Calling all Texans

[Beekeeper]

Need your help and advice!
Living in California is the pits( sorry Buckshot).
Wife and I are thinking of returning to Texas to live!
Have been looking at the Lubbock , Midland , Odessa area on the computer.
Was through there many times when I was younger and as I remember it is as flat as a board , farming area.

Are their any shooting ranges near there. How about hunting or fishing?A military base (for the commissary and exchange)

Would like to get a little farther north but don't want to get too close to family.

How about a little input from someone so I can get wife motovated.
She don't shoot , hunt , or fish , heck she don't even own a bass boat , but loves to shop.


beekeeper

[Char-Gar]

Lubbock has much more to offer as a city than the Odessa/Midland area. A major university, shops, places to eat, medical care etc. etc. etc. The area around there is indeed flat farming land. There is good pheasant hunting north of Lubbock and deer toward the South.

Odessa/Midland is flat mostly ranching area. It is in the middle of the "oil patch". There are doves, quail and deer hunting all within a short drive. Odessa traditionaly has been the blue color service area for the oil industry, while Midland has the more upscale white color types. Some of this has changed with the decline of big oil and gas in Texas. Most of the offices have moved from Midland to Houston.

I have lived in both the Lubbock area and Odessa/Midland. Its is just my opinion, but Odessa Midland is the rectum of the world. Lubbock is a much nicer place, but still to flat, windy and sandy to suit me.

Both Abilene and San Angelo has Air Force bases. Odessa/Midland has no military presence. I am not certain about Lubbock, but I don't think there is much there either. Dyess AFB in Abilene is a major installation.

If I were going to move to Texas Lubbock, Odessa/Midland would not be on my short list. Abilene is a very nice small city with good shoping, hospitals, places to eat and three high quality universities. The scenery is much better as well.

Going down in size San Angelo is a nice place to live.

Good hunting around Abilene and San Angelo. Most places of any size in Texas have a gun club or range to shoot.

That whole area is right in the middle of the best fishing in the country. Five hundred miles in any direction will get you there.

Lots of other good places in Texas, but you seem to be focused on Northwest Texas and I limited to observations to that part of the State. There is not any cities of any size North of the places you mentioned until you get to Amarillo. From there not much North until you get to OK City. Texas is loaded with many, many fine small towns, but I figured you were not interested due to the three you mentioned.

[PatMarlin]

You would love the state of Jefferson.

Close friend of mine lives here in California, but is back home in Ohio on a 3 month long visit. He just emailed me this morning, and said he was coming home, and then said he couldn't believe Ohio's economy was in better shape than California.

Thank you Waxman, Pelosi, Boxer, and the terminator. What better lineup could a state ask for?

That team has worked like gangbusters for CA. Should work even better with Obama's lead for the rest of the nation ..:roll:

[chucky64]

I think that Lubbock would fit the bill for You, the only requirement not met
in Your description would be a military base for access to a commissary. Clovis,
New Mexico, 2 hours from Lubbock and Abilene, 3 hours from Lubbock are the nearest active military installations. There is a major VA clinic here in Lubbock
if you qualify for VA medical care. Type in Lake Allen Henry in a Search engine
and You will find it is one the premier fishing lakes in Texas. One indoor shooting
range and a outdoor range located maybe 20 minutes outside of Lubbock.
There are also several private ranges located in the area, where You can purchase
yearly memberships.
You might consider looking at some of the smaller outlying towns that surround
Lubbock. You would be able to find a lot more house for Your money in these small
towns, Shallowater, Wolfforth, Idalou, Cooper and Abernathy, all are within 30 minutes of any location in Lubbock.
If you have any more specific questions just PM me I would be happy to answer them.

[44man]

Do us all a favor! When you cross the border, stick a chisel into the fault and break it away into the sea. :mrgreen:

[klcarroll]

Well, ....I don't live in Texas (yet): .....But in 12 years of chasing Severe Weather for the College, ...I have spent a lot of time in the area you're talking about.

I think Lubbock would be one of my choices! (Cagle's Steaks serves the best Ribeye I have ever had!! http://www.caglesteaks.com/)

Kent

[DLCTEX]

You can't go wrong with either Lubbock, Abilene, or Amarillo. Economy still strong in the area, Amarillo was just rated #9 in the nation as a place to live. As stated Abilene is the only military base town. I have lived in Lubbock and near Abilene and currently live 100 mi. east of Amarillo. I am a country boy, but if I had to live in a city, any of those would do. Public hunting areas are few and crowded but hunting leases are plentiful and getting cheaper with the country's economy in the tank. San Angelo has great hunting opportunities and probably the best fishing/boating selection. Abilene rates good in both also. I would think Abilene would best fit your needs from the little I know.

