Why is my “80 Acres” really only 79 acres?

When the original governmentsurveyors began the task of laying out (surveying) the public lands ofOklahoma, one of their instructions was to make each section as close to 640acres as possible.

excerptfrom the BLM manual of Survey Instructions

Chapter 1-21. The basic provisions requirethat the public lands "shall be divided by north and south lines runaccording to the true meridian, and by others crossing them at right angles, soas to form townships six miles square;" that "the townships shall besubdivided into sections, containing as nearly as may be, six hundred and fortyacres each;" and that "the excess or deficiency shall be speciallynoted, and added to or deducted from the western and northern ranges ofsections or half-sections in such townships, according as the error may be inrunning the lines from east to west, or from south to north." The systemof rectangular surveys fits the basic requirements to the curved surface of theglobe.

To obtain 640 acres, they wouldattempt to make the sections 80 chains in length on each side. One (1) chainequals 66 feet so 80 chains equals 5280 feet. A section that is exactly 5280feet square would contain 640 acres.

(5280’x 5280’=27,878,400 squarefeet/43,560=640 acres)

The curvature of the earth didnot allow for the north side of the section to be the same width as the southside of the section, typically resulting in a distance of less than 80 chains.(Click here to read more about Oklahoma Land Descriptions)

Surveying in the late 1800’s in Oklahoma was also not awalk in the park. Distractions such as hostile native Americans, rough terrain,inclimate weather and distance measuring equipment that was somewhat lacking,all led to less than perfect results across various parts of Oklahoma.

The compasses used by early surveyorswere fairly accurate devices and produced some results that would rival modernsurvey methods. The Gunter chain used to measure distances, was not as precise,especially across rough terrain with much elevation differences. Don’t get mewrong, they did a great job with what they had to work with.

Curvature of the earth, less thanperfect measurements in the original surveys, better measurement techniquesused today and corner monuments that have since been replaced, account for manysections that do not (likely never did) contain 640 acres EXACTLY.

Subsequently, the originalsurveyors divided these sections into portions which contained an aliquot partof the original acreage, whatever that might have been.

For example a Quarter Section iscommonly believed to contain 160 acres. Half of that is sometimes referred toin the vernacular as “an 80”. If the original section was, in fact 5280 feetsquare the subsequent “Quarter” section would have been 160 acres but what ifit only really contained 635 acres? The quarter section would then only contain158.75 acres and the resulting “80” would really only contain 79.38 acres.

A lot of deeds were written through the years with theacreage being reported on hypothetical measurements and not actual measurements.So if you have a deed that states “…contains80 acres more or less”, you should not rely on that acreage unless it hasbeen surveyed and confirmed by a Professional Land Surveyor

A Pleasant Change for Law Abiding Gun Owners

In a day and time when law abiding gun owners are having their rights threatened from all sides comes a breath of fresh air from an OKC business.

Casa De Los Milagros located at 5111 N Classen Blvd in OKC has this sign on their front door.

Cudos to the owners for stating what should be assumed. Unfortunately, it is not the norm and many businesses try to take away our constitutional right to bear arms.

The restaurant, which began as Laredo’s Mexican Restaurant, actually has a pretty interesting background read about it on NewsOK here. I just had lunch there and the food is pretty good as well as being a 2nd Amendment supporter.

I am not an attorney

The Self Defense Act of Oklahoma (SDA) defines certain places as off-limits to concealed carry of a firearm (O.S. Title 21 Section 1277). Some of those places are; schools, sports arenas, places where pari-mutual wagering is engaged, government office buildings, and a few others. The SDA does, however, have a provision that allows a private business owner to prohibit the legal concealed carry of a firearm on their premises if they so choose.

Some, including myself, do not believe that this prohibition by a private business owner carries a criminal punishment if violated. If a business owner discovers that you are legally carrying a concealed weapon and does not wish you to be there, they can ask you to leave. If you do not leave at their request you could be considered trespassing and possibly guilty of violating other statutes.

I am not an attorney

Bald Eagle Release

On April 9, my wife and I were invited to view the release of a Bald Eagle by WildCare Foundation of Oklahoma at Lake Arcadia in Edmond, OK. Wild Care rehabilitates injured wild animals and release them back into the wild.

The female Bald Eagle was injured when she was struck by an 18-wheeler on the Indian Nation Turnpike in Southeastern Oklahoma. She suffered a a concussion, broken wing, shattered leg and lacerated liver. Wild Care rehabilitated her and nursed her back to health with the expertise of Dr. Joe Carter of Oklahoma Equine Hospital.

Saturday she was to be released back into the wild and we were able to attend and Michelle took some spectacular pictures of the Eagle being released.

The event was surreal. If you have ever been this close to a wild Bald Eagle, you know what I mean. They are beautiful and majestic animals. Congress got this one right when they adopted the Bald Eagle as the national emblem of the United States in 1782.

When she flew over our heads and over the horizon it sent chills down my spine.

Competitive Shooting

When I was about 12 or 13 years old I went to an organized shooting event (I think it was Boy Scouts) and we shot some clay pigeons and handled some different kinds of long guns. When the day was over the sponsor gave a “Safe Shooter Award” When they announced it was me, I thought to myself, “what did I do?”

