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Do it yourself Elk! SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015

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2 Shot of Texas Magazine™ September/October Issue 2015

CONCRETE

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o you know how much concrete weighs? A cubic yard (3 feet by 3 feet by 3 feet) weighs 4000 pounds! That’s 2 tons, more than twice the weight of the average small car on the road today. Think about that when a concrete truck is placed next to an excavation. All that weight plus the load shift during mixing will cause a super imposed load on the sides of an excavation or trench and could result

in a cave-in. Be on guard during any concrete placement. When pouring concrete be sure that you wear the proper personal protective equipment. Rubber boots are a must to prevent you from getting lime burns on your feet and ankles. If you get wet concrete on your socks change them immediately to prevent concrete burns. Your eyes also need protection. Goggles will provide you with excellent coverage.

Another area that has potential for serious injury is when a concrete chute is raised or lowered at the rear of a concrete truck. Always keep your fingers out of pinch points. On’e slip can mean the loss of fingers or even a hand. The same thing applies any time an extra chute is added to the truck. Watch where you put your hands and get help to lift the add-on chute. Pinch points are all around concrete buckets. Never ride a bucket and make sure that no one is working under the load. If the crane or pump truck operator cannot see the SRXU EH VXUH WR XVH D TXDOL¿HG signal person. When placing concrete with a bucket, know the capacity of the crane, don’t overload. A test lift is

advisable. Avoid swinging the bucket near power lines. Contact with an energized power line can kill or injure. When applying curing compound to concrete wear the right personal protective equipment. Chemical additives can cause burns. Check the appropriate MSDS sheet with your supervisor. Also remember that wet concrete conducts electricity. All tools and cords must be grounded, and don’t allow metal bull float handles to come in contact with electrical wiring or light bulbs. KEEP A SAFE DISTANCE FROM MOVING TRUCKS OR EQUIPMENT, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY ARE BACKING UP. THE OPERATOR MAY HAVE A LIMITED FIELD OF VISION.

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4 Shot of Texas Magazine™ September/October Issue 2015

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September/October Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazine™ 5

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September/October Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazine™ 7

Ok I’m going to be the glutton for punishment, but let’s have at it. I for one have had about all the WSM, WSSM, RUM, SAUM soup and nuts I can handle. This time the gun manufactures have really done a prime job on “us�. They have convinced us that we just have to have the new Short Mags, because our old calibers just can’t cut it any more.

Will the WSM replace the Old reliable

300 Magnums? They have convinced us WKDW ZH MXVW FDQœW FDUU\ D ULÀH with an action Ÿ� longer than the new Short Magnum actions, as it is just too heavy. They have also convinced us that we just must have that extra 50 fps of velocity and 2 oz less weight in order to survive a hunt. The same was said when the .308 Winchester came on the scene many years ago. It was said that it would replace WKH 6SULQJ¿HOG ZHOO , assure you that has not happened. There is no doubt that the WSM group of cartridges is taking the Lion’s share of the market right now, and no doubt that the WSM is here to stay. Right now the new Hornady (Ruger) offerings in their RCM Calibers are also taking a big piece of the action. Remington thought they were going to run the old .300

Weatherby into extinction with their new .300 RUM, but I have not seen that happening either. All the .300 Magnums are so close in ballistics that there is not an animal alive that could ever tell the difference. One of the persistent problems with the new short fat cases is dependable feeding. The old .300 H&H Magnum is the epitome of feeding with a long easy sloping case design. The .300 Winchester Magnum is same base diameter, but has a sharper shoulder. Now we have really short and fat cases with shaper shoulders that just don’t always want to feed so smoothly. One great thing the new cases have done is to get rid of the BELT on the Magnum case, AS that belt has never been of much use anyway and bless the designers for getting rid of it. Now cases can be head-spaced on the shoulder

8 Shot of Texas Magazine™ September/October Issue 2015

like they should be, and not RQ WKDW ÂżFWLWLRXV EHOW So far, those that been spending a lot of time with the WSM calibers on the range, have not been overly impressed with its performance on paper. It seems to be difÂżFXOW WR ÂżQG D ORDG WKDW ZLOO group well. Even the slightest change in components will give a big change in group size and point of impact. In my own experience with the WSM’s, I was surprised at the recoil they produced. It is said that they are supposed to produce LESS recoil, but I found the .300 WSM to be equal to, or even more, than the .300 Winchester Magnum. In fact I was “joltedâ€? by the recoil of the .270 WSM, far more than the standard .270 Winchester and not that much more velocity. The factory ammo manufactures have done a good job of making ammo that actually

does go as fast as the published velocity, with Federal outshining Winchester on the targets. I really feel sorry for folks like Federal Cartridge who have to tool up to load another complete set of calibers, and several bullets types and weights every time Mr. Remington or Winchester come up with a new caliber. What a nightmare of logistics it must create trying to manufacture all the different types and calibers. So far the Powder manufacturers are quite good about getting data out for the new calibers. Accurate Powder Company (now owned by Western Powder) even came out with a new powder just for the WSM called Mag Pro. I found it performed as well as they said it did in the .300 WSM, and also found it to be excellent in the standard.270 Winchester as well.

I certainly would give Winchester applause for coming out with the .325 WSM because if that one succeeds, than anything can. It is but a .323 (8mm) bullet on a WSM case. Lord knows the 8mm has been a dead horse for years since Remington came out with their 8mm Remington Magnum. The Americans like .270 and .30 calibers but not 8mm’s, but I sure give them credit for trying, yet if I could choose any of the WSM’s to own, it would be the .325 WSM. It does not kick too hard, and really is a powerhouse with 200 grain Barnes TSX bullets. If Winchester really wants to “go for it�, please make us a .375 WSM. Granted it would be no match for the .375 RUM, but it would be a nice Moose and Elk cartridge and certainly rival the .375 Ruger.

Maybe they could even try a .416 WSM to rival the .416 Remington, but Hornady and Ruger have beaten them to the punch with their new .416 Ruger. All these new calibers are great, but heaven help you if you need buy ammo for them in a far away place or maybe lost your luggage while flying and now you are stuck with no ammo. As for me, I’ll continue to carry the old standby calibers as I can usually beg or borrow a few rounds of ammo anywhere. Now the question remains as to will the WSM and RUM replace the “Old Reliablesâ€?? Only time will tell. I just hope I’m around long enough to find out. If you care to add any ÂłIXHO WR WKLV ÂżUH´ IHHO IUHH WR write Terry at tblauwkamp@ superior-sales.com

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September/October Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazine™ 9

Do It Yourself Wilderness

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I \RX KDYH \RX GRQH DQ\ UHVHDUFK RQ HON RXWÂżWWHUV LQ WKH 86$ \RX SUREDEO\ got a bit of sticker shock. These days a good quality elk hunts starts at around $6500 and goes nowhere but up. I wanted to share with you ways that you can get this done for $2000 or less and still get an opportunity to hunt and kill a good quality bull. For those of you that are not in the best physical condition I would recRPPHQG SD\LQJ WKH EXW IRU WKRVH RI \RX WKDW DUH SK\VLFDOO\ ÂżW DQG RU ZLOOLQJ WR JHW SK\VLFDOO\ ÂżW WKHQ WKLV ZLOO EH WKH ZD\ WR JR DERXW LW , ZLOO WHOO \RX WKDW IRU PH a wilderness hunt for elk is as close as you can get to God without checking out. PICK A DESTINATION: My personal experience has been in Colorado with non-draw over the counter tags so FIRST, I’m going to direct you to the Colorado Division of Wildlife. Start by calling and asking about wilderness elk hunts and what is required. These folks have always been cordial and anxious to help. They will to help get you started by getting you maps and regulations regarding the different hunting units in Colorado. The state of Colorado is mostly public hunting lands. Your package will include wilderness areas as well as those areas where motor vehicles are allowed. The reason that I choose wilderness is that I would like to see as few people as possible. Frankly I do not believe that you can pick your unit poorly as all non-draw units will give you a reasonable opportunity for a shot. Once you review the info from CDW you will have all the information you need to make a decision. PICK A HUNTING BUDDY: Now you know where you are going, you need to pick a hunting buddy. Nobody in their right mind goes into a wilderness area by themselves. There are about 1000 different ways to get hurt or killed in the wilderness. If you do decide to try it on your own be sure that you are ready to see yourself on “I survivedâ€? .Pick a hunting partner that can save your hide if you get into trouble, and one that is in at least as good a physical shape as you are. I went on a wilderness Elk hunt back in 1997. My hunting buddy was an experienced woodsman and Hunter. Another guy that was on the same trip, picked a hunting buddy that was a chain smoker. Now nothing against smoking but that guy could hardly walk 10 steps on Ă€DW ODQG 0\ IULHQGV VSHQG PRVW RI KLV WLPH YHU\ FORVH to camp and never saw an elk.

10 Shot of Texas Magazine™ September/October Issue 2015

Elk Hunt SELECT A RIFLE: Pay close attention to the topo map of your unit and be sure to check the area using Google satHOOLWH LPDJHV 2Q P\ ¿UVW ZLOGHUQHVV RQ , chose a 30.06 which turned out to be the worst possible caliber for the job. Why not I thought, the 3006 has killed more elk WKDQ DQ\ RWKHU ULÀH KRZHYHU LI \RX DUH LQ a unit where shot opportunities are longer than 250 yards then the 30.06 may not be your best choice. That was the case with me I never saw on elk under 400 yards VR FKRRVH D ULÀH DQG JHW SUR¿FLHQW DW \DUGV 0\ IDYRULWH ORQJ UDQJH ULÀH LV D %HVW RI WKH :HVW [ 7KLV LV D ULÀH WKDW is deadly accurate out to 1000 yards. The %HVW RI WKH :HVW ULÀH V\VWHP FRPHV ZLWK D wind meter which will allow you to be accurate even with cross winds up to 20mph. a good choice however is a 300 Win Mag. GET IN SHAPE: Make no mistake about it, hunting in the wilderness is dangerous especially if you attempt to hunt when you’re out of shape. Spend no less than 90 days preparing for your hunt. 'RQœW ERWKHU WR JR MRJJLQJ RQ D ÀDW URDG EHFDXVH WKHUHœV QRWKLQJ ÀDW ZKHUH \RX are going. When I was living in Houston I spent my evenings at the high school football stadium. That’s right boys it’s time to run bleachers. The good news is that while you are training you may want to watch what you eat but when elk hunting you can consume 10,000 calories a day and still come back weighing less than the day you arrived. I call this the elk diet. This diet consists of bacon, jerky, peanut butter, Oreo cookies, Nutter Butter or any peanut butter cookie, Sausage, Jelly and biscuits. The Elk hunt diet is my favorite and you will always know when you have not eaten enough in the wilderness because you will begin to feel very ill. Here is what happened to PH RQ P\ ¿UVW ZLOGHUQHVV KXQW PRUQLQJ I was literally green with nausea from the moment that I woke up. Luckily a hunting buddy of mine noticed and had

already learned about altitude sickness. 7KH ¿UVW WKLQJ KH GLG ZDV WR RIIHU PH D JUDQROD EDU , ¿UVW , UHIXVHG IHHOLQJ WKDW there was no way I could eat the way my stomach was feeling, but she kept insisting and as soon as those calories hit my system I felt instant relief. So here is the valuable lesson learned. Do not ever attempt to run around on an empty stomach at 10,000 feet elevation and 15° weather. In fact it is very important that you eat all day long and I suggest every two hours. The Right Clothing: First choose a base non cotton base layer. After that you will need just two pair of pants , 2 shirts ,4 socks and a wool cap for a 7 day trip. Have one heavy jacket with a hood and one light weight jacket. dress in layers depending on the weather. Finally, pick up a rain suit and you are ready to go. CAMPING EQUIPMENT A waterproof duffel bag. Do not attempt to take luggage on a horse. Lightweight aluminum cook ware sets are great but if you can use just one dish then choose a wok. Waterproof matches 1 Grill Grate 1 Good sleeping Bag 1 cook tent or heavy tarp and 1 sleep tent. Now don’t panic. You can rent all this at REI and it’s reasonable

EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT: I took the time and read several books on wilderness survival. I suggest you do the same. There are 4 things that you need to have with you at all times in the wilderness. In order of importance you must KDYH DW OHDVW WKH ¿UVW WZR LWHPV RQ WKLV OLVW Duct Tape Freezer Bags Emergency Blanket & a whistle The duct tape part should be easy to understand as you can set a broken bone, stop bleeding, make a rope or snare, build D VKHOWHU DQG HYHQ UHSDLU D ULÀH LI QHFHVVDU\ 7KH IUHH]HU EDJV DUH XVHG DV WKH ¿UVW layer as a sock if your feet get wet. If you have only two choices, choose duct tape and freezer bags. Transportation: Here is here most of your expenses will be. Unless you can pack in with a back pack then you will have to rent a horse. Horses will cost $150.00 each to rent and come with all the tack. You will need one to ride, and one half a horse to pack. A good rule is 1 pack horse for two hunters. These are mountain horses and won’t spook easily therefore you do not need to be an expert rider. My experience has been that the horses will go when asked and stop when you say whoa! They will stay on the trail even in the dark. You may need to book the horses 10 months in advance. For me half of the fun of hunting is planning a successful trip. Good hunting!

September/October Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazine™ 11

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Don’t let the name fool you Welcome to Hogsback Ranch, Wisconsin’s trophy whitetail deer and elk hunting destination. Our hunting preserve specializes in providing quality, trophy whitetail and elk hunting opportunities with fully-guided, all-inclusive hunts on a wide variety of terrain. Modern lodging and amenities included. We take great pride in providing our customers with world class hunting opportunities and big Northerm White tails. The Man Behind the Bucks: Nathan Wininger Phone: (715) 572-1724 or (715) 572-5938 WWW.HOGSBACKRANCH.COM

September/October Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazine™ 13

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hen most people think of the oilÂżHOG WKH\ WKLQN RI (QJLQHHULQJ roughnecks, black gold, greasy coveralls and now...art? With “innovationâ€? being this year’s industry buzzword, what better time to throw out all preconceived notions of the patch and start thinking of the industry in D QHZ OLJKW" $KHDG RI KLV WLPH WKDWÂśV H[DFWO\ what Mitch Griess of Bismarck, North Dakota did almost twenty-two years ago when he began merging his love of art with his love of the oilÂżHOG DQG KHÂśV QHYHU ORRNHG EDFN

Mitch’s Models: Unconventional Art Imitating Oilfield Life 0LWFK *ULHVV EURNH RXW LQ WKH RLO¿HOGV RI :\Rming after graduating from high school in 1981 despite the innate artistic talent he’d always known he possessed. Mitch recalls that while he’s always been blessed with an artistic ability, the artistic stereotype wasn’t exactly what he wanted to be known for in the halls of his Sheridan, Wyoming high school. Luckily, Mitch’s interests at the time expanded beyond art. Mitch says his love of working outside with his hands combined with his fascination with WKH FRQFHSW RI GULOOLQJ LQÀXHQFHG KLP VWUDLJKW LQWR the oilpatch leaving his artistic side behind for good, or so he thought. Mitch’s story is that of an unexpected entreSUHQHXU +H KDV FDUYHG RXW DQ LQWHUHVWLQJ RLO¿HOG niche for himself through his innovation, unique talent, patience of Job, and unparalleled attention to detail. You won’t believe your eyes when you see what he is building.

Good News Travels Fast In The Oilpatch Starting out in the patch, Mitch went into seismic graphing before moving on to exploration drilling, crane operating, and driving rig-up trucks. Mitch left WKH RLOÂżHOG IRU D VKRUW VWLQW IURP WR DWWHQG diesel mechanic school swiftly returning to the patch upon completion eager to put his new set of skills to the test. Like many who take on the tough work IRXQG LQ WKH RLOÂżHOG 0LWFK VWD\HG DFWLYH DV D PDQ

of many trades and in between the rest of his jobs; Mitch says he occasionally drilled up water wells here and there as well. At some point during Mitch’s fourteen years giving his all in the patch, his artistic aspirations of the SDVW LQHYLWDEO\ IRXQG WKHLU ZD\ LQWR KLV RLOÂżHOG OLIH when Mitch saw someone attempt to build a drilling rig out of Popsicle sticks. Mitch’s artistic instincts quickly took over. “I was given this natural ability to look at things a different way with perfectionism and this artistic talent that I was blessed with...I thought you know what, what if I was to try and make one of them as real as I could? So I did. I didn’t know how to start or what I was doing, I had not a clue,â€? Mitch recalls. Mitch wasted no time acquiring the necessary materials and soon - piece by piece - he found himVHOI IDEULFDWLQJ KLV YHU\ ÂżUVW PRGHO GULOOLQJ ULJ 8Qbeknownst to Mitch, this wouldn’t be his last. “From the engines, to the trucks - everything was authentic DQG DFFXUDWH ´ 0LWFK UHPHPEHUV RI WKDW ÂżUVW FUHDWLRQ 2XW RI FXULRVLW\ 0LWFK EHJDQ FUHDWLQJ KLV ÂżUVW detailed model in 1993 presuming it would be nothing more than decoration for his own home. Mitch says he started showing the rig to people having no idea how powerful the word of mouth in the oilpatch could be or how it would help shape his side hobby at the time into what would eventually become a side career one day. That same year, Mitch received a phone call that would change everything as well as provide a much

14 Shot of Texas Magazine™ September/October Issue 2015

PRUH VLJQLÂżFDQW SXUSRVH IRU KLV GULOOLQJ ULJ PRGHO beyond his own coffee table eye candy. Mitch recalls that fateful phone call saying, “Much to my surprise, I got a call from the goverQRUÂśV RIÂżFH RQH GD\ 7KH\ ZHUH ZDQWLQJ WR NQRZ about this drilling rig model I was building. I was kind of blind-sided by the phone call. I had no idea how they found out about the rig, but I guess word got around.â€?

