The leaves have changed color and started falling. The mornings are crisper, the cold wind from the North is reminding us of the annual ritual, the same ritual that mankind has faced for thousands of years. The time of planting is over and now the time for harvesting is upon us.
Before the harvest can begin preparations must be made. We have to check the equipment, get the gun sighted in, find the clothes we’re going to wear, both to stay warm and to look fashionable in the woods. To be adequately prepared we’ll need some liquid fortifications for “apres le chasse”. These days, however, it’s black coffee.
Most important is hanging out with your hunting buddies a month before season, to revisit the hunts of yesteryear and to review the reasons of lack of success. As with fishing these are best prepared in advance. A quick reminder may be necessary.
Too windy, the deer are hunkered down.
Too sunny, the deer aren’t moving.
Full moon, deer are feeding at night.
There are lots more, improvise.
Then, in the event of a missed shot, explanations may be necessary.
It was really brushy, I didn’t have a clear shot.
The deer was in overdrive, a quick shot was all I had.
Scope was fogged up but be careful with this one.
Dog barking, ATV started up, another hunter shooting.
Again, improvise as necessary, pay attention to what your buddies are using. Under no circumstances admit to having fallen asleep or forgetting to load your gun or buying the wrong ammo at Fleet-Farm. After all .30 caliber is .30 caliber, right?
I started deer hunting at about 14, I had a 30-30 Winchester, model 94, that my Dad and I had picked out at a pawn shop in Minneapolis. I paid for it myself, with my paper route money, forty bucks, as I remember, 1951. Deer were scarce in those days, I didn’t get one for a year or two. I hunted every year until I left home at 19.
For the next 30 years or so I didn’t have a chance to hunt deer, busy with life things. Finally in 1987 I had both the time and the place and restarted, with my two brothers and a couple other friends. Deer are much more plentiful, hunting tactics have changed and instead of us chasing deer we wait ’til they come to us.
Now, as I’ve said, my Dad sits with me in the deer stand, at least in my memories. My brothers are gone and we’re down to two hunters, my bee partner and me. It’s not so much fun as before, the camaraderie isn’t the same but we still have to keep the tradition alive. It isn’t as important now to shoot a deer, harder to have bragging rights with only two guys but I still keep a list of explanations for any challenges that go unmet.
We have two vacant deer stands if anyone wants to join us. More people, more fun. No guarantees on the deer but the calendar doesn’t care, the pages keep flying off.
I’ve never been a hunter.
Golf is our roughly equivalent social construct. I’ve been playing with the same guys for 3 decades. We’ve lost a few over the years and added a couple of new guys here and there.
In my friend circle, getting together for sports games, meeting for meals, and a handful of gatherings a year happen.
I’m sorry I don’t have the photo of the lovely view from your luxurious deer stand handy to share – it’s on the good camera at home. I’ll try to remember to share it belatedly later.
I’m grateful for the golfers and those that are doing other things.
It’s been a quiet time in the woods this year but the weather has been cooperating. The deer not so much…
From the dead thread: you know the Democrats are in deep shite when Biden supporters think comparing him to Mussolini is an effective GOTV tactic.
The obvious retort to the “you would have to be morally bankrupt to not vote for Mussolini over Hitler” is “we agree with you that your candidate is an actual fascist; you got the other part wrong”.
Or point out the election that put Hitler in power resulted in 10% voting for the Communist Party candidate, a third voting for the National Socialist Party candidate, and barely over half voting for the guy who would appoint Hitler to be de facto Fuhrer and give him control over the people with all the guns: the military and the police.
So, choose between commie, literally Hitler, and Hitler with a couple months delay.
The amazing part to me is that we already know what a Trump presidency will be like, because he was actually the president for 4 years, so how do people ignore actual history and fact and convince themselves a Trump presidency would be Hitleresque?
Their brains are rotted.
Surely you realize it was! Literally!
We survived it thanks to the intrepid Resistance. Next time we might not be so lucky.
I note you aren’t talking about the next generation to take this up, and that sadly seems to be too common.
The number of hunters has been in decline noticeably for the past couple years. Anecdotally, it seems that there are fewer ice fishermen and ATVers. Video games and cell phones and maybe cost of recreation are involved.
The young guys back in Michigan were very serious hunters, they had private stands and even portables they would use after work before dark.
Hunting ain’t dead,
great story 4X20 !
Taibbi is turning into a national treasure:
Good enough on its own, but then he follows it with:
Is he lurking?
