The Hunting Times

So the beans came out on the ranch yesterday (Saturday, Sept 28).  Great timing for Grant & Grace's visit. Nick, Alex, and I are splitting the remaining wood in the barn.  Kathy pulls up in the Gator and says the kids are riding in the combine, does Alex want a ride?  He runs from the barn.  Nick and I finish the wood. Even Boppum got in on the action and rode a round with Grace in the combine.  Meg took pictures. Here's the neat bit.  A bald eagle - probably the one I have posted about before - flew around the combine. What a smart bird.  S/he was waiting for the combine to push bunnies out and then come in for a quick meal. Grace and Grandma in the combine City Boy Alex in his first ever combine ride Bald Eagle flying over combine

Grace and Grant came up for a visit since they did not have school on Friday.  While Sandy and Meg went to town to shop, Grandpa and I took the kids over to the pond to wet a line. We had to dig worms, as all our bait was gone.  We got about half a dozen worms from behind the pond and that's what we started with. Grace caught the first fish - and several more.  Enough that Grant wanted to switch fishing poles.  He finally caught up and passed her in total.  I think we landed 15 fish.  Grace wanted to count the one that jumped off right at the edge as she lifted it out of the water.  "That counts!" she claimed loudly.  Nope.  We agreed that if we were fishing for dinner, that was one we could not eat.  Therefore, it did not go toward her total. Grant ended up with one more fish than Grace. Now, once the worms ran out, we had to go catch grasshoppers.  The kids are pretty good catchers, but under no circumstances are they going...

So just exactly what is "the perfect carry gun?"  And the answer is....that depends. The perfect carry gun depends on YOU.  Therefore, there are a multitude of answers that are all correct. But, here are some things to consider... Pistol or revolver?  First off, you must know the difference.  A revolver has a cylinder that turns each time you pull the trigger.  A pistol uses the gas from the bullet to cycle the slide and load another round from a magazine.  Here are pictures to help you understand. This is a pistol.   This is a revolver. A revolver generally has 5 or 6 rounds of ammunition.  A pistol can hold up to 18 rounds without extended magazines, depending upon the caliber. In most cases, revolvers do not have external safeties.  However, some models today do have 'key' safeties. This feature makes revolvers "easier" to use for those less experienced handgun users.  However, without the use of speed loaders, ...

First of all, my thoughts and prayers are with those families that have been impacted by this tragedy.  Sad. And the first headline I read is, Diane Feinstein calling for more restrictive gun control laws.  In the article from the Daily Mail (UK), a Fort Hood sergeant says there is no need for any civilian to own an AR-15 style killing machine.  Seriously??? Ok, I've learned (the hard way) that not everyone thinks, feels, or believes as I do because they have not had the same experiences as I have.  Fine.  But let's not argue experiences, let's look at the facts.  (I've also learned that you cannot have a rational discussion with an irrational person - but I'm gonna try this anyway). In the last 30 years, there have been 78 mass shootings (more than 4 people killed in a single incident), accounting for 547 deaths.  In those same 3 decades, 559,347 people have been murdered (source:  FBI).  That's less than one tenth of one percent of al...

Like the coyotes themselves, I am an opportunistic coyote hunter.  If one happens by and I have a weapon, I am going to attempt a kill.  I don't think I can count more than 3 I have harvested in my years.  All that not withstanding, the coyotes around my house are getting brave. I have (and Sandy has) seen coyote scat in the lane before.  Coyotes mark their territories by leaving scat out in the open.  So, this does not surprise me.  However, as I was mowing the yard last night, I found a pile of scat on our driveway next to the parking lot.  Mind you, this is within 50 yards of the house.  And with two dogs in the yard.  Bold, very bold. Since we are almost surrounded by standing corn, this really does make sense.  But, this is the first time I have seen it in our driveway. So you're asking how I know it was coyote scat and not dog, cat, or some other creature.  Looks and Location.  Raccoon scat may appear similar, but n...

So since I won't actually get to put them to a field test for another month and a half, I thought I would provide you with a technical review of my new Leupold BX-4 McKinley HD binoculars.  Here ya go... Photo courtesy of Leupold & Stevens Having owned a pair of Tasco 10X50 binoculars for several years, and borrowing a pair of Leupold's for last year's elk hunt, I knew I needed more. I researched three sizes, 8X42, 10X42, and 12X50 - the first number is the magnification and the second number is the size of the lens (objective).  The 8X's are better for stability and faster target acquisition; but the 10X offer more range.  The 12's can get a bit shaky if you're not using a tripod.  I opted for the 10's. I also researched numerous brands: Nikon Prostaff 7 - 10X42 - $220 Bushnell Legend HD - 10X42 - $320 Leupold BX-3 - 10X42 - $410 Leupold BX-2 - 10X42 - $300 Swarovki - 10X42 - $2,400 (out due to price) Steiner Predator Extreme - 1...

Had the Mulberry Men's Golf League year-end tourney today. Got home and showered.  Mama had already taken the recycle trash away.  Awesome. This is what our animals are doing today in the 83 F sun shine...guess it's a good day for napping. Apollo in the breeze.  Zeus is sleeping in the garage. Davey...aka Peanut Jr. Hershy being a bit awake. This is Hammy, not Scooter (hiss). Not pictured:  Mama, Viper, Scooter, and Zeus.

