Articles by Herschel Smith

Outdoor Life.

Colville, Washington is like a lot of bare-knuckle Western towns, with dusty pickups parked at family businesses, government agencies stabilizing the boombust ranch-and-timber economy, and a string of fast-food franchises along U.S. Highway 395 that heads north to Canada. It’s the late general season for deer this week in northeast Washington, but this year hunters aren’t seeing nearly as many elk or pine-ridge whitetails as usual.

They mostly blame wolves that have moved into this rural corner of Washington over the past decade and the increasing number of cougars that are no longer staying way out in the Colville National Forest. Instead, lions have been coming closer to town, following the scarcity of deer right down to the city limits. Locals cite the ambush of a 9-year-old girl playing hide-and-seek in the town of Fruitland, about 45 miles southwest of Colville, in June as evidence that cougars need to be more aggressively managed by the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife.

When the Fish and Wildlife Commission met in Colville last week, they were welcomed sarcastically to the “center of wolf recovery” by members of a pro-hunting organization called Northeast Washington Wildlife Group. But the commission also heard from predator advocates, represented by members of Washington Wildlife First, a non-profit founded last year whose mission is “transforming the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife from a model of consumptive use” to one that “prioritizes the preservation of natural ecosystems.” For Washington Wildlife First, the increase in predators isn’t problematic; instead, it’s indicative of a healthy ecosystem.

Tension between the two camps was palpable at the Colville meeting, says Commissioner Kim Thorburn, a retired public-health physician from Spokane and self-described “non-hunting hippie from San Francisco.”

“We had people from the community begging us to pay attention to the changes they’re seeing on the ground,” says Thorburn, the longest-serving member of the 9-person commission. “They feel that large carnivores are impacting hunting and livelihoods. We heard people say they don’t let their kids stand out at isolated school bus stops any more. We heard hunters say the deer numbers are going way down. They were asking the department to be more responsive.”

But a new majority of the Washington commission doesn’t recognize those pleas as a problem. They’re among an insurgent type of wildlife official that wants to transform state fish-and-game departments across the country into agencies that “emphasize the intrinsic value of individual animals and healthy ecosystems.” That realignment would deemphasize hunting as a wildlife management tool and devote more agency resources to non-hunted and fished species.

This movement, championed by a small but influential group based in New Mexico called Wildlife For All, borrows from a number of allies, including animal-rights, rewilding, and deep ecology campaigns, few adherents of which have previously been involved in the day-to-day business of fish-and-game management. But with the appointment earlier this year of three “preservationist” commissioners in Washington, reformers now hold a 5-4 majority on the board. In March, they succeeded in closing Washington’s spring bear season, despite recommendations from agency staff that the hunt was ecologically sustainable and despite opposition from Thorburn and three other commissioners.

Now, let’s see what the Almighty God says about this.  “God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

What the hippies in Washington are doing is worshiping the creation over the creator and His law-word.  They don’t care that little children and animals will be attacked by wolves, bears, mountain lions or other predators.  The creation is their god.

I had someone ask me a while back why the hippies get the Northwest and we don’t.  My answer is that it doesn’t matter now, it’s done, and there is no going back.  This fight would have had to be fought long ago while real men were working for a living.  You must do more than work – you must pay attention to the world around you, including human predilections and sins.

I think Hornady has a 7mm PRC devotee.  But my question remains, what if you’re not hunting Elk at 400 yards, but rather, white tail at 50 – 100 yards?  It seems to me that 7mm PRC isn’t so preferable to .308 or 6.5mm Creedmoor.

Friend of TCJ Stephen Stamboulieh got himself a win in New York.