[txpete]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/txpete/logo_phpBB.gif

lots of stuff you might like around ft hood,killeen,temple & waco.
pete

[hpdrifter]

+1 to txpete

[longhorn]

8 replies and no mention of weather? I grew up around Amarillo, and got out of there as soon as I could; it's not so much the relatively infrequent snow, or even the cold weather (not even cold on mountain/Minnesota type scale)--it's the wind! If you golf, play tennis, or like to shoot outdoors, get used to abysmal wind conditions in Amarillo, Lubbock, or Modessa from November through May. Great folks, but oh my.......If I every live north of San Angelo again, it'll be in the mountains or the Pacific Northwest, not on the plains. University cities definitely offer some advantages; Waco/Temple/Killeen/Ft.Hood are just too East Texas like (southern, not western) for my taste.

Longhorn--a lifelong Texan

[carpetman]

I live in san angelo, but much prefer the hill country around Austin area. I am retired military and get most of my medical on Goodfellow AFB--but they only have a clincic --anything very serious you have to use the Dr's in town. It is windy here. The hunting is expensive--Texas has very little public land so paying for a private lease is the norm. The best lake here is Twin Buttes and it's back down to 30% capacity. Midland/Odessa--nothing there--no lakes. Abilene--I don't care for. Lubbock--sand and cotton.

[Freightman]

I have been in Amarillo for 68 of my 70 years, never got rich but never went hungry and was never out of a job for more than a day. Wind is Gods air-conditioning, Amarillo is a big city that thinks like a small town. I get claustrophobia if I am in trees for very long, never tire of the sunsets and looking farther than you can walk in a day. Of course one of my ancestors rode with Quanah Parker, might tell you my mindset.

[gasboffer]

All those scruffy people running down Midland-Odessa are mostly right, however, Midland has the best range of all areas mentioned. It has national bench-rest matches, several metalic silhouette matches, IDPA and steel challenge, full automatic range, bow and arrow range, and several others. Cost about $100/yr.
IHMSA70

[wills]

I spent three years going to school in Lubbock. It was a great place to go to school - no distractions. There is a country western song “Happiness is Lubbock Texas in the Rear View Mirror.” Lubbock is a cotton farming area. When there is a dust storm, which is most of the time, the farmers are up at about 10,000 ft. plowing their fields.

I didn’t know about the fancy range facilities in Midland/Odessa. It would be a stretch to call that part of the state agricultural unless you consider prickly pear and mesquite agriculture.

I grew up in San Angelo, and it used to be nice, but it has gotten too big. Prissy now too. The lakes are nice when there is water in them, when there isn’t you can go stand on the dam and watch the grass fires. Draw a line from San Angelo over to Waco, and that’s about as far north as I would like to go.

Temple has a Huge VA hospital, Killeen which is nearby, is home to Ft. Hood.

I spent about 25 years in the Houston suburbs, and would not recommend that either.

Each county has an appraisal district, with a website, which will tell you the tax rates in that county.

We found the place we live in now on this website. http://www.trrn.com/

[felix]

Was it not Quanah Parker the last to completely surrender the wayward ways? I either dreamt or read that he did so only after a 1500 yard shot took out one of his riders. He said that was the last straw. He had no toys/men to reciprocate and remain aloft. ... felix

[onceabull]

SWMBO is Texas native ,pretty much covered the state while growing up (Pfarr to Amarillo, Bay City to Hunt) last resident in 1967,but I've had plenty of opp.to form opinions while carrying her to Funerals,weddings,Anniv.celebrations for the debutantesof 19xx, et al).In the course of all this ,I'm thinking Marble Falls would be high on my personal list( Last there 3 Springs ago) ..Didn't seem as affected by tourist and winter migrants from the North country as the Fredricksburg,Kerrville,Boerne,area( or anyplace else within a couple hours on the road from metro San Antonio.) Real estate prices at that time appeared to reflect that.. How say you locals.?.?.. Onceabull

[PatMarlin]

That lady that I have my arm around "Loyceemay" is my second mom, but also Quanah Parker's grandaughter.