… Link?
Subscriber only post. Sorry.
In the same vein, here’s NPR talking about that piece: https://noagendaassets.com/enc/1699829162.172_danfroomkinotmnpr-3-dejavuandwhateditorsmustdo.mp3
They are delusional.
FIRE CANT BURN STEEL, er… FACTS CANT CHANGE MINDS!!
As I said over at Taibbis joint, they keep telling us how bad Trump is, but they don’t show us how bad Trump is.
But, they keep showing us how bad they are, which is a pretty big tell.
Trump has support because Pravda isn’t doing their job. Got it. We are too stupid to get the message.
Isn’t that an outright admission that the MSM is nothing more than a partisan propaganda mill?
The fucking people….
Once again – *shocked face* “But I dont even know anyone that voted for Nixon!”
I would love to see a copy of the IQ test one must fail to get into journalism school.
I recently bought a Winchester model 94 30-30. Man what a lot of fun to shoot.
I gave my original to my son, he isn’t much of a hunter but at least he’ll be ready. I gave another ’94 to my bee partner, he started hunting with it and has taken several deer. I gave my youngest g’daughter in Alaska a Marlin 336, last year she shot her first moose with it. Made me proud.
That’s awesome.
My brother ended up with our grandfathers M94, he seems to like it.
My son (23) really wants to hunt. I taught him to shoot but I’ve never been a hunter. Would hook him up with the neighbor who is a hunter, but now the kid has a new job that takes up all his time.
Take him to shoot sporting clays.
I didn’t really learn to shoot a shotgun until I got involved with skeet/trap shooting, I was about 35, never tried shooting clays
As a NJ resident I could only take both deer and birds with a shotgun.
I’ve never fired a rifle at anything other than a target.
Shotguns are for firing into the air to ward off intruders.
/Joe Biden
I was never a deer hunter, but I loved quail and pheasant hunting in the river bottoms.
Everytime I read articles hear about your hobbies making knives, building furniture, and hunting, I am reminded that I am not a man. My hobbies include drinking, golf or other sports that allow you to drink, and reading (preferably while drinking).
Add brewing your own drinks, and you’ll be fine.
For which we are grateful, Kinnath
you are welcome
We all have our jobs when it comes to the HH.
So far my only job seems to be to drive Mrs. Holiness to the HH.
And it’s a vital job.
‘I am reminded that I am not a man’
Not too late to fix that.
True
Are you suggesting he take up a manly hobby, or that he get an operation?
If you ask my wife, those are the same thing.
drinking … and reading (preferably while drinking)
Tyrion Lannister is that you?
Suspect arrested in death of Jewish protester who fell after clash at dueling rallies in California
A suspect has been arrested in connection with the death of Paul Kessler, a Jewish protester who fell after a confrontation at dueling rallies in California for Israel and Palestinians.
Loay Alnaji, 50, was taken into custody Thursday morning and will be booked on a charge of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of Kessler, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said.
Kessler, 69, was at a pro-Israel gathering on Nov. 5 in Thousand Oaks, California, when he got into a “physical altercation” with a pro-Palestinian protester, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said. He fell backward and hit his head on the ground during the altercation, and died the following day.
The media continues to dance around the obvious facts. Suspect struck the old man in the face. Old man fell and died. Either the first blow to the head caused death or the subsequent head striking ground caused death. Either way, the suspect killed the old man. Thus, the manslaughter charge.
Kyle Jorrey, a former editor at the Thousand Oaks Acorn, remembered Kessler on X as “an ardent Democrat” with “a sharp wit” who “loved a good takedown.”
At least he died doing what he loved?
From another article, the suspect is a professor(not that shocking) of computer sci! Buh!? Shouldn’t he be at home bugging an anime pillow or something? Mining bitcoin?
Kyle was an ardent Democrat and was killed by his own kind.
I give no pass to liberal supporters of Israel who all of a sudden just realized their ilk is hateful.
Any awakening is a good one if the people will just walk away from voting “D.” They don’t have to vote “R,” just stop voting for “D.” As it is, most of them will always vote “D” and whine. Those people can stew in their own piss.
The Palestinian protester show say he “felt threatened” and say the elderly Jewish man was actually part of the Oath Keepers or some other made-up hate group. That’s how that Colorado security guard got away with murdering an unarmed Trump supporter.
He just “fell”. Natural causes, I guess. Oh, he “got into a physical altercation”. Sounds like he started it.
