Whatcha Got Going 2023?

[aeronut]

#162700

Any new happenings for anyone?

I didn’t get the thread started last month, been busy, so I’ll play catch up.

The 18th of January was my one year anniversary of getting my neck vertebrae fused.  Since I’m the guide, hunter, pack mule on my hunts I didn’t do any hunting last season so to give it a longer heal time.  I did go out and walk the woods from time to time and check the trail cameras.  They have been hanging in the same spots for going on at least six years and the picture quality is degrading so I decided to buy some new replacements.  I picked up a couple of Brownings to hang out.  The temps dipped this week into the 20’s so I’ll wait a bit to go hang them.

I’ve been working on my Gt-grandfather’s fiddle doing some restoration work on it and the case.  I started with the case first.  It was in five pieces and had a couple of missing pieces to boot.  I had to take a piece of Poplar and bend the curve for the nose piece in the bottom section.  I am now lining the bottom with red crushed velour and it is the hardest part so far.  The fabric keeps wanting to curl and it’s a chore to keep it from turning under and getting glue on the wrong side but I am almost done with it.  Then I will start work on the fiddle itself.  It was made in France sometime in the 1860’s.  It had been played so much there are grooves in the fret board from fingers sliding up and down it during play.

This coming Saturday is our Oklahoma Selfbow Society banquet.  I missed the  banquet two years ago because of the gift from China spreading through our country and the last year from my recent neck surgery.  I usually donate some items for the auction and raffle as these are the funding for OJAM next March.  I’ve made dozens of slate top turkey calls through the years and also some mouth blown call of different variety.  I recently bought a laser engraver (like I need yet another hobby) so this year will be some tile coaster sets with deer, elk, turkey, and bear images laser etched on them.  It’s a little over a two hour drive to the banquet but it will be good to see friends again.

That’s a few, but not all, of the happenings here in SE Ks.  I’ll tell of my trip to Texas last May (man it was HOT!!) and my battle with the Moderna vaccine on another episode later.

Dennis

[Stephen Graf]

#162729

Thanks for starting the thread up again.  It will be fun to see what people are up to 😁

[richard roop]

#162743

Since my wife had ankle surgery I’m pretty much head nurse & house maid.  I am able to get out to my modest range out back and work on form and to my shop to build more of my ‘solar powered arrows’.

If any of you folks find yourselves in S.E. Arizona, the Welcome Mat’s out.

[aeronut]

#162745

I was in the Coronado National Forest four years ago on a border watch operation.  That is a ruggedly beautiful area.  The bad part is the drug cartels have turned it into a trash dump.

[Ralph]

#162753

Still watching our part of of the world dry up around us. Maybe we’ll get some good moisture someday.

Totally grateful at my age that I can still shoot and get around to 3D shoots that are soon to begin around.

40-41-up to 45 lb bows working great for my old butt..

 

[Kees]

#162783

Nothing exciting here.  Made a half dozen arrows a while back.  Dropped back to my old 45 lb. Indian recurve after my right shoulder started giving me trouble when shooting the 50lb. Bear Montana.  I’m doing surprisingly well (for me).  I bought the recurve in 1966 when I was going up to Alaska for college.  It’s one of the few things I still have from those days.  I never was very good with it so my improvement now makes me happy.  I try the Montana every so often and, while I had gotten fairly proficient with it before, I am all over the hay bales now.

~Kees~

[aeronut]

#162795

I had a check up with my neck doctor yesterday morning.  He said everything in the xray was looking great and I didn’t need to do any more follow up visits and just contact him if I was having problems.  Whee!

We had our OSS (Oklahoma Selfbow Society) banquet last Saturday and had a pretty good turn out for it.  Now to prepare for OJAM next month.

[Kees]

#162796

That’s great news!  Hope it continues that way.

[paleoman]

#162810

Not too much here either. Lost any hunting last fall due to my father passing in October and my in-laws health failed at the same time 2 weeks after that, so we had to caregive in our home for 3 months Nov thru Feb 2. Got thru that and moved them to assisted living. 3 days later my wife gets covid (first for either of us). She’s recovering now. Have no idea how I haven’t gotten it yet. So way better than being in Ukraine but I sure hope better days are coming! Planning on a trip to Maine in November so right now I’m gassed just to have something to plan.

