Author Archives: Joel

The pleasure you get from moments of plenty. I’ve spoken before about my Scrooge McDuck moments. They’re really quite pleasant, in a possibly-sinful way. This morning I cleaned and prepped 200 .44 cases, which I can fill with primers, powder … Continue reading →

I grew up in a lot of places. Around when I was six, my suddenly enlarged and already very scary ‘family’ moved from Detroit to southern Florida*, where for a while we rented houses in the neighborhood of Palm Beach … Continue reading →

So that cattle outfit rigged up a big plastic tank to feed their stock waterer, right? And (apparently in lieu of a shut-off valve) they ran a pipe from the top of the tank to that old concrete cistern. And … Continue reading →

Of course so do I, and mine is at the end of a long stout stick.

Since lately I have enough ammo components for regular shooting, Sunday mornings have become the time when I try to make a definite point of going out to practice with my pistol. Ghost knows this routine… …and when I got … Continue reading →

Seriously, I’m a hermit. In theory I don’t do weekdays and weekends. Also in practice, since I had a paying gig yesterday and there’s another today, whereas I didn’t actually make a dime Monday through Friday. So weekends: Not really … Continue reading →

We’ll all die cursing Amazon. Is it sometimes inconvenient and/or annoying to await the arrival of a package at home, or have it sent to your place of work? Yes. Do you want a drone finding your location via smartphone … Continue reading →

It’s a crummy day here at Joel’s Gulch, overcast and cool and blow you on your ass windy, and the boys and I were resigned to just hanging around the Lair when the phone rang. Neighbor D asked “You want … Continue reading →

Just now on Fox News, playing in the background, a panel was discussing Geller [and] some pundit declared: Quote “I am a first amendment absolutist and there is no “but” after that, but….” Endquote

A month or two ago when J&H lit out for parts more civilized, they ditched a bunch of frozen food I’ve been slowly making my way through, stashing it in Ian’s freezer. Today it’s a couple of spicy Italian sausage … Continue reading →

Late this morning, right after laundry and as I was trying to get notes together for a new Backwoods Home article nobody asked me for, I got a call from Neighbor L. “Just so you know, D’s got his 30-30 … Continue reading →

Ian and Karl’s series of “Old West Vignettes” videos on their InRange channel is something I didn’t really expect to find all that interesting. Instead I’ve come to look forward to them. And the latest is the best yet. Though … Continue reading →

…mine doesn’t have a website. But at least the page marked “Clandestine List” is password protected, so that’s something. What the hell am I talking about, you ask? I’m not sure myself. But it seems there’s this up and coming … Continue reading →

(Prelude: Okay, I have a confession to make before taking this a bit farther. My IWB holster, an otherwise very nice Galco, has no positive retention. Since I only wear it when I go to a big town and start … Continue reading →

Damn you, Weer’d! It’s called a Bug-A-Salt 2.0, and it’s a no-fooling fly-killing shotgun that’s safe for windows. The first generation didn’t sound very practical but according to Weer’d’s review of this new iteration… WOW! All the claims seemed correct. … Continue reading →

Heh – that Outdoor Life thing escalated somewhat today. I got an email saying they want to make a feature article out of their “My Favorite Gun” thing, which I gather they’re discontinuing due to lack of interest. And “Your … Continue reading →

Event organizer offers no apology after thwarted attack in Texas Seriously? A couple of losers travel hundreds of miles to shoot up her event, are promptly whacked for their trouble, and your lead is that she ‘offers no apology?’ Wow. … Continue reading →

I saw it coming, but expected it to hold off longer. Officially as of this past weekend J&H are not coming back to the desert. I’ve been hired to finish packing up the house and get it ready for a … Continue reading →

I was doing some stuff in Landlady’s barn this morning when I came upon a very strange sight… Yes, that’s the south end of a very stationary mouse, the north end of which is firmly wedged between two electrical outlets. … Continue reading →