[wills]

Was it not Quanah Parker the last to completely surrender the wayward ways? I either dreamt or read that he did so only after a 1500 yard shot took out one of his riders. He said that was the last straw. He had no toys/men to reciprocate and remain aloft. ... felix

He was present at the Battle of Adobe Walls when Billy Dixon made his 1,547 yard shot.

http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/PP/fpa28.html

[DLCTEX]

What put Quanna Parker on the reservation was the army, led by Indian scouts, finding their Palo Duro Canyon hideaway, capturing the Indians horse herd and shooting all the horses. Without the horses they were helpless and had no way to get food, they starved out.
Billy Dixon was in the Adobe Walls fight and the Buffalo Wallow fight. At Buffalo Wallow (17 mi. North of my house) 7 men held off 145 Indians with long range shooting lying prone in the shallow bowl in the earth.

[Echo]

And another thing - The one thing I remember about Odessa was the pervasive smell of crude oil. Carrumba! Couldn't get away from it.
Abilene is a nice town, visited there often - had people who lived there. The three universities there are all Christian denominational institutions. Whenever we went to visit we would always carry a bottle of Manischevitz wine for the folks. Abilene was as dry as dry could be. If you wanted a 6-pack, you had to drive to Happy (40-50 miles?). Then a few citizens (a family, actually) disincorporated their cul-de-sac and reincorporated as the town of Impact - and sold booze! MAN! The traffic jams were something to see! Things slowly changed...
Still a nice little town, and Dyess AFB nearby is nice if you are retired military.

(Born & raised in Houston, with family all over the state)

[TAWILDCATT]

guess this yankee is glad he moved to SC.Va hospital in columbia and clinic close by.my 90 acres was cheap,and we counted 29 deer in the field.they like soybeans.
I have 9 acres in crop[rent to farmer]and the rest is wooded.unlimited bucks from sep 1 to jan 1.great fishing 25 miles to lakes.yr round.but its hot and humid today 99 degrees.to much for 85 yr old like me.but I can shoot out the front door if I want.:coffee:[smilie=1::Fire:

[wills]

And another thing - The one thing I remember about Odessa was the pervasive smell of crude oil.

The smell of money!

[Char-Gar]

What you smell in Odessa is what the locals call "sour gas". I spend six long long years there and my ex-wife still loves there some 15 years after the DEE-vorce. I think the sour gas has eating part of her brain.

My daughter who graduated from the much touted Permian High School refers to the town as "slow-death-ah".

I am a chronic enjoyer of life and small Texas towns and cities..BUT...if God ever gives the world an enema, Odessa Texas will be the point of insertion.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Hello Beekeeper,here is my two bits worth.While I have never lived in the state of Texas, I have spent some time there. I love the state and I love the people of Texas. I have always been treated well there. I have seen it in the summer and when it was cold .We felt the temperature of ten degrees in Amarillo with the wind going off the charts. The plains have little to recommend them. What good is open space if it is too cold to go out side.I worked with a man from Amarillo.He told me he had inherited over three thousand acres close to the town but he had no intention of ever living there. I don,t blame him. I do very much like the hill country north of San Antonio. I was suprised to see that there is rather severe weather in the area, including flooding. Unusual for the hills. I would forget much of west Texas. There is a very good reason it is sparsely populated. Not enough water for one thing. That is a growing problem thruout the south west. My favorite place in the state is the small town of Columbus located 70 or 80 miles west of Houston. I would not want to live much further north or west of San Antonio. I understand property taxes or quite high in Texas ,since they have no income tax. My favorite state of all is the one I have lived in for over fifty seven years and that is California. It has the best weather in the world and lots of open space. I do hate what has happenrd to the place since the kooks took over state government in 1958. We do get a good governor occaisonally but he has no real power. There are only four states that the governor has less power than Ca. I gather from what I read in this forum and in gun mags. that the battle over gun rights and other freedoms is being fought all over the lower forty eight. When liberals move from the cold northeast into the warmer states they bring there ideas with them. We should have some sort of immigration laws to protect us. Actually Texas has tougher gun laws than most other western states.With the exception of Californina of course. All things considered I think I will stay where I am.

[DLCTEX]

Gopher Slayer. Our property tax may be a slightly higher rate, but I doubt it, but the property valuations are much lower than California and most other states. A house in California that is valued at $1,000,000 in California will be $250,000 oe less here. Many Californian retirees are selling their homes and buying new in Texas and living off the difference. Amarillos growth has been due to such people in the most part for the past few years. Our cost of living is much lower, and our State Government is not broke. Your state will either have to reduce all services or raise taxes drastically. But if people find other places more to their liking, that is fine with us. We like just as it is, with plenty of elbow room. Texas has tougher gun laws? Our castle doctrine gives us the right to be armed in our homes, businesses, and vehicles without a license and the right to use the arms for protection of life and property without fear of frivolos law suit. Anyone but a felon has the right to carry a rifle or shotgun in open sight in a vehicle or elsewhere, excepting most government buildings and hospitals. If you are a citizen in good standing you will be issued a concealed carry license after proving you have at least a little common sense and can hit the broadside of a barn at 7 yds. I do admit that our wise politicians have seen fit to prevent us from carrying brass knuckles and switchblades, even with a concealed carry permit. I find little, if any, difference in the ideas of people from the cold notheast and those from the left coast.

