IDPA - Practical - Useful - Fun

Rolled out to my first IDPA match this weekend.   Well, actually my son shot, I was there for the writing and to see what this whole concealed carry "scenario" based shooting was all about.

From what I observed, John and Julianna Crowder, who run this particular club, went logical with the name.

Capital - The Capital of Texas - Austin

Area - They welcome shooters from Hither and Yon.

Practical - Absolutely the most practical "practice" I've seen

Shooting - ABSOLUTELY - cool weapons, nice folks, and lots of pops!

check out their website - http://www.caps-chl.com/

After a more than efficient safety and rules of the range explanation, it was time to rock and roll.  

To make you a practical shooter the IDPA rules state you must have your handgun concealed under a jacket, including spare magazines.

Not surprisingly you were required to draw your gun, safely, finger off the trigger, acquire the target and shoot for center mass.  Interestingly.....a perfect score is 0.  Meaning you hit the 10 ring every time - which is backwards...well, sort of.  Here's the logic of "0 = 10 ring" - you're shooting for time.  High scores and misses add seconds to your overall time which rolls up to an overall score.  There were five scenarios so a few misses on each one can stack up at the end of the shoot.  So 0, or no additional time means you are shooting straight.   The experienced shooters are fast, very fast, but they shoot straight too - it is definitely something to pay attention to - when you get serious.

There was right hand shooting

One Handed "Weak Hand" shooting.

Kneeling and removing your unloaded gun from a box - kind of shooting.

Gotta love a well placed triple tap!  Not a 0 but if you were in a sticky situation.

This is a 10!

Hey for all of you who might be intimidated by a "pistol match" remember where we started here.  My son is 13 and absolutely loves pistols.  The CAPS group was welcoming and very supportive, teaching Caleb how it is all done safely, yet allowing him to handle his weapon as needed.  Trust me he was at least two decades younger than anyone I saw and did fine.   I suggest you check out the CAPS folks.  They shoot at Best of the West in Liberty Hill every second Sunday.  Safety, Orientation at 8:15, hammer down at 9 am.  BTW - if you show up early they'll even let you help set up.....just like any club....help is ALWAYS appreciated!

Come get you some practical shooting.  What the heck did you get that concealed carry for anyway.  

It is a HOOT!

Troy Fowler

Small Boy with Laugh Lines

      A.D.D. is AWESOME

Untitled

It's been a while.

Heck - it's summer and I have been playing.  Once the kids get back to school I'll start posting again. 

Upcoming Topics of note:

1.  Pellet Guns

2.  Wadefishing

3.  Whitewinging in the Rio Grande Valley with a .410 (maybe a pellet gun on flying birds)

4.  Fall fishing - good night the jackfish can be a hoot in October.

5.  Still haven't shark fished.....

6.  Tarpon?

Untitled

It's been a while.

Heck - it's summer and I have been playing.  Once the kids get back to school I'll start posting again. 

Upcoming Topics of note:

1.  Pellet Guns

2.  Wadefishing

3.  Whitewinging in the Rio Grande Valley with a .410 (maybe a pellet gun on flying birds)

4.  Fall fishing - good night the jackfish can be a hoot in October.

5.  Still haven't shark fished.....

6.  Tarpon?

TBM Tip Of The Week - Arrow Wraps

Once again Traditional Bowhunter Magazine was kind enough to print one of my tips.  This one is a good one.   Arrow Wraps are great -Tradidional Bowhunter Magazine is an excellent resource / well written and chock full of adventure.

 

Small Boy with Laugh Lines

A.D.D. is AWESOME

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: TBM Customer Service <webmaster@tradbow.com>
Date: Wed, Aug 10, 2011 at 5:10 AM
Subject: TBM Tip Of The Week - Arrow Wraps
To: Troy Fowler <smallboywithlaughlines@gmail.com>