Unconventional Oil & Gas Art At the time, Mitch recalls the North Dakota Heritage Center in his home state lacked anything representing the oil business. Mitch says a representative IURP WKH JRYHUQRUÂśV RIÂżFH FDOOHG WR DVN LI WKH\ FRXOG send some people out to take a look at Mitch’s creation. They also asked Mitch if he might be willing to donate the model to the North Dakota Heritage Center upon its completion. “I missed the part where they said “donateâ€?. I said yeah, how much would you be willing to pay me for something like that? The governor’s representative said, you did hear me say the word “donateâ€? right?â€?, Mitch laughs. Mitch says he marinated on the idea of creating this drilling rig model that would represent the patch for the North Dakota Heritage Center having had no previous plans to build anything further than the derrick and the substructure. He decided that if he was going to move forward with it then just one derrick wouldn’t be enough.

0LWFK WROG WKH JRYHUQRUœV RI¿FH ³,I \RXœUH JRing to do that, you’re going to have to tell the whole story. You’re going to have to have all the equipment on there to keep people engaged and educate them - bring those people who will never get a chance to go to a rig site, bring that to them with this project.� 7KH JRYHUQRUœV RI¿FH DJUHHG ZLWK 0LWFKœV thinking, and Mitch agreed to eventually donate the project to the ND Heritage Center upon comSOHWLRQ 7KH JRYHUQRUœV RI¿FH WKHQ DVNHG 0LWFK WR see if he could procure funding for the project from the oil and and gas community. The roughneck artist was suddenly a fundraiser too. Mitch says at the time, the oil business was VORZ PDNLQJ LW GLI¿FXOW WR ¿QG SHRSOH LQWHUHVWHG in funding his project. Eventually a few players stepped up and made the project happen giving Mitch the resources to create this project that would take him the next thirteen years to complete WKDQNV WR WKH SHUIHFWLRQLVP RI DQ RLO¿HOG DUWLVW

Just as he took pride in all aspects of his work in the patch, so too does Mitch with every detail of every model he builds. Mitch says he decided that every component had to be absolutely accurate, “That was the goal and the standards that I used as the foundation to build my models on,â€? he says. 0LWFKÂśV ÂżUVW PRGHO ZDV PDGH IURP EDOVD ZRRG aluminum tubing, and copper tubing. Mitch deVFULEHV WKDW ÂżUVW PRGHO VD\LQJ Âł(DFK OD\HU RI SDLQW on the model is sanded in between coats to make it look like metal, to give it that luster. When you look at it, you’ll never know it’s made out of balsa wood.â€?

Leaving The Oilpatch Behind Just as he had done with his artistic side fourteen \HDUV EHIRUH D IHZ \HDUV LQWR FUHDWLQJ KLV ÂżUVW ULJ PRGHO 0LWFK GHFLGHG LW ZDV WLPH WR OHDYH KLV RLOÂżHOG life behind for good as well, or so he thought. Mitch’s time in the patch was spent as a single man and in 1995, Mitch decided it was time for him to settle down and get married. Mitch says he knew he had to leave the patch as he had witnessed WKH WROO WKH RLOÂżHOG OLIH FDQ KDYH RQ D UHODWLRQVKLS “I knew the demand of the industry would be FKDOOHQJLQJ , ÂżJXUHG WKDW ZRXOG EH D JRRG WLPH IRU me to pursue the artistic side of what had been given to me,â€? Mitch recalls. Upon leaving the patch, Mitch married, received a degree in commercial art, and in 2004 Mitch started his own business - all while continuing to work RQ WKDW YHU\ ÂżUVW PRGHO 7KRXJK KH GLGQÂśW NQRZ LW DW the time, what once was a little hobby of his inspired by his days in the patch, would eventually turn into a lifelong career.

How The First Model Was Built “I’m not an engineer, I struggle with math, but I have a mechanical mind.â€? - Mitch Griess Mitch says in the beginning it was all trial and error. He didn’t know if his engines should be carved out of a block of wood or something else. He said learning how to do this craft so that it was accurate and not generic was a learning process. “Every component of that rig - whether it’s the engine, the trucks, the draw works - there’s going to be someone looking at it. If there is a CAT diesel PHFKDQLF WKHUH ORRNLQJ DW WKRVH HQJLQHV DQG ÂżQGV something wrong with them then you automatically discredit the whole project,â€? says Mitch. “If I had never worked in the industry, I wouldn’t be able to accomplish this.

Eventually through trial and error, Mitch discovered he could order plastic in the same type of VWULSV Ă€DW DQG WXEXODU SLHFHV KH PDGH IURP WKH EDOVD wood. Since this realization, Mitch has made all of his models out of Polystyrene plastic which he says was “much, much easier to work with.â€?

The Entrepreneur Wears Many Hardhats To achieve perfection in his rig models, Mitch explains he must visit the locations and rig sites of the models before he builds them. Mitch says at every location he takes measurements and photos from which to reference later. Mitch then returns home to his shop where he will spend about nine months or so creating his next one-of-a-kind masterpiece. Mitch does all of this in addition to his regular forty hour work week serving as the Creative Director/Vice President for a full-service marketing and web development company called Armor Interactive where Mitch specializes in brand identity. “It’s something where I have to divide my time between the other business I’m involved in because I’m not ready to let that go. On the other side, the model business isn’t quite where I would like it to be to just leave and do that full time either,� Mitch says.

Everything, including the trucks, was made from EDOVD ZRRG RQ 0LWFKÂśV ÂżUVW PRGHO Mitch understands what being an entrepreneur is all about. His one man business means not only must he be the model building expert, but also he must handle every other aspect of his business from pricing, shipping, marketing, etc. Mitch faces unique challenges in every aspect of his business. :KHQ KH ÂżUVW VWDUWHG 0LWFK VD\V LW ZDV GLIÂżFXOW EHFDXVH KH KDG QR LGHD ZKDW FRQVWLWXWHG D fair price for a rig model, “Overcoming that obstacle through the process of doing a multitude of ULJV DQG ÂżQGLQJ D ÂżQH EDODQFH WR ZKDW WKH\ÂśUH worth and what people can afford has been challenging.â€? Mitch has honed his pricing craft with a completed rig model with a timeline of six to nine months costing anywhere from $60,000 to $75,000. While a workover rig model having a six to eight week completion timeline, can run anywhere between $5,000 to $6,500 depending RQ SURMHFW ZRUNĂ€RZ Over the years of improving his process of calculating a fair price for a model, Mitch now even offers around a 10% educational discount to colleges or anyone using his models for training or educational purposes. “It’s my way of giving back into that educational process,â€? he says. Mitch says models like the ones he builds have proven a valuable tool in educating the next generation of oil and gas professionals. “A model like that has really been helpful to them when they can put it under a plexiglass cover and use a laser pointer to point out all these different pieces and because they’re detailed, you take the guess work out of, what does that really look like?â€?, Mitch explains. When it comes to shipping, Mitch packages the models himself before sending off to their intended destinations. Some of Mitch’s models KDYH EHHQ Ă€RZQ DOO RYHU WKH ZRUOG WR SODFHV OLNH Russia and Abu Dabi. Mitch admits the biggest thing he’s learned over the years building his models is patience. “I had to learn patience along the way. You want to see what this thing is gonna look like when it’s GRQH DQG SDWLHQFH LV GHÂżQLWHO\ VRPHWKLQJ WKDW KDG to be learned through this...You start cutting corners and you’re going to miss something down the line. You’re going to wish you hadn’t cut those corners. 3DWLHQFH LV GHÂżQLWHO\ D ELJ SDUW RI WKLV ZKROH FRQcept,â€? he explains. Mitch says his wife and three kids support what KH GRHV DGGLQJ WKDW KLV NLGV GHÂżQLWHO\ WKLQN LWÂśV FRRO “My kids think they’re cool and I have to make sure they put their hands in their pockets when they come into my workshop,â€? he laughs. “My wife cannot stand watching me work because she’ll come in and ontinue on page 28

September/October Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazine™ 15

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W UHFHQW PHHWLQJ RI D VPDOO JURXS RI RLO¿HOG EXVLQHVVPHQ , DWWHQG PRQWKO\ , ZDV GUDZQ into a conversation with one of the regulars, a mid-level manager at a major pipeline company. He was already holding court with a few others when I walked up, and I could see immediately from the look on his face that he was in the process of getting something off his FKHVW ,W WXUQHG RXW KH KDG MXVW ¿QLVKHG D PDMRU UHYLHZ RI VHYHUDO SDUWV RI KLV FRPSDQ\¶V EXVLQHVV SURFHVV DQG KDG MXVW SUHVHQWHG LW WR VHQLRU PDQDJHUV +H KDG LGHQWL¿HG VHYHUDO PLVWDNHV WKDW WKH company was making repeatedly, costing them hundreds of thousands of dollars, and he had deYLVHG VRPH VLPSOH ZD\V WKH\ FRXOG LPSURYH WKHLU SHUIRUPDQFH $IWHU DJUHHLQJ ZLWK KLP WKDW WKH current process was wasteful, and seeing no reason why his solutions wouldn’t work, they thanked him for all his eager-beaver enthusiasm and told him things would stay the way they were. ƚ ƌĞĐĞŶƚ ŵĞĞƟŶŐ ŽĨ Ă ƐŵĂůů ŐƌŽƵƉ ŽĨ ŽŝůĮĞůĚ ďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐŵĞŶ / ĂƩĞŶĚ ŵŽŶƚŚůLJ͕ / ǁĂƐ ĚƌĂǁŶ ŝŶƚŽ Ă ĐŽŶǀĞƌƐĂƟŽŶ ǁŝƚŚ ŽŶĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƌĞŐƵůĂƌƐ͕ Ă ŵŝĚͲůĞǀĞů ŵĂŶͲ ĂŐĞƌ Ăƚ Ă ŵĂũŽƌ ƉŝƉĞůŝŶĞ ĐŽŵƉĂŶLJ͘ ,Ğ ǁĂƐ ĂůƌĞĂĚLJ ŚŽůĚŝŶŐ ĐŽƵƌƚ ǁŝƚŚ Ă ĨĞǁ ŽƚŚĞƌƐ ǁŚĞŶ / ǁĂůŬĞĚ ƵƉ͕ ĂŶĚ / ĐŽƵůĚ ƐĞĞ ŝŵŵĞĚŝĂƚĞůLJ ĨƌŽŵ ƚŚĞ ůŽŽŬ ŽŶ ŚŝƐ ĨĂĐĞ ƚŚĂƚ ŚĞ ǁĂƐ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƉƌŽĐĞƐƐ ŽĨ ŐĞƚͲ ƟŶŐ ƐŽŵĞƚŚŝŶŐ Žī ŚŝƐ ĐŚĞƐƚ͘ /ƚ ƚƵƌŶĞĚ ŽƵƚ͕ ŚĞ ŚĂĚ ũƵƐƚ ĮŶŝƐŚĞĚ Ă ŵĂũŽƌ ƌĞǀŝĞǁ ŽĨ ƐĞǀĞƌĂů ƉĂƌƚƐ ŽĨ ŚŝƐ ĐŽŵƉĂŶLJ͛Ɛ ďƵƐŝͲ ŶĞƐƐ ƉƌŽĐĞƐƐ͕ ĂŶĚ ŚĂĚ ũƵƐƚ ƉƌĞƐĞŶƚĞĚ ŝƚ ƚŽ ƐĞŶŝŽƌ ŵĂŶĂŐĞƌƐ͘ ,Ğ ŚĂĚ ŝĚĞŶƟͲ ĮĞĚ ƐĞǀĞƌĂů ŵŝƐƚĂŬĞƐ ƚŚĂƚ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŵƉĂŶLJ ǁĂƐ ŵĂŬŝŶŐ ƌĞƉĞĂƚĞĚůLJ͕ ĐŽƐƟŶŐ ƚŚĞŵ ŚƵŶĚƌĞĚƐ ŽĨ ƚŚŽƵƐĂŶĚƐ ŽĨ ĚŽůůĂƌƐ͕ ĂŶĚ ŚĞ ŚĂĚ ĚĞǀŝƐĞĚ ƐŽŵĞ ƐŝŵƉůĞ ǁĂLJƐ ƚŚĞLJ ĐŽƵůĚ ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞ ƚŚĞŝƌ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ͘ ĨͲ ƚĞƌ ĂŐƌĞĞŝŶŐ ǁŝƚŚ Śŝŵ ƚŚĂƚ ƚŚĞ ĐƵƌͲ ƌĞŶƚ ƉƌŽĐĞƐƐ ǁĂƐ ǁĂƐƚĞĨƵů͕ ĂŶĚ ƐĞĞŝŶŐ ŶŽ ƌĞĂƐŽŶ ǁŚLJ ŚŝƐ ƐŽůƵƟŽŶƐ ǁŽƵůĚŶ͛ƚ ǁŽƌŬ͕ ƚŚĞLJ ƚŚĂŶŬĞĚ Śŝŵ ĨŽƌ Ăůů ŚŝƐ ĞĂͲ

ŐĞƌͲďĞĂǀĞƌ ĞŶƚŚƵƐŝĂƐŵ ĂŶĚ ƚŽůĚ Śŝŵ ƚŚŝŶŐƐ ǁŽƵůĚ ƐƚĂLJ ƚŚĞ ǁĂLJ ƚŚĞLJ ǁĞƌĞ͘ ,Ğ ǁĂƐ ĂƉŽƉůĞĐƟĐ͘ dŚĞŶ ŚĞ ǁĂƐ ƋƵŝͲ ĞƚůLJ ĨƵƌŝŽƵƐ͘ ŶĚ ďLJ ƚŚĞ ƟŵĞ / ƌĂŶ ŝŶƚŽ Śŝŵ͕ ŚĞ ŚĂĚ ƉŽƵƌĞĚ ƚŚƌĞĞ ďĞĞƌƐ ŽŶƚŽ ƚŚĂƚ ĮƌĞ ĂŶĚ ǁĂƐ ƌĞĂůůLJ ůĞƫŶŐ ŝƚ Ăůů ŽƵƚ͘ /ƚ ƐĞĞŵĞĚ ƐŽ ƐŝŵƉůĞ ƚŽ Śŝŵ͗ / ĨŽƵŶĚ Ă ƉƌŽďůĞŵ ʹ ĂŐƌĞĞĚ͍ zĞƐ͕ ĂŐƌĞĞĚ͘ dŚŝƐ ƐŝŵƉůĞ ƚǁĞĂŬ ƐŚŽƵůĚ Įdž ŝƚ ʹ ĂŐƌĞĞĚ͍ zĞƐ͕ ĂŐƌĞĞĚ͘ ^Ž͕ ĂƌĞ ǁĞ ŐŽŝŶŐ ƚŽ ŝŵƉůĞŵĞŶƚ ƚŚŝƐ ƐŝŵƉůĞ Įdž͍ EŽ͙ Ăƚ ƚŚŝƐ ƉŽŝŶƚ͕ ƚŚĞ ŐĞĂƌƐ ŽĨ ůŽŐŝĐ ĂŶĚ ƌĞĂƐŽŶ ƌĞĂůůLJ ƐƚĂƌƚ ƚŽ ŐƌŝŶĚ͘ / Ăŵ ĐƵƌŝŽƵƐ ĂďŽƵƚ ƚŚŝƐ ƐŽƌƚ ŽĨ ƚŚŝŶŐ͕ ƐŽ ǁŚŝůĞ Ă ĨĞǁ ŽƚŚĞƌƐ ƉĞĞůĞĚ Žī ƚŽ ŵŝŶŐůĞ͕ / ĂƐŬĞĚ Śŝŵ ǁŚLJ ŚĞ ƚŚŽƵŐŚƚ ŝƚ ǁĂƐ ŚĂƉƉĞŶŝŶŐ͘ ͞ZŝƐŬ ĂǀĞƌƐŝŽŶ͕͟ ǁĂƐ ŚŝƐ ƚǁŽͲǁŽƌĚ ƌĞƉůLJ͘ ,Ğ ƐƵŵŵĂƌŝnjĞĚ ƚŚĂƚ ƚŚĞƌĞ ǁĞƌĞ ƚŽŽ ŵĂŶLJ ƉĞŽƉůĞ ŝŶ ŚŝƐ ŵĞĞƚͲ ŝŶŐ ǁŚŽ ƉĞƌĐĞŝǀĞĚ ƚŚĂƚ ŝĨ ŚŝƐ ƐŽůƵƟŽŶ ƐƵĐĐĞĞĚĞĚ͕ ƚŚĞƌĞ ǁĂƐ ƐĐĂŶƚ ƌĞǁĂƌĚ͕ ďƵƚ ŝĨ ŝƚ ĨĂŝůĞĚ͕ ƚŚĞLJ ĐŽƵůĚ ƐƵīĞƌ Ă ůŽƚ ŵŽƌĞ ƐŝŐŶŝĮĐĂŶƚůLJ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ĚŽǁŶƐŝĚĞ͘ /Ŷ ĂŶ ĞŶͲ ǀŝƌŽŶŵĞŶƚ ůŝŬĞ ƚŚĂƚ͕ ŚĞ ĐŽŶĐůƵĚĞĚ͕ ŝƚ͛Ɛ

