I’ve had trouble in mind the past week or so. The Delta Blues are real — the variant is ripping through Deschutes County like wildfire. I’ve seen friends go down, despite being vaccinated — though so far the cases have been mild to moderate. And, speaking of wildfire, we had a run of smoke days that felt a bit like trudging through Mordor. There’s … [Read more...] about Gunpowder Therapy

  “All you need for happiness is a good gun, a good horse — and a good wife.” — Daniel Boone Can’t argue with a Frontier Partisan authority of the stature of Daniel Boone. He was in a position to know, after all, having put Rebecca Boone through the trials and tribulations of separation (Boone put the long in long hunter), multiple … [Read more...] about The Good Wife

I am an unapologetic meat eater. My family noted my alarmingly prodigious carnivorous instincts and appetites from a very early age. I would have happily lived on a Plains Indian or Mountain Man diet comprised almost exclusively of meat — by preference buffalo. This being Father’s Day, Marilyn is planning to grill a steak in celebration. Which … [Read more...] about Buccaneers, Barbacoa, Boers & Biltong

Somebody ventilated a rhino-poaching kingpin in South Africa. No one is shedding any tears, but it appears to be a criminal hit, so... From Sowetan Live: Alleged rhino poaching kingpin Sydney Petros Mabuza was gunned down in Hazyview, Mpumalanga, on Thursday afternoon. His car, a Ford Ranger, was found riddled with 17 bullet holes.  Mabuza, … [Read more...] about Mr. Big Is Full Of Holes

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday, June 15, unanimously passed a resolution establishing June 19 as Juneteenth National Independence Day, a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. As far as I’m concerned this is a no-brainer. The emancipation of Black slaves, proclaimed in 1863 and finally enforced everywhere in U.S. … [Read more...] about Juneteenth

  I keep finding — or being pointed to — podcasts that make me smile. Montana author and FP reader Malcolm Brooks (Painted Horses; Cloudmaker) pointed me to The MeatEater Podcast. Michael Punke, who wrote Ridgeline was a featured guest. Enjoyed it a lot. I like a nice, long, meaty (sorry) podcast on a Tuesday night. Was a great show … [Read more...] about Working The Trapline — Lawyers, Guns And Podcasts

Longtime readers will know that I haven’t hit the gym in many years. I get my exercise on the trail and in the Frontier Partisan Biathlon, which involves kettlebell complexes and shooting (with my beloved CZ452FS .22). Listening to a hunting podcast titled Blood Origins, I discovered that there is a whole Lift/Run/Shoot culture out there — which I … [Read more...] about Working The Trapline — Lift. Run. Shoot.

I ain’t gonna lie — these last few weeks have been a grinder.  I’ve got a whole lotta irons in the fire, but that’s a mostly good thing and certainly nothing to complain about. It’s not the work load that weighs me down. I tell ye, I smell trouble on the wind. Bad trouble. Check your flints and priming, boys. I recently posted at Running Iron … [Read more...] about Damn Good Feeling To Run These Roads

  We are finally getting some decent winter here in Central Oregon. Real winter temperatures and enough snow to mean something. The conditions led my thoughts down the trail to New England and New York during the French and Indian War. One of the unique aspects of the long-term conflict on the northern frontier in the 18th century … [Read more...] about Skate Like A Ranger

As the carol has it, the goose is getting fat. Feast well, my friends. … [Read more...] about Merry Christmas