[JesterGrin_1]

I had a short stay in Amarillo back in 92 for about 3 months and I found the people there to be GREAT. Very friendly town and people. And even though the town at the time was not small it still felt as a small town.

But how in the world can you even start to sight in a rifle or for that matter anything lol. The wind never gave up lol. And yes I was there and got to see the F 5 Tornado close up and personal of which I never wish to repeat.

And if anyone goes through that great town you have to stop to see the play at Polo Duro Canyon. It is called TEXAS if I remember right. Good show. :)

[wills]

Our castle doctrine gives us the right to be armed in our homes, businesses, and vehicles without a license and the right to use the arms for protection of life and property without fear of frivolos law suit

However, see
http://www.tsra.com/docs/AboveTheLaw.pdf

[crabo]

At 8:30 pm it is 96 degrees here in Dallas. Does that bother you? It bothers me. I am going out to cast.

[longhorn]

Marble Falls is sort of a big little town--lots and lots of retirees. The lake runs through it. Some shopping, several decent restaurants, good health care. Pretty area, definitely Hill Country. Expensive real estate, by central Texas standards. Rapid access to Austin and San Antonio. Always strikes me as a nice place, but rotten traffic, by my standards. I'm about 75 miles from there.

[JesterGrin_1]

Do not feel bad it was 107F with 6% humidity at 7PM here in Alamo Town lol. That is San Antonio TEXAS lol.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Hey Dale, I will agree with some of the things you say about California but house values isn't one of them. The bottom has dropped out of the housing market here. The property next to me has three rent houses on two and one half acres. It sold four years ago for 695 thou. Two weeks ago it sold at a bank auction for 171 thou. In Riverside county where I live there are so many unsold new homes it is difficult to give away an older one. One tract of 19 new homes in Victerville was simply bulldozed over because they were empty so long they had become an eyesore and a blight on the landscape. In one tract that was not selling the builders said they would add a pool and give you a new VW at no extra cost. The prices had already been reduced.It would take one hell of a house to bring a million in Ca. today. It would also need to be close to the ocean. As for as my statement about gun laws, I will stand by it. I don,t think Texas laws are as liberal as most western states,with the exception as I said of California. You mentioned a permit to carry in Texas. I may be wrong but I don't think you need a permit in some western states.Actually I don't think you need one in Ca. as long as it is not concealed. Of course it can't be loaded either but hey, thats Calif. I suppose it could intemidate even empty.Also mentioned in a previous thread, Texas has little open public land available for shooting unless you are willing to pay for the privilege. I personally care nothing about hunting except for animals like prairie dogs,ground hogs ,etc. Because you get to do a lot of shooting. I can't imagine not being able to go to the range or the desert and blast away. In fact I can reach an open desert shooting area in less than an hours drive from my home.The state with some of the most liberal gun laws is New Hampshire, hardly a rip rouring western state. As I stated earlier I love Texas and my own pick of of what I have visited there is Columbus. I did get an e-mail with a picture of a 28 foot alligator they had pulled out of a creek there. My son used to play along that creek. Of course you have to take those e-mails with a grain of salt. I fear all of us from whatever state are going to have our job cut out for us in the near future if we want to keep our guns complete with ammo. If you agree or not feel free to jump in. Especially some of you in California thinking of leaving the state for greener pastures. After all we have to make a stand somewhere and we can't all live in Idaho or Montana.

