The last three days.

   This blog isn't all dead, just MOSTLY dead.  I have had a pretty stressful time the last few weeks.  Family stuff and all that.  I'll spare you the details.  But it did cause me to put in a job application for a deputies position in Bozeman MT.

   For one reason or another they let me come up and compete for the chance at an interview.  This is how their selection process works.  Your resume gets a point value assigned to it.  Meet a set value and you get invited to the next step.  The next step in this case is a standardized law enforcement written exam.  Again another point value is assigned and if your combined score is a good enough, you get to move on to round three.  I don't know what my scores where, but I made it to round three.  Round three consists of a standardized physical readiness assessment. The MPAT( you can look it up on youtube) looks like its kids play, but it will kick your butt if you don't pace yourself.  I did get my score on that one and I managed to max out my point value on the test with a 4:18 time.  You have a max time limit of 5:30.
    Now at this point, they tell us that they already have their sixteen applicants picked out of the seventy that started out, so unless something drastic changed, we probably would be going home at this point.  It was no sweat off of my back, but I stuck around for a few hours waiting to check the advancement list, just in case.  When it was released I checked it three times to make sure that I wasn't on there.  I wasn't so I drove the 6 hrs home, just beating a big cold snap and snow storm home.  (Its pushing -20 tonight.)
    When I arrived home, I checked the web page to see who else made it, and wouldn't you know it, there was my name at the top off the list for advancement to the interview stage.  Boy did I feel like a heel.  I sent an email out immediately letting them know that I wouldn't be making it because of my apparent inability to read.  Then the next morning I called to let them know for sure and to apologize for the inconvenience I had caused.   They let me know that it was okay, and to watch their site, as they would likely be hiring again within the next year, and oh by the way you had made the top five in points out of the seventy applicants.  Thank you and good bye.
      Now I felt like an really large ass.   But what do you do.  Whats done is done.  That, and it would seem that while I was gone, we have come closer to being able to communicate among family members.  So it was easier to decline the invitation when Bozeman called back later today and asked if I could possibly come back and interview.  You can't when for losing I tell you.

Ballistic tips and velocity, you decide.

  I have a couple hundred rounds of 22-250 loaded up with 55 grain BT rounds.  They are the orange tipped ones.  Lately I have not been impressed with their performance.  I've shot a coyote and a raccoon, both solid hits at roughly 125 yards.  They both got up after being knocked down and ran quite a ways(1 mile for the coyote and 300 yards for the coon) before tipping over.  At that range and with this rifle caliber, they should be D-E-A-D, dead at that range.  My experience with these bullets is that they enter and then explode.  But they do not exit at all.  I believe that some of the problem lies with the powder load.  I don't have the specific recipe sitting in front of me, but I do know that they are loaded up at the extreme upper edge of safe.  I have no doubt that has something to do with those bullets poor performance.  I have shoot soft points for years with great success and I may go back to them.  They seem to hold up better at higher velocities.
  On a flip side I have a .257 Roberts that pushes 25-06 velocities with 110 accubonds and have had great success with that particular bullet.  It all falls into bullet design.  I must learn to load to bullet design and not to my desires for trajectory.

The importance of photograghs.

  Through most of my life I rarely took photos of the things I did or of the people I had the pleasure to meet.  I was satisfied with the memories in my head.  The problem with this is that you can never really share those memories with other people as well as you could with photos.  Now there are exceptions.  Some people have a gift of word that can paint a more complete picture than any photo.  I'm not one of those people.

  It really wasn't until I was married to my beautiful wife that I began to really appreciate photos.  She has a natural eye and takes tons of photographs.  One of the things that she has shown me, is that its the everyday things that we cherish the most when we go through that pile of photographs.  Oh sure we all have those vacation photos that are fun, but we'll sit and talk, argue, and wonder over one photo of  grandpa feeding some cows.  It just has more significance to us.

  I've tried to be better about taking pictures, but sometimes I just forget to take my camera.  And I forever miss those moments that hold some significance for me.  This last weekend when  I went to Miles City for some training. I was able to join the Fire Department for a ride to put out a small bale fire that was part of a autumn display.  I spent that night picking the brains of the Fire Crew about EMS procedures and trying to soak up some of their experience.  I could see a dozen picture opportunities but I didn't take them.   The following day I went out with one of my friends from the Fire Department and spent the afternoon doing equipment checks and practicing search patterns with our dive equipment.  I took one picture.  I planned on taking more, but I kept getting sidetracked. 
 
