Thomas Pickering

“If you’re going through hell, keep going.” Winston Churchill The past number of months have not been particularly kind to our family; thus, I haven’t posted anything for quite a while. This is to sort out some of the pending items and to set out what I hope will be forthcoming next year. We are […]

Following is a description of what was technically my first rifle. I say “technically” because I have never kept it in my home and I’ve never fired it. Anyone who can help me learn more about its lineage, or can point me to any source that might help, would be most appreciated. I found this […]

“Bad weather always looks worse through the window.” – Tom Lehrer Here’s the view out my window this morning, October 1, 2018 — “Range Day.” Stop sniveling, you Georgia boys; pull up your sox and put on some boots. You think this’ll hold up a Canuck, eh? Hah! Thomas Pickering P.S. – Trying to get […]

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2018 is INTERNATIONAL BACON DAY.

“I know I got angels watchin me from the other side” – Kanye West I need to tidy up and finish writing about my adventures in Africa, but that has been put back by the need to deal with some family things as well as a new project I’ve undertaken to write a series of […]

“. . . strict rules govern how passengers are supposed to handle them.” – TSA LESSON #1 Know the rules of the jurisdiction where you live. Know the rules of your carrier(s) Know the rules of any jurisdiction along the way. Know the rules of the jurisdiction at your destination. Don’t break the rules. I […]

“There’s Just No Sport in it” — Uncle Jim THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH RELOADING. IF IT BORES YOU, STOP READING. All I’ve talked about up to now is elephant, because that is what we were hunting. That’s what I wanted. Of course, after that first day and getting Becker’s confirmation that I could […]

“And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, and it’s a hard,. . . it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall” — Bob Dylan Before we leave camp on the afternoon of our first day, let me tell you about our team. You already know something about Chen Wei. Becker is a family man in his mid-50s […]

“Laughter is the best medicine for sure” Uncle Jim/Reader’s Digest I’m giving away the punch line of my Africa trip, but what the heck. Here’s what I went to harvest, but I didn’t. My friend Chen Wei was really unhappy and apologetic, and on the ride back to Harare from Hwange we talked about my […]

“The older I get the surer I am that I am not running the show.” — Leonard Cohen The sound of running water in the toilet tank woke me up and told me it was 5:30 a.m. That was when the camp caretaker started the generator that powered the water pump that was providing the […]

“. . . reminds me of my safari in Africa. Somebody forgot the corkscrew and for several days we had to live on nothing but food and water.” – W.C. Fields Let me get some housekeeping out of the way. Everyone seems to be adding disclaimers to their videos and comments, and so shall I. […]

“Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right — here I am stuck in the middle. . . “ – Gerald Rafferty/Joe Egan Written on the fly; home in two weeks or so. We are out of Africa on our way to mainland China. We are in Hong Kong and — frankly speaking […]

“I don’t know where I’m going, but I’m on my way.” ― Carl Sandburg As I mentioned earlier, I got into reloading to save money. I had no clue as to the breadth and depth of the world I was entering. Learning to reload and practicing the art and science of reloading was at once […]

(Note: This post contains language that some may find offensive.)   “In life you’ll face difficulties that postpone some of your dreams. Regardless, life goes fast by reminding us youth is finite and old age is stable. So you mustn’t stop dreaming and running while your strength is yet tough.” ― Darmie O-Lujon By 2013 […]

“Happiness is in nature, beauty, and tranquility.” ― Debasish Mridha SELECTING A RANGE FOR SHOOTING I’m picky and can get grouchy quickly. Public or even Club ranges scare the bejeezuz out of me and the noise can be painful. My last choice for a place to shoot would be an indoor range. My son took […]

Having no firearm experience when I started to learn to shoot, I read everything I could find and watched as many YouTube videos as I could find. I learned a lot about how eclectic some firearm owners’ collections can be, and got some insight into the various categories of arms. Then I proceeded without prejudice to acquire guns in about as haphazard a way as is humanly possible.

“It’s like algebra, that’s all. I just have to figure it out, step by step.” ― Hollis Seamon, That BB gun was a challenge to begin with. I had to start closer up and slowly work my way back to 15 yards. Then I had laser eye surgery and all of a sudden I had […]

“Life is not like water. Things in life don’t necessarily flow over the shortest possible route.” ― Haruki Murakami, 1Q84 Africa introduced itself to me through a book written by an Englishman who had traveled by train across the middle of Africa from the west coast to the east coast, and thence by boat to […]

It is time to let the two dogs into the house, take myself outside for a toke, turn on TV for a crucial NBA playoff game, grab a beer, light a cigarette, and stick a die in the press so I can reload while I watch the game...two weeks from now I’ll be in the bush in Sikumbi Forest Reserve, Zimbabwe, stalking an elephant.