[hammerhead357]

I really like the weather here in south Texas but what irritates me is the people coming in here and buying property at the price the owner is asking. For crying out loud please at least bargin a little. These people have sold proerty in other states and come here and just pay the asking price for property, because they think it is a bargin. Come on people you are driving our taxes out of site.
Sorry but I have seen this to much around here recently. People come here and just pay whatever the owner wants because they feel it is a good deal based on the price of property where they have been living. Oh well this will upset some and others will share my feelings...
Wes

[hammerhead357]

A 28 foot alligator, please!!! A really big Texas gator would be 13 foot or so. Yes they do get that big here. I have seen 10 and 11 footers at night in the 75 acre lake at Choke Canyon under the lights at the fish cleaning station. I have also walked their paths in the tall grass there and it will give you something to think about when all you have is a rod and reel in your hands to defend yourself...Wes

[carpetman]

Even Texas alligators don't get to be 28 feet. It was probably one of our small crocodiles.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Hey Hammerhead, read my thread just one more time.Geeze, all I said was I had received the e-mail complete with picture. I also said such e-mails should be taken with a grain of salt. Having cleared that up, I must admit I don't really want to come across even a thirteen foot cornivore in my favorite swimming hole. Knock California all you want,we still have the best weather for outdoor activities such as shooting,golf,fishing etc. I am at the rifle range every Tuesday and it only takes eighteen minutes to get there. It is very rare to miss a day of shooting because of bad weather. There is one more advantage to living in the golden state. There are very few insects trying to sap our blood supply.

[klcarroll]

..........There is one more advantage to living in the golden state. There are very few insects trying to sap our blood supply.


Well, .....That's just Natural Selection in action!!! How could the insects possibly compete with your politicians?????:kidding:


.....Actually the only worse state is Illinois; .......Where I live!:cry:


Kent

[Beekeeper]

All right gopherslayer just where in Riverside County are you 15 minutes from a range?
The only one where I live is run by an old guy that looses it all and foams at the mouth when you say you are not a member of the range and a member of the NRA.
Non Membership is another story and not for discussion I found out.
Still want to know where the range is !!


beekeeper

[GOPHER SLAYER]

klcarroll, you are right about the blood sucking politicos out here. They are staying awake all night trying to come up with new ways to syphon off more in taxes. They never want to consider cutting spending. If it were not for Arnie threating to veto every new bill they would have bled us dry already. As for Illinois, be thankful you don't live below the 38th parallel. I was in Cairo in the late 90s and you could have fired a Gattling gun down the main street and not hit man,woman,dog or cat. I remember when it was a thriving town. They still have my favorite B-BQ place. It may be the only business left in town. The Los Angeles Times wrote an article about it last year. As for Illinois being the second worst state,I dunno.Where are we going to place Taxachusetts? Anyone from that paradise on earth care to chime in? Hell, lets hear from everybody.You have a ready audience here. Our government could care less what concerns us,so go ahead and get it off your mind,chest,whatever.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Beekeeper, that sounds like my range allright,although I never saw the rangemaster foam at the mouth. I simply ply the man with do-nuts,banana bread and various other goodies. It seems to work.I understand it is effective with some members of law enforcement . Actually the range is just over the line in San Bernadino Co. in the town of Highland on Boulder just north of the town of Redlands. I will probably be there tomarrow. When I went last Tuesday it took me 18 minutes.

[hammerhead357]

Carpetman would you use a cat for bait for one that small????Wes

[hammerhead357]

Gopher Slayer I didn't mean anything bad I did read your post correctly the first time. I saw that you were posting it in jest. We do have big gators in south Texas though.
About 2 years ago we were camping at Choke Canyon and my then 8 year old daughter had located the sunning spot of a 6 or 7 footer and would take people over to show them the gator. I was watching her with binoculars and I am greatful that she didn't know you could sneak up on them. She would always scare it away before she and her followers would get to close.
I finally told her to leave the gator alone. I then incured the rath of a little red headed girl but at least the gator got some quiet time.....Wes

[Recluse]

Tough gun laws here in Texas?

How so?

High property taxes? Don't think so. I've lived in North Carolina, Kansas City (Johnson County, KS), Chicago (doesn't even count as part of the United States), Florida and Texas.

Texas was by far the cheapest place to live. In North Carolina, it cost us over $1500 to register three cars for license tags--and that was back in the mid-90's. In Johnson County (KS), it cost $1200. Here in Texas, it costs us less than $150. In North Carolina, I had to pay property taxes on my boat and airplane--almost $4000. Here in Texas, it's less than $50.

Property taxes on real estate? Again, North Carolina just about bled us dry compared to what we were used to. We lived in Nash County, and when they appraised our house/property (we had a 3/2 with a detached two-car garage and shop all of which sat on two acres), they also included my lawnmowers, our appliances, our stereo and television sets, our computer, condition of the carpet, drapes and window treatments, mini-blinds if they were anything other than the cheap plastic type, etc.

