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THE MOUNTAINGNOME - Updated Weekly

• When you enter an area that says "GUN FREE ZONE", YOU become the victim!

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The MountainGnome....The Sportsman's Super Center

Welcome to The MountainGnome
We will introduce you to some of the best hunting, fishing, skiing, vacation destinations in the U.S.A. !
The MountainGnome will bring to you great products, including, high power firearms, muzzle-loaders, various powders, ammunition, and many other products.
There is something for just about everyone.
The MountainGnome will also have available modern, vintage and antique firearms for sale. There is a literature section with reviews of some great reading material. There is a cooking section with great recipes, including, wild game recipes.
You will also find a section for U.S. Stamp Collectors.
The MountainGnome is updated on a weekly basis and the older issues will be archived and available for you, the visitor.
As always we welcome and encourage your feedback.
We also welcome our readers to submit there own stories and experiences.
NOTE: We reserve the right to reject content that we consider unacceptable to our site.

AGENDA of THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE United States
I know that many of you think their goal is the prevention of mistreatment of dogs, cats, horses, etc. However, look real close at their animal chart, and also check out the political affiliations and where they spend tens of millions of dollars on donations!

Their goal is to shut down all farms raising animals for food! In other words, they want to shut down the production of all poultry farms, hog farms, sheep farms, cattle farms, and more.

They want to shut down all phases of hunting of elk, deer, hogs, foul of all breeds, fishing, etc.

Please, before you donate to these kinds of organizations, ask yourself if you want to be forced to be a VEGAN, VEGETARIAN!
Check out these articles of proof at OUTDOOR LIFE and PROTECT THE HARVEST
Unlike the Liberals terms of "alleged, reportedly, accused of", this is proof of HSUS Destructive and Socialist Agenda!

"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government -- lest it come to dominate our lives and interests." - Patrick Henry

The MountainGnome

Weather Proofing your Sidelock Muzzleloader
by Jonathan Koziol

Items needed:
• Scissors
• Teflon Tape (Plumbers Tape)
• Nipple Wrench
• Ear Plug

This is a pretty simple process I learned years ago while testing powders and bringing your rifle inside from a cold to warm environment like some of us do while hunting.

I simply cut a strip of white Plumbers tape 1 1/4" long, cut it in half so we have two strips of tape and use one to wrap the threads of the nipple. The extra plumbers tape can be put into your possibles bag for later use.
Plumbers tape seals out both, moisture & prevents the nipple from seizing into place while sighting in your rifle on the range. You know how hard a nipple can be to remove at the end of the day after firing 20 shots down range.

Another advantage and a big reason I use Plumbers tape is the fact that there is NO GREASE on the nipple threads that can melt down and dampen the charge while hunting in warm weather. 80° days in September during Colorado's muzzleloading season is very common, and melting grease running into the powder charge only spells disaster!

To top it off, what do we do to help keep moisture out of the main flash channel of the nipple while the Percussion Cap is NOT in place?

An ear plug! Keep moisture from slowly seeping in through the main nipples flash channel/hole by putting an ear plug over the nipple and lightly lowering the hammer down on top of it. This is also a great way to remind me, The Rifle Is Loaded!

I am not a hunter that likes to pull a charge or fire off the charge at the end of the hunt. I take great care in keeping moisture out by using Plumbers tape and the ear plug trick and have not had a hang fire once in the field since switching away from greased nipples during hunting season. And Yes, I do use the synthetic powder in my sidelock muzzleloaders which is even more prone to sucking up moisture in the air than regular black powder.

Every time I pull the percussion cap off and stick my rifle back into my carrying case, that ear plug goes right over the nipple and the hammer is let down! While ATV'ing, its not uncommon to hit puddles or even run into weather that likes to sprinkle and make everything nice and soggy. When I get back to camp, I know that nipple is covered and can either go inside the camper or the truck for the night and still be safe by mornings hunt.

Think about it.... Have you ever taken a stack of the shooting patches lubed with that yellow stuff, stick them into the patch box on your rifle and after an hour, have it running down the side of your stock because its melting? Why would you do the same thing by putting grease on the threads of your nipple and then go off hunting in the wild during the heat of the day? It's going to run once it warms up and can ruin that one and only shot when you need it most.

TO SEE MORE GREAT ARTICLES GO TO FRONTIER MUZZLELOADING.COM

And while you're there REGISTER with the folks at Frontier Muzzleloading!
NOTE: This article and many other interesting articles can also be found at the BACKWOODSMAN MAGAZINE.

• When I was in England, I experimented with marijuana a time or two, and I didn’t like it. I didn’t inhale and never tried it again.
  – Bill Clinton

SERVICES by FRONTIERMUZZLELOADING:
PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE RETURN UPS / USPS OR INSURANCE ON SHIPPING.