  On Monday two of the Fire Crew came out and went hunting.  One of them was my dive partner and the other was one who tried to impart wisdom into my thick skull on Saturday night.  Both are really good guys.  We spent the day hunting and bagged two animals.  Again I didn't think to take pictures.  There is always tomorrow.

  Tomorrow has come and gone.  I received word this morning that my friend Tim McGlothlin, a Miles City Fire Fighter, and a good friend, died last night, Oct. 27, as a result from accident while riding a mountain bike on a trail that he has rode many times this summer.  I only have one photo of the last time we spent hanging out together, and that's a shame.  Its not even a good picture, but its what I have. 

Rest in Peace Tim,  we will miss you.  You lived a life that anyone would have been proud of.

What a week and more to come.

  This last week was fairly busy.  The chill is in the air.  Woke up to the mid-20's temps this morning.  This has made us shuffle our priority work schedule a bit.  Some things you just don't like to do when its freezing out.  Like pouring cement or washing equipment.

  Everyone in the country is busy shipping  calves.  The highways are full of trucks headed to feedlots all over.  We ship the first week of November, so right now we're busy prepping our corrals, shifting cattle around, and helping the neighbors ship.

  It hasn't been all work and no play though.  Last Saturday I went into Miles city and spent the night with the Miles City Fire Department in order to get some training and field experience with their ambulance crew.  But it was a slow night and we didn't get any call outs for the ambulance.  I did spend quite a bit of time discussing equipment and looking at how they do things.  Good training.  Then on Sunday Tim(one of the firefighters) and I went out to a local pond and did some dive training.  The new neck seal that I put in my dry suit worked very nicely without any leaks and all other equipment checked out well.  20 minutes in the water carrying full gear and a 30 cu. pony bottle for drag made me realize once again how out of shape I really am.  Visibility was a glorious 6 inches and I found numerous soda cans and dog toys while doing search patterns.  It was a good day breathing canned air.  Gotta love it.

  On Monday two of the firefighters, Tim and Tyson, came out to the ranch and we spent the day hunting.  We had a slight sprinkle all day, but it wasn't bad at all for hunting.  Tyson filled his antelope tag with a nice buck in the morning and then filled a mule deer doe tag later in the afternoon.  He jerky's(?) everything and he shared some of what he made last year.  He does a great job and doesn't bake it tell its crunchy, but still has some moisture in it.

  It was good to get out with some friends.  But its time to get back to the grind and get some work done.  I have a water tank to repair and some new corral to build in the next few days.  If I can come up with enough post material.  Number 1 railroad ties are getting hard to find.  And a bunk of number 2 ties will get you about 8 ties that are good, 5 that are so-so, and the rest are junk that you can take back for more.

  School is just past its halfway point for me.  Current discussions in the government class are about bureaucracy and the agencies created to manage all the bureaucracy.  In Criminal Justice we are discussing our prison systems and alternative forms of punishment.  Radio collars for the masses.

  Have a good rest of the week and we'll see you some time........soon...ish.

A gun post.....of sorts.

  I'm an AR novice of the worst sort.  I've shot lots a bolt and lever action rifle, shotguns of every variety, and just about every kind of handgun out there.  But when it comes to the AR I've sort of stayed away.  Now don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore the AR style rifle.  But I've successfully avoided them for many years, just to keep from developing an unhealthy lust for one.

  When I started as Reserve Deputy, (which actually hasn't happened in nearly 2 months) I was issued a Patrol Rifle.  A Rock River carbine.  A no frills workhorse.  My training was basically I went out with the Highway Patrol who happens to be an instructor for AR, and shot fifty rounds at a target at a distance of 75 yards, while leaning over the hood of the patrol pickup and also while standing.  All 50 rounds where accounted for and that sums up that training.

