As you all know, my buddy Bob died this past winter. He was an outdoor writer and magazine editor. Out of the estate I managed to snag a minty Ruger Model 44, and swore I’d put it to good use. Bob would have been proud. I nailed a buck with … Continue reading →
I went to point to the story of honorable #2 son’s first deer hunt, and I found that it was missing. I had pictures, but that was it. It was a seminal moment in both our lives, so I felt it bore setting down properly before the details have fully … Continue reading →
Right now, I’m all alone at the farm. KYHillChick and Angus are down on the KY/TN line at the family reunion. Moose has a friend or two down at the campground. I’ve hardly seen them all weekend. The plan is for KYHillchick to stop at Sonny’s BBQ in Richmond on … Continue reading →
As I mentioned at the beginning of the summer, I inherited a Ruger Model 44 Carbine from Bob’s estate. Since then, I’ve been slowly working towards turning it from a safe queen to a working deer rifle. I met Bob in 1982. I probably saw the rifle for the first … Continue reading →
With all the really good bottom end deer rifles out there, folks are beginning to lose sense of what it was like to own a deer rifle that couldn’t hold to a pie plate at 50 yards. As I opined here on the 24hourcampfire: Current Rifle Accuracy You have to … Continue reading →
I used to publish a set of goals for the upcoming deer season. That was back when folks were paying attention to me more, and I was stuck for writing copy, and there really were big mountains left to climb in my deer hunting career. Now that I am not … Continue reading →
Life changes you. I can remember one of the highlights of my life was being taken to the 1970 All-Star game. I heard as well as saw Pete Rose bowl over Fosse at home plate. To this day, I can close my eyes and see Pete and Fosse like it … Continue reading →
Angus and I passed an important milestone today. This is the first time one of my grown sons has taken it upon himself to reload ammunition with his own components. They all came down to the bend to help Dad when they were small, but their interest has waned. Angus … Continue reading →
What makes a good deer rifle? I’ve been contemplating this now since the first Reagan administration. Every time I pick up a rifle, I’m pretty well judging it based on how well it would take a Whitetail. However, for all that mental energy, I do not think I have ever … Continue reading →
Back in 2006, I was in the process of pulling in my horns. There were signs they might close the plant. I wanted to get down to the bare minimum, expecting a layoff. One thing I bought was an 8lb keg of Hodgdon H4895. I was pretty well already set … Continue reading →
Whenever I start talking online about the weather, there are a load of guys who want to tell you: You cannot rely on weather forecasts You shouldn’t worry about the weather forecasts– just go hunt The weather is too whacked-out anymore for reliable forecasting etc. It is this monstrous barrage … Continue reading →
From: OldGobbler.com  Author Topic: Shotguns with 2 beads, how to line them up  (Read 232 times) ugaDAWGS09 Jr. Member Posts: 16 Shotguns with 2 beads, how to line them up « on: February 20, 2019, 07:45:35 PM » I’m trying to get my new A5 dialed in for turkey season … Continue reading →
With the Polar Vortex about to sweep down from the North, and the Super Bowl nearly upon us, I thought I would check in. I normally look at Super Bowl Weekend as the half-way point in the wait between the end of Deer Season and the beginning of Turkey. It … Continue reading →
I put the last of the deer rifles away for the winter yesterday. It’s time to begin playing with my meat until Turkey Season. Angus gave me a wonderful gift for Christmas, a food dehydrator. This is a serious jerky machine. I just finished unloading load #1 from it. It … Continue reading →
It says over in the right column, “On this day nothing happened, ever.”  That’s not entirely true. I just don’t write about it all that much. The Shamanic Deer Team woke up this morning with just 10 hours left of the season. They’re all out trying one last try. I … Continue reading →
For the first time in a week, the Shamanic Dream Team went afield this morning with reasonably good weather. From Sunday to Friday it was cold (about 15 degrees below normal) and wet. Along the way we have had to face rain, drizzle, graupel, freezing rain, driving rain, snow and … Continue reading →
I hope you all had a happy Saint Hubert’s Day. Mooselette did. As you all know, Saturday was Saint Hubert’s Day. I’ve been touting this day for some time as a logical supplant for Christmas. On the Feast of Saint Hubert, the patron saint of hunters, folks should exchange hunting … Continue reading →
I woke up this morning and started to feel the rush. Things were piling up.  I started getting that caged-animal feeling at 0400. I went down to the Reloading Cave and sharpened knives, and cased up some of the deer rifles. The Opener is just a week away. The whole … Continue reading →
Angus and Moose brought some from friends out from town, Keith and George, the new guy. Everyone had a good time, but you wouldn’t know it from the expressions. It was a hot one for September. Temps were in the high 80’s. Update on The Mauser From Hell Before they … Continue reading →
This week, 15 years ago, I made my first post on this weblog. To quote the About page: This goes back to 2004. Mom always kept reminding me that I came from a long line of Methodist ministers. I think of myself as a good Methodist boy at heart. However, … Continue reading →
Two weeks ago Mooselette was begging her Dad to bring her over to Grandpa’s so she could go down to the secret room and pull Grandpa’s handle. Stop it. That ain’t nice. No, what she meant was she wanted to go down to the reloading cave and pull the handle … Continue reading →
I turned 60 last week. Things have been fairly quiet down at the farm. I went down and mowed last weekend. I’d like to write something dramatic about it all. However, this has been a rather boring summer. Edit: I deleted a list of the highlights of my summer, because … Continue reading →
A lot of folks here in the Trans-Bluegrass think it is a good idea to set out corn for the deer. I have been saying for years that I did not think it was a good idea. In the past, my reasoning was that I had tried it early on … Continue reading →
My Hornady LNL AP has now been in service for a year, and I thought I would give you an update. This is a down in the weeds blog entry. If you have no interest in progressive reloaders, I would not mind if you skipped it. However, for those of … Continue reading →
I spent Saturday reading in John Barsness’s book, The Big Book of Gun Gack. You have probably read the author, he’s published in a heck of a lot of magazines, and he’s got a slew of good books on Amazon.com. This one is a collection of articles about a select … Continue reading →