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ACCURACY
Internal Lock Polishing: $45.xx. CVA/Traditions/Siler/L&R locks only. I will polish all moving/mating surfaces and lock plate for a smooth grit free feel. This speeds up lock time and makes it butter smooth.
Trigger Polishing: $20.xx. Work would include the internals of the lock, the double set triggers MUST be polished for a smooth crisp, grit free feel!
Accuracy Bedding: $60.xx. Needed just like a center fire, your wood stock muzzle loader is actually prone to the tang screw/s loosening due to the weaker wood actually pulling the metal parts up and into the wood under heavy recoil! Loose tang screws are a dead giveaway of this happening only after a few shots, killing your accuracy.
Wet Weather soaking your wood stock also is a common problem. "In order to do the job correctly you will have to send your complete muzzle loader so I can bed all parts as one for the best accuracy possible."
Coning the Muzzle: $35.xx. This procedure in present day is known as "coning”. It was known in the 19th century as a "relieved" muzzle and also as a "funneled" muzzle. Once the rifle has been “coned” it can be loaded rather easily without using the short starter.

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FINISHES
Barrel Browning: $65.xx. I use nothing but the best to brown all muzzle loader barrels. It’s a slow process which generally takes 3 to 5 days to complete properly. This included sights, tang, screws, etc. If it deals with the barrel/attachment. It is included in the price.
Browning Accessories: Contact for price! Butt plate, trigger guard, nose cap, patch box, Etc. Just let me know what all you have and I will work on a price for you.
Stock Refinish: $125.xx. Have an old beauty of a muzzle loader but the stock is looking a little beat up? No problem! All finishes are hand rubbed from the low gloss, matte to high mirror gloss, I can do it in whatever finish you want. Walnut normally does NOT get stained unless the owner wants it reddish or almost black. Good walnut normally never needs staining.
Brush the Brass: $25.xx. To rid that beautiful rifle of yours and that ugly shiny cheap looking brass, I can also provide a Brushed look to your rifles furniture that will age nicely and cut that cheap shininess out! Stop scaring game with that mirror! It’s a hunting rifle, not a beauty pageant!

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NOTE: For additional information on our services, please contact the following email address: FrontierMuzzleloading@yahoo.com

• Share your stories and opinions with us.....Submit Article

• I have noticed that everyone who is for abortion, is already born..

TREASURES OF READING
Folks, here are some great books to read, while relaxing in the evening........

Shot In The Back
1800's Western
by William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone

From the greatest western storytellers of our time comes a new twist on the legend of notorious outlaw Jesse James—who just might not have died on that fateful April 3, 1882.

1942—Granbury, Texas. A ninety-five-year-old man walks into a recruiting office with the crazy idea to enlist—and an even crazier story. He claims to be the one and only Jesse James, the infamous bank robber allegedly shot by Robert Ford sixty years earlier. Using another man’s corpse to collect the reward, Ford allowed James to slip away and start a new life. Changing his name to Dalton, Jesse worked as a cattle broker in Fort Worth and fathered a pair of twins named Bill and Frank. But when one of the boys turns out to be a chip off the old block—a young outlaw in the making—Jesse has no choice but to school the lad in the fine art of bank robbing so he doesn’t get his fool head blown off. Problem is, once Jesse’s son gets a taste of the outlaw life, he decides it isn’t for him after all. Father Jesse, on the other hand, misses it…

So begins the wildest story the West has never known, proving that some legends are bigger than life—and a lot harder to kill…
NOTE:Folks, every book I review on The MountainGnome, I have read and give my honest opinion. This book is excellent reading and exciting (IMO)!


Ghost Busters Ecto 1 Siren

It's Loud, it's obnoxious, and It is AWESOME!
From the hit movie, " The Ghost Busters", we bring your Iconic cars Siren to Life with Crystal Clear High Quailty sound.

Measures Approximately 2 " x 2" with 3button cell battery pack. 1/4watt Speaker measures 1 1/2" diameter. Runs on 4.5volts Powered by 3 button cell batteries or 3x AAA batterues. 3 button cell batteries are included for that version. Install it inside the car or a base.

Depending on your space and needs, you have a choice of power and switches.

3x button cell with reed switches + magnet switch or push-button/slide-switch. 3x AAA battery holder with reed switches + magnets or push-button/slide-switch. Please listen to Demo below. Effect lasts 32sec.

TO SEE VIDEOS OF THESE EXCITING FX KITS IN ACTION GO TO "STARLING TECHNOLOGIES"
DON'T SEE WHAT YOU NEED? WE CAN BUILD A CUSTOM KIT FOR YOUR PROJECT!

