Tillamook Moondog Grilled Cheese

Tillamook Grilled Cheese Grill Food Truck    Portland, OR

      Another in the line of GREAT Tillamook grilled cheese sandwich recipes.  Simple, delicious and always goes well with a cup of soup, especially tomato.  Although the recipe calls for Sourdough bread it goes equally well with Ciabatta.  This recipe makes one sandwich so multiply it accordingly.  

3 slices Provolone cheese
2 slices hard salami
2 slices Pepperoni
Green Olive Tapenade or sliced green olives
sliced sweet peppers
2 slices Sourdough bread
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

First layer 

      Make the slices of bread a bit on the thick side.  Layer 1 slice of cheese, 1 slice hard salami, 1 slice pepperoni, layer olive tapenade, and sweet peppers, then 1 more slice cheese...…..repeat.  Last layer should end with top being cheese.

Two layer Moondog Assembled

       Place small skillet on med high heat and add oil.  Spray the outside of the sandwich both sides with some PAM if you wish.  Place sandwich in skillet and press down lightly with spatula.  Check for doneness and turn over when golden brown.  When the second side is done remove sandwich and place on plate.  Let cool for a minute or two then slice diagonally to serve.  Goes very well with a cup of tomato soup.  NOTE:  I would try to find sliced sourdough bread next time; the rolls were a bit cumbersome in the skillet.  We really did not care for the Green Olive Tapenade and would probably use sliced green olives next time.

Finis ala plate

"We hunger for significance, for signs that our personal existence is of special meaning to the universe.  To that end we are all too eager to deceive ourselves and others, to discern a sacred image in a grilled cheese sandwich or find divine warning in a comet" 

Neil deGrasse Tyson

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Life and the Pandemic; you can still burn the toast.....

      Retirement has provided Barb and with so many new adventures, so why wouldn't the 'end of the world' be part of it.  Okay I jest, but we have learned to take things a day at a time.  Nothing is ever as bad as it seems and if this is "IT" then so be it.  We began this trip at the Pacific Ocean where we were shut out of a Native American Resort and a Washington State Park, but finally ended up in a private park to stay for the remainder of our stay.  Even this place would not allow us to use their community showers, restrooms, and laundry.  But, then WDFW closed the remainder of razor clam season so we just headed back to our good friends Wilma and John in East Olympia, WA.  The walls weren't closing in, but we were tripped enough times to wonder.

      During our stay on the coast we were able to find nearly all the supplies we needed except for the dreaded missing toilet paper, cleaning wipes, and hand sanitizer.  We thank God for 2 freezers full of fish, clams, chicken, pork, crawfish, and venison.  I also tried to do most of the cooking for our friends while there as John is in declining health and spent most of the time in the hospital.  Barb and I picked up as much of the workload, as we could.  A very special SHOUT OUT  to Ruby Garlinghouse Clements who baked two large delicious trays of lasagna for us to take back to Wilma and John.

      This outbreak is very serious and although far too many of Americans are not taking it seriously enough, we did try to 'shelter in place' in our RV in the country.  I have COPD and used my inhaler daily while Barb's allergies and occasional cigarette didn't do her any favors, but we made out fine.  We took turns hitting the grocery store every couple of days and only those other essential places, such as prescriptions we needed.  I tried to cook every couple of nights to lessen the burden on our host.  While here I prepared Boudin Mac n Cheese Goulash, Venison Salisbury Steak, Italian Shrimp, Bacon, and Cabbage, Tillamook BABS n Soup, and Chicken Paprikash to name a few.

Fried Italian Shrimp Cabbage Scallions and Bacon

Venison Salisbury Steak

Boudin Mac n Cheese Goulash

      We also availed ourselves of the numerous restaurants that offered take out or delivery services as well to include Jimmy Johns, Old 99 Bar n Grill, and Papa Murphy's.  Loved those gizzards, burgers, pizza, and salads!

