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2 Shot of Texas Magazine™ July/August Issue 2015

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A Shot of Texas Magazine™ July/August 2015 FROM THE EDITORS Teffany and Robert Kahn Founders/ Co-Editors

Kendall Rae Kahn Camo Girl Product & Ranch Reviews

Rod Daigle Senior Industrial Editor

Butch Ramirez Wildlife Photographer

Dan Verrips Wildlife Photographer

Larry Weishuhn ‘Mr Whitetail�

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he combination of the Outdoors with the Oil & Gas, Petrochemical and Pipeline industries simply cannot be ignored and our growth proves it.

With this issue we begin our third year in business. Our circulation is at an all-time high thanks to our advertisers, dedicated readers, contributing writers, distribution partners and friends. Because of the slowdown in the Eagle Ford Shale we have doubled our presence in the Petrochemical industry along the gulf coast and also in the Permian Basin. We are also in the middle of developing our new website and will have it up and running sometime in the fourth quarter. We will be adding a jobs tab to our new site. This will allow highly skilled workers to easily connect with the companies that are looking for them. Resumes can easily be uploaded and will be available to our advertisers via secured login. We also have several new contributing writers on tap for this year from both industry and the outdoors. Tef and I would like to thank you for your continued support and look forward to a fantastic 2016.

Field Writer

Sincerely Rob & Tef

Shamus Dartanyon Political Editor

Jim Miller Bow Hunting Editor

Efrain Martinez Safety Editor

Jim Sessions Huskemaw Optics/Field Writer

IN THIS ISSUE 6 Good News $ 'RXEOH 3RUWLRQ Steven Galan 10 When Crude is Down Market NOW! Michael Breitsameter 16 Reloading the WSSM & WSM Calibers Terry Blaukamp 22 Political Commentary Shamus Dartanyon 26 Elk Meat For The Freezer Larry Weishuhn

*XOI )LVKLQJ Staff $ QWHORSH $ *UHDW Way to Start Your Fall Jim Miller 7 KUHH %LJ :D\V Oil Industry is Changing Scott Platzer 46 The Boom in Frac Sand Beconrad ,QGXVWU\ &DOHQGDU Networker. BIZ

Big Shots List Of Advertisers issue 16 Air Logistics &DSLWDO )DUP &UHGLW Carter’s Country &KDPSLRQ 5DQFK Critter Gitters DEA Ranch 4-D Guest Ranch Fry’n On The Fly *DPH*XDUG *UDQGHU 6XSSO\ Grizzly Coolers *XOI /DQG :LOGOLIH +XVNHPDZ /RQJ 5DQJH 2SWLFV ,Q¿QLW\ *URXS ,QQRYDWLYH 7XUQDURXQG &RQWUROV Joshua Creek Ranch /DUFR ,QGXVWULHV /RQHVRPH &R\RWH 5DQFK MB Ranches 0HGLFDO 3OD]D 0RELOH Meyer Ranch Boots 0* $UPV 0REOH\ ,QGXVWULDO 6HUYLFHV 0XUUD\ &XVWRP /HDWKHU My Core Control 3HUIRUPDQFH 7RS 'ULYHV 5HG 3RLQW 6ROXWLRQV 5RVHODQG 2LO *DV 6KRZ 6RXWK &RDVW 3URGXFWV 7RPRUURZ 5LYHU 5DQFK UEI Valero :HONHU :)06 :RRGV &\FOH &RXQWU\ Zoli

C 2014 A Shot of Texas Magazine.

All Rights Reserved. Printed in the USA. For current Media Kit, advertising or questions about our Traveling Trade Show contact Rob Kahn. Email rob@ashotoftexas.net 2IÂżFH RU &HOO

May/June Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazine™ 3

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4 Shot of Texas Magazine™ July/August Issue 2015

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July/August Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazine™ 5

Good News On Guatemala Sailfishing

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RUUHVSRQGHQW *DU\ .UDPHU VD\V WKH 3DFL¿F &RDVW RI Guatemala is holding onto its reputation as one of the best places in the world for long-rodders to tanJOH ZLWK D VDLO¿VK $QG WKH JRRG QHZV LV WKHUH LV D IDLUO\ QHZ RSHUDWLRQ GRZQ WKHUH WKDW LV FDSDEO\ KDQGOLQJ WKH RYHUÀRZ from Tim Choate’s Fin and Feather Inn. He writes:

Guatemala has been one the top places LQ WKH ZRUOG IRU VDLO¿VK HYHU VLQFH WKH HDUO\ œV ZKHQ WKH RIIVKRUH ¿VKLQJ LQ WKLV &HQWUDO $PHULFDQ FRXQWU\ ¿UVW FDPH LQWR focus. And no wonder! Where else, within D WKUHH KRXU MHW ÀLJKW RI 0LDPL FDQ \RX VHH RU PRUH VDLO¿VK LQ D GD\" Since 1993, the lead operator here has been Tim Choate, owner of the Artmarina 6SRUW¿VKLQJ )OHHW DQG )LQ DQG )HDWKHU ,QQ His base of operations is the small coastal

village of Iztapa near Puerto San Jose. ArtPDULQD LV D ÀHHW RI VHYHQ WR IRRW ERDWV operated by American crews.

Initially, Artmarina maintained a virtual PRQRSRO\ LQ UHJDUG WR RIIVKRUH ¿VKLQJ LQ *XDWHPDOD EXW QRZ DQRWKHU ¿VKLQJ RSeration has emerged. It’s owned by a man named Marco Valenzuela, and it’s booked by Trek International Safaris. The Trek package trip, which I had a chance to sample recently, LQFOXGHV DLUSRUW WUDQVIHUV ¿VKLQJ RQ ORFDO boats operated by local crews and all necessary accommodations in Guatemala City (at the four-star Hotel Princess) and in the ¿VKLQJ DUHD DW WKH 9LOODV GHO 3DFL¿FR 7KH FRVW IRU WKH ¿YH GD\ IRXU QLJKW WKUHH ¿VKLQJ day package is $2,095 per person (four to a

boat); or $2,995 (two to a boat) and includes roundtrip airfare from Miami.

2Q P\ UHFHQW WULS HYHU\ ÂżVK ZH WDQJOHG with was caught with either 20-poundFODVV VWDQG XS JHDU RU ZLWK D ZHLJKW Ă€\ rod. The local crews are experts at both, and were exceptional in their ability to tease the sails to within 20 feet of the boat, sure the boat was in neutral when the cast allowing for an accurate cast when using was made. Ă€\ JHDU 7KH\ DOVR NQHZ ,QWHUQDWLRQDO $V IRU WKH TXDOLW\ RI WKH ÂżVKLQJ LW ZDV Game Fish Association rules and made nothing short of phenomenal. My party and , ÂżVKHG WKUHH GD\V DQG UDLVHG IURP WR VDLOÂżVK HDFK GD\ FDWFKLQJ DQG UHOHDVLQJ ÂżYH WR GDLO\ RQ OLJKW WDFNOH DQG Ă€\ JHDU 7KH ÂżVK ZHUH LQ WKH WR SRXQG FODVV DQG HYHU\ ÂżVK ZDV UHOHDVHG 2QH RI WKH UHDVRQV WKLV ÂżVKHU\ KDV UHmained so good is the Guatemalan ban on ORQJOLQH ÂżVKLQJ Âą D SUDFWLFH WKDW KDV GHYDVWDWHG RWKHU ELOOÂżVKLQJ DUHDV DURXQG WKH ZRUOG 7KH ÂżVKLQJ JURXQGV DUH WR PLOHV RIIVKRUH 7KH ÂżUVW GD\ ZH ÂżVKHG miles offshore, the second about 40 miles and the third and best day there was a conFHQWUDWLRQ RI ÂżVK PLOHV IURP WKH EHDFK The boats are 28- to 43-foot twin diesels and FDQ JHQHUDOO\ UHDFK HYHQ WKH IDUWKHVW ÂżVKLQJ grounds in less than two hours. :KLOH ÂżVKLQJ IRU VDLOV LV JRRG DOO \HDU ORQJ the peak season is November through May. For anglers looking for a world-record sailÂżVK WKH EHVW WLPH LV 2FWREHU WKURXJK 'HFHPber when there are fewer but larger sails presHQW :KLOH WKH ÂżVKHU\ IRU SULPDULO\ EOXH DQG a few black marlin is less well developed, the best action is June through October. There is DOVR GRUDGR GROSKLQÂżVK DQG \HOORZÂżQ WXQD Additionally, there is said to be an inshore ÂżVKHU\ IRU URRVWHUÂżVK VQDSSHU MDFN FUHYDOOH and snook. I did not investigate this and cannot report on it with any authority. “For a subscription to 7KH $QJOLQJ 5HSRUW 1HZVOHWWHU, please visit ZZZ DQJOLQJUHSRUW FRP or call 202-770-9942â€?.

6 Shot of Texas Magazine™ July/August Issue 2015

A Short Shot on Guatamala Fishing from Larry Fagg with Larco Industries in Beaumont

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KLV SDVW 'HFHPEHU , WRRN P\ IDPLO\ RQ D *XDtemala vacation. While I have visited the country several times, this was the first trip to Guatemala for my wife, daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter. We started our trip with a night in the city of Antigua by staying in a beautiful home. It overlooked the city of Antigua and had phenomenal views of the amazing architecture of the city as well as the mountains and volcanoes in the distance. We toured Antigua with a guide and were totally blown away by the history and people of Antigua. The next part of our trip took us to our fishing lodge where we were greeted by an outstanding and very friendly staff and great food.

Our day of fishing did not disappoint as we caught thirteen sailfish. This was very exciting for my daughter Jeanne, my son-in-law Brent and granddaughter Bailey because it was their first sail fishing trip. While this last trip was successful, a previous trip in November 2013 resulted in an amazing thirty-nine sailfish caught and released in just one day’s outing! I would highly recommend visiting Guatemala as the fishing and food are both top notch. The people are friendly and the fishing guides are enthusiastic and accommodating.

I always enjoy my time fishing off the Central American coast and hope that when you go you can bring back the same great memories that we did!

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July/August Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazine™ 7

A Double Portion

By Steven Galan

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ne never knows what circumstances will conspire to affect our lives. Each turn of events takes us down a slightly different tangent of the road of life. Sometimes those experiences can truly be a blessing. Such is the case in this tale. The year was DQG P\ ZLIH DQG , ZHUH H[SHFWLQJ WKH ELUWK RI RXU ÂżUVW FKLOG Samuel. His addition into our lives had been an unforeseen blessing and I was about to receive another surprise gift as well. At that WLPH , ZDV ZRUNLQJ DW D ZRQGHUIXO VSRUWLQJ JRRGV VWRUH DV D ÂżUHDUPV counter manager. One of my best customers came into the store and approached the counter with an old double barrel shotgun. Thinking he was needing some gunsmithing done on the old girl, I grabbed a maintenance tag. He promptly motioned that was not the case and asked me to have a look at the shotgun. It was an old LC Smith 16 JDXJH DQG KDG VHHQ PDQ\ GD\V LQ WKH ÂżHOG 7KH DFWLRQ VHHPHG WR lock up solidly and everything was still in working order. Basically, VKH DSSHDUHG WR KDYH EHHQ FDUULHG DÂżHOG PXFK PRUH WKDQ ÂżUHG LQ KHU life. The bluing was entirely gone and the wood needed attention YHU\ EDGO\ +RZHYHU LW ZDV VWLOO D ÂżQH SLHFH 7KH ÂżQH ROGHU JHQWOHPDQ EHJDQ E\ WHOOLQJ PH LW KDG EHHQ KLV IDWKHUÂśV ÂżHOG JXQ DQG LW KDG been passed to him. Later, I found the old girl had been made in the early 1920’s. The gentleman, “Mr. Mâ€?, was not in good health. He was concerned that with his lack children, it might go in an estate sale to a collector if he passed away. “It’s for your boy‌when he is old enoughâ€?, He said. He cracked a grin under his grey mustache as I just stared in silence. “I want it to stay with a hunting family and I know you’ll raise him right.â€? Snapping out of my stupor, I shook KLV KDQG ÂżUPO\ WKDQNHG KLP SURIXVHO\ DQG DVVXUHG KLP LW ZRXOG become a family heirloom. The world is awfully short of men like “Mr. Mâ€?, but I’ve been privileged to meet a few of them in my time.

The woods and the hunting community seemed to be blessed with a goodly percentage of them. The next day he brought me about two cases of 16 gauge ammo wearing that same gentle and friendly grin. “I Guess I won’t be needing these anymoreâ€?, he said. Right then and WKHUH , NQHZ LW ZDV D VSHFLDO ÂżUHarm from a special man.

OVERDUE TLC Time passed and though I had shot the shotgun a few times, it mainly resided in my gun vault.

7KH ODFN RI ¿QLVK RQ WKH VWHHO DQG wood left the old gun vulnerable to rust and decay. Accordingly, I 8 Shot of Texas Magazine™ July/August Issue 2015

pampered it to regular oil and the constant climate control a gun safe and central air can provide. However, as I thought about it.

That was not what Mr. M wanted. I decided it needed to be restored to its former glory and put back into service as a game getter. I began with research and found that it had been manufactured in 1921. It has two full chokes, which is rare. In fact, the decision to restore an old gun shouldn’t be taken lightly. Usually, you will destroy the collector value of an antique by restoring it. However, I just couldn’t let time continue to ravage the old girl and if it was JRLQJ WR JR WR ³D KXQWLQJ IDPLO\´ LW KDG WR EH UHDG\ IRU WKH ¿HOG I began with the wood. It originally had a polyurethane varnish RQ LW 7KLV KDG FUDFNHG DQG ÀDNHG off in large pieces exposing the raw wood underneath. I used a chemical stripper to remove the last vestiges of old varnish. I then realized the wood had gotten gun oil and grime from hands into the wood grain after the varnish had peeled away. This would need to be pulled from the wood as well.

Oil remover and several applications of steam and soapy water eventually did the trick. Then it was just up to good old time, SDWLHQFH DQG ÂżQH JULW VDQGSDSHU After that I applied thin layers of stock oil building it up and polLVKLQJ DORQJ WKH ZD\ 7KLV ÂżQLVK

is superior to poly in that it is in the wood itself, not simply on top of it. Then I began to work on the steel. I removed as much small surface rust as possible with steel wool and oil and sent it off to a WUXVWHG JXQVPLWK 'DQ 3ULQW] +H DJUHHG WR UXVW EOXH WKH EDUUHOV and color case harden the frame. The result was gorgeous and very VLPLODU WR WKH RULJLQDO ÂżUHDUP

FIELD TRIALS In the spring of 2014 I began receiving phone calls from my father. My family owns a small parcel of land close to Bandera, Texas.

He and Joan had been seeing lots of turkeys on their property and they invited me up to try to get one. It was the perfect opportunity to put the old 16 gauge back in action. Now, a 16 gauge is not viewed by many to be the ideal turkey gun. Consequently, there are no commercial offerings for a turkey load. I settled on a Fiocchi Golden 3KHDVDQW ORDG 7KLV ORDG SXVKHV D R] ORDG RI QLFNHO SODWHG #6 pellets out of the barrel at 1310 fps. That’s plenty good turkey medicine. I patterned the load and learned I had a thirty hirty yard range maximum if I intended on turkey dinner. Joan was really looking forward to the hunt and gave me reports of the latest sightings. Upon arrival at the ranch, she toldd me that 7-8 gobblers had been in the front pasture only days before. I did some scouting and piled some cedar cuttings as a make-shift blind in a good location.

The next morning dawned clear, but a bit blustery. At GDZQÂśV ÂżUVW OLJKW , VWHSSHG RXW RQ WR EDFN SRUFK RI WKH cabin. I stretched and enjoyed the fresh spring air inn the early light. Then it began! Off in the distance I heard rd a gobble, then more gobbles, then more! They all seemed med to be coming from my hunting spot. I got dressed inn record time, grabbed the gear and ran as fast I could down into nto the area.

Once I got within the brush line closer to action, I slowed own. I owed own softly called on the box call. No response came. I yelped again a bit ORXGHUÂŤVWLOO QRWKLQJ +DG WKH\ VHHQ PH DQG VSRRNHG" , PRYHG yards in the direction I had heard the gobbles come from (away from the blind) and waited for the wind to die down. I called a third time.

