Great posts guys. Solid results and wonderful dogs! Congratulations.

Brittman wrote:

Nice Fella:

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reminds hunters that the state’s 2023 pheasant season opens at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 14 and will run through Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024.

I’m an idiot – thank you for correcting my post. I was out of the country the past week and a half so my head is not screwed back on completely tight yet.

That said, any reports?

crappie55369 wrote:

any chance this lowers their prices? been casually looking and cant believe an FL18 still costs almost $500!!!

Seriously? Have you seen ANYBODY lower their prices on ANYTHING lately??

suzuki wrote:

Good Luck Nice Fella! Cant be too many pheasant hunters in Wisconsin. Salute!!
I used to go over there and hit public land just over the border. Shot two roosters total.

Oh, there’ll be plenty of orange vests out there in morning, for sure. But I agree with you that it’s hardly worthwhile from a harvest standpoint. I’m no biologist, but I really don’t understand why there aren’t more birds around here. We have lots of what I think is great habitat, and decent public access – not to the scale of some other states of course, but numbers seem like they should be better than they are. It seems like we also have good and active Pheasants Forever Chapters as well, of which I’m a member.

Wisconsin opener tomorrow – 9:00 am, 1 rooster limit!! Very much looking forward to getting back out in the field, and so is Piper
Good luck to everyone.

suzuki wrote:

Late season camping sounds like a blast if you have enough wood for a great campfire!

Enough wood – and whiskey!

I have Bushnell Trophy 10×25. Compact and good glass.

We have a Miele dishwasher and works good, and it’s quiet.

That one looks “thick”, PoP.

I should have included weather conditions in my original post – Friday midday was post-frontal, after about 4-5 hours of rain, then cloudy. 24 hours later it was steady barometer, breezy and sunny. Maybe the front passing had more to do with the bite than the moon location.
Interesting feedback though from you guys. Appreciate it.

disco bobber wrote:

I have a Leupold 2×7 shotgun scope on my 12 ga 870. I was having trouble getting it sighted in and figured out that it took a shot to move the crosshairs. Now I bump the stock on the bench and tap on the scope near the adjustment knobs after I make an adjustment. I have also shot a round of cheap birdshot through it after an adjustment. This apparently does happen on some scopes.

I, too, have heard of this tap the scope technique. It can cause a lot of bother sometimes if you don’t. Depends on the scope of course, but something to keep in mind.

To quote a classic Kramer line from Seinfeld: These pretzels [posts] are making me THIRSTY! Great pro tip from @zooks on the two available versions. I rushed right out to my local liquor locker and picked up a sixer of 3 Sheeps (Sheboygan, WI) Oktoberfest Mårzenbier. Pretty delicious.
I have friends who have also attended Octoberfest in Munich and had a darn good time, and said it’s far different from the La Crosse, WI event.

Lots of great creativity out there – awesome! That woodturning is cool.
My main activity is road cycling (bicycle). A little dangerous on the roads at times, but great cardio exercise. Biggest reward and motivation is completing a single day 100-mile charity ride in June.

I went through 27 batteries on that trunk.
(just kidding; that was staged, obviously)

Overall I’ve had decent luck with that little saw, for the same types of little jobs you’ve described. After this recent storm I cut up several smaller trees up to 12″ dia. with it, no problems. It has a bar oil reservoir/pump button and little wrench attached.
Of course all my work was sanctioned.

It’s the only Ryobi attachment that I’m satisfied with; the weed whip is terrible, string feed is a joke, and the vacuum device they sell doesn’t seal, making it worthless.

They do all right.

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I’ve used the Dogtra 1900S for about 7 years now, has worked fine; original battery, but I should probably replace. Simple, straightforward to use; has tone but I’ve never used it.
I also have the Dogtra YS600 bark collar for in the house (I work from home and am on the phone a lot). That also works well, even when the FedEx truck pulls into the cul-de-sac! Adjustable setting.

This is what it looked like lifting downed large oaks after a recent significant wind event in Hudson. Largest trunk lifted was 8,100#. And yes, over the top of the house.

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I have a Thompson/Center .50 cal, Bone Collector edition, with a good Nikon Omega 3-9×40 scope. The scope has a BDC reticle, which I don’t use, but it’s also camo, which is cool and matches the gun. I used it to kill a nice bear at 80 yards; went about 25 yards before dropping. You really focus on THE shot when you only have one chance at it. I’ve also carried it for Wis muzz seasons; 0-0 on that so far, but it’s nice to have an option for another season.
I won the gun from a fishing club raffle. Wife never got over how a $20 raffle ticket gun ended up costing >$500 with accessories!

I KNEW that I shouldn’t have clicked on this thread, spending the next 1/2-hour looking at Lab pup pics and videos wasn’t what I should have been doing!
My 2-cents on what I thought I knew about the breed is that Brits have blocky heads, are thicker generally through the body, and calm; American bred are more athletic build and energetic.
Labs are the best. Good luck to you Rip. And remember, they’re only in that puppy stage for 2-3 years

We had 3 fawns right in our neighborhood this spring, but now down to 1. I think the neighborhood fox took out one, and the other was roadside so likely a car kill. But the interesting part was seeing an eagle perched on it’s carcass two days ago while I was walking the dog.

Kelly Jordan wrote:

12 Ga. Slug gun, at close range, punch a big hole, hard to beat.

This X2^ If you use a crossbow, don’t be overconfident in it’s 310 fps or whatever. I’ve tracked a bear that was hit by a xbow in the swamp, in the dark, on hands and knees with flashlights, lanterns and sidearms, etc. It is not fun, especially when the blood trail goes away, (but it is kind of an adrenaline rush). I guess the story is that bears have lots of fat layers and can “seal up” a wound. You want to put them down, NOW. I know it’s not for everybody, but I dropped mine with a 250-gr from a .50 cal muzzleloader. The only downside is not being able to see anything for a couple seconds after the shot while the smoke clears! Knowing you only have one shot at this also causes you to focus intently on the vitals and make a good kill shot. No followups.
I also second the idea of placing your bait and then scurrying up into your stand. Even better if you can go in with a buddy, perhaps on a wheeler, you get in stand and he places bait and then drives off. Bears will come in after all that commotion as well.
Good luck – it’s a great experience.

Cherish the memories. Sorry for your loss. It’s tough for a long while.

Two days ago, first thing in the morning spotted this big gal – and later two others- coming up from the lake. This one heads to my neighbor’s leaf compost pile area to lay her eggs. Already looking forward to whenever they hatch, scurrying around the yard. The next day the neighborhood fox walked past my window in the direction of the nest. Then I scurried out there to shoo it away like an expectant father
He’s already eradicated the squirrel and rabbit population, but he has a family to feed too I guess.

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Red Eye wrote:

As far as screen size goes. Figure out what is the biggest unit you can afford. Then go one size up.

^^

That is bizarre.

Like finding pennies from heaven (free beer).

A couple years ago I picked up a 10’ med action 2-pc “Whuppin’ Stick” at Cabela’s for about $30; I put one of my ice rod spinning reels on it with 4# mono. I add a split shot and bobber above a small fly or tube jig. Works GREAT around trees that have fallen over along the bank or even sunken timber. You can keep the boat just a little farther away. I do wonder if braid line would be a better choice.

Very cool!

I can’t answer your original question Brian, but I can confirm we also had a skunk in the ‘hood Saturday and Sunday. Did not have visual confirmation, but the odor is unmistakable.

The fold-down rear seat feature may be causing some reluctance with this crowd of dads.