Camp Meek East Olympia, WA

      True it can seem that such isolation is lonely and sometimes brutal, but you can learn to make the most of it, especially when you consider the alternatives.  We are very grateful we had our friends, but movies, fireplace time, etc. help as well.  The daily routine is what you make it.  I'm sure a few more folks learned how to prepare meals they didn't think they were capable of, but they did try.  Fear kills a lot of skills and abilities.  We refused to relent.  I did see far too many folks still on the road when they didn't need to be although I heard it was far worse in other parts of the country.  We took our precautions, washed our hands, used the Clorox Wipes and Lysol Spray along with latex gloves at every opportunity.  We also stocked up on latex gloves and face masks for our upcoming travels.  Keeping our distance while RV traveling is easy.   The absolute worst part for us was not being able to see our children and grandchildren while here.  I understand the reasoning, but it still hurts.  We did drop off some clams at our son's place to his girlfriend before leaving.  We stayed pretty much in quarantine for 25 days.  

      We are leaving Washington in a few days, heading east.  Yet at home in Michigan there are stories of all the tourists and snow birds beginning to make their way north with spring approaching oblivious of what they could be doing.  Michigan's virus rate is rising rapidly and it's no wonder why.  We are grateful beyond belief for the hospitality shown by our friends.  Our thoughts and prayers remain with those left behind and still ahead.    We pray for John to get better day by day and be able to come home once again soon.  

"Do the wise thing and the kind thing too, 

and make the best of us and not the worst" 

Charles Dickens

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Boudin Mac n Cheese Goulash

      NOTE:  For those who do not know, Boudin is a white sausage made of pork (usually heart and liver) stuffed with pork rice dressing into pork casings. It can be found throughout the south.   
      Oh boy, does my wife love this one.  Not only a delicious Cajun dish, but comfort food for any day of the year.  You can prepare this in a large deep skillet or in a large baking dish whereas to reheat and meld all the flavors for a couple of minutes; providing leftovers for several days or to freeze for later.  This dish feeds 2 in the RV.

1 pound skinned boudin
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 15 oz. can kernel corn, drained
1 package of mac n cheese, prepared
1 stalk celery, sliced *
1 bell pepper, chopped *
1 onion, chopped *
1 teaspoon garlic
Tony Chachere's to taste
salt n pepper to taste

*The Holy Trinity* of Cajun Cooking

Zummo's Pork Boudin

Simmerin' Boudin and Holy Trinity

The Holy Trinity

      Remove Boudin from skins and brown in skillet seasoned with salt n pepper to taste. Add garlic, onion, celery, and bell pepper; sauté for 10 minutes.  Add the tomato sauce and water and cook for 30 minutes on low heat, stirring to prevent scorching or sticking.  Stir in the corn and prepared Mac n Cheese and remove from heat.  Serve and enjoy.

Final simmer of all

Plated and ready to devour; plenty tasty

"A nickel's worth of Goulash beats a $5 dollar

 can of vitamins"  

Old Hungarian quote

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Fifty Shades of Politics

NOTE:  The following is strictly my own opinion, although based on the most available facts I can find.  I have been thinking about this for quite a while and the week here off the grid in La Push helped me find my compass.  I welcome all other opinions and do not discriminate against those that disagree.  Just defend it with facts.  We approach another election year cycle and this one is no different, unless you see the criticality of the current temperament.  The boiling point is near and the melting pot is bubbling over at the edges.  YOU WILL NOT OFFEND ME IF YOU READ NO FURTHER. 

       I did not vote for Obama, although I was curious to give the man a fair chance to fixing our then current situation as well as healing our country.  Unfortunately I was disappointed.  I am by no means racist, but he did more to divide this country by race, creed or whatever than any other president in history.  Let's be clear on this.  JUST BECAUSE I DISAGREE WITH A PERSON OF A DIFFERENT RACE DOES NOT MAKE ME A RACIST.  I won't even comment on his foreign policy.  I read his book, The Audacity of Hope and wanted to believe, but his naivete' showed up too quickly and inevitably he resorted to the "Take the lead it's my way or the highway I have a pen and a phone" mentality.  Who would criticize him or confront him without facing the thundering cries of racism?  I applaud President Obama for trying.   Although I have questions about his ties to his Islamic faith in his policy decisions.  I respected the office he represented regardless of any results.  I tried to wait patiently to see the good in what was happening, but in the end I was often disappointed.  Look at him now.  The man who believed in hope is now a multi-millionaire with several homes and not a worry in the world.  I do not foresee he has any plans to pay his good fortune forward.  