Pandemonium ensued as a cacophony of gobbles erupted from the beyond the creek bottom. If a gobbler had seen my resulting reactions, I wouldn’t have needed the shotgun. It would have died from laughter. Tripping over brush, almost falling backward, I turned in circles trying to get the hen decoy out of my pack. I must’ve looked like a drunk cat chasing its own tail going in circles. After I gained some composure, I removed the backpack and retrieved the decoy SURSHUO\ , VWDNHG KHU LQWR WKH GLUW LQ WKH PRVW VXOWU\ ÀLUWDWLRXV SRVH I could imagine and grabbed my binoculars while ducking into some FHGDUV ,Q D ¿HOG DFURVV WKH FUHHN ERWWRP , FRXOG VHH D EDQG RI VHYHQ gobblers running in differing levels of strut. The rear one looked like a gigantic black pumpkin. I liked the odds. Stealthily, I slinked back to my cedar cuttings and prepared. Judging by the rate the birds were running, no further calling was needed. I had learned early in my turkey hunting days that there are two common turkey calling mistakes: calling too loud and calling too much. A small thicket of young cedars separated the creek bottom from my location. I knew the birds were in there, but could not see them. I patiently waited about twenty minutes. Not seeing any progress, I decided to lightly use my slate call. A big gobble bellowed from the thicket.

The branches seemed to part like the Red Sea as a bruiser of a long beard came into my extreme peripheral view. He emerged alone and suddenly it all made sense. He was the victor of what had to be a

JU JUHDW ³ZKRœV WKH ERVV"´ GLVFXVsi sion in the cedars. Now free to co collect the girl, he was circling th the area looking for the source off the hen calls. Since he was on m my right side (and I am right handed I had no shot and needed to handed), wait. He sslowly circled behind my tree and reappeared over my left shoulder. Now, drummin I mean it literally. The low when I say I could feel him drumming, bass notes resonated in my chest and put my already heightened senses into hyper drive. He had seen the decoy now and was in full presentation strut mode. As he walked past my brush blind, he was ZLWKLQ ¿YH IHHW RI PH , GDUHG QRW PRYH PRUH WKDQ P\ H\H EDOOV DV WKH\ VWUDLQHG WR WKH OHIW 7KLV LV ZKHQ IXOO FDPRXÀDJH SD\V RII $V he moved in front of me to the right I got the visual display I had been waiting for. What a sight it was! God graced the wild turkey with amazing plumage. Coupled with the morning’s horizontal, orange light, it was an eyeful! I let him circle the decoy a few times and didn’t want the show to end. However, he became suspicious of the motionless decoy. His white head and neck moments before had been buried into full-strut feathers. Now, it suddenly became HUHFW DQG VWLOO +H KDG WKDW FOHDU ³VRPHWKLQJœV ¿VK\ KHUH´ ORRN , KDG forgotten about the golden bead of my shotgun, but immediately brought it into sharp focus. As he stepped away from the decoy, I VRIWO\ PRXWK FDOOHG +H VWRSSHG WKH EHDG ÀRDWHG RYHU KLV QHFN head and the old LC Smith spoke. The old tom never moved again.

As I approached the gobbler, he got bigger and bigger. He had a thick, 9-inch, paintbrush beard and old rounded spurs. This is really rocky terrain and old birds get their spurs blunted. His head was easily the size of tangerine orange. However, when I weighed him the real story was told. He weighed 23 pounds! That is one heck of a Rio Grande bird.

I had a double portion of blessings that year with a new baby boy and old double-barreled girl to add to my family’s hunting battery.

I pray you and yours are equally blessed in the years to come. I am sure my son and I will make July/August Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazine™ 9

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QG VR KHUH ZH VLW EXPSLQJ DORQJ RQ RXU SURverbial asses in an Oil and Gas market that VKRZV QR VLJQ RI LPSURYLQJ GRRP DQG JORRP as far as the eye can see. One of the things we can do in times like these is to ensure we are ready for the UHFRYHU\ ZKHQ LW FRPHV VR WKDW RXU H[LVWLQJ DQG SRWHQWLDO QHZ FXVWRPHUV NQRZ KRZ WR ÂżQG XV DQG WKDW SDUWLFXODUO\ IRU WKH QHZ RSSRUWXQLWLHV ZKDW we have to offer looks professional and provides us with the best possible chance of securing the inquiry that might make RXU GD\ RXU TXDUWHU RU HYHQ RXU \HDU

WHEN CRUDE IS DOWNMARKET NOW!

Very simple, in principle, but whether you are a shopping for a new phone or a string of drill pipe, todays shoppers will alZD\V JR WR WKH LQWHUQHW ¿UVW DQG LI RXU ZHEsite can’t be found, or doesn’t portray our products, technology, capabilities and capacities in such a way as to hold that shoppers attention for a few seconds, that juicy opportunity might just keep on searching.

While we work in a largely engineering driven industry, good quality, focused and targeted marketing can make all the differHQFH FDQ SURYLGH WKH LGHDO ÂżUVW LPSUHVVLRQ and ultimately open doors that no other method or means can. Today that means having a website that grabs the attention for long enough for that shopper to read content, DQG LI KH RU VKH ÂżQGV ZKDW WKH\ VHHN VHQG DQ

email or pick up the phone. This is truly all we need that website to do, it doesn’t have to be a catalog of every product, technology and service you offer, you want them to stop clicking and start calling, at which point your sales team can engage this new opportunity, arrange a face to face, something which is still so important because people still prefer to buy from people.

So if we don’t have our website ready we need to get moving on that, keep it simple, use images and diagrams where possible, don’t try to say too much, remember this is only a preview of the great company that you have, a means of getting them to reach out to you. So you have the website looking great, how do you ensure they can and GR DFWXDOO\ ¿QG \RX" 7KH VLPSOHVW ZD\

10 Shot of Texas Magazine™ July/August Issue 2015

Google Ad Words and no, I don’t work for Google. For as little as a couple of hundred dollars per month you can ensure that anyRQH VHDUFKLQJ IRU ZKDW \RX RIIHU ¿QGV \RX RQ WKH ¿UVW SDJH WKDW FRPHV XS ZKHQ WKH\ begin their search, and statistically speakLQJ WKH ¿UVW SDJH LV XVXDOO\ WKH RQO\ SDJH while it’s no guarantee, it’s a great start.

So, things are a bit quiet, have some people with time on their hands, sieze the moment, be ready when the recovery comes, it might just make all the difference.

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July/August Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazine™ 11

ANOTHER LAW ABIDING CITIZEN BITES THE DUST!

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NRA News

d Carol Bowne to the ever-lengthening list of people who have been killed because gun control supporters in elected office prohibited them from defending themselves.

In the most direct sense, Bowne, a resident of Berlin Township, New Jersey, was murdered, on June 3, by a violent excon she had prior reason to fear. But in a ďƌŽĂĚĞƌ ƐĞŶƐĞ͕ ĂŶƟͲŐƵŶ ƉŽůŝƟĐŝĂŶƐ ĂůƐŽ bear responsibility for Bowne’s avoidable death. It is they who forced her to choose ďĞƚǁĞĞŶ ŽďƚĂŝŶŝŶŐ Ă ŚĂŶĚŐƵŶ ƋƵŝĐŬůLJ ĂŶĚ ĐĂƌƌLJŝŶŐ ŝƚ ǁŝƚŚ ŚĞƌ ĨŽƌ ƉƌŽƚĞĐƟŽŶ ͲͲ Ăƚ ƌŝƐŬ ŽĨ ŝŵƉƌŝƐŽŶŵĞŶƚ͕ ĮŶĞƐ Žƌ ǁŽƌƐĞ Ăƚ ƚŚĞ hands of New Jersey’s law enforcement ĂƵƚŚŽƌŝƟĞƐ ĂŶĚ ĐŽƵƌƚƐ ͲͲ Žƌ ƐƵďŽƌĚŝŶĂƟŶŐ ŚĞƌ ƐĞůĨͲƉƌĞƐĞƌǀĂƟŽŶ ŝŶƐƟŶĐƚƐ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ĚŝĐƚĂƚĞƐ ŽĨ ƚŚŽƐĞ ƐĂŵĞ ƉŽůŝƟĐŝĂŶƐ ͲͲ Ăƚ ƌŝƐŬ ŽĨ ĚĞĂƚŚ Ăƚ ƚŚĞ ŚĂŶĚƐ ŽĨ ŚĞƌ ĞǀĞŶƚƵĂů ŬŝůůĞƌ͘ dŽ ƚŚĞ ĞƚĞƌŶĂů ƌĞŐƌĞƚ ŽĨ ƚŚŽƐĞ ŽĨ ƵƐ ǁŚŽƐĞ ŵĞŵŽƌLJ ŽĨ ƚŚŝƐ ƐŝĐŬĞŶŝŶŐ ƐƚŽƌLJ ǁŝůů ŶŽƚ ďĞ ĞƌĂƐĞĚ ďLJ ƚŚĞ ďĂŶĂů ĂƌŐƵŵĞŶƚƐ ŐƵŶ ĐŽŶƚƌŽů supporters raise, as they try to escape the blame they very much deserve, Bowne, as a ůĂǁͲĂďŝĚŝŶŐ ĐŝƟnjĞŶ͕ ƉĂŝĚ ƚŚĞ ƵůƟŵĂƚĞ ƉƌŝĐĞ͘

IN SHORT, NEW JERSEY’S EXTREME GUN CONTROL LAWS PROVIDED BOWNE’S MURDERER WITH EXACTLY WHAT HE NEEDED TO PERPETRATE THIS HORRIFIC Z/D ͳͳ & E^ > ^^ VICTIM. Bowne applied with her local police department for a permit to merely purchase a ŚĂŶĚŐƵŶ ͲͲ Ă ƉĞƌŵŝƚ ƚŽ ĐĂƌƌLJ Ă ŚĂŶĚŐƵŶ ďĞŝŶŐ ŽƵƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƋƵĞƐƟŽŶ ŝŶ EĞǁ :ĞƌƐĞLJ ͲͲ ĂŶĚ ǁĂŝƚĞĚ͘ LJ ůĂǁ͕ ƐƚĂƚĞ ŽĸĐŝĂůƐ ǁĞƌĞ ƌĞƋƵŝƌĞĚ ƚŽ ƉƌŽĐĞƐƐ ŚĞƌ ĂƉƉůŝĐĂƟŽŶ ǁŝƚŚŝŶ ϯϬ ĚĂLJƐ͘ dŚĞLJ ĚŝĚŶ͛ƚ͘ Ɛ ŚĂƌůĞƐ ͘ t͘ ŽŽŬĞ ŶŽƚĞĚ ƚŚŝƐ ǁĞĞŬ͕ ŝŶ :ĞƌƐĞLJ͕ ƚŚĞLJ ƌĂƌĞůLJ ĚŽ͘ ͞/ŶƐƚĞĂĚ͕ ǁŽƵůĚͲďĞ ŐƵŶ ŽǁŶĞƌƐ ƌĞƉŽƌƚ ǁĂŝƟŶŐ ĨŽƌ ƚŚƌĞĞ͕ ĨŽƵƌ͕ Ɛŝdž͕ ĂŶĚ ĞǀĞŶ ŶŝŶĞ months for permission to exercise what ƚŚĞ ^ĞĐŽŶĚ ŵĞŶĚŵĞŶƚ ŵĂŬĞƐ ĐůĞĂƌ ŝƐ ĂŶ ƵŶĂůŝĞŶĂďůĞ ŝŶĚŝǀŝĚƵĂů ƌŝŐŚƚ͕͟ ŽŽŬĞ ƐĂŝĚ͘

/Ŷ ƐŚŽƌƚ͕ EĞǁ :ĞƌƐĞLJ͛Ɛ ĞdžƚƌĞŵĞ ŐƵŶ ĐŽŶtrol laws provided Bowne’s murderer with exactly what he needed to perpetrate ƚŚŝƐ ŚŽƌƌŝĮĐ ĐƌŝŵĞ ͲͲ Ă ĚĞĨĞŶƐĞůĞƐƐ ǀŝĐƟŵ͘ Much taller and heavier than Bowne, her assassin stabbed the defenseless Bowne ǁŝƚŚ Ă ŬŶŝĨĞ ŝŶ ŚĞƌ ĚƌŝǀĞǁĂLJ͕ ƌĞƉĞĂƚĞĚůLJ͕ ƚǁŝĐĞ ǁĂůŬŝŶŐ ĂǁĂLJ ĂŶĚ ƌĞƚƵƌŶŝŶŐ ƚŽ ƐƚĂď ŚĞƌ ĂŐĂŝŶ͕ ƚŚĞŶ ŬŝĐŬĞĚ ŚĞƌ ĂŌĞƌ ƐŚĞ ĨĞůů͘ ^ŽŵĞŽŶĞ ŽĨ ůŽǁ ŵŽƌĂů ĐĂůŝďĞƌ ŵŝŐŚƚ ĂƐŬ ͞ǁŚĂƚ ĚŝīĞƌĞŶĐĞ ĚŽĞƐ ŝƚ ŵĂŬĞ͍͟ ƚŚĂƚ ƚŚĞ ŬŝůůĞƌ ƵƐĞĚ Ă ŬŶŝĨĞ ŝŶƐƚĞĂĚ ŽĨ Ă ŐƵŶ͘ Ƶƚ ĂŶLJŽŶĞ ǁŚŽ ŚĂƐ ƚŽ ĂƐŬ ƚŚĞ ƋƵĞƐƟŽŶ ŝƐ ŝŶĐĂƉĂďůĞ ŽĨ ƵŶĚĞƌƐƚĂŶĚŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ĂŶƐǁĞƌ͘ /ƚ ŝƐ͕ ƐŝŵƉůLJ͕ ƚŚĂƚ ŐƵŶ ĐŽŶƚƌŽů ůĂǁƐ ĚŽ ŶŽƚ ĚŝƐĂƌŵ ŵƵƌĚĞƌĞƌƐ͕ ƚŚĞLJ ĚŝƐĂƌŵ ƚŚĞŝƌ ǀŝĐƟŵƐ͘ Because they deserve much of the ďůĂŵĞ ĨŽƌ ŽǁŶĞ͛Ɛ ĚĞĂƚŚ͕ ŐƵŶ ĐŽŶƚƌŽů supporters -- if there are any who have a shred of decency and any sense of shame -- should remain silent, while ƚŚĞ ƐĂŶĞ ĂŵŽŶŐ ƵƐ ŐŽ ĂďŽƵƚ ƚŚĞ ůŽŶŐ ŽǀĞƌĚƵĞ ďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐ ŽĨ ƌĞƉĞĂůŝŶŐ EĞǁ :ĞƌƐĞLJ͛Ɛ ĚĞƐƉŝĐĂďůĞ ŐƵŶ ĐŽŶƚƌŽů ůĂǁƐ ĂŶĚ ĂŶLJ ůŝŬĞ ƚŚĞŵ ŝŶ ŽƚŚĞƌ ƐƚĂƚĞƐ͘ ^ĞǀĞƌĂů ůĞŐŝƐůĂƚŽƌƐ ŝŶ EĞǁ :ĞƌƐĞLJ ŚĂǀĞ ƐĂŝĚ ƚŚĞLJ ǁŝůů ƚĂŬĞ ƚŚĞ ǀĞƌLJ ƐŵĂůů ͲͲ ďƵƚ ŝŵƉŽƌƚĂŶƚ ͲͲ ƐƚĞƉ ƚŽ ŝŶƚƌŽĚƵĐĞ ůĞŐŝƐůĂƚŝŽŶ ƌĞƋƵŝƌŝŶŐ ƚŚĂƚ ŚĂŶĚŐƵŶ ƉĞƌŵŝƚ ĂƉƉůŝĐĂƚŝŽŶƐ ďĞ expedited for women in Carol Bowne’s situation. But the far better solution is ĐůĞĂƌůLJ ƚŽ ƐĐƌĂƉ ƚŚĞ ƐƚĂƚĞ͛Ɛ ĂďƐƵƌĚ ŐƵŶ ĐŽŶƚƌŽů ůĂǁƐ ĂůƚŽŐĞƚŚĞƌ͘