	TIP OF THE WEEK View this newsletter online  Arrow Wraps By Troy Fowler We all admire beautifully crested, handmade wood arrows. I have made and broken hundreds, if not thousands, of wood arrows in multiple states over the last couple of decades. Alas, my time was sucked away by a choice to have children, and my dip tubes and cresting tools were replaced with baby bottles and diapers. Maybe you can relate. If time is an issue for you, arrow wraps are a great alternative to cresting. At www.arrowrap.com you can design your own wraps, write whatever you want on them, even add artwork. The pricing is reasonable--my last order about a year ago was under $20 (with shipping) for 14 wraps.   Follow the manufacturer's directions, but here's a good tip: Place the wrap, sticky side up, on a piece of cardboard or a magazine, then roll the arrow shaft over it. The  surface is a little softer than a table or workbench, which keeps the air bubbles down by allowing the arrow to flex into the wrap. Total time to wrap a dozen arrows is 20 minutes or so. Arrow wraps are a great option if you've lost your dip tubes to other responsibilities. Troy Fowler writes about real, field tested, youth hunting and fishing solutions in his blog, Small Boy With Laugh Lines.       Comments from Readers   BBQ Corn:    Bill K. writes: Have done this for years, it is a fantastic manner to cook and eat corn. Those that have not done it, should.   Frank V. writes: This is a great tip. I'm going to try it. I really miss the Camp Chef articles that used to run in TBH. Thanks, Guy.   Whistling Pete Arrows:   Brad N. writes: I myself use ping pong balls, and do them the same way; however, I have noticed that you can vary the sound by adjusting the size of the holes on the sides. Just thought I would let you know that you don't need to use roll on deodorant for this project. I normally buy the ping pong balls in a package of 6 for $2.     Hunting With the Bow and Arrow:   Rick A. writes: Hunting With the Bow and Arrow by Saxton Pope is also available free through Kindle at Amazon.com.  I read it on my Android. A great read.   Editor's Note: The Gutenberg Project has digitized thousands of books that are no longer under copyright. They should be available to all e-readers through your book provider.     © 2011 TBM, Inc.  All Rights Reserved. Reproduction without permission is prohibited, but you may send this entire newsletter to a friend.   Reminders  Add Us To Your Address Book     To help ensure that you receive all email messages consistently in your inbox with images displayed, please add this address to your address book or contacts list:   webmaster@tradbow.com   Have a Question?       Don't hesitate to hit the reply button to any of the messages you receive.     Have a Topic Idea?       We'd love to hear it! Just reply any time and let us know what topics you'd like to know more about.   We also welcome tips, like this one, that you might want to share with others. Please email your tip and a photo or two to Robin at webmaster@tradbow.com.   Follow Us On   www.twitter.com/tradbow      How Would You Rate This Email?    Fantastic     Pretty Good    It's Okay    Not So Good    This email was sent to smallboywithlaughlines@gmail.com because you recently signed up for occasional messages from us at www.tradbow.com.    Traditional Bowhunter Magazine, P. O. Box 519, Eagle, ID 83616, USA

To unsubscribe or change subscriber options visit: http://www.aweber.com/z/r/?7CzsLJystKxMHMxsDByMtEa0jIyMHKxszBw=

TBM Tip Of The Week - Arrow Wraps

Once again Traditional Bowhunter Magazine was kind enough to print one of my tips.  This one is a good one.   Arrow Wraps are great -Tradidional Bowhunter Magazine is an excellent resource / well written and chock full of adventure.

 

Small Boy with Laugh Lines

A.D.D. is AWESOME

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: TBM Customer Service <webmaster@tradbow.com>
Date: Wed, Aug 10, 2011 at 5:10 AM
Subject: TBM Tip Of The Week - Arrow Wraps
To: Troy Fowler <smallboywithlaughlines@gmail.com>

