[capncook]

in reply to: Favorite turkey slate call? #62832

East of the Rockies, and particularly from the Mid-Atlantic north, roof slate is fairly common; our western and deep south friends may have a harder time finding material, but its around. Old individual tiles need to be replaced from breakage etc. and new homes are built with slate roofs (OK, not in my price range…). Call roofing suppliers, but also architectural recycling places (ReStore, etc.), demolition companies. Try your local landscaping suppliers that carry slate stepping stones; you’re looking for broken pieces, especially thin chunks, where you can see the natural horizontal split lines. You just need some thin pieces about the size of your hand with the fingers spread out; they should be free!
Get/split out a thin piece of slate, about 1/4″ to 3/8″ thick. Split along a “fault line” if you must reduce the thickness, using a putty knife. (If really thick and no fault lines you can even use a fine-tooth saw and careful, slow strokes. A trim saw works well, as it has a stiff straight blade…just remember, you’re cutting rock, so that blade is gonna suffer!
Slate works kinda like brittle hard maple or old dense oak. You can use a coping saw with a fine blade or even a jigsaw with a metal blade (slow speed!), and a rough file to get the circle shape. [DP – I guess a bandsaw would work if you can slow it down enough to avoid chipping. See note regarding blade damage.] Finish with sandpaper in various grits, like wood; pay attention to getting a nice flat, fine top for your striker surface. Belt sander, anyone?Epoxy the slate into your base. Replicate your favorite base or play with variations to see what sound you like the best (# holes, thickness, materials, etc.).
Top it off with a homemade striker made from wood that has some “connection” to you: a dogwood branch from a tree next to your favorite stand, a spindle from Grandma’s old broken rocking chair, the tree your kids have their tire swing on.
If your first try sucks, so what? Keeping playing with it and you’ll eventually get one that will pull in that bird that has his tail on your den wall…and you made it all yourself! (…insert beaming craftsman/hunter’s picture here…)
SORRY about the long post!javascript:addSmiley(‘:roll:’);

[capncook]

in reply to: Favorite turkey slate call? #59797

Come on, Dave! You know you want to make your own call to enhance the rush of taking that ole’ Tom! Not only do you have a good indoor project while the snow flies, you can search for materials that are unique/cool, to ice the cake.

My slate call is made from a roof tile off the Officer’s Housing on the US Naval Academy in (relatively near-by) Annapolis (installed in 1879). Got it fair and square, when they remodeled the houses in the 1990s. THAT’s unique!

I just used a peanut butter jar lid for the base. OK, its not hand-turned coco-bolo, but the sound is clear and soft, just the thing for those close birds. You want louder, mount your drill to make a mini-lathe and turn a base, or look for a little wooden bowl in the thrift shop to modify, or even ask a call-maker to sell you a base they make from that old broken gunstock of your Grandpa’s.

You’re a creative guy, go for it.

[capncook]

in reply to: Bald Eagles #26055

The river is also used in that same area by lots of people ….

We are thinking that the Ks. DWP may put up a restricted area around it. I kind of hope they do.

They are not uncommon around here (southern MD), and I’m talking suburban as well as rural areas. This year, they are having to harass them with noise to get them to avoid nesting in an area that will be cleared soon for a powerline (encourage them to nest nearby but not in the to-be-cut area); and the birds are resisting! We hunt and fish in that area, and have them flying and sitting in trees and on low limbs within 50 – 60 yards. Bottom line: bald eagles quickly adapt to human presence and activities. Fishermen aren’t gonna scare them into the next county, and might even train them to look for fish thrown back, or remains on the banks.
A restricted area might keep the ya-hoos from shooting them on impulse, however.

[capncook]

in reply to: Sitka deer in Maryland/delmarva?!?!? #37257

Check out the Traditional Bowhunters of MD (coincidentally, “TBM”) and join us to tap into the bowhunters who routinely hunt Blackwater Refuge, Assateague, and other areas in MD. Call or e-mail our Secretary and ask for assistance.

TBM also has a booth at the Baltimore Traditional Classic, as Killdeer mentioned.

http://www.traditionalbowhuntersofmd.us/

Welcome to Maryland!

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