So I'm sitting at my home office, actually doing work work and I catch movement out to my right.  Looking up, I see a red tailed hawk fly down in front of our W door next to Kathy's old room - where it landed.  I grab my digital camera, but before I can get it open, it hops to the E - now being N of Kathy's old room.  I really hope it was chasing moles! So I run to Kathy's room and take a shot of it through the window and screen.  It does not like the movement and flies to the walnut tree.  I run to Nick's old room and take a picture there, this time without the screen in the way. I snuck out the deck door and around the NE corner of the house, but it was gone.  Oh well, I got one good shot. Hey Big Fella - you're welcome back any time - especially if you're eating moles.  Don't try and take one of Mama's kittens though.  She'll HUNT YOU DOWN! Through screen in Kathy's old room. In walnut tree outside of Nick's old room....

Re-Phil calls Wednesday evening wanting to go dove hunting.  For the past 20 years, Wednesday has been Date Night for me and mama.  You'd think he'd know that.  You'd also think I'm not going to give up time with Sandy for time with him... Anyway, we make plans to hunt Thursday, in lieu of attending our monthly poker party.  Davey decides he can join us.  We all hit the sunflowers on the Seager Ranch Pond. We set up our two Mojo decoys by the pond, sit in the sunflowers, and pop open some brewskis. Eric Holder's Fast and Furious ain't got nothing on us.  There must have been 100 doves flying around for the first five minutes.  Of which, we managed to bag about 7. We all sat in a line and told stories for 2.5 hours.  We were loud, hazing each other over missed shots (which Re-Phil had the most of, BTW), and laughed until we hurt.  We really weren't "hunting" per se, but just enjoying the out-of-doors and good friends.  We did end ...

So after getting up early and hunting doves; then coming home and eating doves wrapped in bacon; you know what you do next on Labor Day??? Nick Kathy & Alex Zach

Well, that's how many shells Dad claims we shot at doves over the holiday week-end.  And if truth be told, that's close to accurate...let's do the math: 20 people (10 Sunday and 10 Monday - with some duplication). 1,000 empty shells = 1,000 rounds fired Ah, but wait, I mowed the yard today - and picked up another 25! Plus, we need to estimate an additional 25 that were "lost" - and this is probably LOW. So now we have 1,050 rounds.  But, we shot 125 on Saturday to practice. Approximately 200 birds in the numerous freezers.  This is not quite true, but it's very close and makes the math easier. With those numbers, we get: Each hunter shot 925 / 20 =  46 rounds & let's round that up to 50.  Each hunter shot two boxes - on average.  I promise you that I did not shoot my average - but Nick and Zach shot WAY OVER theirs.  In fact, they may have even shot Pa Jerry's and Randy Funk's extra too! Hit percentage = 925 / 200 = 4.625 sho...

As we get ready for elk hunting next month, it's time to sight in our rifles. Two weeks back, Dad and I shot in his 30-06.  We start at 25 yards and get our shots on a piece of 8.5" x 11" paper.  Then we move to 50 yards and get tighter.  Finally, we move to 100 yards and get it where we want.  For some reason, the shots were sporadic at 25 yards.  In fact, they were so bad, I knew that I could NOT be to blame. We started checking equipment.  Turns out Dad had put on his new scope - but he had not tightened the rings!  Once properly installed, it became much easier to sight in.  Dad's gun is about 1" high at 100 yards. This last week-end, then, it was my turn to sight in the .308.  Same procedure as above, but no loose rings. I used the "cheaper" 150 grain bullets to get close at 100 yards and then switched to my 180 grain "hunting loads" to finish the job.  Why?  Because at $2 per shot, you want to conserve the 'good' ammo ...

Nephew Austin wanted to go fishing, so we planned an outing for Saturday.  Figured we could use the day to fish and practice on clay pigeons for doves. Dad and I sprayed the pond on Thursday with copper sulfate.  Guess we got it on thick enough because by Saturday the moss was GONE!  We only sprayed about a 1/3rd so that we wouldn't kill all the fish. Nick, Eric, and Zach were joined by one of Nick's co-workers and friend Matt and Matt's son, Gabriel.  Austin, Andy, and Michelle also made an appearance. Not a lot of fish were caught.  Several blue gill and a few bass.  Matt ended up with about a dozen "keepers" he took home to fry. Needless to say, not a single person had any fun. Austin & Daddy wettin' a line. Austin with a nice bass.  Yes, he had help. This is how Michelle fishes.  Well done! Gabriel & Matt with a mess of blue gill.

Sunday, Sept. 1 was opening day for doves in Indiana.  We had ten hunters come to the Seager Ranch to see what could be slayed.  We put 2 Mojo dove decoys in the sunflowers and ended up with close to 60 birds.  Now that's well below our limit of 15 birds each, but it was still better than last year. I took several photos and created a slide show in Powerpoint.  It's way too large to email.  So I will just attach a few below. We quit hunting about Noon and grilled up some burgers (for the girls) and deer brats.  Indeed a fun time was had by all. Then on Monday, Labor Day, we headed over to Tippecanoe county and hunted a seed field.  Again we had ten hunters - but they were a different ten. We set up 4 decoys and got in a line.  It was REALLY foggy, which made for some very tough hunting.  There was not much time between seeing the doves and then not seeing them.  The six of us (Eric, Zach, Kathy, Alex, Nick and I) bagged another 3...