Doc

Walleyes and northerns, but mostly they were supper.

Sardines are a great bait for coons, skunks, possums, and a lot of other critters. Strong scent and a fishy smell. Works good. The best time for success is usually the first day or two. You are probably right to relocate the traps. Look around for sign....Scat, trails, tracks, etc. With this cold weather that has just set in, the critters are not going to be super active, and in some cases not active at all. However, foxes and coyotes will be on the prowl. Any stolen bait?

Yes.......I'll bet that what it is. The camera's reaction to motion. That looks real weird.

Let's hope it never gets to that stage. Our old hunting rifles won't really stand up too well against missiles and such.......lol. No, I think we will more likely get "nickel and dimed" to death to the point where we won't even know what happened. Just activities, rights, freedoms will be gone, and we won't even realize it or even know why. I look around today and I have to say that this generation does not have the same spirit and backbone as those people the revolutionary war days.

OK.......I have to ask. What the heck is that top picture? It looks like it is a deer rack, but yet it doesn't. I've never seen a camera do that to a picture. That is a deer rack isn't it?

Cubby sets or dirt-hole sets or what? What size traps? You can get "pull-outs" if a big old coon gets caught and the trap is too small. Sometimes a drag is a more reliable way to anchor the traps because they don't have something solid to pull against.

That sounds like a lot of fun too. I was always going to build a "shooting shack" out behind the house. haven't gotten around to it yet. Maybe I will get to it next summer.

Back in 1986, myself and three other coworkers planned an archery moose hunting trip up in Ontario Canada. We took 2 canoes and a small aluminum boat and all our gear back along an old dirt road for umpteen miles, entered a lake and went to the end of that lake. Then we did a 150 yard portage into another lake and then went to the far end of that lake and set up camp. It was to be a 1-week hunt.... No guides. We set up tents and that was home all during the hunt. We did our hunting in the first hours of the day and during the last part of the day. During the middle of the day, we fished and caught some of our meals. The fishing was great. I never saw nights that were so dark and it was so quiet like I have never experienced. These lakes were not occupied, and there was a feeling of total isolation. There was a grey jay that we could feed out of our hands. I saw my first and only marten on that trip. It just was a fantastic experience that I never would have had if we hadn't decided to rough it. Oh, and by the way, we did get a small bull moose. It was just a perfect trip.

Yes that is a problem. We used to camp all over the adjacent state land, until they posted all the rules and regulations. They don't allow camping there now. There is a sign up in the parking lot stating that.

I've got to say that the best memories I ever had were made on those hunting experiences that involved primitive winter camping. I think back to some of those trips back in where you couldn't even here a car or any other human sounds. There was an extra connection with the whole hunting experience. We were a lot tougher back then in our youth, but the effort got us away from other hunter pressures and often paid off. We didn't know the meaning of discomfort. It was all just excitement and anticipation and adventure. Of course I was a whole lot younger back then. Today at age 80, I have to agree with you. I have grown accustomed to my need for creature comforts now. But I sure am glad that my youth was filled with those remote camping experiences.

Sounds like fun, but a little too far from home for me. I wish it were closer, I would consider it.

What kind of sets have you been making?

Any snow so you could see tracks?

Our exploits up on the hill were a bit more challenging because it is a 1/2 mile climb up a rather steep "killer" hill before the advent of ATVs. But once we got ATVs, we dragged all the materials up and built that little 12' x 12' cabin and it all seemed like great luxury. We had a kerosene heater and propane lanterns for light. Bunk beds with real mattresses. A sink (no running water other than what we took up in a huge Igloo water container), an old kitchen table and a few chairs. We hunted out of there for quite a few years. Last year we logged the woods, and the loggers dropped a tree on the cabin and demolished it. So that was the end of that.

Avon Bowmen used to run winter indoor leagues in an old building in Caledonia. I don't know if they are still doing any indoor competitions, but that was really fun. It got to be pretty nasty trying top drive that far (35 miles one-way) during the winter, so I had to quit. but it was fun for the years that I could put up with the drive. Perhaps some members here have access to indoor facilities that they can use.

11 yards is plenty good for keeping the muscles toned up, and the techniques sharp. What I have done is that I have created a target on an 8-1/2 sheet of paper that has 4 different small 1" spots on it to avoid smashing arrows into each other. Shorter distance = smaller targets.....lol. It works good.

I too feel sorry for the grandchildren and beyond for more reasons than just the cost of ammo. And I have no reason to believe that future generations will be any more vigilant than we were in terms of safeguarding the original content of our system of government and the benefits that we have enjoyed. The apathy that afflicts our citizens has been going on a lot longer than just our generation. The spirit of the great experiment in democracy has been eroding almost from the day it began. There is a slow evolution that our country has been experiencing, and that evolution picks up pace as each new generation takes control. The cost and availability and the excessive regulation of ammo and components is only one very tiny part and indicator of this evolution that is getting more and more obvious every day. Can it be reversed? Probably not. I don't believe that it is in the human will and nature of the majority to reverse it.

Anybody here doing any mid-winter camping? I used to, but I'm not as tough as I used to be anymore. My first experience was the first year I went hunting deer. I built a shelter up on the hill, made out of on-sight materials, and I spent nearly a week up there with a high school buddy. It was great fun. I had my old bent-barrel 20 gauge and missed a couple of shots. We tried eating a squirrel cooked over the fire (tasted good, but tough as shoe leather). The next phase was tent camping in the winter and for hunting. That worked out well and was a lot of fun for a lot of years. I can't really describe the appeal of roughing it like that, but it sure was a lot of fun and added a lot to the hunting experience. Eventually, my Brother-in-law and I built a small 12' x 12' cabin up there and did our camping and hunting from there. Great times. Snow and cold outside, but we stayed toasty. So, I was wondering whether there were any winter campers, or camper/hunters here.

The target in the basement is catching hell now. I have a 15 yard shot from one end of the basement to the other. Keeps the muscles and the techniques sharp for next year. Anyone else have indoor facilities for this time of year?

Looks like they are still in the nocturnal survival state. Still a bit cautious from the gun season. Well, that's how they become "survivors". Part way through opening day they get the message. After that only the dumb ones, or the over-sexed ones, or the one's that get booted in the butt by hunters show themselves much during the daytime.

So you're not doing it for the fur but trying to thin out some of the egg-eaters. That would be things like possums, skunks, raccoons, foxes, coyotes, and so on. Sounds like a big job.

Is anyone surprised by this? It didn't require a fortune-teller to see this coming. And yet there will be those who say, "Well gee, I don't have any of those and I don't see any reason why they should be in the hands of private citizens." Some people just don't get it. They are after ALL guns..........ALL OF THEM!.......GET IT?

The good news at my advanced age is that I have a lifetime supply of ammo and bullet making supplies for each of my guns. So, I am insulated from all of this nonsense. My only advice is to stock up on bullet making components (at any price) and kiss those price-gougers good-bye. Apparently, these prices are going to be rising forever, so buy now wherever you can and get enough. The guys I feel sorry for are the target shooters who go through tons of bullet building components.

Good luck to you, and I hope you are real successful. Do you have any specific animals you are after right now?

You have a lot of real good prospects there. That will keep you looking forward to next season.