• TIMES IN HISTORY WHEN USING THE "F' WORD WAS APPROPRIATE.....
  "You want WHAT on the @#$%ing ceiling?"
  - Michelangelo, 1566

BUFFALO, WYOMING: Welcome to BIG HORN OUTFITTERS!

A Unique Big Game Hunting Ranch

Big Horn Outfitters offers first-class hunting and fishing adventures in the beautiful Big Horn Mountains of northern Wyoming. We offer 100% fair chase hunts for Antelope, Elk, Mule Deer, Whitetail Deer, Shiras Moose, Merriams Turkey and Prairie Dogs. Dustin DeCroo and Rich Sweeny are Wyoming natives and have spent nearly their entire lives in the Big Horn Mountains and surrounding country. Big Horn Outfitters is family oriented operation, dedicated to meeting each client’s needs. Whether you are looking for a trophy big game animal or a relaxing week of fishing in the scenic Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming, Big Horn Outfitters is the place for you!

We do our very best to maintain a family environment at our camps, kids are always welcome.

Our licensed, professional guides are knowledgeable and committed to making your hunt a success. These guides know the area and will do everything from field dressing to caping the trophies you harvest.

NOTE: We will no longer suggest Colorado, or any other state that legalized the sale of illegal drugs, as a hunting, skiing, vacation destination without warning you of the consequences!
Due to the legalization of drugs in the state: increases in crime, drug related shootings, increasing traffic deaths, increasing hit & run incidents, we feel your vacations are better spent elsewhere!!




YOUR PRIVACY AND YOUR FREEDOM IS UNDER ATTACK!!
Congress voted to allow your internet service providers to sell your online activity to advertisers – here’s the simplest way to prevent that from happening.

Goodbye Internet Privacy, Hello Anonymous VPNs: How To Keep Your Browser History Private

Every week read about the latest developments in privacy software for the home, internet, e-mail..etc..Is the government sticking their noses to far into your private life? Find out more...

Software, Articles, Web Sites and Tips helping YOU protect your PRIVACY!!

BASICS OF CRYPTOGRAPHY - Download or view this manual.

The best free privacy software 2017!
Online privacy is a hot topic, with even world leaders weighing in on the subject. Many of the big-name websites and companies will track your activities to deliver targeted advertising, and can build up an astonishingly detailed profile including your interests, spending habits, age, location and more.

If you would prefer to keep your personal details private, a VPN or proxy tool will help. See the guide to setting up and maintaining a VPN.

MEO File Encryption Software
Encrypt and decrypt files and keep your data secure

MEO is easy file encryption software for Mac or Windows that will encrypt or decrypt files of any type. Protect sensitive data against unauthorized viewers with the latest data encryption technologies to keep your important documents safe and secure.

Download MEO File Encryption Software for Windows

You can easily send encrypted emails, or create self-extracting encrypted files so the receiver can open the encrypted files on any Windows or Mac computer without needing to install the encryption software on their machine.

Get it Free. A free version is available for non-commercial use. If you will be using MEO encryption software at home you can download the free version here.

NOTE: Folks, as of today, TOR is the best of the best for your internet browsing! No one has been able to equal this program!



Folks....here you'll find delicious recipes for main dishes, deserts, "kool" drinks, wild game, and more ~ Updated in every new edition of The MountainGnome!

Have a special recipe you want to share?
Please e-mail us at recipes@mountaingnome.com

Bourbon-Pear Star Pie

INGREDIENTS:
Dough:
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting (see Cook's Note)
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 14 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten with 2 tablespoons cold water

Filling:
• 6 Bosc pears (about 3 pounds), ripe but not mushy
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/4 cup bourbon, plus 2 tablespoons (see Cook's Note)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Gold sanding sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

DIRECTIONS:
Special equipment: 1 1/2-inch, 2-inch and 3 1/2-inch star-shaped pastry or cookie cutters

For the dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Using your fingers or a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles a coarse meal. Add the egg mixture and stir the dough together with a fork until it is fully moistened and crumbly. Knead the dough a few times until it comes together. If the dough is dry, stir in up to 1 tablespoon cold water. Form the dough into 2 disks, about 11 ounces each, then wrap them in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.

For the filling: Meanwhile, peel, halve and core the pears. Cut each half into 4 wedges, and cut the wedges in half crosswise to shorten them. Toss with the sugar, cinnamon, salt and 1/4 cup bourbon. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove the pan from the heat, add the pears, return to the heat and cook until the sugar dissolves and the pears begin to simmer, about 2 minutes. Cover the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pears are tender when pierced with a knife, 3 to 6 minutes. Strain the pears into a bowl to catch the juices. Put the juices back into the skillet and cook over medium-high heat until caramelized and syrupy, about 2 minutes. Pour the syrup over the pears and chill until cooled.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place an inverted baking sheet on the bottom rack. Line another baking sheet with parchment paper.