      I voted for Donald Trump simply to make my vote count. There was no way I was going to let it slide or have my vacancy be filled by some jackal who voted for Hillary Rodham Clinton.  There will be plenty of people who will criticize and even vilify me for this.  In some small way I feel I helped save the country for at least the next 4-8 years.  I once had a new teacher look disgustedly at me when discussing politics and I said that I have always been Republican as they gave the military our fair share when it came to pay raises. Teaching was a tough profession to navigate as a conservative.
      Donald Trump is not perfect, far from it.  He is the first president to be elected as (to my knowledge) not a politician, but a businessman.  Of course with this comes a certain 'egotistical' attitude.  This has caused a considerable amount of unrest, chaos, and even outright hatred in Washington D.C. throughout both parties.  Businessmen are 'zero sum gain' type of folks.  Fix it, find a way to make it solvent through tax loss, or achieve outright profit.  This attitude confused many fellow Republicans and outright infuriated Democrats.  They didn't know how to deal with him.  So, like many Sci Fi movies when aliens land on Earth...….if you don't know what else to do...ATTACK!   A few (very valuable) Republican colleagues distanced themselves from him out of fear or saw no way to gain for themselves.  The Democrats?  Well they started their plans to 'BOMB THE HELL OUT OF HIM'  remove him from office no matter what the cost.  This however did not take Americans into consideration.  This cost us millions to fuel an assault that never produced any results or facts for that matter.

      The last year of his office has been laden with continual accusations, investigations, and unfounded rhetoric.  Again, this will draw lots of criticism from friends that DO NOT like him as well.  I have lost several close friends over the past two years due to the political climate.  We are, after all, at the age where we feel it is important to speak our minds and vote as responsible citizens.  THERE WERE NEVER ANY ACCUSATIONS THAT WERE PROVEN TRUE OR HAD ANY SHRED OF  LEGALITY.  NO RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE.  I do find it interesting that immediately before the elections President Obama commented that there was no outside Russian interference in our electoral process.  But, when HRC lost ……….oooops, there it is.  As for UKRANIAN INTERFERENCE.  They have miles of second hand testimony that POTUS said this or promised that...…while Joe Biden is actually on film bragging that funds would be withheld unless the Ukrainian Prosecutor was removed.   He is referring to the one that was investigating his son.
      The Impeachment Proceedings only took place as Democrats had majority in the House of Representatives.  They had their own agenda and NEVER let Republicans provide their own witnesses and very little of their own testimony.  Of course when the HOR impeached the president and sent it to the Senate for trial they were incensed beyond civility that the Senate was able to call their own witnesses (finally) and acquitted POTUS for the alleged crimes.  My disgust rose even further when I watched as the leftist, liberal, citizenry aligned themselves with this self serving verdict as a 'crime against the rule of law'.  It has only strengthened my resolve that far too many citizens fail to have a working knowledge of the very Constitution they wish to overthrow.
      Well, here we are, a nation more divided than ever over issues so very few understand.  There is no respect for the president or the office, which to me is unconscionable.  In my opinion President Trump had done 80% of what he promised to do.  The exception would be to FINALLY fix health care which is still a very HOT BUTTON issue.  I am afraid that he looks at this as a business and without the support expected he couldn't get it through.  I won't say that health care is a 'human right', but is should at least be looked at as an agenda for all mankind.  I also wish he would work at becoming more presidential.  The arrogant, tough guy bully persona in government has run it's course and then some.  Governing is choosing, governing is deciding what is best for the country as a whole, no matter what.  Have we gone so far down that we don't realize that what is promised from the Socialist platform is a placebo that will contradict everything our country has worked for 244 years!  IT IS NOT THE ANSWER. Much like the lottery, much of what Bernie Sanders says sounds good.
.