16 Shot of Texas Magazine™ September/October Issue 2015

ŚĂƌĚ ĨŽƌ ĂŶLJ ŐŽŽĚ ŝĚĞĂ ƚŽ ďƌĞĂŬ ƚŚƌŽƵŐŚ͘ ,ŝƐ ƐƚŽƌLJ ŝƐ ŶŽƚ ƵŶŝƋƵĞ͘ dŚĞ Žŝů ĂŶĚ ŐĂƐ ŝŶĚƵƐƚƌLJ ŝƐ Ă ĐŽŶƐĞƌǀĂƟǀĞ ŝŶĚƵƐƚƌLJ͕ ĂŶĚ ƚŚĞƌĞ ŝƐ Ă ŐŽŽĚ ƌĞĂƐŽŶ ĨŽƌ Ă ůŽƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĂƚ ĐŽŶƐĞƌǀĂƟƐŵ͘ KǀĞƌ ƚŚĞ ƉĂƐƚ ĚĞͲ ĐĂĚĞƐ͕ ĂƐ ƚŚĞ ƚĞĐŚŶŝĐĂů ĚŝĸĐƵůƟĞƐ ĂŶĚ ĐŽŵƉůĞdžŝƚLJ ĂƐƐŽĐŝĂƚĞĚ ǁŝƚŚ ƉƌŽũĞĐƚ ĞdžͲ ĞĐƵƟŽŶ ŚĂǀĞ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞĚ͕ ƚŚĞ ŝŶĚƵƐƚƌLJ ŚĂƐ ŚĂĚ ƚŽ ďĞĐŽŵĞ ŵŽƌĞ ĚĞůŝďĞƌĂƚĞ ĂŶĚ ƉƌŽĐĞƐƐͲŽƌŝĞŶƚĞĚ ĂƐ ǁĞůů͘ ƐƉĞͲ ĐŝĂůůLJ ĂŵŽŶŐ ƚŚĞ ƐƵƉĞƌŵĂũŽƌƐ͕ ǁŚŽ ƐĞƚ ƚŚĞ ƚŽŶĞ ĨŽƌ ŵƵĐŚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƌĞƐƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŝŶͲ ĚƵƐƚƌLJ͕ ƚŚĞ ĨŽĐƵƐ ŽŶ ŵĂƐƐŝǀĞ ƉƌŽũĞĐƚƐ ŝŶ ǁŚŝĐŚ ĞǀĞƌLJ ĨƌŽŶƚͲĞŶĚ ĚĞĐŝƐŝŽŶ ĐĂŶ ŚĂǀĞ ŵƵůƟͲŵŝůůŝŽŶ ĚŽůůĂƌ ĐŽŶƐĞƋƵĞŶĐĞƐ ŚĂƐ ĐƌĞĂƚĞĚ ŝƚƐ ŽǁŶ ĐƵůƚƵƌĞ͕ ĂŶĚ ŝƚ ŚĂƐ ƐƉƌĞĂĚ ŽƵƚ ĂĐƌŽƐƐ ƚŚĞ ŝŶĚƵƐƚƌLJ Ăƚ ůĂƌŐĞ͘ dŽ ƚĂĐŬůĞ ƐŽŵĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ǁŽƌůĚ͛Ɛ ŵŽƐƚ ĨŽƌͲ ŵŝĚĂďůĞ ĞŶŐŝŶĞĞƌŝŶŐ ƉƌŽďůĞŵƐ͕ ĐŽŵƉĂͲ ŶŝĞƐ ŚĂǀĞ ĚĞǀĞůŽƉĞĚ ŚŝŐŚůLJ ƐƚƌƵĐƚƵƌĞĚ ĂŶĚ ƌŽďƵƐƚ ĚĞĐŝƐŝŽŶ ŵĂŬŝŶŐ ƉƌŽĐĞƐƐĞƐ͘ dŚĞƐĞ ƉƌŽĐĞƐƐĞƐ ŝŶǀŽůǀĞ͕ ĞƐƐĞŶƟĂůůLJ͕ ďƌĞĂŬŝŶŐ Ă ŵĂƐƐŝǀĞ ƉƌŽďůĞŵ ĚŽǁŶ ŝŶƚŽ

ƐŵĂůůĞƌ ƉĂƌƚƐ͕ ƐŽůǀŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ƐŵĂůůĞƌ ƉƌŽďͲ ůĞŵƐ ĂŶĚ ƌĞͲŝŶƚĞŐƌĂƟŶŐ ƚŚĞŵ Ăůů ŝŶƚŽ Ă ƌŽďƵƐƚ ƐŽůƵƟŽŶ͘ /Ĩ ĂŶLJ ŽŶĞ ƉĂƌƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƐŽůƵƟŽŶ ĨĂŝůƐ͕ ŝƚ ƉƵƚƐ ƚŚĞ ǁŚŽůĞ ƐLJƐƚĞŵ Ăƚ ƌŝƐŬ͕ ƐŽ ĂŶLJ ĚĞǀŝĂƟŽŶ ĨƌŽŵ ǁŚĂƚ ŝƐ ŬŶŽǁŶ ƚŽ ǁŽƌŬ ĞŶĚƵƌĞƐ ŝŶĐƌĞĚŝďůĞ ƐĐƌƵƟŶLJ͘ /Ŷ ƚĂĐŬůŝŶŐ ƚŚĞƐĞ ŝŶĐƌĞĚŝďůLJ ĐŽŵƉůĞdž ŐĞŽƉŚLJƐŝĐĂů ĂŶĚ ĞŶŐŝŶĞĞƌŝŶŐ ƉƌŽďůĞŵƐ͕ ĐŚĂŶŐĞ ĂŶĚ ŝŶŶŽǀĂƟŽŶ ŵƵƐƚ ŚĂƉƉĞŶ ƐůŽǁůLJ ĂŶĚ ŝŶĐƌĞŵĞŶƚĂůůLJ͕ ǁŝƚŚ ĂŶ ĞLJĞ ƚŽǁĂƌĚƐ ŶŽƚ ůĞƫŶŐ ĂŶLJ ďŽůĚ ŶĞǁ ƐƚĞƉ ĚŝƐƌƵƉƚ ƚŚĞ ƐƵĐĐĞƐƐ ŽĨ Ă ƉƌŽũĞĐƚ Ăƚ ůĂƌŐĞ͘ /ƚ ŵƵƐƚ ďĞ ƚŚĂƚ ǁĂLJ͘ dŚĞŶ ǁŚĂƚ͛Ɛ ƚŚĞ ƉƌŽďůĞŵ͍ WƵƚ ƐŝŵƉůLJ͕ ƚŽŽ ŵĂŶLJ ĐŽŵƉĂŶŝĞƐ ŚĂǀĞ ůĞƚ ƚŚŝƐ ĐƵůƚƵƌĞ ƚƌĂŶƐĐĞŶĚ ƚŚĞŝƌ ƚĞĐŚŶŝĐĂů ƉƌŽďůĞŵ ƐŽůǀŝŶŐ͕ ĂŶĚ ĐƌĞĞƉ ŝŶƚŽ ƚŚĞŝƌ ĂƉƉƌŽĂĐŚ ƚŽ ĚŽŝŶŐ ďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐ ŝŶ ŐĞŶĞƌĂů͘ dǁŽ LJĞĂƌƐ ĂŐŽ͕ ƐŚŽƌƚͲ ůLJ ĂŌĞƌ ƚŚĞ ƚĞƌƌŽƌŝƐƚ ĂƩĂĐŬ Ăƚ /Ŷ ŵĞŶĂƐ͕ ůŐĞƌŝĂ͕ / ǁĂƐ ĐĂůůĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŽ ŵĂŬĞ ƐŽŵĞ ƌĞĐͲ ŽŵŵĞŶĚĂƟŽŶƐ ƚŽ Ă ĐŽŵƉĂŶLJ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƌĞͲ ŐŝŽŶ ĂďŽƵƚ ŚŽǁ ƚŚĞLJ ĐŽƵůĚ ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞ ǁŚĂƚ ƚŚĞLJ ŬŶĞǁ ǁĂƐ ĂŶ ŝŶĂĚĞƋƵĂƚĞ ƐĞĐƵƌŝƚLJ ƐLJƐƚĞŵ͘ /Ŷ ƚŚĞ ŵŽŶƚŚƐ ĂŌĞƌ ƚŚĞ ĂƩĂĐŬ͕ ƚŚĞƌĞ ǁĂƐ Ă ƐƚƌŽŶŐ ƐĞŶƐĞ ŽĨ ƵƌŐĞŶĐLJ͕ ĂŶĚ LJŽƵ ĐŽƵůĚ ĨĞĞů ŝƚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ŵĞĞƟŶŐƐ͘ /Ŷ ƚŚĞ ĞŶĚ͕ ǁĞ ŝĚĞŶƟĮĞĚ ƐŽŵĞ ĐƌŝƟĐĂů ƐŚŽƌƚĐŽŵͲ ŝŶŐƐ ŝŶ ƚŚĞŝƌ ƐĞĐƵƌŝƚLJ ƉƌŽŐƌĂŵ ƚŚĂƚ ƚŚĞLJ ĂŐƌĞĞĚ ƐŚŽƵůĚ ďĞ ŝŵƉůĞŵĞŶƚĞĚ͘ /Ŷ ĨŽůͲ ůŽǁŝŶŐ ƵƉ ŽǀĞƌ ƚŚĞ ŶĞdžƚ ƐĞǀĞƌĂů ŵŽŶƚŚƐ͕ / ǁĂƐ ĚŝƐĂƉƉŽŝŶƚĞĚ ƚŽ ůĞĂƌŶ ƚŚĂƚ͕ ƚŚƌŽƵŐŚ ƚŚĞ ŐĂƵŶƚůĞƚ ŽĨ ĐŽŵŵŝƩĞĞƐ ĂŶLJ ŶĞǁ ŝĚĞĂ ŚĂĚ ƚŽ ŐŽ ƚŚƌŽƵŐŚ ĨŽƌ ĂƉƉƌŽǀĂů ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŵƉĂŶLJ͕ ƉŝĞĐĞ ďLJ ƉŝĞĐĞ ĞǀĞƌLJƚŚŝŶŐ ŶĞǁ ƚŚĂƚ ǁŽƵůĚ ŚĂǀĞ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞĚ ƚŚĞŝƌ ƌĞƐƉŽŶƐĞ ƟŵĞ͕ ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞĚ ĐŽŵŵƵŶŝĐĂƟŽŶƐ ĚƵƌŝŶŐ Ă ĐƌŝƐŝƐ͕ ĂŶĚ ĐůŽƐĞĚ ŐĂƉƐ ŝŶ ƚŚĞŝƌ ĞdžŝƐƟŶŐ ƐĞĐƵƌŝƚLJ ƉůĂŶ ǁĂƐ ƐƚƌŝƉƉĞĚ ŽƵƚ͘ /ŶƐƚĞĂĚ͕ ĂŌĞƌ ŵŽŶƚŚƐ ŽĨ ĐŽŵŵŝƩĞĞ ŵĞĞƟŶŐƐ͕ ĐŽŶƐƵůƟŶŐ ĨĞĞƐ͕ ĂŶĚ ƵŶƚŽůĚ ŶƵŵďĞƌƐ ŽĨ ƐƚĂī ŚŽƵƌƐ ĚĞůŝďĞƌĂƟŶŐ ŝƚ Ăůů͕ ƚŚĞLJ ĚĞĐŝĚĞĚ ƚŽ ŵĂŬĞ ƚŚĞ ĨĞŶĐĞ ŚŝŐŚĞƌ ĂŶĚ ďƵLJ Ă ďŝŐͲ ŐĞƌ ĂĐĐĞƐƐ ŐĂƚĞ͘ / ǁĂƐ ƐƵƌƉƌŝƐĞĚ͕ ďĞĐĂƵƐĞ ƚŚĞƌĞ ǁĞƌĞ ƐĞƌŝŽƵƐ ŚŽůĞƐ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƐĞĐƵƌŝƚLJ ƐLJƐƚĞŵ ƚŚĂƚ ǁĂƐ ŝŶ ƉůĂĐĞ͘ /Ŷ ĂƐŬŝŶŐ ǁŚLJ͕ Ă ĨĂŵŝůŝĂƌ ƉƌŽĐĞƐƐ ǁĂƐ ĚĞƐĐƌŝďĞĚ ƚŽ ŵĞ͘ KŶĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŐƵLJƐ ƚŚĂƚ

ǁĂƐ ƉƵƐŚŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ŝĚĞĂ ŽĨ ĂŶ ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞĚ ƐĞĐƵƌŝƚLJ ƉůĂŶ ŝŶƚĞƌŶĂůůLJ ĞdžƉůĂŝŶĞĚ ƚŚĂƚ ŝŶƐŝĚĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĂƚ ĐŽŵƉĂŶLJ͕ ŶŽ ŝŵƉŽƌͲ ƚĂŶƚ ĚĞĐŝƐŝŽŶ ǁŽƵůĚ ďĞ ŵĂĚĞ ƵŶůĞƐƐ͕ ƚŚƌŽƵŐŚ Ă ƉƌŽĐĞƐƐŝŽŶ ŽĨ ĐŽŵŵŝƩĞĞƐ͕ ŽƚŚĞƌƐ ĐĂŵĞ ŽŶ ďŽĂƌĚ ƚŽ ĞŶĚŽƌƐĞ ƚŚĞ ŶĞǁ ĐŚĂŶŐĞƐ͕ ƚŚĞƌĞďLJ ƐŚĂƌŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ƌŝƐŬ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƉĞƌƐŽŶ ƉƌŽƉŽƐŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ŝĚĞĂ͘ ǀĞŶ ŝĨ ƚŚĞ ƉĞŽƉůĞ ŽďũĞĐƟŶŐ ǁĞƌĞŶ͛ƚ ĂƵƚŚŽƌŝͲ ƟĞƐ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ƉĂƌƟĐƵůĂƌ ƐƵďũĞĐƚ͕ ŝĨ ĂŶLJ ŶĞǁ ŝĚĞĂ ĚŝĚŶ͛ƚ ŚĂǀĞ ŶĞĂƌůLJ ĐŽŵƉůĞƚĞ ďƵLJͲŝŶ ĂĐƌŽƐƐ Ă ƌĂŶŐĞ ŽĨ ŝŶƚĞƌŶĂů ƐƚĂŬĞŚŽůĚͲ ĞƌƐ͕ ŝƚ ǁŽƵůĚŶ͛ƚ ďĞ ĂĚŽƉƚĞĚ͘ dŚĞƌĞ ǁĂƐ Ă ƉĞƌĐĞƉƟŽŶ ƚŚĂƚ ŝĨ ƚŚĞ ŶĞǁ ƉůĂŶ ƐƵĐͲ ĐĞĞĚĞĚ͕ ƚŚĞƌĞ ǁĂƐ ǀĞƌLJ ůŝƩůĞ ƵƉƐŝĚĞ͕ ďƵƚ ŝĨ ĂŶLJƚŚŝŶŐ ǁĞŶƚ ǁƌŽŶŐ͕ ŝƚ ǁŽƵůĚ ďĞ ǀĞƌLJ ƐĞƌŝŽƵƐ͘ /Ŷ ƚŚŝƐ ĂƚŵŽƐƉŚĞƌĞ͕ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ĂďͲ ƐĞŶĐĞ ŽĨ Ă ĐƌŝƐŝƐ͕ ĞǀĞŶ ƐŝŵƉůĞ͕ ůŽǁͲƌŝƐŬ ĞĸĐŝĞŶĐŝĞƐ ĂƌĞ ŽŌĞŶ ŬŝůůĞĚ ŝŶ ƵƚĞƌŽ͘ DLJ ĐŽŶĮĚĂŶƚ ǁĂƐ ǀĞƌLJ ĨƌƵƐƚƌĂƚĞĚ͘ dŚĞƐĞ ǁĞƌĞŶ͛ƚ ĞĂƌƚŚͲƐŚĂƩĞƌŝŶŐ ĐŚĂŶŐĞƐ ƚŚĂƚ ǁĞƌĞ ďĞŝŶŐ ƌĞĐŽŵŵĞŶĚĞĚ͘ /ŶĐŝͲ ĚĞŶƚ ƌĞƐƉŽŶƐĞ ǁĂƐ ĐŽŽƌĚŝŶĂƚĞĚ ŝŶƚĞƌŶĂͲ ƟŽŶĂůůLJ͕ ďƵƚ ǁŽƌŬĞƌƐ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ĮĞůĚ ĚŝĚŶ͛ƚ ŚĂǀĞ ƉŚŽŶĞƐ ƚŚĂƚ ĐŽƵůĚ ĚŝĂů ŽƵƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ĐŽƵŶƚƌLJ͘ ^ŽůƵƟŽŶ͗ ďƵLJ ĂŶ ŝŶƚĞƌŶĂƟŽŶĂů ƉůĂŶ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ǁŽƌŬĞƌƐ ƐŽ ƚŚĞLJ ĐĂŶ ĐĂůů ƚŚĞ ĞŵĞƌŐĞŶĐLJ ƌĞƐƉŽŶƐĞ ĐĞŶƚĞƌ ŝŶ Ă ĐƌŝƐŝƐ͘ ĞŶŝĞĚ͘ /ƚ ǁĂƐ Ă ƌĞĂů ŚĞĂĚ ƐĐƌĂƚĐŚĞƌ͕ ĂŶĚ ůĞŌ ĞǀĞƌLJŽŶĞ ĨƌƵƐƚƌĂƚĞĚ ĂŶĚ ĐLJŶŝĐĂů͘ ŶŽƚŚĞƌ ĨƌŝĞŶĚ ǁŽƌŬŝŶŐ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƐƵƉƉůLJ ĐŚĂŝŶ ŽĨ ĂŶ ΘW ĐŽŵƉĂŶLJ ĨŽƵŶĚ ƐĞǀĞƌĂů ƌĞĚƵŶĚĂŶĐŝĞƐ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ǁĂLJ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŵƉĂŶLJ ŝŶǀĞŶƚŽƌŝĞĚ ŝƚƐ ƐĂĨĞƚLJ ĞƋƵŝƉŵĞŶƚ͘ / ƌĞͲ ĐĂůů ŚŽǁ ŚĂƉƉLJ ŚĞ ǁĂƐ ƚŚĂƚ ŚĞ ǁĂƐ ŐŽͲ ŝŶŐ ƚŽ ƐĂǀĞ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŵƉĂŶLJ Ă ůŽƚ ŽĨ ŵŽŶĞLJ͕ ĂŶĚ ƉĞƌŚĂƉƐ ƵƐĞ ƚŚŝƐ ƐŝŵƉůĞ ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞͲ ŵĞŶƚ ĂƐ Ă ƐƉƌŝŶŐďŽĂƌĚ ƚŽ Ă ƉƌŽŵŽƟŽŶ Žƌ Ăƚ ůĞĂƐƚ Ă ĨĂǀŽƌĂďůĞ ďŽŶƵƐ͘ tŚĞŶ ǁĞ ŵĞƚ Ɛŝdž ŵŽŶƚŚƐ ůĂƚĞƌ͕ ŚĞ ĚŝĚŶ͛ƚ ǁĂŶƚ ƚŽ ƚĂůŬ ĂďŽƵƚ ŝƚ͘ ,ŝƐ ŝĚĞĂ ŚĂĚ ďĞĞŶ ŬŝůůĞĚ ŝŶ ĐŽŵŵŝƩĞĞ ďLJ Ă ŚŽƐƚ ŽĨ ŽďũĞĐƟŽŶƐ ƚŚĂƚ ĂŵŽƵŶƚĞĚ ƚŽ͕ ͞ůŽŽŬ͕ ŝƚ͛Ɛ ǁŽƌŬŝŶŐ ŶŽǁ͕ ůĞƚ͛Ɛ ŶŽƚ ƌŝƐŬ ŵĞƐƐŝŶŐ ŝƚ ƵƉ͘͟ EŽǁ͕ / ĐĂŶ ƵŶĚĞƌƐƚĂŶĚ ƚŚĂƚ LJŽƵ ǁŽƵůĚ ƚŚŝŶŬ ƚŚĂƚ ǁĂLJ ŝĨ ƚŚĞ ƋƵĞƐƟŽŶ ǁĞƌĞ ǁŚĞƚŚĞƌ Žƌ ŶŽƚ ƚŽ ƵƐĞ ĂŶ ƵƉƌŽǀĞŶ͕ ŶĞǁ ƚĞĐŚŶŽůŽŐLJ ŝŶ

