Guns and Shooting Sports in Eastern Oregon!

Last Day in Vegas!

2012-01-22T10:47:00.000-08:00

Okay, this wasn't really a gun day. Since we only had one day left in Vegas, we decided to go back to the "Old Vegas" downtown. They call this area "The Freemont Experience". This is where all the old casinos are - the ones you see on CSI. Freemont is home to such icons as The Fitzgerald, the 4 Queens, The Golden Nugget, Binion's and many more. On the strip, you pay $15.00 for a cup of coffee and breakfast sandwich. On Freemont, you can get a real breakfast for $5.00. They give you free drinks as long as you sit in front of the penny slots. On the strip, a half-liter bottle of water costs $3.50. On Freement, they're 2/$1.00. Need I say more? If I didn't have to pay $7.00 per day to take the bus to the Shot Show, I would stay on Freemont Street whenever I'm in Vegas, and visit the strip.

You might be wondering about the canopy that covers Freemont Street. Well, that is a whole attraction on its own. Every night at 6:00PM and every hour after that, a spectacular light show plays on the canopy, which is actually a base for millions of LED lights. All the casino outdoor lights go out, the music cranks up and the show begins:

It's an amazing experience for anyone who has not seen it!

ATF Town Hall on Straw Man Purchases

2012-01-22T09:34:00.000-08:00

Shot Show - Straw Man Purchases

Day 3 was our goof-off day in Vegas. We started out by attending a town hall meeting with the ATF to learn about "Straw Man Purchases". This is the part of the gun control act that prohibits any person from purchasing a gun on the behalf of another person. There are several different elements to an actual straw man purchase. First, the person who wants the gun may be prohibited from buying the weapon himself, or may want to avoid having his name attached to the gun. In an extreme case, the actual buyer is paying people $200 for every gun they can buy and deliver to a gun runner. The Straw Purchaser is given the money to buy the gun and fill out the paperwork to pass the background check. This is how prohibited felons and gun runners are getting armed. I always thought that the supply of guns for illegal purposes would come largely from private sales, since they are not regulated, but it seems that up to 70% of the guns found at a recent drug cartel training camp came from gun stores in the US - Arizona, California and Texas.

The second element in a straw purchase is the person who fills out the paperwork (The Straw Man), and the fact that he is lying on a federal document - since he is not the intended owner of the gun. The first question on the form 4473 is: Are you the actual buyer of the firearm listed on this form? A person who buys a gun for someone else who may be prohibited from owning one (or just doesn't want anyone to know he is the owner) can get up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The person selling the gun to the straw purchaser can get the same sentence. Believe it or not, it happens right here in little old Union on a regular basis. A guy comes in to buy a gun and gets denied on the background check. The next day his girlfriend comes in and wants to buy the same gun. Now, I know this girlfriend just wants to make her significant other happy. He is probably never going to rob a liquor store with it, and he is probably never going to cause any problems. BUT, he has just put his girlfriend in danger of spending the next 10 years in jail and she probably doesn't have any idea.

This law has good intentions. People need to think before they conspire to put guns into the hands of someone who can't have them. I believe in our Second Amendment Rights so strongly that I was willing to get a Federal Firearms License, knowing that my life and my actions would be subject to inspection by the ATF at any time. Every time someone puts a gun into the hands of a felon, every time a gun owner breaks a game law, and every time some gun owner is caught brandishing a gun at someone out of anger, it gives the gun haters a little more ammunition in their holy war to take away our weapons and our shooting sports. We all have to promote responsible gun ownership if we want to prevail over the leftist media and the uneducated politicians.

AND - to all those girlfriends and brothers and best friends out there contemplating helping someone out by buying a gun that he or she is not allowed to own - DON'T! Your loved one risks a felon in possession of a firearm conviction and you will risk 10 years in prison and a lifetime ban of owning any guns yourself. Law enforcement is deadly serious about this issue and they will not cut you any slack if you are caught trying to buy a gun for someone else. Most people have no idea how bad this issue really is. If you want to help someone, help him or her work on getting their guns rights restored. It takes a lot of paperwork, but it involves less time in jail and it won't cost you $250,000.