	TIP OF THE WEEK View this newsletter online  Arrow Wraps By Troy Fowler We all admire beautifully crested, handmade wood arrows. I have made and broken hundreds, if not thousands, of wood arrows in multiple states over the last couple of decades. Alas, my time was sucked away by a choice to have children, and my dip tubes and cresting tools were replaced with baby bottles and diapers. Maybe you can relate. If time is an issue for you, arrow wraps are a great alternative to cresting. At www.arrowrap.com you can design your own wraps, write whatever you want on them, even add artwork. The pricing is reasonable--my last order about a year ago was under $20 (with shipping) for 14 wraps.   Follow the manufacturer's directions, but here's a good tip: Place the wrap, sticky side up, on a piece of cardboard or a magazine, then roll the arrow shaft over it. The  surface is a little softer than a table or workbench, which keeps the air bubbles down by allowing the arrow to flex into the wrap. Total time to wrap a dozen arrows is 20 minutes or so. Arrow wraps are a great option if you've lost your dip tubes to other responsibilities. Troy Fowler writes about real, field tested, youth hunting and fishing solutions in his blog, Small Boy With Laugh Lines.       Comments from Readers   BBQ Corn:    Bill K. writes: Have done this for years, it is a fantastic manner to cook and eat corn. Those that have not done it, should.   Frank V. writes: This is a great tip. I'm going to try it. I really miss the Camp Chef articles that used to run in TBH. Thanks, Guy.   Whistling Pete Arrows:   Brad N. writes: I myself use ping pong balls, and do them the same way; however, I have noticed that you can vary the sound by adjusting the size of the holes on the sides. Just thought I would let you know that you don't need to use roll on deodorant for this project. I normally buy the ping pong balls in a package of 6 for $2.     Hunting With the Bow and Arrow:   Rick A. writes: Hunting With the Bow and Arrow by Saxton Pope is also available free through Kindle at Amazon.com.  I read it on my Android. A great read.   Editor's Note: The Gutenberg Project has digitized thousands of books that are no longer under copyright. They should be available to all e-readers through your book provider.     © 2011 TBM, Inc.  All Rights Reserved. Reproduction without permission is prohibited, but you may send this entire newsletter to a friend.   Reminders  Add Us To Your Address Book     To help ensure that you receive all email messages consistently in your inbox with images displayed, please add this address to your address book or contacts list:   webmaster@tradbow.com   Have a Question?       Don't hesitate to hit the reply button to any of the messages you receive.     Have a Topic Idea?       We'd love to hear it! Just reply any time and let us know what topics you'd like to know more about.   We also welcome tips, like this one, that you might want to share with others. Please email your tip and a photo or two to Robin at webmaster@tradbow.com.   Follow Us On   www.twitter.com/tradbow      How Would You Rate This Email?    Fantastic     Pretty Good    It's Okay    Not So Good    This email was sent to smallboywithlaughlines@gmail.com because you recently signed up for occasional messages from us at www.tradbow.com.    Traditional Bowhunter Magazine, P. O. Box 519, Eagle, ID 83616, USA

To unsubscribe or change subscriber options visit: http://www.aweber.com/z/r/?7CzsLJystKxMHMxsDByMtEa0jIyMHKxszBw=

Whopper Buffalo - Drag - Logic - Scales

"Man I hope I catch a bunch of tiny little fish today!"
No kid,
No teenager,
No man
EVER says that - so here we go!
The trick with big fish, kids, and light line is low experience. 
Kid's still think everything can be done, especially if the guide says it can.
In contrast - adults. 
They assume not much is new under the sun, standard around acting 10 feet tall....then freak out, begging for 80 lb braid and a broomstick rod when the drag slips 5 feet.
It can be logical and boring.
  This youth fishing guide recently displayed big fish skills with 7 kids from church.    For those who don't know, the Colorado river winds through Central Texas and men much smarter than he built a chain of lakes - the Highland Lakes.  Inks lake is in the upper 1/3 of this chain, surrounded by beautiful granite, Mesquite, and Algerita covered hill country.  (Holy Smokes but the BBQ is good in Llano - Cooper's is your place!)
For some reason this lake hides some of the largest Buffalo experienced during 30 years of fresh water drag slippage.  And he knows you are thinking.  "Buffalo?  You mean like a carp kind of Buffalo?  Those things are trash fish, no one wants to catch that!"
Very logical of you.  Yes - carp and buffalo, but carp are small so they are by catch.
Day 1 - the guide arrived early, threw out 30 pounds of cattle cubes in front of the dock and started jumping off the boat dock among other random swimming adventure, tubing, all very yuppie of us.
4.436 hours later, (the perfect amount of time allotted for carp chumming) we ply the waters.
Catfish were easily subdued, drag did not slip. 
Adults would have been happy. 
The fishing guide wants something intimidating.   Caleb opens the weekend with a bang.

He's the 13 year old offspring of said guide.  This is not his first rodeo, but that is probably his second biggest fish ever.  Pushing 40lbs or so, 10 pound test, alot of buzzing from a Diawa BG10. 
Top Notch!
Kids started becoming more enthusiastic about this whole fishing thing.  Nick was raised on a boat, has fished in the gulf of Mexico and shows uncanny patience with a fish on the line.  This one ran all over the place, got hung up on a root, but came out to say hello.

As you can tell by the charcoaled chest and face, there were boyhood antics while the fishing was going.  Chumming keeps them around like college kids at a free buffet.
But you, my adult reader, don't fish for carp or buffalo - so, no problem there.
This fish pushed 25 lbs - 10 pound test and we broke the landing net......as the sun hits the horizon, Hunter hangs another whopper. 
He is listening to the guide, patiently pumping and letting the beast run.

