Thomas Pickering

The Pickering Chronicles – 2018 Loose Ends

“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 […]

The Pickering Chronicles #16 – Help Wanted

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 […]

The Pickering Chronicles #12 – Who do Kudu?

“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 […]
The One That Got Away
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The Pickering Chronicles #10 – For Willie

“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 Pickering Chronicles #8 – A Slow Start

“. . . 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. […]

The Pickering Chronicles #5 – Trip Delayed

(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 […]

The Pickering Chronicles #4 – A Place To Shoot

“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 […]

The Pickering Chronicles #3 – Building A Collection

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.

The Pickering Chronicles #1 – Route to Africa

“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 […]

The Pickering Chronicles – Introduction

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.