[Raymond Coffman]

#162846

Pretty slow here also ( NM) some cold weather back to back,  so I haven’t been shooting much.

Need to build some more arrows so I think I’ll work on that for awhile.

Good luck to anyone who still has a late hunt on-going…..

Scout aka Ray

[aeronut]

#162854

I had a front yard midnight hunt last night after I heard a loud snarl on my front porch.  That’s where my dog takes up her station to watch what’s going on.  I grabbed a light and figured I’d be dealing with another possum but was kind of surprised to find a jumbo coon.

I have a birdbath set up by my beehives and during the summer something was knocking it over.  I set up a trail camera and found out my owls were using it as their watering hole along with deer and coons during our drought.  I believe this was one of those that turned into a porch pirate.  My last dealings with a coon was last summer when I woke up with no electricity.  Apparently my dog had chased it up the electric pole and it got crossways with the wires and blew the transformer fuse.

I would like to get some chickens  but we are overrun with coons and coyotes.

[Raymond Coffman]

#162897

Hey Aeronut

What part of the Coronado Natl forest were you in ?

I used to hunt there a a lot for coues deer … last time I went ( Black point ) about 8yrs ago+- saw more USBP agents than deer. Mostly long the Geronimo Trail. Did see 4 Goulds Gobblers….

Scout aka Ray

[aeronut]

#162902

We were in Warsaw Canyon and Holden Canyon.  Some of the guys were in California Gulch for a while.  Border Patrol is in that area a lot because of the cartel drug mules.  That’s why we were there doing spot and report and disrupting their travel routes.  It is a ruggedly beautiful area but the drug mules have turned that area into a trash dump….discarded water jugs, clothes, backpacks, food wrappers, etc.

I saw several mule deer and a few turkeys while we were out in the field.

[Raymond Coffman]

#162963

 

Aeronut

Yes, that’s the hotbed of illegal entry……( did you visit the Buffalo soldiers cemetery ?)

I have spent most of my time in the Chiricahua and the Peloncellos . Less traffic and garbage there even today. I was successful many times in both areas for Coues deer and javelina. Difficult to draw now….

All very cool places to hunt in .. Difficult now …

Scout aka Ray

[aeronut]

#162979

I really wanted to but didn’t get a chance to go see the Buffalo Soldiers cemetery.  Maybe next time if I go again.  I saw quite a bit of javelina sign but never spotted any of them.  I was in hunt mode the whole time we were out of camp.

Being April there was a lot of bees in the air swarming.  I heard and saw five swarms go over camp and they looked like a small black mass going over.  We went by a tree that was loaded with a swarm.  We could hear them from a pretty good distance and I told the guys to give them some room because they might be Africanized.  One of the teams walked by a tree later that had a swarm in it and a couple of them got stung.

[aeronut]

#162993

Yesterday was a very bad day for our family.  My brother had been having some chest pains went in to have a stent put in.  Things went terribly wrong and he passed away from major complications.  He was 72.

I got a message from him at 11:30 that they were still waiting to go in for the procedure that was scheduled for 9:30.  From that point on I had a very bad feeling that I could not shake that something was wrong.

Please, if you have a mind to, keep his family in your prayers.

Thanks, Dennis

[Kees]

#163001

Our condolences to you for the loss of your brother, and to his family!  We will most certainly keep you all in our prayers.

~Kees~

[richard roop]

#163002

Very sorry to hear this.

[paleoman]

#163003

I’m sorry to hear of your loss. Take care in this tough time for you and your family.

Scott

[Robin Conrads]

#163070

Our condolences, Dennis. That is terrible. Prayers for all who loved him.

Robin

[Ralph]

#163071

Our condolences. Prayers to all and God Bless…

[Raymond Coffman]

#163092

Aeronut

Once again sorry for the slow response…sad day… That’s tough losing a loved one that way. I am sorry to hear it. Remember the good times with them, is what I do …

I always enjoy being in that AZ desert country.

