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Spaulding Smails

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Posts posted by Spaulding Smails

  1. 42 minutes ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

    As long as a pistol has an ambidextrous safety there is no need for one that is specially made for lefties imo.

    Agreed.  This is much more of a WANT than a need.  

  2. 1 hour ago, Kennythetiger said:

    I shoot left-handed shotguns, and enjoy them. 
    I used to shoot left-handed rifles, but they never felt quite right, and were significantly more expensive than right-handed.  Several years ago I traded them for a right-handed 25-06, and never looked back. Hell, when you’re as good as me, you only shoot once anyway. 😊

    That's interesting.  As a lefty who struggles to do anything right handed, I'm the exact opposite.  I shot a lever action 30-30 as a kid.  Got a LH bolt action 270 as my HS graduation gift and still shoot it to this day.  I was in the stand hog hunting this weekend with my son and his new bolt action 308.  No shots fired, but it was so foreign for me to reach over the scope to chamber a shell.

    On the other hand, I've never owned a LH semi-auto shotgun.  I shoot an O/U for dove and upland, but I've just gotten used to a RH semi-auto for ducks and geese.  I think I'd fumble around at this point trying to convert to a LH shotgun.

    But, pistols are another story.  I've never been a big pistol guy, but have a couple of 9 mm semi-autos and a 45.  All RH.  I was plinking the 45 with my son this weekend, and thinking how much more natural a LH pistol would be.  This is still on my bucket list, but at $6K for a pistol, it's pretty far down the list of priorities.

    https://cabotguns.com/left-hand-1911s/

  3. On 3/8/2023 at 1:56 PM, dieucla98 said:

    Are you in Austin? If so, check out Fine Lumber - they may have something that would work better than a standard dowel and for considerably less than $65. If you're not in Austin, find a local lumber yard - a lot of them will sell trim and specialty molded pieces.

    I'm a week late here, but if in the Austin area, reach out to Southern Shutters in Manor.  I bet they'd sell you a pre-primed tilt bar for cheap.

  4. Just now, jimmyjazz said:

    I've frozen and reheated a crap ton of Texas chili along with various other meaty goodness (pulled pork, brisket, green chile stew, etc.).  No complains.  As @Anastasis says, it's probably not as good as fresh or day-after, but it's plenty good and suffers no ill effects.

    Same.  We have a bunch of the quart size plastic containers like you get when you order Lupe Tortilla's or Pappasitos.  Perfect for chili gravy, leftover carne guisada, etc.  I'll occasionally have to add a bit of beef broth, but other than that, it freezes really well.  

    • Hook 'Em 1
  5. Ha!  Fair enough.  The Tyson / Smithfield model is a perfect example, but I'm talking about a local, individually owned level.

    To rephrase in my native tongue:

    If'n a feller had a section or two to run cattle, could he cut them big city boys out of the durn profits by sellin direct without havin to worry about the bank man callin his note every time it got drier'n a popcorn fart?

  6. So, I'm definitely in the watching from the sidelines crowd here, and I don't have any first hand experience on any of this, but I'm curious if a change in the typical model helps to mitigate some of the skinny margins.  I completely agree on the land being the determining factor in making any of this even remotely feasible.  But, I wonder if a more vertical model to integrate the entire process combined with ancillary cash crops and other livestock creates more profit opportunities along the way.  Granted, it takes the cap ex needed on the front end to another stratosphere, but I have half a mind to run a pro forma on it eventually.  Probably a pipe dream, and I couldn't do it on my few hundred acres in rocky, arid Kimble County, but I'm curious how much of an impact eliminating the profit margins of everything from the feed lot to the packing plant to the retailer have on the overall feasibility of running a cattle operation from a profitability standpoint. 

  7. I've always prided myself on having an iron gut.  I can eat a bowl of Texas red and a dozen Shiner Bocks and have a perfect one-wiper the next morning.  Like clockwork.  The only time I can remember sharting was when I was 17 and had Giardia and shit my brains out for 2+ weeks and lost 15% of my bodyweight.  But, I found myself strangely gravitating to this thread over the past several months.  Like a moth to a flame.  Like Surly was telling me something.  I would read and scoff at the olds and intestinally challenged.  Then, it happened yesterday.  Thank goodness I was home.  At 43, my age finally got the best of my sphincter.  

    Went to a benefit dinner Saturday night and loaded up on BBQ.  Woke up Sunday morning with a case of the bubble guts.  Had to stop clearing brush at least thrice to quickly visit the throne, but avoided any damages.  Started feeling better mid day, so I was grilling beef lengua and chicken thighs for tacos and enjoying a few cold Pacificos last night when a fart betrayed me.  Sure enough, had to change skivvies and run a load of wash.  Avoided another near miss at about 2 AM this morning laying in bed.  Told myself not to trust another one until this passed.  Still fighting the rot gut today.  Fingers crossed I can make it home tonight unscathed.  I feel like the guy that just had an OSHA recordable and had to erase the current record for days without an injury.  At this point, I'm going to have to make it to my 70s to top that record.  Now I know what Cal Ripken felt like.