ƚŚĞ ĚƌŝůůŝŶŐ ƉŚĂƐĞ ŽĨ Ă ŵĂũŽƌ ƉƌŽũĞĐƚ ǁŝƚŚ ĐŽŵƉůĞdž͕ ŽǀĞƌůĂƉƉŝŶŐ ƐĐŚĞĚƵůĞƐ ĂŶĚ ǁŚĞƌĞ ĂŶLJ ĚĞůĂLJ ĐŽƵůĚ ĐĂƵƐĞ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŵͲ ƉĂŶLJ ƚŽ ŚĞŵŽƌƌŚĂŐĞ ĐĂƐŚ ĂŶĚ ǀĂůƵĞ͍ Ƶƚ ŝƚ ŵĂŬĞƐ Ă ůŽƚ ůĞƐƐ ƐĞŶƐĞ ƚŽ ĐĂƌƌLJ ƚŚŝƐ ŬŝŶĚ ŽĨ ƌŝƐŬ ĂǀĞƌƐŝŽŶ ŽǀĞƌ ŝŶƚŽ ŵĂƩĞƌƐ ŽĨ ƌĞĚƵŶĚĂŶƚ ŝŶǀĞŶƚŽƌŝĞƐ͕ Žƌ ďƵLJŝŶŐ Ă ĨĞǁ ĞdžƚƌĂ ŝŶƚĞƌŶĂƟŽŶĂů ŵŽďŝůĞ ƉŚŽŶĞ ƉůĂŶƐ͘ dŚĞƐĞ ĂƌĞ ĞdžĂŵƉůĞƐ ŽĨ ƉƌŽďůĞŵƐ ƚŚĂƚ ĐŽŵƉĂŶŝĞƐ ĐĂŶ ĞĂƐŝůLJ ƐƵƌǀŝǀĞ ǁŚĞŶ ƉƌŝĐͲ ĞƐ ĂƌĞ ŚŝŐŚ ĞŶŽƵŐŚ ƚŚĂƚ ƐǁŽůůĞŶ ŵĂƌŐŝŶƐ ǁĂƐŚ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŶƐĞƋƵĞŶĐĞƐ ĂǁĂLJ͘ KǀĞƌ ƚŚĞ ƉĂƐƚ LJĞĂƌ͕ ŚŽǁĞǀĞƌ͕ Ăůů ŽĨ ƚŚĂƚ ĞdžĐĞƐƐ ŚĂƐ ƚŚŝŶŶĞĚ ĐŽŶƐŝĚĞƌĂďůLJ͘ DŽƐƚ ĐŽŵƉĂŶŝĞƐ ŚĂǀĞ ĐƵƚ Ăůů ƚŚĞ ĨĂƚ ƚŚĞLJ ĐĂŶ͕ ĂŶĚ ĐĂŶ ŶŽ ůŽŶŐĞƌ ĂīŽƌĚ ƚŽ ƚĂŬĞ Ă ĐĂǀĂůŝĞƌ ĂƉƉƌŽĂĐŚ ƚŽ ĞǀĞŶ ƌĞůĂƟǀĞůLJ ƐŵĂůů ƉƌŽďůĞŵƐ͘ /ƚ ǁŝůů ďĞ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƟŶŐ ƚŽ ƐĞĞ ǁŚĞƚŚĞƌ ƚŚĞ ŝŶĚƵƐͲ ƚƌLJ ǁŝůů ƵƐĞ ƚŚŝƐ ĂƐ ĂŶ ŽƉƉŽƌƚƵŶŝƚLJ ƚŽ ĂƐŬ ŝƚƐĞůĨ ǁŚĞƚŚĞƌ Žƌ ŶŽƚ ƚŚĞLJ ŚĂǀĞ ůĞƚ ƚŚĞ ũƵƐƟĮĂďůĞ ƌŝƐŬ ĂǀĞƌƐŝŽŶ ĨƌŽŵ ƚŚĞŝƌ ƚĞĐŚͲ ŶŝĐĂů ĐƵůƚƵƌĞ ĐƌĞĞƉ ŽƵƚ ŝŶƚŽ ƚŚĞŝƌ ďƵƐŝͲ ŶĞƐƐ ĐƵůƚƵƌĞ͘ /Ŷ ƚŚĞ ĐĂƐĞƐ ǁŚĞƌĞ ŝƚ ŚĂƐ͕ ŵĂŶĂŐĞƌƐ ĂƌĞ ŐŽŝŶŐ ƚŽ ŚĂǀĞ ƚŽ ŐŽ ďĂĐŬ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ĚƌĂǁŝŶŐ ďŽĂƌĚƐ ĂŶĚ ĂƐŬ ƚŚĞŵͲ ƐĞůǀĞƐ ƚŚĞ ŚĂƌĚ ƋƵĞƐƟŽŶ͗ ŝŶ ĞĂĐŚ ŽĨ ŵLJ ďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐ ƵŶŝƚƐ͕ ĂƌĞ ŵLJ ŝŶĐĞŶƟǀĞƐ ǁĞůů ĂůŝŐŶĞĚ ǁŝƚŚ ŵLJ ƐƚƌĂƚĞŐŝĐ ŽďũĞĐƟǀĞƐ͍ ZĞĂůŝŐŶŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ĚĞĐŝƐŝŽŶ ŵĂŬŝŶŐ ĐƵůƚƵƌĞ ŝŶ Ă ĐŽŵƉĂŶLJ ĐĂŶ ďĞ Ă ĚĂƵŶƟŶŐ ƚĂƐŬ͕ ďƵƚ ƚŚŽƐĞ ƚŚĂƚ ŚĂǀĞ ƚĂŬĞŶ ƚŚĞ ƉĂƐƚ LJĞĂƌ ĂƐ ĂŶ ŽƉƉŽƌƚƵŶŝƚLJ ƚŽ ǁŽƌŬ ŽŶ ƚŚĞƐĞ ŝƐͲ ƐƵĞƐ ǁŝůů ĐŽŵĞ ŽƵƚ ǁŝƚŚ ƌĞĂů͕ ĂŶĚ ƐƚƌƵĐͲ ƚƵƌĂůůLJ ƉĞƌŵĂŶĞŶƚ͕ ĞĸĐŝĞŶĐŝĞƐ͘ Ɛ ŵLJ ĨƌŝĞŶĚ ĨƌŽŵ ƚŚĞ ƉŝƉĞůŝŶĞ ĐŽŵƉĂŶLJ ŽƉĞŶĞĚ Ă ĨŽƵƌƚŚ ŽƐ ƋƵŝƐ͕ ŚĞ ƐŝŐŚĞĚ ĂŶĚ ƐĞĞŵĞĚ ƚŽ ůĞƚ ŝƚ ŐŽ͘ ͞>Ğƚ͛Ɛ ĨŽƌŐĞƚ ĂďŽƵƚ ŝƚ͘ /ƚ͛Ɛ ũƵƐƚ ǁŚĂƚ /͛ǀĞ ŐŽƚ ƚŽ ĚĞĂů ǁŝƚŚ͕͟ ŚĞ ƐĂŝĚ ƚŽ ĐůŽƐĞ ƚŚĞ ƚŚŽƵŐŚƚ͘ dŚĞ ŵĞĞƟŶŐ ǁĞŶƚ ŽŶ͘ tĞ ůŝƐƚĞŶĞĚ ƚŽ Ă ďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐ ƉůĂŶ͘ tĞ ƐŽĐŝĂůŝnjĞĚ ƐŽŵĞ͘ tĞ ĂƚĞ ǁĞůů ĐŽƵƌƚĞƐLJ ŽĨ ŽƵƌ ŐĞŶĞƌŽƵƐ ŚŽƐƚ͕ ĂŶĚ ĞǀĞŶƚƵĂůůLJ ĂĚͲ ũŽƵƌŶĞĚ͘ / ŵĞƚ ƚŚĞ ƐĂŵĞ ŐƵLJ Ăƚ ƚŚĞ ĚŽŽƌ ŽŶ ŵLJ ǁĂLJ ŽƵƚ͕ ĂŶĚ ƚŽůĚ Śŝŵ ƚŽ ŬĞĞƉ ŚŝƐ ĐŚŝŶ ƵƉ͘ ,Ğ ůĂƵŐŚĞĚ͕ ͞ŽŶĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞƐĞ ĚĂLJƐ /͛ŵ ŐŽŝŶŐ ƚŽ ƐƚĂƌƚ ŵLJ ŽǁŶ ĐŽŵƉĂŶLJ͕ ĂŶĚ ĚŽ ŝƚ ƌŝŐŚƚ͘͟ ,ŽƉĞĨƵůůLJ͕ ŚĞ ǁŝůů͘

September/October Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazine™ 17

Larry Weishuhn

COLD WET DESERT

“T

he Inuit elders say we have to shut down all banding until the caribou pass through the area. They’re afraid the helicopter and our activity will scare the herds. Can’t do much about their decision, they control ™Šƒ– ™‡ …ƒÂ? ƒÂ?† …ƒÂ?ǯ– †‘Ǩ —‡•• ™‡ǯ”‡ ‰‘‹Â?‰ ϔ‹•Š‹Â?‰ ˆ‘” –™‘ ‘” three days until the migration passes.â€? said Canadian Wildlife Service’s Kent Brace our leader of our International Snow Goose Banding Program, this back in August, 1977. He continued, “We’re about half way where we want to be in terms of numbers. We’ve banded about 13,000 so far.... Maybe this is a good time to take a break.â€?

I

looked over at the three other Americans involved in the program; David Richard from Louisiana, Greg Duffy from Oklahoma, and my banding partner Dan Rochford from Nebraska. We all smiled. We had been working 18 hour days since we had gotten to the western shores of Hudson Bay in the then Northwest Territories of Canada. The closest landmark on the map was the Thianne River. None of us were about to complain about taking a break where we FRXOG ZDWFK WKH FDULERX PLJUDWLRQ DQG ¿VK for grayling and Arctic char in the fast running streams. During my time off I glassed hundreds of caribou. I had long dreamed seeing caribou, described by some to be the most beautiful big game animal in North America. Sitting there watching bulls with impressive antlers through my Zeiss binos I recalled reading articles in Outdoor Life by Jack O’Connor about caribou and how he was not overly impressed with their intelligence. But I also recall he too, in spite of in his lower opinion of caribou stating how handsome they were. Although the bulls I was looking at were

still in velvet, I imagined what they might look like rubbed out. Watching the caribou I resolved to one day return to this cold, wet desert to pursue their kind... ,W ZDV VHYHUDO \HDUV ODWHU EHIRUH , ÂżQDOO\ PDGH P\ ÂżUVW MRXUQH\ QRUWK WR SXUVXH FDULbou, not in the Northwest Territories but to Quebec. We hunted hard, Denver McCorPLFN DQG , DQG KH ÂżQDOO\ WRRN WZR EXOOV DQG QHDU WKH ODVW GD\ RI WKH KXQW , ÂżQDOO\ shot ancient, huge bodied bull with at best so-so antlers. But that did not take anything away from the adventure of the hunt! It only increased my resolve to return. Over the next several years I hunted the wet deserts of the far north numerous times IURP $ODVND WR 1HZIRXQGODQG , GLG ÂżQDOO\ return to the Northwest Territories but farWKHU ZHVW IURP ZKHUH , KDG ÂżUVW VHHQ FDULERX in the late summer of 1977. That particular long, multi-tined bull easily exceeded the Boone & Crockett record book minimums. While I loved hunting caribou, there ZHUH VHYHUDO \HDUV , GLG QRW MRXUQH\ WR WKH far north. Then attending the 2013 Dallas Safari

18 Shot of Texas Magazine™ September/October Issue 2015

Club Convention while visiting with my old friend and occasional hunting partner Jerry Baker and our mutual friend and my regular hunting partner, Tim Fallon, who heads up the FTW Ranch and their fabulous SAAM shooting/hunting “schoolâ€? we were kicking around ideas where we might go on a hunt together. Jerry and Tim looked at each other and said, “Caribou!â€? Both agreed they needed a Quebec/Labrador caribou. Tim suggested Alan Tardiff’s /HDI 5LYHU 2XWÂżWWHUV :H ZDONHG RYHU WR their booth and booked a camp. Jerry said his son Brian and son-in-law Ben would be going, Tim said Doug Prichard, ace instructor with the FTW and Matt Spitcher, also an occasional instructor for SAAM would want to go as well. We needed one PRUH WR ÂżOO RXU FDPS $ TXLFN FDOO WR RXU PXWXDO IULHQG .HQ 'Âś$UF\ TXLFNO\ ÂżOOHG RXU camp. I won’t say the trip to get to the Leaf River wasn’t fun or uneventful, for it was both. Finally we stepped out of the DeHaviland Beavers, loaded our gear in a FRXSOH RI TXDGV IRU WKH WULS WR RXU VPDOO cabins. A group of hunters was leaving camp on the planes we arrived in, and it looked like their hunt had had mediocre success. One of the hunters recognized me and as he came closer I remembered meeting him several years ago at a Minnesota whitetail show. “Been coming up here for 14 years, the same week, and always we’ve hit the migration almost perfectly. But this year it’s different. We’ve seen a lot of cows and calves, but only small bulls with the exception of one small herd of mature bulls. But.... the pilots have been telling us about 20 miles from here there are numerous big herds of mature bull. Hopefully they’ll head this way while you’re here. They’re supposed to!â€? I like hearing that latter statement. $W WKH ULĂ€H UDQJH , IRXQG P\ 5XJHU $PHULFDQ 5LĂ€H WRSSHG ZLWK =HLVV &RQTXHVW VFRSH DQG VKRRWLQJ +RUQDG\ÂśV grain GMX was still dead on. Next morning after a great breakfast Ken D’Arcy, Blake Barnett my cameraman/ co-producer of my “Trailing the Hunter’s Moonâ€?, our guide Remi and I crawled into a river boat and headed up stream. Although we didn’t see many caribou, I did spot a black bear was across the river. Quickly setting up my Zeiss spotting scope there was not doubt it was a prime haired specimen of a far northern black bear. Quickly we ran to the river, got in the boat crossed to the other side, WKHQ EHJDQ D ORQJ DUGXRXV VWDON WKDW ÂżQDOO\ SXW XV ZLWKLQ DERXW \DUGV RI WKH EHDU , looked over at Ken, “You ever shoot a black bear?â€? He shook his head in a negative manner. “Well you’ve got a black bear tag, I sug-

gest you attempt to use it on that bear!� Ken smiled and tried to argue, knowing I too had a bear tag..but he could see I was not going to relent. The bear was his! &UDZOLQJ DQRWKHU WZHQW\ ¿YH RU VR \DUGV Ken set up my BOGPOD shooting sticks, DLPHG DQG ¿UHG 7KH EHDU IHOO EXW , HQFRXUaged him to put a second round into the bear for insurance purposes. Where the bear fell, it was only about three feet in any direction to dense thickets. And even though I like a bit of adventure I had no desire that morning to have to root a wounded and enraged black bear out of thick stuff. At the bear’s side Ken ran his hand though the bear’s thick, luxuriant hair. Moments later I reached over and shook his hand in congratulations. Our next action came two days later after much glassing, walking, glassing and more glassing. As we walked to a slope top where we could see miles in most every direction

a half way, moving slowly stopping occaVLRQDOO\ WR IHHG $W ÂżUVW , WKRXJK JRLQJ after them might be futile. Caribou move a lot, and usually there is no way to catch up with a moving herd. Even so one of the bulls really caught my fancy. He was tall, with a good shovel, interesting bezes, and split top tines not unlike the forks of a mule deer. I watched as the caribou bedded down. With a bit of luck they would stay there for a while, then get up and start feeding again. Remi, Blake and and I decided to make a run at the caribou, literally! We took off at a trot, crossed several small creeks, waded WKURXJK D ERJ DQG ÂżQDOO\ HQGHG XS DERXW \DUGV RI ZKHUH WKH EXOO , ZDV DIWHU KDG been feeding. But then he disappeared on the other side of a small rise. Blake and I TXLFNO\ PRYHG IRUZDUG KRSLQJ WR FDWFK WKH bull when he reappeared. , VSRWWHG WKH DQWOHU WRSV MXVW DERYH WKH

During the next days all in our party shot at least one caribou, and some shot two. I did not, I kept looking for an absolute monster, and while we saw other very nice bulls I GLG QRW ÂżQG DQRWKHU RQH , ZDQWHG WR SXOO WKH trigger on. We also made certain the delicious meat was properly taken care of, as well as the capes and antlers which upon our return would be headed to The Wildlife Gallery. Our trip on the Leaf River was a huge success! Several in our party also caught nuPHURXV ÂżVK $W QLJKW ZH JDWKHUHG LQ D FRPmon area and told story after story. We dealt with a “varietyâ€? of weather conditions from cold, to warm, wet and blizzard conditions. These conditions proved a perfect test for some of the Walls/10x clothLQJ LWHPV , ZRUH WR ÂżHOG WHVW 7KH\ FRXOG not have served me better! Successful trip? No doubt! So successful that before we left camp we started planning our next adventure.