Also had a state income tax, one of THE most crooked state governments inexistence--which finally got sued by the federal gov't for double-dipping into retirees' pension accounts, one of the sorriest public school systems in existence (but in fairness, NC has a heckuva good community college system), rampant crime, good roads but with the most amount of litter and trash I've seen anywhere except for Detroit, privatized gov't services that were damn near non-existent, etc etc.

So our question was: Where the hell is all this tax money GOING?

We said to hell with NC after just a little over a year.

Living in Johnson County, Kansas, was like night and day difference. Yep, state income tax and respectable property taxes, BUT. . . The Olathe and Leawood school districts were constantly in the nation's top ten in terms of SAT scores, teacher pay, retention, rate of graduation, etc. Very little crime with almost zero violent crime. Well-kept roads, good signage, and CLEAN everywhere you looked. Easy to use county services, superb public park system, etc etc.

Even with the market bottoming out, California has the most inflated, overvalued housing prices I've ever seen--and you pay taxes proportionately on those overvalued, inflated evaluations.

All things considered, we're in pretty good shape here in Texas. Our two biggest problems are all the damn yankees wanting to move in and then whine because we don't do it like they did in California or Chicago or New Jersey. The other biggest problem is all the damn illegal aliens coming in--and that is primarily due to all the damn liberal yankees who move here, then whine about how unfair life is to the illegal aliens.

Frankly, I wish we required a visa system to relocate here--or at least a sponsor program.

:coffee:

[hammerhead357]

Well hell RECLUSE why don't ya tell us how ya really feel....LOL....Sorry couldn't resist....Wes

[DLCTEX]

I lived in the Houston area (Waller/Hockley) in 1980 and worked for a Boy's Home. One evening a friend and I went into Houston and he was doing more talking than driving and veered into the other lane causing a driver to slam on his brakes. We stopped at a stop sign and I saw the other driver rolling down his window and siad "listen to this". He shouted " Hey fella, what part of the north are you from"? We had a good laugh over that one. It is interesting how people bad mouth things where they came from, and then want to change things here to what they had there. My son and DIL want to get out of Florida due to the Yankees "ruining it". A few years ago I told another son about a quarter section for sale up the road but said the price was way too high. He replied that he knew a number of people who would snap it up for the hunting. I suggested he tell them about it and he replied, "no, I'm moving back sometome and I don't want them there crowding the place". My boys are smart.

[Char-Gar]

Man, can I feel your pain about the Yankee types moving in and whine, whine, whine about the way we do things. My standard response, is.... the same road that brung you here, will take you back.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Hey everybody,keep it coming. I love it. I think I might know where some of the money in N.Carolina is going. All those flights to Argentina. You think maybe? I am proud to announce at this time that California is no longer subject to ridacule over very high taxes. The Dems have solved the problem. They now refer to them as revenue enhancements. Makes me feel better. As for the illegles swamping our southern borders,not to worry.B.O. has ordered 1500 Natl Guard troops deployed to handle the problem. Of course they will not be armed. Are you people out there aware B.O. has cancelled all weapon systems in development?That encludes a new rifle for the armed forces. In fact, I have it on good authority that he has ordered the word armed dropped when refering to the Army,Navy,Airforce & Marines. It carries with it the impression of hostle intent. I have even heard that he has requested General Food to develope a marshmellow gun. Figures it will show the people that hate us that we bare them no ill will. It will of course all but eliminate enemy casualties. Keep it under your hat untill I can confirm the story. As I said,keep it comming. You just don't know how good it will make you feel.

[Beekeeper]

Boy howdy gopherslayer,
You sure do like to rabble rowse.

I heard old Swartzenbager was going to double everything as far as taxes and payments were concerned.
Was listening to LA Radio and they were saying he caved to the Dems so he could look good to all of the nonproducers who milk the state to death.
That is why I am contemplating moving home to texas.
Beleive it or not I really am a displaced Texan.


beekeeper

[DLCTEX]

Come on home!

