Skinning a Squirrel

So it's no big secret that I don't field dress the deer I hunt. I don't do anything with them other than throw them in the back of my truck and drive them to the processor. I dressed the deer I got last year, well, more like I watch my brother in law dress it, but it's not something I really want to do. I just want to eat it the same way I eat a cow or chicken: I want to buy nondescript lumps of meat packaged on styrofoam trays wrapped in plastic then cook them up at home without ever having shared the intimacy of having removed any of its vital organs, especially it's skin personally (Yes skin is an organ, and I certainly consider it vital.)

On that happy note I got sick of watching squirrels eat all the deer corn while hunting this morning so I did something about it. I shot the closest squirrel I could, then I tried to shoot his friend / lover / rival. I missed the second one but I shot the first one in the face. The face. In the past I've discarded my victims because I have such an aversion to getting up close and personal with mushy things like dead squirrels, and because I convinced myself that I was conducting "pest control" rather than outright hunting. But I know better than that. I know that it isn't right to kill for the sake of killing so I decided that I must dress and eat this dead, mushy, semi-faceless squirrel.

I have a nice sharp knife on me, which up to this point has never pierced skin or bone, but has only felt it's blade glide through cardboard and packing tape, and since I have no idea how to use it to skin a squirrel I spent 10 minutes watching people with country accents so thick you can't possibly know what they're saying compete to skin squirrels in 45 seconds or less. Then my family shows up to see the bloody, mushy, faceless, formerly-living squirrel lying where I left it on the front step of the house I hunt at. They were passing by because I had forgotten to take my lunch this morning. My 4 year old seemed unaffected and somewhat fascinated by it. My 2 year old looking concerned pointed at it and repeatedly said something unintelligible for a few minutes. I can only image what profound observation she was making and what lessons I should have learned from it, if only she didn't talk like a 2 year old. They left and I proceeded to work for 4 hours while some little squirrel's dead mother lie stiff (but somehow still mushy) on the front stoop. I finally caved. It took me about 30 minutes to gut and skin it to my satisfaction. It was actually pretty easy, and now that it is mostly formless meat, I feel great about it. Except for the smell of death lingering on my fingertips (despite washing them repeatedly with dish soap) I'm no worse for wear. I also proved that I'm not a horrible, soul-less killing machine.

Letter to the santas.

The hunting season so far and Chrismas.

So, I've been busy sitting in tree stands and waiting for deer to pop out so naturally I haven't had time to update the blog. So far things have been going well though, and after a few near-misses I managed to bag a couple of does the Monday before Thanksgiving.

Yum. Anyhow I'm going to strive to fill my remaining two tags in the coming weeks, and I really want some antlers, so my goal is to hold out for one of the bucks that's been running around the property.

But after my tags are filled, or the season is over (at the end of this month), I'm not entirely sure what to do next. I am interested in trying to hunt coyotes. I saw one while sitting in Statesville and even took a shot with my bow, but missed. The other thing I want to try is hog hunting. Hunting both of these animals is legal at night here in NC, so I am tempted to ask for a night-vision monocular for Christmas. Let me know if you think this is a dumb idea.

Colt Police Positive .22

I recently sold one of my prized firearms to a family in need and so needed to fill a vacancy in my gun safe. As indicated in a post many months ago my object of desire has been a colt double action .22 and that is exactly what I got.
So, after a month of waiting for the Sheriff's department to issue me a handgun purchase permit I was finally able to pick up my prize: A Colt Police Positive Target in 22lr. Made circa 1931.

Rex wanted me to take a picture of his gun as long as I was taking pictures of mine...

Cilantro Lime Flat Iron Steak

Hello friends. This is my first recipe post. Please do enjoy. Let me know if you like it in the comments section!

As you can see the ingredients for this dish are quite simple. You will need:

• Flat Iron Steak
• Cilantro
• Lime
• Pepper
• Garlic
• Salt
• Olive Oil
• Fire 

The short version of this recipe is to blend all the ingredients that aren't steak to make a sauce, which you pour on the meat after you grill it. I've put together a handy picture guide to make sure you don't eff it up.

Step 1
Get someone to watch you prepare the food. Cooking something this fancy for yourself would be weird.

 After slaughtering their brother I forced these cows to watch me prep their fallen comrade with coarsely ground pepper and kosher salt.

Step 2

Go outside with your food and get ready to cook it.

This recipe will not work on any other brand of grill.

Note: the sun does not cook the meat as one would expect, even after several hours of direct exposure. You must purchase a tank of propane and connect it to a hose located underneath one of the "wings" of the grill. 

Step 3

Go do something else for a few minutes.

Scrounging up some vittles for dinner tomorrow.  

Step 4

Finish cooking the meat.

 You should cook it. This isn't cooked yet.

 Much better. I gave the meat a cute decorative tail to make it look like a mouse sneaked into the grill and I didn't bother opening the lid before lighting it.

