Calamity Jane

I'm trying to decide whether I'm going hunting tomorrow. It's going to rain in the morning and then change to snow in the afternoon. I was going to go out and be in my deer stand before sunrise. However, I'm wondering if the deer will be moving in the rain. I think they will probably be more active in the late afternoon with the cold and snow....but I have NO KNOWLEDGE to make that claim....just a hunch. Can someone in the know throw me a bone?

One more trip to Walmart and I'll be ready for my hunt. My brother and I set another deer stand today. I've watched a good hour of Utube videos of how to field dress a deer and I've googled images of deer anatomy. I can't post the link to the best field dressing video because I'm sure it would be against forum rules...something about no pictures of dead animals....anyway you can find THE BEST video of field dressing a deer at KYAfield.com. Those Kentucky boys know how to get it done! I'm thinking about hunting from my practice stand on Saturday morning. The hubby and the kids will be up at the house not too far away. I'm not sure how Dave is going to feel about me shooting the doe he likes watching outside his office window. We have a ground hog that he likes to watch outside his window and the other day the hog was out grazing on some grass. I eased myself up to the upstairs window and gently cracked it open enough for a shot gun to make it's way through. I then went downstairs and asked Dave if I could shoot the ground hog. He said, "NO!" He then asked why I wanted to shoot it. I simply said "practice". He wasn't amused. Ground hogs make holes around our property! I grew up watching my Dad pop ground hogs from a cracked open window. I don't know why the hubby has to be such a party popper. You may be wondering why I asked for permission. Well...I've only shot one animal in my entire life and that was a opossum. It was diseased and getting into my horse's feed which could be dangerous for my horse. One day I saw it, tried to hit it with the car and missed ...so I drove straight to the house...got my STI limited gun and a mag...went back and shot it dead with one shot...I took another shot just to be sure. My hubby was painting an upstairs bedroom and heard the gun shots and it freaked him out! He didn't know who was shooting or why. I nearly gave him a heart attack. It was after that incident I had to promise to let him do all the varmit shooting and I wasn't allowed to shoot any more animals without his permission. It's going to be an interesting weekend.

PM sent to Rupie. Picture posting discussed.

Thanks Nik....I actually thought about you when I was thinking of who to send the receipe email change letter thingy ma bob to. I know you like to cook. The Bro came down again today. I've decided on a gun. I'm going to use the Remington 1100 12 g shot gun. I shot it at 100 yds with kill zone shots. We then put me in the tree stand and let me take some shots. No troubles there. I'm going to be able to shoot it without falling out of the tree stand. I got him to leave me his shot gun with a few boxes of ammo. Now that we have reviewed tree stand safety and I've harnessed myself into the tree stand with his supervision, I feel comfortable getting into the tree stand and doing some practicing with the .22 rifle. The .22 rifle work is all about getting comfortable with various shooting positions. I was sick last weekend and didn't feel safe without reviewing with him first. We also went and looked at the tree stand I'll be hunting from. Interestingly the tree stand he set up on our practice rifle range, and the tree stand he set up for me to hunt from are very similar. Similar terrain, similar sight pictures. I'm much more confident in my abilities this year. I'm also feeling very confident that I can down a deer. The question will be....if one comes by. I'm about to google earth our hunting property to see if I agree with my brother's placement of my deer stand. I'm such a leo! He says he's put me in a funnel. We'll see. John also gave me a list of things to buy. He has recommended some soaps to wash my clothes in as well as use on my body that I guess are supposed to kill my scent. AHHH scent of a woman...it's hard to extinguish Good day....I miss shooting terribly....this lay off is killing me but I know it is necessary.

In an effort to lighten up a little...I've got to tell you something that I think is really funny. I made my big post about why women don't do better with one of the points being I don't like it when women get classified as tom boys. So I check my email after I post and I have an email from my niece. She has sent me a receipe chain letter. All I have to do is email one receipe to one person and then send the chain email letter to 20 friends. Simple right? Well I started to do it and then realized I DON'T HAVE 20 female friends! I had to email her and tell her I couldn't participate. Nah...I'm not a tom boy Does anyone else see how funny that is? I think it's hilarious!