And involuntary manslaughter? WTF? You intentionally hit somebody on the head and they die, that’s not “involuntary” manslaughter.
And, yeah, the expostulations of shock and dismay from liberals that many Muslims, and Palis in particular, hate Jews and want them dead is just . . Where the fuck have you been?
Internal server error swallows my response. Nothing worth trying again.
I am not buying that horseshit. I heard a witness on video that was standing less than 10ft from Kessler when Alnaji struck him in the head with a bullhorn.
https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/11/1200/675/IMG_8507-1.jpg?ve=1&tl=1
I bet that gets memory holed like George Floyd’s initial coroner’s report.
It isn’t as important now to shoot a deer
Something something taking your gun for a walk.
I think I’ve heard my bird hunting friends say that.
Seems like I took as many birds with or without a shotgun. Everyday was enjoyable though. I don’t walk so well these days but my shotguns are in good hands.
There are herds of deer at the base formerly known as Fort Gordon. I guess they’ve lost their fear of people, because I remember late night walks where I got almost within an arm’s length of them.
I never felt the urge to hunt, though I’d like to learn how skin and butcher a deer. Seems like a useful skill. My work pal back in TX made deer jerky. It was OK.
In middle school, the science teacher had a “road kill” buffet: deer, groundhog, wild turkey…all the stuff he and his son shot. Nice guy and good food.
Wonder how long will Wiki and the .mil websites have to keep up dual entries for the traitorous rebels fort names?
Wikipedia changed it. Not sure when.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Eisenhower
Army.mil changed it too.
Soon Army recruits will be required to trample the stars and bars, a la 17th century Japan.
***
A fumi-e (踏み絵, fumi “stepping-on” + e “picture”) was a likeness of Jesus or Mary onto which the religious authorities of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan required suspected Christians (Kirishitan) to step, in order to demonstrate that they were not members of the outlawed religion; otherwise they would be tortured or killed.[1]
…
Fumi-e began first to be used against Christians in Nagasaki in 1629. Residents of Nagasaki, whether commoner, Buddhist monk or samurai, were required to tread on the icons which were brought from house to house.[2] Their use was officially abandoned when ports opened to foreigners on 13 April 1856, but some remained in use until Christian teaching was placed under formal protection during the Meiji period. The icons were also known as e-ita or ita-e,[3] while the forced test was called “e-fumi”.[3]
The Japanese government used the e-fumi to uncover Christians and sympathizers.[4] Fumi-e contained images of the Virgin Mary and Jesus, which government officials ordered all to trample on. Those who were reluctant or refused to do so were arrested for being Christians. The policy of the shogunate was to get them to abjure the faith. If they refused they would be tortured. If they still refused to abjure, they would be killed. Some executions took place at Nagasaki’s Mount Unzen, where the Christians were boiled in the hot springs.[5]
Execution for Christianity was unofficially abandoned by the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1805.
***
Not sure how that squares with Buddhism. Maybe Shinto has a more “whatever” attitude to such things.
***
Shinto’s flexibility regarding morality and ethics has been a source of frequent criticism, especially from those arguing that the religion can readily become a pawn for those wishing to use it to legitimise their authority and power.
…
In Shinto, kannagara (“way of the kami”) is the law of the natural order,[160] with wa (“benign harmony”) being inherent in all things.[166] Disrupting wa is deemed bad, contributing to it is thought good;[167] as such, subordination of the individual to the larger social unit has long been a characteristic of the religion.[168] Throughout Japanese history, the notion of saisei-itchi, or the union of religious authority and political authority, has long been prominent
***
I just *had* to look it up.
[head desk]
Usually Buddhist wedding and funerals with your choice of Shinto recognized religions for your regular worship. And you aren’t restricted from multiple Shinto religions simultaneously.
Speaking the new names is prohibited in my house, and everybody knows it.
The amazing part to me is that we already know what a Trump presidency will be like, because he was actually the president for 4 years, so how do people ignore actual history and fact and convince themselves a Trump presidency would be Hitleresque?
Don’t you remember what it was like in 2018? Journalists disappearing without a trace if they showed the slightest disrespect for the Supreme Leader. Mobs of white men lynching homosexuals and negroes on a weekly basis. Books burned. Democrat-owned businesses looted and burned…
Don’t forget about the concentration camps and crematoriums where millions of undocumented workers were killed.
At least in the Biden administration, I don’t have to put up with the smell from the crematoriums.
I didn’t grow up hunting. Mama didn’t allow us to have guns or motorcycles or dogs or…fun.
