The Hunting Times

It was a cool, crisp 27 degrees F (-3 C) with a very light snow falling down.  A perfect morning for a bike ride.  Krueger picked me up at 0900 and we drove to the west-side of Purdue's campus.  Our target area was McCormick Woods Trail, just west of the golf complex.  See map.  Red arrow. The trail is windy, close, and short.  Not much elevation either.  However, that let us ride three loops - well, I rode three; Krueger rode four.  When we arrived, there was one other biker and four walkers (one dog).  By the time we finished loop 1, we had the woods to ourselves and the squirrels.   The ground was frozen and snow-covered.  But it really did not hinder bike traction.  We layered our clothing and actually were sweating by the time we finished. We set a very austacious (Urban Dictionary:  Wicked Hard Core) goal of reaching 1,000 mt. biking miles by the end of 2021.  Time will tell if that is achievable for us....

From my limited experience, there are two main types of night vision - illuminated by infra-red (IR) light and thermal.  And both have their pros and cons. Thermal is more expensive but it can see through environmental conditions like fog, smoke, rain, haze, etc.  It also has a much greater "reach" being able to identify differences in heat out beyond 400 yards (367 metres).  However, the picture or resolution is not as sharp as IR.  For example, a calf at 400 yards, while visible as an animal, may appear to be a large boar.  Being certain of your target is critical with thermal scopes. IR scopes, on the other hand, are just the opposite of what is stated above - less expensive, limited in range, cannot see well when the environment turns to crap, and has a clear, sharp picture. Strictly for the cost element, I dove into the IR night vision world.  And I was able to get a scope, IR laser range finder, IR illuminator (flashlight) and quick detach rings for H...

Krueger and I took advantage of the great weather we are having in Indiana this December to send a few rounds down range.  Krueger brought out his 6XC and I took my Browning X-Bolt in 6.5 Creedmoor.  Our intent was to get dope out to 800 yards, but farm equipment got in our way.  We only made it out to 500 yards.  Sure felt good to ring some steel! 12" circle and 16" square plate. The orange line is to give us some visual indication of elevation The 8" & 6" circles Here is my hand on the 6" circle. It's a REALLY small target to hit at 500+ yards - but we did it! The center of the range showing IPSC and square steel targets You're looking down range at 200 yards. We shot back to 500 yards today. This was our set-up for the day.  Shooting bench on trailer connected to Gator. Turns out, this is a super stable platform from which to shoot & we can drive it to different yardage locations from the backstop. The orange square is a LabRadar.  It measure...

The range, for the most part, has been design & build - simultaneously.  We had ideas in mind about what we wanted and just created what made sense. I finally got the pipes welded onto the smaller targets (thanks to neighbor Eric for his skills!) and hung them up today.  The idea is that when they are hit, they will swing.  With a small orange marking flag stuck on the back, we will be able to get easy visual confirmation of a hit.  Of course, we could use scopes or binoculars as well as listening for the sound.  Just all part of the fun. From the left:  12" circle, 16" square, 4'x4' box, IPSC target, 8" circle & 6" circle IPSC = International Practical Shooting Confederation For Dave P:  30 cm circle, 40 cm square, 1.22 m box, IPSC target, 20 cm circle & 15 cm circle The outside circles have a pipe welded onto the top of them.  The targets slide onto a piece of rebar that is wired between two fence posts.  Thus, they are free to ...

Damn you, Covid.  You're messing up our plans.  Each year on Thanksgiving, we meet with Uncle DC & Cousin Shane to hunt.  Well, that's how it started.  The past few years it's been to visit, relive hunting stories (mostly lies) and consume adult beverages.  Last year I even smoked a deer roast that we ate with deer salami for breakfast. This year, not so much.  No gathering.  Heck, no travel even.  That did not stop us from enjoying the day. Cousin Shane in Michigan with some nice bourbon. He shared the picture since we could not be together this year. It also did not stop me & Eric from going out this morning to hunt.  It had rained all day yesterday - like 1,000" - so everything was wet, soggy, and nicely quiet.  Nick was supposed to go, but he had a stomach issue that kept him close to the Charmin. We drove out to Marshall's N woods.  Eric posted on Neal and I went to Marshall's bottoms.  As I walked in, I jumped fou...

So Kathy, Eric, and I went out to the golf course again on Saturday, 21 NOV.  It was warmer, like 45 F (7 C) and the wind was down. Kathy sat in the bowl on Hole #15.  Eric was overwatch on Hole #16. And I went to the N line on #12's tee box.  We sat for 2.5 hours and did not see a deer.  The squirrels were out, but not the deer. As we left, we chatted with Ken.  He said that he had not seen a deer all week after we were there opening morning.  Guess the message was received. This is my view this morning looking SW across the course I guess I picked the wrong tree.  This one belongs to Mr. Squirrel. He came down pretty close, yelled at me, and then left.

Kathy, Alex, Nick, Eric and I headed for the golf course opening morning.  We arrived at 6:45 am and saw one doe standing where I wanted to sit.  The problem was it was not legal light to shoot and we were shining it with our headlights.  Fortunately, we had no loaded firearms, so we remained legal. Kathy and I walked N so that I could show her where to sit on Hole 12's tee box, blocking the N.  As I left her to return to my spot, I said a little prayer to the Good Lord.  "Thanks for the great day and opportunity to spend it with my family in the wonderful world You have created.  Please keep these kids safe and if we get a deer, that's a bonus.  I'll take their safety over deer.  Amen."   The sun coming up as Kathy & I walked to our spots.  Beautiful morning. I sat on 17, blocking the W.  Eric sat in the bowl on 15, blocking the E.  Alex took overwatch on Hole 5, securing the S.  And Nick took overwatch on Hole 1...