My name is Jon and here I am in my 81 scrambler. It has a 360 v-8 and all Edelbrock off road parts. Cam, lifters,intake,600cfm.carb. The jeep has a Warn 8000# winch, a 3x3 hunting hatch. I'm holding my M1-A with a national match barrel and military bi-pod.
My wife Marcia and I have lived in El Paso Texas for 15 years. We love the climate. We originally are from Cleveland Ohio.I teach high school chemistry and physics. Marcia teaches Reading Recovery at the 1st. grade level.We have 5 dogs(pictures to be added later) We live on the outskirts of El Paso on a 2 1/2 acre lot. I enjoy hunting(mostly varmints) jeeping,reloading and most outdoor activities. Marcia's hobbies are tole painting,wood working and jeeping. This is my first web site. I hope to improve it as I learn.
Here I am with my Llewelyn engish setter Samatha (Sam) after a day of dove hunting. (note her hunting vest)
This is our son Steve,our daughter-in-law Connie and our grandson Steven.
This is Marcia with Patches her Lavarack English Setter and Sam .
Visitor # since 1/19/99
e-mail owl81@msn.com
This is our newest dog "Sara". She is a Briquet Griffon Vendeen. She eats anything wood plants etc(typical puppy)
This is our mutt "scrappy" (Old picture) she runs from the camera. We got her 3 yrs. ago ,after she had been hit by a car. Her vet bills could have bought me a new M!-A national match. But she's worth it. Great watch dog,and lovable.
This is our Plott Hound Nugget. He adopted me during a gold prospecting trip,hench the name Nugget. He was one yr. old and had gotten lost from his pack during a mountain lion hunt. He had been living off the land for 6 wks. before we arrived in his area. He must have thought we were a soft touch. He is VERY, protective. Last year he took on a pack of coyotes and he came back with 2 gashes, but there was 2 dead coyotes.
Here are two views of our yard. If you notice the growth. This the natural type of vegetation in El Paso. Mesquite,yucca cacti,greasewood and other shrubs. They form these "boontoolies" . Hummocks of sand and vegetation.The wind blows the fine sand and when it hits and vegetation it slows and drops the sand. This process builds mounds everywhere.
Hunting in El Paso Co. and far west Texas: The hunting here is not the same as other places. The distance you can see any game is limited by the boontoolies. Using a bipod or rest is usually impossible. Coyotes are only glimpsed as they pass between boontoolies. 5 sec. as they walk or run through. At that point(if you saw them) you can now point you rifle where you hope they will appear. They may move farther away and around other boontoolies. You never know. Sometimes they will come from around the one your sitting against.This is why I cut a hatch in the Jeep top. I hope to get a little elevation to increase the aquisition range. Most coyotes we shoot here are less than 100yds away. With the speed at which you have to aquire and shoot at the animals here, I have been sucessful with the following for ground stands. A mini-14 ranch with the scope on5x. Ihave gotten a few running. I also have on my lap my sig 226 for those that come sneaking around behind me and show up 20-40 ft away on the left or right.I know that thre will be laughs abut the mini-- but I have only missed 30 % of the running coyotes at 100 yds or less.
Top photo is my new DPMS Panther Bull Sweet Sixteen is has a jp trigger and shoots as well as it looks. It is sitting on my homemade shooting bench before I stained the bench green.Right is my Qualifying target forTexas Concealed Handgun License I scored 249/250 shots are 20 @ 3yds 20@7 yds(one flyer), and 10@ 15yds all shots are timed ie 3shots in 5 secs. 2 shots in 3 secs.etc. 50 shots total each worth up to 5 points. Targets are turned sideways and rotate to shoot only for the given amount of time. Similar to a combat course.
Here is the finsihed shooting table it is supported by two pedistals that slip into a cone under the table and the other end slips into the feet. It all comes apart for easy transport. The top is a cut out 2x 4 piece of 3/4 in plywood It has a 1/2' 1/2 round molding around the top edge to keep things from rolling off and stained forest green.