12 Shot of Texas Magazine™ July/August Issue 2015

SOMEONE OF LOW MORAL CALIBER MIGHT ASK „WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?” THAT THE KILLER USED A KNIFE INSTEAD OF A GUN. BUT ANYONE WHO HAS TO ASK THE QUESTION IS INCAPABLE OF UNDERSTANDING THE ANSWER. IT IS, SIMPLY, THAT GUN CONTROL LAWS DO NOT DISARM MURDERERS, THEY DISARM THEIR VICTIMS. Gun control supporters will not remain silent, of course. They will continue to press for more of the same reƐƚƌŝĐƚŝŽŶƐ ƚŚĂƚ ŐŽƚ ĂƌŽů ŽǁŶĞ ŬŝůůĞĚ͕ ĂŶĚ ǁŽƌƐĞ͘ KŶĞ ŵŝŐŚƚ ĂƐŬ ͞ǁŚLJ͕͟ ďƵƚ Ăƚ ƐŽŵĞ ƉŽŝŶƚ͕ ŝƚ ĚŽĞƐŶ͛ƚ ŵĂƚƚĞƌ ǁŚLJ ŐƵŶ control supporters do what they do -ǁŚĞƚŚĞƌ ŝƚ ŝƐ ďĞĐĂƵƐĞ ŽĨ ŝŐŶŽƌĂŶĐĞ͕ Ă ĚĞƐŝƌĞ ƚŽ ĐŽŶƚƌŽů ŽƚŚĞƌƐ͕ Žƌ Ă ĨĞĞůŝŶŐ ŽĨ inferiority to, and disdain for, people ǁŝůůŝŶŐ ĂŶĚ ĂďůĞ ƚŽ ƉƌŽƚĞĐƚ ƚŚĞŵƐĞůǀĞƐ͘ What matters is what they do, and ǁŚĂƚ ƚŚĞLJ ĚŽ ŐĞƚƐ ƉĞŽƉůĞ ŬŝůůĞĚ͘ ,ĞŶĐĞĨŽƌƚŚ͕ ůĞƚ ƚŚĞ ŐƌĂǀĞƐƚ ŽĨ ƌŝƐŬƐ be to the political careers of those ǁŚŽ ŝŵƉŽƐĞ ůĂǁƐ ĚĞǀŽŝĚ ŽĨ ůŽŐŝĐ ĂŶĚ ĐŽŶƚƌĂƌLJ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ĨŽƵŶĚŝŶŐ ĚŽĐƵŵĞŶƚƐ ŽĨ ƚŚŝƐ ŐƌĞĂƚ ĐŽƵŶƚƌLJ ǁŚŝĐŚ ũĞŽƉĂƌĚŝnjĞ ƚŚĞ ůŝǀĞƐ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƉĞŽƉůĞ ƚŚĞLJ ĂƌĞ supposed to serve. On Election Day, in New Jersey and elsewhere, let’s remember Carol Bowne’s and that in all cases, elections truly do have conseƋƵĞŶĐĞƐ͘

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Reloading the WSSM & WSM Calibers Q WKH ³JRRG RœO GD\V´ ZH ZHUH DOZD\V ORRNLQJ IRU ELJJHU DQG IDVWHU JXQV EXOOHWV DQG FDUV WKHQ D FRXSOH \HDUV DJR :LQFKHVWHU EHVWRZHG RQ XV WKH :60 :LQFKHVWHU 6KRUW 0DJQXP FDOLEHUV DQG Remington introduced the RSAUM and 580 DQG VR IDU WKH :LQFKHVWHU :60 KDV been a huge success capturing a big piece of the market share.

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16 Shot of Texas Magazine™ July/August Issue 2015

Winchester thought that was so much fun that they then brought out the WSSM (Winchester Super Short Magnum) in the .223 WSSM and the .25 WSSM designations.

These are weird looking little cartridges with a large diameter case and a very short neck. I was sure that they would give me feeding trouble out of the magazine, but they really gave me no perceptible problems at all.

My first trip to the range involved a Winchester Model 70 Black Shadow .223 WSSM and a Browning A-Bolt Stainless Stalker in the .25 WSSM. I was quite impressed with the .25 WSSM using factory loads, but with Reloads there is nothing that came close to factory performance. The 115 grain Winchester AccuBond ammo was by far the best.

The .223 WSSM was a complete disappointment. The M 70 trigger was just plain ter-

rible and no amount of tinkering could get that rifle to group under 1½” which is just unacceptable, as any decent .223 caliber will always go under 1” any day.

I even tried one of Limb Saver’s new barrel vibration dampeners called a Deresanator on it since the barrel was quite thin and I thought this might help it, but sorry to say it made no difference at all.

The next one to try was the 7mm WSM also in a Winchester Model 70. Again the trigger was “poor”, but it produced pretty decent groups.

Winchester does one thing right, and that is they put plenty of powder in their factory ammo. The 150 grain Power Point load clocked in at 3134 fps, not too far behind the published velocity of 3200 fps and grouped about 1½” regularly.

The Winchester Elite Supreme ammo was very good with 160 grain AccuBonds doing 3041 fps. They had a published velocity of 3050 fps, and groups were just over an inch so they were right on the money.

Reloading the 7mm WSM did not produce any significant improvement in velocity or groups sizes. I suppose I could push the envelope, but unless I had a strain gauge on the barrel to measure pressures, I need to go by the old methods of determining max loads like looking for flattened or cratered primers, excessively hard bolt lift, and short case life.

When I look at the very flat primers on the factory ammo, I do not want to get to that point with any hand-load as there is just no room for error at that point.

With both 150 grain and 160 grain Barnes TSX bullets, Western Powders’ MAG PRO seemed to be the best performer. Both bullets stayed right at

1”and the velocities were close to the Winchester ammo.

The Barnes Reloading manual #4 lists some very good loads to work with on page 203 & 204. Give them all a try, as every rifle is a law unto itself.

One of the .300 WSM guns I tested was a Browning Stainless A-Bolt. The trigger was great, but I found that the recoil was much more than expected. The early press releases said that recoil would be less than other .300 Magnums, but I disagree as I found it to hit quite hard.

With Factory Federal 180 grain Grand Slam ammo it did quite well both in velocity and groups. The 180 grain Trophy Bear Claws were the best, with 2977 fps, and MOA groups.

With reloads I could get just 2900 fps with 180 grain Speer Hot Core bullets without serious pressure signs so I did not go any further. Using H 4350 I did get a decent load of 2888 fps and 1” groups. .270 WSM, and again it was Browning Stainless A-Bolt.

Whoa, with Winchester Factory 140 grain AccuBonds it was going 3044 fps and under 1” groups. What surprised me most about this caliber was the “lack of recoil”. This gun was a pussy cat compared to the .300 WSM. As with the other WSM’s, reloading the .270 WSM was quite fruitless. I tried several powder and bullet combos, and never did find one I liked.

Winchester must be using a “non-canister” powder unavailable to us reloaders. On pulling some apart, it is a flattened ball powder. They must be loading it right up to maximum as the primers on the factory ammo fired cases are plenty flat. Seldom would I ever reload to the point of primers getting that flat.

(I really think this powder could be the Hodgdon (Hor-

nady) Superformance powder.

Unfortunately, Hodgdon does not list any date for using it in the .270 WSM so again, one can’t duplicate the factory load.)

Now I have saved the best for last. Yep, I really found a WSM that I really like, and it is the new .325 WSM. Not only are its factory loads very good, but I even got some reloads that I liked.

Unfortunately I did not have any Winchester 200 grain AccuBond ammo to test, as that would be a great choice in this caliber, but using the 180 grain Ballistic Silvertips, they produced 3011 fps, and about 1” to 1½” groups. I pulled a few of the 180 grain Ballistic Silvertips out and replaced them with 180 grain Barnes TSX bullets.

Now I got 3022 fps and 1” groups.

The 220 grain Powder Points are quoted at 2840 fps, but I was only getting 2720 fps and barely managed to keep them under 1¾” groups.

For the sake of experimentation, I pulled some 220 Power Points, and replaced them with 200 grain Barnes TSX bullets.

This worked quite well, as I got 2788 fps, and 1” groups.

Continuing with the 200 grain TSX, I found that Hodgdon Varget was the best and it produced average velocities of just under 2800 fps, and always produced about 1” groups.

I tried slower powders like H 4350, and IMR 4831, and also some IMR 4064 but nothing was as consistent as the Varget.

Taking those pulled 220 grain bullets I proceeded to test them for velocity with by loading them with several different powders.

The fastest load was 68 grains of IMR 4831 @ 2724 fps, followed by 67 grains of H4831 @ 2674 fps, 63 grains of AA 4350 @ 2531 fps, 52 grains Varget @ 2401 fps, and 62grains of H4350 @ 2482 fps.

Coincidently, the fastest two loads also gave the best groups.

Now had an idea which way to go when I switched to some more expensive Swift 220 grain A-Frames.

I started out with 66 grains of IMR 4831 and got 2740 fps which is about right. When I went to 67 grains velocity went to 2788, but when I got to 68 grain, I could hardly get the bolt open, and velocity was up to 2840 fps. It seems that long bearing surface made a big difference. It just reminds us to always cut back when changing anything on a load.

I ended up using 63 grains of AA 4350 for 2642 fps as the best grouping load with the 220 grain Swift A-Frames.

As much as I would have liked to get 2700+, I doubt if any Wildebeest or Elk will ever know the difference of 100 fps when I that 220 grain bullet hits him.

Hornady makes a beautiful 195 grain Inter Lock Pointed Soft point that really would make a nice Deer & Elk bullet, or even use it on Plains Game in Africa.

When I loaded it with 59 grains of Varget I got 2862 fps with 1” groups quite consistently.

Of all the WSM’s, I certainly by far prefer the .325 WSM, but perhaps that is because it echoes performance of the .338 Winchester Magnum. I certainly like the Browning A-Bolt Stainless as feeding was flawless and the recoil not has harsh as anticipated.

Feel free to write Terry anytime at tblauwkamp@supeerior-sales.com if you need any help with loads or bullets.

(Disclaimer…….The author is in no way responsible for the load data mentioned, the user is reminded to use them at his own risk and to start low and work up)

July/August Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazine™ 17

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Why would so many otherwise intelligent, sane people be so fond of Hillary Clinton?

By Shamus Dartanyon

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Is it because it’s “her turn� to be presiGHQW" 7KH PHGLD VHHPV WR WKLQN VR , didn’t know the presidency was a game that we were all waiting in line to play in.

If it was a black man’s turn to be president last two times, just because he was black, and Hillary’s turn next time because she’s a woman, does that mean the president after Hillary has to be a gay Latino, or D YHJDQ $VLDQ" 6HULRXVO\ ZKDWœV QH[W" Choosing our president solely on the color of their skin or their genitalia or sexual orientation is no basis by which to elect WKH OHDGHU RI WKH IUHH ZRUOG 2U LV LW" $QG by asking that question does that make PH D UDFLVW PLVRJ\QLVWLF KRPRSKREH" Have we become such a hopelessly divided electorate that it’s simply us against WKHP" 6R PXFK VR WKDW , GRQœW FDUH LI my guy or gal (SEXIST!) is a total lying scumbag, they’re my guy or gal (SEXIST!) and I will vote them regardless, just as long as the other guy or gal (MISOGYNIST!) does not get elected because God (RELIGIOUS FREAK! 8QOHVV RI FRXUVH \RXœUH UHIHUULQJ WR $OODK) knows that if we don’t win, life as we know it will come to a screeching halt.

Same goes for the Republicans (aka Haters). What would make someone like Jeb Bush think that just because his dad and brother had held the ofÂżFH KH LV VRPHKRZ GXH" )RU *RGÂśV (RELIGIOUS FREAK! 8QOHVV RI FRXUVH \RXÂśUH UHIHUULQJ WR $OODK) sake the man actually is a fan of Common Core, and is on board with the global warming, aka climate change, aka global cooling or as I call them, the human = bad crowd. Can you say ReSXEOLFDQ LQ QDPH RQO\" What happened to having candidates ZKR FDQ KDYH DQ KRQHVW GLVFRXUVH" What happened to them debating the issues and the one with the best ideas ZLQV" 8QIRUWXQDWHO\ WKDWÂśV DOO DQFLHQW

history. It’s not about ideas anymore it’s about if you disagree with a candidates position you are relegated to being nothing but a (insert label here) ist! Unless of course you’re a white Republican man, then it’s fair game to call you and your family anything. Or God (WESTBORO BAPTIST PSYCHOTIC!) help you if you’re a black Republican (aka Uncle Tom) or a Republican woman (aka Stepford Wife), or a black Republican woman (queue the left going apoplectic here).

We need some new candidates’ folks.

Let’s start with the left. How about Bernie Sanders, who I actually respect.

GASP! Now I still think he’s wrong on 99.99% of the issues, but at least he’s honest. For God’s (AHHHHHHHH +($' 63,11,1* XQOHVV RI FRXUVH \RXœUH UHIHUULQJ WR $OODK) sake, he’s a self-declared unapologetic Socialist.

He wants to tax the rich 90% or more to pay for free stuff for all the poor and downtrodden. But at least we know what we’re dealing with. But even he still gets a pass from the media. If a white Republican man would have written that all women fantasize about being gang raped (like Bernie did) his candidacy would have lasted approximately 20 seconds. Not old Bernie though. He was young you guys, come on!

On the right sight of the spectrum how about Scott Walker, (Uneducated union EXVWHU RU 0DUFR 5XELR 7UDIÂżF VFRIĂ€DZ DQG ÂżQDQFLDO LQFRPSHWHQW %RWK RI WKHVH guys have great stories to tell and great accomplishments.

Start with Rubio. By all accounts a WUXH VWRU\ RI WKH $PHULFDQ 'UHDP 7KH son of Cuban immigrants escaping Communism, his dad worked hourly jobs to support his son and help get him educated and he does good; Law

22 Shot of Texas Magazine™ July/August Issue 2015

School, State Government, U.S. Senate and now presidential candidate. He would be a dream candidate for the left, but unfortunately for them he is a ReSXEOLFDQ $QG VLQFH KH LV D KDWH ¿OOHG right winger the media has to destroy him but so far all they can dig up is that KH KDSSHQHG WR JHW WUDI¿F WLFNHWV LQ years, and his wife even more. This is what passes today for credible journalism on the front page of the New York Times! Hell, (PSYCHO CRISTIAN CONCEPT), at least Rubio drives a car, Hillary hasn’t driven a car since the 90’s (she admitted it herself) but yet she’s supposed to represent us Regular Joes (:K\ GLG \RX XVH D PDOH QDPH KHUH" WAR ON WOMEN!).

7KHQ WKHUH LV WKH ÂżQDQFLDO VFDQGDO Brace yourself but Rubio actually strugJOHG ÂżQDQFLDOO\ DIWHU ODZ VFKRRO DQG KDG the audacity to actually lose money on a real estate investment. Then after receiving an $800K pay day for his book, he pays off his debt and buys an $80,000 boat! EVIL! Pure unadulterated EVIL! Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton makes $250K per hour to give speeches, lives in a mansion and takes millions upon millions of dollars from countries that subjugate woman and hang homosexuals and she’s still the champion of woman and gays. Hmmm, double standard DQ\ERG\" ,I 5XELR ZHUH D 'HPRFUDW and subject to this kind of petty scrutiny, you know someone would scream “ANTI – HISPANICâ€?!

Bring in Wisconsin Governor Scott :DONHU +H QHYHU ÂżQLVKHG FROOHJH Obviously a â&#x20AC;&#x153;dumb assâ&#x20AC;? according to VRPH SURPLQHQW 'HPRFUDWV <RX NQRZ them, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re the party that goes to Ivy League schools that 99% of this country could not afford to send their kids, yet theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re somehow supposed to represent the regular folks.

