Chairmen of the Politically Incorrect

[Walt]

I put andy@skinnersights.com into my contacts list and I fully intend to email him about any forum failures when, not if, they happen.

Man, it's been beautiful here. It has been up around 70° for the past few days. Blue skies, mild evenings, no wind....what's not to like?

[gamekeeper]

Congratulations Walt for winning post 296..
The admin do not check in very often so the forum can go t*ts up and they don't know
The weather here as been unusually mild for November and although not as beautiful as Fall in the USA I am seeing a bit of color here and there.

IMG_20251106_120233101_HDR.jpg

[Old Savage]

Recently visited NJ

[OldWin]

Man, it seems like I haven't been here forever. Thing never works and I get fed up. I texted Gunny to see if it was just me. I got an email from Walt and GK too. Thanks guys.

Anyway....hunting season is in full swing here. I'm at camp as I type this. Just had some lunch and planning an afternoon strategy. Great to be here. We are heading across the ridge to my dad's friend's camp for supper. We'll drink some of his beer and swap lies for a while. His place is a palace compared to ours. His front porch is probably 24 feet long and lined with the old coca cola chest coolers. He FILLS them all with beer of every type for the season. We helped he and his boy get out a big doe the other evening. He got it on their lot that abutts ours.
We are staying over at our camp tonight to get out early tomorrow morning. Then we will come back for a good breakfast after sitting through the early morning.
No deer yet, but I managed to pop this coyote yesterday morning. When the old 94 says "STAY!"......they stay.

[gamekeeper]

Well done on the Coyote good practice for when that big ol' buck appears.

[Walt]

Good old all-purpose model 94! Do you sell coyote hides?

That's a slick rifle rack on your TW; does that work to your satisfaction?

Thanks for the pictures, OW. Glad to be on the forum again.

[OldWin]

Thanks guys!

Walt,
Those racks are my all time favorite. It's called a Pack Rack. We've had them on all our 4 wheelers. The sockets clamp to the handle bars and are very unobtrusive. Then the actual rack threads into the sockets. Position and height can be adjusted by screwing or unscrewing them, then it locks with a wing nut. After the season, you can just unscrew the rack and it only leaves the socket behind. The one on my TW I wanted a little taller, so I put in a short piece of threaded rod and a barrel nut to extend it. The Pack Rack only costs 26 bucks on Amazon.

[Walt]

Coming down my driveway last Tuesday night.....big kitty

[OldWin]

Wow! There are those that say they are here. I've never seen one or sign of one, but a good friend saw one up north. There is another guy that got a good picture of one not too far from my camp while rabbit hunting one winter.
They are a nasty piece of business for sure.

[gamekeeper]

Cool we only have the Scottish wild cat that is rapidly becoming extinct and there is a move to reintroduce the Lynx. I once knew a guy who had a pet Cougar but it was shot dead by a sheep farmer.

[Walt]

GK, this is a bit blurry but it's a bobcat, one of our mid-size kitties about the same size as a lynx taken last week just off my driveway.

[gamekeeper]

That's great Walt, I love watching wildlife but you certainly have more interesting critters over there

[OldWin]

We have a lot of bobcats here too.
No critters today. Haven't seen any deer either. But how bad can it be? We are staying over tonight. Having steak, baked potatoes, and fiddleheads for supper.
And of course, a little nip first.

[Walt]

Good to see you on the forum again, Jay.

Looks like you got a touch of early season snow.

What do you tow with your TW? Is it handier to haul a light utility trailer than doing it with an ATV?

Is that Old Forester whisky one of your favorites? I love the taste of whiskys but they screw up my stomach. I don't drink much but tequila is my favorite distilled drink when I do. Good stuff!

[gamekeeper]

Hey guys we're back had about 2" of snow last night probably be gone by lunch .
Old Forester is one I haven't tried or even seen over here, still got a drop of Makers Mark in the bottle but hardly drink much liquor these days.

[OldWin]

Hey guys! Yeah, it's working way better now.

We have gotten 3 or so inches more snow since. The old T-dub is still going strong. Glad I put those new tires on. Between the snow and the muddy quagmire in some of our trails, I need them.
Even though there is a trailer ball on the hitch, I don't pull a trailer with a regular coupler. I'd have to space the ball up a couple inches. I think the coupler would make contact with the hitch frame. My guess is they did it on purpose so people wouldn't pull trailers on the road without having to make a modification ( and thereby dodge liability).
I have it to drag deer with. I simply use a rope twisted over the ball and run to a Jet Sled that I will (hopefully) put the deer in. I haven't got one yet but have no doubt it will pull it.
I saw 2 yesterday. Finally! One was up by our northeast corner. I was slowly moving along and noticed a fresh track that all of a sudden looked hurried. After about 50 yards the ground fell away sharply about 25 feet down onto a flat by the stream with a big alder run along it. Not sure if it was a buck, but it was a good sized deer. When I peeked over the drop he was watching his back trail. He saw me and took off, jumping blowdowns and running for the alders through the trees. I'm not one to take a shot like that, so while my old 94 carbine was up with the hammer back like magic, I didn't fire.
The second one is funny.......and embarrassing.
We met back at camp to warm up and get a coffee and some soup. We had "boiled up" and I was sipping my coffee in my spot at the table (for a reference, see the above pic with the whisky. The picture is taken from that spot.). I looked out the kitchen window by the stove and there was a little doe standing in the road about 30 yards from camp. She was just as unconcerned, and rightfully so, because we leave our rifles outside so that they don't condensate when we come in from the cold.
Dad reached for the door knob and I said "I'll bet you a thousand dollars you don't even get the door open". I would have won if he took the bet.
That's part of the fun I guess. As you guys probably have noticed, we don't take it too serious anyway. That's why it's fun and I love to go. Don't get me wrong, a little deer meat would be nice too!

