Every year I get asked what’s a good deer rifle. I’ve been writing deer rifle recommendations for close on to two decades. Rather than beat that horse again, I want to discuss the scope. Honestly, I am by no means an expert on rifle scopes. However, I’ve been dealing with … Continue reading →
I figure now would be a good time to let y’all know how it’s going. I did not want you to be thinking I was all curled up in a ball somewhere with tubes coming out of me in all directions. The truth is, I’m feeling pretty darn good approaching … Continue reading →
From E-Mail (name withheld on request) Oh, High and Lofty Shaman! . . . I notice you have several pictures on your site of rounds loaded with green-colored bullets. I take it you do powder-coating. How does that work? I see all over, but it all looks way too complicated … Continue reading →
Have you ever had a hard time getting a chambering out of your head? Let me tell you my story. See if this sounds familiar. Let’s start back to 30 or so years ago. Back then, I was only deer hunting with 30-06 in Kentucky and 12 Gauge slug in … Continue reading →
Cancer has a nasty way of screwing up a Turkey Season. I did not want to call things off entirely. As it was, I left the oncologist’s on Thursday of Opening Week with a firmed-up treatment schedule and rode straight out to camp. Friday AM is when I nailed my … Continue reading →
Walking out from the Honey Hole the other day presented me with a bit of a logistics problem. I had only a half-mile or so to walk, but I was schlepping a 23 lb bird on my back. I am due to start chemo on Monday, and I must admit … Continue reading →
This did not take a whole lot of editing, but it turned out pretty well. I was out earlier today in the fog and managed to bring a gobbler in and close the deal. Some quick notes. First off, the extraneous pops and cracks is water dripping off the trees. … Continue reading →
I had to call it quits last weekend. The trip out and back to the Honey Hole aggravated the leg, which had been the reason I spent the early part of last week in the ICU. I did not mind it much. Sunday thru Wednesday was cold or rainy– or … Continue reading →
The 2022 Kentucky Spring Gobbler Season started about as well as any. It rained overnight but stayed in the mid-fifties. The last shower evaporated a few miles from us just as we were heading out. It looked like things were going well. They did, just not for me. Angus and … Continue reading →
. . . Or Life Comes at you Fast. . . . Or something like that. The countdown clock just passed 1 Day, One Hour, and 1 Minute to the Spring Gobbler Opener. I’m leaving for camp some time this morning. The past couple of weeks have been a bit … Continue reading →
Saturday AM, I finally had everything assembled to get my first shot off with my Pedersoli Brown Bess. Things went off without a major hitch. I even managed to dig up some FFG Goex that I purchased in 1986 to use in the inaugural shot. The powder worked like it … Continue reading →
#1 Granddaughter, Mooselette, attended the 2022 Yute Opener with her Grandpa. I took her out to the Honey Hole in hopes of recording something for a podcast. It wasn’t much of a hunt; we did not expect it to be. Mooselette did not even bring a shotgun. We had fun. … Continue reading →
This is the first podcast of 2022, and it is a good one. I got out to the Honey Hole just as a roost of hens to my left was pitching woo to a roost of gobblers to my right. Over a half-hour the loudest gob and the most vocal … Continue reading →
The first attempt to cast balls for the Brown Bess ended with mixed results. The Lee .69 cal mold cast perfect balls for what would be standard paper cartridges, but that assumes that the shooter would be jamming multiple rounds down the barrel without any cleaning. For precision shots, I … Continue reading →
The KYDFWR’s Spring Rules are out. There is nothing particularly new regarding turkeys. Spring Gobbler season still starts on 4/16/22 and you can still take 2 birds. However, keep your ear to the ground for next season. The KYDFWR is considering changes to combat declining turkey populations. The only big … Continue reading →
Requiem for a Turkey Load I really cannot remember the last time I blew my wad at paper. It must have been ten years ago. I’ve been shooting pretty much the same load at turkeys since 1996, Federal Premium 3-inch 12 Gauge 2-ounce #4. The boxes have changed. The load … Continue reading →
From Old.Gobbler.com: I am always amazed at how sensitive gobblers can be and how far calls can travel. A good many of the turkeys I’ve killed at flydown have come from 200 to 400 yards away. Ones I’ve taken in mid-afternoon have come from much farther. Usually, I start off … Continue reading →
When should I start Scouting for Turkeys? That’s a very good question. It certainly is a timely one. As I write this, the countdown is just passing T-Minus 7 weeks to The Opener. I’ve been at it 40 years, and I can’t tell you a set formula. For the last … Continue reading →
The temperatures were pushing 60F down at the farm, so I decided to take Dolly down and introduce her to the place. We got there around sunrise Sunday, spent the night, and then came back early on Monday. She got a good deal of firsts on this trip. She got … Continue reading →
Today is looking like the first really good day in a while. The snow is almost completely gone. It’s heading towards the low 60s today. I had reasons not to go to the farm, but I did have time to get my two new molds out and cast balls for … Continue reading →
From Quora How Do You Ask for Permission to Hunt? I am not going to put myself forward as an expert. However, I am a guy who spent 20 years asking for permission before getting my own land. I’m now on the other side of the deal. Let me tell … Continue reading →
Back in 2009, I spray-painted my Mossberg 500 with Krylon Fusion and documented it for Turkey & Turkey Hunting. The story was well-received, and folks not only liked the paint job, but liked the way I described it. If you’re interested, here’s the original story: I can report that the … Continue reading →
From Quora:What is the best time of the day to hunt wild turkey? I’m going to limit my answers to Spring Gobbler Season as I seldom hunt in the fall. Gobblers can be taken at any hour during legal hunting times. However, several things impinge on this. A lot of … Continue reading →
I got some feedback over the previous post asking for clarification on my 35 caliber bullet casting project. I went back through my previous posts, and realized I never really wrote this up in any detail. I guess it is time I do. Mind you this is not a end-all … Continue reading →
The tale starts way back. I had shot a Brown Bess once; it was decades ago. At some point in the deep past I read an account of a fellow in the modern-day using one as a general-purpose hunting weapon. It was one of those back-burner deals. I figured that … Continue reading →