Or letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s look at his record as Governor of Wisconsin and that states inFUHGLEOH ÂżQDQFLDO WXUQDURXQG EHFDXVH RI KLV OHDGHUVKLS DQG ÂżJKW DJDLQVW FRUrupt and greedy union bosses (QRWH , VDLG ERVVHV DQG QRW ZRUNHUV). The VWDWH LV LQ EHWWHU ÂżQDQFLDO VKDSH WKDQ itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been in decades, but according to the media, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s anti-worker. So If he is so anti-worker and unions supposedly hate him so much, someone please explain to me how in a â&#x20AC;&#x153;unionâ&#x20AC;? state won by Obama twice, he was elected, survived a recall election and then reHOHFWHG DJDLQ DOO LQVLGH IRXU \HDUV" Also since Wisconsin made it illegal for public unions to mandate member-

ship and union dues being deducted from workersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; paychecks, why have SXEOLF XQLRQ FRIIHUV FROODSVHG" , PHDQ if unions are so good, then the workers would gladly pay their fair share RI GXHV ULJKW" 1RW VR PXFK 6LQFH they arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t â&#x20AC;&#x153;requiredâ&#x20AC;? to pay their dues, they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. Says a lot about how great the workers think the unions are doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t it. But question not you lowly worker because you have to remember, they (Union bosses and liberal 'HPRFUDWV DUH VPDUWHU WKDQ \RX DQG know what is best for you, so shut up and get back on that picket line.

6R OHWÂśV VXP WKLV XS VKDOO ZH" Being a Rich Republican (Romney)

%$' 0DGH KLV PRQH\ RQ WKH EDFNV of others.

Being a Rich Democrat (Clinton) *22' 0DNHV . SHU KRXU IRU D speech but can relate to the common man.

Being a Poor Republican (Rubio) %$' &DQQRW EH H[SHFWHG WR PDQage the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s finances if he canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t manage his own.

Being a Poor Democrat (Sanders) = *22' %HFDXVH 6RFLDOLVP LV DZHVRPH

Got that straight? Good, now be good little minions and pay no attention to that man in a turban or that Russian giving millions to the Clintons. It doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t concern you, just be sure to vote Democrat!

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In 2003, several Halliburton Baroid employees organized a sporting clays tournament WR EHQHČ´W D IHOORZ HPSOR\HH ZKRVH IDPLO\ VDYLQJV KDG EHHQ depleted by several serious and H[SHQVLYH VXUJHULHV 7KH HYHQW UDLVHG DQG ZDV FRQVLGHUHG D KXJH VXFFHVV 7KDW JRRG deed turned into a movement WKDW FUHDWHG WKH QRQ SURČ´W RUJDQL]DWLRQ NQRZQ DV 2LOČ´HOG +HOSLQJ +DQGV 2++

24 Shot of Texas Magazineâ&#x201E;˘ July/August Issue 2015

7RGD\ WKH QRQ SURÂżW RUJDQL]DWLRQ KDV FRQWULEXWHG RYHU PLOOLRQ LQ IXQGV WR DVVLVW LQGLYLGXDOV DQG IDPLOLHV LQ WKH RLOÂżHOG FRPPXQLW\ ZKR DUH LQ ÂżQDQFLDO FULVLV WKURXJK QR IDXOW RI WKHLU RZQ :KDW VWDUWHG RXW as one clay shoot has now grown into a dedicated team of members, volunteers and corporate sponsors who manage 14 annual fundraising HYHQWV WKURXJKRXW ÂżYH FKDSWHUV QDWLRQZLGH â&#x20AC;&#x153;We wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be where we are today if those Halliburton volunteers hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t looked beyond their event,â&#x20AC;? said OHH President Gary Brooks. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We understand that times are tough and we consider it an honor to be able to step in and help out where we can.â&#x20AC;?

OHH raises money through donations, corporate memberships and fundraising events.

(DFK \HDU WKH RUJDQL]DWLRQ KRVWV VSRUWLQJ FOD\ JROI DQG ÂżVKLQJ WRXUnaments, among other fun events. Upstream O&G operators and service company sponsors, and others donate money and items for door prizes and auctions as well as contribute to the success of the events by EHLQJ VSRQVRUV 7KHLU ÂżQDQFLDO VXSSRUW GHIHUV RSHUDWLRQ H[SHQVHV IRU each event, helping to net the highest percentage of proceeds to assist families.

Individual OHH membership is free. Active members participate in fundraising events, attend monthly luncheon meetings and sponsor TXDOLÂżHG DSSOLFDQWV WKDW QHHG DVVLVWDQFH 1RW RQO\ DUH PHPEHUV XSGDWHG RQ XSFRPLQJ HYHQWV EXW WKH\ KHDU ÂżUVW KDQG VWRULHV RI ZKHUH 2++ funds are being distributed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hearing how something as simple as a clay shoot helped pay for a little girlâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s medical bills or provided funds to help re-build a home after D QDWXUDO GLVDVWHU LV LPSDFWIXO ´ VDLG %URRNV Âł7KH RLOÂżHOG LV D FRPmunity of special people. And we will always help those who need it.â&#x20AC;?

To learn more about how you can start an OHH chapter in your area or to join as an individual member, visit the organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website at ZZZ RLOÂżHOGKHOSLQJKDQGV RUJ

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July/August Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazine™ 25

Elk Meat for the Freezer

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RWV RI HON IDEXORXVO\ EHDXWLIXO PRXQWDLQV D ORGJH ÂżW IRU UR\DOW\ DQG WKH IRRG is even better! Sound like something you PLJKW EH LQWHUHVWHG LQ /DUU\"´ DVNHG -LP 0F&DUWK\ ZLWK a smile. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one of the best places to shoot a legal elk in all of Colorado.â&#x20AC;?

â&#x20AC;&#x153;It would be rather unwise to pass on such an opportunity. Wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t it!â&#x20AC;? said I smiling back at my old friend! â&#x20AC;&#x153;If I do the hunt, will you be able to join me?â&#x20AC;? I had a pretty good idea Jim would. Over the years through his Jim McCarthy Adventures, Jim has booked hunts for me from the northern reaches of Alaska and Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Northwest Territories to the South Texas Brush Country, to the jess of Zimbabwe and many points in between

throughout North America and Africa. Jim had been at my side when I shot my 58 inch long, 52 inch wide greater kudu and my ancient â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dugga boyâ&#x20AC;? Cape buffalo on Zimbabweâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Save Conservancy as well as when Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve rattled up Brush Country whitetails and hunted monster bull caribou in the cold wet deserts of the North. To say I trusted Jim booking hunts for me would be a huge understatement! He has never lead me astray.

26 Shot of Texas Magazineâ&#x201E;˘ July/August Issue 2015

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s called the Motherwell Ranch and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just outside Hayden, Colorado. Clay Owens is the head guide and hunt manager. I used to book hunts on another ranch Clay oversaw. He did a great job there. Clay told me the Motherwell is a much better ranch for hunting. (Clay has since moved to set up his own guiding business.) For the hunt to happen youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got to get in touch with him and make arrangements

for your elk license and tag. Don’t have his phone number with me, but I’ll email it to you later this evening. Contact him tomorrow.” said Jim As we were about to part company he asked, “Remember that evening you shot the big kudu across the Save River and we waded the croc-infested, waist deep water for about 30 yards?”

“Remember? .... I did my best to walk on top of the water act ever. We had seen a bunch of crocs down river from where we crossed. And if you will remember, the trackers crossed the river about five minutes before us carrying meat from my kudu, dripping blood in the water. It was almost as if they were trying to lure crocs up river!

How could I forget?” I responded almost breaking out in a cold sweat remembering those anxious minutes. Jim laughed.

“We won’t have to deal with crocs in Colorado...” said a grinning McCarthy as he started out the door. “Will send you the license info. Work on your license later tonight, call Clay and he’ll get it taken care of for you, if you can’t get it done yourself.”

I had previously hunted the mountains near Hayden, Colorado mostly for Rocky Mountain mule deer. I knew the area around Hayden held a huge elk population that increased once heavy snows in the higher country force elk down the mountain into the area of the Motherwell Ranch. I also knew the region only occasionally produced outsized bulls, but it was almost a slam dunk place to take a nice 5 by 5 or small 6 by 6. That suited me perfectly. The year before I had taken a near 400 class 6 x 6 bull in another area of Colorado. This trip I was more interested in taking a nice bull that would fill my freezer. After all, I had numerous sizable elk racks on my wall, and really didn’t have room for another shoulder mount bull elk, even though I love mounts by The Wildlife Gallery. If I was fortunate to take a bull, I planned to turn his rack into handles and grips for some hunting knives I helped design. Meat in the freezer and antlers for knives was my current goal.

Prior to flying to Hayden I spent time on Tim Fallon’s FTW Ranch and their SAAM (Sportsman All Weather All Terrain Marksmanship) ranges with my Ruger Model 77 Hawkeye .375 Ruger African rifle, topped with a Zeiss Conquest variable scope and shooting Hornady’s 300 grain DGX ammo, which my .375 Ruger rifles loves in terms of accuracy. I also knew how well that partic-

ular bullet performs on game! By the time I flew to Colorado I also knew exactly where my bullets would strike a target at 100, 200, 300 and 400 yards.

We landed in Hayden during a snow storm and were greeted by Clay Owens and Brian Gardner, the ranch’s general manager. We quickly loaded our gear into the back of their pickups and headed toward the Motherwell Ranch’s luxurious lodge. Before driving up the mountain to the lodge we stopped in the valley to make certain my rifle was still properly sighted in after the plane ride. It was. If if missed an elk, there was no way I could blame it on my Ruger, Zeiss, Hornady combination!

Camp indeed proved to be an unbelievably beautiful, huge, 3 story lodge. But unlike some such lodges, there was a “homey” feeling about it.

My cameraman, Derek Harris, and I shared a room which was much more like a penthouse suite! Derek was there to film the hunt for my “DSC’s Trailing the Hunter’s Moon” television show, which aired on the Sportsman Channel.

First day as the second day we saw a lot of elk. We stalked several but simply couldn’t catch up with them. Doing so we walked through knee deep snow in some of the finest elk country in North America. We also saw tracks of mule deer and black bear.

Driving to some of the lower country after more snow up high, we spotted two really big bulls moving fast along the top of a distant ridge weaving in and out junipers. I could tell the bigger bull was an extremely nice 6 by 6. I guessed he would score in the 300 to 310 range. The other was a long-tined, massive beamed 5 x 5.

He actually interested me more than the 6 by 6. He likely would score about the same.

They disappeared. Clay suggested we head down slope and try to get ahead of them and set up an ambush. And, if that didn’t work we would head back up to the edge of the high country to pick up their tracks and trail them.

We did try to cut them off. But, it didn’t work. We went back to the ridge where we had seen them, and looked for their spoor.

We didn’t find their tracks. We walked back to the pickup then drove back up the hill and found where they had crossed a road. We left the truck there and followed their tracks down hill. We tracked them for over a mile.

We walked very slowly. As we got to the edge of a series of parks we spotted an elk ahead of us. It was a cow. Another cow and then a small 5 x 5 bull, more cows and a 4 x 5 bull seemed to pop up in the oak brush all around us. We were in the middle of a herd. Clay smiled and motioned to sit down and wait. We really didn’t have a lot of choices. If we kept moving ahead there was no doubt we would spook the herd.

So we simply waited and glassed. Off in the distance we spotted a large herd of elk which held several bulls. “No way to get to them this evening is there?” I asked.

“Noo, and that herd is in what we call our sanctuary. No hunting allowed there.

Probably one of the numerous reasons we have so many elk on the ranch is that we have set aside certain areas as no hunting zones where the elk feel safe. They seem to know exactly where the boundaries are.” He hesitated when the closest cow elk, started walking closer to where we were hidden. When she turned to the left and walked away, he continued, “We’ll stick tight here till dark. Tomorrow morning we’ll head toward that herd in our no hunting zone. If they do as other herds sometimes do, they’ll likely cross out of it tonight to feed. There’s a good chance we can catch one of those bigger five by bulls out of the safe zone.”

It was a long walk back to the vehicle.

Chef Jake Bocco outdid himself again that night. I ate enough steak, grilled asparagus, baked potato topped off with cherry pie ala mode for four people. Sleep came grudgingly mostly because I had eaten far more than I should have! No way I could sleep face down that night!

Late that night I thought of past elk hunts including bulls I’d taken in the ProphetMuskwa area of British Columbia, where I had taken two several years apart, one a very nice 6 x 6 and the other a 6 x5. Both those hunts had been strenuous to say the least culminating many days in the saddle and many walks up and down hills. On one of those hunts, while leading two pack horses I was literally jerked out of the saddle, and fell, so my left foot stayed hung up in the stirrup and my right foot and angle somehow ended up directly under the horses hind foot. When I looked up at the horse, it seemed he smiled as he ground my ankle into the rocks beneath it. At that moment I thought horseflesh should sell very cheaply!

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July/August Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazine™ 27

s y u G

Rob Kahn

Oven baked Cabrito (Goats Head) The truth about this recipe is that 499 out of 500 liked it.

Admittedly I do not let newcomers see me prepare the dish as it tends to make it less palatable. This is cabrito (young goat head) and you can buy it at your local grocery store.

The recipe is simple: â&#x20AC;&#x201C; One frozen goat head wrapped heavily in foil. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Place it in the oven in a foil pan with sides as it will drip place in the oven at 225° for 7 to 9 hours. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s it.

Pull the meat off with a fork, finely chop it and you ready for the tortilla. ( Yes you can leave the eyeballs off). Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget your favorite salsa or pico de gallo and a bit of salt.

If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re brave enough you will enjoy this.

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DISASTER EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS -XQH WR 1RYHPEHU