I remember when the africanized bees showed up here in the southwest. Scared the heck out of everybody. I was around a couple of large ( swarms ) groups that just passed me by ( luckily) also drove thru a large swarm on the freeway… took a long time to clean off the truck ! Haven’t heard anything  ( or seen ) about the africanized strain in years ? I read that the “interbreeding” with regular bees has basically ” watered down” the angry streak if you will…aeronut can probably give us the biological ( scientific) explanation  …..

Scout aka Ray

[aeronut]

#163105

I have read that some think the Africanized variety is getting watered down and they aren’t as mean but, be careful around them anyway.

I have one hive that is just mean tempered.  While collecting honey sometimes they will be ok but most of the times I’ll have to close up the hive and try again another day.  I made a couple of splits from that hive and gave one to my cousin.  They ran him off several times.  He said he split that hive last summer and they calmed down.  Why?  I have no idea.  I can work around my mean hive with no problems but getting inside and checking them is a toss up.  LOTS of smoke will help a little.

One spring I ran through three different swarms with my bucket truck.  They make a mess out of a windshield and there was dead bees all over everything in the bed.

The weather has been warming up enough the bees are out and working over my Maple trees.  I keep a bird bath full of water for them and at times the whole perimeter is lined with bees.  My nephews came up for the funeral and they were a little timid about the bees flying around but quickly dismissed them.

I’ve been going out some nights with my night vision for coyotes or raccoons but mainly now for the marauding skunk that has been showing up.  They can wreak havoc on a bee hive.  It will eventually catch a lead pellet.

[richard roop]

#163154

Turning the big seven zero tomorrow so I thought that to commemorate the event I’d pull the 70# Howatt Hunter off the rack and try a few shots.  Managed to get off five good shots before the body said that if I kept it up it was gonna hurt me bad.

Bowfishing out of the canoe at Roosevelt for carp tomorrow.  I’ll take the 55xx pound carp bow and leave the big stick at home.

[Stephen Graf]

#163156

Happy Birthday!  And good luck with the carp.  It’s gonna be a nice day around here today.  Hopefully where you are too.

[aeronut]

#163160

Happy Birthday Richard.  I turned 67 nine days ago.

Good luck on the carp shooting.  I always enjoyed that pass time.  Been rainy and chilly the last few days, just enough to make everything damp.  Temps are going to fall down into the 20’s again tonight but that’s just typical Kansas weather.

[Kees]

#163161

Well, HAPPY BIRTHDAY young man, and here’s wishing you many more!

The 50# Bear Montana is more than enough bow for me; you’re a bigger man than me for using a 70 pounder.

~Kees~

• This reply was modified 1 year, 6 months ago by Kees.

[richard roop]

#163163

Well, the slaughter on the water didn’t happen. Company stopped by and the wind came up.  Roosevelt is not a place to be in a canoe when the whitecaps are up.  Going to re-try on Monday.

70# is one of those ‘Do as I say, …. not as I do’  things.  Far & away more better to shoot a lower poundage bow accurately than some macho poundage that scatters arrows.  I normally shoot a lower poundage than the 70# .

 

 

 

 

[richard roop]

#163186

Dirty water and just a wee bit early for the spawn made for a tough day.  Got four shots and landed one carp, about an eight pounder. Got a new recipe to try on it.

All in all, good to get out.

[Kees]

#163188

Sounds like a good day, anyway.  I’ve never tried bow-fishing.  I did a lot with rod & reel in Alaska.  After we transferred to the Wayne N.F. in Ohio I buy my fishing license every year but have never again wet a line.  We’ve been here almost 17 years now.  Haven’t gone out hunting much either since retiring.  I do a good bit of hiking, and fling arrows in the back yard but having become my wife’s care giver I don’t have a whole lot of time for myself anymore.  Not complaining, she has taken care of me enough times that I’m glad to be able to return the favor.