I came to deer hunting in my 40’s. First, I went to deer camp to cook for my friends. Then one year I asked to go out too, but still did the cooking.
My group consists of 5 of us. Three of them are stay-at-home dads married to gynecologists. They have all the latest gear. I still wear my ratty Carhartts from 1990.
I am prone to flinching on my first shot. My very first deer, I shot high above her into the lake. I racked the bolt back…and the bolt fell out of the gun! I finally got it back in the gun and tried to shove it forward to seat another round, but it jammed on the magazine. OK removed the magazine, slid the bolt forward, installed the magazine, retracted the bolt, seated a new cartridge. I raised the gun back up, and, surprise!, she was still there just looking at me stupidly. The second shot was right through the lungs. She ran along the lake for about 100 feet and then dropped.
The best part about deer camp is razzing your buddies. Kevin gets reminded every year about the Bambi he shot. Even the hot DNR chick checking for Chronic Wasting Disease commented, “awwww, look at the cute little deer.” John-boy always falls asleep in his stand. Jeff , who doesn’t usually drink coffee, always forgets that coffee makes him poop.
The second best part about deer camp is grilled venison tenderloins. A light sprinkle with olive oil, rub it all over, add salt and pepper. Grill. It is the only meat I like to eat rare.
The area we hunt is only about 7 miles from where FourScore hunts.
“The best part about deer camp is razzing your buddies”
It tends to be circular. We never complained about the cook at fish camp, that would result in peanut butter sandwiches.
One year in high school I was hunting mule deer in Eastern Montana with my dad and two of his buddies.
The hunting had not gone well that day. A lot of inexcusable rookie mistakes were made by all (except Dad). Slammed car doors, rifles with no shell actually in the chamber, etc.
That evening we stopped at the local saloon to have a drink (I couldn’t drink, but I could drive; a great situation for Dad and his cronies). Anyhow my dad was ranting about all the fuckups and why we were all imbeciles. At some point a couple local cowboys asked the rest of us why were putting up with his shit.
“He’s the camp cook” said one Dad’s buddies.
“Oh. Yeah, I guess you gotta put up with it then, don’t ya?” said the cowboys.
No hunting history (that I’m aware of) in my family, but lots of fishing history. Chartering a boat, getting up at the ass crack of dawn, stopping to get some sandwiches to throw into the cooler, and spending a day out on the Lake looking for walleye and perch, cursing every sheepshead that got caught instead. It’s been nearly 30 years since I’ve last cast a line or cleaned a fish.
My dad and his room mate in college went out, took a deer, brought it back to the apartment and proceeded to hang it in the bathroom. And then went out drinking. By the time they sobered up the next morning, the whole apt. was coated in flies.
I get razzed all the time by my deer hunting companions about the Jesus Deer.
I was sitting on my stand in the afternoon and we needed one more deer to finish up our hunt. A nice doe came walking along the trail and I shot at her with my 7mm Remington. She leaped into the air in a weird cartwheel. Then she ran about 25 yards closer to me and laid down in some bushes. Peeking around the tree I could still see her head. I watched for about 10 minutes and her head dropped finally.
I figured that I had hit her and she had finally bled out and her head dropping was proof she was no longer of this whirl. So I tied my rifle to the lanyard that I use to hoist it into the tree stand, dropped it and then got up to climb down. As soon as I stood up, the deer leaped up and ran over the next ridge at about 100 mph. Even if my rifle wasn’t laying on the ground below me, I wouldn’t have had a shot.
Afterwards, I tromped around the bushes and where I had shot at her and couldn’t find a speck of blood. A true miracle!
When I tried explaining all this to the other hunters (2 sons, the landowner and my dad) they all laughed. Of course my explanation/excuse what that I had shot Jesus Deer dead and after 30 minutes she had arisen from the dead.
Trust me, any of Fourscore’s excuses listed above would have worked better than trying to convince people that while you might not have any venison, at least your sins had been washed away by the blood of Jesus Deer.
I’ve watched a few dead deer, tail up and running away.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Has America Been Conquered?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4EnHEU7fnM
Maybe, but not foreigners. That’s the sad part.
Ah, old timey computers…with the clicking relays and the blinking lights….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93PHxVpPLxA
***
This term is taken from a famous blackletter-Gothic warning sign written in a mangled form of German that was common in computer rooms in English-speaking countries from the early 1960s. One version read:[1]
ACHTUNG!
