- My New Beretta

I bought a new Beretta PX4 this week (45ACP since I know you were curious) and although I'd like to go try it out this weekend, I'm afraid I might have to wait a bit. It's the end of Deer season and my freezer is empty so I'm thinking that I might go do my part for Deer overpopulation and go shoot a doe for the meat.

A few weeks ago I shot an arrow 1/2 inch over the back of the biggest deer I've ever seen who wasn't on TV. I was too excited to see if he was an 8 or 10 pointer, but his main beams were as long and as heavy as my arms. He was a true monster, the kind of Deer that would have gotten my picture in Field & Stream at the very least. He was even standing with his head behind a tree so even the movement of my draw didn't spook him. And then I went and underestimated the range, and flubbed the shot. Oh well... there is always next year...when I may very be using a crossbow just to be on the safe side. I know... I know....weapon for poachers, yada, yada, yada... but if you had a shot at this deer and missed you'd be saying the same thing, believe me.

Anyway ...my buddy Craig sent me this great list of gun quotes from Clint Smith, director of Thunder Ranch. Many of them you've probably heard before but there are a few that I haven't heard yet. It makes for fun weekend reading anyway. My favorite is a close tie between number 10 and number 8.


- "The handgun would not be my choice of weapon if I knew I was going to a fight....I'd choose a rifle, a shotgun, an RPG or an atomic bomb instead."

- "The two most important rules in a gunfight are: Always cheat and Always win."

- "Don't forget, incoming fire has the right of way."

- "Make your attacker advance through a wall of bullets. I may get killed with my own gun, but he's gonna have to beat me to death with it, cause it's going to be empty."

- "If you're not shootin', you should be loadin'. If you're not loadin, you should be movin', if you're not movin', someone's gonna cut your head off and put it on a stick."

- "When you reload in low light encounters, don't put your flashlight in your back pocket... If you light yourself up, you'll look like an angel or the tooth fairy...and you're gonna be one of 'em pretty soon."

- "Do something. It may be wrong, but do something."

- "Nothing adds a little class to a sniper course like a babe in a Ghillie suit."

- "Shoot what's available, as long as it's available, until something else becomes available."

- "If you carry a gun, people will call you paranoid. That's ridiculous.. If I have a gun, what in the hell do I have to be paranoid for."

- "Don't shoot fast, shoot good."

- "You can say 'stop' or 'alto' or use any other word you think will work but I've found that a large bore muzzle pointed at someone's head is pretty much the universal language."

- "You have the rest of your life to solve your problems. How long you live depends on how well you do it."

- "You cannot save the planet. You may be able to save yourself and your family."

- "Thunder Ranch will be here as long as you'll have us or until someone makes us go away and either way it will be exciting."

- "More Excellent Gun Wisdom.......The purpose of fighting is to Win!"

- "There is no possible victory in defense. The sword is more important than the shield, and skill is more important than either."

- "The final weapon is the brain. All else is supplemental."

- "Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you."

- "If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck."

- "I carry a gun cause a cop is too heavy."

- "When seconds count, the cops are just minutes away."

- "A reporter did a human-interest piece on the Texas Rangers. The reporter recognized the Colt Model 1911 the Ranger was carrying and asked him 'Why do you carry a 45?' The Ranger responded, 'Because they don't make a 46.'"

- "An armed man will kill an unarmed man with monotonous regularity."

- "The old sheriff was attending an awards dinner when a lady commented on his wearing his sidearm. 'Sheriff, I see you have your pistol. Are you expecting trouble?' 'N o ma'am. If I were expecting trouble, I would have brought my rifle.'"

- "Beware the man who only has one gun. He probably knows how to use it!"

- "'The true Soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because He loves what is behind him.' - G. K. Chesterton"

- "A people that values its privileges above its principles will soon lose both."

- "'Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not.' ~ Thomas Jefferson"

- "A general dissolution of principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy." -- Samuel Adams