Tried using the Bear Montana again, but my shoulder started complaining so I’m back to the old Indian recurve.  Thinking of putting the Bear up for sale, or trade for a lighter one.

[Raymond Coffman]

#163360

I got out today and did a little shooting with my old Shrew bow 52lb ( Greg Coffey built ) .  Made up a few spruce arrows and took er out for a spin. I hadn’t shot for a long time (med issues)  and it showed. I got sorted out after a while, and finally finished up with a couple of decent groups. The Spruce arrows shot just fine …..

I am thankful the weather is getting better. I’ll be able to get out more regular. How about the rest of you folks ?

Scout aka Ray

[Kees]

#163366

I wish I could say the weather is getting better!  We had high winds and rain a while back, then a couple of days of respite and two days ago the stormy weather returned.  A bunch of the metal flashing (the contractor who put it up 12+ years ago called it “metal wrap”) has blown loose and is flapping in the breeze.  At 78 years old I don’t want to be climbing on the extension ladder to tack it back down, but finding a contractor to come look at it is impossible.  I leave messages and no one wants to return the call, even to just say that they are booked solid or don’t want to do that work.  A strange way to do business I have noticed years ago when we first moved to SE Ohio.

Otherwise we are good.  I got out to fling some arrows a couple of times between bouts of rain.  I’m working on my consistency, concentrating on my form and getting to my anchor point.

Hope everyone is okay.  I see another storm is moving in on Wyoming, you all stay safe out there!

~Kees~

• This reply was modified 1 year, 5 months ago by Kees.

[richard roop]

#163368

Wind is likewise annoying here in S.E. Az. Really hard to fine tune form when your bowarm is being blown around.

I understand about contractors.  Hard to find one that answers the phone and does good work.  Too many of today’s youth more interested in computer science and woke political courses than learning any of the trades.  Funny thing though, guys that can turn wrenches & such can make serious coin these days.

[Raymond Coffman]

#163369

Kees

I fully understand.  Don’t get on the ladder . Lost one friend dead, the other broke his hip, still recovering ( year later).

A lot of trouble here ( NM) getting professional help also . I luckily know the plumber , electrician etc. They will still eventually work me into the schedule. They say they can’t get anyone to apprentice or help anymore ! State of our society I quess…..luckily not as cold here as WYO.

I too have been working mostly on form ( especially so do to laying off or so long) . I will work up close, for awhile till I get polished.  Saves on arrows…

Wishing everybody the best for the spring . I was in the process of heading to a friend’s in TX to start the Turkey Season , but got the covid so had to stand down for awhile. I hope to get out in NM mtns later …. anybody chasing Turkey out there?

Scout aka Ray

 

[richard roop]

#163410

Will somebody PLEASE make this wind stop blowing ????

Getting steady 20 to 25 mph wind yesterday, all night and today.  Sky has gotten hazy from the dust.

Enough already !!!!

[Kees]

#163413

Gotta keep those wind turbines turning somehow!

[richard roop]

#163513

Got out this morning before the wind came up too bad. Shot a 634 / 900 Round with my hunting bow. Not exactly a stellar effort but still a pretty good work-out.

[Kees]

#163519

We had another bout of wind today, although not as bad as before.  I was able to get a handy man who is very conscientious to repair the damage last week, and it was sure nice not to hear the flashing beating itself to death anymore!

~Kees~

[Ralph]

#163529

Wind! In Amarillo? Nah!!!!  :-))

[aeronut]

#163531

Windy here too.  20-30 south winds with higher gusts.  And we need some rain.

[Kees]

#163532

I’d send you some, but I think the bucket would slop over before it got to you….   :>)

~Kees~

[aeronut]

#163542

I did get some rain last night.  Heard some thunder about 1am and then heard rain falling for about 30 seconds.  That was all.

At least the wind slowed down a little bit this morning.