P.S. It is NOT a straw purchase if you buy a gun as a gift. You are the person buying the gun and it is intended to remain yours until you gift it to the other person. Just be sure that you don't gift it to a prohibited person, or you could still be in trouble. You can always bring the recipient to the store and let him or her pick out the gun and fill out the paperwork. What's more fun than picking out your own gift?

SHOT SHOW - Day 2!!!

2012-01-18T15:38:00.000-08:00

Here we are at the second official day of Shot Show. My feet hurt and I think Roger may never put his shoes back on, It was worth every step, though. There was so much cool stuff to see. We will have products to research and think about bringing into the store for the rest of the year!

We saw the new FLIR personal model. I think night vision is a thing of the past for us hunters. You don't have to worry about burning it up in the daylight. You can set it to look for the warmest source in your target area - ergo - the biggest animal in the forest. It's going to be affordable at about $2500, so save up your allowance. Coyote hunting, checking on the herd at night or looking for a lost calf just got easier at night.

Roger was happy to get to touch a Smith & Wesson 1911E. He's had one on order for about a year and was convinced that Smith had stopped making them. Just like all the other gun manufacturers, the rep told us that they were "making them as fast as they can and they are shipping out lots of them every day". Right.

S&W 1911E

NEW - Smith & Wesson M&P 15

Smith & Wesson wall

We looked at some of the new earmuffs. This new technology blocks sounds over 30db and amplifies sounds under 30db. If you have ever shot a gun without hearing protection, you have damaged your hearing. These earmuffs will let you keep your muffs (or earplugs) in place while you hunt and not only allow you to hear the ambient sounds, but will amplify them for you! We are definately bringing this important technology into our store.

We wandered over to the Thompson Center booth and - Holy Cow! We found the best discovery of the day! Thompson just came out with the best new rifle - EVER! It's called Dimensions. It comes with a 4-shot clip and it's a bolt action rifle built with the high quality standards you would expect from Thompson. The stock is adjustable. You can change the pull from 12.5 to 13.5. This is a gun that will grow with your young shooter. Now, here's the exciting part - You buy one rifle any caliber and you can chage out the barrel and bolt to any of 9 other calibers, from .204 Ruger to 300 Win Mag! It comes with the tools to change out the barrels, and you can't do it wrong. Oh, and the best part - They are going to be introduced at less than $600!!!! You had better believe that we ran straight back to Art and ordered one!

Dimensions - Thompson Center

There's lots more! I have new information and new products to write about for WEEKS! For now, my internet access is about to run out, so I'll quit boring everyone with my vacation pictures. Get this - every $49.95 motel room in Oregon includes free internet - but in Vegas, they expect you to pay $14 a day extra to pick up your emails. I guess the mob really does still run the place.

So, for Ruby and Michaela, Grampa says that he is eating lots of fancy deserts at the buffet - nanner nanner!

We will be back in the store on Saturday - in case you are experiencing gun withdrawl.

Day 1 of Shot Show!

2012-01-17T17:53:00.000-08:00

After a long day in the classroom yesterday - Shot Show University - we got up bright and early this morning to see what's new and exciting in our industry. As you might expect, the strip is pretty quiet at 8:00AM - guess everyone is more active at night here.

Looking up the strip at 8:00AM

Looks like the gamblers turned in too! As you can tell by all the pink, this is the Flamingo.

We had a pretty un-crowded walk to the Venetian and found out where all the people who were awake at that hour of the morning were hanging out. There were 60,000 people milling around in there!

If you've never been to the Venetian, it is absolutely gorgeous! AND it's enormous. The Venetian, the Palazzo and the Sands are all together to create miles and miles of walking.