DECISION AND PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION that Defendant Hochul is DISMISSED from this action as a party. Plaintiffs’ motion for a Preliminary Injunction (Dkt. No. [6]) is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part in accordance with this Decision. Defendants, as well as their officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys (and any other persons who are in active concert or participation with them) are PRELIMINARILY ENJOINED from enforcing the following provisions of the Concealed Carry Improvement Act, 2022 N.Y. Sess. Laws ch. 371 (“CCIA”): (1) the following provisions contained in Section 1 of the CCIA: (a) the provision requiring “good moral character”; (b) the provision requiring the “names and contact information for the applicant’s current spouse, or domestic partner, any other adults residing in the applicant’s home, including any adult children of the applicant, and whether or not there are minors residing, full time or part time, in the applicant’s home”; (c) the provision requiring “a list of former and current social media accounts of the applicant from the past three years”; and (d) the provision contained in Section 1 of the CCIA requiring “such other information required by review of the licensing application that is reasonably necessary and related to the review of the licensing application“; (2) the following “sensitive locations” provision contained in Section 4 of the CCIA: (a) “any location providing… behavioral health, or chemical dependance care or services” (except to places to which the public or a substantial group of persons have not been granted access) as contained in Paragraph “2(b)”; (b) “any place of worship or religious observation” as contained in Paragraph “2(c)”; (c) “public parks, and zoos” as contained in Paragraph “2(d)”; (d) “airports” to the extent the license holder is complying with federal regulations, and “buses” as contained in Paragraph “2(n)”; (e) “any establishment issued a license for on-premise consumption pursuant to article four, four-A, five, or six of the alcoholic beverage control law where alcohol is consumed” as contained in Paragraph “2(o)”; (f) “theaters,” “conference centers,” and “banquet halls” as contained in Paragraph “2(p)”; and (g) “any gathering of individuals to collectively express their constitutional rights to protest or assemble” as contained in Paragraph “2(s)”; and (3) the “restricted locations” provision contained in Section 5 of the CCIA. Plaintiffs are EXCUSED from giving security. The State Defendants’ request for a limitation in the scope of this Preliminary Injunction and for a stay of it pending appeal (Dkt. No. [48], at 115-16) is DENIED. Signed by U.S. District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby on 11/7/2022. (sal)

But it’s not just his win – it’s a win for liberty.  We encourage everyone to dismantle tyranny everywhere they find it, and in whatever station of life they find themselves, in Stephen’s case, the field of law.

Congratulations to Stephen, one of the premier 2A legal advocates in the country.  We like to celebrate wins, and especially wins by friends!

American Rifleman.

You are only going to get one shot at this, so take the time required to get it right. Mount the gun in a gun vise so it won’t slip. Select an Allen bit that is in good shape without rounded or worn edges. Make sure the hex pocket in the screw head is clean and free from debris so the bit can enter all the way to the bottom. Insert the bit into the screw and tap it into place with a plastic-tipped hammer. A few solid whacks with the hammer on the screwdriver handle not only seats the Allen bit in the screw, but may also help loosen the screw. If the fit is at all sloppy, put a little Drive Grip or powdered rosin on the bit. Using two hands, push straight down on the top of the screwdriver with one hand, and turn with the other. Keep the screwdriver perfectly in line with the center of the screw; do not allow it to tip. Be careful about how much torque you apply, as these are small, rather delicate, screws. If the screw doesn’t loosen, back off. Try again while tapping on the screwdriver handle with a plastic hammer and applying constant torque to the handle. This is easier if you have some help. One person taps on the handle with the hammer, while the other keeps the screwdriver straight and applies the torque.

If just one of the screws is a problem, remove the rest of them first. Sometimes there is a misalignment of parts, so that puts pressure on one particular scew when all of them are tight. Removing the rest of them will often relieve that pressure, allowing the last screw to be removed.

If the screw is in a scope base that sits on a flat receiver, you can sometimes use a plastic hammer to tap on the base and turn it on the gun enough to loosen the screw. Remove all the other screws, and then tap the corner of the base so that it will drive the base counter-clockwise. It’s not necessary to turn it very far—just a partial turn will often break the screw free. Sometimes working the base back and forth with the hammer a few times will also break the screw free. Be careful about doing this on rounded receivers like the Remington 700, as tapping the mount will cam it against the receiver, jamming the screw tighter or breaking it off.

I found the entire article to be very helpful.  Yes, the value of torque wrenches, quality gunsmithing tools, and gunsmithing screwdrivers cannot be overstated.  You know all of those screws on lever action rifles?  Yea those.