Trash can lid sized swirls, then we see a the tail.  Wide as your hands side by side.  The fish is found hooked in the stomach coming in backward.
Not good.
After 10 minutes, the hook pulls.
Hunter stood there shaking his hands, said his arms were burning - NICE!
Except for the lost fish part......

6:30am the next day, peace.  It will be a long day of baiting hooks and trying to land fish without much of a net. 
LET"S HOPE!

Good Gosh Man!  He has to make sure they are there!

 It was a 10 pound carp.  The 12" catfish are active, no buffalo yet.  Enjoying coffee, quiet, for an hour. 
Thomas comes down for a photo opportunity.

Pretty slow, until somebody yells "it's time for breakfast."

Hunter's life is interrupted by a standard carp - it was quite spirited and would have caused many an adult to panic.

Took half the spool!

He learned alot from last night's beast.

Just like most fishermen, eating is, well....fuel.  15 minutes we are back at it.  Thomas's rod decides to get bent and all 9 years of him go to war!  Lots of power, tried to wrap the dock poles, small net antics.

PIG - 30+ pounds on 10 pound line.

 Meanwhile, Nick is lurking patiently, rod in hand, he realizes his buff from yesterday was ONLY 25 pounds or so.  I hooked that fish, he was determined to catch one on his own.  Then BANG - half an hour the fish wrapped around stress inducing dock parts, stayed just out of hands reach for a while, then small landing net - definitely worth it.  I measured - roughly - 34" long.  Another 30+ pound whopper.

EPIC! 

So, consider this - we are fishing in a small lake and caught 4 fish combining for a total of 120 pounds+....we didn't include the small catfish and 5 lb carp we caught along the way. 
By catch -
For some reason, just like all fishing, it changes constantly.  The buffalo moved through and carp took over.  Fish up to 10 pounds, the boys had fun - by catch.

Just to let you know, buffalo have really big scales.  Here is one for comparative analysis.

 Should you find yourself going to the lake this summer, kids in tow.  Here are a couple of posts revealing the tricks. 
http://smallboywithlaughlines.blogspot.com/2011/04/carp-are-kids-best-friend_17.html
http://smallboywithlaughlines.blogspot.com/2011/02/big-fish-relative-ease.html
 If you have questions.
Please feel free to e-mail me.  I really enjoy bringing people into this fascinating fishing opportunity available on any stable body of water - anywhere..
Teach kids to participate in the ecosystem as an Apex Predator.  Release all you can, eat what you need, enjoy the opportunities God puts in front of you.
Even if the fish pull drag and take 10-20 minutes out of your day.........

Small Boy with Laugh Lines

A.D.D. is AWESOME

Fish - Struggle - Seasons - Begin

"The struggle is what we enjoy, not the arrival"

                          PASCAL

 

Sand, grit, sweat, heat, uncertainty, failure is always an option. 

Peering at reports, upper level winds, low data, high rewards.

"Man you should have been here yesterday"

"The fish are stale"

"They're eating super spooks"

 

Guns, pigs, accuracy, recoil, and bulls will diminish.

Saltwater is roaring through my veins

"The seasons change" and so we change.

 

July it begins, the struggle - two out of town trips, and some fireworks.

Ready to arrive with a fishing rod. 

 

Small Boy with Laugh Lines

A.D.D. is AWESOME

Hot - Wet - Smooth

Lake Travis at 7 am on Sunday, right down the middle passing U Flot'em!

Old Guys Rule!!!

.

Small Boy with Laugh Lines

A.D.D. is AWESOME

Dilbert Von Schlupp - Vaccum Killer

.22 Henry - Card Cutting - Cool Toys

Typically Memorial Day is spent at the coast bathing a pent up saltwater addiction with sun and sand.  Fore casted 30 mph winds and overbearing grass in the surf re-directed us to the ranch.  Caleb turned 13 this month.  So we turned this opportunity a day of dad / son time before 5 of his buddies came along to celebrate his birthday and hunt hogs (come back for later posts for that).  

Despite the blowhard forecast - Thursday afternoon was a 95 degree pressure cooker in deep south Texas.  No wind to speak of. 