  About 2 months ago, I took out the rifle and ran few steel case training rounds through it, roughly thirty rounds, and put it back dirty.  An experiment of sorts.  Well last week I finally got around to doing some more training with it.  This time I decided to do some night time drills.  I need a better flashlight is the first thing I learned.  I couldn't light up the target enough to silhouette the sights over the target at a range greater than 30 yards.   But here comes the fun part.  Still using the steel cased training rounds, I fired off about 30 rounds.  Round 31 jams going into the chamber.  Tight.  As in no forward assist is going to move that sucker.  I try manually cycling the weapon, uhmmmm not happening either.  I also went so far as to use the grasp the charging handle and slam the butt on the ground method.  Still stuck.

   So there I sat, live round partially in the chamber, and no good knowledge on how to remove it.  Thankfully a net search turn up some practical tips on how to 1) Remove the upper from the lower without the bolt being fully forward(I had actually figured that one out on my own, but it was good to see that I was on the right tract. 2) Pour plenty of wd-40 or some other penetrating liquid down the barrel in order to loosen the seized round.  3)how to gently apply pressure with a brass rod to the bolt and presto it was out.  Upon a thorough cleaning and inspection this is what was determined to be the issue.

   The steel training rounds have a lacquer coating on them.  When fast cycling heats up the chamber, some of that lacquer will transfer to the chamber.  Causing tolerances to be exceeded as will as adding a very sticky finish to the chamber.  This in turn will cause your AR to jam and essentially leave you without a rifle.  Bad thing if it happens on the range.  End of your life if it happens in a combat situation.

  My lessons learned. 1) The AR is not a bolt gun and requires frequent cleaning, especially after non brass cartridges are fired through it. 2)  I was really surprised to see how much carbon build up gets into the firing pin area even after only 60 rounds. 3) An AR specific cleaning kit makes things a lot easier when it comes to cleaning this rifle. 4) The platform itself is very easy to operate and is very accurate. 5)  What was acceptable as a light for handgun use didn't cut it well with the extended range of the AR.  6) My gun course has a dip in it that will swallow you whole in the dark and cause you to think, where the hell did that come from! Right after you swear a lot.  6) And finally, I'm scheduling more training time with this platform. 

  Its been almost 3 months since I've shot any real quantity of .45 acp.  I've got 300 rounds waiting in the cupboard and a whole mess of targets waiting to be perforated.  I feel a trip down the hill is in order.  Where is my other flashlight?

Stay safe out there.

Ranch work

  We finished with our preconditioning vaccination shots on all of our calves today.  Took several days of shifting cattle around and running them ALL through the chute, but we are done and ready to ship Nov. 4.
    We had no major accidents; with myself being the only one sustaining any injury.  A rather shifty acting hole in the ground reached out and grabbed my front tire on my ATV.  Causing first, the left handle bar to snap past my now jammed wrist and second, make the handle bar insult me with a medium velocity impact of my rib cage, then toss me from the wheeler.  Very little bruising, but I'm still finding it hard to take a full breath without some discomfort from me rib cage.  Nothing a little Motrin can't take care off.  I'm not sure what was worse, getting thrown from the wheeler onto the ground like a big sack of spuds, or having my wife watch me do it.  I would have to say that she did an admiral job of keeping her laughter on the inside.

School is progressing nicely.  I took a little too long of a break this week and I am now playing catch up.  I've got a court observation date to set, 5 chapter quizzes to take, one Representative of Government to contact, 1 essay to write on the Bias of Media in politics, and two more discussions to take part in.  I need a class in time management.

Well I wish you all a good week and stay safe.

Question of the week.

  Federalism is defined as shared government between a central government and regional units of government.  Our discussion will be centered around what areas should the Federal and State governments have more or less powers over.  IE- environment, healthcare, education, welfare, money, etc....

  This discussion is going to be a hot topic.  We are already getting into these issues as we looked at constitutions and where we would add or remove amendments to set limitations in a federal government.  With forty students participating, the soapbox is getting pretty crowded.

  I'm going to stick to one issue here and that will be Environmental regulations.  Its my opinion that the federal government needs to have the means to set the minimum standards emissions controls, pollutant levels, etc.... .
The reason I say this has to deal with the fact that many of these pollutants effect more than just a State in general.  Emissions from a chemical plant put in a water way, can effect people several states away.