[richard roop]

#163551

Impossible Shots;

Since I’ve seen videos  of both Howard Hill & Byron Ferguson doing the ‘Break the balloon while aiming with a mirror’ shot and my wife had not used the phrase “What is WRONG with you??”  all day yesterday, I thought that I’d give it a try.  I rigged up a vanity mirror on a tall tri-pod that I have and put a balloon on the bales.  I set up on the 10 yard line and proceeded to find out that  (1) Everything about aiming with a mirror is just wrong and (2) After a few shots my neck started sending my brain that ‘You keep this up and I’m going to hurt you real bad’ message. The Pros make it look easy. Trust me, it ain’t.  I’m going to continue to work on this shot off & on but for now, the balloon won.

My other ‘wonder shot’ is launching a flu-flu from the 65 yard line and while it’s in flight shooting a regular arrow and have them both hit the bales at the same time.  This one also needs more work but I’ve come close enough a few times to keep trying.

Who says archery has to be boring ????

[aeronut]

#163552

I hung some 12 and 16 ounce soda bottles from tree limbs in my yard and shoot at them with flu-flus.  Any little breeze has the moving around and makes for a lot of challenging shots.

My granddaughter likes to shoot her bow and after a few shots at the 2D turkey she always wants to shoot the bottles.  Her first shot usually hits the string.  That shows me she is concentrating on a smaller spot instead of looking at the whole turkey.

[Kees]

#164430

Well, it’s been a while since I was on here. I keep flinging arrows in the back yard.  A friend has graciously offered to build a 45 lb. self bow for me in exchange for the Bear Montana.  I get update photos every so often, and it is turning out lovely.  If it shoots as well as it looks I will be one happy fellow!

My water bill has been rising steadily for a while now. Last month it was for 7000 gallons, when normally it runs between 3000 and 4000. A couple of weeks ago I went downstairs to the kitchen at 2:00 in the morning (an old man thing) and heard water hitting the furnace cold air return.  Went into our small basement and turned off the incoming water line and the sound stopped.  Just to verify it I turned the water back on and the sound came back, so I shut it off again and went back to bed. The next day I got into the crawl space to a muddy mess, but I found the leak.  Cut the 1/2″ copper pipe on both sides of the leak and used a “SharkBite” slip fitting to fix it.

Then I checked the water meter and it was slowly increasing.  Not good, but I figured as slow as it was it couldn’t be too bad.  Then I timed it and it was 3 minutes 20 seconds per gallon. That got my attention; 3 1/3 minutes per gallon becomes 18 gallons per hour, and that translates to 432 gallons per 24 hour day!  I went on the hunt, shutting off water to the toilets one at a time and checking if the water meter quit going up.  Found the culprit, got new guts for it and now the meter is rock steady when we don’t have water running.  But, we have already used over 10,000 gallons this month!  My water bill is going to be scary high….

Okay, that’s what I’ve been up to lately.  Anybody else with horror stories?   :>)

[richard roop]

#164435

Horror story ????

Wife is sick, truck is in the shop, and micro-soft sent me a ‘need to shut down / restart for upgrades’ notice.  No big deal, they do this every now and then. However, this time ALL of the log-ins on my desktop were wiped out.  I am NOT computer savvy and it’s been a rodeo getting back. Found another way in here off of another page after several tries to reset the password.  Fun times …………… NOT !!!!

Now then ……….. Latest project; Chopping a hole in the caliche and filling it with clean sand for a 1 yard ‘snake target’.  (Don’t laugh; I’ve won bets with our compound brethren over that one yard gag.)  What I do need are some suggestions for targets.  Cigarette butts are nasty, Oreo cookies are to big and draw ants.  Mayhap a shiny penny ????

[Stephen Graf]

#164436

A cork? Bottle Cap?  Short shots can be fun and hilarious to watch 👍

Not to change the subject, but I saw a most interesting thing and thought I would share before I forgot…  Went for a walk on a local trail after a good rain.  When I turned a bend, I noticed a black rat snake resting on a tree.

I’ve seen plenty of snakes climbing trees.  This was not that.  It was coiled up and obviously just relaxing in a sunbeam on the side of a tree.  I thought to take a picture of this creature defying the laws of physics and so I dug in my pocket and took out my phone.  This was too much for the creature.

