Prickly Pickin

[Old Ironsights]

2 missions today...

#1: Check "my" Prickly Pear Patch. They were starting to ripen last saturday and I wanted to catch some early fruit if I could...




The patch is spread out over a square mile or so. Even picking less than 1 in 20 that were ripe, I had 5lb in less than an hour.

But, this is also Snake Country, so I thought I'd test out my newly "updated" snake shooter:

With the rifling being so short - especially after throating - I was curious as to how it would perform at "AAUGH! A SNAKE!" distances...

10 feet:



Should work.

[3leggedturtle]

Not too bad. The wadshot capsule looks like it would put a hurt on a varmint too. Looks like the barrels have a different POI from each other.

[Blaine]

Not bad...not bad at all.....I doubt a snake at 10' needs killin' that bad...or not

[Old Ironsights]

Not bad...not bad at all.....I doubt a snake at 10' needs killin' that bad...or not

Well, I figure that if it will do the job @ 10 it will do the job at 5...

And there's enough holes there that it wouldn't be bad on squirrels or bunnies either.

I've always considered a Derringer to be strictly a "survival gun" but this just puts a slightly different twist on it.

Lets say you are hiking/camping in a place where OC is frowned on and CC of a "real" gun just isn't in the cards.

BUT if you do THIS:





You can get a shot-capsule capable gun anywhere there is no Metal Detector... where even a .22 might not be practical.

Add some .38 "specialty" loads (2 .35cal balls?) to your bianchi speed strip and you can do some interesting things...

[Ysabel Kid]

Very cool OI. I have a Davis Derringer in .38 Special that I made up multi-ball loads for. At conversational distances it would certainly do the trick. Also loaded some Speer shot capsules with everything from bird shot to #4 shot. Interesting patterns. I am going to have to do this again and record the results. There should to be a store near where I lived in MI years ago called "Ye Olde Black Powder Shoppe". Nothing modern. In addition to all the cool stuff you'd imagine, they had a shot dispenser where they sold it by the pound and had half a dozen shot sizes on hand. It was easy to pick various size shot for experimentation without having to buy a 25-lb bag (expensive these days).

Who makes your mini over/under?

[ollogger]

Didnt you pick some pears last year & make a cocktail outta them?
at 10 feet that looks like a dead snake, at 5 feet there really dead
glad you got it to shoot shot


ollogger

[Old Ironsights]

...Who makes your mini over/under?

Cobra Firearms - Salt Lake From what I understand Cobra IS what used to be Davis. Love to hear your multi-ball recipe. I've got a mold for 75gr "collar buttons" but haven't cast any yet.

Didnt you pick some pears last year & make a cocktail outta them?
at 10 feet that looks like a dead snake, at 5 feet there really dead
glad you got it to shoot shot ollogger

Yep. That's what I do with this subspecies of Prickly pear. Some have lots of "meat" but this type is mostly seed. I halve the fruit, remove the seeds, then soak the flesh/skin in vodka until the halves turn white.

Makes a lovely purple Tincture. Great for interesting cocktails.



I've read that the seeds make a good flour too, so I'm going to wash & dry them then run them through my flour mill.

I'm half considering picking some Paddles too and making Nopales, but I've got to find a better preparation/recipe because I really don't like the texture.

[gamekeeper]

OI, I like your thinkin' on that hideout gun
I tried a few Cactus products when I was in AZ. I was impressed, I never see that sort of thing in the UK.

[J Miller]

OI,

Thank you, thank you, thank you. You just helped me prove a point to my wife. I've been trying for years to get her to agree to move to Wyoming. But she hates the cold and keeps saying she wants to move back to the desert. I've told her dozens of times there is desert in WY.

Thank you for proving it.

When we were in AZ everyone wanted prickly pear jelly. My wife and mom tried to make some but that was about the same time my mom went down with the hear problems.

Joe

[Old Ironsights]

OI,

Thank you, thank you, thank you. You just helped me prove a point to my wife. I've been trying for years to get her to agree to move to Wyoming. But she hates the cold and keeps saying she wants to move back to the desert. I've told her dozens of times there is desert in WY.

Thank you for proving it.

When we were in AZ everyone wanted prickly pear jelly. My wife and mom tried to make some but that was about the same time my mom went down with the hear problems.

