No, this is not M45, the "ACP" Nebula. This is my latest piece of astronomical gear, a Kimber 45 ACP Pro Carry II TLE. "Why" you ask? I'll explain...
Doing astronomy means hanging out in very dark places, very late at night. In my wanderings I have encountered feral hogs and many packs of wild dogs (as well as all sorts of other odd creatures). But recently I added "gangbangers" to my list of nocturnal visitors.
My buddy Trey and I went to local park in Garland, TX to test out my new TEC 140 scope. I had all my gear set up and we were digging views of the moon when... BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! Five shots rang out from a passing car about 15o yards from us. Moments later, a carload of gangbangers pulled into the dark parking lot with us. As they appeared to size us up, Trey and I stealthily (and quickly) broke down my gear and split! I really did think we were going to have some drama, but we bolted without incident.
Anyway, I hate having to think about protection while enjoying the peaceful and awesome views of the heavens... but I also hate the idea of being attacked by marauding creatures (four-legged OR two-legged).
Hmmm... I wonder how my new gun would look with a scope?
3 comments:
Unfortunately I know the feeling. We generally bring our buddy Sig Sauer with us for this reason (as well as one encounter with a bear that we hope to not repeat on vacation with the scope). Unfortunately dark areas not only provide good skies, but also good areas for miscreants to linger
Thanks for your comments, Annie :)
Although I hope to never use it (except for fun at the range), good to know its' there if you need it -- kinda like insurance.
I have had coyote visitors in my rolloff while teaching at the UNT Observatory, spotted multiple critters stalking the observing field at Comanche Springs, and monster spiders at Atoka...maybe it's time I did the same!
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