When the surgeon told me last summer that I had cancer, the first thing I asked him was whether or not I could be in my stand for the November Rifle Opener. He said I undoubtedly could. He was true to his word. Last season, I shot a respectable buck … Continue reading →
I’m trying to catch up on all of what has happened in the previous months. I discovered a draft of an entry I was about to make just as this whole cancer thing kicked off. You see, I was scurrying about in mid-March, trying to get the pieces together for … Continue reading →
From an email: Oh great shaman! I’ve been offered a rifle for deer hunting that is in 308 Winchester. Is that a good choice? Should I hold out for a 6.5 Creedmore? I guess my 308 WIN experience is perverse compared to most folks. Don’t take me wrong. I don’t … Continue reading →
I’d just made it home from the hospital a few weeks ago, and I was weak enough to feel super-glued to my recliner. Moose and Mooselette stopped over to see how I was doing. I was so happy to see my most honorable #1 Granddaughter. With Chemo Camp I’d been … Continue reading →
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 →
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 →
. . . 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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
It is currently showing 13F on the thermometer. There is about half an inch of snow on the ground. All the deer rifles have had their final cleaning. Something inside me flipped and now I am starting to think about turkeys. What really threw me over the edge was that … Continue reading →
With all the hoo-haw last summer, I got way behind in my projects. One of the first left to do was constructing some storage bins for the Shamanic Secret Underground Reloading Facility (SSURF). I originally built SSURF when moving my base of operation back in 2013. It houses all my … Continue reading →
First off, my apologies for not writing sooner. The season ended with me unable to make posts to the weblog. It was a combination of screwups with the ISP and web provider, and my laptop going on the fritz. I got the majority of the problems ironed out after I … Continue reading →
Most honorable #2 son, Moose, got one to the meatpole yesterday afternoon. He took her out the front window at Midway. I was shooting out of Hollywood and when I heard the shot, I came down and went over. As it happened, Remnar was just arriving at camp. We had … Continue reading →
It has been since 2014, but my Savage 99 kept its promise this morning. I’ve been carrying it up into the stand for The Rifle Opener since 2003. The Savage 99 in 308 WIN has only been shot at the biggest bucks. I always put it away after filling my … Continue reading →
The Commonwealth of Kentucky picks the second Saturday of November as the beginning of its Modern Weapons Season. This year, that means The Opener is on the 13th. Looking back on it, it has always seemed like the date of The Opener has flitted about. I was sitting here fretting … Continue reading →
I emerged this AM from the secret underground Shamanic Reloading Cave with the first of four rifles destined for our upcoming deer camp. The Rifle Opener is a week from tomorrow. I try to be ready well ahead of time. There were several projects that I wanted to work on … Continue reading →
From Quora: How do I stalk deer with a bow? First off, let me give you some background. I started bowhunting whitetail deer back in the early 80’s. I spent 20 years as a bowhunter before my shoulder pooped out on me. I have not bowhunted since 2007. I have a … Continue reading →
At our camp, Early KY’s Muzzleloader Season has turned into Not Hunting Season, and it was highly successful. First off, let me explain Not Hunting. Years ago, I put forward this idea, and I received a lot of positive feedback. The rules are simple. In order to successfully engage in … Continue reading →
This story starts in the first month I was hunting at the farm. In October 2001, I had put up a stand overlooking a trail that ran along the back fence. On my first sit in the blind, I realized that a tree less than 10 yards away had a … Continue reading →