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  8. The pigs ebb and flow for us in Kimble County.  We don't have any live water other than two cisterns, but we have two dry creeks that will hold some water when it's wet.  That's when we typically see an influx.  My dad took two little guys Thursday morning.  He waited for mama and she never showed.  These were about 10 lb each.  

    From a hunting standpoint, I like having them out there in small numbers, but holy crap I've seen how destructive they can be.  The place I hunted in Live Oak County 15 years ago had two big pastures that were completely lost because the hogs rooted them up so much that the rancher couldn't even harvest the coastal.  We do our best to keep them at bay!

      spacer.png

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  9. Bummer, @BrazilHorn.  I took a ricochet in the face when I was in HS throwing BP in a cage.  No fun.  Can't imagine a line drive from 30' away.

    My son is officially done with LL and spring select.  On to HS baseball as a freshman.  He pitched an intersquad game this week against JV and said he went 2 IPs with a walk and 4 Ks.  Getting lots of reps at 1B and in the OF as well.  A few more scrimmages, then first tourney next weekend. 

    It's bittersweet.  I do miss coaching LL and select ball was fun, but holy crap it's nice to not have to take your kid to practice twice a week or have every weekend booked solid until June.  We can actually fish this spring!  Just pick him up from the HS after practice, and show up to watch games.  Not to mention saving $$$.  He's been playing with / against this group in LL and select since he was in tee ball.  It's pretty awesome that they're all finally on the same team now.  Good bunch of kids, and I think they'll be pretty solid this year.  

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  10. 2 hours ago, Ten Bears said:

    People cook with live oak?  I always thought it made kind of rancid smoke.

    It's great, but takes some work.  Best to let it season for a year or more.  Also need to de-bark it and split it.  I use it for smoking and big pieces for the fireplace.  I'll typically get the fireplace started with Red Oak then switch to Live Oak when I have a good bed of coals.  Same on the smoker, but I start with charcoal or Mesquite to get the bed going.

    It better be good.  I'm forecasting at least two cords of split Live Oak when I'm done with the carnage at my place.  And probably a decade's worth of firewood at the ranch, unfortunately.  

  11. 11 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

    If you really ONLY need to haul stuff for work, you’d have a flatbed to maximize cargo capacity.

    Fixed it for you.  I do own two flatbeds that run the majority of our deliveries.  They're great for that, but the ride is rough, and they're single cab.  

    I don't disagree with your statement, but when my week consists of hauling stuff and carting around my three kids, then I'll take a pickup truck.  

    If you really ONLY need to get to and from work, you'd have a motorcycle or scooter to minimize expense and save fuel.  The catch is, it's not ONLY for those functions.  Same with a truck.  Heck, if I had my way, I'd have a car, an SUV, a pickup and a flatbed.  Use each for their intended purpose.  But, if I can only have one, I'm taking a pickup.  

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  12. 1 hour ago, HenryJames said:

    Hope this turns into a Surly thread where everyone drives a giant stupid truck but has valid reasons for doing so.

    I'll be the pariah here.  For now, my everyday driver is a Ford F350.  16 mpg.  I own a construction company, so it gets more than its fair share of use.  I have driven it daily because I often can't plan ahead when I need to hook up to my gooseneck or dump trailer or grab a pallet of materials.  I'd guess there's something heavy in the bed or behind the bumper at least 3-4 times per week.  

    The fuel mileage sucks.  Parking sucks.  Heck, I catch an Uber when I'm going anywhere near downtown.  

    That being said, my business is changing, and I'm spending less and less time in the field and more time in the office as we've grown.  I plan on keeping this truck for a pretty good while, but will likely replace it with an F150 as my daily driver within the next year or so.  I've never not owned a truck.  I don't see that changing. 

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  13. I had no idea this was a thing.  Glass powder on kite strings?  

    Gives me PTSD flashbacks of when my son almost lost his pinky finger from a tow rope tied to a tube behind a boat.  He reached down to grab the rope when it had slack, FIL didn't see him reach down, gave it some throttle, and POP.  Peeled the skin off almost to the bone from the second knuckle to the nail.  A 20 min boat ride back to the dock followed by an hour drive to the Jasper ER and 30+ stitches later, he was back in business.  Doctors were amazed there was no ligament or tendon damage.

    • Rage+1 1
  14. 5 hours ago, BabaYaga said:

    It was bad this year.  Drought really hammered them, then the freeze and still a lack of rain.  

