The Hunting Times

Ok, I get it.  The government wants to know what guns are leaving the US for what purpose.  And equally important, what guns are coming in.  I'm fine with all that.  But the system put in place for honest people to take rifles to Africa for a safari SUCKS, and sucks BIG TIME. I'm posting this in hopes that one day I may need this information again and it will be easy to find.  And if anyone else can use it to save them some time, help yourself. To export a rifle from the US (to go on safari, for example), you need three pieces of data: 1.  AES Direct Export Filing Number 2.  US Customs Form 4457 3.  Customs form for the country of import (in my case, South Africa, I needed SAPS 520) To get an AES Direct export filing number, you have to create an account in AES Direct.  Sounds simple, right?  Wrong.  To create an account, you are required to have an IRS employee identification number (EIN).  Start there, with the IRS.  Register yourself as your own company.  I put in t

Early in June, Krueger, Nick, and I took Dave Porrill (from the UK) to Texas for our annual prairie dog pilgrimage.  We blew through about 1,400 rounds of .223 and 6.5 Creedmoor.  And yes, we had a blast.  Lots and lots of stories.  Numerous animals were killed.  We gave them a quicker fate than the poison the remainder will soon eat. Wow, the area was GREEN.  Due to all the rain, it was no longer a desert.  Most lush we have ever seen it.  We stayed for a week and then were forced to return home to earn enough cash to go back again next year. If you have the hankerin' and can stomach some dead animals, I created a journal of the trip (as I always do).  Beautiful PowerPoint presentation with music and photos. Great time was had by all.  We even stopped by the Big Texan and the Palo Duro State Park on our way home.  Can't wait to go back. Dave at the state line. The 2015 gang on the prairie.  Note the green. A beautiful shot of the valley. Dave after h

Just me and Alex for dinner Monday night before our Lodge meeting.  Decided we would have some Jambalaya.  I must say, it turned out most excellent! We chopped an onion and cooked them with some butter.  While the onions were cooking down, we threw some chicken in with butter, Teriyaki, and Worcestershire sauce.  When the chicken was browned up, we added them to the onions.  Next in the sauce was wild boar.  Again - to the onions once almost fully cooked.  Then venison brats were added, followed by ground elk. While the meat was browning, we chopped carrots and both yellow & red peppers.  To the big pot with them.  I also put in one can of beef broth to the pot. While all that was stewing, I cooked some wild rice.  Once fully cooked, the rice was added to the pot.  At this point, we had "extra" liquid in the pan.  I added minute rice to the pot to soak all that up. Once the entire concoction was boiling, I reduced the heat and added a jar of Meena's Tangy Rogan

I bought a new car - well, new to me.  It came with 5,300 miles on it.  But I don't want to talk about the new ride, but instead about how I got it.  For those that don't know, it's a 2014 Dodge Charger SRT8.  Black.  Here's a quick video (13 seconds) if you must see it:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1CwDJj95TQ&feature=youtu.be I started looking last October 2014.  I checked the local dealerships.  Seems the SRT8 is not something that local dealers have in stock, nor did they think they would get any.  I do have a guy here in Lafayette from whom I have purchased my last four vehicles - Bill Draper at Mike Raisor Ford.  Great guy and easy to buy from.  I walk in, tell him what I want.  He completes all the paperwork and I get a new ride in under an hour.  Painless.  I had Bill check the auctions.  Nothing came across for 4 months that met my specifications. Next step - internet.  I checked eBay and Auto Trader.  While cruising the AT adds, I came across a nic