As I was bringing the camera to bare, the snake jumped to the next tree and crawled off through the branches.  It executed this maneuver with all the natural grace of a squirrel.  I would never believe such a thing possible had I not seen it with my own eyes.  I’ve always held myself in high esteem because I not only have legs, but I have thumbs.  This 4-foot snake showed me that, yet again, I have overestimated my understanding of things.  It is possible to jump without legs, and grasp without thumbs.  What else is possible?

Thank-you snake.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 2 months ago by Stephen Graf.

[richard roop]

#164439

I seem to remember some film on a nature program that featured snakes ‘leaping’ from branch to branch. South American jungle I believe. The cool factor was pretty high.

Snake pit target problem solved.  Gray foam pipe insulation sorta painted to look like a rattlesnake, couple of those goofy ‘googley eyes’ for the head and some stiff wire for a bit of curve.  When the head gets shot up I’ll just cut it back and replace the eyes.

[Kees]

#164443

I got tired of the lose-the-password problem when MS updates Windows, so I made a word document wherein I listed the site name, user i.d. and password in that order:

Site name A – Winter Hawk / Upthecreek&9

Site name B – my email address / GoofyPW^5

I listed them in alphabetical order and it is saved on the hard drive.  Whenever I get a new log-in I add the information in the appropriate place alphabetically and save it again.  It could be set up in a spread sheet but I haven’t used one since I retired in 2011 and it would tax my brain to figure it all out again.  Anyway, when Microsoft does its thing and I need to log in somewhere I just open up the document, copy the user i.d. and password, then paste them in on the site I’m logging into and all is well with the world again.  It also helps that I am using Firefox for my browser so I rarely lose my bookmarks.

Hope this helps someone to negate some of the frustrations Windows upgrades provide….

~Kees~

[richard roop]

#164452

Thanx, but that is waaaaay beyond my extremely limited computer skills. I’m getting stuff written down in an actual folder.  Technologically I’m almost Amish.

[Kees]

#164453

That works! Definitely old school.  Like me with my Smoky Bear Pocket Calendar.  We had a ranger who was inordinately fond of his Blackberry and would pull it out whenever an occasion arose.  “Let me check my Blackberry.”  Then I would pull out my pocket calendar with a flourish….

[richard roop]

#164493

Got out this morning to shoot a few. Tied my high score on my ‘Safford Round’. (One arrow each at 10 yards, 15 yards, etc. to 70 yards.  13 shots total.) Got 9 honest hits on the paper plate with my #1 hunting bow.  Did the ‘Happy Snoopy’ dance all the way back to the workshop.

[Raymond Coffman]

#164497

Richard

Excellent shooting ! I can only go out to 40Yds on my backyard range…

Scout aka Ray

[richard roop]

#164500

Yeah, wish that I could say that I do that all of the time but six or seven hits are more the norm.

I’m fortunate that I can go back to 125 yards on my property.  I do enjoy the long lob at practice targets.  I’ve found that back about 60 yards the target will start talking to me and letting me know where faults in my form are that don’t get noticed at closer ranges.

[Kees]

#164502

Wish I were that lucky!  I can get 25 yards to my back fence, if I open the gate and shoot from the alley I can stretch it to 35 yards.  Not that I’ve done that; at 25 my accuracy goes to pot.

[Stephen Graf]

#165090

Just got back from some grouse hunting in Colorado.  They are too proud of their out-of-state tags for me to bother with deer or elk anymore.  I would attach a pic but I can’t reduce the size of the file on this chromebook and the tradbow site won’t let me upload it as is.

Chasing grouse is fun.  Maybe more fun than those elk, imo.  I’m starting to learn their behavior and ways to get them to show themselves.  Them that live in grouse country sure are lucky.  If I lived there I might not get anything useful done.

 

 

[richard roop]

#165120

My magic is strong and my power is growing !!!!

Got the torn / detached retina repaired and good news from the cardiologist.  (I’ll live.) The wife’s health is holding pretty steady and it’s time to call coyotes. I generally leave them alone until the young of the year are out and on their own.