     I tire of hearing the terms 'patriots' or 'nationalists' as they only diffuse the issue from what the majority of Americans are feeling.  Most of us want the government to get off their collective asses and work harder towards what is best for our country.  This DOES NOT include sanctuary cities, DOES NOT include taking care of and providing benefits for undocumented or illegal aliens before we take care of our own including veterans and homeless.  There have always been avenues to immigrate here for a better life.  There is no fast lane, much as I imagine it is for the life you currently find yourself in.  Our country is founded on the basis that all immigrants are welcome.  This does include that you work hard to better yourselves, obtain citizenship, and assimilate to our laws.  Nobody is trying to rob you of your customs.  I urge you to become better educated, more self informed.  Fact check the stuffing out of what you see online and then make an educated decision.  I myself have been the victim of sharing posts I didn't fact check.  No one is exempt from the hatred that is being created here, not even me.

       It goes without saying that 'The Squad' in the HOR has been getting a lot of air play due to their refreshing new views.  Examine closely their rhetoric.  Ilhan Omar was elected from a district comprised strictly of the 70,000 Somalis that President Obama insisted Minnesota allow to settle there.  This created an atmosphere of hate from the citizenry that some of our servicemen died trying to feed and protect.  Rashida Tlaib elected from the Detroit area, is the largest concentration of Muslims outside of Tehran.  She declared from the day elected that 'now we can impeach the (insert expletive here).  Alexandria Ocasio Cortez is a Democratic Socialist elected from New York  whose ideas, although bold, are far fetched, uneducated, or unrealistic at best.  All three of these women have butted heads with the Democratic leadership (Pelosi and Schumer), both so unresponsive to America's needs that they don't even realize how uninfluential they really are anymore.  Senator Schumer's recent threats towards the Supreme Court are vile and he should be held accountable for them judicially.  With such disrespect towards members of their own party as well as admitted open hatred towards our country it really should make you think about where their values are and how much they hate ours.  But, they have gotten some attention as they once again preach the old liberal mantra...….what DON'T you have because of the rich?
     The Democratic Party is a mess; not that mine is much better, but if that is your feeling then I encourage you to vote for the candidate you believe will help lead us back along the path we so successfully negotiated for over the past two centuries.  Vote with a clear heart and mind, not hatred and anger.  Please vote for the good of all American citizens.
     I don't know quite what to make of the Corona Virus.  We have weathered viruses before; the list is hearty.  This time has a different feel to it.  People have been easily panicked by the reporting of it.  Toilet paper shortages?  Give me a break.  The lack of civility and respect for one another in the grocery store only weakens us. I refuse to believe it's the end of days and the safeguards being all that I assumed we all did all along.  Regardless, POTUS has acted very presidential and although it is his business acumen protecting our country I find his actions admirable.  I'm also quite sure that the 'left' will find a way to somehow blame this on POTUS or through whatever campaign they can conceive as far as budget and debt.
     There has never in my memory been a time of greater conflict, larger divide, and lack of respect for one another as there is now.  There is no civility to this kind of politics.  What many don't see is that what we're teaching our children is that an ever increasing view is to create unrest, havoc, and violence, ala Antifa.  It is never been about peaceful protest or negotiation for them.  My mantra? "......to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic."  I will still vote for the most qualified candidate this coming fall, but still haven't made up my mind.  There are no great choices, but I will vote my values as I was raised.  I fear for our future more than ever, no matter who wins in November we may all lose.

"No man will ever bring out of that office the reputation which carries him into it.  The honeymoon would be as short in that case as in any other, and it's moments of ecstasy would be ransomed by years of torment and hatred."  

Thomas Jefferson

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Mollusca....Siliqua Patula Strikes Back!

