Outdoorsman Thread

[philco]

Mike please be careful. Your margin of error is pretty slim at that temperature.

Oh, and next time take a handkerchief.

[313 Mike]

Mike please be careful. Your margin of error is pretty slim at that temperature.

Oh, and next time take a handkerchief.

Thanks for the concern Phil I am always careful when out in the woods, I carry a pack with a fire starting kit, compass, extra gloves, first aid kit etc... and always make sure someone knows where I am going. Jack London's "To Build A Fire" is one of my favorite short stories, and I thought of it today when I was out. If you are not familiar it is a story about an overconfident man (and his dog) who are out on foot in the Yukon in some dangerously cold weather and how quickly things can go bad...highly recommend it to anyone that hasn't read it.
As to the handkerchief, I actually had one of those in my pack too! Didn't realize I had the snot- cicle going on until my camera accidentally flipped into selfie mode when I was taking a scenery pic! Startled myself!

[Quick Steel]

Good photos Mike. I understand what you mean about being out in extreme weather. I am heading out right now into below zero temperatures.
But only from house to car.

[FRJ]

I agree with you, Mike. I loved the challenge of going out in the coldest weather, lots of snow and even rain.
Also for me it was a test as to what I was going to wear to protect myself. I still have an array of cold weather clothes that I could choose from. I don't do it so much anymore. Working as a carpenter for years in the winter taught me a lot.
Also being out in those extremes reduces the likelihood of running into other folks. I liked being by myself.

[TripleF]

Yup.....good stuff Mike!!

I'll be testing myself and my grandsons the next couple nights as temps are forecasted to touch freezing.
We've made it in \a tent in 40 degree weather before. We'll be in a cabin (no heater) for 2 nights!
If it's too cold for them, we'll go back to the house and sleep (only 6 miles away).

[jerryd6818]

-9 degrees this morning, -20 wind chill, perfect morning for a hike! I like winter extremes of cold and snow...tests a man's mettle a little....and freezes up the mustache and beard a bit too! Something special about being out in nature in that kind of weather, may be kind of bleak visually, but it has a beauty all its own that is hard to capture in a pic.
Those are all Bur Oaks in that pic, old ones and young ones. They are very common here in my part of southeast Wisconsin, one of my favorite trees.

[TripleF]

[TripleF]

Big time scheduled for camping but we didn't get to sleep in the cabin either night because out home phone/internet was out and my wife
and I share a cell phone.......so...there it is.

BUT we had a blast.

Coolest parts was the park employees cleaning out the cabin we rented for 2 days allowing us to check in when they finished cleaning the cabin at 10 am. Usual check in time is 2:00 pm. They were like....don't worry, you're fine. I said why thank you!

Then they watched, in amazement, my 9 boys cut, saw and chop wood for the fire pit. How do they do that? I've been training them for 6 years.....and boys love to WHACK stuff!!!

Burned wood all day.....Thurday.

Friday....woke the boys up early (0615) and headed to McDonald's. Then fishing on Lake Panasoffkee. Cold....cold...cold. 30 degrees. No fish. no bites. Back to camp for dinner.....

[royal0014]

Looks like an awesome time, Scott !!!
You 'da man ....

[djknife13]

Scott, that looks like a great way to spend time with those kids. I'm not into camping because it's too much like every day life in my world but if I lived around civilization, I'd be out there every weekend.___Dave

[Quick Steel]

Great stuff Scott.

[jmh58]

Great stuff Scott.

Sure is!!! John

[tjmurphy]

Love your pics, Scott and, just like everyone else said, "You da Man"!!

[bestgear]

Well done again Scott, when doomsday comes I'm hooking up with those boys!

[treefarmer]

Scott,
You always amaze us with such good pictures of the boys and their outdoor learning experiences! As bestgear implied, they will have the skills to survive. It would be interesting to know what percentage of men could do what you have taught these boys.
I'll bet it was cold on Lake Panasoffkee! After several days of morning lows in the 20s, I noticed one of our ponds had a skim of ice across some of it this morning.
I've been seeing lots of deer, just nothing with legal head gear. This morning I had a big cow horn spike walk within 75 feet of my stand, then he mingled with a half dozen does that were browsing the junk in the pines and around the feeder. He wasn't really chasing yet but did make a short run at a couple of them. Several years ago this buck would have been legal, now only legal for a hunter under 15 years old.
Here's a picture of Florida ice forming on a small water hole and a couple of deer pictures.
Treefarmer

Not a regular winter occurrence in Florida.

I think this was the buck that walked by this morning.

This one that needs to come by for a visit.

[big monk]

good stuff being posted__Scott you just have too much fun with them boys how much longer yall get to hunt in Florida Phillip ?? ours has ended ___________________________ got my mount back sooner than expected,I'm thinkin' he did a nice job,what say yee ???

[TripleF]

Beautious MONK!!!!!

Freezing, actually was below freezing at 30 degrees on our way up, without the windchill....them boys were tough, they didn't want to quit.

Thanks fellas......just don't tell them, I'm having more fun than they!! shhhhhhhh......

[Quick Steel]

That is a very fine looking mount big monk; very worthy of that fine looking head and rack.

[treefarmer]

big monk, we've got till February 18th with a real gun, then 7 days of M/L over the 25th. Our rut in this part of Florida, Zone D, is just beginning. Back out this afternoon and didn't see any antlers but at least I usually get to watch deer most days. Watching the does and their reactions have allowed me to kill bucks over the years during the rut. The food plot and feeder draws the does, the does draw the bucks during the rut and sometimes we all get there at the same time.
Here is what they looked like this afternoon:

Let me congratulate you on a fine buck! He must have been a scrapper with the broken tine! The taxidermy work looks great.
Treefarmer

[bighomer]

Fine looking mount Big Monk and I'm a hard man to please.

[jmh58]

Nice mount and Buck there monk!! John

[Old Hunter]

I say beautiful mount Monk! Good luck out there Philip - hope old Big Boy shows up for you. OH

[TripleF]

Something we rarely see here in FLA.....foliage.....but it's beautiful this year, probably because of the cold week, last week!!

[jerryd6818]

Just because you're a pal.

[Old Hunter]

Went bird hunting this past Wednesday, had a great time hunting with two other gunners (my boss and one of my customers). I used my 16 Ga O/U, my two companions used 12 Ga shotguns. My customer has drawn a bead in the first picture. Look close at the second picture, you can see the quail at the moment of impact, that’s my boss doing the gunning. I have 22 birds in the refrigerator. OH