INDUSTRY CALENDAR NOVEMBER 2015

10TH – 12th

Clean Gulf – New Orleans, LA

12th

Pasadena Chamber Networking Breakfast

16th-17th

we were met by a small herd of caribou bulls. One had great bottom development and a sizable double shovel. Again I looked over at Ken, “Ever shoot a caribou?â€? AlUHDG\ NQRZLQJ WKLV ZDV KLV ÂżUVW FDULERX hunt. “Take that biggest bull, he’s a beauty. Great bull to start with with. Once you get him down you can save your second tag for a bigger bull.â€? Ken set up the BOGPOD shooting sticks, centered the crosshairs of his Zeiss scope on the bull’s vitals and gently tugged the trigger. The bull simply crumpled. A few minutes later, we were photographing Ken with KLV ÂżUVW FDULERX $W KLV VLGH , NLGGHG KLP “Had I known the bull was a double shovel, , PLJKW QRW KDYH EHHQ DV TXLFN WR WHOO \RX to take him! I’ve hunted caribou for many years and I’ve never shot a double shovel!â€? Ken beamed. :H ÂżHOG GUHVVHG .HQÂśV EXOO KXQJ D UHG handkerchief on a nearby bush, then continued hunting. :H JODVVHG IRU VHYHUDO KRXUV DQG ÂżQDOO\ spotted a nice bunch of bulls on our side of the river. But the were about a mile and

ridge. He was walking toward us. As his entire body materialize with my Ruger rested on my BOGPOD shooting sticks, my Zeiss crosshairs settled on the bull’s vitals. I waited until %ODNH VDLG KH KDG VXI¿FLHQW IRRWDJH WKHQ JHQtly pulled the Ruger’s 3 pound trigger. Even WKRXJK WKH EXOO ZDV GHDG RQ WKH ¿UVW VKRW , TXLFNO\ VKRW KLP D VHFRQG WLPH , OLNH WR VKRRW My bull was a prime specimen, still in velvet, but his antlers were completely developed. $IWHU ¿QLVKLQJ WKLQJV IRU P\ '6&œV Trailing the Hunter’s Moon show, we did a bunch of still photography, then caped and TXDUWHUHG P\ EXOO 5HPL DQG , VSOLW WKH ORDG and he headed back toward where we had left Ken’s bull. Once back to it, we caped DQG TXDUWHUHG KLV EXOO DV ZHOO :H WRRN ZKDW added weight we could carry and started to the boat, walked part way, dropped our existing load then headed back to Ken’s bull. From that point on we carried a load so far, walked back and got the rest, carried it farther, dropped that load walked back to where we had left part of the load and so on until we got both bulls back to the boat.

Refining Capital Projects Conference & Exibition – Houston

DECEMBER 2015

10th

Pasadena Chamber Networking Breakfast

JANUARY 2016

20th

ACIT – Houston Ship Channel Reverse Trade Show – Deer Park

September/October Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazine™ 19

Digital Ad Blocking Adblocking is coming to the iPhone with iOS 9. $GEORFNLQJ — running a piece of software in your web browser that prevents ads on most web pages from loading — has moved from a niche behavior for the nerdy few to something mainstream. A report from 2014 found that adblock usage was up 70 percent year-over-year, with over 140 million people blocking ads worldwide, including 41 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds. You can understand why that would be troubling to the publishers who sell those ads. But until now, adblocking has been limited almost entirely to desktop — mobile browsers haven’t allowed it. Here’s how the developer documentation puts the new change, coming in iOS 9: The new Safari release brings Content Blocking Safari Extensions to iOS. Content Blocking gives your extenVLRQV D IDVW DQG HI¿FLHQW ZD\ WR EORFN cookies, images, resources, pop-ups, and other content. Your app extension is responsible for VXSSO\LQJ D -621 ¿OH WR 6DIDUL 7KH JSON consists of an array of rules (trigJHUV DQG DFWLRQV IRU EORFNLQJ VSHFL¿HG content. Safari converts the JSON to E\WHFRGH ZKLFK LW DSSOLHV HI¿FLHQWO\

to all resource loads without leaking information about the user’s browsing back to the app extension. Xcode includes a Content Blocker App Extension template that contains FRGH WR VHQG \RXU -621 ¿OH WR 6DIDUL -XVW HGLW WKH -621 ¿OH LQ WKH WHPSODWH to provide your own triggers and acWLRQV 7KH VDPSOH -621 ¿OH EHORZ contains triggers and actions that block images on webkit.org. What this means is, when iOS 9 launches in the fall, you’ll be able to go to the App Store and download an extension that will block ads on most news sites. Is there any chance that won’t be incredibly popular? The desktop version of Safari currently allows a variety of custom extensions, and what’s the most popular? Hint: It’s called AdBlock. For me, the arguments for using ad blockers range from the unconvincing (dude, information wants to be free) to the reasonable (I don’t need dozens of tracking beacons on every webpage) to the downright understandable (poorly built ads slow my browser to a crawl). I don’t use an ad blocker, but I do block all Flash by default for performance reasons, which accomplishes some of the same ends. The best arguments for adblocking are even stronger on mobile

20 Shot of Texas Magazine™ September/October Issue 2015

than they are on desktop — bandwidth and performance and battery life are all at a premium. This is worrisome. Publishers already make tiny dollars on mobile, even as their readers have shifted there in huge numbers. To take one example, The New York Times has more than 50 percent of its digital audience on mobile, but generates only 10 percent of its digital advertising revenue there. Most news outlets aren’t even at that low level. If iOS users — the majority of mobile web users in the U.S., and disproportionately appealing demographically — can suddenly block all your ads with a simple free download, where is the growth going to come from? (By the way, a version of Adblock Plus for Android just came out a couple weeks ago, though it appears to be more limited than what Apple is allowing.) The folks behind Adblock Plus — a different ad blocker from AdBlock; it’s a confusing space — aren’t sure they like the way Apple’s allowing it, saying it might make certain adblocking methods harder to implement on the desktop version of Safari. But desktop Safari is small potatoes compared to the web browser on every iPhone and every iPad, where it was impossible to write ad blockers before now.

The potential impact of “Content Blocking Safari Extensions” even goes beyond blocked ads. Apple is explicitly allowing the blocking of cookies on a site-by-site basis. For example, you could build an extension that blocked the cookies that allow a newspaper paywall to work. The Yourtown Times allows you 10 stories free a month? It’s probably using a cookie to keep track of that count. Block that cookie and the paywall comes tumbling down — you’re a fresh visitor every time. Imagine being able to download an extension that blocked paywall cookies on the top 50 paid news sites. It wouldn’t even be particularly hard to code; unless Apple chooses to prevent it, someone will do it. News sites would be able to build workarounds — changing cookie IDs regularly, requiring user login from article 1 — but winning that sort of cat-andmouse game is something publishers are unlikely to be good at.

Why would Apple do this? An Apple partisan might argue it just wants to give users control of their iPhone experience, and having debuted extensions in the last version of iOS, allowing them to alter web content is a natural next step. An Apple realist might argue that its great rival Google makes more than 90 percent of its revenue from online advertising — a growing share of that on mobile, and a large share of that on iPhone. Indeed, Google alone makes about half of all global mobile advertising revenue. So anything that cuts back on mobile advertising revenue is primarily hurting its rival. (Google has been less friendly to adblockers than its “open” positioning would suggest.) An Apple cynic might note that the company on Monday unveiled its new News app, which promises a beautiful reading experience — and a monetization model based on Apple’s iAds. iAds

will, one can assume, never be blockable by third-party extensions available in the App Store. Ads that appear at the operating system level — as opposed to in HTML and JavaScript on a web page — have a rather invulnerable position so long as you keep using Apple products. (It’s good to be the platform.) Maybe I’m exaggerating the potential impact here. (Talk me down!) Maybe people won’t download the free app at the top of the Most Downloaded list that promises to make their websites load more quickly, more beautifully, and using less data. But use of ad blockers has done nothing but rise, particularly among young users, and people are about to be given an easy way to do on the devices they use most. For the many news companies who are counting on mobile advertising for their future business model, I don’t see a way that this change won’t shave off a real slice of mobile advertising revenue.

Kenetrek Mountain Boots

Camo Girl Review Kendall Rae Kahn My experience with Kenetrek Mountain Boots has been nothing but purely positive. I can walk in these boots for hours and still be as comfortable as I was in the first five minutes that I put them on. Most big bulky boots for hiking or climbing tend to suffocate your feet causing sweating or blisters. With Kenetrek’s ‘Durable WindTex Water proof stretching membrane’ it keeps things dry and breathable! Not only am I 100% comfortable in the boots but I also feel safe and supported. When I’m on an adventure I want to know that my feet and ankles will be protected. After all, Its your feet that will get you where you need to go while traveling out in the sticks! Well done Kenetrek you’ve created and perfected the ultimate mountain boot!

September/October Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazine™ 21

AOUDAD, SHEEP OR GOAT? TOUGH HUNTING

F

i r st and foremost, I want to pass on to my readers never allow your computer not to be backed up as my original photos of one of my toughest trophies was lost when my computer crashed and burned! Several years ago I was on my way home from Mexico and was traveling thru Rock Springs, TX. It was late on a Sunday night and I stopped at the only place I could get something to drink and eat, a Shell gas Station that’s always open till 10:00 PM. Well, I was in camo and I had an elderly gentleman in a worn out Cowboy hat “that had seen better days!” He asked, “Whatcha hunting sonny?” I replied, “I’ve been in Mexico hunting Whitetails!” The ole Rancher asked, “Have ye ever hunted Aoudad?” I replied, no! Well that was the beginning to me being invited to hunt Aoudad, in the Hill Country near Rock Springs, Texas! 7KH YHU\ ¿UVW WKLQJ , GLG ZDV start digging into when is the best time to hunt Aoudad? I was seeking as much info as possible and here’s what I found. The Aoudad, have their rut in October and early November, gestation is 5 to 5.5 months with lambs being born in March and April. The Aoudad is also known as a Barbary sheep (Ammotragus Lervia) which is very tough and intelligent! They’re of the species of the Caprid (Goat –Antelope) however, there is a difference of agreement of Goat vs. Sheep and here in Texas we call them Sheep. These Aoudad are a very agile climbers and jumpers and stay high in rocky terrain, resting in shade during the heat of the day, descending at night to forage in valleys and plains. Their grazers and browser, when feeding on leaves, pods & fruit they will stand on two feet like goats. Due to living mostly in arid terrain they get VXI¿FLHQW ZDWHU IURP WKHLU

food, but will come readily to water where available. The Aoudad, was introduced to the State of Texas in the late 1940’s & 50’s by American soldiers who had fought in Northern Africa and thought the Aoudad would be a great Big Game animal for us to hunt KHUH LQ 7H[DV 7KH ¿UVW %DUbary sheep was brought into Llano and Kerr Counties and placed on High fenced ranches and these ranchers found out quickly that these animals did not like high fences, did escape and began to populate the Hill Country. Then in the 1960’s the Great State of Texas started to stock Aoudad in the Palo Duro Canyon region of the Panhandle. These Aoudad adapted and today there everywhere in West Texas, the Panhandle & Hill Country where \RX FDQ ¿QG KXQW DEOH KHUGV RI Aoudad. Please remember that 99% of the Great State of Texas is private land we have less than 1 million acres of public hunting!

22 Shot of Texas Magazine™ September/October Issue 2015

:H KXQWHG WKH ¿UVW WLPH LQ late September placed our Ground blind in the middle of a Live Oak Motte, with very thick cover of mesquite, blackbrush, and persimmon and shin oak. These aoudad would come into the protein feeder and water trough which was placed for the Whitetail deer and just beat the heck out of the feeder tray. The Aoudad had found out that if they beat the heck out of the feeder that the gates would open and more feed would drop down. That ¿UVW GD\ ZH VDW IURP GD\OLJKW till dark and never seen an Aoudad? The next day around midday we spotted an immature Aoudad Ram standing statue still in the thick brush, staring at the protein feeder and our ground blind. I told my camera man, when that Aoudad leaves, we’re out of here and will return in two weeks after they get use to the blind. The third week of October, we returned to the area we wanted to hunt; we

crawled into our blind well before daylight and settled in to wait for an Aoudad to come. Just after first light a whitetail doe, several ewes and lambs came to feed, and none of them were wary! By 10:00 AM we had seen several aoudad but most were ewes and lambs. The ewes were already weaning the lambs and forcing them to eat on their own! I could tell the ewes were nervous and very edgy! That meant the rut was getting started and there should have been Rams with these ewes, but nothing. Around 11:00 AM we had a nice ram appear along the edge of the brush which was very thick in this area, that ram just stood there and never moved for 10 minutes, just staring and watching the area looking for anything out of the ordinary? Suddenly the Ram turned and walked away, I looked @ my cameraman and wondered what the heck was going on? I told

RW I was going out to the feeder and make some calls; RW looked at me like I was crazy! I walked out of the motte and picked up a large stout oak limb, went to the protein feeder and gave my best call I know how! I took the stout limb and just beat the heck out of the aluminum feeder with well timed “butts� as if a Ram was beating up the feeder to get more protein out to eat! Then returned to the ground blind! RW, looked @ me like I was crazy and said, “Do you really think that’s going to work?� I said, simply YES! Maybe 20 minutes passed, I saw movement in the heavy brush, and a really nice ram showed up and was standing still looking at the feeder around the area, after about 15 minutes the ram walked out into the open straight to the protein feeder. What happened next was amazing! Out walked Rams, Ewes & Lambs as always they were very cau-

tious, ever so slowly taking there sweet time to approach the protein feeder. Then we had four feral blanco merino sheep to come in but could not get into feed as the Aoudad kept pushing them out. The Aoudad herd of about 25 ewes, lambs and 4 huge Rams was all over the place and very nervous! I thought that any moment they would pick up DQG WDNH RII UXQQLQJ ¿QDOO\ they all settled down and started to feed, get water the rams were walking around smelling of the ewes to see if any were in season? It was tough trying to get a shot as each time I tried to settle my pin on one of the Rams a ewe would always walk in between us and kill any shot! This went on for about 20 minute’s sheep in and out and all of the time I was really nervous that they would take off for the hills. Finally I had a chance to take a shot at the huge Ram and he was 25 yards off to the right of the herd standing broad-

side, I drew my bow, I could not seem to settle on the Ram and all of a sudden I had one of those moments shot went off and to this day I did not know where the arrow went! WAY TOO MUCH EXCITEMENT! Sheep were running in every direction but going nowhere! Finally they settled down and the main herd of ewes moved away from the water trough, the Monster Ram walked in very slowly to get a drink. The Ram was completely broadside as he was getting a drink of water, I don’t remember much as the pin settled on the Ram the arrow was off and running. The Grim Reaper went completely thru the Ram and he took off running the death run. The funny part is the other Rams took off chasing the dominate Ram and when he died about 90 yards out, they jumped on him , hooked him, beat the heck out of him and was urinating on the dominate dead ram to get even with all of the

butt whippings they had took in the past. It was over, a monster Ram was on the ground. This ram was a true monster 32 inch horns, 13 inch bases and weighed 300 lbs. on the hoof. The rancher was so impressed with my kill he said,� my hunting days was over on his ranch.� This was P\ ¿UVW RI VHYHUDO 5DPV ,œYH taken with my bow and it’s a huge thrill to hunt Aoudad. But be prepared to do a lot of glassing and walking if you’re into spot and stalking and make sure you’re very good out to 60 yards. Always way too many eyes watching. The best way to take a big UDP ZLWK \RX ERZ LV ¿QG RXW where they’re drinking water, set up a ground blind and hunt daylight till dark and in October, during the rut. %XHQD &DFHULD *RRG Hunting: Jim Miller %RZ 0DWKHZV %URDGKHDGV *ULP 5HDSHUV 2SWLFV %UXQWRQ