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Beekeeper, I am not native to the Golden State myself. I was born and raised in south east Missouri. What I was trying to say was to check very thourghly and be sure you will be happy wherever you move back to .I have had many friends make the move and had deep regrets later. One couple we knew made the move to Iowa three times and each time they lost a house full of furniture and appliances. Remember what Thomas Wolf said, "you can never go home again".Meaning that it is no longer there. That favorite fishing hole may have been drained, the place you used to hunt birds may now be a shopping mall. I have no idea how long you have lived in this state but I have lived here since 1952. I was in the Navy for three years in San Diego. I went back to Mo. for one winter in 1955 and decided California wasn't so bad after all. Snow & ice suck. Almost as bad is the wind. Shooters in Ca. think they are the only people fighting bad gun laws.That is simply not the case. As more and more leftys move to the red states the harder the battle becomes. I heard on the radio yesterday about a women in Houston who bought a house for 37 thou. It must have been in a questionably neighborhood for that price. After that the women went to a gun shop and bought four guns,I didn't here what kind. The Houston police promply raided her house. I didn't hear anything more so if anyone out there can fill in more details ,I would appreciate it. Mexico is blaming the U.S. for it' problem with gun battles.Of course Hillory instantly siezed the oppertunity to join in the blaming game. Since Texas and Arizoni our in the forefront of the fight against drug dealers and gun battles I think that those states will be the new battleground,after all anti gunners don't have to worry about the northeast. They won that battle long ago. Those creeps never will give up.

[wills]

Beekeeper, As more and more leftys move to the red states the harder the battle becomes. I heard on the radio yesterday about a women in Houston who bought a house for 37 thou. It must have been in a questionably neighborhood for that price. After that the women went to a gun shop and bought four guns,I didn't here what kind. The Houston police promply raided her house. I didn't hear anything more so if anyone out there can fill in more details ,I would appreciate it. Mexico is blaming the U.S. for it' problem with gun battles.Of course Hillory instantly siezed the oppertunity to join in the blaming game. Since Texas and Arizoni our in the forefront of the fight against drug dealers and gun battles I think that those states will be the new battleground,after all anti gunners don't have to worry about the northeast. They won that battle long ago. Those creeps never will give up.

Federal agents hunt for guns, one house at a timeIn front of a run-down shack in north Houston, federal agents step from a government sedan into 102-degree heat and face a critical question: How can the woman living here buy four high-end handguns in one day?

The house is worth $35,000. A screen dangles by a wall-unit air conditioner. Porch swing slats are smashed, the smattering of grass is flattened by cars and burned yellow by sun.

“I’ll do the talking on this one,” agent Tim Sloan, of South Carolina, told partner Brian Tumiel, of New York.

Success on the front lines of a government blitz on gunrunners supplying Mexican drug cartels with Houston weaponry hinges on logging heavy miles and knocking on countless doors. Dozens of agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — sent here from around the country — are needed to follow what ATF acting director Kenneth Melson described as a “massive number of investigative leads.”

All told, Mexican officials in 2008 asked federal agents to trace the origins of more than 7,500 firearms recovered at crime scenes in Mexico. Most of them were traced back to Texas, California and Arizona.

Among other things, the agents are combing neighborhoods and asking people about suspicious purchases as well as seeking explanations as to how their guns ended up used in murders, kidnappings and other crimes in Mexico.

“Ever turning up the heat on cartels, our law enforcement and military partners in the government of Mexico have been working more closely with the ATF by sharing information and intelligence,” Melson said Tuesday during a firearms-trafficking summit in New Mexico.

Firearms dealers visited
The ATF recently dispatched 100 veteran agents to its Houston division, which reaches to the border.

The mission is especially challenging because, officials say, that while Houston is the number one point of origin for weapons traced back to the United States from Mexico, the government can’t compile databases on gun owners under federal law.

Agents instead review firearms dealers’ records in person.

People who are legally in the United States and have clean criminal records, but are facing economic problems are often recruited by traffickers to buy weapons on their behalf in order to shield themselves from scrutiny.

Knocks at the door of the shack that looked to be the definition of hard times went unanswered.

“I am out of here,” Sloan said a few moments later, as a pit bull lazily sauntered from the back yard. “I don’t like pit bulls walking up behind me.”

[wills]

Best information source
On second thought, Sloan switched to Spanish and interviewed a neighbor.

The neighbor said the woman left a month ago after a fight with her husband or boyfriend, who still lived there with what she called “other degenerates.”

“An angry ex-girlfriend or wife is the best person in the world, the greatest source of information,” Sloan said.

The night before, the duo were in a stakeout where they watched a weapons sale.

They also combined efforts with the Drug Enforcement Administration for an aircraft to stealthily follow traffickers to the border.

On this day, agents weren’t wearing raid jackets or combat boots and weren’t armed with warrants.

Guns were hidden under civilian shirts.

Another tip took agents on a 30-minute drive from the shack to a sprawling home with a pool in the back and an American flag out front.

It turned out two handguns, of a type drug gangsters prefer, were bought by a pastor for target practice.

Some stories, they say, are hard to believe.

