Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[svk]

I have shared this story before too. There is a guy who hunts a few miles from us who used to go through boxes of ammo PER DAY while deer hunting. He shot at every running flag he saw. I've know of him for about 25 years and I think he shot one deer during that time. Fortunately he is too old to get very far from their shack now.

Not the sharpest tool in the shed either.

 

[Sierra_rider]

One time I had lunch with the chair of the criminal justice program at the college where I taught. He described the chiefs as politicians and the officers as trade unionists for which guns were a tool of the trade. Many if not most were not into guns per se. In the decades since I've seen nothing to contradict that assessment... I regularly attend meetings with chiefs and command staffs, mayors, town supervisors, etc. from throughout the county and am friends with a retired chief from my city. My friend and I have had numerous conversations and those conversations and the meetings further support the chair's assessment.

Not just the cops, but similar stuff here on the fire side(at least regarding the chiefs.) I work for a very large agency, with multiple levels of chiefs, ranging from field battalions all the way up to bigwig chiefs that haven't been on the line in 15+ years.

The battalion chiefs still have contact with the operational/line staff on a daily basis, so they are relatable. However, once they promote past that level, it's said that they need to be able to drink the koolaid. Those higher-up chiefs play by a different set of rules than the rest of us. Policy and procedure don't mean as much and they just do do what they think they can get away with. It's not to say they're all bad people, a lot of them have the best intentions, but they gotta play the game.

 

[svk]

It's not to say they're all bad people, a lot of them have the best intentions, but they gotta play the game.

Much like politicians above the state representative level.

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

My favorites for kindling is a chunk of clear grain black locust and the hydraulic splitter. Can turn out a bucket full in short order and it is amazing how small one can split BL without it breaking.

Just curious: What wood is that mallet? I used to know what the preferred wood is but my age and memory don't agree.

while i got lots of pine tree drop for kindling, my fav is cedar fence sections. split. camp axe preferred. i made some last nite the old fashion way for my evening fire in fireplace.

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

all in all, went well....

 

[djg james]

I have shared this story before too. There is a guy who hunts a few miles from us who used to go through boxes of ammo PER DAY while deer hunting. He shot at every running flag he saw. I've know of him for about 25 years and I think he shot one deer during that time. Fortunately he is too old to get very far from their shack now.

Not the sharpest tool in the shed either.

That's the way my BIL use to be. He just slings slugs at any deer sees. He's hit deer in the rump, blew off one's nose among other places. Mostly small deer too just to fill his tag.
Now he's got one of those heavy rifled barrels that are accurate out to 100 yards with a scope. Scary for him because he hunts a small patch of woods with his two sons.

 

[djg james]

while i got lots of pine tree drop for kindling, my fav is cedar fence sections. split. camp axe preferred. i made some last nite the old fashion way for my evening fire in fireplace.
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Sassafras.

 

[Philbert]

while i got lots of pine tree drop for kindling, my fav is cedar fence sections. split. camp axe preferred. i made some last nite the old fashion way for my evening fire in fireplace.

Interesting!

We just gave away a bunch of old, dried out cedar fence boards on CL, after taking out an old fence at family member’s house.

Assumed someone would want it for some craft use. Was happy not to haul it. But if no one took it, they probably would have made it to the firewood pile!

Philbert

 

[farmer steve]

I am speaking in hypothetical purposes only, it is not legal for big game in most places.

The only places here where buckshot is legal for deer is near Philly and Pittsburgh. My favorite load for groundhogs when they are in my sweetcorn and they start to run.

 

[svk]

That's the way my BIL use to be. He just slings slugs at any deer sees. He's hit deer in the rump, blew off one's nose among other places. Mostly small deer too just to fill his tag.
Now he's got one of those heavy rifled barrels that are accurate out to 100 yards with a scope. Scary for him because he hunts a small patch of woods with his two sons.

Scary indeed!

I cannot imagine being in the woods anywhere near the guy I talk about. And he was part of a group that always had 15-30 hunters, many of them young!

 

[GrizG]

My favorites for kindling is a chunk of clear grain black locust and the hydraulic splitter. Can turn out a bucket full in short order and it is amazing how small one can split BL without it breaking.

Just curious: What wood is that mallet? I used to know what the preferred wood is but my age and memory don't agree.

If I'm near my log splitter and have some clear oak handy I can do that... When I used the froe I was about 25 miles from home at the lake... If I need to break something down while there it's a splitting axe, hatchet or froe proposition.

 

[GrizG]

Scary indeed!

I cannot imagine being in the woods anywhere near the guy I talk about. And he was part of a group that always had 15-30 hunters, many of them young!