September/October Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazine™ 23

Surface Risks, How Big Are They

2

il and gas, at its heart, is a technical industry. I’ve certainly not surprised anybody with that statement. The feats of science and engineering that combine regularly in the field, or at sea, boggle the mind. Geologists, engineers, physicists, chemists and others each have a part in this incredible technological symphony – and DSSUR[LPDWHO\ HYHU\ GHFDGH WKH LQGXVWU\ EUHDNV WKURXJK DQG ILQGV VRPH QHZ ZD\ WR harvest a resource once thought out of reach. It’s only natural, and even healthy, that in the industry those same amazing people dominate management and staffs of the YDULRXV FRPSDQLHV 7KH\ DUH FROOHFWLYHO\ DQG LQGLYLGXDOO\ H[SHUWV RQ WKH VXE VXUIDFH and understandably the sub-surface is generally where they focus. But, of course, the sub-surface is only half of the picture. Wherever the industry is at work, and especially onshore, all of the colorful human and environmental landscape also comes into play, and with it come risks. In some cases, these risks are obvious. Nigeria is the arch-example, where the long history of problems above ground have bathed in tragedy a nation rich in resources, while straining the finances and reputations of several of the world’s biggest companies. But what is more surprising is how big surface risks are generally, and not just in the areas that are well known for them. The fact is that very often, and in locations nobody thought were

particularly problematic, companies are seriously struggling to manage their surface risks. I talk to people all around the industry about this particular topic, and while most people have a sense that the costs associated with surface risks are significant, few of them have a good sense of the magnitude of such costs. Even among project managers the cumulative costs of surface risks aren’t well understood, and this problem is compounded by the fact that companies in the space routinely attempt to hide these costs. If you don’t believe me, just try to find good informa-

24 Shot of Texas Magazine™ September/October Issue 2015

tion about oil and gas companies internal security spending sometime. In this fuzzy information environment, perhaps a good place to start a discussion on these risks is to ask how big they really are, and see if we can’t provide some clarity. When we first started thinking about this problem a few years ago, one of the studies we found most interesting was a paper by Edward W. Merrow from the Institute for Independent Project Analysis (IPA), called “Oil and Gas Industry Megaprojects: Our Recent Track Record.� The paper outlined the results of a study of more than 2,000 industry megaprojects over the 20-year period from 1992 to 2012. The study attempted to gauge

project “success� or “failure,� and in doing so defined a set of criteria designed to capture whether or not a project had significantly failed to deliver the value assumed at the FID. In the assessment, failure was assumed if the project was: 1. More than 25% over budget 2. Schedule delayed or exceeded the industry average by more than 50% 3. Ongoing and severe production problems within the first two years During the first ten years of the study, the success rate for oil and gas megaprojects was a lackluster 50%, but even more disturbingly the success rate fell to a sickening 22% during the second half of the twenty-year evaluation period.

Thandeka Safaris is a beautiful hunting destination situated in the Kalahari, 4km from the Botswana border,

Thirty two species Plains Game Dangerous Game Wing Shooting Bow Hunters welcome

“Experience prime unspoiled savannah”. Ideally suited for first time or returning hunters or families wanting to relax and enjoy all that Africa has to offer. Contact info@thandekasafaris.co.za or rob@ashotoftexas.net for details and packages We are proud to be hosting A Shot of Texas Magazine’s Big Shot Outfitters SAFARI 2015, Contact Rob@ashotoftexas.net for details.

www.crittergitters.net Tel: 281-332-7912 September/October Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazine™ 25

CAMEROON 6$9$11$+

By Brian Welker &(2 :HONHU ,QF

ONE MORE TIME

I

n a previous article I wrote ƒ„‘—– ‘—” ϔ‹”•– –”‹’ –‘ –Š‡ earths furnace, the Cameroon Savannah in 2014 where our primary goal was a Lord Derby Eland for my wife, Denise. My primary goal was a Western Savannah Buffalo, and although we both did get a nice Kob, and I got a beautiful Red Flanked Duiker.I did not get my coveted buffalo! Just a week after we ‰‘– „ƒ…Â? ‘—” ‘—–ϔ‹––‡” …ƒŽŽ‡† Â?‡ and asked if Denise and I would be interested in going back the day after Christmas for 7 days to hunt buffalo. She assured me the heat was not nearly as bad at this time, and we would go to a different concession. We had met our PH on our previous safari and really enjoyed his positive attitude and sense of humor. After looking at our schedule, we made the decision to “stickâ€? this safari in and made a plan!

When we arrived in Douala, Cameroon we were met at this non air conditioned, very hot airport . We loaded up and headed out for the drive to camp. Another incredible drive through the broken, pot holed roads of Cameroon until we reached the savannah where all is wonderful. We had a couple of hours so the PH took us out for a little drive to see what we could see. Low and EHKROG ZLWKLQ WKH ¿UVW KRXU ZH FDPH XSRQ D VPDOO herd of buffalo, about 30 animals! We’ve been here an hour and already saw more buffalo than ZH VDZ LQ GD\V WKH ¿UVW WULS $OWKRXJK ZH KDG D ULÀH DQG JRW D JRRG ORRN DW DOO RI WKHP WKHUH ZHUH QR PDWXUH EXOOV LQ WKH JURXS 7KH ¿UVW ORRN HQGHG the day with good vibrations all around! We wake up the next morning and head out WR ¿QG WUDFNV RQ WKH URDG WR IROORZ $IWHU VHYHUDO long, hot tracking episodes we had not found a good mature buffalo. Then as the day began to wind down we happened upon a group of buffalo bedded down off in the savannah. We carefully looked them over and our PH quietly told me there was an exceptional red bull bedded down around 250 yards away. The problem was that there was absolutely zero cover to make an approach without crawling. Since my knees are not that cooperative with me any more we made the plan to crawl about 40 yards closer where there

26 Shot of Texas Magazine™ September/October Issue 2015

was a single, sparse tree. Once there I would set up for a 200 yard shot. Everything went well and I squeezed the shot. The bull made about a 50 yard run and piled up. My Western Savannah Buffalo was down for keeps and with just a single shot. Back in camp that evening there was much celebration for this wonderful trophy. The next day we started out looking for more buffalo tracks for Denise’s chance at a nice buff. The day pretty much ran like the day before and around mid-afternoon we found good tracks to follow. As we got deeper into the bush we discovered the herd we were tracking had joined up with D PXFK ELJJHU KHUG $V WLPH ZHQW RQ ZH ¿QDOO\ came up on them in a grassy rolling valley. Much to our surprise there were close to 100 head ! We DOO JODVVHG DQG JODVVHG LWœV GLI¿FXOW WR EHOLHYH WKDW from this giant herd we were having a hard time ¿QGLQJ D PDWXUH EXIIDOR )LQDOO\ WKH 3+ VSRWWHG D mature, old red bull and the stalk was on. As we crept closer, they began to feed toward us, ultimately getting to within 10 yards of us as we all huddled under a big tree. All of a sudden several of the cows spotted us which sent them into a run for their life. All we could do was watch the dust with kind of a shocked look on our faces. Suddenly they just stopped running and were staring back in our direction, which was about the 300

yards away. We waited about an hour and got right back on their trail. This time everything worked in our favor and our PH was able to set Denise up on the sticks at about 75 yards. There was one older bull in this herd and she quickly acquired here target. At the shot, he just pitched forward onto his forehead with his back legs still standing straight. With both shoulders broken he could not move and just stayed balanced in this position. After almost 30 minutes and not falling over, DeQLVH SXW D ¿QLVKLQJ VKRW LQWR KLV VKRXOGHU DJDLQ and he promptly fell over stone dead. Denise now also had a trophy red buffalo. A curious note, the owner of the concession told us that 80% of the buffalo bulls killed are black, and only 20% are brown and/or red. Even more reason for celebrations that night for Denise’s success! With both buffalo down we were able to concentrate on the Denise getting a Western Hartebeest and very hard to get Harnessed Bushbuck. My plan was to work on a Western Roan and rare Red River Hog. So, the last 4 days would not be GXOO DV WKHVH DQLPDOV DUH QRW HDV\ WR ¿QG ,Q IDFW the owner of the concession told us that the bushEXFN DQG KRJ ZHUH QHDUO\ LPSRVVLEOH WR ¿QG GXH to the drought at this time of year. We attacked the remaining days with the attitude that we WILL get not just one or two of these critters, but all four. Our PH WAS successful at getting Denise on her Western Hartebeest on the 4th day and on the 5th day he put me on a very old Western Roan ! Two down, two days left, and two to go! We woke up the 6th day and after discussing the objective of a bushbuck for Denise with the trackers. The PH knew exactly where we needed to go. There was a dry riverine that we were to walk along and even though it was not breeding time, we would chance our luck for her there. Typically another month later was considered primetime for the bushbuck. The riverine was incredibly thick and very hard to see into for all of us. As we crept along all of a sudden one of the trackers

whistles to stop and he shows points out a reddish spot in the trees and bushes along the riverine at just over 100 yards away ! How he even saw WKLV , ZLOO QHYHU NQRZ :KHQ ZH ¿QDOO\ VDZ WKH spot, he set Denise up for a shot. She could not see any animals and was confused. He just told her to aim right at the red spot and squeeze the trigger. She did and was rewarded with a beautiful, very old, broomed down Harnessed Bushbuck. When we got back to camp, the owner of the concession was shocked we got one and was most happy for Denise. Being French, he gave big hugs and kisses all around. Now we’re down to the last day, #7, and my chance at a Red River Hog ! I was very happy with our whole safari at this point, so there was no pressure on anyone to make this happen. I was just happy to have the opportunity at this rare beast. We ended up going back to the same dry riverine we walked down for Denise’s bushbuck because the trackers has seen some hog tracks the day before. This being a very dry season, it was GLI¿FXOW WR ZDON TXLHWO\ GXH WR DOO WKH GU\ IDOOHQ leaves. After we passed about 300 yards past the exact spot Denise had shot her bushbuck, the trackers stopped and said that they could smell hogs! There was a very low, spread out palm type

tree about 50 yards ahead of us. As we resumed RXU VWDON RQH RI WKH WUDFNHUV VQDSSHG KLV ÂżQJHUV and urgently showed the hand sign to STOP ! He pointed out a group of hogs lying around under the palm type tree. The PH looked them over with his bino’s and turned to me. “Get readyâ€?. He had PH VWDQG ZLWK P\ ULĂ€H RQ WKH VWLFNV ZKLOH HYHU\one else sat down. We played the waiting game for around 30 minutes with my nerves on edge! One at a time the hogs began to get up and leave. They were walking right across and in front of us at about 40 yard ! He whispered “When the boar walks out I will say “Boarâ€? One hog went by, “sowâ€?, then another sow, then another , and anRWKHU $V WKH ÂżIWK KRJ ZDONHG RXW DOO , VDZ ZDV the PH starting to mouth the B sound of the word BOAR. “BLAMâ€? ! I knocked a huge, old Red River Hog down in the dirt! Wow, who would believe it ! Only 5% of the people that hunt the Red River Hog get one, and now I was one of the few. Six major animals on a seven day safari ! These kinds of hunts are rare indeed, and Denise and I were blessed to have this happen to us! The positive attitude and perseverance of our PH made all the difference .Next time in Cameroon we will be hunting Bongo & Dwarf Forest Buffalo. Until then, happy hunting .

September/October Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazine™ 27

Mitch’s Models: Unconventional $UW ,PLWDWLQJ 2LOÂżHOG /LIH continued from page 15 12 hours later she’ll come in again and I’ll still be working on one tiny little piece. She says she can’t stand watching that,â€? he laughs again. Mitch says that while he has seen others build drilling rig models, none do it to the extent of which he builds them. He says, “My goal is to be the best. Every model I do, I get better. Each one is more efIHFWLYH PRUH HIÂżFLHQW ZKLFK DOORZV PH WR VSHQG WKH extra time in the intricate details.â€?

The Future Of Mitch’s Models Inquiries for Mitch’s models come from all over the world with 90% of those inquiries being employees of oil and gas companies who want to own a drilling rig model. Mitch says it’s normal not to hear back from potential customers once he sends them a price on their requested rig. “They have no idea what’s involved and what the cost is so when I send them a price, you never hear back from them again. No matter, I still take the time to reply to them, I never disregard an email,� Mitch says of the numerous inquiries he receives for his unique drilling rig models. The downturn has taken its toll on almost every aspect of the oil and gas industry and inquir-

ies for Mitch’s drilling rig models are no exception. Mitch says just as he experienced an increase in inquiries during the fracing boom, he’s now experiencing a noticeable decrease since the fall in oil prices. “I do still get some inquiries now and then, but the ones I seem to be getting now are big businesses,â€? he said. While some might suspect being the “little guyâ€? in a sea full of big oil companies to be a challenge, Mitch says given the price tag of his models this dynamic works to his advantage explaining the big oil companies are the ones who not only still want a rig model for decoration in WKHLU RIÂżFHV EXW FDQ DOVR DIIRUG WKH SULFH WDJ LQ times like these.

The Best Of Both Worlds Mitch says he has no regrets when it comes to the unique career path he has taken saying if he could go back, he wouldn’t change a thing. “I’ve enjoyed every ounce of what I did in the RLOÂżHOG ,ÂśYH HQMR\HG WKH FKDOOHQJHV DQG REYLRXVO\ WKH ÂżQDO UHVXOWV RI WKHVH ULJ PRGHOV 7KHUHÂśV D lot of challenging times in there, there’s a lot of things that I don’t like to do. I don’t like cutting out every bolt that goes on the equipment, but it had to be done because that’s what is going to keep people engaged and that’s what’s going to keep it in its real presentation,â€? he says.

28 Shot of Texas Magazine™ September/October Issue 2015

Mitch reminisces on his journey saying he remembers the ribbon cutting held in honor of his YHU\ ÂżUVW ULJ PRGHO IRU WKH 1RUWK 'DNRWD +HUitage Center as the proudest moment since the start of his career building drilling rig models. “The feedback from the people in the industry was so positive. I knew the model was spot on, I knew every engine had every injector wire where it needed to be. The amount of years I spent on that one too, it was just a ton of work so the relief and everything I experienced when they had the ribbon cutting and the unveiling- to me that was really the catalyst that launched my business where it is today,â€? Mitch recalls. Mitch says when it comes to building models, he hopes to continue building them for as long as he can and says he will stick with what he knows and that’s oil and gas. He says it’s what he’s comfortable with, and he has no plans to branch out into building models for other industries. 0LWFK DGPLWV WKDW ZKLOH DUW DQG WKH RLOÂżHOG is a strange combination, it’s a combination that has worked well for him. “It’s something I thoroughly enjoy doing. It keeps me connected and engaged in the oil inGXVWU\ 7KH RLOÂżHOG ZDV D FDUHHU WKDW , QHYHU GLG ZDQW WR OHDYH EXW , WKRXJKW LW ZDV EHVW WR GR DW WKH WLPH , JHW WKH EHVW RI ERWK ZRUOGV GRLQJ LW WKLV ZD\ ´ - Mitch Griess

SO WHAT IS MARKETING, AND DO I NEED IT?

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he American Marketing Association (AMA) deÂżQHV 0DUNHWLQJ DV â€?Is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.â€? 7KLV LV QRW WKH FOHDUHVW GHÂżQLtion I have ever read, so I looked for another one, this one from the Oxford English Dictionary seems more relevant: “The action or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising.â€? OK, this sounds more reasonable‌so the core here is promoting and selling products or services, the selling part would seem to EH SUHWW\ FOHDUO\ GHÂżQHG WKH DFWXDO transaction, and subsequent providing of products or services, but what about the promoting? In the last article the use of the website as a marketing tool was

discussed, this iis only di d bbutt thi l one (albeit important!) part of the marketing or promoting part of the business, before the selling process begins and hopefully a sale is made. Do we put up billboards by the freeway, sit around at tradeshows giving away pens and glossy brochures, advertise in industry magazines, journals or on the local TV station, send out mail or e-mail shots to our customers and prospects, and how do we know which, if any, of these are the most effective for our company, for our industry, based on what we want to achieve, the resources we have

prospect to your door? It sounds simple, but many companies actually do this very basic thing ÂżUVW EHIRUH ERRNLQJ WKH WUDGHshow space again, before having those lovely brochures updated and printed off again? If you are trying to get the attention RI ZKRHYHU ÂżOOV WKH ELJ FRUQHU RIÂżFH ZLWK WKH SULYDWH SDUNLQJ access tto, our ttargett audience, di space that is one approach, but and our budget? alternatively if you trying to get Target audience - who are we the attention of the young engiwanting to take notice of this neer so you can help him solve marketing, who are we wanting his problems, that is a whole to bring to our door and have as other approach. a customer either new or estabSo, how well are you and your lished, do we know who they team doing, how effectively are are, what they look like, what you spending that marketing they are looking for when they budget, do you have any idea of do come to us? This is the best whether it is money well spent place to start when looking at or not? Think on this, catch the marketing on any level, with- next installation the next time A out giving this due thought, Shot of Texas goes to print, and if KRZ ZRXOG \RX EHJLQ WR GHÂżQH you have questions in the interim, which marketing approach is the look us up at ZZZ FFWDQGW FRP most viable, and stands the best Good hunting! chance of actually bringing that Michael Breitsameter

A Shot of Texas Reviews

RESTAURANTS WE LOVE! S

R \RX DVN ZKDW LQ WKH ZRUOG TXDOLČ´HV A Shot of Texas Magazine to do a restaurant review? Those folks aren’t culinary experts! Well, you are correct. I do not own a restaurant and I do not have a culinary arts degree, but just like the character Mona Lisa Vito played by actress Marisa Tomei in “My Cousin Vinnyâ€? once said about being a mechanic. My father was a chef my uncles are chefs my mother’s brothers are chefs and I consider myself a chef by proxy. I have cooked professionally part time for over 12 years. Here is what I do know. When entertaining clients it is critical that the atmosphere and the food be conducive to what you are trying to accomplish. So from here forward we are going to direct you to the best of the best restaurants that we can Č´QG WKDW DUH EXVLQHVV IULHQGO\ +HUHȇV DQ H[DPSOH ΖI \RX DUH WU\LQJ WR FORVH D GHDO E\ LURQing out some last-minute details then both the noise level and lighting are important.