ALLES TURISTEN UND NONTEKNISCHEN LOOKENSPEEPERS!
DAS KOMPUTERMASCHINE IST NICHT FÜR DER GEFINGERPOKEN UND MITTENGRABEN! ODERWISE IST EASY TO SCHNAPPEN DER SPRINGENWERK, BLOWENFUSEN UND POPPENCORKEN MIT SPITZENSPARKEN.
IST NICHT FÜR GEWERKEN BEI DUMMKOPFEN. DER RUBBERNECKEN SIGHTSEEREN KEEPEN DAS COTTONPICKEN HÄNDER IN DAS POCKETS MUSS.
ZO RELAXEN UND WATSCHEN DER BLINKENLICHTEN.
Some versions of the sign end with the word blinkenlights.[1]
The sign dates back as far as 1955 at IBM, and a copy was reported at London University’s Atlas computer facility.[1]
***
Good article. Made me reminisce about hunting and fishing with my dad.
And speaking of razzing, “You must be a real good shot to have hit such a small pig.”
Sunshine
It’s all sunshine and cute puppies until someone notices the piles of poop.
The Facebook memory I got today
***
November 16, 2012
Although the election is over, I think it’s worthwhile to point out that very little would have changed if Romney had won. Obama and Romney both support: the income tax, the bank bailouts, mandatory health insurance, the TSA, the PATRIOT Act, the War on Drugs, federal student loans, farm subsidies, Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, continuing the war in Afghanistan, increasing the budget, and attacking Iran if they get a nuclear weapon.
***
I would argue that history proved otherwise. Obama brought Chicago graft the national stage and turned every fucking thing into race-based grifting. I can’t imagine any way that a Romney presidency would have been worse.
Hmm. For me, it still was a “Choose the form The Destructor” election. Your points are valid.
***
When the French expressed opposition to the U.S. role in the Vietnam War, Romney debated them. Those who yelled at him and slammed their doors in his face merely reinforced his resolve.
***
God, what a shit-heel. Hey cupcake, you lucked out of getting your ass shot off in rice paddy to peddle your magic underwear cult. So how about you be fucking thankful instead of gabbing to some frog about how good you’d be at smoking charlies.
***
On April 12, 2006, Romney signed the resulting Massachusetts health reform law, commonly called “Romneycare”, which requires nearly all Massachusetts residents to buy health insurance coverage or face escalating tax penalties, such as the loss of their personal income tax exemption.
***
[anguished Zoidberg groan]
“expressed opposition to the U.S. role in the Vietnam War, Romney debated them. Those who yelled at him and slammed their doors in his face”
True story. Papa Romney was all in on the Vietnam War until the exemption for colleges students was removed. Then he became a critic. Interestingly enough, that was also when the first anti-Vietnam War protests began (only after the college exemption was eliminated).
Mitt Romney is by far the vote I most regret (worse than voting for John Kerry in 2004). I don’t even know why I voted for him, besides general disgust with the Obama presidency. In reality, though, Romney would have done everything Obama did, but with more war.
Romney is the quintessential rich guy. His loyalty is toward his class, not his faith, his neighbors, or his multiple adopted states. He’s rootless and morally bankrupt. He’s self-assured in his ignorance and would gladly send every boy in Utah to go die in some God forsaken country than see Raytheon’s board lose out on a bonus.
Good riddance, Mittens
The man has never not supported an American conflicts and yet he has FIVE fucking sons and not a one has served. If I were in the Senate, I would add an amendment to the Ukraine bills mandating that Mittens and his spawn all be immediately drafted and sent to go fight and die for Ukraine.
But he loves hotdogs, like any true American. Do you love hotdogs more than Mittens? Huh?! Well do you?!
I voted Libertarian in 2012. Then I consoled myself by drinking a 30 pack of PBR like Beldar Conehead.
Perhaps the weirdest thing Mittens has ever said: “My favorite meat is hot dog”. Who says that? Who refers to a hot dog as “meat”? I guess pig anus is a type of meat, but most people don’t think about the composition of a hot dog.
The Pierre Delecto was my breaking point with him. Jesus wept, what a loser.
***
WASHINGTON – Sen. Mitt Romney laughed off being outed as the owner of an anonymous Twitter account, telling USA TODAY in an interview that he didn’t put much thought into the account’s name when his son created it for him eight years ago.
Twitter user Pierre Delecto was found out to be Romney after the Utah senator and GOP presidential candidate mentioned using a private account to follow what was happening on the social media website. It didn’t take long for Slate reporter Ashley Feinberg, who also outed former FBI Director James Comey’s secret account, to discover Delecto was in fact Romney.