Made five stands and was not encouraged.  No howls, no tracks, no scat ……….. nothing.  And, the light sweatshirt that I was wearing became a poor choice when the temp. unexpectedly hit 90*.   Camo head to toe ??? Who needs it ?? I noticed that my tanned torso pretty well matched the desert clay so I was making stands in the heat shirtless.  If Gerry Blair could call wearing a Santa Claus suit, who am I to argue ??? Stay in the shade & stay still.

One thing that was working well was a pair of nylon ankle gaiters that I was trying.  Zero Foxtails or sticky weeds in the boots or socks. These will be a regular thing from now on.

Then there was stand #6. Had a coyote come trotting in from behind me to about 20 yards. Since at that angle I was in direct line with the caller I don’t think that any amount of camo would have helped.  The coyote was alarmed but not spooked and cut behind me and away. I took a chance, stood up and came out from behind the bush at full draw.  Got the shot at about fourty yards as it trotted away looking back over it’s shoulder.  Just missed taking one of it’s ears off.  I may have missed but I always consider any shot at a called coyote with a bow a win.  Did the Happy Snoopy Dance back to the truck and called it a day.

[aeronut]

#165124

Sounds like a good day Richard.  As far as camo goes look up MFK game calls on youtube.  These Arkansas boys sit in street clothes and call up yotes into their laps.

[richard roop]

#165131

Yes, I believe that I’ve seen their clips.

I usually do opening morning of deer season wearing a green & black checkered wool shirt just ………………. because.

[Kees]

#165139

Yes sir, Saturday opens archery deer season here in Ohio.  I don’t have green & black, but red & black will work well enough.  Unless I do something productive like split firewood….

[richard roop]

#165154

Well, good luck & Ray Charles blood trails to you !!!!  The area that I normally deer hunt is a long still-hunt that usually takes from morning to early afternoon and comes back out on the two track that I park on. Hiking back to the truck is always a hoot seeing the ‘neo-hunters’ in side by sides, wife / girlfriend driving & Nimrod riding shotgun wearing the latest digital camo head to toe.

Since the weather’s been warm and the weather wonk’s were forecasting only 2 to 3 mph wind on the lake I  thought that I’d put the canoe on Roosevelt and try some late summer bowfishing.  I should probably stop thinking ’cause apparently I’m not very good at it.  The water was like glass all morning and I got way up past where I normally go. The carp were running small, 3 to 5 pounds and really spooky.  Got a few shot and landed one to fillette  and try a new recipe on.  By late afternoon I called it a day and headed back out onto the main lake only to find a stiff headwind & swells with whitecaps between me and the boat launch.  It was a rough trip back.  This morning, everything hurts.

>>>>>>————-> One thing of note; Somewhere in the past, I acquired a kayak  paddle to try in the canoe.  It works great and I no longer even carry a ‘regular’ canoe paddle.

[richard roop]

#165541

Apache Bowhunters Globe Az. held a fun shoot / zombie flashlight shoot on Sat. No idea how to do the linkey thing  but if you go to their Facebook page you can see a video clip of me actually hitting a target.

Had a good time and didn’t lose / ruin any arrows, although three of them were ‘misplaced’ for a while.

[Kees]

#165544

Sounds like a good time!

I’ve been taking it easy for a while.  I have a lower back problem from many years ago.  A while back I was taking a box of kitty litter out of the car’s trunk and bent wrong.  For a couple of weeks it was all I could do to get my right foot high enough to get into my trousers while sitting on the bed.  Consequently I haven’t done anything heavy like splitting firewood, or stomping around the hills looking for a suicidal deer.  It’s a lot better now but still, I’m giving it a rest.  I do get out every couple of days to fling arrows in the back yard so I’m not totally crippled up!  A friend made a self longbow for me, 43 pounds and it shoots like a dream if I do my part.