Early in the day we were able to catch up to our favorite gun supplier - Art from Davidson'S. He was happy to help us order some of the cool handguns we had been looking at. Walther has a new P22 with in integrated laser. They won't be shipping till February, but when they do, Art will have us hooked up to receive some of them. Our focus this year is self defense weapons for women, so we looked at some really good options. KelTec reccommended the .32 semi auto. Sure enough, the pistol fits my fairly petite hand very well and the slide is easy to operate. Good call by the KelTec rep! We took a look at the new P380 from Walther and it was great! It's a nice substantial pistol while letting us female-types pull the slide with hardly any more effort than the P22. Walther did a great job with this one. Unlike the tiny LCP, this weapon is going to have enough weight to make the recoil of the .380 a whole lot less of a problem for feminine hand and wrist. It's like the gun manufacturers are starting to figure out that we like to shoot guns too! We took a look at the Colt Mustang .380. It's a bit lighter than the P380, but, Hey! It's a Colt. Personally, I'm a Walther's fan, but the Mustang is likely to be a good investment for those who like Colts.

So many guns - so little cash!

Roger & Art

We were also able to check out the new AR scope from Nikon, the P22. It's a 2-7X32 scope designed for .22 AR semi auto's. You can actually go on the internet to get a template to show you how to set the scope OR you can download an app for your phone and take the information with you to the range. Nikon is putting these out at a phenominal intoductory price AND they will include a turret to change your scope for .223. You can COUNT on the Spoiled Mule to be bringing these into stock!

There were several celebrities at the Shot Show today - including La Grande's own Steve West! We never caught up to him, but he was starring in videos at booths all over the place. What a great ambassador for our sport! We saw Jim Zumbo several times and we saw the people from Sons of Guns -the TV show! One of the guys from Top Shot was at the Otis booth and of course, my favorite marine, R. Lee Emery was signing pictures. Joe Montagna was supposed to be there somewhere, but fortune did not shine on me and I did not get to see the Criminal Minds star. Dang it!

R. Lee Emery - The Gunny!

After looking at the mountain of new stuff that will hit the market this year, we have retired to our room at the Flamingo to read flyers, look at catalogues and figure out how to hit the ground running tomorrow. I hear that Bill's has a prime rib for $15.00! Guess we can wander down there and see what we can do to get some dinner. Stay tuned - two more days of Shot Show left!

SHOT SHOW! YAY!

2012-01-15T17:09:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year! Here we are in Vegas to look at all the new products and innovations for all of us who love guns and shooting sports! Woo Hoo! Stick with me on the blog to see what is new and cool!

We left Boise this morning where it was very cold and getting ready to snow. By noon PST, it was shirt-sleeve weather right here in Las Vegas. We promised Ruby and Michaela that we would chronicle our annual pilgrimage so be prepared for all sorts of pictures of our adventures in Sin City!

Vegas from the air

OK - you all know who this is getting all excited to be in Vegas to attend the 2012 Shot Show. We chose the Flamingo this year so we can forget about the shuttles and just walk to the show this year - whick is at the Venetian. This is an older hotel, but Hey! It was started by Bugsy Seagal and it's a cornerstone of Vegas. AND..not only do they have beautifuls girls decked out in pink flamingo costumes, but they also host Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville!!!!! Dude!

So, who out there knew that the Flaminigo had a habitat enclosure full of flamingos, fish and ducks? There is a water slide here! Of course, it's closed at the moment - 'cause it's like winter.

I couldn't get a picture of the black swans, but the black necked swan let me take his picture.

How cool is it that they not only have coy in their ponds,but also albino channel cats?

Is this a perfect example of Vegas technology,or what? This is 100% indoors, yet it looks like an outdoor mall! Never underestimate the illusion in Vegas! These guys took a desert and turned it into the most popular money-making spot on EARTH!

Stay tuned! tomorrow we attend Shot Show University and I'll be updating this blog!!!

2010-01-30T23:13:00.000-08:00

Exciting New Products - Gamo Adult Air Rifles

It takes a lot for a conservative rifle hunter to get excited about an air rifle, but our recent visit to the SHOT Show in Las Vegas turned a couple of sceptics into believers.