You don’t get them off with a regular screwdriver bought at Lowe’s.  Quality gunsmithing tools cost more, but it’s worth it in the long run from damages to your firearms when you use the wrong tools.

I’m not being a know-it-all.  Like all good engineers, I learn by doing it wrong the first time.

In my one and only visit to Hawaii (to Maui), I quickly got accustomed to feral chickens running around everywhere.  Story has it from everyone there that chickens were brought to the Islands and hurricanes blew fences down and released them to the wild, and ever since then they have run around the Island untamed, uncaged and uncontrolled.  They seem to take some sort of pleasure in knowing that they had chickens running loose.  I took less pleasure when the Roosters crowed in the morning if I wanted to sleep.  But the Roosters crow all the time, even at night.  It’s a non-stop thing there.

The problem has gotten worse.

In Hawaii, feral chickens are choosing to leave the country life and make their home in the densely populated areas of Honolulu.

The state notoriously has an ongoing problem with feral chickens, largely blamed on hurricanes setting them loose, tourists feeding them and even on cock fighting operations. The growing populations are a known nuisance in the suburbs and rural areas of the different Hawaiian Islands, but now the wild fowl are infiltrating the concrete jungles of Honolulu in greater numbers.

This is hilarious and I couldn’t be happier for the state of Hawaii.  No one deserves it more.

Note the comedic failures here.  They caught the chickens, and then released them elsewhere, doing nothing whatsoever to address the problem.

In fact, they are told not to by the state.  Apparently, the state wants to capture them, and then presumably send them to Veterinarians to be euthanized.  I also presume that the state would agree to pay for the Vet services every time a new chicken came into the clinic.

So far they are spending $100 per bird.  Perhaps if they increase this amount to several hundred million dollars they might have a bit of success.  Also, perhaps they could prepare a chicken sanctuary for the captures birds rather than eat them.  They could pick one of the Islands and devote it entirely to chickens.  Yea, that would do the job.  If they could catch them all.  Then they could erect a statue to the chicken god at the entrance to the island sanctuary.  Entrance would require falling down and worshipping the chicken god and all of his ancestors.

We can’t have men running around with shotguns to handle the problem.  If any killing is to be done, I assume it will be a massively expensive operation performed by SWAT snipers, all hidden away so that people don’t see the bloodshed.

Hilarious.  And ridiculous.

I guess it wouldn’t be a good idea to invite Hawaiians on hunting trips then?

I sort of naturally assume that when local law enforcement confiscates firearms, even if nothing illegal has occurred, the firearms will either never be returned, or if they are, will be rusted, and that most of the time at least some of the firearms end up as gifts to extended family members.  This is the whole point of civil asset forfeiture, it’s just that when the ATF or local LEOs confiscate firearms it might be on a smaller scale.  Idiot Jeff Sessions approved of and defended civil asset forfeiture, as you will recall.  Trump left him in office for nearly two years before appointing Barr, the defender of Lon Horiuchi.

And if that’s true of local law enforcement, it’s true in the superlative of the ATF.  If they take possession of firearms, you should expect never to see them again, even if you’ve done nothing wrong.

And yet, God declared theft to be a sin, and hasn’t changed His mind.

Why is this in dispute?  There is nothing sacrilegious at all to me about putting a scope on a lever action rifle.  I’m in favor of whatever makes it easier for me to hit my intended target.

But I will remark that the prices of scopes seems to be going up, up, up, up and up.

This is a SFP fixed-parallax scope, albeit a good sized objective lens for letting light in, that’s going for $600.

This video is apparently a well-watched video.  I don’t usually like to embed video that I don’t really think is worth the viewing time it will take to go through it all, and I especially don’t like stream of consciousness presentations that could be done more efficiently, any more than I like watching other men scratch their beards.

However, I wanted to ask these questions of readers.  What adult needs to be told that manufacturers are out to sell things and take your money?  What adult needs to be told that there is a difference between what you want and what you need?