I hunted an area like that once... opening day guys had shot up a box of ammo by lunch time. I never went there again.

 

[Sierra_rider]

I see some of the hunters locally...a lotta road hunters. They get pissed off when they see us out dirt bike riding...if anything, we get the deer up and moving. Besides, the deer around here are very accustomed to people and aren't really skittish.

I also find it funny, that they drive way up into the mountains to go hunting. All the locals know that you'll find all the deer near where people are living...they get plentiful food and water at 4k' feet, why are they going to go hang out in the granite at 7k'+? Go into the timberlands across the street from my house and you'll probably find something shootable pretty quickly.

 

[JimR]

Not long after I bought my rural property I had a permanent resident show up that I called friendly deer. I'm not sure why, but out of 150 acres and other wooded property around me she decided to spend most of her time next to my trailer and barn. I could stand right next to her but she didn't want to be touched. She wouldn't run away but instead walked a few feet and start grazing again. Every year she birthed her fawns in a thicket about 30' behind my barn. They were nervous seeing me but when mama didn't run they stayed put. When the fawns wanted feeding, they would hit her hard underneath with their heads. I didn't know this and was wondering what the hell they were doing the first time I saw it.

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I bet the previous owners fed them.

 

[JimR]

On the subject of blizzak tires, I am not a fan. My experience with them (both the car and truck versions) is that they do fantastic on icy, plowed roads, and are absolutely garbage in snow more then a couple inches deep, or mud.

My favorite winter tire is the GoodYear duratrac. I have those on the suburban and that thing will go absolutely anywhere.

On my F350 it had blizzaks when I bought it, and not sure if I was gonna keep it, but needing tires I bought the cheapest I could find which was the BFG KO2. They seem a bit harder then then older version of that tire.

My 2wd Chevy 2500HD has cooper STT on the back and some soft snow tire on the front, made by Michelin

I had Blizzaks on a previous BMW 330XI and an Audi A4 Quattro. I could go anywhere with them as long as the snow was not up over the underbody. I have an uphill driveway and could drive out of it in 5 -6 inches of snow.

 

[JimR]

I put a new set of discoverer at3 Lt on my truck this year. Not the 4s version but they do have the snowflake. I love them for an all terrain and highway tire. Went up to load range e and they do hit harder in the bumps but I can put a truckload of sugar maple in while towing the trailer loaded and they don't bulge. And contrary to what I've read, I'm getting slightly better fuel mileage than before with the Wrangler AT in load range c.

I have a set of Cooper Discoverers on my Ram 2500 4x4. Those tires are awesome in the Winter. They are load range E also. I only run 50 psi in them unless I am going to load the bed up. They ride very well that way. With 80 psi it is like driving with a solid suspension and very bouncy.

 

[JimR]

FWIW I know some guys used to use a balled up tire chain on the end of a rope and that supposedly worked pretty well too

You can break the chimney flue lining using chains if you smack them around too hard. I always burn a hot fire. Everytime I check my chimney it is fine. I have never cleaned it since 1978. My stove runs real hot at least once a day to burn it off.

 

[Kodiak Kid]

.338 Lapua Magnum

Great Cartridge IMOP! For big game, competition match PRC or Tactical PRC My only b***h is cost of ammo and availability! Unless you're strickly a hand loader, but now with primers and brass being harder to get and more expensive. Thats an issue too, so its just not for me. Yes .50 is spendy too, but its a NATO cartridge and hey, Its a .50! Also, I'm not sure the Lapua is a nato cartridge yet but I think it is being pushed to become one. Although I may be wrong about that.

 

[JimR]

My nephew, who just got into bow hunting, told my Brother (who hunts) that deer are attracted to HUMAN urine scent. That's what his "buddies" told him.

Stake out a deer scrape sometime and piss on his scrape. Or better yet make a scrape on the ground aside of a deer rub and piss on it. Go back in a few days and look at your scrap that is now 4 feet long and 2 - 3 inches deep. I tormented a 6 pointer this way pre archery season. That scrape ended up being a good 4 inches deep and over 6 feet long by opening day. I got him on the 2nd day. If you doubt me, go and try it to see for yourself that it works.

 

[Kodiak Kid]

Stake out a deer scrape sometime and piss on his scrape. Or better yet make a scrape on the ground aside of a deer rub and piss on it. Go back in a few days and look at your scrap that is now 4 feet long and 2 - 3 inches deep. I tormented a 6 pointer this way pre archery season. That scrape ended up being a good 4 inches deep and over 6 feet long by opening day. I got him on the 2nd day. If you doubt me, go and try it to see for yourself that it works.

Very interesting! I don't doubt it, but I believe I will try that and see for myself. I reckon there's only one way to find out!