During a 30-minute interview with USA TODAY, Romney said the account was set up by his son, Matt, in 2011. He says it was used mainly to browse what was being discussed and read news articles.
***
Comey, that rat bastard. He had a goddamn secret account too? Nikki Haley will be none to pleased.
***
Haley’s comments came during a Tuesday appearance on Fox News when she said the first things she would do if elected president would be to force social media companies to show their algorithms, in addition to the verification requirement.
“First of all, it’s a national security threat. When you do that, all of a sudden people have to stand by what they say. And it gets rid of the Russian bots, the Iranian bots and the Chinese bots. And then you’re going to get some civility when people know their name is next to what they say, and they know their pastor and their family members are going to see it,” she said.
***
Funny, everyone knows Stephen Colbert’s name and face, and that doesn’t stop him from being a twat.
I was pissed that Bush rah rahed invading Iraq but neither daughter signed up for what would have been a cushy job in the military. At least the warmongering Teddy R. had sons in combat.
Now do Clinton, Cheney, Bush 2, Trump, Biden. Obama gets a pass ’cause he was too young and the draft was over.
Lots of folks got two vacations in SE Asia while these guys had better things to do.
Good stuff Fourscore. I don’t hunt but it’s still pretty big around here.
Reminds me of this song that used to get regular radio play in Michigan this time of year. I assume everyone’s heard it before, but maybe not.
From Da Yoopers
https://youtu.be/3Q57eWfaZmM?si=-Et9iTe30VAfr686
That and this are staples at deer camp:
Wheeler Walker Jr, _Drop ’em Out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgiE6iR6GWU
mildly NSFW (lyrics)
Another staple is watching the movie “Escanaba in da Moonlight”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rxbpz6_uv_0
The first half of the movie is hilarious, the second half is just weird.
Deer hunting is 15 minutes of the most intense excitement possible. Followed by 8 hours of drudge work.
Our “deer camp” is my family and the landowner. The landowner has let us hunt on his 80 acres for almost thirty years. Even after he finally built his house on the place he let my Dad and myself hunt there. Then when the Altar Boys came along, they were welcomed onto the property to hunt as well. About 10-15 years ago Rich (the landowner) got into a huge fight at his family’s deer camp and quit. He then joined us in our hunt. We started putting him on one of the best stands and every year he was getting a deer. Now we are his surrogate family deer camp. He and his wife are just as invested in the Altar Boys’ success as any blood relative would be.
When my dad passed away suddenly, the first thing Rich wanted to know is if we were still going to go deer hunting there. He told us that if we sold Dad’s house in town, we were welcome to stay at his house in a couple spare bedrooms. It was pretty touching actually to realize how close deer hunting had made us.
If it wasn’t for the sweet, sweet setup I have with Rich, I’d probably be hunting with Fourscore.
He has good land and is a great guy.
3 deer so far this year. We’re pretty much “meat hunters”, and will only shoot at antlers if they’re 8+. 4-5 deer will pretty much last us for a year of normal eating. I got a button buck and the youngest son got a big doe. Oldest son got a big buck. Youngest is also up in Illinois with my FIL for the week visiting friends for their shotgun season. We’ll probably do another 2 or so before the season’s out.
Have mostly frozen it in the past, like everybody else, but starting last year Mrs. Tree began canning about half of it for the obvious reasons.
Both Altar Boys shot a nice to smallish deer this year. Normally our crew is a “if it is brown it is down” type of hunters. We’ve shot several spikes and forkhorns over the years.
This year Rich (see above) the landowner told us that his neighbors had been pushing for everyone to pass up on small bucks. So this year, he was asking us to pass up on small bucks too. Rich was a bit embarrassed but he wanted to keep the peace in his neighborhood. No problem.
Then I was out sitting on a stand that I normally don’t sit on and a nice deer came by. I’d love to tell you that I truly thought that the buck was a nice one, but the Blood Lust was on me and I shot the deer as he passed through a gap in the brush. As soon as he dropped my brain started working and I thought, “hmmm, big deer all by itself? Shit I know it is a buck”. I was dreading that it was going to be a spike or forkhorn. It wasn’t, but not by much. Technically it had 8 points, but the points were all nubbins.
So I had to tell Rich I fucked up. He took it with good grace and didn’t get mad at all. He just made fun of me.