Joe

Over here by Don & Me (Goshen County WY) it's dry and never very cold for very long.

Annual average high temperature 63.4 °F
Annual average low temperature 31.7 °F
Average temperature 47.6 °F
Average annual precipitation 13.8 in.

http://www.usclimatedata.com/climate.ph ... n=USWY0168

Compared to Springfield:

Annual average high temperature 62.4 °F
Annual average low temperature 42.9 °F
Average temperature 52.6 °F
Average annual precipitation 35.6 in

And Flagstaff:

Annual average high temperature 59.9 °F
Annual average low temperature 24.4 °F
Average temperature 42.2 °F
Average annual precipitation 23.2 in.

[FatJackDurham]

After soaking them in vodka do you eat the pear or drink the vodka?

[Old Ironsights]

Drink the vodka.

Though if I can find a good use for the fruit post-soak I will...

[3leggedturtle]

Does it add any flavor to the vodka? Or just coloring.

[Canuck Bob]

You sure educated a northerner. I had no idea that cactus was edible!

[Old Ironsights]

Does it add any flavor to the vodka? Or just coloring.

It has a curiously strong/sweet flavor and actually somewhat thickens the vodka so it is almost more like a Liqueur than a tincture.

I strain it through a very fine plastic strainer made for Tea just to make sure no clochines (hair thorns) make it into the booze.

I find the tincture almost too cloying to drink straight, but it does really well when used like grenadine in mixed drinks, or particularly well when added to Tequila.

Oh... and for fun...

A couple of my other favorite uses for $10/1.75l Vodka:

Add 1/3 Cup of Whole Cloves. Wait until the thing turns black. Use the tincture in cooking in place of whole cloves... or as a topical/oral anesthetic.

Add "Candied Ginger" (because Ginger root is so variable I've never figured out an exact amount) to a jug of vodka. The resulting sweet/HIGHLY GINGERED tincture is amazing in breads, chinese food or as VERY interesting Liqueur.

[Old Ironsights]

You sure educated a northerner. I had no idea that cactus was edible!

Heck, I'm not even a Tejano. I come from well above the Mason-Dixon line.

I'm just a foodie.

Everything on that cactus variety is edible except the Thorns & Root.

(the biggest "downside" to Nopales "leaves" as survival food is that they are extremely low calorie...)

I'm really looking forward to trying the ground seed flour. It's supposed to be high in protein.

Learning to forage may become very important sooner than later...

I'm looking to pick 5lbs (one small shoulder bag full) every 3-5 days until there are no more for the season. Then I'll slice, seed & freeze the fruit and wash/dry the seeds for later grinding.

I mean, I've already got enough raw wheat, mixed dried beans and coarse ground 9-grain blend to last a few months, but why be picky? Anything that is FREE, good for you and will keep is a bonus...

Oh... and FWIW..

I bought a 50lb bag of "feed oats" from the local coop for something like $15. Those Oats are Vital and they WILL grow if planted.

I planted some as "cat grass" and to hold down the soil in a disused area in my "yard".

If I went out today to glean, I would get probably a 300% return on planted seed PLUS some wheat that got mixed in.

Never, ever, forget that, after the first week, Beans are more important than bullets...

[Old Ironsights]

Some more "prep" info/pics...

Each "fruit" contains 1/2 to 1 TBSP of seeds.

Here is the result of 7 fruits seeded and 3 halved but unseeded fruits.
This is my "workspace"...

The coffee jar on the right is 1/3 full of seeds...

Note that the top fruit is more ripe than the subsequent fruit.

[Ysabel Kid]

...Who makes your mini over/under?

Cobra Firearms - Salt Lake From what I understand Cobra IS what used to be Davis. Love to hear your multi-ball recipe. I've got a mold for 75gr "collar buttons" but haven't cast any yet.

Thanks OI. I've been thinking about changing the grips on mine, so will check out what Cobra has to offer.

I'll take a look at my notes and see what I have in the way of recipes. IIRC, I got the starter out of an old issue of "American Rifleman" (1960's vintage belonging to my Dad).

[Ji in Hawaii]

We call prickly pear "panini" here in Hawai'i. I have made jam from the fruit but also like eating the young pads parboiled, sliced, and eaten as a filling in burritos of in a salad tossed with sweet onions, and tomatoes. Wow your prickly pear are short, the ones here are pretty tall in comparison.


