Spaulding Smails

I sure didn't. Had an expected event occur that altered our entire Thanksgiving weekend. My old man was up there Thanksgiving day and said he saw a few new faces and a little tussle between two youngins one evening, but nothing too hot and heavy. I'm out again this weekend, but will be there come hell of high water the weekend of the 11th. Hoping we don't miss the peak of the rut. I have a ton of craziness at work, plus building my house plus some stuff going on with family. Ranch time has been minimal and sorely missed. Send pics if you make it out there!

All this kid gun talk (which I love) reminds me of a customer of mine who did probably the coolest thing imaginable for his two boys. I was late to the game when I learned about it, otherwise I would've followed suit. From their birth until their 18th birthday, he had a complete list of guns that he vowed (and fulfilled) to buy his kids. 1911 pistol at birth, Henry Golden Boy 22, youth single action 410... all the way up to a nice O/U 12 gauge (can't remember what brand) and a 300 Win Mag with a nice scope. Significant birthdays were matched with significant guns, but ultimately, they had 19 guns including rifles, pistols and shotguns of all shapes and sizes that they could call their own when they were an adult with the intent that some were youth models that they could then pass down to their kids. Maybe I can get my shit together and make this happen for my grandkids in the next decade or so.

Not sure if it fits the topic, but I have fond memories of my two visits to UR Cooks (once in Austin, once in Houston) when I was a kid. As a kid from the poor side of Corpus Christi, picking out my own steak and grilling it myself was peak dining experience.

When I was 11, I traded my buddy a few of my CDs for his. I ended up with some Guns n Roses CDs and gave him some of the crap I got from my Columbia House subscription. My dad was driving during a long road trip and I asked him if I could put in one of the new CDs I got in the trade. I handed him Appetite for Destruction complete with an "EXPLICIT LYRICS" tag on the label. My dad glanced at it, calmly rolled down the window without saying a word, and flung it into the I-10 median doing 65.

This is so bad ass. To this day, I remember from my hunter's safety class the progression of a hunter / conservationist. I have a good friend who I've put on his first deer then put his son on his first pig. May do the same with another friend this winter. Both times, I had way more fun than shooting myself. And, I love drinking a few beers while watching them gut and skin their first animal. That "Sportsman" stage is definitely where I am right now. But, I kind of skipped the "Method" stage. On that note, my son (almost 14) is showing lots of interest in learning to shoot a bow. We stopped at Los Cazadores this weekend, and I'm thinking about an entry level Elite Ember for him to start with as a Christmas / birthday present this year. Anyone have experience with this one? The biggest factor for me (other than not dropping $2K on a kid's Chirstmas gift) is the turnkey nature and wide range of adjustability in draw length and weight as he matures. I have zero bow hunting experience but may snag one for myself so we can learn together. If I do pull the trigger for myself, I was thinking of a Hoyt RX-5. I need to go shoot what they have at LC I guess to see what I'm most comfortable with, but I really liked the way that one looks and the reviews were solid. https://archerycountry.com/elite-ember/ https://hoyt.com/compound-bows/rx-5/carbon-rx-5

Got the group text last night at 6:30 that the fields were too wet for my son's baseball tourney this weekend. Best news all week! So, we loaded up the kids and headed west. Got to the ranch by 9:30. Glorious morning sipping coffee with my oldest by my side. Covered up with deer, but nothing worth shooting. Saw a little 8 pointer with his nose to the ground and starting to chase a doe. Rut is close. I doubt we'll sling lead this weekend, but love being out in the stand opening weekend.

That one incident was really the only head scratching encounter I've seen. And, it wasn't me. Most of the other times have been awesome. Including when a GW showed up when the dove were THICK and said, "Fellas, I'm terribly sorry, I'm sure y'all are good, but I gotta do my job, I promise to be quick so y'all can knock out your limits."

Some GWs take that shit super seriously. I saw a GW in Llano go off on a buddy for not filling his tag out properly. He hadn't completed the log on the license and he had marked the date with pen instead of cutting out out with a knife.

Wow. I had no clue about this either. So, is that being driven by TPWD based on doe/buck ratio and overall count or is it on a county basis? And, my son has baseball for the second weekend in a row. Last week was a reschedule, so we missed the youth opener on top of the regular opener. Hoping we still have some decent weather next weekend because it'll be the first weekend for us to hunt.

