stubborn1VT

That is a nice looking tractor though. How many HP?

Skidding in mud? Sounds like a hydro guy. Better have a carbide chain.

I raked hay with a hydro once. It reminded me of a lawn mower or a golf cart. To each his own. I have farmed most of my life and it felt like a toy compared to the MF 165s or Internationals I'm used to. I had to laugh, cuz the first thing I thought of was belly mowers when I read this thread.

Loaded rear tires?

Good thread. Glad to hear you're managing First Light. Something worth noting, is that the real key ingredient in preventing poison ivy is to get the oils washed off is friction. There is no magic soap. You can use soap specifically for PI, but Dawn dish detergent works as well as anything. Use cool water and a wash cloth. Pretend you are trying to get axle grease off your skin. (In a way, you are.) Another key is to get the oil off everything you touched: tools, steering wheels, clothes, shoes, bedding etc. Earlier this year I kept getting a mild case of poison ivy because I didn't get the oils off my truck steering wheels and my chainsaws. Wiped everything down with Clorox wipes and was GTG. Sorry to be long-winded. Just hoping that this info might help someone.

Hydro is a huge power suck. It's handy, but if I wanted a 30HP tractor, I would look for a 50HP hydro to get the same overall power. I know a guy who had a 50HP Deere that ended up in the shop. They gave him a 50HP hydro as a loaner (a Mahindra maybe?) He put his 7' brushhog on it and it wouldn't mow up hills. It would run the PTO or it would drive the tractor, but it wouldn't do both. IMO hydros are good for mowers. I also know some vegetable farmers with good soil/flat ground that love them, but I don't know a single dairy farm that has big hydros. Give a shuttle shift or a manual any day.

I am really jealous. Working 7 days a week isn't much fun. Go get 'em Dan! Hope you slay them.

My point was that all land and wildlife is managed to some extent. Wolves aren't managed in the same way as other wildlife, thanks to politics. You don't have a point. You are just being a contrarian. Bye.

No. It isn't managed the way that Yellowstone is. No hunting in Yellowstone. Big difference.

So you're going to base your opinion on a study of a managed park, then apply that to the rest of the West. Makes sense.

Politics won't allow for wolves to be managed like other game animals at this point. It's not that simple. If it was just a matter of using biology to determine suitable numbers, that would be fine. Just like any number of other issues, there are two sides that don't seem to compromise. Re-introducing wolves is a nice idea and there is tons of land out West, but the reality is that the environment is much different than it was 100 years ago. I'm not against wolves, but I don't know how you manage/control packs of killing machines so they don't affect the economy and the ecosystem in a way that negatively impacts humans. People I know from Montana complain that they have to worry about their pets, livestock and small children. They can't call and hunt elk like they always have because the elk are less vocal. They don't want to give their location away to wolf packs. Until the state governments are allowed to aggressively manage them, there will be conflicts. If you think it's as simple as reimbursing people for their lost livestock, then you haven't done any farming of your own.

Shortest rifle shot= 18 inches. I set up behind a woodchuck hole with the .22 mag and waited for him to pop his head up. Longest rifle shot: 350ish and 324. I shot a doe with a crop damage permit at 350 with my 7 Rem Mag and a Harris bipod. It felt like shooting, not hunting. Shot a buck at 324 (paced downhill) on a powerline with the 7 Mag. Flopped down on my belly and dropped him.

Is this worth trying Biz? Or should I steer clear. Been drinking Hazy Little Thing from Sierra Nevada lately.

Only 6 or 7. One of those days was calling for my buddy. I heard birds 3 times and called them in each time. Would've liked to get out more, but I let work get in the way. Guess I'm growing up. The rainy weather also played a factor. Really wishing I could join the Live from the Water thread, but it's work 6 days a week for now. The 7th day I take care of things around our house. Need to get my garden planted, do equipment maintenance, maybe mow the lawn and get ready for another week.

Now that I I think of it, I once recovered a 140 grain NP that I put through a whitetail's heart. There was an inch of new snow. The buck had gone over a steep bank, so I got down to "track" him. When I got to the spot I shot him, I saw a perfect groove in the snow. Once I had the deer gutted, I went back and dug the bullet out of the soft dirt under some white pines. It was a perfect specimen.

Thanks Al. I can be a little dense. Recovering deer is important to me, bullets not as much.

Is this what you meant to say? One out of 8-10 is not good at all.

I only got out a handful of times. I usually owl hoot with my voice to get a gobble on the roost. That never happened this spring. The birds either gobbled on their own, or not at all. I did get out one morning at the farm to call for my buddy. We had birds gobbling all over the dang place. Set up on a bird that was hot on the roost. He hit the ground and went straight the other way. I called to him but he just gobbled a few times on the ground. While calling to him a bit another bird fired up in the field. I moved to the field edge, but he wouldn't come in range.. Instead he circled us and went into the woods 200 yards away. We backed up into the woods and he came in pretty quick. I set up behind my buddy and the bird seemed to circle to the right. My buddy shifted to his right and the bird must have doubled back because all the sudden he was there in full strut at 35 yards. My buddy swung on him when he thought the tom's head was behind a blowdown. He got caught and shot over the tom when he spooked. While all of this was going on, I could hear a bird on the other side of the road, so we hoofed it straight down there. I hit the slate on top of a hill and got a gobble right away. It came from somewhere near a fast moving brook, so I couldn't tell how far. We stood there looking for a spot to set up at the base of the hill and there was gobble. The bird had cut the distance in half. We jogged down the hill and found a big log to crouch behind. I was fishing around in my pockets for my striker and here comes a red head and another bird behind that. Right there, I told my buddy. He shifted his gun and the jake caught him. The jake didn't putt, just kind of tucked his head and slowly walked back into some small hemlocks. The tom's view was blocked by the trunk of a spruce. After a moment he stepped around the trunk into a completely clear lane. BOOM. My buddy flopped him at 40 yards. It hadn't been 10 minutes since he missed the first tom. I guess my only point was that the birds WERE gobbling that morning. The only bird I got aggressive with was the one that was in the field. He was fired up and came into the woods with us instead of hanging up. Once he was in the woods I clucked and yelped softly. Wish I had got out more. The wet weather has me so far behind that I can't afford to miss any opportunity to work outside. I may try to sneak out for an hour or two on Friday.

Made a quick run to a spot near the house. Had a gobble from a long ways off. Two toms appeared in a big field on the other side of a dirt road. They made a beeline for my yelps, but a caravan of traffic backed them off the road. Then the rain started and they ducked into the softwoods. I can accept the traffic, but not the shoddy forecasting by the weatherman.

I wouldn't till it up, just spot spray as Gman suggested. Clover looks well established. With some maintenance it should last for years.

I recommend getting a tick spoon for removing ticks from yourself or your pets. They work well, and help insure you get the entire tick. They are cheap and handy. You can get them on Amazon for $5 or 6. I use the "tick twister". Worth every penny.

You should try the Buckmaster approach and crawl out there with him!

I agree with Fletch. I have seen some bumblebees around, but almost no honey bees. My buddy claims that the honey bees are keyed in on dandelions, and that's why I'm not seeing them. I'm not so sure. One of my neighbors lost all 6 of his hives over the winter. He should be getting replacements soon. I would get my own bees if it didn't sound so darn difficult.

Great report Dan! Glad you had a memorable trip to da Nort' country. That big ol' gobbler was damn lucky you were tagged out, aye? Two great birds, and in Canada to boot.

I carried a .22 Mag on the farm for years. I'm partial to a straight 4X scope, and had a cheap Bushnell. At this point I would lean toward the Nikon. Either way, good luck with your wish list!