VOX Table is a New-American style restaurant located in the Lamar Union community complex in South Austin serving chef-crafted small plates that highlight farm-to-table ingredients, and a lively craft cocktail bar. The stars of the menu are Executive Chef Joe Anguiano’s beautifully prepared dishes WKDW ČľRXULVK ZLWK IUHVK VHDVRQDO ORFDOO\ VRXUFHG LQJUHGLHQWV Čƒ VPDOO SODWHV LQČľXHQFHG E\ WKH EHVW of American, French and Spanish/Basque cuisines, as well as Executive Pastry Chef Allison Henschel’s whimsical and decadent dessert creations. September/October Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazine™ 29

s y u G

Kendall Rae Kahn “Camo Girl�

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3lb deboned pork loin 8 large sliced garlic cloves 1 TBSP chopped rosemary 1 TBSP chopped sage 1 TBSP chopped tyme Olive Oil 2 TBSP kosher salt 2 TBSP ground black pepper

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CAMO GIRL REVIEW Glock 17: Impressive Versatility and Flawless Functioning

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, KDYH ZRUNHG ZLWK 5XVVHOO IRU RYHU \HDUV +H LV YHU\ NQRZOHGJHDEOH DERXW KXQWLQJ DQG KDV EHHQ WKHUH 5XVVHOO LV KRQHVW WUXVWZRUWK\ DQG IROORZV XS RQ HYHU\ GHWDLO +H DOZD\V SXWV PH ZLWK WKH ULJKW RXW¿WWHU DW WKH ULJKW WLPH ´ -Doug Isbell

, KDYH NQRZQ 5XVVHOO IRU RYHU \HDUV DQG KH ,K N 5 OO I GK KDV DUUDQJHG PDQ\ RI P\ KXQWV RYHU WKH SDVW \HDUV 5XVVHOO LV DQ KRQHVW DQG GHGLFDWHG SURIHVVLRQDO ZKRVH DWWHQWLRQ WR GHWDLO JLYHV \RX WKH DGYDQWDJH \RX QHHG ZKHQ ERRNLQJ \RXU KXQWV ´ 0LNH 6LPSVRQ 6&, 3DVW 3UHVLGHQW :HDWKHUE\ $ZDUG :LQQHU ¾

&217$&7 2IILFH &HOO Russell@rscustomhunts.com 34 Shot of Texas Magazineâ&#x201E;˘ September/October Issue 2015

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KHQ 3DWULFN &XUU\ sees no ads when he visits websites like the New York Times, even though other visitors see plenty of themâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;seven at nytimes.com on a recent day, for instance.

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home country. The BBC reported last week that a German court ruled in favor RI $GEORFN 3OXV LQ D VXLW ÂżOHG E\ WZR *HUman newspapers seeking to have the software ruled illegal and anticompetitive.

A GENERATION OF AD BLOCKERS Though publishers may not like it, ad blocking appears to be on the rise, especially among the millennial generaThatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s because Curry has used free soft- tion. A survey of American Internet usware called Adblock Plus to remove ads from ers by PageFair, a European startup that the websites he visits since a friend told him researches ad blocking and intrusive about it more than a year ago. Now he seems online advertising, found 41 percent of blissfully unaware of most online adsâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;and respondents between the ages of 18 and says he prefers the Internet that way. 29 use ad blocking software. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ads are just annoying,â&#x20AC;? said Curry, a The same report found the number of senior at the University of Maryland. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The people blocking ads on Google Chrome Internet is easier without them.â&#x20AC;? increased 96 percent from midyear 2013 Adblock Plus is an increasingly pop- to midyear 2014, and the number blocking ular plug-in that works with Google ads using Firefox rose 21 percent. Chromeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Curryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s browserâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and other While German news outlets were suweb browsers to prevent ads from dis- ing, some American news organizations playing on a userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s screen. The open- say they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see the blocking phenomsource software project, owned by a Ger- enon as an immediate threat. PDQ ÂżUP FDOOHG (\HR LV SURYLQJ WR EH Steve Stup, vice president of digital controversial with many news companies advertising at the Washington Post, told whose ads it blocks. American Journalism Review he thinks ad So far, Adblock Plus appears to be blocking plug-ins affect advertising revsurviving legal challenges, at least in its enue, but only by a small amount.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;At this point we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see this as a significant enough threat to get into an arms race with companies that produce ad blockers,â&#x20AC;? Stup said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We feel that if we put the user experience first, that consumers wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seek out ad blocking software and the level of adoption should stay where it is today. We are certainly always watching it, though.â&#x20AC;? The Post has not looked into technology that could prevent users from employing ad blockers because it would be a distraction for publishers, Stup added. Brett Robinson, director of ad operations at NPR, said he may look at such applications if the prevalence of ad blockers continues to grow. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If the numbers got higher â&#x20AC;&#x201C; maybe one-third of our visitors or so â&#x20AC;&#x201C; we could consider those measures, especially as a non-profit entity,â&#x20AC;? Robinson said. Even at BuzzFeed, a publication aimed at a millennial audience, ad blocking appears to be mostly ignored. BuzzFeedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s senior communications manager, Christina DiRusso, wrote in an email to AJR that Adblock Plus does not apply to BuzzFeed because the site does not use display or banner advertisements.

September/October Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazineâ&#x201E;˘ 35

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ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY: CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE IN ACTION

C

arbon dioxide (CO2) is released when fossil fuels are burnt. Trapping this CO2 and pumping it underground means it will not enter the earth’s atmosphere and contribute to global warming. This is the theory behind carbon capture and storage, or CCS. CCS is the name given to the technologies and processes which make it possible. They are not yet used on a wide scale, but their potential is vast. If CCS can reach the active commercial stage within the energy industry on a global scale, it can play a significant role in combating climate change, as well as allowing the ongoing use of fossil fuels. This makes it an attractive option for governments to explore as part of their energy planning. Hence, looking at how CCS is already being applied in other industries where the CO2 becomes stored below ground as part of the enhanced oil recovery process, makes good sense. CO2 that has been purified, compressed and transported is sometimes stored in geological formations, such as depleted gas fields, but it can also be used to allow the oil industry to extract additional oil from existing wells. This is known as enhanced oil recovery, and results in the incidental storage

of the CO2 below ground. Sites in the USA and Canada currently operate and study this process. Two fertilizer production sites in the USA capture CO2 for transportation via pipeline to sites where it can be used in enhanced oil recovery. Coffeyville Gasification plant in Kansas converts petroleum coke into hydrogen-rich synthetic gas which is then used to produced ammonium nitrate (a type of fertilizer), as well as ammonia and urea. Work is underway to allow compression of the CO2 from the plant (some one million tonnes per annum) prior to it being transported by pipeline to an oil field in neighbouring Oklahoma. The Enid Fertilizer Plant in Oklahoma currently captures and transports around 680,000 tonnes per annum of CO2 for use in enhanced oil recovery within the state. Air Product’s Steam Methane Reformers at Port Arthur in Texas also currently recover and purify one million tonnes per annum of CO2 for use in enhanced oil recovery. The Great Plains Synfuels Plant in North Dakota produces synthetic natural gas (SNG) from lignite coal. Relatively pure CO2

from the process is captured pre-combustion and transported via pipeline across the border into Canada where it is used in enhanced oil recovery at the Weyburn-Midale Project. This site has stored over 20 million tonnes of CO2 since October 2000, and operates alongside the largest full-scale CCS field study ever conducted. This was launched collaboratively between several governments, industry and independent research organisations, and is directed by the Petroleum Technology Research Centre. Its work includes the evaluation of testing and monitoring methods to assess environmental impacts. Natural gas processing plants at locations in the USA, Europe, South America and Africa also use CCS. Those in the USA and South America use it in enhanced oil recovery, whilst two operations in Europe and one in Africa store CO2 below ground in dedicated geological storage. Existing CCS projects have the capacity to stop over 25 million tonnes of CO2 reaching the atmosphere each year. Technologies are, however, still being developed and improved, and, alongside this, there are major environmental studies being conducted.

September/October Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazine™ 39

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R4223 is ordered federal aid to supplement local recovery efforts affected by severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds, and Ę?RRGLQJ EHJLQQLQJ 0D\ DQG continuing,â&#x20AC;? to residents whose property losses not covered by insurance. FEMA.GOV or 800-621-336. Get a reputable company for your disaster repairs estimates. Ask for a re- assessment or appeal if your case is denied. Entry and exit to the living unit must be cleared from debris and applicant is eligible for clear pathway reimbursement. )(0$ EHQHĘ&#x17D;WV FRYHU RQO\ WKH RFFXSLHG EHGURRP UHIULJHUDWRU stove, washer, dryer, dining set, television. Check the damaged roof sections, water boiler, bended fences, dislocated sheds, barns, lawn mowers, house leveling, tie downs, cisterns and pipe moving for reimbursement. The damage vehicle, house trailer or mobile home title must be in the name of the applicant. Hazard Mitigation Grants are when applicant mitigates preventative methods to avoid similar disaster. Other Needs includes medical expenses incurred during the disaster, dentures loss, glasses, funeral expenses related to the disaster, tools of the trade, school uniforms, school books, computers, set of clothes, medicine. File the SBA loan application, otherwise you will disrupt the application process. Disaster Unemployment Assistance program (DUA) for workers who lost their jobs and self-employed individuals unable to work due to damage sustained to DR4223 can apply at 800-939-6631. Efrain Nunez Martinez is from Edinburg and has a Bachelor of Science Degree, Master Real Estate Diploma is an experienced 13 year FEMA House Damage Inspector and earned dozens of )(0$ +RPHODQG 6HFXULW\ 'LVDVWHU (PHUJHQF\ &HUWLĘ&#x17D;FDWLRQV Mr. Martinez is also an experienced 13 year federal Small Business Administration (SBA) Construction Analyst during Hurricanes Katrina, Sandy, Ike, Gustav, Charlie, Frances, Jeanie and ,YDQ DQG 6%$ $JHQW LQ FKDUJH RI 2NODKRPDČ&#x2030;V :LOGĘ&#x17D;UHV Call 956-342-6640 or martinezemarti@aol.com. LIKE us on Facebook.

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40 Shot of Texas Magazineâ&#x201E;˘ September/October Issue 2015

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September/October Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazine™ 41

Outdoor / Farm & Plant News! Sponsored By Your South Texas Gravely Dealers.

HUNTERS ASKED TO SUBMIT SAMPLES FOR CWD TESTING 73:' 6WHSV 8S )UHH 5DQJLQJ 'HHU 'LVHDVH 6XUYHLOODQFH $867,1 ² :LWK WKH UHFHQW GLVFRYHU\ RI &KURQLF :DVWLQJ 'LVHDVH &:' LQ WZR captive deer breeding facilities in southFHQWUDO 7H[DV WKH 7H[DV 3DUNV DQG :LOGOLIH Department will be stepping up efforts to strategically sample hunter harvested deer at a greater level during the 2015-16 hunting season. Hunters are encouraged to assist with this statewide monitoring effort by voluntarily submitting samples this fall. TPWD biologists will collect and submit samples to the

100 deer was infected. Thus far, biologists have collected nearly 30,000 samples from hunter-harvested deer across Texasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; eight ecological regions, in most cases surpassLQJ SHUFHQW FRQÂżGHQFH VWDQGDUGV 7R date, CWD has not been found in Texas free-ranging white-tailed deer. The sampling strategy for the 2015-16 KXQWLQJ VHDVRQ LV EHLQJ UHÂżQHG WR WDUJHW GLVease risk levels within the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 33 unique Resource Management Units (RMU); wildlife conservation areas that TPWD uses for all

H[WHQW RI WKH GLVHDVH LQ WKDW VSHFLÂżF DUHD â&#x20AC;&#x153;In the wake of our increased concern about CWD we are ramping up our sampling effort state wide,â&#x20AC;? said Mitch Lockwood, TPWD Big Game Program Director. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We will be collecting samples from deer and elk, and other cervid species, in every county where deer hunting occurs.â&#x20AC;? Hunters wishing to submit samples can JR RQOLQH WR ÂżQG WKHLU ORFDO 73:' ELRORJLVW listed by county athttp://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/land/technical_guidance/biologists/.

Texas A&M Veterinary Diagnostic Lab at no cost to the hunter. Tissue samples from the heads of harvested deer must be collected within 24 hours of harvest, up to 48 hours if kept chilled. It is very important that the deer head not be frozen. Since 2003, TPWD biologists have been monitoring the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s free-ranging deer population for CWD. Using statistical sampling tables commonly used by animal disease experts, biologists set a sampling goal that would detect the disease with 95 perFHQW FRQÂżGHQFH LI DW OHDVW RQH RXW RI HYHU\

other deer management decisions. Criteria for establishing risk levels include factors such as deer density, susceptible species importation history, proximity to a CWD-positive site, etc. Sampling goals will rely upon hunter harvest submissions ranging from 60 to 433 (lowest to highest risk) deer for each RMU, and if biologists can achieve these goals, will result in excess of 7,000 samples. 73:' ZLOO DOVR VSHFLÂżFDOO\ WDUJHW VDPpling efforts within a 5-mile radius around the CWD index facility in Medina County to determine the prevalence and geographic

The biologist will provide a sample receipt hunters can use to track test results online. TPWD anticipates test results could take 3-4 weeks to process. In some cases, biologists may request to retain the entire deer head for later sample collection; a resource document will be given to the hunter as proof of sex in those instances. More information about CWD, including safe carcass handling tips and precautions, can be found online DWKWWS WSZG WH[DV JRY KXQWZLOG ZLOG GLVHDVHV FZG

42 Shot of Texas Magazineâ&#x201E;˘ September/October Issue 2015

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September/October Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazineâ&#x201E;˘ 45

I

donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve left any doubt about my feelings for this administration.I have however underestimated how far they would actually go and how bad it could actually get. Just when I thought this president could sink no further he actually surprises me. Why? Maybe itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s because Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m an optimist at heart and tend to see the good in people and actually hoped that one day he might realize that while well intentioned, his actions are not helping but actually hurting this country. Nope, not anymore, I am done. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve actually reached my limit. You can call me naĂŻve and late to WKH SDUW\ EXW , ÂżQDOO\ PDGH LW WR WKLV VKLQGLJ ,ÂśP KHUH DQG , KHDUG LW ZDV %<2 VR , EURXJKW D VL[ SDFN RI Âł'LVJXVWHG´ D ÂżIWK RI Âł3LVVHG RII $PHULFDQ´ DQG D GLPH EDJ RI Âł:7)´ "

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Offense or Defense?

, DP ÂżQDOO\ DQG WKRURXJKO\ FRQYLQFHG WKDW WKLV president and his administration are not only antiAmerican, but also anti-free market, anti-success (unless of course itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s him being successful at destroying the U.S.A.), anti-Christian, and pro racial strife, and are actively trying and actually succeeding at bringing this country to its knees or at least down a peg or two because you know we got way above our raising and all that! If you already havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t done so, go out and buy Denish Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Souzaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s book, Obamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s America. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a great read that will â&#x20AC;&#x153;splainâ&#x20AC;? it better than I can Lucy. Rather than focusing on â&#x20AC;&#x153;defendingâ&#x20AC;? the constitution and people of the United States, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more worried about not â&#x20AC;&#x153;offendingâ&#x20AC;? anyone who is not white, straight, Christian, pro-life, pro-gun or pro-free market. Where should we start? Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s make a list, shall we? Illegal Immigration â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s make something real clear, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not an immigration problem, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an ILLEGAL immigration problem and theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re called ILLEGAL ALIENS! If you have a problem with that term, I would suggest reading no further because what Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m about to write will more than likely send the perpetually butt-hurt amongst you (henceforth referred to as PBH) into apoplectic convulsions. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t care if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re from Lithuania, if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re here ILLEGALLY; you are what are commonly referred to in this county as a CRIMINAL. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t care what crime is committed, I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pick a few for fun like burglary, rape, DUI and oh yeah, violating our immigration laws by entering the country illegally, that person need to be arrested, prosecuted and if convicted, sentenced to whatever the law prescribes whether WKDW EH D ÂżQH SUREDWLRQ MDLO WLPH RU LQ WKH FDVH RI the latter, DEPORTATION. Think what you will of Donald Trump, at least

he calls it like he sees it. He says what most of us think but are afraid to say because of the reaction of the PBH. We have to secure our borders. We have to enforce our immigration laws and we have to deport ILLEGAL immigrants, especially the convicted felons among them. I would invite anyone opposed to those simple concepts to have a conversation with Jim Steinle and ask him about how he feels about criminal illegal aliens. If you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know who he is, you should. His daughter Kate died in his arms last month on a pier on San Francisco after being shot by an illegal alien who ZDV D FRQYLFWHG IHORQ DQG KDG EHHQ GHSRUWHG ÂżYH times. But because the city of San Francisco is a â&#x20AC;&#x153;sanctuary cityâ&#x20AC;? which Obama supports, that SLHFH RI KXPDQ ÂżOWK , ZLOO QRW GLJQLI\ KLP E\ using his real name) was allowed to roam the streets and now Kate is dead. And she is just one of many thousands of victims of criminal illegals. Say what you will about illegal immigrants just wanting a better life, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m talking about the criminals among them. They need to go, and now.