When the tide is low he appears, taunting you....daring you to chase him

      We arrive once again at the Pacific Coast in Grayland, WA.  We set up camp at Grayland State Park.  Great site will all the amenities, but a bit pricey at $373 for 9 days.  Of course we are here for the clam digging.  All the clams we got in Alaska are long gone.  Besides, Barb LOVES digging clams.  Everything is always better fresh.  We had 2 dig sessions over 9 days in 3 weeks to load up whatever room we had in the freezers.  This would also leave us some room for RnR and Roux some beach frolic time.

Grayland Beach

      There has been plenty of rain in the PNW the past several weeks and there is plenty of water to go around, even where you don't want it.  Due to my chronological dyslexia I put us here a day early and so they gave me a site for one night that was only partially flooded till the next day.  We also got the yearly non-resident clamming licenses this year as we planned to dig about 12 days in all.  The non-resident 3 day license is $9 so $21 for the yearly made sense.  Additionally, we closed on our land in Texas on Day #2 by traveling to the Fed Ex office in nearby Aberdeen to receive, sign, notarize, and return the documents as well as having our bank transfer the $$$ for the down payment and closing costs. It was a very smooth experience and 'hats off' to our banker at Fifth Third Bank back in Michigan for 'covering our six'.  We still had one more day off due to digging not opening till Day 4.  This would include gathering firewood, last minute supplies, transferring the electric to our name on the new property, and digging the spare cooler out of the back of the truck.  I plan on saving all the clam shells from this trip to compost into the garden back home.  An entire 43 quart cooler filled with clam shells?  That is gonna take some baking soda.    

Camp Clamarooski

Campfire Queen
(It's a bit chilly still mid winter)

      There will no competition this time, no crowning of the Clam King.  My wife knows there is no contest.  We do it for the love of the sport, the beach, fresh air, success and relishing meals we would create.  There is so much to savor and appreciate about time at the beach.   We haven't been here for 2 years.  Although she was born and raised a Southern Girl, my wife is in her natural element here.  She will forever be my Clam Queen.  We were only able to dig 3 days due to a gale front coming thru the morning of the last day open.  Additionally, Barb wrenched her back and we quit early Day 3, harvesting 20 of our allotted 30 clams.  

At the truck (Day 1, Barb's whopper limit)

30 in the bucket waiting to be cleaned

Cleaning & Prepping

     We took a break after this dig to travel to East Olympia and visit our friends, John n Wilma Meek.  Setting up camp next to their shop was nothing new and we were able to relax and settle in for nearly a week.  I did have to be careful as we were hooked up to a 10 amp GCFI outlet with adapter so when we ran the microwave we had to turn off the heater...….lesson learned, twice.  John has been battling diabetes as well as a variety of other health issues.  We wanted to visit and help out as we could with things.  

Barb & Wilma stocking firewood

(I love the fact Wilma drives the tractor)

Her Majesty Harley the Wondercatt

      The second digs in March resulted in our camping at Screaming Eagle RV Park in Ocean City.  Rates here are $40 per night.  Everything at the beach is more expensive, but we love it here.  The owner is very nice and even gave us our favorite site this time.  We stayed here for 9 days, digging clams for 6. We have stayed here several times and this time we added digging with friends.  Ruby Garlinghouse is a long time high school friend who is lucky enough to live near the beach in Ocean Shores, WA.  Ruby and her husband Rick love razor clams, but don't get to dig as much as they used to so we decided to get together for a couple days doing the 'Clamapalooza' thing.  We had good days and very good days, but in the end we stocked up our freezer as well as theirs and others. Three days Barb was on her game while I was feeling my age and out dug me saving both our limits.  6 days digging here yielded us over 90 clams for ourselves. Ruby and Rick dug with us 2 days and put away 45 clams themselves.  We also put away 90 more for our son and friends Wilma and John as well.  For the entire trip this time we froze 140 clams.
    

