philoshop

A perfect day for firewood too. No snow and no bugs. The mud got a little ornery at the end, but a great day indeed.

Really nice stuff Wooly! Can't wait to see more. Anything you really dislike about the 55-300 lens? Just curious.

Double post deleted.

The guy is certainly not within his rights to put signs of any kind on your property, even if everything else he does to aggravate you is technically legal. Sounds as though he might not have both oars in the water quite honestly, at least in the short term. That's a tough situation to say the least. It's good that you're still considering talking to him at this point though. You might actually be able to connect with him somehow and turn the whole thing around. I'm stubborn and I don't give in in most situations, but with neighbors it's a little different. A bad neighbor is hard to deal with, but a bad neighbor who is also an enemy is impossible to deal with. I hope it works out for you.

Is your neighbor doing this because he wants you to stop hunting, or do you think he'd do it regardless of who owned the property? It's an important point. If for some reason it's about you personally there's probably some wiggle room regarding his stance if you make the effort. If he's a complete anti-hunter your only real hope is to somehow convince him that you're doing a good thing with your land in the broader scheme of things. Either way, without changes of attitude on both sides nothing will change. I wish you the best.

Happy Birthday buddy! And many more!

Pygmy, don't you mean Ithaca 'thump'? LOL In the early 1980's I did test firings and sight-ins for a gunsmith friend of mine in exchange for 'smith work. Having a dozen slug guns to sight-in at one sitting was not, repeat NOT, an enjoyable part of that job. The model 37 was the worst offender by a fair margin, and there were always a few in the to-do pile. I still have mine though, and wouldn't part with it for anything.

Surgical bandage tape in 1.5" or 2" widths. The old hockey stick kind of stuff that's not shiny. A few pieces on your regular camo and you instantly have winter woods camo.

One of my favorite dermal defoliant treatments, next to Sweet's 7.62. Rinsing is not optional.

Glad you were able to subdue the Christmas gift-giving angst Lawdwaz. Peace be with you. On another note, I gave myself the most wonderful manicure today. A moisturizing soak that lasted almost two hours, including 10w-30 fully synthetic tractor oil that was a bit too hot at the start but finished beautifully, a brief spritz of carb cleaner to evict the mice that were in the intake canister of said tractor, a generous application of hydraulic fluid when the log splitter spit up on me, and I finished up with some EPA-approved biodegradable bar and chain oil. The shape and buff treatment was accomplished when I got sloppy and careless with the angle grinder sharpening mower blades for next year. This happens sometimes when you're trying to hold a beer in the other hand late in the afternoon. Thankfully there was no manscaping today, but I'm cutting firewood tomorrow afternoon so I'll be sure to let you folks know if anything like that happens! Then again, maybe I won't mention it. All in all I had good day, but ymmv. Merry Christmas to everyone. Be well and be happy. Mark

Dogs and cats that are too free-roaming, or even feral in some cases, are definitely a problem in many areas. They don't really have the fear of humans that 'wild' animals do. It's more like a contempt for humans, which can make them nasty to deal with.

You might also be able to swap the 24" bbl for a 20" on gunbrokers, etc. Then you'd only be looking at the cost or time for fitting the new one.

When you put food out the critters will come to it. I don't know of any way that you can be selective about exactly which critters come in to a baited site. Ask a trapper how they avoid house pets and they'll tell you to stay away from places with house pets nearby. It's the only thing I've ever found to work reliably.

Anything with an even remotely predatory instinct is likely going to keep coming back. The deer aren't predators, obviously, and once they've satisfied their curiosity they'll stay away. House-dogs, coyotes, and bears will sometimes get the idea that the area is unsafe, but not often enough to to make an attempt at scaring them away a useful tool unless you're there 24/7. The birds are actually somewhat 'smarter' than the mammals in this respect. They'll abandon a free meal long before the ground-based carnivores will.

I'm pretty sure the does eat flowers too.

Thanks for the link Dave. I've loosely followed the issue for several years, and admittedly wandered back and forth about it for various reasons, but this is certainly the most concise recap I've seen. I'm guessing that many on the 'winning' side of this are thrilled by the fact that the government is watching out for them.

Depends on whether you're trying to hurt them or just scare them. Any of those three animals will probably be terrified by the sound alone. At least for a short while.

Glad you decided to join us KShadows! Best of luck to you this spring.

I wouldn't bury anything that is not rated for direct contact with earth/moisture. Readily available 2x's and 4x4's are not suitable or recommended for this as they are only treated to .40 standards unless special-ordered. .60 treated is generally considered minimum for direct contact and is only standard for 4x6's and larger. The expected lifespan depends a lot on the drainage but can easily be as little as 8 to 10 years for .40 treated lumber vs 15 to 25 years for the .60 treated stuff.

And to you my friend. Best wishes to all.

Best wishes to you! May you have many more birthdays in your future.

Agreed, in every way. This is absolutely about politics, and it's a shameful display no matter how one chooses to look at it. The victims will be the citizens and LEO's who actually respect and care about each other. FWIW, that's the majority of both groups. It's really quite an amazing display of the worst that American politics has to offer. We're supposed to be better than this.

Lots of posts about this here. Search and surf my friend. One advantage with a tree stand is that you're scent is above the ground and might stay that way depending on air movement. Another is that it gets your line of sight above the stuff that's on the forest floor which could give you a better shot opportunity. The biggest advantage with a tree stand when it comes to a new(ish) hunter is that it keeps them in one spot so they don't wander around scaring everything.

Another link: http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/nypd-union-wartime-dept/2014/12/20/id/614270/ Many of the comments are completely off-the-wall, but it's basically a good news source. Seems that some folks are going to get exactly what they've been marching, protesting, agitating, and asking for in the last few months. I can't imagine they'll want what they're going to get. To my HNY friends from that area: be careful, be safe, and I wish you the best.

Homemade ravioli half the size of a dinner plate. That and anything else my dear old Italian Momma makes.