    Same all around from everyone I've talked to.  Our deer numbers were down in Kimble county.  Same reports from a few others I know out that way.  My uncle reported a 40% reduction in total count YOY based on his deer survey at his ranch in Duval county.  He said they saw very few fawns and yearlings this year.  Their harvest numbers were as low as they've been in 20+ years.

  15. 1 hour ago, closetojumping said:

    Sorry if this is a no-fly zone for some reason, but in case it isn’t, can you give us any further context about how everything went down and how your family reacted?

    Did he seem okay or talk about how he’s dealt with it all as time passed?

    I wish I could add more context, but I was four when that happened.  So, I don't remember it at all.  This was a decent sized company, and my dad ran a pretty big area, and Gary reported to him.  We were in Texas and it went down in Baton Rouge.  Only thing I have recalled my dad saying was how much it shook him up after the abduction.  Going back to the original point that resulted in this tangent, my dad and I have talked about "what would you do???" if something horrible happened to one of your kids.  The Plauche thing always comes up.  

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  16. 2 hours ago, Vic Mackey said:

    FlvQ14KWQAQGur7?format=jpg&name=large

    My dad and I both love these HS football mascots.  Nice find.  Have some pos rep.

    A few Texas high schools missing:

    Falfurrias Jerseys

    Schulenburg Short Horns

    Tivy Antlers

    Fredericksburg Billies

    And, although not in Texas, the Dickinson Midgets out of North Dakota.

    • Haha 1
  17. Merry Christmas assholes! 

    Quasi-Christmas gift + 20 year anniversary + kids have never traveled outside the states + scheduling around school and sports = August in Costa Rica.

    Staying for a week at the JW Marriott south of Tamarindo (cashed in a shit ton of points).

    Looking for some fun excursions.  Would prefer private tours / guides as opposed to the congregating with the masses.  We'd love to fish while we're down there once or twice as well.  Any input from @justhookit on potential offshore charters and anyone else on jungle excursions, etc?  We're not much for sitting around, so any info on adventures around that area would be much appreciated.

  18. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we're at my in-laws' for Christmas for the first time in over a decade.  My MIL is super sweet and very helpful with the kids, but she's turned the corner from "too many knick knacks and a bunch of clutter" to full-blown hoarder.   I noticed a difference over. the last year.   She no longer even tries to tidy things up.  There's nowhere to sit because stuff is piled up on the chairs and the sofas.  The dining table is covered with random stuff, so we ended up kind of eating Rudy's BBQ in shifts off paper plates.  There's an armoire in the guest bath and one of the cabinets in the upstairs guest bedroom is full of unopened condiments like relish and mayo.  Just totally random stuff in random places.  I could go on for days.

    My wife is over it, but doesn't know how to address it.  I think we're going to have to almost do a minor intervention next summer.  I'm going to rent a dumpster and pay my son to go there with my wife to just de-clutter and throw shit out.  It's gotten that bad.

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  19. Thirded.  529 is the way to go.

    My mom grew up pretty damn poor.  Not homeless by any stretch, but my maternal grandparents never owned a home and always lived paycheck to paycheck.  My grandfather passed when I was 16.  No life insurance and no savings.  My grandmother continued working her hourly job well into her mid 70s and lived in a modest, rented duplex.

    In 2007, I got a call from my mom asking if I knew any attorneys familiar with oil and gas leases.  Come to find out, my grandmother had taken care of her elderly aunt and uncle before they passed in the mid-80s.  They had a small ranch in Webb County that they sold in the 70s, but retained mineral rights.  They didn't have any kids, so they willed it to my grandmother in full.  She had honestly forgotten about it until Sanchez Oil & Gas came calling.  Long story short, my grandmother started receiving some pretty decent checks very late in life.  The weren't Jed Clampett style, but they were enough for her to finally retire and move into a comfortable retirement home.  

    Up until a few years ago, she hasn't offered anything nor have I asked.  When she approached me about doing something nice for our kids a few years ago, I told her how thankful I was and asked that she contribute to their 529s.  She was ecstatic, we were appreciative, and I don't feel any remorse or obligation.

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    • Drool 1
  20. I'm not a birder, but I'll give @Patricio Swayze's second post a shot.  Amazing photos!

    Yellow Crowned Heron (gorgeous one, BTW)

    Eastern Bluebird

    Ribeye of the Sky

    Rough Legged Hawk maybe?  Have never seen one in person.

    Pileated Woodpecker?  Maybe a RedHeaded Woodpecker.  Can't remember the solid vs stripe on the head.

    No clue on this one.  Maybe some sort of Flycatcher?

    Stilt Bird (think that's right but not sure it's the correct name, that's what we've always called them, could always tell by the red legs)

    Painted Bunting (my mom's absolute favorite)

    Roseate Spoonbill

    'Murica!

     

    • Hook 'Em 1
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