OOPHS I did make a mistake in my postings of the classifications of Kay, Lisa, and Athena. I was looking at their high pct. and not their current pct. I have reviewed the USPSA web site and taken a look at Kay, Lisa, Athena, Jessie, Rebecca, Eva, and Magen. What I see is that they all are shooting solid A to high A classifiers. The lady who makes up her mind to do it will be the first. I believe ANY ONE of those listed above could be the first. The fact is it will be debated and discussed and argued about until a lady does do it. I posted my thoughts on this subject for the benefit of women. I placed them in my diary to give my comments context. Those who have read my diaries know I have lived out my passion for the sport with hard work and discipline. I have experienced the realities of being a woman in a male dominated sport and my thoughts and experiences have meaning to other women. I am a nobody in the sport according to major wins and classification, but I do have natural talent, mental toughness, and the will to succeed. I'm gonna be coming at ya all in full force in 2009. This subject is closed....if you want to talk about it...go post on the active thread.

Jessie is an incredible shooter and is a very good addition to our sport in many ways. I would also include Rebecca and Megan. I predict they will continue to progress and reach higher levels of classification without a doubt! You go girls!! However, I have to respectfully disagree with her being the first to hit GM. She is sitting at 78.79% in limited and 65.9% in L-10. That's quite a way from 95%. In Open Kay 90.50% Lisa 87.93% Athena 86.11% The facts are these ladies are closer to the mark and most likely have the best shot at hitting GM first.

Oooo. Somebody called me out I think the term used was "respectfully disagree"

Why don't women shooter's do better? There is a thread that is quite active right now that is getting quite a bit of input on why women shooter's don't do better. I really do know better than to get all offended about this topic, but I can't help myself from placing my comments here. Testosterone and Aggresssion Does a woman have to have testosterone and aggression to be successful in this sport? I would have to personally disagree. One of the myths that I tried to swallow was that I needed to be more aggressive to be a successful competitor. During my journey over this past year I found that to be untrue. Trying to be something you're not is never a good formula. The power for me was not found in BEING aggressive. I found the power was in being in a quiet non emotional state, and allowing myself the freedom to attack stages. The power is in letting oneself go...not in pushing oneself forward. I write this for women as a testimony that they don't have to turn into an aggressive man to be a successful shooter. Be who you are and shoot from that power. Successful shooters are "tom boys" I have heard Kay and Lisa described by men in many different offensive ways. Why is it that if you are a successful woman in this sport you are labeled as some sort of tom boy...something less feminine? To have a love for this sport and to be good at it as a woman does not deserve a brand of masculinity. We are women. We are OK with being women. We have husbands and families. We can shoot guns and love it and not have to try to be like you. We are extraordinary women. I wish you could meet the women who are coming to the ladies camps. They are incredible individuals with incredible stories. "I believe it is finding the combination of natural talent, mental toughness, and the will to succeed that has not emerged in a female shooter yet" I have to again respectfully disagree. There is natural talent, mental toughness, and the will to succeed out there and being displayed all around you. It hasn't come to fruition and produced a lady GM but it will. I'm tempted to email Kay, Lisa and Athena and get them fired up about getting a GM card! I would like to see it happen in 2009 by somebody. Ladies....the power in shooting is not found in aggression, testosterone or a gender. When you can get past the male and female thing and only see yourself as a shooter, that's when your ability to really succeed and progress will flourish. When you can allow yourself to let go of the things that are holding you back, and see yourself as the incredible shooter you can be, that's when the men will be in trouble competitively. At least that is what I have found from my experience. Flex is right....it is mental. Don't get lost in the sex wars....be who God created you to be....and live in that freedom....allow yourself to succeed.

FYI....Just looked up the top 10 women at Nationals this year to see who is closest to GM in Open. Kay is leading with 90.50 Lisa with 87.93 Athena 86.11

Gene Simmons tongue!!!! That's too funny!

Hmmmmmm. You've got me thinking....which is always a dangerous thing. I think there is a lady GM out there....Tonya somebody from Texas. She was the one who always wore scoccer shorts and shirts to shoot in. Am I right?

OK...now I want to see! Come on Chun Yu....post up Let's see what you got!

I think you may be entirely right. As I was watching this doe through my binocs...she turned and went towards the fence. I saw something in the woods behind her move...and I thought...there is the buck....but I didn't see him. And by golly...that would have been her flank AND down wind! I'll keep the turkey call thing in mind. Bow hunting...hmmm...maybe next year.

How'd you get that picture of me? I thought only my husband had a copy of that one.

