Daveboone

I have a Pedersoli made Lyman Great Plains Rifle in flint. I love it. If you havent shot flint before, there is a steep but fun learning curve! I suggesgt going to the Muzzleloading Forum for tons of advice on them. Especially early on shooting make sure you are shooting from a bench/rest, and be relaxed through the follow through. Mine has a very fast lock, but the follow through is crucial for accurate shooting. Have fun! My favorite source for muzzleloading supplies is Track of the Wolf. Good prices, very fast shipping. STock up on fliints when you find them...they are much more readily available than percussion caps lately, but also get sold out. Check Pedersolis web site or the ML forum to find out what size flint for yours.

That sounds like a great fun adventure! I hope the seas arent too rough for ya!

No pics, but I travel light. My two go to knives...A Schrade Sharpfinger and my Grohman #1. The Sharpfinger drops in my pocket when I am closeby, and the Grohman is in my fannypack if I am wandering away for a long jaunt. Neither will need resharpening before a couple deer are dealt with. My forty year old Buck 110 still holds a razor edge as well or better than any of my knives, but ...like all my hunting knives, sees no service other than gutting/field dressing, and has never needed more than a light touch up. The 110 though, is clumsy to hold, especially in cold temps, and not as easy to manuever in the close quarters of a deer cavity.

I used the Primos Trigger Stick in South Africa, where tri/bipods are very commonly used with spot and stalk. It set up very quickly and was rock solid, but they do need practice shooting off of for best results.

Great shotgun

Darn nice walleye! Lots of fillets! Did you keep or release?

Aint nothing new about the whipped cream/nitrous! I was 17 once....you used to be able to buy the nitrous cylinders over the counter.

Growing up the only salad dressing we had was when mom mixed ketchup with miracle whip...instant Russian / thousand island. If she was getting fancy she diced some pickle up fine and mixed it in. I laugh everytime the debate gets started about who and when Thousand Island dressing was invented. It was invented in a thousand household kitchens , but only one restaurant apparently. Different brands of Russian and Thousand islands dressing are mixed different...any two could be switched any given sunday.

I usually have a few that I see regularly throughout the season. It is fun to see thier racks develop. Same this year. I have three I can tell apart, but normally come late october or so I start seeing some strangers wandering through.

ouch

Believe me or not... a couple years ago I found one in a garage sale in beautiful condition ...500.oo. I was severely tempted, but I had just bought another bike.

I hate cooked vegetables. That said, I love good sweet corn, but if it isnt to my standard, first bite I stop eating. Early season I had a tough time finding good corn. The past few weeks, Wegmans has been very reliable for very good corn. I dream of Snow Queen, the all white variety, but it is very difficult to find.

Good for you. A lovely lady with a million dollar smile! But....does she bait her own hook?

Have a great time! I love bear hunting...been up to New Brunswick spring bait hunting half a dozen times, gotten five bears. It shouldnt be as bad as spring bear for bugs, but plan on them still being real bad! I would bring a bug suit if you have one, head net and light leather gloves and a roll of duct tape if you dont (tape up all seams , boots to pants, glove to sleave, etc....not joking! ...or a thermocell, just in case. Have patience when you see one...they all look big in the woods. And sit still....like a rock! Many stand sites are in the same spot for literally decades, and the bears know they are there.

Whats the bike?

I wouldnt touch a bike that the owner cant or wont come up with a title . Not uncommon for non running bikes to get swapped around a bit (have had a few myself) for parts or repair, and titles get lost.

When we started looking for our camp, we drew up priorities. First, within an hour of home so we could go up and use it just for the day without burning too much travel time. Year round access...within walking distance of pavement in the winter was ok. I was happy with a smaller (10 acre) chunk surrounded by seldom used county and state property. Next, Good hunting elbow room within walking distance. By good hunting, I mean I dont mind ...Hunting! A high deer population was less important than a quiet area with plenty of woods to walk and potential. Sure, I would like a nice buck, but trophy potential is not so much of a concern. I got lucky. My small parcel is a frequently used highway along ridges, so even though I am limited what I can do to draw deer, they are there already. I didnt start to find any properties I was interested in (and could afford) until we narrowed it down, then went driving the back roads looking at land, areas and for sale signs. Craigslist, Facebook etc. also is a good area to look.

Impossible to recommend a slug without you finding out what your gun shoots best. No substitute for the most accurate round for your gun. Bench resting 12 gauge slugs isnt fun, but it was very worthwhile when I did. One box (five rounds) at 50 yards is what I did, at the time about five different sabot slugs from Brenneke (okay, not really a sabot), winchester, remingtons, federals...ultimately my shotgun vastly preferred winchesters. If they are tougher to find...shop early and grab them when you can.

With the mild winters they seem to expand northwards...a good cold old fashioned winter kicks em back. They arent built for the cold.

I had the same problem with my t/c inline, with triple seven. Funny, as I never have a problem with my sidelocks with black powder. After cleaning, I would wipe my inline with a good moist rag with Remoil. That took care of the problem.

I take the week of NT muzzleloading season every year. It is my favorite weather, and even if I am not hunting, I could be fishing (like I am the first three days this year), riding my HD, etc. I also take the last week of NT off every year...the week after thanksgiving. I always have my best luck then. Not a lot of people in the woods, and there is usually snow. I will also likely be up to the camp for a long week end Veterans Day week end.

My storage shipping container gets the little jerks. Multifront attack Bucket trap, sticky pads, old fashioned mouse traps, sticky pads AND poison. The newer stuff is junk. Good old Dcon worked good, but you cant find it any more. Traps catch the jerks in the process. Buckets work over a longer time, Dcon kicks off the mom and dad, and the local population. I have been known to settle down on the lawn chair with a pellet gun to zap the jerks when they show their heads, too.

Modern smokeless powder residue is in itself harmless to your modern rifle bores. I store them cleaned. That said when target shooting I (and most target shooters) will fire a fouling shot...mainly to dry the bore. For hunting distance accuracy, it is likely not to have any affect. But...I will always err on cleaning too often, than not often enough. ML...Clean without delay. I used to shoot triple seven, and found I absolutely needed to clean the rifle very promptly also. I eventually returned to strictly good old black powder. It has to be cleaned promptly and thoroughly, but, well....dammit I just like it! But then I am strictly patch and ball now.

I dont pay any attention to where anyone lives, no real reason for any one else either. Sometimes folks just dont have anything to say/offer. If you are looking for advice/opinions, ask. If someone isnt , I do not say anything. Especially if someone is from out of the area and looking for information, I am happy to offer my two cents, but I dont if someone already has said the same thing. that said, I spent two weeks deer hunting in Georgia about twenty five years ago...and had a great time! Beautiful country, lots of deer, mostly great folks...too many yankees down there for my taste though.

Common black watersnake. Harmless non poisonous, but are aggressive. And they get big! Pretty common to find a few of them sunning near each other on broken rock shoreline.