Rick Perry is trying to get back some of the swagger he lost by failing so badly in the Republican presidential primary by tweeting pictures of himself with weapons. Perry tweeted the above photo Friday afternoon, plus the close up below of his new toy/ high-powered death machine. "Take it down/barrel, scope, upper, stock all fit in 5gal bucket. Back together and hit egg @ 100yds!" the Texas governor typed between rounds.

Perry's approval ratings in his homestate have dropped so far he's even less popular than President Obama -- yes, in the deep-red state of Texas. Perry's approval rating has dropped 10 points from where it was a year ago to 40 percent, slightly below Obama's 43 percent in the state, the Associated Press reports. And 45 percent of Texas voters think his presidential campaign hurt Texas's image. Perhaps Perry's trying to remedy that.

A couple weeks ago, the governor was more focused on winning over voters who are less excited by guns. He even made his Twitter profile a photo of himself with an adorable puppy.

When he was still in the race, he tweeted this photo of himself running in neon laces and short shorts with his son in Myrtle Beach.

All that kinder, gentler, swing-state stuff appears to be behind him now.

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Elspeth Reeve