With the cost of ammunition, varmint hunting is becoming expensive - when you can find the ammo you want for your favorite varmint gun. The .177 and .22 pellets are more affordable while amazingly effective on squirrels, coyotes and even a 60-pound hog with the right air rifle!

Gamo builds one of the fastest spring piston airguns on the planet. The video of their Hunter Extreme .22 air rifle is amazing. Check out their website: www.hunterextreme.com and watch the Hunter Extreme take down a 60-pound hog with one shot. The .177 rifle sets the record for velocity with a blistering 1650 fps. The .22 caliber is rated at 1300fps with pellet and 950fps with lead.

Gamo rifles are built with the latest advancements in spring power engineering, optics, noise reduction and stock designs. The break barrel single cocking system makes the gun powerful and easy to use. The ND52 noise reduction technology provides up to 52% less noise. The Hunter, Viper, SOCOM, Bone Collector, Whisper and many more models come with a scope - ready to hit the woods in seach of small game.

After talking to the folks from Gamo at the SHOT Show, we were convinced that this company is
dedicated to producing a quality product that meets the needs of its customers. We decided to stock Gamo in our store and on our website because we believe this is going to be the next big thing for varming and small game hunting. If you're a serious hunter, take a look at the new generation of air rifles at www.spoiledmule.com/hunter-extreme-rifle-caliber-with-39X70-illuminated-p-26.html

2009-11-29T09:22:00.000-08:00

I hate getting on a soapbox, but something just smacked me in the head this morning while I was downloading the hunting forcast for our website, http://www.spoiledmule.com/.

Every year the Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife makes it a little more expensive to hunt, takes away some hunting opportunities and increases the burden on the hunter to document, report and prove their hunting results. All that might not even be so bad, but now they won't even let me keep my trophies - at least not intact. They want the teeth from some trophies, the wings and tails from grouse, the head from pine marten and bobcat, and even sex organs and guts from some big game. Now we have to bring them our cougar with the sex organs so they can "register" the trophy. Does anyone else find that a bit invasive and kinda disgusting?

Okay, I get the whole argument that there are a lot of hunters out there and the state wants to keep track so they don't dessimate the native animal populations. Fine. Make everyone turn in their tag filled out with the results of their hunt. Why does the state need to know what days you went hunting, what methods you used and where you were? All they need to know is where the animal was when you harvested it, the general age of the animal and that you had the license and tag to legally harvest it. In my opinion, it is the responsibility of the fish and wildlife biologists to go out in the woods and take a census on the animal populations - not the hunters. We are now paying a greater percentage of the cost to support ODFW and doing more of their work. I've been told by law enforcement folks that ODFW has a better DNA testing facility for animals in this state than there is for testing human DNA for the state police. What the heck is that all about?

Let's face it - people who break the game laws are not going to report themselves just because they have to turn in the teeth from their deer. People who illegally harvest animals probably won't bother buying a tag, and will do their best to stay under the ODFW radar. Is there really some person at the ODFW that thinks they will finally stop poachers by forcing this "big brother" stuff on the honest hunters? You don't stop criminals by making honest citizens register their guns, and you won't catch people who violate the game laws by making us report our every move when we hunt.

Here is my point - bureaucrats will always try to pass rules that make their jobs easier and support their belief system. The forest service does their best to justify keeping us out of the woods - even though we pay the same taxes they do and have just as much right to use the public lands as any employee of the state or federal government. In the same vein, ODFW doesn't have any right to stop us from hunting, but they can make it increasingly more expensive, more difficult to deal with the rules and less appealing by snatching our trophies. They do it a little at a time to make it relatively painless so you don't even know you have lost something until you wake up one morning with a headless bobcat and a toothless deer and wonder whatever happened to the joy and annonymity of being in the woods.

Hunters of Oregon, don't sit at home waiting for the next shoe to drop. Talk to your legislators! Get some grassroots movements together before the state makes hunting so regulated and expensive that only the wealthy (and those hunting show guys) can afford to hunt.

What I've been doing all summer!