FarmLogs is what I use out at the ranch. Technically, the LCRA map covers it, but there isn't a gauge within 30 miles or so. It's a guesstimate at best. I was out there two weeks ago and had 2.5" in the rain gauge off the patio, but the FarmLogs showed 1/2". To your point, it's kind of interesting that there's not a single site or entity that tracks rainfall.

This is my go-to for all things rain related. You can filter to the yearly totals. https://hydromet.lcra.org/

I've goose hunted with this guy a few times and fished with him once as well. Pretty good guide. Reliable and takes it seriously. Haven't done a duck hunt, but looks like his rate is $250/gun. I saw on social media that he still had some duck hunt dates available this season. https://www.avianskies.com/

I had decent luck Tuesday right when they opened a few weeks ago. I hit the one in Sunset Valley to snag some baseball pants for my son and picked up a few boxes of .223 varmint rounds that I hadn't been able to track down along with a big box of .45 rounds that had been elusive. They do have quantity limits though, so hard to really stock up on target rounds, but good for finding hunting rounds.

Remind me again which county you're in... Maverick?

If you're headed west for some reason, I've been able to get damn near every caliber I need over the last two months at the new Los Cazadores location on 290 in Stonewall. McBrides had a decent supply last week as well when I was in there.

Where are you located and where are you hunting? There's several online options. I've had decent luck with Abel's Ammo. I know of a few gun stores that have had better inventory in the last few months depending on your location.

Nicely done. Seems like you thought it out ahead of time. I can remember building a big, heavy wooden blind out of treated lumber and plywood that I intended on mounting on some old scaffolding I had. Engineering marvel to get that thing upright. I share the ranch with my old man who is super OCD about stuff like a blind tipping over. I was cracking up when he pulled out the 8' level and a bag of gravel to make sure the legs were all even. Then, each leg gets anchored with a steel form stake and a bunch of tie wire, and we put a mobile home anchor in the middle with guy wires and a 1/4" cable with a turnbuckle for good measure. Driving those stakes sucks regardless, but it really sucks in the Hill Country.

Those Atascosas are what we have. We bought three 5' x 5' and had them delivered / set up. One ground blind and two 4' like yours. We did just move one this summer. I'm assuming you laid it on its side? How did you stand it upright? Did you have some help? Seems like a winch or come-a-long would be the way to go. We were able to move ours upright on my 16' trailer. Just tilted it back, backed the trailer under one side, then shimmied it on the trailer. We only had to go about 200 yds, so it wasn't a huge chore.

Removing rolls is akin to removing chips and only wanting the salsa. Plus, by removing them, you remove the possibility of a late night turkey sammich on said roll. I like baked beans, but I don't think I've ever had them with Thanksgiving. So, that's my sacrificial offering from that list.

Agree with @deadshank. There's a reason waterproof deck's are so expensive. Once you put "plywood + deck", I'm assuming you're above a finished space. If the plywood is wet, there's no telling what's beneath. I haven't used HydroStop, but I've heard good things. Carlisle and Westcoat make good products as well, but can be difficult to work with if you haven't used them before.

October 9, 1999 is what I commonly refer to as "Super Happy Fun Day". I had seats at about the 40 in the Cotton Bowl to watch the Horns beat the Sooners 38-28. As soon as The Eyes of Texas played, we hopped in the truck and high-tailed it to watch the first pitch of G3 of the ALDS Yankees vs Rangers. Clemens on the mound. Yankees won 3-0. After the Yankees clinched, we finished the trifecta with REK at Billy Bob's in Fort Worth. Hands down the greatest DFW experience of my life.

OK. That's pretty slick. F'n brilliant too. Will definitely have to check it out.

Purely anectdotal, but about 10 years ago, I built a garden and installed some cheap landscape netting around the perimeter to keep the deer out. I inadvertently trapped a half dozen rat snakes. They'd get tangled up in the netting and die. I ended up doing the same thing (on purpose this time) around our chicken run at our last house. I ran netting around the perimeter of the fence. Caught all sorts of snakes in the same fashion, but never had issues with snakes in the coop. You'll catch the good with the bad, but it seems to be a fool-proof way to keep snakes out.

Tree fiddy. Kidding aside, @dieucla98 did a great job. If one of my guys built that, I'd guess it would go for $3,500 - $4,000.

My favorite homemade vinegar sauce by a wide margin. I'll also dry out my pequins. They'll usually last 3-4 months like that. I've always struggled making pickled jalapenos. I go through about a jar every two weeks of La Costeña nacho slices. But, every time I try to pickle my own, they end up mushy. I need to figure out a good recipe for making my own. Anyone have suggestions?