Iran What part of the U.S.A. constantly being referred to as â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Great Satanâ&#x20AC;? by Iran for the last 35+ years does this president not understand? What part of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iran will destroy The Great Satanâ&#x20AC;? does this president not understand? What part of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iran will destroy the west and a great caliphate will rule the earthâ&#x20AC;? does this president not understand? What part of Israel not being on Iranian maps or in their text books nor the refusal of Iran to even recognize Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s right to exist does this president not understand? What part of the thousands of Iranian speeches, books, papers, SDPSKOHWV PRYLHV SURSDJDQGD ÂżOPV DQG SXEOLF proclamations from the Iranian mullahs vowing to destroy Israel, drive the Israelisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; into the sea

46 Shot of Texas Magazineâ&#x201E;˘ September/October Issue 2015

and hunt down and exterminate every last Jew on the face of the earth does this president not understand? What part of Iran being the single largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world and being responsible for thousands of U.S. armed forces deaths in Iraq does this president not understand? What part of 35+ years of Iran lying, cheating, stealing, killing, hanging homosexuals from cranes, subjugating woman and violating every single agreement it has entered into with the west does this president not understand? What part of the Ayatollah telling his people recently and publicly that Iran has no intention of adhering to any treaty with the west does this president not underVWDQG" $QG ÂżQDOO\ :KDW SDUW RI WKLV GHDO LV VR bad that the Israeliâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and the Saudiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s are actually RQ WKH VDPH VLGH LQ WKLV ÂżJKW GRHV WKLV SUHVLGHQW not understand? Need I say more?

ISIS ISIS - A self-described ISLAMIC caliphate hell bent on world domination in the name of their god through hundreds and thousands of unspeakable acts of cruelty and depravity that they videotape and otherwise document with precision in order to let us know who they are. Ask Obama to describe them. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll say they need jobs. I. Canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. Even.

Muslims When the president worries more about insulting the prophet Muhammad, than calling Islamic terrorists what they are, Islamic terroristsâ&#x20AC;Śall righty then.

Race Relations Never in my many years on this earth have I seen race relations as bad in this country as they are today. I put the blame squarely on the shoul-

ders of this president and the tone he has set. When a criminal THUG in the suburbs of St Louis robs a store, assaults a cop and is killed by said cop in self-defense, setting off riots and Obama sends representatives from the White House to his funeral and makes him out to be some kind of hero…Houston, we have a problem. When an asthmatic and morbidly obese career criminal doesn’t listen to a basic command from police and is forced to the ground because of that refusal and then dies from health related issues, and Obamas Justice Department calls the cops involved (some of whom were black) racists and Obama sends White House representatives to his funeral as well…we are in deep Kimchee. And oh yeah, for the record: If you can speak, you can breathe. When more young black children are shot and killed by other young black children in Chicago, a city with some of the toughest gun laws on the books, in a single weekend, than are killed in Iraq and Afghanistan in a month, and the president says nothing…Holy double standard Batman! Fact: More whites are killed by police than blacks, a lot more. Where are the riots? I don’t remember Obama sending representatives to a white persons funeral who was killed by a black cop, do you? When a white Democratic presidential candidate is booed off stage for having the audacity to say “Black lives matter, white lives matter, all OLYHV PDWWHU´ DQG WKHQ WKH VSLQHOHVV MHOO\¿VK DFWXally apologizes for saying it…there is trouble in River City sheriff. $QG ¿QDOO\ $O 6KDUSWRQ 7+( QXPEHU RQH JR to man for the president when it comes to race relations. Al Sharpton. I’ll let that sink in. Al Sharpton. Makes you miss Jesse doesn’t it? My head hurts. So, if the PBH amongst you is still reading this, (bite down on a popsicle stick, that will help with the convulsions) I’m sure this is the point where you pull out Rules for Radicals and go all Saul Alinsky on my butt and start calling me racist, is-

lamaphobic, nativist, and xenophobic, instead of making valid and coherent arguments to the contrary. Because we all know, once you drop the “R-BOMB”, conversation over, right? Wrong Saul, that doesn’t work here, in fact I would argue that the word “racist” is being dropped so often these days and for such benign reasons that is has been cheapened to really mean “The name you call someone who makes a valid point against your argument which you cannot refute with anything that is factual, logical or resembling reality because your argument has no merit and in fact sucks”. Check it out in Webster’s. The fact is that if we continue to pick and choose which laws we will or won’t enforce, if we continue to ignore the 1000 pound gorilla in the corner who wants to kill us (Iran for you PBH’s), if we continue to worry about offending Muslims instead of defending America and Americans and our way of life, and if we continue to drive a wedge between people of different colors we will be on the downside of a very slippery slope. That being said, we have an opportunity to stop the slide, it’s called an election. If you are in any way concerned about anything I just brought up, I respectfully request that you participate. It’s called voting. Go do it.

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COMPREHENSIVE TRAVEL INSURANCE Led by Physicians and Special Operations Veterans In February, Redpoint evacuated two Ripcord clients on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro at 13,000 feet - not an unusual altitude for mountain hunters to reach. The climbers were part of the Mt. Kilimanjaro Climb for Valor, an event conducted by mountaineering company Tusker Trail to raise money and awareness for the families of fallen members of US Special Operations Forces. Two of the climbers developed conditions that threatened their lives but did not require hospitalization for treatment. Dr. Avi Patil, a Redpoint wilderness medical iÝ«iÀÌ > ` -Ì> v À` i` V i >vw >Ìi` physician who was participating in the climb, describes what happened: “On the second night, one climber indicated that he couldn’t breathe. The situation was clearly High Altitude Pulmonary Edema ­ Ƃ* ® q yÕ ` Ì i Õ }ð - >vÌiÀ] another climber displayed serious facial

swelling and an allergic reaction that could easily lead to breathing problems. Both situations were immediate and lifethreatening. Both evacuations were necessary; there was no room for hesitation.” These evacuations are perfect examples of Ripcord’s rescue services. Both HAPE and allergic reactions are potentially life-threatening, but, in this case, neither required hospitalization. Both climbers were evacuated off the mountain and transported to a local hospital for evaluation and treatment, but neither required hospital admittance. Visit us on facebook to see the places we’ve gone and the things we have done for our clients: facebook.com/ripcordtravelprotection

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September/October Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazine™ 47

48 Shot of Texas Magazineâ&#x201E;˘ September/October Issue 2015

Archery Moose Hunting Are You Brave Enough

W

hen is hunting the big bull the most thrilling? Well, there might be many differing opinions about the venue and guide, but few hunters will deny the fact that the traditional PRRVH KXQWLQJ ZLWK D ERZKDV XQLTXH DSSHDO DQG FKDUPV RI LWV RZQ $UFKHU\ PRRVH hunting is getting more and more popular with moose hunters over time.

Archery moose hunting requires a lot of skill and patience and is very different from hunting a moose (or any other animal for that matter) with a gun. Hunting with a bow and arrow can be quite frustrating for first-timers since it requires more ability than just being able to point and shoot. The hunter needs to be able to aim and shoot that arrow with sufficient force and strike the moose in a vulnerable part of the body such as the chest. Hurting the animal in other parts of the body may not kill it, just injure it. Aiming for the

head of a bull is also not advisable because of the giant antlers and also because the skull is quite thick and difficult to penetrate. As you’ve already guessed, archery hunting also requires you to be at close quarters with the animal, and missing the shot may result in you looking at the business end of a pair of giant antlers owned by a very angry moose. This is not a sport for the faint

50 Shot of Texas Magazine™ September/October Issue 2015

hearted. For amateurs, the best way to enjoy this experience is by hiring a guide or a professional hunter to show you the ropes and to help you pick out an appropriate bow. The bow is a very important consideration for firsttime hunters. For moose hunting, most hunting experts recommend a bow with a draw weight of 60-65 pounds. But this can vary depending on your own weight and where you’re planning to use it. Carrying a very heavy bow around the forest can tire you out before you even spot the moose. A very light bow may not have enough draw weight to fatally injure the animal. Buying an overpowered bow will result in bad shooting habits. It is always a good idea to consult a professional to help you pick out an appropriate bow and to try out a few bows before you settle on one that you are most comfortable with. For recreational, amateur hunters, seeking adventure and the experience rather than expertise, moose rut hunts are the best bet. Rut hunts begin in late September and carry on till late October/early November. Hunters make these expeditions in the rut on

foot so that bulls can easily be called in real close before the hunters go in for the kill. The hunts are arranged in the peak of rut, to make sure that the bulls respond well to the calling. It is mostly about taking full advantage of springs or wallows. Rut hunts keep the woods rampaged from September to October and are a special favorite of hunters who enjoy hunting the big bulls with bows and arrows. You can also sign up with one of the many trophy moose hunting outfits which offer packages starting from roughly $5000 during the peak hunting season. The prices usually include some basic training, equipment, the government taxes, moose recovery and a fully guided or semi-guided archery hunt lasting several days but usually do not include accommodation. You can find numerous moose hunting outfits in different parts of the world offering their services during different seasons. These guided trophy moose hunts are exciting, to say the least. Most places worth their salt are currently operating at a 95% kill rate. If you love the idea of moose hunting with a bow, archery moose hunting is really an exhilarating experience.

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2XU H[SHULHQFHG JXLGHV VWDNH WKHLU UHSXWDWLRQV RQ ¿QGLQJ \RX ZRUOG FODVV WURSKLHV %LJ WHUUDLQ RIIHUV YDULRXV OHYHOV RI FKDOOHQJH ZLWK XQVXUSDVVHG RSSRUWXQLWLHV IRU QRYLFH KXQWHUV H[SHULHQFHG KXQWHUV DQG KXQWHUV ZLWK VSHFLDO needs. Â&#x2021; ) DEXORXV ORGJLQJ JUHDW PHDOV DQG WRS TXDOLW\ WURSKLHV Â&#x2021; 9LVLW RXU ZHEVLWH DQG UHDG DERXW XV LQ XSFRPLQJ LVVXHV RI $ 6KRW RI 7H[DV 0DJD]LQH 'URS XV D OLQH ZKHQ \RX UHDG DERXW XV DQG ZH ZLOO VHQG \RX D EHDXWLIXO VKRRWHUV EDJ www.recordbuck.com Â&#x2021; 2YHU 6SHFLHV RI ([RWLFV 3KRQH September/October Issue 2015 A Shot of Texas Magazineâ&#x201E;¢ 51

Pronhorn Hunting in Colorado S

erious pronghorn hunters are willing to wait years for the opportunity to hunt trophy bucks in the best pronghorn units in Colorado. All Colorado pronghorn hunting tags are issued by draw.

The average buck tag requires two to three preference points, but tags for premium units can require five or more points. Doe tags are easier to draw, but most hunters still need at least one point. The majority of pronghorns are in northwest Colorado and on the eastern plains. Small populations of Pronghorn also are found in North Park, Middle Park, South Park and the San Luis Valley. Demand for tags in the northwest region is usually highest, so more points are required. There are two reasons more hunters apply in the northwest: big herds with big bucks. In eastern Colorado there are also large herds and trophy bucks. Most of the land, however, is private with the excep-

tion of some isolated pockets of public land including the Pawnee National Grasslands in the northeast and the Comanche National Grasslands in the southeast. The good news is that many ranchers and farmers in eastern Colorado are willing to grant permission to those who want to hunt pronghorn. The best advice for a hunter to gain access to private land is to ask permission well in advance of the season. Never wait until opening day. If properly asked in advance, many landowners

rather than woodlands or steep mountains, they travel in large visible herds, and they do not hide in thick vegetation. But that doesn’t mean they’re easy to hunt. Pronghorn evolved with keen eyesight and the ability to outrun predators. The vision of a pronghorn compares to a human looking through 8X binoculars. Pronghorns’ ability to quickly burst into a sprint of over 60 miles per hour helps them to stay out of range of even expert marksmen.

advantage. That means avoiding ridge tops and hills. Pronghorn can spot objects on a ridgeline at great distances. It is also important to consider wind direction to avoid sending a foreign odor in the direction of a pronghorn. Winds tend to change direction less frequently on the wide-open prairie. But for hunters, avoiding being seen by a pronghorn is most important. Sometimes it takes hours of hard work to get within range. The initial part of a stalk requires a hunter to move through draws

are willing to allow pronghorn hunting. Some will even offer directions to the best pronghorn locations, and information about watering holes and road access. In 2014 for all manners of take, 14,600 hunters harvested about 7,500 pronghorn for a 51 percent hunter success rate. About 73,000 pronghorns exist in the state.

So what can a hunter do to increase the odds of bagging one of these magnificent unique game animals? The three major strategies are stalking, ambush and flagging. Stalking an animal with the vision of a pronghorn on the open range can be an exercise in frustration. If it is said that deer and elk hunters must be patient, pronghorn hunters must learn to be REALLY patient. A stalk may include crawling on your belly for an hour only to have the animals spook and quickly move a halfmile away. Experts estimate that only one out of five stalks gets the hunter close enough for a shot. A hunter who sees the animals before being seen gains a huge

and along the back sides of ridges to avoid detection. Then you should be ready to crawl the final few hundred yards to get close enough for a shot. Be prepared to crawl through yucca, sagebrush, cactus and cow pies. Some hunters sew leather patches on the knees of their pants and on the elbows of their jackets for added protection against rocks and sharp objects. Crawling through an open field can be exhausting. If you are lucky enough to get close without being spotted, take the time to catch your breath and steady yourself before the shot. Some hunters prefer to wait for pronghorns to come to them. Waterholes and fence lines are the best places to wait in ambush. But wait-

Stalking pronghorns Hunters lucky enough to draw a pronghorn tag in Colorado face a unique adventure that requires a different set of strategies than those used for hunting deer or elk. Compared to deer or elk, pronghorn are easier to locate. They roam wide-open rangeland

52 Shot of Texas Magazine™ September/October Issue 2015

ing also requires great patience. Pronghorns alternate between feeding grounds and watering holes at varying times of the day. But it’s unpredictable how and when pronghorns move. Fence lines are good places to wait because although pronghorns have the ability to leap fences, they generally do not jump over unless they are really pushed. They prefer to crawl under or find a way around fences. One reason biologists believe pronghorns don’t like to jump is because their powerful back legs have the capacity to leap, but their front knees are not suited for the impact of landing. Searching for a place where pronghorn go under a fence can put a hunter in a great position to wait in ambush. This requires advance scouting to find crossing locations and good hiding places. Some pronghorns can also react with curiosity to shiny things and moving objects that draw attention. “Flagging” is the technique of trying to pique a pronghorn’s curiosity and getting the animal to come to you. The concept behind flagging apparently originated when early settlers were crossing the plains and noticed that antelope readily approached covered wagons. After you spot an animal, walk back and forth in an adjacent downwind draw while hoisting a white handkerchief on a stick. Curious animals will approach right away. If they don’t, they probably won’t come in at all. Some people have tried sitting still with a flag flapping in the wind above them. But stationary objects tend to go unnoticed. Shot selection is extremely important. Pronghorn present a small target. At a weight of just over 100 pounds, the vital target area is about the size of a small plate. Shots are usually much longer for pronghorn than oth-

er big game animals, especially on windy days when the animals are more alert. The average pronghorn hunter should know the capabilities of his or her rifle. A scope is essential. The ideal situation for any hunter is to get a shot when the animal is standing still. Don’t try to shoot a pronghorn that is running. Archers and muzzleloaders face even greater challenges. Most successful archers use blinds or decoys or both. Blinds are best used around water holes or known crossings along fence lines. A blind should be set up at least one week before planning to hunt to give the animals a chance to become accustomed to it. Decoys cut in the shape of a pronghorn outline have been known to attract aggressive bucks that want to chase challengers out of their territories. Some bow hunters use decoys large enough to hide behind. But decoys also attract other hunters and are not recommended for use during rifle seasons for safety reasons. Since the time of Lewis and Clark, early settlers called pronghorns “antelope.” Pronghorns, however, are a unique species found only in North America. Their historic range is west of the Mississippi River from southern Canada to central Mexico. Biologists estimate there were 30-40 million pronghorn in North America prior to European settlement. By the 1920’s, there were fewer than 40,000. Hunting laws and sound wildlife management practices helped pronghorn rebound. In the early 60’s there were only about 15,000 pronghorn left in Colorado. That number climbed to 30,000 in the 70’s, and stands at about 73,000 today. For more information about hunting in Colorado, see: cpw. state.co.us. Colorado Parks and Wildlife

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