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he Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recommends Emergency planning and a Disaster Preparedness >ŝƐƚ ĚƵƌŝŶŐ ĂŶ ĞŵĞƌŐĞŶĐLJ ŇŽŽĚ͕ ĮƌĞ͕ ĞĂƌƚŚƋƵĂŬĞ͕ ƚŽƌŶĂĚŽ ĂŶĚ ŚƵƌƌŝĐĂŶĞƐ ǁŝƚŚ ĂĚĚƌĞƐƐ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ĐĂƌĞ ŽĨ ƉĞƚƐ͕ ĂŝĚŝŶŐ ĨĂŵŝůLJ ĂŶĚ ŶĞŝŐŚďŽƌŚŽŽĚ ŵĞŵďĞƌƐ ĂŶĚ ƐĂĨĞůLJ ƐŚƵƫŶŐ Žī ƵƟůŝƟĞƐ͘ ŝƐĐƵƐƐ ĂŶĚ ƉƌĂĐƟĐĞ ƚŚĞ ĞŵĞƌŐĞŶĐLJ ƉůĂŶ ƚǁŝĐĞ Ă LJĞĂƌ ǁŝƚŚ ƵƉĚĂƚĞƐ ǁŝƚŚ ĨĂŵŝůLJ ŵĞŵďĞƌƐ͘ ŽŶĚƵĐƚ ĞŵĞƌŐĞŶĐLJ ƉůĂŶƐ Ăƚ ǁŽƌŬ͕ ĚĂLJĐĂƌĞ ĂŶĚ ƐĐŚŽŽů͘ /Ĩ ŶŽ ƉůĂŶƐ ĞdžŝƐƚ͕ ǀŽůƵŶƚĞĞƌ ƚŽ ŚĞůƉ ĐƌĞĂƚĞ ŽŶĞ͘ ĞƉĂƌƚŵĞŶƚ ŽĨ ,ŽŵĞůĂŶĚ ^ĞĐƵƌŝƚLJ͕ ŝĚĞŶƟĨLJ ĮǀĞ ƚLJƉĞƐ ŽĨ ƚĞƌƌŽƌŝƐƚ ĂƩĂĐŬƐ͕ ŚĞŵŝĐĂů͕ ŝŽůŽŐŝĐĂů͕ ZĂĚŝŽůŽŐŝĐĂů͕ EƵĐůĞĂƌ͕ ĂŶĚ / ĂƩĂĐŬƐ͘ Top Disaster Preparedness List ͻ KŶĞ ŐĂůůŽŶ ŽĨ ǁĂƚĞƌ Λ ƉĞƌƐŽŶ Λ ĚĂLJ ĨŽƌ ƚŚƌĞĞ ĚĂLJƐ͕ ĨŽƌ ĚƌŝŶŬŝŶŐ ĂŶĚ ƐĂŶŝƚĂƟŽŶ ͻ dŚƌĞĞͲĚĂLJ ƐƵƉƉůLJ ŽĨ ŶŽŶͲƉĞƌŝƐŚĂďůĞ ĨŽŽĚ͕ ĐŽƵŐŚ ĚƌŽƉƐ ƚŽ ŵĂŬĞ LJŽƵƌ ŵŽƵƚŚ ǁĞƚ ĂŶĚ ƵƐĞ ůĞƐƐ ůŝƋƵŝĚƐ ͻ ĂƩĞƌLJͲƉŽǁĞƌĞĚͬŚĂŶĚ ĐƌĂŶŬ ƌĂĚŝŽ ͻ &ůĂƐŚůŝŐŚƚ͕ ďĂƩĞƌŝĞƐ • First aid kit ͻ ,LJŐŝĞŶĞ ŝƚĞŵƐ͕ ƚŽŽƚŚ ďƌƵƐŚ͕ ƉĂƐƚĞ͕ ŝŽĚŝŶĞ͕ ǁĞƚ ƚŽŝůĞƚƌŝĞƐ͕ ĂůĐŽŚŽů͕ ƚŽŝůĞƚ ƉĂƉĞƌ͕ ďĂŶĚͲĂŝĚĞƐ͕ ĂŶƟͲďŝŽƟĐ͕ ƉůĂƐƟĐ ďĂŐƐ ͻ ƵƐƚ ŵĂƐŬ͕ ƉůĂƐƟĐ ƐŚĞĞƟŶŐ͕ ĂŶĚ ĚƵĐƚ ƚĂƉĞ ƚŽ ŚĞůƉ ĮůƚĞƌ ĐŽŶƚĂŵŝŶĂƚĞĚ Ăŝƌ ĂŶĚ ŝŶƐƵůĂƚĞ ƐŚĞůƚĞƌ • Manual can opener ͻ Ğůů ƉŚŽŶĞ ǁŝƚŚ ĐŚĂƌŐĞƌƐ͕ ŝŶǀĞƌƚĞƌ Žƌ ƐŽůĂƌ charger ͻ >ŝƐƚ ŽĨ ĨĂŵŝůLJ ƉŚŽŶĞ ŶƵŵďĞƌƐ ĂŶĚ ŶĞŝŐŚďŽƌƐ ĂŶĚ ŝŶĨŽƌŵ ƚŚĞŵ ĐŽŶƟŶƵŽƵƐůLJ ͻ >ŝƐƚ ŽĨ ŚŽƐƉŝƚĂůƐ͕ ƐŚĞůƚĞƌƐ͕ ƉŽůŝĐĞ ĚĞƉĂƌƚŵĞŶƚƐ͕ ƌĞĚ ĐƌŽƐƐ ĐĞŶƚĞƌƐ

ͻ 'ĂƐ ĮůůĞĚ ĐĂƌ ŵĞĐŚĂŶŝĐĂůůLJ ǁĞůů͘ • Set of dry clothes ͻ h^ Ăůů LJŽƵƌ ůĂƉƚŽƉ ŝŶĨŽƌŵĂƟŽŶ aand mail it to your address or to your ƉƉŽƐƚĂů ďŽdž ŶƵŵďĞƌ͘ ,ŽƵƐĞŚŽůĚ ƵŶŝƚ ƉƌĞƉĂƌĂƟŽŶƐ͗ ͻ Ž ŶŽƚ ůĞĂǀĞ ůŽŽƐĞ LJĂƌĚ ŝƚĞŵƐ ͻ ^ƚĂLJ ĂǁĂLJ ĨƌŽŵ ǁŝŶĚŽǁƐ ͬ ĚŽŽƌƐ ͻ dĂƉĞ ŐůĂƐƐ ƚŽ ĂǀŽŝĚ ŇLJŝŶŐ ƐŚĂƩĞƌĞĚ ŐůĂƐƐ ͻ Ž ŶŽƚ ďĂƚŚ ĚƵƌŝŶŐ ƚŚƵŶĚĞƌ ĂŶĚ ůŝŐŚƚŶŝŶŐ ĂƐ ůŝŐŚƚŶŝŶŐ ƚƌĂǀĞůƐ ƚŚƌŽƵŐŚ ƉŝƉĞƐ ĂŶĚ ǁŝƌĞƐ͘ ͻ ƫĐƐ͗ ŝĨ ŵŽƌĞ ƚŚĂŶ ϱ ŶĂŝůƐ ŵŝƐƐĞĚ ƚŚĞ ƐƚƵĚƐ ǁŝƚŚŝŶ Ă ϭϬ ĨŽŽƚ ƐƉĂĐĞ͕ ƚŚĞŶ ďƌĂĐĞ ƐƚƵĚƐ ĂŶĚ ďĞĂŵƐ ǁŝƚŚ > ƐŚĂƉĞĚ ďƌĂĐŬĞƚƐ ĂŶĚ ƌĞŝŶĨŽƌĐĞ ŝƚ ǁŝƚŚ ƐŝůŝĐŽŶĞ ŝŶƐƵůĂƟŽŶƐ ĂŶĚ ĚƵĐƚ ƚĂƉĞ͘ ͻ ZĂŝƐĞ ĨƵƌŶŝƚƵƌĞ ǁŝƚŚ ďůŽĐŬƐ ĨŽƌ ƉŽƐƐŝďůĞ ŇŽŽĚƐ WĂƚƌŽŶŝnjĞ ƚŚĞƐĞ ŵĂŐĂnjŝŶĞ͛Ɛ ĂĚǀĞƌƟƐĞƌƐ͘ ĨƌĂŝŶ EƵŶĞnj DĂƌƚŝŶĞnj ŚĂƐ Ă ĂĐŚĞůŽƌ ŽĨ ^ĐŝĞŶĐĞ ĞŐƌĞĞ͕ DĂƐƚĞƌ ZĞĂů ƐƚĂƚĞ͕ ĞĂƌŶĞĚ ĚŽnjĞŶƐ ŽĨ ŝƐĂƐƚĞƌ ŵĞƌŐĞŶĐLJ ĞƌƚŝĨŝĐĂƚŝŽŶƐ ĂŶĚ ŝƐ Ă ĨŽƌŵĞƌ ϭϯ LJĞĂƌ & D ĨĞĚĞƌĂů ͬ ĐŝǀŝůŝĂŶ ĞŵƉůŽLJĞĞ ,ŽƵƐĞ ĂŵĂŐĞ /ŶƐƉĞĐƚŽƌ ĂŶĚ ƐƵďͲ ĐŽŶƚƌĂĐƚŽƌ ĞdžƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞĚ ǁŝƚŚ ϭϰ ĚŝƐĂƐƚĞƌƐ ƐƵĐŚ ĂƐ ,ƵƌƌŝĐĂŶĞƐ ŚĂƌůŝĞ͕ &ƌĂŶĐĞƐ͕ :ĞĂŶŝĞ ĂŶĚ /ǀĂŶ͘ Dƌ͘ DĂƌƚŝŶĞnj ŝƐ ĂůƐŽ Ă ĨŽƌŵĞƌ ϭϯ LJĞĂƌ ĨĞĚĞƌĂů ͬ ĐŝǀŝůŝĂŶ ĞŵƉůŽLJĞĞ ^ŵĂůů ƵƐŝŶĞƐƐ ĚŵŝŶŝƐƚƌĂƚŝŽŶ ;^ Ϳ ŽŶƐƚƌƵĐƚŝŽŶ ŶĂůLJƐƚ ĞdžƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞĚ ǁŝƚŚ ,ƵƌƌŝĐĂŶĞƐ ^ĂŶĚLJ͕ <ĂƚƌŝŶĂ͕ /ŬĞ͕ 'ƵƐƚĂǀ ĂŶĚ ŐĞŶƚͲŝŶͲĐŚĂƌŐĞ ŽĨ KŬůĂŚŽŵĂ͛Ɛ ϮϬϬϱ tŝůĚĨŝƌĞƐ͘

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wayne is an avid outdoorsman just like the rest of us in Oil & Gas, Petrochem and Pipeline. His restaurant Southern Comfort Kitchern in LaPorte has the best homemade biscuits I have ever WDVWHG 'ZD\QH DQG KLV ZLIH %HFN\ acquired Southern Comfort Restaurant in 2011 and have developed an amazing array of dishes taken from his own family recipes. The restaurant is decorated like a hunting lodge and sports some amazing trophies from around the world. Catering jobs have poured in and he routinely can

ƐŬ ĨŽƌ Ă ĨƌĞĞ ĐŽŶĮĚĞŶƟĂů ;ƐĂĨĞƚLJ ƚŽƉŝĐ ŽĨ LJŽƵƌ ĐŚŽŝĐĞͿ ĐŽŶƐƵůƚĂƟŽŶ ƚŽ ƌĞĂĚĞƌƐ͘ Ăůů Ăƚ 956-342-6640 or ŵĂƌƟŶĞnjĞŵĂƌƟΛĂŽů͘ĐŽŵ͘ LIKE us on &ĂĐĞŬ͘

MEET OUR NEW hunting consultant

6KRW RI 7H[DV 0DJD]LQH is proud to introduce Russell Selle of Russell Selle

Meet owner Dwayne Spann.

Custom Hunts as our new ProStaff Hunting Consultant. Since 1986 he has been a full-time hunting

FRQVXOWDQW DUUDQJLQJ ¿UVW class hunts to over 30 countries worldwide. We welcome his expertise and are thrilled to have him aboard. Russell brings with him an outstanding network of hundreds of WKH ¿ QHVW RXW¿ WWHUV LQ WKH world. He has helped thousands of clients worldwide and now he’s here for you, our readers. I realized a long time ago that sifting WKURXJK KXQGUHGV RI RXW¿ tters on the Internet or at hunting shows is simply too much work with too much risk. With Russell as part of our Pro staff you can rest assured that all of the legwork has been done for you. Email Russell at KXQWV#DVKRWRIWH[DV QHW

handle meals from 100 up to 5000 or more guests. It’s also a good place to pick up the latest copy of A Shot of Texas Magazine.

Call Dwayne at 713-822-4656.

Tell him you found him here and receive a free A Shot of Texas Game Guard Cap us.

July/August Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazine™ 29

Corpus Christi Police Athletic League (CC-PAL) Valero-Bill Greehey Refineries

5th Annual

Charity Dove Hunt â&#x20AC;&#x201C;

October 3, 2015

Sponsorship Opportunities Gold Sponsor $5,000 16 tickets to event UDIĘ?H WLFNHWV Company name in all publicity and event signage

Silver Sponsor $2,500 8 tickets to event UDIĘ?H WLFNHWV Company name in all publicity and event signage

Bronze Sponsor $1,000 \4 tickets to event UDIĘ?H WLFNHWV Company recognition at event

Event Tickets: $100 per person â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Admits One Tickets will feature all you can eat, drink, dove hunting, skeet & trap shooting throughout the day Checks Payable: Corpus Christi Police Athletic League (CC-PAL) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Tax ID #42-1554287

30 Shot of Texas Magazineâ&#x201E;˘ July/August Issue 2015

Note: Please RSVP by returning this commitment form and your payment to Patsy Benchoff, Valero, P. O. Box 9370, Corpus Christi, TX 78469 or by email patsy.benchoff@valero.com.

For any questions, please contact Patsy Benchoff w/Valero @ 361-289-3104; Sgt. David Morris @ 361-533-5407 and/or Dennis Havel w/Valero @ 361-815-4340.

GULF FISHING MAKES for a Great Day at Sea

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ishing that looks just like the Andy *ULI¿WK 6KRZ FDQ PDNH IRU D JRRG day. Taking a boat out on the Gulf of Mexico for a saltwater catch is even better. tŚĞŶ ŵŽƐƚ ŽĨ ƵƐ ƚŚŝŶŬ ŽĨ ŐŽŝŶŐ ĮƐŚŝŶŐ͕ ǁĞ ƚĞŶĚ ƚŽ ƉŝĐƚƵƌĞ Ă ĐƌĞĞŬ Žƌ Ă ƉŽŶĚ Žƌ ĨĂŝƌůLJ ůĂnjLJ͕ ƐŵĂůů ƌŝǀĞƌ ǁŝƚŚ Ă ĨĂƚŚĞƌ ĂŶĚ ƐŽŶ ƐŝƫŶŐ ŽŶ Ă ĨĂůůĞŶ ůŽŐ͘ KĚĚůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ ǀŝƐŝŽŶ ŝƐ ŝŶ ďůĂĐŬ ĂŶĚ ǁŚŝƚĞ͘ dŚĞ ĨĂƚŚĞƌ ĂŶĚ ƐŽŶ ďĞĂƌ Ă ƐƚƌŝŬŝŶŐ ƌĞƐĞŵďůĂŶĐĞ ƚŽ ŶĚLJ 'ƌŝĸƚŚ and Ron Howard. The scene ĞǀŽŬĞƐ Ă ŬŝŶĚ ŽĨ ŶŽƐƚĂůŐŝĂ ĨŽƌ ĚĂLJƐ ŐŽŶĞ ďLJ͕ ĞǀĞŶ ŝĨ LJŽƵ have never spent a day in the woods in your life. dŚĞ ƚƌƵƚŚ ŝƐ͕ Ă ŐƌĞĂƚ ŵĂŶLJ ƉĞŽƉůĞ ĮƐŚ ƚŚĂƚ ǁĂLJ ĞǀĞƌLJ ǁĞĞŬĞŶĚ͘ dŚĞƌĞ ĂƌĞ ĨĂŵŝůŝĞƐ͕ ŐŝƌůƐ ĂŶĚ ǁŽŵĞŶ ŝŶcluded, who have their own ƚƌĂĚŝƟŽŶƐ ĂŶĚ ĨĂǀŽƌŝƚĞ ƐƉŽƚƐ to drop a line. Some have ĐĂŵƉƐ ŶĞĂƌ Ă ůĂŬĞ Žƌ Ă ďĂLJŽƵ͘ ^ŽŵĞ ŐŽ ŵŝůĞƐ ĂŶĚ ŵŝůĞƐ from home to visit a wellloved spot once a year.

Whether or not you have ĞǀĞƌ ƐƉĞŶƚ ĂŶ ĂŌĞƌŶŽŽŶ Žƌ͕ more accurately, very early ŵŽƌŶŝŶŐ ŚŽƉŝŶŐ ƚŽ ĐĂƚĐŚ ĚŝŶŶĞƌ͕ LJŽƵ ŵĂLJ ŽŶůLJ ƚŚŝŶŬ ŽĨ Ă freshwater feast at the end of a successful day. You may not ever have considered ƚĂŬŝŶŐ Ă ďŽĂƚ ŽƵƚ ŝŶƚŽ ŽƉĞŶ water in search of seafood that prefers saltwater to fresh.