I wasn't consciously thinking about “being safe”. I didn't walk around that day nervously reminding myself, “don’t forget to point the gun in a safe direction”, or “keep your finger off the trigger until your ready to shoot”. I just did those things because that was what you do. I guess respect and safety for firearms instilled in me by my dad must have paid off

I still have that trophy somewhere; it’s a tiny little gold guy on a plastic base holding a shotgun (only now the barrel is broken off). That trophy symbolizes what we should all strive for, safety being second nature. Of course we should never get complacent and think that we know it all. That is when accidents happen. Stay diligent and alert but make gun safety second nature.

I don’t know why I thought of that story but I did and there it is! I kind of like it. But it does sort of tie into my original thought about competitive shooting.

A few months ago I started going to an IDPA-type shooting match at Heartland Outdoors in Edmond, OK. If you’re not familiar with International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA), do an internet search or look on YouTube and read up on one of the most popular shooting sports in the country. You can even find some videos from the Heartland matches by searching YouTube for “Heartland Carry Gun” or “Heartland Match” or clicking here

Even though I was raised with guns and have been shooting continually in some form since I was 8 or 9 years old, this organized shooting event has taken my gun handling and safety to another level. I don’t shoot at the matches to win. I do it to better familiarize myself with my gun and situations where you may be forced to use your gun when you don’t have time to think about what comes next. It should be second nature, kind of like my little “safe shooter” award.

If you are looking for a way to be able to shoot more and actually improve your abilities and confidence with a pistol, find a place to shoot in a competitive match. Find a small local match and sign up with no expectations and you will learn.

Do it for yourself.

Guns and Legislation

Representative Sue Tibbs has introduced HB1796 (passed House committee as of today) that addresses open carry, or at least in the minds of some it does.

There are so many things wrong with this bill; I don’t even know were to being. Let be preface my comments by saying that I am a staunch supporter of the 2^nd Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, as well as the other 26. How and where you carry is secondary in this discussion. We each have the right to “keep and bear arms”

The first problem I have with this bill is the bill itself. I think passing this off to a vote of the people is shirking the responsibilities of the Legislator. I think she just doesn’t want to make the tough decisions so she is saying “let the people vote” if it fails, you will hear; “well, we did our best” or “the people have spoken”. The problem with letting the people vote on this particular issue is that with all of the MIS-information and negative gun rhetoric being scattered about in the media, it probably won’t pass. If it doesn’t, then the issue will probably be dead for a while since “the people have spoken”. I know that view sounds backwards from my normal "less government" speech, but it isn’t really. If the voters are UN-informed, that is their problem. If they are MIS-informed (by the media) then I have a problem. Even in conservative Oklahoma, I think this bill will fail if put to a vote of the people.

The next problem I have with the bill is the language itself. The bill is simply modifying the original “Self Defense Act” located in Title 21.1290.1 Oklahoma Statutes. The major change several places in the bill is the same:

"a valid concealed handgun license pursuant to the provisions of the Oklahoma Self-Defense Act"

Simple, right? Well, not so fast. The State of Oklahoma just went from issuing a license to carry a handgun concealed to a license to carry a handgun, PERIOD! Does that sound like gun registration to anyone else?

In 1996 the “Oklahoma Self Defense Act” which, along with granting us “permission” to carry a gun concealed, also made it unlawful to carry one in the open. That point was lost on most because everyone was focused on the State allowing us to carry concealed. OK, now comes 2011 and the State proposes to “allow” open carry but only for those who have or will have a handgun license.

What do you think the reaction would have been in 1996 if a bill would have been introduced that had the same language that is being proposed by HB1796? What if the original Self Defense Act would have required "a valid handgun license"? I can tell you there would have been uproar like no other. Yet now it is being proposed under the disguise of allowing open carry and suddenly everyone is in love with the idea.

Rep. Tibbs has put the gun owners of Oklahoma in a quandary. If we vote for her version of “Open Carry” we further diminish our rights as gun owners and in essence, agree to another step toward handgun registration. If we vote against it, the anti-gun lobby will use that in their propaganda. I can see the headlines now:

“CONSERVATIVE OKLAHOMA VOTES DOWN GUN CARRY BILL”

State Board of Licensure Consolidation Under Consideration

It appears that Senator Clark Jolley is very serious about pursuing legislation to consolidate the State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors with the Architecture Board and the Construction Industries Board. The Governor has proposed that the consolidation take place under the Department of Labor not the Department of Commerce as Senator Jolley has proposed. As far as I know, no other PROFESSIONS are regulated by the Department of Labor and no one has proposed that any of the other PROFESSIONS be consolidated. The Construction Industries Board regulates trades, not professions. The State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors and the Board of Governors of Architects, Landscape Architects and Interior Designers are non-appropriated agencies that pay 10% of their revenue into the state’s General Revenue Fund. If this legislation passes it will become effective July 1, 2011.

Download SB772 text here

SB929 is also introduced and would create a task force to study the consolidation of certain Boards into one, Including the State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. Yes, I realize that it would seem SB772 (above) has already decided that it doesn't need studying.

Download SB929 text here

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