Ocean City Screaming Eagle Camp

Barb surveying 2 limits

Rich brings up a small one

Ruby & Rick Clements

      While here I prepared Venison Stroganoff, Venison Burger Soup, Italian Sausage Soup, Venison steaks over the fire, OTR Gumbo, OTR White Chicken Chili, and Velveeta Skillet dinner.  Lots of soups here at the beach this time of year, home cooking for chilly weather.

Venison Burger Soup

Venison Stroganoff

Rockfish w/green beans and wild rice

Grilled Venison Chuck Steaks w/Garlic Butter

      We enjoyed our visit to Washington Pacific Beaches as always.  I grew up here, but my wife became a quick, willing learner.  She loves the ocean and fine tuned her technique to a whole new level this trip. It is always good to see her this happy.  It never hurts with a freezer full of razor clams. venison, and rockfish to enjoy for the coming months and the 'Cherry on the Cake of our Day' to close on the Texas land for our winter place.  We now take a week's sojourn to ourselves at the beautiful rocky sea stacks of La Push before visiting friends once again, then heading east to our home in Michigan. 

"It's all the same to the clam" 

Shell Silverstein

WiFi courtesy of Screaming Eagle RV Park

North American Wild Game Meatloaf

      Everybody loves meatloaf.  We are no exception.  I have a meatloaf recipe perfected over many years from the ROTEL Cookbook.  Only a little spicy, but definitely tasty.  I adapted this dish while visiting some dear friends of ours in Washington between clam digging trips.  Wilma, John, and I went to high school together many years ago.  We have visited several times since retirement and Barb and Wilma became fast friends.  Both strong, independent women who always let John and I know just how lucky we are...….what a shocker.  John's health has been a major concern the past several years and so I had to take into consideration meals that would be agreeable with his kidneys, most notably phosphorus.  Red meat was the easiest option.  I wanted to make this a sportsman's treat for him.
      I have plenty of Venison onboard as well a couple of packs of Reindeer Sausage.  I also had a single pack of Elk burger I had traded for back in deer camp a couple of months ago.  The feast progressed to the planning stage.  A veritable plethora of wild game and a feast fit for a man who hunted nearly everything his entire life.   Meatloaf ala Whopper.....

3 pounds ground venison
1 pound ground elk
1 pound ground reindeer sausage
2 cans ROTEL green chiles and tomatoes, drained
1 Tablespoon  Adolphs Meat Tenderizer (or any brand) to suit.
3 eggs
1 small yellow onion, chopped
bread crumbs (as needed)
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

      Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  By hand mix the burgers and sausage together with 1 can of the drained ROTEL, Worcestershire Sauce, and eggs while occasionally adding the spices till well mixed.  Then add enough bread crumbs to bring it all together with a good consistency; not too wet or dry...….just firm.  Press into a 9 x 16" baking dish.

Molding mixed and seasoned loaf into 9 x 16" baking dish

Pre-oven ready     

      Pour remaining drained ROTEL over the top, add drizzled tomato sauce or ketchup and finish with plenty of sprinkled salt and ground black pepper.  Bake for 90 minutes.  Check for doneness and continue if needed.   

Out of the oven 
(excess moisture comes from the ROTEL)

Plated, bon apetite'

     We did find this to be the correct mix of ROTEL and other spices to cook, but needed some  salt/pepper when eating.  It was a bit bland.  Lesson learned from the preparation of such a large meatloaf.  A great dish served any time of year to a crowd appreciative of the bounty provided by Mother Nature and American Sportsmen everywhere.  

"Age appears to best in four things; old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read"

Francis Bacon

WiFi courtesty of Verizon MiFi 

Taming the Beast (or how I learned to handle dynamite)

   

      Just before our departure last fall I purchased another new firearm.  I got the Ruger Redhawk in 44 Spl/Mag in the Talo Collectors Version.  www.taloinc.com/ruger-firearms This weapon is stainless,  has a 5.5" barrel, and comes with fiber optic sights.  The 44 magnum has a tough reputation, this I won't deny, but I always wanted to add one to my collection.  The Redhawk was easily my choice.  Ruger makes a fine weapon.  My Blackhawk in 45 Long Colt has been trustworthy on several deer, bear, and wild boar hunts.  You can load these guns UP, they are made of strong steel and are nearly always recommended by ammo manufacturers capable of their strongest +P loads.  