Is your snake-charmer a .410? Looks practical for it's intended use.

[Old Ironsights]

...Is your snake-charmer a .410? Looks practical for it's intended use.

.38 Special. the .410 O/U Derringers are nearly the size of a Glock.

Update...

Was at the local Junque Shoppe this morning and found a Juicer for a good price. I've always hated throwing away the booze-soaked rinds but didn't have a practical way for final extraction.

Now I do (I hope).

I figure I'll try juicing them on Sunday.

[Mike Armstrong]

Good post! On BOTH guns and food--my two favorite topics.

We have all kinds of nopal down here in Sou Cal, from the little low-growing kind that grows even in Northern Washington State (the dry side) and seems mainly meant to give bird dogs a hard time, to really tall "forests" of the large-pad variety that was bred for food and is grown commercially around here. And all sorts in between because these things hybridize at the buzz of a bee! You can tell domestic nopal by its big pads, (relatively) few, short(er) stickers and its big sweet fruit (called "tunas," so if you order "tuna" in a country Mexican restaurant, you are ordering dessert! For the fishy-in-a-can, ask for "atun").

I've planted thousands of nopales in the Santa Ana Mountains as a volunteer helping restore fire damaged wildlife habitat. Now THAT is hard work.... Just about everything eats nopal, from bugs and butterflies to deer and javelinas and everything in between. In a drought, rodents eat the pads for the water content. Coyotes eat a lot of tuna, but I'm darned if I can figure out HOW?

I like nopal pads with the stickers scraped off and sliced as thin as you can ("see through"), marinated in wine vinegar and salt, and added to lettuce salad for some "substance and spice." (They call this "nopal en escabeche" but the recipe varies a lot from mamacita to mamacita).

I leave snakes alone unless they are in a building (includes outhouses) or some other place kids and dogs frequent. Then I shoot 'em, too.

[Old Ironsights]

Bright Red "tuna juice"



Did I mention that the Fruit thickens the vodka? It takes about 45 seconds for a filter-full filter through into the carafe below... when the filter has been freshly rinsed. I have to rinse it every 5 filter-fulls or so.

BTW, this is only the "first soaking". I soak the rinds one more time... then I'll Juice them on Sunday.

Back in the Bottle, Final pre-blending Filtration.

[J35]

Good post! On BOTH guns and food--my two favorite topics.

We have all kinds of nopal down here in Sou Cal, from the little low-growing kind that grows even in Northern Washington State (the dry side) and seems mainly meant to give bird dogs a hard time, to really tall "forests" of the large-pad variety that was bred for food and is grown commercially around here. And all sorts in between because these things hybridize at the buzz of a bee! You can tell domestic nopal by its big pads, (relatively) few, short(er) stickers and its big sweet fruit (called "tunas," so if you order "tuna" in a country Mexican restaurant, you are ordering dessert! For the fishy-in-a-can, ask for "atun").

I've planted thousands of nopales in the Santa Ana Mountains as a volunteer helping restore fire damaged wildlife habitat. Now THAT is hard work.... Just about everything eats nopal, from bugs and butterflies to deer and javelinas and everything in between. In a drought, rodents eat the pads for the water content. Coyotes eat a lot of tuna, but I'm darned if I can figure out HOW?

I like nopal pads with the stickers scraped off and sliced as thin as you can ("see through"), marinated in wine vinegar and salt, and added to lettuce salad for some "substance and spice." (They call this "nopal en escabeche" but the recipe varies a lot from mamacita to mamacita).

I leave snakes alone unless they are in a building (includes outhouses) or some other place kids and dogs frequent. Then I shoot 'em, too.

I have planted my fair share of them , certain varieties make nice privacy fences in the Desert SW.

From now till mid December a lot of Grey fox and Coyote scat will be purple.

Black Bear are pretty crazy about them as well.

Like I have said in the past besides being excellent target's, Jelly, syrup, and wine is the best use for prickly pear fruit IMO.

Saguaro fruit are the best of them all. I use to race the White wings to get a couple bucket's full.

I have let two Diamond backs live, one had me dead to rights and didn't strike so I figured fair is fair and let it live.

The other one I was with my older brother Don who had just returned from Nam and figured he had seen enough death and I let a five footer go .

----J