Pecos Run n Gun: The Eagles Have Landed

Several hundred miles, one Red Bull, thirty two gallons of gas, and fourteen bags of ice later, your intrepid shooters have finally arrived in Pecos, Texas for the 2015 Pecos Run ‘n Gun. We elected to get a hotel for the first night so we could sleep in a soft bed and take a hot shower before spending the next three days camped out in the desert. The trip here has been relatively low key, though we have already had a couple hiccups . . .

We rolled out of Austin right around 9:00 AM just in time to get cozy with several hundred of our Austin neighbors in rush hour traffic. My little Tacoma was loaded to the gills with gear. I’ll fully admit that we probably brought too much stuff, but after last year’s lack of preparation, a swing in the other direction seemed natural. Two hours later, we found ourselves out at the family ranch for some last minute zero confirmation.

While we were there, Tex300BLK made sure to do some real world testing of his kneeling, sitting, and standing positions. With our gear squared away, we headed back to the big shaded tree and goofed off with the Ruger Precision Rifle that I recently tested. If his drool stains on the gun are any indication, I think Ruger might have another customer.

When we ran out of ammo, we took that as a sign to pack the truck back up. Armed with a couple sandwiches and a bag of Doritos, we pointed the truck west, set the cruise at 85 mph, and proceeded to make gun talk for several hours. 

We took a slightly circuitous route to get to Pecos so we could stop for a swim in Balmorhea State Park. While we’re both admittedly Austin fanbois, we begrudgingly admitted that this particular spring-fed body of water beats the pants off Barton Springs. With a swim in a desert oasis checked off the to-do list, we pointed the truck forty five minutes to the north.

We got in right around dinner time, so we unloaded the guns, laptops, cameras, and clothes and then made a beeline for a local Tex-Mex place. After a thoroughly filling dinner, we attempted several times to find ice and finally struck gold at the third convenience store. As I was exiting the store, the sky opened up in a downpour reminiscent of last year’s maelstrom. We laughed about Pecos being cursed and then headed over to the hotel which we found disturbingly dark.

The small storm had killed the power to our hotel for roughly an hour, during which we discussed the best way to breach a door with what we had on hand so we could get our rifles back. It turns out that electronic door locks don’t work when there’s no ‘lectricity. Luckily, the local utility company came through and we had power, cooling, and network connectivity restored.

Now we’re soaking up the last of civilization before we head off to the desert bright and early tomorrow. The range officers start their run at ~8:00 tomorrow morning and the main event will happen Saturday. Pending cellular connectivity, you should be able to stay up to date on our hijinks and shenanigans by checking out the official TTAG Instagram page. Witty banter in the comments section is highly encouraged. If you don’t have Instagram, you’ll still be able to see the photos on the right hand side. Wish us luck.