Roll each disk of dough to a 12-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Fit one into a 9-inch pie pan and trim to a 1/2-inch overhang, then brush the edges with the beaten egg. Fold the edge of the dough underneath and press to seal and crimp. From the second dough circle, cut out stars with 1 1/2-inch, 2-inch and 3 1/2-inch star cutters and place them on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the cutouts with the beaten egg. Sprinkle gold sanding sugar over some, but not all, of the stars. Chill the stars and the crust in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Stir the cornstarch and the remaining 2 tablespoons bourbon, if using, into the cooled pear filling, and pour the filling into the crust. Lay the stars on top of the filling, some of them overlapping, so that most of the pie is covered but some of the filling is peeking out. Place the pie on another baking sheet.

Bake the pie on top of the inverted baking sheet until the crust is light golden brown, the pears are tender and the filling is bubbly, 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. (If the crust gets too brown, tent it with aluminum foil.) Let the pie cool 1 hour before serving.

Cook's Note
When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off the excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.) If you like a less boozy-tasting pie, omit the 2 tablespoons of bourbon added after the filling cools.

For more great recipes come back soon!

• Love starts with a hug, grows with a kiss, and ends with a tear...

RANCHING IN SOUTH PARK COLORADO:
Ranching started in South Park in 1860 when some intrepid entrepreneurs discovered that they could make more money by feeding miners than by doing the mining. Due to the high altitude and prolonged cold that makes the growing season exceptionally short, ranching is the dominant agricultural use in South Park. Prominent ranchers included Sam Hartsel, the original homesteader of Hartsel Springs Ranch, and the Hall family, which homesteaded and has owned the Salt Works Ranch since 1862. Other early ranches were the Prince, Stubbs, and Guiraud ranches. Other longtime ranching families include the Arthurs and Chalmers. Even after the arrival of the railroad, South Park experienced fall cattle drives as many ranchers preferred to send their livestock to market than to try to provide for them during the long and blustery winters.

In South Park a rancher could not rely on just any stock. Hardy animals that could tolerate the colder climate and high altitude were essential for success. Realizing the difficulty of raising cattle in South Park, several ranchers converted mostly or entirely to sheep. At one point there were more sheep raised in South Park than cattle. Despite altitude and weather, the South Park basin is relatively fertile and historically supported short-stemmed native grasses that were exceptionally protein rich. South Park became well known for its high quality hay that contained unusually high concentrations of protein (up to 23 percent in some cases). With the arrival of the Denver, South Park & Pacific railroad at Jefferson in the north and the Colorado Midland railroad at Hartsel in the south, hay production became a significant agricultural product. The reputation of the quality of the hay spread as far as Europe and was purchased to feed the horses of British royalty and the stallions of the Russian Czar. The introduction of non-native seed and the purchase of water by Front Range communities has reduced the ability to grow hay in South Park for export. Today, hay is generally produced only to feed stock on local ranches.

Although all of the ranches in South Park were started by independent ranchers, a division between company ranches and independent ranches eventually developed. Hartsel Springs Ranch, for instance, turned into a company ranch after owner Sam Hartsel sold the ranch in 1908. Later, the meat packing firm Swift and Company, owned the ranch from 1916 until its sale in 1944 to a Texas-based company, McDannald, which acquired more land, growing the ranch to its ultimate size of more than 200,000 acres. Hartsel Springs Ranch was perhaps the first and certainly the largest company ranch in South Park. Salt Works Ranch, on the other hand, has remained an independent ranch, continuously owned and operated by descendants of the Hall family. In addition to raising cattle, the Halls produced salt, one of the first industries in the state, by boiling away the water of the ranch’s salt springs. Charles Hall was less of a rancher than a businessman and the success of the ranch as a cattle operation came from the hands of his son-in-law, Thomas McQuaid. McQuaid is credited with growing the ranch to more than 80,000 acres, equivalent in size to Hartsel Springs Ranch under Sam Hartsel. Although the operation has decreased in modern times, the Salt Works Ranch still produces cattle and is one of the few ranches in Colorado to be owned and operated by five generations of the same family.

The prime period for homesteading in South Park ran from the first arrival of ranchers in 1861 until around 1925, with the Stock-Raising Homestead Act of 1916 having expanded the available acreage. As some of the first established year-round residents, ranchers found themselves responding to the needs of travelers and hosting people on a ranch became a frequent event early on in South Park. Hospitality became a small revenue stream for ranchers and connected them to the outside world. Ranches offered room, board, and stables for travelers long before more formal lodging was available in the surrounding communities. Today, ranches continue as centers of both hospitality and agriculture, with some hosting hunters and fishermen and those seeking to experience the lifestyle of the plainsman through guest ranching.