      It wasn't until Deer Camp in Oklahoma that I first got to pull the trigger on this beauty.  Any 44 mag weapon will also chamber 44 Special, a much more comfortable, controllable load.  I began my work with these.  I was only able to shoot off hand at 20-25 yards using HSM 240 grain hard cast SWC Cowboy loads.  $32 for 50 rounds.  These were a bit smoky, but the accuracy was good without much leading.  The trigger pull is a stiff 7 pounds; it could be less.  That's a lot of force to deal with before the shot goes off.  I have never been a fan of the stock factory grips and although the wood on this is very nice, I didn't care for the feel.  Soon after I replaced these with Pachmyar Rubber Decelerator Grips.  These grips outfit my Blackhawk 45 LC as well.

       I was very happy with my selection of 'plinking loads', 44 Special HSM 240 grain SWC.  Good accuracy, decent price, and no noticeable leading right out of the box.  Later while visiting our grandson in Duncan, OK I was able to work on some more loads at Murf's Gun Range.  Controlled conditions with the ability to shoot over a sandbagged bench rest.  

      I verified my earlier accuracy, but this time with MagTech 240 grain SWC.  These were not 'hard cast'.  They were very accurate, but they leaded my barrel and cylinder face quite a bit.  I did finish up with 3 rounds of my 44 mag load; Hornady 44 Magnum 300 grain JHP XTP.  An accurate load with a substantial increase in recoil.   

       I was not quite satisfied that this would be my final choice for such a heavy duty load.  I researched even more on my own, talked to different friends with experience including one with bear experience in the Yukon and Alaska.  Although I don't plan on such experiences, I wanted to shoot the most powerful load with which I was comfortable.  This would be mostly for hog and black bear hunting.  I was a bit surprised that this would still include 'Hard Cast' lead bullets.  I should define that 'hard cast' bullets are those made with the hardest possible tin/lead content % so as to provide good penetration on game while not significantly leading the gun barrel.  I have always been a Copper Jacketed Hollow Point user.  I quickly learned that the larger hard cast lead flat nose bullets with a gas check provide up to 3 feet of penetration on the largest game, including bears at the hotter loads.  Elmer Keith, lawman and rancher in Nebraska proved that these lead loads can and will outperform jacketed loads where big game is concerned.  We never stop learning.  My next step in testing led me to either the HSM 305 grain hsmammunition.com/bear-load/ or the Buffalo Bore 305 grain www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=48, both hard cast SWC flat nose bullets.  My only concern was performance vs. RECOIL?  

       It took me a bit to locate this ammo in stores.  I did find the HSM loads at Cabela's in Buda, TX.  This is a HUGE store.  Even though these are lead wadcutter style they are not cheap;  $59 for 50 rounds.  HSM has been producing quality ammo in Stevensville, MT for over 50 years.  

      I want to keep the gun sighted for the 44 Special Wadcutter loads, but just wanted to make sure these are on the paper.  They would only be used at around 15-20 yards hopefully.  My first 3 shots were pretty much WOW, this is quite a handful of dynamite.  I moved to 15 yards and was able to keep my control and the groups reasonable; only a bit lower than my sites.  1260 fps and 1175 foot pounds of energy.  I'll take it.  Again, the heavy trigger pull is a factor.

44 Mag HMS 305 Hard cast SWC 

My last addition is the Diamond D Leather Guides Choice chest holster system.

  

Diamond D Custom Leather Guides Choice

      Primary carry with the 44 Special 240 grain SWC or woods carry for big critters with the 44 Mag Keith 305 LFN gas check loads.  Both are hard cast loads.  These will do it all.  In the future I may be looking into a custom trigger job and perhaps even Mag-na-porting.  

"I would stay away from hollow point ammo and go with something with a BUNCH of penetration such as hard cast +P FN lead"

Elmer Keith

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