Reminds me of hunting on Pater Dean’s ranch. He had mule deer on the north side of the highway, and white tails on the south. We were walking in on the north side as the light was just starting to come up. we looked over, and spot a mulie buck, standing in front of some mesquite. We both looked at him, and were like “Jumping Jehosophat. Look at the antlers on him!” I shot him. We walk up to him, and he’s a spike, and probably the smallest deer I ever shot.
It was a combination of not-good light, the branches of the mesquite behind him looking an awful lot like antlers, and wishful thinking. I swear I thought he was at least 150 yards away. More like half that.
“The tree branches looked like antlers”
/Adds to list of explanations
I just finished making sausages and cleaning up. Next step – Cooking sausages.
Related somewhat – one of the meats that went in is Venison, though it’s from some Canadian Elk I had no hand in shooting.
😋
I guess I have to write up the article. Since I ate the sausages and they were a success.
I’ve written up the article, and submitted it, with pictures! I don’t even have to impose the powers that be for the featured image for once.
I used to live to hunt. Then one day I just couldn’t bring myself to kill anything. Life altering events, age, put it down to whatever you like.
I told my brother about it. His response was “Ahhhh. Lost your balls did ya?”
A month later he called me up. “Goddamn you. You infected me. I went out this morning. A nice spike came by….easy shot. I couldn’t pull the trigger. What the fuck did you do to me?”
Heh.
After a few years of not shooting at them I found out that they easily recognize individuals. When I would work in the woods the deer would always come around to see what I was up to.
They would sometimes get within 20 feet of me showing no fear, only curiosity. The guys that lease that land from us are insanely jealous. For guys that have spent their lives in and around the woods I am surprised at how little they know about it.
I have a new squirrel in the back yard that is getting really friendly. I haven’t had an outdoor friend in a while, not since Bobby Cat got taken away by the city. Anyway, my cats want to kill that squirrel with extreme prejudice.
I wish the deer around here would regain some fear of man instead of just hanging out in my yard destroying the turf and any plants around.
Same here, Suthen. I’ve just lost my taste for it, and we have good mule deer hunting, well, literally in my yard, but I can legally shoot them with about a 15 minute walk to the national park. I’ve never bothered to get a tag and go.
I don’t if you all have been following this, but just when you think it can’t get worse. (Multiple posts because of squirrels)
The 500 error hates anything with D ex ter Wa de. They buried him in the ground with his ID while claiming they couldn’t identify him.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/dexter-wade-buried-mississippi-id-home-address-lawyer-says-rcna125511
Is that helpful?
It won’t let me post either the name or a link that has that name.
Thanks!
*Salutes
Glad to be of service!
So many terrible jokes from the 60s and 70s come to mind.
Are we sure he was dead when the buried him?
That’s messed up. Looks like a coverup – apparently they had been sued by his mother because cops killed her brother a few years ago (three were all initially charged, but only one was convicted and got a five year sentence). Either when they realized who he was, they wanted to make it go away, or he was targeted (less likely, unless there is a tie between the cop who hit him and the three who were involved in the death of her brother).
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/10/31/dexter-wade-case-mississippi-police/71389049007/
“The Hinds County coroner’s office has said it confirmed Dexter Wade’s identity within a few days of his death and called a number listed for Bettersten Wade but did not hear back. Bettersten Wade said she has no recollection or record of such a call.”
That’s it? One call? No letter, no in-person visit, not even a second call? To the man’s mother?
What a pack of utter scumbags.
Well, if the “accident” was investigated, then I’m sure they will be happy to share the records of the investigation.
As soon as the create them they will be happy to share them!
The coroner’s office contacted the police department seven times between March and July to see if they had contacted next of kin yet, and they were told no each time.
So they exhumed him hours ahead of schedule with out the family present. Seems legit. I’m guessing no id will ever be found.
The ID was on the body they buried.
Oh, reading/skimming comp fail. I assumed since they exhumed him early the cover up was in effect.
Just a reminder that SpaceX will be attempting a test launch of Starship tomorrow. The launch window is from 8am-10am EST, and they will start streaming at 7:30.
Ooo! Streaming link?
https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=starship-flight-2
Might be on YouTube too, but not guaranteed. They’ve gone away from using YouTube and only stream certain things there now (usually manned missions).
Bobowhites beware!
So Biden invited Xi to the US, and then when Xi was flying back, Biden calls him a dictator. Well, great job, numbnuts. What was the point of that diplomatic summit then? And if he’s dictator, why are you meeting with him?
