sized plot in my designated hunting area.  For reference, this is Sandy Loam soil (Bastrop County) with a mix of pine/oak/cedar/yaupon trees surrounding the open area that I hunt.

    Feeder - As a proud and cheap motherfucker, I strategically deployed hollowed out blackjack oak logs as my feeders this season.  They worked great and I saw lots of activity but obviously I would prefer a better solution that works well but wont break the bank.  I have seen the economical options online/at Academy but am interested to see what the peanut gallery thinks is a good choice.

    TIA to all the hunters here with WAYYY more knowledge on this stuff than me.  I am trying to make this a bigger part of my recreational life (did it a lot more as a kid), and am hoping to gain some insight that will make it more enjoyable and successful for myself and my hunting buddies.  

    I can't comment on the food plot, and to others' points, if cost is a concern, buying one used is the way to go.

    That being said, I've built several over the years.  Two of which were pretty cool, but pre iPhone, so I don't have any pics.  I built three on site and one in my driveway.  For the site built ones, I did some horse trading with a mason of mine, and got three used sections of scaffolding to make three blind bases.  Slapped some 2x12s on top with U-bolts.  My uncle is a drywall contractor, so we built it out of metal studs.  Bought some cheap sliding windows and clad them with plywood and slapped a corrugated metal roof on top.  Years later, I built one in the driveway out of PT lumber.  I used 12' 4x4s for the legs, so it sat about 6' off the ground.  Simple framing and a plywood roof.  Transportation was a bitch.  I had to lay it on it's side on a 16' trailer, then winch it up when I got to the lease.  It was HEAVY.

    The only advice I have is think ahead if you're building it on site.  Nothing worse than coming up short on screws, etc.  I remember that exact issue on the scaffold blinds.  We were short self-tapping screws.  I had to drive an hour each way.  To this day, my uncle and I still kid about needing random shit at the ranch.  Every time I head to his place, I ask him if I need to bring a box of reverse thread metric screws or some other oddball item.

    • Hook 'Em 1
  13. Just now, fattyflattie said:

    I went from seeing those fuckers at every sit last year, to not seeing a single one this year. Even the highways that are always  littered with them, nada. 

    You think it's related to the freeze?  Either that, or they're moving into town to be closer to the creature comforts like indoor plumbing.

    • Like 1
  14. 5 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

    They start clacking those choppers together when they got agitated?

    Yep.  He said the big one was extremely agitated and was raising a ruckus.  He said he tried to coax them out with a 10' piece of unistrut to no avail.  Thought about using his pistol, but he's in a commercial business park on a fairly busy street in the city limits.  So, he let 'em be until they left.  Though they did shit and piss everywhere.  He said the smell was awful.  

    • Haha 1
  15. I figured this was as good of a thread as any to post this pic.  My cousin had some interesting guests in his warehouse last week.  Got his crews lined out.  Nice day, so he left the bay door open while he worked in the office.  Heard some noise, came out to find this trio milling around.  They spooked and ran the wrong direction and cornered  themselves in the shop bathroom.  It took him an hour to get them out.  

    spacer.png

    • Haha 3
  16. 14 hours ago, 686 said:


    Please allow us to live vicariously through your gratuitous hobby spending.

    You can count on plenty of questions and the occasional humble brag.  Headed down to San Antonio in two weeks to visit Johnny Dury about a left-handed 300 Win Mag.  

  17. 10 hours ago, solamente73 said:

    Thanks!  I’m ridiculously excited.  My friend is going to hunt, too, and we are going to do 1 guide 2 hunters.  He’s adamant that I take the first shot / bull-of-choice.  Agree that hunting (and fishing) with good friends reigns supreme.  This is a hunt of a lifetime that needs to be shared.  

    It’s going to be a long journey to figure everything out, but this is what I’ve been able to put together in the last few days:

    • Elevation: entrance is ~6500 feet, ridges up to ~9000 feet
    • Month(s): last few days of August / first few days of September; chose this timeframe based on hunt availability and first choice on bulls; should be bugling
    • Rain Gear: I have basic (read: cheap) rain gear and a nice waterfowling jacket.  Not sure what might be needed for mountains.
    • Shot Range: 150-250 yards.  Wooded areas plus open valleys.  I plan to prepare for up to 300.
    • Transportation: as of now, we’re leaning towards driving.  The hunt dates are bookended by weekends, and the drive DFW-UT would be beautiful.  I have a super crew F-150 with a bed cover that can accept t-bars and cargo baskets, so plenty of room for gear and coolers.
    • Coolers: we have 370 quarts now.  I’ll ask the owner what we’ll need to bring meat back, or ship.
    • Trophy:  TBD.  Ranch can handle it, but I could bring mine back as I’m thinking euro mount.  My buddy is thinking shoulder mount, so we might be running out of room at that point.
    • Bullet:  TBD but looking at Barnes 180 TDX, Barnes 175 LRX, Nosler 200 AccuBond, Hornady 180 GMX, Hornady 200 ELD-X
    • My buddy doesn’t have a rifle for this hunt, so he’s been looking into it and is leaning towards 7mm and Leupold 14x glass, but he’s really only 4 days into making the decision to take an elk on this expedition, so lots of research ahead for him.

    Any and all advice/input from anyone greatly appreciated.  I’ll chronicle the journey in this thread; I’m sure to learn things that might help others.

    This is great info.  I'll be following along.  I received confirmation last week for an October elk hunt (rifle) in Northern New Mexico.  It'll be my first elk hunt, and I have some SERIOUS preparation and gear purchases / upgrades on the horizon.  

    • Hook 'Em 1
    • Like 1
  18. 3 hours ago, deadshank said:

    We’ve thought about building a walk-in cooler to temp store and age deer we take.  The problem with those cotton-picking things is the refrigeration system is always breaking down.  Heck, we even have an HVAC contractor in our camp and he’s non-plussed with the idea. 
     

    Also, keeping the inside of the locker clean.   The ones we’ve had at other camps were always a foul-smelling and bloody mess with blood on the walls, floor, plastic tote bins and everyone expected the other guy to clean it up.  

    There are 5 guys in our camp.  The HVAC contractor and I are very cleanly, the Geologist is no too bad, Mr. Wall Street is clueless and pays for the  help to clean and The Lone aggy is a great guy but a complete pig; therefore, I don’t want to be the guy to clean up after everyone.  

    Check this out.  Probably not a good option for a large walk-in or something that gets used frequently, but we installed this, and it's worked like a champ the last three years.

    https://www.storeitcold.com/

    I got a small walk-in (8' x 6') from a demo job we did at a restaurant years ago.  The remote condenser was shot, but the shell was in good shape.  Before I had an HVAC guy on staff, I couldn't get anyone to come out and help me rig something up.  My dad stumbled on this.  We bought a window unit, cut a hole in the walk in, spray foamed the shit out of the opening, and installed the cool bot.  Basically, it overrides the thermostat in the window unit.  I hung two doe in the cooler over Christmas for three days.  Hot and humid outside, and 38* with low humidity in the cooler.  

    My fear would be leaving them to hang with me not there and having the unit seize up since it is kind of redneck engineered, so I've yet to let anything hang for longer than I'm at the ranch.

    • Hook 'Em 1
  19. My son and I were sitting in the deer stand in Kimble County Sunday evening.  Wind was whipping.  He said, "Holy crap, Dad.  Is that Cedar tree on fire?   Looks like smoke coming off of it!"  I just let out an uncomfortable chuckle as my eyes watered and I continued sneezing in the stand.  It was out of control this weekend.

×
×
  • Create New...