avg. joe

Gotta agree, 20 years ago climber and hang-ons. Now it is ladderstands for me. I mostly hunt my own property, so it isn't any big deal. I have 4 of them set up and use the one that is best for the condition the days I hunt.

Maybe a small oil leak that drips on the hot exhaust. I have a mower that did that. Just an occasional puff of oil smoke. It was the valve cover gasket that had a small leak that a drop or two would drop onto the muffler, which was just below the valve cover.

Put the feeder out last Friday after one was sitting on the hanger. Seen one about 2-1/2 weeks ago, just never got the feeder out til now.

Congrats to him! Did they shoot the hat for him?

Pattern the gun with several different types of ammo. Some loads pattern tighter than others. You may not need another choke. If you do try a tighter choke, again try different and ammo and see which is best. Extended or flush, your choice.

The annual population explosion of potholes. And there seems to be a bumper crop of them this year!

I believe it was Stalin who said something like "If we erase the past we can determine the future".

Congrats to your son and yourself. I know the feeling. A scout doesn't make Eagle without support of his family and friends. It says a lot to his drive and character. Every scout who makes Eagle has an air of confidence and accomplishment that will follow them through the rest of their life!

Feel proud! I've been through it 4 times with the family (2 daughters - USAF, 1 daughter - Army, 1 son - Army). Was proud of each. The Service makes them a person you would never think they would be. Thank you and your son!

Sounds great, but I am sure the cows would make short work of anything I planted!!!

It won't hurt to check in. A year is a short time for some work, but he should have an answer as to where things stand by now. If you ever worked in the taxidermy business you would have a better understanding of how things go. Some folks used to call asking how much longer their mounts were going take after just a month or two. As was said earlier, good work takes time. That is usually because good work is in high demand and lots of people will be using that taxidermist.

-9 at 7 a.m. here on the Chautauqua Ridge this morning.

Got about 16" here on the Chautauqua Ridge, plus some blowing and drifting. Took about 2 hours to do the driveways and back to the pasture gate. Snowblower on the tractor is a life saver up here.

Bull riding is great to watch, as long as it is not your son on the back of the bull! I was glad when my son called it quits. I think my heart stopped beating for eight seconds every time the chute opened for him!

All the above is fine, but if you are just starting out, get a couple of manuals. If using Nosler bullets get their manual plus one or two others, just for comparison. Keep it simple to start with. Once you are loading good ammo and want to get into cloverleafing your groups, then worry about Quickload and chronographs and everything else. Don't rely on youtube for info. There are a lot of wannabe experts that give pretty shaky info. Some are good, some are just plain scary! If you can, find somebody who loads that you trust is serious about it. Most experienced loaders will be more than glad to help get you started in the right direction. Never rely on loading data that somebody posts or gives you. Compare it to PUBLISHED loads first. And don't rush. Take your time and do it right. As you get more experience you will find it gets to be an addiction. You will end up with many cans of powder that have only a few shells loaded out of it because it just doesn't work for you. Same with bullets. Some will give you the performance you want, other will be better suited as fishing weights. And remember, what does well for others may be terrible for your specific gun. And don't get discouraged. I have loaded for one specific gun that seemed like nothing would perform well. Then you try a different powder or bullet or bullet weight and bingo, it is a tack pounder. Good luck in your new addiction!!!