At least Trump used insults to bring people to the negotiating table.
He did an excellent job shrewdly convincing China to pretend to embrace green energy.
How do the American politicians manage not to call the rulers of their client states dictators? Like MBS in Saudi Arabia or Sisi in Egypt?
There’s no political advantage to be seen as “standing up” to Egypt, or any other piss ant dictatorship, especially if the US is propping them up.
North Korea, China, Russia, and Iran are a different story.
It has been unseasonably warm around here so far this year. Combine that with the bumper crop of acorns my oak trees are having due to the mild and moist summer we had, the deer hunting has not been good so far. Here we are a week and half into modern gun and my son hasn’t even taken a shot yet. Its alright though. Jr. and I have still gone half a dozen times and colder weather is coming.
There is a pretty nice 8 point that I have several pics of. So far he has only been coming round at night, but the does are starting to get randy so he will be drawn out sooner or later. Jr has a bullet for him.
I Haven’t personally shot a deer in years. My son is picking up all that slack and it has been a joy to watch.
On a real positive note, the land that we hunt is up for sale and I’m in the process of buying it. 67acres connected to my property. About half pasture and half forest that encompasses half of an 18 acre watershed lake. Its great hunting and fishing and in my opinion a great place to raise a boy.
Wow. That parcel sounds awesome.
https://imgur.com/FKbkhp2
Right next to my house. It’s gonna be pretty neat joining the ranks of the landed gentry.
I love it when a plan works out. Good going, Lach.
“… the bumper crop of acorns my oak trees are having due to the mild and moist summer we had…”
Gahhhhh! I am jealous. I did not get a single acorn this year. Summer was NOT mild nor wet. No nuts, no fruit. OK, I did get about a half gallon of persimmon seed but that’s it.
I need acorns for an 80 acre piece and a 100 acre piece. I came up empty handed this year. I am not going to buy seed. I will have to wait a year and see what happens.
That was me last year. No rain at all from mid July through August. Hotter than hell. It killed everything. I got no pears, apples, walnuts, pecans, or acorns. That drought combined with the ice storm in february this year killed my apple tree and damn near split my pear tree in half.
On a real positive note, the land that we hunt is up for sale and I’m in the process of buying it. 67acres connected to my property. About half pasture and half forest that encompasses half of an 18 acre watershed lake. Its great hunting and fishing and in my opinion a great place to raise a boy.
Awesome.
https://imgur.com/a/401Vqck
Fishing on that lake was a blast this past summer.
There is a spillway on the back side of the dam that we discovered was full of gar this year. My son drug me down there everyday after work for a couple weeks trying to catch thise wiley bastards. We got several of them, and aside from being a pretty nasty fish they are a blast to catch.
Sounds like heaven.
Jealous!
This isn’t the first time I’ve heard about A1 towing and their practices.
“Their lawyer showed up and started talking about laws, but state police shut him down and told him this is how the law works,” said the MHT owner. “Then they started telling us they lost the key to the boot and can’t do anything tonight, so state police gave my guys the authority to cut the boot off.”
https://wreg.com/news/local/driver-stays-in-truck-33-hours-to-avoid-being-towed-by-a1s/
So THAT’S where Chicago’s notorious Lincoln Park Pirates have relocated.
Took a while to get there but there is the rub
Yeah, I’d guess that’s a figurehead with less control over the operations than Biden has over the Exec branch.
Repent ye, sinners
The WMO said “there is no end in sight to the rising trend”, which is largely driven by the burning of fossil fuels.
The concentration of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, is now 50% higher than before the start of the Industrial Revolution.
The Earth has not experienced similar levels of CO2 for 3-5 million years, when the global temperature was 2-3C warmer and sea level was 10-20 metres higher than today, the WMO said.
The concentrations of the two other key greenhouse gases, methane and nitrous oxide, also grew, according to the report, published ahead of the UN’s Cop28 climate summit, which begins on 30 November.
Greenhouse gas levels will continue to increase until emissions are cut all the way down to net zero, meaning global heating and the impacts of extreme weather will also continue to increase.
——-
“Despite decades of warnings from the scientific community, thousands of pages of reports and dozens of climate conferences, we are still heading in the wrong direction,” said Prof Petteri Taalas, the WMO’s secretary-general.
The gods are mightily displeased that you have ignored the warnings of the high priesthood. Let the smiting commence.
I’m getting so sick of record highs in food production and record lows in disaster damage.
Jeebus. Every word of that is a lie.