[OldWin]

Oh yeah, the Old Forrester! The bottle on the table is the first one I've bought, but I really like it. An interesting fact is that Old Forrester is the first whisky in the US to be put in bottles. It's a very old brand, and is one if only a couple distilleries to get a pass and be able to make whisky during prohibition.
I found it while looking for old brands that were around during the old west period. The one I'm really looking for but can't find it local is Old Overholt. I'm hoping I can find it down to Augusta, but hate to drive down there just for that.

[gamekeeper]

I'm going to look out for Old Forester, I only buy the occasional bottle of bourbon these days so a new to me brand is tempting
Still getting the odd overnight snow flurry and freezing temperatures, luckily my son has a never ending supply of firewood. At the moment I'm keeping my head down as his mother has driven up from Hampshire for a few days...

[Walt]

John, good luck avoiding your ex. Time just seems to crawl when you're waiting for someone to leave.

[OldWin]

Oh oh! Duck and cover buddy!

Sadly, I have one of those too. I haven't spoken to her since 2009 when my son needed her signature to go into the Coast Guard at 17.
However, about 2 or 3 years ago I was sitting up late one night watching a movie, when all of a sudden FB messenger started blowing up. I must of got 20 horrid and threatening messages in rapid succession. Now, we've been divorced since 1999, and she left me for another guy who she is still married to. Guess I'm living rent free in that empty head. She's obviously real happy. Now, I obviously didn't answer (but I saved the messages), but I do think she's gone around the bend. I really don't give it a thought, but my wife was mildly concerned she'd burn our house down, so we invested in some cameras.
Hopefully it will stay quiet. And for you too buddy!

[gamekeeper]

Thanks guys, at least my daughter in law realises I make a much better nextdoor neighbour...

[OldWin]

No deer, and very little sign, but still good times! Just a few pics from this week.

[Old Savage]

Thanksgiving coming up. Going to do a turkey in the rotisserie. No golf for more than a week with the rain here.

Went to see an Eagles cover group.

[Walt]

Great pictures, Jay! I especially like the first one.

Just being there is always the best part.

Thanks

[OldWin]

Golf withdrawals OS? Always liked the eagles.

Thank Walt! Pictures never do justice. The best part of hunting is the country you do it in. Especially if you own it. Wish there were more deer, but that's ok.

[Walt]

About ten years ago our son, Victor and I did some long-range shooting. The picture below is of him shooting a Tika 6.5 Ceedmoor (I think) at a 15" plate at 1060 yards. Those experiences got him interested in Precision Rifle Shooting in which he's been competing for the past couple of years.

He used his skills to his advantage on an elk hunt in western Idaho last month. He doesn't hold over or practice "Kentucky Windage". Rather, he determines the distance to his target with a rangefinder, dials the bullet drop onto his scope and shoots.

In getting his elk in Idaho, his buddy ranged it at 707 yards, Victor did his adjustment and shot. The elk didn't take a step but piled up DRT. It was a great hunt for both Victor and his friend who had taken his elk on the first morning of the hunt at 140 yards.

BTW, they both used suppressors on their rifles. Victor was shooting a 300 Win mag with 215 gr bullets at just under 3000 fps and his buddy had some kind of 7mm SAUM wildcat, both of which are deafening without a suppressor.

[OldWin]

Holy smokes! Like the old timers used to say around here........"He better be careful, or he'll strain that barrel!"
That's soooommmme shooting.

I almost got one today....
I was sitting in the stand the picture above was taken from. About 3:30 or so this afternoon it got quiet. It had been blowing and snow squalling pretty good earlier, but settled down nice. Out in front of me in the thick I heard one going by towards the east. He may have skirted my dad who was off to the north and west of me. Anyway, I heard him, but knew he was going to pass by and stay in that thick. I had nothing to lose, so I hitched myself around in the stand to get a better angle and blew my grunt call. I instantly heard him stop and turn around, but he stayed in that thick. I had the wind in my favor, but now the standoff started. I had the old 94 up and on my shoulder, studying holes in the trees, limbs, and brush I could shoot through. I knew it would be a brisket shot if he stuck his head out. It would be about 50 yards, but a tough shot. All of a sudden, the wind started swirling again and it started to squalling. Now I couldn't hear and time was marching on. I doubted he would try and circle me the way he was headed. It was toward the stream and there wasn't a good route around. If he backtracked and circled, however, it would be a different story. He would bust me for sure and I couldn't hear if he was moving. The wind finally dropped and I heard nothing. I chanced one more grunt, but still saw or heard nothing. I sat unmoving until I lost my shooting light. Man, I hated to get out of that stand. He probably stood there in that thicket and watched me get down.
Oh well. That's hunting the Maine woods.
Certainly no 1000 yard shots! Matter of fact, Ive never shot a deer a hundred yards away. I've also never had a clear broadside shot on a deer. It's always some messed up angle between a hole in the trees..... while I'm standing on my head.