The Gulf of Mexico is a rich source of seafood for the enƟƌĞ hŶŝƚĞĚ ^ƚĂƚĞƐ ŽĨ ŵĞƌŝca. The Gulf Coast supports ŵƵůƟͲŐĞŶĞƌĂƟŽŶĂů͕ ĨĂŵŝůLJ ŽǁŶĞĚ ĮƐŚŝŶŐ ďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐĞƐ͘ /ƚ ĂůƐŽ ŽīĞƌƐ ƐƉĞĐƚĂĐƵůĂƌ ŽƉƉŽƌƚƵŶŝƟĞƐ ĨŽƌ ŶŽŶͲƉƌŽĨĞƐƐŝŽŶĂů ĮƐŚĞƌŵĞŶ ƚŽ ƐƉĞŶĚ Ă

day at sea. Boat rentals and ŐƵŝĚĞƐ ĂƌĞ ĂǀĂŝůĂďůĞ ƚŚƌŽƵŐŚout coastal Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. &ŽƌŐĞƚ DŽďLJ ŝĐŬ ĂŶĚ ĂƉtain Ahab’s elusive white ǁŚĂůĞ͘ &ŽƌŐĞƚ :ĂǁƐ ĂŶĚ ŝƚƐ ŝŵƉƌĞƐƐŝǀĞ ŵĞĐŚĂŶŝĐĂů ƐŚĂƌŬ͘ ĚĂLJ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ŐƵůĨ͕ ƌĞůĂdžŝŶŐ ŽŶ Ă ďŽĂƚ͕ ǁĂƚĐŚŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ŐĞŶƚůĞ swell of the waves, and sipƉŝŶŐ ŽŶ Ă ĐŽůĚ ĚƌŝŶŬ ŝƐ Ă ŐƌĞĂƚ way to let the world and its ƐƚƌĞƐƐĞƐ ƚŽ ŇŽĂƚ ĂǁĂLJ͘ Once a swimmer tries to ƐŶĞĂŬ Žī ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ ďĂŝƚ Ăƚ ƚŚĞ end of your line, however, LJŽƵƌ ŐĞƚ LJŽƵƌ ĂĚƌĞŶĂůŝŶĞ rush and exercise for the day. ĞƉĞŶĚŝŶŐ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ƐŝnjĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƉŽƚĞŶƟĂů ĐĂƚĐŚ͕ LJŽƵ ĐŽƵůĚ ďĞ ŝŶ ĨŽƌ ƋƵŝƚĞ Ă ǁŽƌŬŽƵƚ͘ ƌĂĐĞ LJŽƵƌƐĞůĨ͕ ƚĂŬĞ ƚŚĞ ĂĚǀŝĐĞ ŽĨ ƉĞŽƉůĞ ǁŚŽ ŬŶŽǁ ŵŽƌĞ ƚŚĂŶ LJŽƵ ĚŽ ĂďŽƵƚ ŚĂƵůŝŶŐ ŝŶ Ă ďŝŐ ŽŶĞ͕ ĂŶĚ ĞŶũŽLJ ƚŚĞ ĐŚĂůůĞŶŐĞ͘ dŚĞ ŚĂƌĚĞƌ LJŽƵ ǁŽƌŬ ĨŽƌ ŝƚ͕ ƚŚĞ ŵŽƌĞ ƐĂƟƐĨLJŝŶŐ ŝƚ ǁŝůů ďĞ͘ zŽƵ ŵŝŐŚƚ ĞǀĞŶ ŐĞƚ ĂŶ ĞƉŝĐ ďĂƩůĞ ŽĨ Ă ĮƐŚŝŶŐ tale to tell. tŚĞƚŚĞƌ LJŽƵ ĐŽŽŬ LJŽƵƌ catch up for dinner, catch and release, or sell your surƉƌŝƐĞ ĐĂƚĐŚ ŽĨ ďůƵĞĮŶ ƚƵŶĂ for an impressive sum, you ǁŝůů ŶĞǀĞƌ ĨŽƌŐĞƚ ƚŚĞ ƐĞŶƐĞ of triumph that comes when ƚŚĂƚ ĮƐŚ ĮƌƐƚ ŇĂƐŚĞƐ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƐƵŶůŝŐŚƚ ĂƐ LJŽƵ ŚĂƵů ŝƚ ŽƵƚ ŽĨ the water. It is not a bad way to spend a day. In fact , you ŵŝŐŚƚ ũƵƐƚ ĮŶĚ LJŽƵƌƐĞůĨ ůŽŽŬŝŶŐ ĨŽƌǁĂƌĚ ƚŽ ŝƚ ĂŐĂŝŶ ŶĞdžƚ year. It could be the start of Ă ŶĞǁ ƚƌĂĚŝƟŽŶ͘ July/August Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazine™ 31

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/2: $35 ),1$1&,1* 237,216 $9$,/$%/( WARNING: Polaris off-road vehicles can be hazardous to operate and are not intended for on-road use. Driver must be at least 16 years old with a valid driverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s license to operate. Passengers, if permitted, must be at least 12 years old. All riders should always wear helmets, eye protection, and protective clothing. Always use seat belts and cab nets or doors (as equipped).

Never engage in stunt driving, and avoid excessive speeds and sharp turns. Riding and alcohol/drugs donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mix. All riders should take a safety training course. Call 800-342-3764 for additional information. Check local laws before riding on trails. Š2015 Polaris Industries Inc.

2015 RIG BASS TOURNAMENT

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he 2015 Richard Industrial Groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s annual Bass Tournament is now in the books and everyone is talking about what a big hit it was.

The R.I.G. folks know a thing or two about what it takes to host a successful tournament, because this was their 10th year to do so.

The tournament was held at Fin and Feather Resort on Toledo Bend Lake on Saturday, May 2nd. The weather was perfect as 192 teams took to the lake to see what they could reel in. Participants kept the weigh LQ WHDP EXV\ EULQJLQJ LQ D WRWDO RI SRXQGV RI ÂżVK 'Dvid Graham (9.65lbs.), Ronnie Hancock (7.10lbs.), and Easton Heigley (6.99lbs) took the top three Big Bass spots. While teams RI &DUUROO /DQJ 6WHYH /DQJ OEV +DUROG :KLWWRQ (DVWRQ +HLJOH\ OEV DQG %ODNH %UXQR -XVWLQ 0DWWLQJO\ OEV

took the top three spots for the stringer category.

7KH GD\ FRQWLQXHG ZLWK D UDIĂ&#x20AC;H IULHG FDWÂżVK GLQQHU D VLlent auction, and live auction featuring an autographed jersey, signed by 2008 Bass Master Classic winner Alton Jones, an autographed jersey by legendary Houston Oiler, Earl Campbell, an acoustic guitar signed by country star, Tracy Byrd, and a

Fender electric guitar autoF graphed by the famous rock g band, Foreigner.

Through the b auctions they raised $3422, a ZLWK DOO SURFHHGV EHQHÂżWWLQJ Z two local, amazingly worthy t charities, The Shorkey Center c located in Beaumont Texas and l Bound 4 the Pound located in B Buna Texas.

B Featured at the tournament was w the newly decorated R.I.G. beverage boat. The Sacramenb to AOE-1, named after an act tual Vietnam Era supply ship, was dressed in a beautiful salute to our great country, and the veterans that have given so much.

R.I.G. asked that attending Veterans sign the tribute to honor WKHLU VDFULÂżFH DQG DV D VPDOO WRNHQ RI DSSUHFLDWLRQ IRU DOO WKDW they have done for everyone standing on free soil today. This tribute wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have made such an impact on attendees without the help of Leroy Fagg (who served on the Sacramento) of Larco Industries and Client & Clay West of West Limited.

As you can see, what started as a few friends and coworkers HQMR\LQJ D GD\ RI ÂżVKLQJ DQG IULHQGO\ FRPSHWLWLRQ KDV JURZQ exponentially over the years, into an annual company tradition.

The Richard Industrial Group team looks forward to 2016, and another wildly successful tournament.

July/August Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazineâ&#x201E;˘ 33

Antelope, A GREAT WAY To Start Your Fall ince 1977 Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had the privilege of hunting Antelope LQ $XJXVW 6HSWHPEHU or October in the great VWDWHV RI :\RPLQJ 6RXWK 'DNRWD &RORUDGR DQG Texas. All of these hunts have been in extreme weather; white blindLQJ KHDW GDUN FORXG\ ZLQG\ GD\V WRUUHQWLDO GRZQ SRXUV DQG VQRZ you name it. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve sat in a JURXQG EOLQG WUHH VWDQG or on a wind mill and waited for an Antelope to come to water.

6

One time when it was 110 in the shade, I sat in a pit we had dug in the ground with stacked sage brush all around it. A great idea until the next morning. Before daylight I was getting ready to get in the pit blind I shined my light and it was full of a snake! A huge Rattler that was really POâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;D! Needless to say I did not ever sit in a pit blind again! Another time I rigged a tree stand about fifteen feet above a water trough on a windmill. Let me tell you that was a weird feeling, sitting up in the rafters of the windmill with the fan blade just feet from my head. And noisy? You could not even hear yourself think. But very productive as Antelope do not normally look up. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve tried spot and stalking. Lots of fun, but painful if you do not have the right equipment, especially excellent boots.

My preference is Russell Moccasin Snake boots. I also recommend knee pads, good soft leather gloves, a good hat to keep the sun off of your neck and lots of practice of shooting your bow from a kneeling or sitting position. Ground blinds are the most productive Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve found. There are a bunch of choices in ground blinds! Some are torture chambers. I mean they are so hot you will think youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in an Indian sweat lodge. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re completely drenched. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one

34 Shot of Texas Magazineâ&#x201E;˘ July/August Issue 2015

of the worst feelings in the world and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been there many times. My preference for ground blinds is the Barronett Blind, especially the Big Cat. It has lots of room.

You can stand and shoot or sit down. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s roomy enough for four full grown men to hunt out of this blind; two shooters and two cameramen. The Big Cat is the best blind Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve found to hunt Antelope. This blind has 5 panel windows, brush holders, down ropes and ground stakes. It has large vertical windows to shoot through and vented roof panels which allow heat to escape. Great choice. Trust me there is nothing worse than sitting in a sweat lodge from daylight till dark! Some items you will want in the blind for your comfort are Lil Sit Chairs, which are very comfortable, an ORCA Cooler for cold drinks, water and lunch and binoculars with a built in range finder. I prefer the Zeiss 10X 45 TRFâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. They are excellent for ground blind hunting and will always give you the yardage of your shot with the simple push of the button.

One of my favorite hunts for Antelope occurred in Marfa, Texas. Yes, you heard right. West Texas has some of the best trophy Antelope hunting anywhere! The past couple of years West Texas Antelope herds have suffered due to the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Blood

Worm”. They ingest theses parasites which eventually will kill them. The state of Texas is working very hard to rectify this problem.

I booked a hunt with a wonderful gentleman, Wayne Wemmers, in Marfa, Texas. I had not informed Wayne that I wanted to hunt with a bow and arrow.

When Wayne found this out just two weeks before the hunt he was not a happy camper! I worked out an agreement to go out and scout a pasture that he had just leased across from the Marfa Lights display center. I went out and found a water hole that was created from an overflow tank which had some green grass and small puddles. Antelope with go to a small seep to drink before they will go to a tank, pond or lake. This overflow area had created several small puddles which were being hit hard during this hot time of October.

The morning of the hunt we met at Wayne’s favorite Tex Mex Restaurant and everyone got their marching orders. We went to our blind and were in well before daylight. When you hunt this way you must have comfortable chairs, a cooler full of cold drinks, excellent optics, comfortable clothing, and a darn good book or two. By 10:30AM we had not seen an Antelope but by 11:00 AM we saw a big herd of goats but they were not thirsty. They fed on past us about 200 yards with no interest in the water. Then around noon we saw several goats feeding toward us but they turned off and disappeared.

By 2:00 it was a battle to keep my eyes open. But the next thing I knew Jason, my cameraman, was shaking me awake to inform me that a heck of a buck, “a real shooter “,and a young buck were working toward us. Then they turned off away from us about 70 yards out. They must have seen something, camera lens, a moving window or a shadow. Who knows? I told Jason that he was not to say anything about the big buck we’d seen. The next morning we returned to the same blind that was sitting between the windmill and the seep. The daylight was beautiful, the early fall sun coming up over the mountains. This area was the perfect setting for a 50’s western!

Any moment I thought I was going to

see Johnny Mack Brown come riding out of the sunrise being chased by a pack of Comanche’s! It was a great setting to be filming and bow hunting Antelope.

This blind had been in place for 7 days and everything was used to the blind.

By daylight we had antelope all around us. During one time we could see eight different good bucks feeding within 100 yards of the waterhole. By 9:30 my cameraman Jason stated, “Here comes a heck of a buck”. There were actually two bucks. They went straight to a salt

block and were wearing that salt block out. Before we knew it we had eight does and those two bucks in front of us at twenty-five yards. Jason said, “I’m on the monster buck. Shoot him!” I drew my bow back and launched a deadly Grim Reaper. I saw the arrow glance off of a rock on the other side of the monster buck. He was off to the races, slinging blood in every direction. At seventy yards the buck went down head over heels. I knew this was a great buck but I had no idea how good. This buck had fifteen inch long horns, seven inch paddles, massive bases and an SCI score of 84 and ½ inches. I was one happy camper. Lots of hard work and patience paid off on this hunt.

I’m not going to bore you with the first 6 days of my Melrose, Colorado bow hunting saga but we experienced brutal hot weather, nasty water and Montezuma’s revenge. All made for a miserable first six days of bow hunting.

It was my last afternoon to hunt. It was 94 degrees, overcast and raining and with winds from 10 to 45 mph! This afternoon hunt was not looking good. We battened down the hatches on the ground blind

and were hanging on for dear life. You know there is something both wonderful and terrifying about sitting near a tall windmill with lightening was popping all around us! It makes you feel like an ole Tom cat in a room full of rocking chairs!

By 5:30 I was believing I should pack up and haul the mail for the Hill Country of Texas. Then my cameraman, said,” Here comes a real nice buck”. He was right.

This buck was checking scrapes with dirt flying as he freshened up each and every scrape on his way to the waterhole. En route he picked up a doe and fawn.

T They were also on their way to get a d drink.

I had a lot of time to sit and w watch them come to the water tank.

I had my bow up and ready. When a three walked up to the water all t tank they were facing me head on.

N problem. I drew my bow back No a settled my twenty yard pin on and t white spot on the buck’s neck. the T deadly VAP-350 was on the way The w with a wicked one and a half inch G Grim Reaper razortip. The Victory V was thru the buck instantly! The Vap b buck reared up, fell over backwards a staggered back up, only to fall and d down again. Then it reared up again and ran 30 yards and fell over backwards again! And all on film. My cameraman looked at me and I cannot repeat what he stated, but it had an explanation mark at the end. This was a great buck in that we had hunted hard for a week and did not have many opportunities. The lack of opportunities was not from not seeing any antelope but because they were wary of the waterholes… and there was water everywhere! This was a thirteen inch buck and needless to say my trip home was a good one. My success was due to patience and knowing my equipment was ready when I was.

Buena Caceria/Good Hunting: Jim Miller EQUIPMENT USED ON THESE HUNTS: ARCHERY ACCESSORIES: AXION SIGHTS, STABILIZER & PULSE ARROW REST ARROWS: VICTORY VAP-350’S BLINDS: BARRONETT BLINDS BROADHEADS: GRIM REAPER RAZORTIPS 1&1/2 INCH CUT BOOTS: RUSSELL MOCASSINS SNAKE BOOTS

July/August Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazine™ 35

At Mobley Industrial Services we always keep our ducks in a row, especially with Safety and Quality!

Project ser vices GRQH ULJKW INDUSTRIES SERVED Refining and Petrochemical Pipeline and Terminals Marine Power Generation Pulp and Paper

SERVICES OFFERED Industrial Painting Tank Linings Scaffolding Insulation Fireproofing Abatement

Mobley Industrial Services, Inc. 1220 Miller Cut-Off Road La Porte, TX 77571

PETA Lawsuit Imperils Rhino Populations

'

ALLAS - Animal-rights group PETA is suing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to stop a management hunt that scientists say would benefit endangered rhino populations both biologically and financially. $JDLQVW D WRUUHQW RI GHDWK WKUHDWV '6& DXFWLRQHG WKH KXQW LQ on behalf of the Namibia Ministry of Environment and Tourism. The auction generated a record $350,000. All proceeds were earmarked for rhino conservation in the African nation, and held in escrow pending U.S. approval of an import permit that would allow the hunter to bring home the taxidermy from his hunt. That permit was recently DSSURYHG DIWHU 8 6 )LVK DQG :LOGOLIH 6HUYLFH VFLHQWLVWV FRQÂżUPHG WKH EHQHÂżWV WR UKLQR SRSXODWLRQV Basically, the hunt would be used to remove an older, non-breeding, aggressive black rhino bull known to decrease productivity and increase mortality of its herd, while the $350,000 would fund law enforcement efforts to thwart indiscriminate rhino killing by poachers.

PETAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lawsuit could postpone the hunt as well as the funding for rhino protection. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Next time you hear about poachers slaughtering rhinos in NaPLELD WKDQN 3(7$ ´ VDLG %HQ &DUWHU H[HFXWLYH GLUHFWRU RI '6& He explained, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reviewed the biological and financial benefits of this hunt, and agreed the end results would be beneficial to rhino populations. Now it all could be stopped or delayed by a wrongheaded lawsuit. I hope rhino herds in Namibia can hang on a bit longer while weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re fiddling around in court,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In news coverage of the suit, PETA even compares hunting to FKLOG WUDIÂżFNLQJ ZKLFK LV RXWUDJHRXV E\ LWVHOI ´ DGGHG &DUWHU 'XULQJ D SXEOLF FRPPHQW SHULRG RSHQHG DV SDUW RI WKH 8 6 )LVK DQG :LOGOLIH 6HUYLFHÂśV UHYLHZ RI WKH LPSRUW SHUPLW DSSOLFDWLRQ '6& sent a formal letter urging approval. The letter outlined the science and logic behind the planned management hunt.

However, Carter says, if PETAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lawsuit is successful, Namibia can simply sell the hunt to a non-American, someone who isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t affected by U.S. court decisions or laws. Namibia is allowed by interQDWLRQDO WUHDWLHV WR VHOO XS WR ÂżYH UKLQR PDQDJHPHQW KXQWV SHU \HDU In the past, its self-sold permits have fetched far less than $350,000.

Phone: 281-470-9120 Fax: 281-470-0426

Mike Barcelo Ranch Sales

830.377.7965

E-mail: info@mobleyservices.com sales team@mobleyindustrialservices.com www.mobleyindustrialservices.com

R A N C H E S

Owner Financing

w w w . m b h u n t i n g r a n c h e s . c o m mike@mbhuntingranches.com

36 Shot of Texas Magazineâ&#x201E;˘ July/August Issue 2015

By Cedric Loiselle

Two Great Louisiana %HRGHMF $WODQHDMBDR

FLY FISHING AND SALTWATER FISHING

T

he state of Louisiana is in proud possession of about 3,000 miles NE BN@RSKHMD @KNMF VHSG SGD LNRS HMBQDCHAKD V@SDQR ENQ Æ¥RGHMF 3GHR U@RSMDRR VHKK FHUD @MX Æ¥RGDQL@M Æ¥QRS Q@SD Æ¥RGHMF DWODQHDMBD Louisiana has the most liberal catch limits in the entire country which LD@MR SG@S @MFKDQR G@UD SGD NOONQSTMHSX SN B@SBG LNQD Æ¥RG SG@M @MX NSGDQ OK@BD HM SGD BNTMSQX 3GD @ATMC@MS L@QRGDR K@JDR @MC FTKE V@SDQR NE SGD +NTHRH@M@ BN@RS NƤDQ HMMTLDQ@AKD U@QHDSHDR NE Æ¥RG RODBHDR SG@S @MFKDQR NE @MX KDUDK Å&#x201D; MNUHBD NQ UDSDQ@M VHKK CDÆ¥MHSDKX AD G@OOX @ANTS 8NTÅ&#x2014;QD ANTMC SN DMC TO VHSG @ ANTMSHETK B@SBG NE KDLNM Æ¥RG QDC RM@OODQ AKTD L@QKHM FQNTODQ XDKKNVÆ¥M @MC AK@BJ Æ¥M STM@ V@GNN JHMF L@BJDQDK @LADQI@BJ BNAH@ RODBJKDC SQNTS @MC QDCÆ¥RG

The thrill and excitement in Louisiana ¿VKLQJ LV HQGOHVV ZKHWKHU LW¶V FUXLVLQJ down the bayou, or on an offshore charWHU ¿VKLQJ DGYHQWXUH &DOOHG E\ ¿VKLQJ enthusiasts as the Sportsmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Paradise, the coast of Louisiana offers a year-round ¿VKLQJ RSSRUWXQLW\ IRU HYHU\RQH 7KH rich marine resources of the coastal waWHUV RI /RXLVLDQD ZLOO DOORZ ¿VKLQJ HYHQ every day.

The seemingly endless supply of hungry fish and miles of shallow water make the perfect combination for fly Louisiana fishing. Louisiana coast is visited by anglers who are more into fly fishing. And one need not be the master in fly fishing because the abundance of the fish species swimming through the shallow coastal waters is enough to get your bait hook fish after fish. Speckled

trout, flounder, and black drum are some of the fish varieties that readily take a fly. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s truly a glorious place where fly fishing can be like no other experience in the world. )LVKLQJ JXLGHV ZLOO DEO\ DVVLVW Ã&#x20AC;\ ¿VKerman as they set off f to the shallow waters of Louisiana coast. Equipped with WKHLU RZQ Ã&#x20AC;\ URGV DQG UHHOV WKH H[FLWLQJ ¿VKLQJ DGYHQWXUH IRU WKH Ã&#x20AC;\ ¿VKHUPDQ begins the moment the boat departs the marina and they get ready for their castLQJ GLVWDQFH RI D SRXQG UHG¿VK WDLOLQJ the boat in inches of water. While it seems SUHWW\ HDV\ WR FDWFK WKH WDLOLQJ UHG¿VK trouble could come from an errant cast. +HQFH LW LV UHFRPPHQGHG WKDW Ã&#x20AC;\ ¿VKHUPHQ XVH Ã&#x20AC;\ URGV DQG UHHOV ZKLFK WKH\ DUH comfortable with and have been using for a long time. It will be heartbreaking to

lose a good catch just because you are not used to the grip and hold of the rod and reel, or that an errant cast had caused a great catch to escape. :KLOH /RXLVLDQD RIIHUV JUHDW Ã&#x20AC;\ ¿VKing experience, it is not the only kind of ¿VKLQJ RQH FDQ HQMR\ LQ WKH FRDVWDO ZDters of Louisiana. The miles upon miles RI FRDVWDO PDUVKHV DUH LGHDO ¿VKLQJ JURXQGV IRU VKDOORZ ZDWHU ¿VKLQJ ZKLFK FDQ LQFOXGH FRUN RU ERWWRP ¿VKLQJ QHDU the shallow water rigs, trolling bayous, bays and coastal areas, kayak or paddling ¿VKLQJ GRFN DQG SLHU ¿VKLQJ DORQJ ED\RXV DQG ODNHV DQG VLJKW ¿VKLQJ LQ VKDOlow bays and ponds. Having some of the ¿QHVW VDOWZDWHU ¿VKLQJ LQ 1RUWK $PHULFD the Louisiana Gulf Coast is world reQRZQHG IRU LWV YDULHW\ RI VDOWZDWHU ¿VK DQG ¿VKLQJ H[SHULHQFH DV ZHOO

July/August Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazineâ&#x201E;¢ 37

Our Industry Is Fundamentally Changing: Three Big Ways

By Scott Platzer

I

lunched recently in the bar of Houston’s Goode Company Seafood in what has become a ritualized monthly gathering with some oil patch colleagues. We all get together and discuss the market, our plans, and the latest opportunities and challenges facing our industry. Yesterday the meeting was a relatively serious affair. Iced teas all around, and although we are all friends, the lunch was characterized by a mildly combative discussion of whether or not the market was pulling off the bottom, or still skidding along towards some lower, darker place. No jokes were told. No Shiners were ordered. We didn’t even get loud enough to chase away the nice couple having a quiet lunch at the next table..

38 Shot of Texas Magazine™ July/August Issue 2015

A year ago at the same lunch, all of those things would have been guaranteed to happen. Business would have had to elbow its way into the discussion, shoving aside jokes and war stories, and it couldn’t have held the floor for more than a few minutes. Half the group would’ve ordered drinks, and nobody would have remembered who picked up the tab. Many of the assembled never went back to the office, and they weren’t particularly self-conscious about it. If there was a combative discussion, it was most likely related to college football. At any mention of the price, eyes would twinkle and glasses would be raised.

Our lunches today resemble the lunches of yesteryear only in the list of attendees. In every other way, they are far more serious, less gaudy, and more business-focused. The happy gluttons are gone, replaced by a somber and nervous group with fingers-crossed that their strategy for surviving this market will succeed. I realize the market cycles, but this feels different, and I think we’ll still meet but I’m not sure things will ever be quite the same. And I think, in this way, my little lunch group is a nice microcosm for the industry as a whole. Coming out of this, I also think the oil field is going to endure some lasting changes.

For as long as anyone can remember, the industry has been supply-constrained. Over decades the upstream segment has structured itself around an economic premise that

supply was perpetually losing the race with demand, and that healthy profits were virtually assured for those that could bring oil to market. But the recent, prolific expansion of unconventional supply has ushered in an era where so much supply has been brought into the fold so quickly, that there is a justifiable expectation emerging in the industry that we may be entering an era of demand constraint.

Has anyone else been in a professional conversation recently and counted the number of times people uttered the words, “optimization,” or “efficiency.” Those are the kinds of words emblazoned on the family crests of demand-constrained industries.

To the extent, even at the highest levels, this concept is taking hold it has the potential to alter the industry in some fundamental ways that will ultimately make us much stronger. As the current upstream model, which incentivizes drilling fast and cheap, gives way to an efficiency focused lifecycle view of prospects and assets, it has the potential to make lasting changes. Here are three indelible marks I believe will survive in the aftermath of this downturn.

EXPECT MORE TECH AT THE BIT Better directional discipline is low-hanging fruit from an efficiency perspective, and there is good potential here for producers to make an immediate impact by more consistently employing technologies that already exist and will only become more affordable in the oilfield services price war already afoot. Just as pad drilling has already brought significant efficiency improvements, safely increasing the well density will take it yet further. With most wells today drilled starting at 30-foot spacing at surface, drillers have been somewhat cavalier about wellbore placement and typically eschew high-accuracy surveys. When the time comes to down-space, and new wells are drilled within 15, then 7.5 feet from existing wells, the lack of early directional discipline can cause serious liabilities. It’s not easy to get companies to talk about how often they run into things down hole, but in the words of one industry executive I asked candidly, “let’s just say it happens more often than it should.”

Since more directional discipline reduces risk when wells are down-spaced on the same pad and leads to cleaner, more efficient, wellbores one might assume that the technology isn’t used more often today because it is cost-prohibitive.

But, in fact, if the costs of better directional discipline were evaluated against the alternative in a lifecycle view of an asset, they would be miniscule. On a typical onshore well the cost of a high-accuracy survey, for example, is a de minimis 0.5% of the overall cost of the well. So why isn’t WKLV WHFKQRORJ\ DOUHDG\ PRUH FRPPRQO\ XVHG" According to a petroleum engineer I recently asked about the issue, “it’s because we’ve got the wrong incentives in place. At the end of the day, drillers are rewarded for the lowest cost-per-foot, with very little accountability for the performance of wells after they’re done.” In the supplyconstrained market of the past, the additional risks and reduced actualized production borne of poor directional discipline were easily offset by healthy margins. As these margins continue to shrink, I expect that the incentive sysJuly/August Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazine™ 39

tem for drilling will be better integrated with the long-term efficiency of the asset, and this will demand better wellbore placement and directional discipline.

In an oilfield services sector that has been very hard hit in the recent downturn, this could be a light at the end of the tunnel for the higher-tech end of the service industry.

While relatively low-tech equipment providers may continue to feel the pinch of price competition in the coming years, those who have cleverly positioned themselves to help the industry drill safer, more efficient wells may yet come out smelling like roses.

EXPECT BETTER ASSET LIFECYCLE INTEGRATION I realize â&#x20AC;&#x153;asset lifecycle integrationâ&#x20AC;? is a mouthful, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about as elegant an expression of the concept as there is.

It surprises some people to hear that, on average and industry wide, projects are ultimately only attaining about 70% of the production that was expected at sanction1. Other studies indicate that the success rate for oil and gas megaprojects over the past 10 years has fallen to as low as 22%2.

A significant contributor to the problem has been a poor alignment of priorities among different units across the lifecycle of projects. The high costs of exploration and production have pressured companies to aggressively schedule projects to minimize their time to first production, often resulting in pressure on project staff to eliminate or reduce focus on phases critical to the projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s long-term success.

With all due respect to net present value, getting projects online quickly and on a tight budget only adds value if the legacy of aggressive scheduling and front-end costconsciousness arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t dwarfed by poor production attainment and high technical and non-technical costs associated with production. To piggyback on the earlier example of directional discipline â&#x20AC;&#x201C; there is an emerging market for high data-density surveys of producing wells today that didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t exist a few years ago. Ironically, the market only exists because in many organizations drilling is handing wells off to production with such erratic wellbore profiles that they canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t find sufficiently straight sections or without excessive tortuosity for the placement of submersible pumps.

Anyone who knows a production engineer has probably heard them rant at some point or another about how they are stuck with the mess made by the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drilling unit, who has long-since moved on. This kind of complaint, not uncommon, is indicative of a misalignment in the metrics for success across the different groups within a company that all touch an asset over its lifecycle. As the emphasis in the industry shifts away from â&#x20AC;&#x153;drill faster,â&#x20AC;? and more towards, â&#x20AC;&#x153;drill better,â&#x20AC;? it will be exciting to see how companies reorganize their strategic approach to managing these assets over their lifecycles to better align different business units toward the common goal. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s impossible to imagine the particular form this new approach is going to take, as various companies will experiment with different approaches. But it is going to happen, and it will be exciting to watch the industry transform towards a more integrated lifecycle approach to prospects and assets.

40 Shot of Texas Magazineâ&#x201E;˘ July/August Issue 2015

EXPECT BETTER PERFORMANCE ABOVE THE SURFACE 'HVSLWH DOO WKH KHDUW ZDUPLQJ DQHFGRWHV RI KDSS\ VWDNHholder relationships that bedeck most annual reports, the industry generally performs very poorly in the management of surface risks. The range of potentially hostile stakeholder groups that confront oil and gas operators in the world today is staggering. From local communities, to regulatory agencies, to governments, to environmental activists, and even to terrorists in some regions - even small, niche operators face an extraordinary bundle of surface related risks.

And these risks impose a high cost. Conflicts with local communities alone often cost companies well in excess of 5% of their CAPEX budget â&#x20AC;&#x201C; especially internationally.

And in the modern information age, where Instagram and Twitter have turned every Average Joe into an amateur documentarian, these risks are also increasingly inter-related. +DYLQJ DQ LVVXH ZLWK D ORFDO FRPPXQLW\ LQ (DVW $IULFD" These things were once handled very discreetly (although not necessarily correctly) but that era has passed. Is the community angry because of suspicions of groundwater FRQWDPLQDWLRQ" :DLW XQWLO LW VKRZV XS RQ 7ZLWWHU Âą WKH problem will morph within a week into a combined local FRPPXQLW\ HQYLURQPHQWDO DFWLYLVW SUREOHP DQG WKDWÂśV DVsuming that the terrorist group Al Shabaab doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sense the opportunity and ask for the communityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cooperation in an attack. And these problems arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t unique to Africa.

In the domestic US market, the stakeholders are less often terrorists and more often regulatory or environmental, but the financial costs associated with running afoul of these groups can be extremely punitive.

How does an industry that spends so much on sustainability, social performance, security, and public affairs FRQWLQXH WR VWUXJJOH" )RU RQH WKLQJ WKHVH SUREOHPV RIWHQ receive inadequate attention from companies in the field.

Terms like â&#x20AC;&#x153;helicopter engagementâ&#x20AC;? best characterize the approach of many companies, who fail to appreciate the level of attention that the various stakeholders in their operating environment require. Even companies who devote more resources to the surface risk component often have well staffed departments in their corporate offices, but relatively few people in the field actually managing problems.

Compounding this problem, especially inside bigger companies, is the fact that most of these functions are well entrenched in their own silos. Problems in the field with stakeholders tend to be handled one dimensionally, with little consideration of how an environmental spill might cause a social licensure issue that turns into a security issue.

Consider the tragic attack on the Tiguentourine gas plant at In Amenas, Algeria in 2013, where Al Qaida capitalized on months of bitter labor disputes with the local community to win their support in prosecuting an attack that left 38 innocent people dead. In the months following the attack, and after exhaustive handwringing, the industry declared the event a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Black Swan.â&#x20AC;? But anyone who is watching the news these days realizes that the phenomenon of terrorists using local community angst to further their objectives is no Black Swan. If it is, we might need to start looking out

for the White Swans instead. This failure to grasp the interconnected nature of surface risks points to deeply rooted and inherently flawed compartmentalization inside many companies.