Exclude the category of collectors, which as far as I’m concerned, is a legitimate category and limited only by the size of your bank account.  And also exclude investors – guns can be a legitimate investment as well.

If a man can only afford a single rifle, or in other words, he must make the decision to eat or buy another rifle, what mature adult is going to go hungry or let his family go hungry so he can buy another rifle because some video tells him to?

He does make some interesting points about the monetary transaction necessary to get your product “reviewed” or get it good press.  I had always assumed that.  And the great majority of the time for me, I do an awful lot of research before I buy any product, be in rifle or refrigerator.  But I’m just not that impressionable from videos and popular reviewers telling me anything at all.

Whether rifles, refrigerators or truck tires, I do my research and I buy what I want if I have the financial resources to do so.  If I don’t, I settle for second best.

This is how most mature men do things.  And I don’t have thermal scopes, ballistic helmets, NODs or night vision.

Outdoor Life.

The .45/70 outperformed everything else in penetrating brush and delivering a bullet that’s still flying straight and true—something that will surely inflate the egos of its contemporary fans. I expected the .45/70 to yield the best results simply because of the mass of the bullets, but it exceeded my expectations substantially. With extensive enough testing some other big-bore cartridges might outdo the .45/70, but when it comes to common and available brush rifles today, the .45/70 wins.

The best brush bullet in my testing was the 325-grain, .458-inch Lehigh Defense Extreme Defense bullet. It was in Black Hills Ammo’s Honey Badger factory loads, traveling at 1900 fps. These are solid copper machined bullets with a nose that’s fluted and resembles a Phillips screwdriver. The bullet is designed for zero deformation, and to penetrate deeply. The fluting at the tip is designed to cause cavitation and a wound channel like expanding bullets. I’ve seen bears shot with them, and they are formidable. This load had an average deflection of only 0.63 inches, without a single key-holed bullet in 15 total shots.

You can see all of his testing protocol at the link, but the bottom line is that it’s the venerable 45-70 for the unqualified win.

Outdoor Life.

Chase Watson shot the biggest buck he’s ever killed two weeks ago while hunting from a treestand on his family’s farm in Arkansas. The buck dropped close by, but as Watson climbed down the tree to make a follow-up shot, the strap on one of his climbing sticks broke and he fell roughly 17 feet to the ground. He fractured a bone in his right leg, along with three vertebrae in his back, and instead of retrieving the deer, Watson went straight to the hospital.

[ … ]

In hindsight, Watson says the buck was probably dead after the first arrow passed through. But in the moment, after making a good shot on the biggest deer he’d ever hunted, he was focused on finishing the job.

“So I went ahead and let the bow down to the ground, climbed over and onto the climbing sticks,” he says. “I unhooked from the rope attaching me to the safety harness, and I made it two steps down. That’s when the strap on the stick broke.”

Watson doesn’t remember the 17-foot fall. But he was so full of adrenaline that when he did hit the ground, he picked himself up, walked over to the downed buck, and put another arrow in him. He says that at first, he thought he was good enough to walk himself out, but after trudging back uphill past the stand, he started feeling the pain and sat down to call his dad.

Guys, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever NOT to use your safety equipment.  None.

Use your safety equipment at all times during the sit and climb.  Never … NEVER … NEVER … untether from the tree.  My daughter treats deer hunters who have fallen every fall and winter, many of them suffering pelvic fractures, almost all of them suffering broken ribs, if they live at all.

Use a harness.  No, don’t use those traditional hunter’s harnesses that tether at your back like you see in hunter safety courses.  Those designs are stupid.  If you fall you hang facing away from the tree where you can’t do anything to help yourself, and the harness will cut blood supply to your legs.

Get a rappelling harness.  I use a Black Diamond harness.  It’s designed not to cut off blood flow, and it hooks you up in front.  Hook your tree tether to the harness.  Wrap your tree tether around the tree, and never detach it until you’re out of the tree.  Use the tether while sitting and while climbing.  Use it at all times while elevated off the ground.

This is easy.  A climb and sit in a tree stand is safe if you get the right gear and use it at all times.