[aeronut]

#165550

I hear ya Kees.  A couple of months ago I was checking emails one morning and the lights flickered and I heard a muffled crash.  I thought maybe somebody had hit the power line on the road.  When I looked out at the driveway one of my Elm trees had broke about 10′ up and it landed right between my Wrangler and Grand Cherokee close enough to them I couldn’t walk between the tree and the car.  Didn’t touch either one.

I set about clearing the top limbs to clear the driveway and then started sawing the main trunk which was around 30″ in diameter.  I overdid it and wound up with a kink in my back like you described.  Several chiropractor sessions later I was somewhat back to normal but the biggest relief I get is hanging upside down on my inversion table every morning.

I need to catch up on my fix-it projects.  Been busy this summer and fall.

[Kees]

#165552

An inversion table might be good for what ails me!  Orthopedic doctor looked at x-rays and MRIs of my back and said there is little to be done.  He gave me a booklet with exercises to do, but mostly just taking it easy seems to be working okay.  The injury happened either in High School basketball practice, or when I slipped off a log and fell 6′ in a V-notch while laying out road in SE Alaska (1985).  I knew better: never walk on a moss covered log because the bark may slip, but I had to see if that was true.  It was.  Several weeks later I had a lump in my lower spine which comes and goes and usually doesn’t bother me.

Speaking of trees falling, I was out walking with the dog this morning and a dead tree fell down across the bicycle path, 75′ ahead of us.  Surprised us both!

[Stephen Graf]

#165565

There was a data study done a few years ago.  A “study of studies” that was able to look at the outcomes of all the different therapies for back problems tested over the years.  The one thing that showed better results than anything else was…  Walking.  We hairless apes need to move and move a lot.  It’s an unfortunate design flaw.

I have a back exercise routine that takes 10 minutes in the morning.  Between that and a daily brisk walk on a nature trail I  haven’t had any flair-ups for several years.  Back pain is the worst.

Getting old ain’t for sissy’s that for sure.

Best therapy for back pain is dragging a deer out.  I got a doe early in the season, but since then I haven’t seen a thing.  It’s like they all got the memo this year and beat feet for parts unknown.

[aeronut]

#165566

My cousin, same age as me, was in the coast guard.  He has disc problems and his Dr. said surgery was needed.  If he had gone with back surgery he would have been discharged, something that Lt Cmdr did not want to do.  He bought an inversion table and it helped his back to where he finished his career and retired several years later.

I’ll disagree with your dragging a deer out as the best back therapy Stephen.  When you have Stenosis and Spondylosis that is not the best therapy.  The last deer I shot was a two year old doe two years ago.  I was having so much shoulder and back pain I could barely draw a bow so I decided to hunt with my .40 cal flintlock I had recently finished building.  Luckily she turned and ran back toward the road and fell less than 100 yards from the truck.

I went to the truck and got my sled, loaded her, and began an hour long ordeal dragging her back to the road.  My back and neck hurt to the point I wanted to cry and I still had to load her into the truck.  I finally recovered enough that I took the tailgate off and used it as a ramp to drag her up int the bed and haul her to the locker.  Excruciating pain mildly describes the feeling after that drag.  Thankfully the neck fusion surgery has relieved 85-90% of the problems but I don’t plan on another deer drag.

[Stephen Graf]

#165596

Yes, I was kidding about dragging deer as a good back exercise.  It’s more of an excuse to be used something like this:  Gee darlin’, my back really hurts.  I don’t think I can go to choir practice tonight.  All that singin’ and praisin’ really hurts my back.  I need to drag a deer out o the woods.  They say draggin’ deer is the best thing for it.  Honest!

[Raymond Coffman]

#166380

Merry Christmas to all

I hope everyone one has a wonderful Holiday and a prosperous New-year

Wishing everyone  the best

Scout aka Ray

[aeronut]

#166386

MERRY CHRISTMAS ONE AND ALL!!

[Kees]

#166387

Thank you, and the same to  right back at you and everyone else!  As we used to say in the Islands (I think they still do, but haven’t been back there for Christmas since the mid 1970s),

Mele Kalikimaka e ka haole makahiki hou*!

~Kees~

*Merry Christmas and a happy new year

[Author]

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