Deer Stalking I'm sitting at the kitchen table eating my breakfast this morning and I look out in the field behind our house and there is a big doe standing there. My first response....annoyance because those deer know it's not hunting season yet, second response.....admiration because she was a beauty, well put together, lots of muscle mass, elegant, and I admired her through the binocs. My last response was....you idiot!! Go and see if you can stalk this deer and get a shot! No I didn't take a gun with me...but I did ease out the front door in my PJ's and slippers and made my way to the side of the house. I chose the east side of the house (deer was to the south) hoping that my scent wouldn't be detected. I made it to the side of the house and eased my head around the corner. Then we played the stare game. She looked right at me and just stood there....I stood there and looked right at her. She eventually put her down and then I advanced a few steps behind a post. Her head pops back up and we begin the stare game again. I decided that I would try to ease my arms up and act like I was going to take a shot using the post as a rest. Just as I began to do that my husband pulled the car into our lane and the deer took off. SO... I get deer stalking points. I was able to make it out of the house and get into a position that would allow me a shot. She was arround 75 yards away. You know I thought visual patience was hard to learn shooting pistols. But the patience required to hunt is mind blowing hard. You have to wait and wait and wait and wait and then even when you know you're going to shoot you have to wait and wait some more....and then that percise, tiny window opens and BAM you have to take it quickly. It really is fascinating and I never really understood it. This hunting journey really is interesting to me.

The Bro came by today and set a deer stand so I can practice from it. I think I'll start with shooting the 10/22 out of it....then when I'm nice and comfy doing that....I'm going to move to the 20 g shot gun. It's going to be great being able to practice getting in and out of the tree....practicing with the safety harness...practicing shooting from various positions. I can hardly wait. Ok...it's time to answer the question...why I'm so focused on killing a deer. Last year I saw something like 7 doe and one buck while hunting....ALL of them out of my kill zone. I got a really good look at the buck through my scope and the old man gave me a shot but I chose not to take it. He looked right at me as if to say...go ahead and try to take the shot....all the while knowing I wouldn't. Now some people could let that go and move on with their lives, but not me. I'm not going to have the memory of some horny headed deer telling me I can't take the shot. Therefore, I must train to win, and kill the deer. It's that simple. Right now I'm sipping on a Hot Toddy trying to shake the last few days of a sinus/sore throat cold I've had for a week. I hope to get into that deer stand sometime this weekend for some practice.

Sounds like Tiny Warrior has thought about this getting engaged stuff quite a bit Congrats to the couple!

The scores are up from Wabash Valley Practical Pistol Shooter's match at Riley. I did a 6.17 with 58 points...which is a 9.4003 HF...which is a 79.1271% classifier. I also got another HOA in the bank.

OK this is dumb question.....but the plane was supersonic right??? So to capture that picture as wonderfully as you did....did you have to lead the plane to catch it in your lense. If I would have taken that picture, I've got a feeling all you would see is blue sky or maybe just the tail of the plane leaving the picture So how do you take a picture like that?

Yep...you've got that right Hop. My biggest success this year has been that I've figured out my own head My Bro can make that load

Do you remember how fast you shot the el prez? I shot one for a classifier with decent hits Sunday in 8 seconds, which didn't seem bad but a master shooter did it in 5. I'm STILL WAITING for the results of the match to be posted so that I can confirm my score. What I believe I did....6.19 sec with 59 points. The points might have been 58...that's what I need to confirm. I also need to confirm the 6.19.... that's what the hubby told me I ran it in. I wasn't really paying attention. I think I've got 5's in me However, I'll need to develop a little bit more to make that happen

The love for the sport can drive you to do many things you don't think are possible. Best of luck on a journey that will change you. Jane

Nice Gun...I particularly like the paint job. We had a USPSA match on Sunday (results still pending). It felt really good to shoot even though I had a few mikes. My lack of practice is starting to show in my shooting. The good news is...I punched another "A" card classifier. Nailed El Prez with what I believe will be an 80%. I don't think that's enough to get me to the A card yet...but I'm starting to show a trend of shooting A classifiers without much difficulty. I plan to shoot one more USPSA match. One more shot at an A classifier. If I get another one in the bank next month...that might be enough to get me the A card by the end of the year. It sure would be sweet if I could mark that off my list.

I think the tree stand exercise will be the determining factor. Whatever gun feels the best shooting out of the tree will be the winner. It's always fun! I'm trying to think of a time when I didn't have fun shooting. I've been hot, wet, and cold and it doesn't seem to matter...I always love it. I feel more fully alive when I shoot. I don't understand why or how that happens....it just is.