  Now that doesn't mean that a State can't impose greater restrictions on those Industries located within its borders, but an individual state should not be able to enforce those same restrictions on a State that is meeting Federal standards, but is "upstream" from a state.  This should also include air and possibly aquifers.

  I think where we get into trouble is when a Federal Government instills standards regarding environmental impact within a state that are based on science gathered from sources outside of a state and don't truly reflect actual impact.  Alaska is a prime example of this.  Many times it has been argued that pipelines and oil drilling adversely effects polar bear or moose habitat.  Yet no real effects can be noted.  People unfamiliar with the regions will have you believe like wise.  It has less to do with actual impact than it does with politics against oil. 

   Here in Montana we see it with wolf populations.  Our wolf population is in a specific region and has grown to the point where nature can't meet its feed requirements.  So the wolves turn to livestock as an easy food source.  This has significant economic impact in those regions.  Here is a place where State should be able to set environmental controls.  It does not effect the surrounding states, but can be of vital importance to a states economy.

  I'm starting to get off track and up on my soapbox.  So I'll leave you with this question, What service should your State have authority over that Federal government should not?

Two Photos of a summer evening.

Same old tired look, new fresh taste.

Lets hope it doesn't turn out like Coke II.


Quick review of the last few months.
1)Haying done.  We had a fair hay crop and feel ready for the winter.
2)Harvest done.  Crops were so-so in nature.  We'll take what we got and be glad we got it.
3)Family vacation was taken- Thank goodness that's over.  Mother and Daughter continue to butt heads or be butt heads to each other. Take your pick.
4)Summer is over and dang that was fast.- Kids are starting school and we're looking at the next couple of months trying to get ready for snow.


Now we can get onto the new part of this blog.  We'll be making some changes around here.  Slowly at first. Then we'll go a little slower as we get used to it.

I've started a new path in my life.  I'm am now officially taking two college level courses online, for a total of 6 credits.  In retrospect I should have started out with just one to begin with.  My age-ed brain is having a hard time getting going learning the new material.  They are both intro classes, but they are still challenging for me.  One is, Intro to American Government and the other is Intro to Criminal Justice.  So far I'm pushing through the criminal justice chapters and will try to take the first quiz by Monday.  I haven't even looked at American Government yet and I keep stalling off on it.  I have participated in a discussion to a limited degree, but due to a lack of a real debatable idea, I've been holding back.  My knowledge in our own government is lacking and hopefully this class will be a good start in fixing that.

So from time to time I'll throw out some of our discussions from the class on this blog and get your ungraded input.  Sometimes I wonder about the honesty of peoples choices when they are being graded.

The first discussion-

Who would you consider to be your favorite influential political leader?


This is where I get in trouble.  I'd say 80% of the class picked the most notable ones out there.  FDR, Martin Luther King Jr, JFK, and so on.  One gentleman(a well educated fellow at that) picked Allen Greenspan, and was able to give really good arguments for his choice.

The separatist in me wanted to pick someone less well known, problem is, I couldn't really pick someone out and give a good solid argument toward them as my choice.  This was the first time I have had to really acknowledge my lack of knowledge in our own government.

I'm tempted to go with Calvin Coolidge.  Why him?  A guy that lived to maintain the Status Quo(source White House.gov) I think it was a mere 5 years later that the Great Depression Set in.  And it makes me wonder while we all hate big government and the influence they force into our every day lives, Would have the depression been lessened if the Government had been more proactive in monitoring business and the farming practices of the time, possibly encouraging a sustainable level of growth and production, while keeping direct control at a minimum.

Maybe I should have taken a economics class instead.  I still have a hard time agreeing that having high home prices is good for economy.  If you have to put less income into purchasing a home, doesn't the money that's left over have a better chance of going back into the system more evenly spread out?  Again, Maybe I need a economics 101 class as well.  Quantitative easing just sounds like a bad idea in the long term.  What ever Quantitative Easing really is.  A YouTube video can't portray it well.

Later, and have a good one.

Haying begins

 Going Hawaiian for the swather. 

 She's ready to go for some test cutting.

 The smell of fresh cut hay is awesome.

 These fields will be ready to cut for in a few weeks.

 We are usually putting in thew FINAL push of haying on the 4th of July weekend.

And we are just getting started.  Its going to be a late year.