Well Boys:

Another Rondy is on the books, and a good one it was. But for the absence of The Gun Guy, Colin, Norm, Daryl and a few others, it was clearly a standout event and great fun for this old purveyor of the craft.

Brent and Linda stand out for their generosity and patience in sharing their home with us and tolerating multiple stinking, grubby men traipsing in and out at all hours. Women like Linda are hard to find.

In the food area, Marc exceeded all my expectations. The food was quite good, and I don’t believe anyone went hungry, at least not for long.

And, of course, The Cave was generously made available by John-Henry for the evening consumption of vast quantities of beer and cheap booze (and some not so cheap) including mouse flavored Gin. The wood stove was warm with Oak, and we even had The Gas Axe in attendance one evening to witness the swapping of tales. Pretty good stuff.

I was especially pleased to meet some new people this year, Disco Dave (Mouse Dipper), Wayne, and Kevin. Good guys all, with considerable knowledge to share, and the necessary thick skins to hang in there. Altogether a very nice crowd.

The Dawg and Frankie were very much in evidence, and I enjoyed every minute of their company. I even talked the Dawg out of his coveted .375 H&H Sako which I have lusted after from afar these long years.

Darrell added some humor by showing us his ass, and the Stipeks murdered coyotes by the bushel as usual. Ken and I tried to hold up our end in the Administrator Vehicle, but the pressure was on. We did manage to knock down a few as these pix will testify.

Here’s the cat I collected early on:

He came in at a slow trot from left to right at about 50 yards, intent on the caller. I wanted to wait until he stopped, and then realized if I waited five more steps, Ken was going to see him and it would be all over. Fortunately, a perfect shoulder hit, and the .17 Remington preserved a near perfect pelt. Here’s the Pit Crew:

Randy (Tom Selleck) certainly did his part on stand with a miraculous shot at about 150 yards. I loaned him my kill gun as the poor beastie was still flopping, but it proceeded to misfire not once, but three times. Ken finally administered the “coup de grace” with his big gun.

The next shots need a little clarification. You’ll notice the blood stains look a little similar. This one showed up directly in front of me and behind the caller at a range of about 25 yards. My .17 went “bang” and left a perfect vapor trail to the chest of the coyote, at which point Ken exclaimed, “Good shot! You missed!” I have no idea what happened to that Berger 25, but it never made it to the target. Fortunately, we were able to turn the coyote around and bring him back thru Ken’s artful use of the Fox Pro. As he homed in once again on the speaker, both Ken’s and my rifle fired nearly simultaneously. The result was two holes in the coyote, a true “Double Tap”. Ken’s sear broke first, so he got to claim the perfect neck shot. The shot “too far back” he attributed to me, but I’m not so sure.

The final stand Saturday afternoon found us calling two but only killing one. My first shot resulted in a “spinner”, and Ken and I blazed away until he went down. Ken’s round did the real work. He and I agreed this was maybe the ugliest coyote we’d ever seen. Kevin, who also contributed some cordite to the melee, agreed.

The day ended with a salute to all our “Absent Companions” at the Admin. Vehicle. Who says booze and guns don’t mix.

I’m indebted to you all for your generosity, humor, and friendship. You gave an old man another week to add to the memory box. And Ken, you’re the best hunting partner anyone could have; skilled, knowledgeable, and good natured, not to mention generous. It doesn’t get any better.

Muchas gracias Amigos.

Mike