2009-09-06T17:30:00.000-07:00

I've been working on the Union Harvest festival for the last three years (this is our fourth year!) For the first 2 years I organized the festival and made sure the parade, the pumpkin chunkin and all the other events happened as planned and it was a lot of fun. I watched the premier event of the Halloween season - the Night-Fright Haunted House - from the sidelines.

(Dracula in the wax museum exhibit)

Then, last year I decided I just had to be in the haunt! Now, I'm one of those chickens who hates being scared and I wouldn't go through a haunted house on a bet prior to my conversion to the dark side. However, Scary Jeri put me in a Victorian dress, grey wig, custom fit vampire teeth and some very creepy makeup and I was totally lost to the haunted house craft! I loved it! There is nothing like watching a grown man fall on his backside at the sight of you rising from a chair! The creepy music, the screams of laughter and terror are somehow cathartic after a day of work.

The Last-Chance Saloon

THIS year I just had to help with the building of the haunt to feed my addiction and make this last longer. It's an amazing experience. It's like a sauna up on the third floor to the old Union Hotel, but it hasn't been as difficult as one might think. Jeri is amazing! She has the gift to turn an empty third floor into an amazing haunted house. She stays awake at night figuring out how to make a monster out of stuff you would never think of using to build a monster. She lays out the haunt and writes the background story. It's always a work in progress as she finds the things she needs to put together scares that fit the theme and the haunt. My proudest moment was when she told me that I was beginning to think like a real haunter.

Jeri's haunts are based on a background story. This year, it's all about a mad scientist who took over a small town museum to do his dark experiments on re-animation of the dead. It was the golden age of America - the 1950's. Our little town was booming with 2 lumber mills and a flour mill. People were making good money and living the American dream. In the background there was talk about Dr. Stein - the museum curator- and his wierd experiments, but it was a time when people didn't lock their doors and didn't believe that anything bad could happen. That is, until that night when two high school sweethearts disappeared after a trip to the museum. The police closed the place down for weeks and searched it from top to bottom - but couldn't find the young couple. Oddly, they never found Dr. Stein either..... Sad and discouraged, the town left the museum shut down until 2009. But, the kids don't stay away. They are fascinated by the possibility that there is something dark and unexplained lurking in the decaying walls of the museum and they dare each other to go in there.

Your haunted experience starts with a teenager who has been stranded in the museum overnight on a dare. From there, you move from room to room and from one exhibit to the next -looking for the secret of the museum. We've been setting up rooms and building the route you will take through the haunt. I wanted to share some pictures to give you a preview of what is in store for those who will enjoy the haunt from the other side.

Do mules hate raccoons?

2009-05-17T16:09:00.000-07:00

Winter is finally starting to loosen its icy grip on us here in the mountains. We have switched from sub-freezing nights to torrential rains and -for today anyway-warm and sunny. If you can believe the computer, though, it's supposed to start raining again on Tuesday.

There is so much standing water on the ground that our poor mules and horses were up to their knees in mud. Our mare, Miss Kelly, looked like a pickup that had been out 4-wheeling in a bog. We decided it was time to put them out in the pastures, even if the ground was still spongy. We put the grown-ups out on the 7 acres and brought Princess Tiger Lilly (our 2-year old mule) and Gunner (a pretty yearling paint) to the field by our house.

Now, everyone knows that mules don't like dogs, so a side benefit of having Princess around is that the neighbor dogs that are let loose by their irresponsible owners to roam the neighborhood are giving our place a wide berth - Yay! no more dog poop to deal with.

I was surprised, however, the other morning. I saw what I thought was a cat coming across the neighbors field -hard to tell exactly what it was when people let their grass get over a foot tall. As soon as it crossed over into our field, though, Princess exploded. She raced across the field and tried to stomp it into the ground. The two of them zigged and zagged across the grass until the smaller animal finally had the presence of mind to throw itself through the far neighbor's split rail fence. It circled back around and finally came back toward the house, being careful to stay on the neighbor's side of the fence. I then realized it was a raccoon! He was out in full daylight at nine o'clock in the morning - highly unusual for a night-dweller. I finally figured out that our mule had kept him at bay the night before so he couldn't get to the leftover catfood on our deck - a nightly ritual on his part that will wake you from a dead sleep with the racket he makes. He was making another desperate attempt to get supper so he could bed down for the day, but Princess wasn't going to let it happen.