Step 5

Eat the steak. 

After much pain... Aimpoint.

I know I wanted a better sighting device that the iron sights. I also didn't want an elaborate hack to make a scope work with extended eye relief. I like the idea of shooting with both eyes open. I also looked at many a red dot before I decided on the Aimpoint Patrol Rifle Optic. I don't plan on getting any other crazy things for this gun. It may get a foregrip or rail covers but that remains to be seen.

It's definitely not bad looking.

 

ZOO + Guns + Knots

Grandma and Grandpa treated Rex to a day at the Zoo for his birthday. Check it out:

Grandma and Rex watching a Tapir 

 Elephants giving each other the silent treatment 

Rex with giraffes

Alice looking at Meerkats 

 SLOTHS!

Kids. Tasty Kids. 

VZ58 w/ 4 bight turk's head knot an Ace Ultralight Stock.

VZ58 + Ace Ultralight = Awesome.

I changed out the stock on the VZ2000 due to the woefully short length of pull it afforded. I added the ace ultralight since it stretched the length of pull out to just over 10" and has a similar look to the original (more or less) and is also doesn't add any weight. It looks purdy too.

My AK found a new home. Now I have a VZ58.

So a funny thing happened. Long story short, I sold the AK and bought a VZ2000 Rifle modeled on the  Czech VZ58.

If you're interested in what the difference between this a Kalashnikov is check out the following:
http://www.czechpoint-usa.com/
Otherwise it is sufficient to mention:
It is not an AK variant, it shares no common parts with the AK.
It is much lighter than an AK, only weighs 7 pounds with a quad rail (it came with everything you see).

Blind faith.

How's this for a one liner: "Blind faith in guns is no better than blind faith in government."

The question is: In what ways are gun owners guilty of exhibiting "blind faith" in their guns?

Sight pictures...

Folding stock has been added. 

I really like peep sights. Like on this sporterized Eddystone M1917. They are better for precision shooting and I find them more fun to shoot.

So, the real question is how I get them on the AK?

Survival of the fittest.

I went on a camp out with the scouts over the weekend and I got to practice my makeshift shelter skills:

It rained all night and I stayed completely dry. Neither I nor my stuff was even touching the ground. Made from two tarps and paracord.

Here I am, bearded once again, on the 5 mile hike we went on the following day. I might have the survival part down, if only I could conquer the fit part...

 Finally here is a particularly good picture I got of my nephew Cash.

ESEE Izula Knife Project.

Since we last spoke I decided that my ESEE Izula needed a new finish. The Izula is definitely one of my favorite knives and has to be the best small fixed blade knife currently available to the masses. It's shape and contour make it the best handling knife I own. The small size and incredible sheath / belt clip combo convinced me to use it as my edc for nearly all of 2012 (until I got the spyderco dragonfly zdp-189).

Stripping it wasn't too complicated, but it took several nights to get it how I wanted. Once the knife was clean I needed to settle on what finish I would give it. I decided I wouldn't go for the polished look, because that tends to result in making the hard lines of the excellent ground and cut steel look more like a slightly-melted popsicle. Other options I considered were plating it in copper and/or nickel, bluing it like a gun, or any number of patina methods.

The Izula is made from 1095 high carbon steel, which isn't the most advanced or high tech on the market, but it holds an awesome edge and is easy to sharpen. The downside is that 1095 isn't stainless as it doesn't contain any chromium. Stainless steel is any steel with a chromium content of about 12% or more. This means that it will rust easily. Giving it a coating of some kind or keeping it oiled will keep it from doing so. Doing some form of both is best.

So after looking at all my options I settled on the idea of giving it a forced vinegar patina. It turned out okay, but I will redo it when everything else is done.

By "else" I mean the fact that I decided to make scales for it from cross sections of my Vepr's stock. It wasn't all that easy but it ended up coming together well enough. Here's the photo essay version:

I cut two cross sections of the walnut stock.

Then I spent the next several days filing, sanding and carving.

 Until I ended up with this. The finish is simply boiled linseed oil.

Here you can see the patina closer.

So I still need to drill holes for the pins, which I plan on doing as soon as I can borrow my brother-in-law's drill press which should be this weekend.

Now I'm working on my neglected CZ75 Compact. I think a new set of walnut grips might be in order...

You knew this was coming....

Party all Day! Sleep all Night!

For those of you concerned that no one remembered poor Gregory on his birthday: I woke up this morning and the party was ON!

AHHWWWWWWYEAH! 

 Everybody was feelin' it!

Except Heather.

So what did we do to get this party pumped? I think you know the answer to that based on yesterday's post.

You want to see what 800 calories looks like from 1.2 inches away? I thought so. Take a look:

We knew we would need those calories to sustain ourselves while we spent the rest of the day partying. 

 MMMMM.... So tasty.

The after party was throwing rocks in the creek.