The lamest so far came from a police officer: He said he bought a few military-style rifles, left them in his car and — on the same night — forgot to lock a door. He couldn’t explain why he didn’t file a police report or why he visited Mexico the day after the alleged theft.

dane.schiller@chron.com

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/6505651.html

It's ATF

[carpetman]

hammerhead---Really I'd like to get more out of a cat than a 28 foot gator.

[big dale]

I lived about a decade in Lubbock, 3 years in Abilene, and 5 years in the Austin Area before moving back to the Dallas area. Before you buy a place in Lubbock or Midland, you should spend at least a weekend in the San Antonio/Austin area. I think your wife would enjoy the shopping there more than in Lubbock. I would suggest a place in the hill country no more than an hours drive from San Antonio. Austin has one of the best gun shops I have ever been in called McBrides. When I lived in the Austin area about 15 years ago there was a ranch west of New Braunfels that had NBRSA bench rest matches and a metallic sil. club with rams out to 500 meters for those guys good enough to stand on their hind legs and shoot those 308s. I had a lot of fun knocking those rams down at 200 meters on the handgun range with my old Superblackhawk.

Big Dale

[JesterGrin_1]

Big Dale I think you are talking about here. :) http://sanantonio.citysearch.com/profile/10082447/new_braunfels_tx/dietz_gun_shop_range_inc.html

Austin is nice more of a young crowd with lots of stuff going on. And the traffic you will hate lol.
San Anonio is more country and laid back

[wills]

I will politely say I do not care for the Peoples Republic of Travis County. Should you be condemned to that location you can go east to Columbus and shoot BPCRS. http://www.yauponcreek.org/

[Recluse]

If the only place I could live in Texas was Austin, I'd move to another state.

Austin is our version of Berkely, Chapel Hill, much of Tulsa, all of Massachusetts, most of Vermont (except not as conservative) and Moscow, Russia (except again, not as conservative).

It wasn't even 48 hours after 9/11 and Austin and the University of Texas hosted the first anti-war parades and protests about us not going into Afghanistan.

ANY thoughts or hopes I might have ever had about ANYTHING redeeming about Austin, Texas, flew right down the outhouse basement chute--and stayed there.

:coffee:

[markinalpine]

(Edited) But how in the world can you even start to sight in a rifle or for that matter anything lol. The wind never gave up lol. And yes I was there and got to see the F 5 Tornado close up and personal of which I never wish to repeat.

Shoot downwind! :Fire::Fire:

Then brag about the distance.

I live in Alpine. I'm happy. :bigsmyl2:

[JesterGrin_1]

You can shoot any direction and it will still go downwind as the wind will carry it there lol.

But being honest I can not say enough good things about Amarillo. :)

[SciFiJim]

My wife and I are looking to move out of California as well. We are thinking about the hill country near San Antonio. She's a native Californian, I am a native Texan who came to CA in the Navy.

Hammerhead - mentioning Choke Canyon sure brings back memories. I remember when they put in the dam and had to move the entire town of Callihan. My dad and grandparents are buried in Three Rivers. My aunt was a teacher at the high school there. One of my favorite memories was getting a fountain soda at the Antler Inn before they remodeled it. There was a jackalope on display there. They say that you can never go home and they are right. I was through there a few years ago and it was all changed.

I've lived in California more than half my life but I will always be a Texan, it's in my blood.

[big dale]

[QUOTE=Recluse;609245]If the only place I could live in Texas was Austin, I'd move to another state.

Austin is our version of Berkely, Chapel Hill, much of Tulsa, all of Massachusetts, most of Vermont (except not as conservative) and Moscow, Russia (except again, not as conservative).

The people there always reminded me a lot of those in Bolder or Missoula. I had a friend from the UK that said that it reminded him a lot of France....beautiful country if you could just get rid of the people. I Was always much more comfortable living in a much more conservative area. It did make it a lot of fun to take their brains out and play with them a bit. Like when you go to vote in a primary and hollar out" where do I go to vote for David Duke."

You gotta have fun with this stuff.

Big Dale

[Char-Gar]

Austin is not all bad..mostly, but not all. Austin has gone through a boom with lots of non-Texas moving in there poluting the culture. The Univ. of Texas has fallen into Yankee hands and has ceased to be the place to go to study Texas culture and history. There was an attempt a couple of years ago, to remove the statute of Robert E. Lee and replace it with one of Martin Luther King. quite a fuss. I think in the end, they move Lee to a less prominate place and put King there.

The Handbook of Texas Online was booted out by the Administration and found a new home at North Texas in Denton.

Still..The state archives are there as well as some nice folks.