A particular habit the boy and I developed comes from my youth.  Hours and hours farting around with an old friend - Lance Fox.  As long as I can remember, if we read about it in a book or saw it on TV, we'd try it.  Hand tossed dimes, quarters, marbles, with BB guns and .22's we did it.  50 - 75 yard shots with multi-pump pellet guns, crappy scopes and some serious hold off - you bet!  Flying stuff with bow and arrows - no problem.  There are saltwater issues.  Kingfish, offshore, on medium action bass fishing gear and 12 pound line.  Done!  We never could stop blackfin tuna on 8 lb line though.   Tons of stuff people say can't be done - can....you just gotta try it. 

Caleb is a talented shot and kids think everything is possible.  Passing on the "can do" philosophy is easy.  Incoming clays with a pellet gun and .22 - he's done it.  Hell on wheels with a shotgun, blowgun, and very solid at 25 yards shooting 9mm brass with my RWS.  500 yards with a .223 or 30.06, trust me, you don't want to be on the receiving end!  So we're always pushing the limits because paper punching is boring.  So we decided to cut a playing card in half with a .22 since we'd seen some guy do it on TV.  A sawhorse, handy grooves - nice!

 

Your target awaits.

 

 

20 yards away - the cards view.  Do notice he is not pointing at me....just for artistic effect.

 

 

Well, it took 4 shots.

 

 

First of all, you gun guys and gals will notice the rifle.  It is a full sized Henry lever action .22 with a Truglo red dot sight on top.  This rifle is super accurate, including a silky smooth action - solid as a vault.  They ain't cheap, but nothing good is cheap, so don't skimp on your kids.  This gun will be around when I am laying under the daisy roots.

Now it's time for the old man -  5 shots.  Maybe we need to back it up!  Gotta tell you, it is very satisfying to hit something that small.

 

 

My more fastidious readers will notice all the scratches.  Well, yeah, uh, it slid off the roof of the ranch house and fell to the ground last November.  It was a much safer situation than it sounds - while sounding completely stupid.  Thus I am justifying the actions of a mismanaged situation.....on the upside we proved durability at a level you won't see on a comment or message board anywhere else! 

Dad and son, easy times, relaxing a bit and pushing the limits of marksmanship.  It is a great way to become a superb shot.  If you can hit the edge of a card, everything else is easier.

 

Take a kid outdoors, teach them to participate in the ecosystem because apex predators rock. 

Especially when they have cool toys.

 

Small Boy with Laugh Lines

A.D.D. is AWESOME

Youth Fishing - Baseball - Deer - A First

Holr Smokes - Baseball, really?

Please hang in there - fish, random critter puncturing, and hopefully a bit of wisdom occur later in the story

 

Working with youth in any capacity is natural for your correspondent. Today he will cross pollinate outdoor blogvangelism with baseball.  The spring 2011 10U Orioles came roaring out of the losers bracket to the championship; losing to the #1 seeded White Sox.  It was hard to end like that but, just like I told them: "If you're gonna play, play the best team out there!"

 

 

Connor Hathaway is one of our most determined players.  Always attentive, a fast learner, thinking kind of young man - you love coaching kids like that. Here he comes sliding under the tag at home just like he was taught!

 

 

Connor's dad discovers this baseball coach dude has an outdoor addiction.  Chit chats ensue: guns, ammo, set ups, adjustments for youth, fishing and alot of baseball but that is self-evident from the beginning.  Mr. Hathaway is kind enough to peruse my blog at times.  He recently sent some pictures of a fishing trip.  Boys and men lean many things from chunking around in a stock tank.

 

 

A trusty Zebco, warm sun, life as you know it should be.  Time passes, it's just a "ho hum" kind of day.

The fish start cooperating. 

 

 

Those little buggers keep you busy, Connor is after bigger critters. 

His patience is rewarded.

 

 

 Moving further back in time, during our discussions this season, a.k.a telling hunting stories, I find out Connor took his first deer this year.  80 yards with a .243.  Attentive, fast learner, thinking kind of young man..........works in the deer blind as well.

 

 

 

We're making this a double day dream kind of thing.  Cool crisp weather, gun oil, freshly fired gunpowder, the great outdoors.  You can't find that on Xbox.  Connor is turning out to be quite an outdoorsman.  Way to go dad!

 

5 boys are at the ranch for a porcine puncturing mayhem weekend.   Updates in the near future will include fun.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot.  Mr. Hathaway found this thing on his hitch haul.  If you can identify it, send me an e-mail.

 

 

Small Boy with Laugh Lines

A.D.D. is AWESOME