Finally, companies waste tremendous resources reacting to problems instead of spending the time and resources to prevent them. This is the non-technical equivalent of better directional discipline and wellbore placement, and the stakes can be every bit as high. Communities and stakeholders that are engaged earlier and more often are less likely to evolve into dangerous opponents in the operating environment, and the costs of engaging early and often are miniscule next to the costs of conflict over the 20 or 30 year life of the well. As lower prices force oil and gas companies to find more efficient lifecycle approaches to managing their assets, expect companies to search for more proactive and well-integrated solutions to managing their surface risks. The good news is, this will ultimately make the in-

dustry safer and produce more positive outcomes for host communities as well.

As of this writing WTI sits at $43.80, and I realize this is KDUGO\ LQVSLULQJ %XW LWÂśV P\ ÂżUP EHOLHI WKDW ZH ZLOO HPHUJH from this furnace a stronger and better industry than we were a year ago. I really enjoyed those heady lunches with my colleagues a year ago. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bring us another round, Alex,â&#x20AC;? was often uttered through mouthfuls of fried oysters, and over the boisterous laughter and general merriment of an industry on top of the world. But if Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m being honest, even then there was a sense of impending liability â&#x20AC;&#x201C; an iota of anxiety that our industry wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t doing enough to prepare for the next tough spot. And here we are, a year later, and my lunch group is LQ WUDQVIRUPDWLRQ 0\ IULHQGV DUH RQ IHZHU ÂżVKLQJ WULSV DQG DUH VSHQGLQJ PRUH WLPH LQ FOLHQWVÂś RIÂżFHV DQG SHUKDSV WKLV LV the way it should be for now. I expect in another year, having EHHQ IRUFHG E\ WKLV WRXJK PDUNHW WR ÂżQG ZD\V WR GR ZKDW WKH\ all do a little better, our lunches may be the best yet. â&#x20AC;&#x201C;SP July/August Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazineâ&#x201E;˘ 41

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I hit the horses leg just behind his knee and thankfully he picked it his foot. I slowly got up, made certain the ankle was not broken only bruised, then tightened my boot laces as tight as they would go. After that I somehow managed to get back on my horse and mostly in the dark rode the rest of the 7 hours trip to camp. I lived in those same clothes and boots for the next two days, scared to take my boot off. That “wounded” ankle made it a bit difficult to walk the mountains, but I got it done! Even today when I think about that incident there are twinges of pain in my right ankle!

Just before drifting off to sleep I remembered too a monstrous 6 x 6 bull elk, my biggest in terms of score, near 400, that I shot in central Colorado. I shot that one with my Ruger Super Blackhawk Pistol in .44 Mag, using Hornady’s 240 grain XTP

four shots had hit him within a 4 inch circle and one of the Hornady bullets had passed through. Later I found the other three just under the off-side skin. To say I was ecstatic would have been an understatement...

Visions of elk, some with big antlers but all with delicious venisons paraded before me as I fell asleep.

Next morning Jim, Clay, Derek and I were near the no hunting zone long before first light. As Clay said they would during the night the elk had moved considerably lower out of the sanctuary to feed where there was less snow. With the gray dawn they started uphill back toward the no hunting area. We walked fast to intercept part of the herd and got to within about 400 to 500 yards of where the elk should walk out of deep ravine. Clay decided to walk back to the pick-up, drive back a way

ammo. We had heard the bull bugling in dark timber, this after most bulls had quit bugling for the season. Yet for some reason he wanted to proclaim to the world he was there. It took a lot of walking and snaking through downed timber but we finally cut the distance to about 125 yards. There I set up my BOG Pod shooting sticks topped with one of their PSR rests. When the crosshairs settled on the bull’s vitals, I cocked the single-action’s hammer, took a deep breath, let it all out and gently tugged the trigger.

At the shot the bull “humped up”. I cocked the hammer again and shot him nearly in the same place a second time and then a third and fourth time. He went down where he had stood. We walked up to the downed “monarch of the glen”. He was huge of beam, tines and mass. Then I noticed all

to watch just in case the bulls went up the draw behind us.

A few minutes after Clay walked away we heard his pickup... He stopped, got out, then appeared on a ridge only a short distance away and motioned us to the truck.

“Just saw some bulls including two really nice five by fives. Let’s drive as close as we dare and walk from there.”

We drove back about a half mile, got out of the pickup and walked to the crest of a low ridge. Just as we topped it we saw numerous elk running to our right. One was nice five by five bull. Before I could get a shot he disappeared. Clay motioned me to follow him. I did at a run. We ran to the edge of the ridge and immediately spotted cows and bulls walking on the edge of a brushy ravine from right to left

44 Shot of Texas Magazine™ July/August Issue 2015

about 300 yards away. Quickly I set up my BOG Pod shooting sticks and found the bulls in my Zeiss scope, cranked all the way up to 14 power. I glanced at Clay with a questioning look. “Fourth elk from the left, second bull. He’s a solid five by five. When he clears the brush he should be 300 yards out.” That was all I needed to hear. I found the elk in my scope, got the crosshairs on the bull and waited for him to slow to a walk or stop. He stopped and I gently pulled the trigger. The elk showed no reaction of being hit. He simply walked out of sight. I knew the hold looked good.

I knew the capabilities of my .375 Ruger and my capabilities with it. I felt assured I had hit the bull right behind the shoulder.

“Larry I think you may have missed.....

I was watching when you shot. The bull showed no sign of being hit. But let’s move up a bit where we can see more of the brush where he disappeared.” Just then I spotted a bull walking up the opposite slope. Immediately I put the crosshairs on him.

“Is it the bull I shot at?” I frantically questioned.

“No!” came Clay’s immediate response.

“I don’t see the bull you shot at! But we’ll keep watching. He should follow that bull and the two cows if you missed him.”

We glassed and watched for another 10 minutes. All the while I was certain I had perfectly hit the bull, and strongly suspected he was down right beyond where he had disappeared.

Finally, we walked to where we had last seen the bull.

About 10 yards beyond where the bull disappeared, we saw him. He was down.

I covered that last 50 yards pretty quickly!

I could not have been happier with my 5 by 5 and the entire hunt. Everything about hunting elk on the Motherwell Ranch had been first class!

As the hunt was drawing to an end, a major snow storm was about to hit Pennsylvania. JIm left with my saying, “Well Mister McCarthy, here’s another fine hunt you’ve put me on! Where we headed next?”

“I’ll call you when I get home...anything in particular you’re interested in?” said Jim as he was about to walk out the door for his ride to the airport...

“About time we did another Alaskan hunt, after dealing with the deep snow this past week, we’re pretty well in shape for such a hunt, or possibly we could go back to Africa and chase greater kudu once again. Then too, there’s.....”

July/August Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazineâ&#x201E;˘ 45

WHAT THE BOOM IN FRAC SAND MEANS

TO U.S. OIL PRODUCTION

by Beconrad

I

t has been hard to ignore the impact hydraulic fracturing has had on the energy PDUNHW ERWK LQ WKH 8QLWHG 6WDWHV DQG EH\RQG LWV ERUGHUV ,Q OHVV WKDQ D GHFDGH WKH United States expanded its domestic energy production more than virtually anyone would have predicted.

The boom in hydraulic fracturing has created tens of thousands of jobs in what had been economically depressed parts of the country. From former coal mining towns in Pennsylvania and Ohio to the forbidding landscape of North Dakota,

oil and natural gas wells sprung up virtually overnight, bringing high-paying jobs, economic opportunity and instant wealth.

It is easy to see the impact hydraulic fracturing has had on the construction and housing industries, but

46 Shot of Texas Magazineâ&#x201E;˘ July/August Issue 2015

other impacts are easier to overlook. One industry that has seen its fortunes rise is the frac sand wholesale market. Frac sand suppliers have been helping oil and natural gas suppliers work more efficiently, boost their profit margins and get more

out of every well they drill.

The exact composition of the hydraulic fracturing fluids companies use is a closely guarded secret, and that secret is at the heart of the controversy over hydraulic fracturing. There have been loud calls for companies to

reveal their secret formulas, and just as much pushback from companies trying to protect their intellectual property.

No matter how that argument eventually works itself out, one thing is clear.

The frac sand wholesale market is here to stay, as frac sand plays a vital role in the hydraulic fracturing process. Adding frac sand to hydraulic fracturing fluid makes it easier for oil exploration companies to do their jobs, and frac sand allows them to make every well they drill more productive and therefore more profitable.

Frac sand suppliers certainly realize how important their product is to the hydraulic fracturing market. As the boom in U.S.based energy production

continues, frac sand prices have been on the rise and many more frac sand suppliers have entered the marketplace.

While it is impossible to know the future, and the energy market is notoriously hard to predict, there is reason to think the boom in frac sand prices and the fortunes of frac sand suppliers will continue into the foreseeable future.

One reason for optimism is the unique nature of frac sand itself. Frac sand is not just any sand; it is composed of extremely pure sand grains designed specifically for the hydraulic fracturing industry. Frac sand is highly crush-resistant - and important feature in an industry where extremely high pressures are the norm.

Frac sand suppliers are also flexible in what they provide to their hydraulic fracturing clients. Frac sand is available in a number of different sizes, allowing oil and natural gas exploration companies to customize it to the needs of every well and vary their formulations for different parts of the country.

While oil and natural gas exploration have been going strong in the United

States, many energy experts feel that the hydraulic fracturing industry is still in its infancy. New companies are still entering the market, and new wells are constantly being drilled. The high growth potential of the hydraulic fracturing industry, combined with the importance of frac sand to the process, bodes well for the future of frac sand prices and the frac sand suppliers themselves.

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July/August Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazineâ&#x201E;˘ 47

We recently ran across this beautiful hand crafted Knife that we wanted you all to know about. wo words dominated the design and construction of this knife ± 385( 58**('1(66 7KLV LWHP ZDV GHVLJQHG IURP WKH ground up at Spero Knives and can only be found here. This is D IXOO WDQJ SOXV 'DPDVFXV 6WHHO GHVLJQ ZLWK D V\QWKHWLF KDQGOH PDGH from micarta resin. The full tang ang plus design extends beyondd the handle offering a variety of uses. s. Includedd with this knife is a para-chord strap. First, Firstt you can hang the knife with the strap raap and still use your hands (while skinning nnning a dinner or otherwise) and you will ll never drop this knife over the side off a boat again. At Spero we like Texas Rivers Riivers and this item is named after the San Jacinto Jaac a into Riverr that ÀRZV WKURXJK RXU WRZQ :H ZR ZRXOG R RXOG DOVR OLNH WR FRPPHPRUDWH WKH ¿QDO EDWWOH LQ WKH 7H[DV 5HYROXWLRQ $OO 7 7H[DV 5HYROXWLRQ $OO Spero knives come with a handmade maade leatherr sheath and cotton bag for storage.

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48 Shot of Texas Magazine™ July/August Issue 2015

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Welcome to the Brilliant World of Napa Valley, California \ ÂżUVW YLHZV RI Napa Valley were majestic rolling hills with extremely manicured vineyards.

M

stroyed 80% of the grape harvest in the Valley.

By 1920 an even greater threat and setback to Napa Valley was the enactment of Prohibition. Vineyards and wineries were abandoned over the following 14 years with only a handful of wineries Napa has long been known for their granted operation to produce only sacrafamous grapes with a long venue of over mental wines.

In 1933 the repeal of Prohibition gave 200 years of harvest. way for the Napa Valley wine industry In the last 10-12 years a new growth WR VORZO\ UHFRYHU 'XULQJ WKLV WLPH WKH spurt has risen in the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Valleyâ&#x20AC;? (as itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s revival of Beaulieu Vineyards BV, Incalled) making room for the producglenook and Mondavi emerged as leadtion of wonderful olive oils, some plain ers in the valley.

DQG RWKHUV ZHOO Ă&#x20AC;DYRUHG 7KHUH LV DOVR Who I found fascinating in my rean abundance of blossoming fragrant search was Russian â&#x20AC;&#x153;ĂŠmigrĂŠâ&#x20AC;? Andre soaps, many made from olive oil.

Tchelischeff.

He originally worked in The rich history of Napa Valley France for BV but was transported to stretches back to 1839 when George Napa Valley to work in their winery. His Yount â&#x20AC;&#x153;tappedâ&#x20AC;? the potential for cultiwork for BV made him one of the greatvating wine grapesâ&#x20AC;Ś.hence the name est mentors in the wine industry, thusly Yountville, California.

EHFRPLQJ RQH RI WKH JUHDWHVW ÂżJXUHV LQ By 1861 Charles Krug had established WKH ÂżUVW FRPPHUFLDO JURZLQJ ZLQHU\ the history of Napa Valley wines.

The 1940â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s era marked an important DQG WKLV LQĂ&#x20AC;XHQFHG WKH JURZWK RI PRUH turning point in Napa Valleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history. than 140 wineries by 1879.

The early vintners realized to be more This tremendous expansion was soon successful meant working together as halted by the turn of the 20th century by Phylloxera, a root parasite, which de- a â&#x20AC;&#x153;teamâ&#x20AC;? and in 1944 they signed an

50 Shot of Texas Magazineâ&#x201E;˘ July/August Issue 2015

agreement to form the Napa Valley Vintners Trade Association, now nearly 500 wineries strong.

Napa Valley gained prominence on the world stage of wines when the great marketer Robert Mondavi embodied the collective spirit and camaraderie that gave success and quality to Napa Wines.

Mr. Mondavi took the wines to Paris for a blind tasting in 1976. Transporting many of the Valleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wines, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay from California were blind tasted against French Wines from their best regions of Bordeaux and Burgundy.

1DSD 9DOOH\ JUHZ IURP D GLIÂżFXOW EHginning, but through persistence and opportunity, to boast several hundred wineries operating today.

But visiting Napa Valley is a necessary planned excursion. There are so many highlights to visit and with limited time one should plan accordingly.

2QH FKRLFH RI WRXUV ZDV ZLWK 'U James Talcott owner of Talcott Olive Oil vineyards located in the Caneros region.

The Talcott Olive Oil production consists of three thousand olive trees from seven unique Tuscan varieties. The re-

gion has cool growing conditions which tame the overall harshness of the Tuscan oil, yet allowing the harvest to be â&#x20AC;&#x153;pepSHU\ ´ 'U 7DOFRWW LV D ÂżUP EHOLHYHU WKDW his olive oil should be consumed daily IRU RYHUDOO KHDOWK EHQHÂżWV 6R DW $0 one morning I savored the robust and IUXLW\ RLO ZLWK D GHÂżQLWH SHSSHU\ ÂżQLVK Looking back on my travels none of my mornings have ever begun with a â&#x20AC;&#x153;shot of olive oil.â&#x20AC;?

The Oxbow Market, is a visitorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s must. Under one bustling roof businesses offer an amazing variety of fresh PHDWV ÂżVK YHJHWDEOHV FKHHVHV EDNHUies, restaurants and coffee shops. The stores all have an open kiosk venue.

Next to the Oxbow Market is the boutique Charcuterie. Walking into this artisan business I was immediately enamored with the display of smoked meats.

I quickly grabbed a cup of coffee, sat down and began to absorb the questions from all the customers. The staff was delightful explaining â&#x20AC;&#x153;what and howâ&#x20AC;? so many varieties of meats cost different amounts. It depends on the aging process. Now I begin to understand why Prosciutto is so expensive.

To enjoy a tour of all of these wonderful sites throughout the Valley one can be guided by California Wine Tours. Their drivers are all well versed in the Valley and they offer a wide variety of cars and vans.

ZZZ FDOLIRUQLDZLQHWRXUV FRP The Napa region is a pleasant change of scenery; not only exploring the his-

tory of wineries but the assortment of businesses that comprise this wonderful region. â&#x20AC;&#x153;7R OLYH LV WKH UDUHVW WKLQJ LQ WKH ZRUOGÂŤPRVW SHRSOH MXVW H[LVW´â&#x20AC;Ś Oscar Wilde Bon Voyage and SantĂŠ Barbara

July/August Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazineâ&#x201E;˘ 51

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52 Shot of Texas Magazine™ July/August Issue 2015

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