I guess the moral of the story is that having a mule will help you keep the dogs, the cougars and now the raccoons out off the property they patrol. Another reason to honor the under-appreciated mule.

2009-05-02T11:51:00.000-07:00

Union County Oregon Hunting Report:

TURKEY season is open. Opening day reports suggest that many hens are being seen by hunters indicating little nesting activity and toms that are less receptive to calls. Early season hunters will increase their chances of success by staying out in the field all day. Walking into hunting areas that are not reachable by vehicles can produce enjoyable, uninterrupted hunts. Snow may limit access in the early part of the season.

SPRING BEAR hunting season is open. Look for bears on open South slopes. Hunters should watch bears carefully before taking a shot, to be sure that a sow with cubs is not taken. Cubs are quite small in the early spring and may be hard to see. Early scouting should include checking access to hunting areas that may be snowed in. Many forest roads will be soft with early snow melt, take care not to cause unnecessary ruts. Remember the new rule this year: successful bear hunters checking-in must present an unfrozen skull; otherwise tooth collection and measurement is difficult. Biologists recommend propping the bear’s mouth open with a stick after harvest; it makes for easier tooth collection and measuring.
COUGAR hunting is open. Warmer weather and a rise in snow levels will make tracking more challenging. Hunters should focus there efforts near deer and elk winter range. Setting up about 150 yards downwind of a deer/elk kill site during the twilight hours can be productive. Cougars are attracted to turkey calls; however turkey loads are not legal for harvesting cougars. A shot size of #1 buck or larger or slugs are required for the legal take of cougars with a shotgun. Hunters with cougar tags are advised to carry slugs or buckshot while turkey hunting. Always prop the mouth wide open on harvested cougars and bears, this saves time when biologists pull a tooth. Hunters bringing in frozen heads with the jaw shut will be asked to return at a later date with the jaw open.
COYOTE numbers are strong throughout the county. Using predator calls as a lure and moving call sights after 20 minutes is an effective method for harvesting coyotes.

Remember a lot of land in Union County is owned or used by farmers and ranchers. You need permission to hunt and should always be careful not to damage fencing or leave gates open!

2009-05-02T11:45:00.000-07:00

Attention Fishermen: The ice is melted off Wallowa lake, the creeks and rivers are full and fast and it's time to start thinking about trout.

GRANDE RONDE, WALLOWA, IMNAHA RIVERS AND TRIBUTARIES: steelhead, trout
Steelhead angling in the Grande Ronde, Wallowa, Imnaha, Umatilla and Walla Walla rivers is closed as of April 15. These streams will open for trout angling on May 23.

2009-05-02T11:22:00.000-07:00

This is truly an amazing wildlife area that few people know about yet. Every time I drive by this wonderful reserve I see new and beautiful birds. For my first post, I wanted to make sure that everyone interested in Eastern Oregon was made aware of this event next week.

The fourth annual Ladd Marsh Birdathon will take place May 8 – 10 at Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area located 6 miles south of La Grande, Oregon.
Commemorating International Migratory Bird Day, the event is scheduled at the height of spring migration and nesting in the Grande Ronde Valley. Few, if any, places in Union County have a more diverse bird population than at Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area. Over 200 species of birds either visit or live permanently at Ladd Marsh.
ONLY ON THIS WEEKEND will birders have the opportunity to explore areas of the wildlife area generally closed to the public, providing increased opportunities to see an abundance of ducks, geese, swans, raptors, shore birds, and passerines.

Here is the Oregon Dept of Fish and Wildlife link for the event: http://www.dfw.state.or.us/resources/viewing/events/index.asp