MrGiggles

There used to be one on the counter at our MFA. Everyone used the crap out of it, I think they must have gotten tired of buying belts for it or something and canned it.

I have Vortex, they do just fine. I've been thinking about trying out Hawke, have a couple of their scopes that are pretty good. Binos aren't nearly as important as your gun optics, something mid-range isn't really a big sacrifice. I have never been able to sharpen anything with a stone. I use one of those carbide deals that you pull the knife through, cheap and it works. Some people say that they're hard on the knife and they remove too much material, but I say if you aren't removing any material, you aren't sharpening anything. I always thought the Worksharp deal was probably the best sharpening device that I've seen, aside from a full blown belt sander setup.

I went ahead and took a Rona test, came back negative. So just the flu I guess. Still had a bunch of people call in.

Anyone else caught whatever sickness has been going around? I took a part time job carrying mail in Bolivar a couple months ago. Was in on Tuesday for a couple hours, felt great. Regular carrier called in Wednesday. I was able to function but not in a quick way. Pressure headache that got progressively worse, everything hurt, no strength or gumption. Split my route and went home. Carrier called in again on Thursday. By this time half the office was out. Had other carriers in from Stockton to help out. One of ours got bit by a dog and is out for the week now on top of all that. I felt better though, no headache, still a little sore. Woke up sweating and went to bed shivering. Today is one of the "regular" days that I work every week, felt better yet but still have the sweating/shivering stuff going on and a pretty good cough. Still had a couple regulars out sick. Weirdest thing to me is that I never had a sore throat. Still can taste and smell fine. I imagine someone in the office has been Covid tested and I probably would've heard if it came back positive, but it is the Post Office after all. I haven't knowingly had Covid yet so maybe my luck ran out. Kinda feels like the flu to me, like I had in 2019 and 2018. If anyone else has or had it, it sucks! And for anyone that gets mail from Bolivar, best disinfect it.

Looks good Ketchup, all things considered. Assuming there's some kind of wheat in there, it may surprise you. Fall plots are always a gamble.

I haven't seen a box of rifle ammo lately for under $25, of any kind. I bought a box of Federal .270 and it was $30 after tax and everything... That same box was like $14.99 not that long ago. Shotgun shells surprised me too. I don't see how a guy could afford to shoot clays anymore at 50c a shell for target loads. But I guess this is the new "normal." If inflation isn't enough alone, some asshat will swipe it first and try to sell it to you for more.

I had an 83 25hp. Bought it in KC for $200, just had a couple minor issues. It was a good little motor. Pretty unrefined and loud, but dependable. Mine didn't have a through-hub exhaust, that one might. I think it should be closer to $600 but that's just me.

I have hunted a lot from the ground with a rifle. I can't fire a bow while seated on the ground, so I have never really done that. I have one hub blind that is the best thing ever for turkeys. I have used it for deer as well, but not in recent years. It's the place to be when the weather is nasty. 99% of the time I am in my Summit Openshot climber. It has pros and cons like anything. There is no wrap-around bar like most climbers, so it's much lighter and you can climb the back side of your tree and sit sideways, essentially hiding behind it. It's not nearly as comfortable as some though. I personally think it's safer and simpler than using sticks and a hang on, although it's much more limited in what trees you can climb. Heights don't really bother me that much and I prefer to be elevated.

Must be a big boat if it takes a F450 diesel to pull it. 6.7s have some odd design choices. The cylinder heads are backwards, the exhaust manifolds come together in the valley, and the intake ports are on the outside. The "intake manifold" is cast into the valve cover. On top of all that the turbo is kind of like two in one. There are two compressor wheels on a single shaft and exhaust turbine. They do have some problems, but that goes for all modern diesels with VGT style turbos. I have never worked on one. But from what I've heard Ford made a lot of changes so you can do pretty much everything aside from engine removal without pulling the cab, so hopefully they won't beat you up too bad on labor.

I noticed it too when I put it at Masters a couple weeks ago. Nasty looking water. It was a little better up by the dam but still pretty dingy.

I don't think any of the electric steer trolling motors are good for bank beating. They aren't responsive enough. An Ultrex or the new Garmin give the best of both worlds but they aren't cheap.

I don't have any experience with Motorguide. I know @dan hufferd uses one and speaks highly of it if I remember right. Minn Kota is usually pretty good about supporting their products, but the older Powerdrive (not the V2) foot pedals are notoriously crappy, no longer made, and next to impossible to find. Same with the parts to convert it to remote. So if you go shopping for used motors, avoid them.

Kinda makes you wonder why it took so long to get caught if the guy had been weighing 20" walleyes that weighed 5lbs a piece. Those were big weights. Guess it's safe to say that guy should start looking into other careers.

I went last night to Master's. Definitely people still fishing. The parking lot was probably half full. I don't know about catching. Caught a few white bass but they were pretty scattered and hard to stay on. The water was really dirty and stained which I thought was odd. Pretty early for turnover so I doubt that has much to do with it. I can't comment on CC since I've never been there.

You can set up a transom mount motor to deploy off the transom just fine. You'll need to build a pretty strong pedestal/plate for it to sit on that is slightly higher than the transom. However, they work much better on the bow. Trying to be precise with a transom motor can be like pushing a rope sometimes. The cable on a Powerdrive pedal is like 18ft long. Same with a Terrova. You can run them from anywhere in the boat. Both can be outfitted with Ipilot (remote operation and GPS capability, spot lock etc.) if you choose, however the Powerdrive loses the foot pedal when you do, a Terrova can use both. I second Marine Repair center.

I know you've heard it all before but a lot of it really is being in the right place at the right time. And the in-between seasons are toughest. These reservoirs are unforgiving and take a lot of time to learn. I'm hopefully gonna run down to Stockton this afternoon and see if anything is going on there. Haven't been in quite a while.

Kinda like flies in a vehicle.. I don't know why, but open your doors for more than a second at the feedlot and a small swarm will zoom right in. They will leave a literal fly paradise to buzz around my truck, where there's nothing at all for them.

The hull on an aluminum boat is always going to be grounded to the starting battery via the outboard. Perhaps they want you to run a common ground as a path of least resistance. I've never done it. I prefer them to be totally isolated. If your outboard has a sturdy recoil, and you're able to use, you can use one battery. I wouldn't if electric start is all you have to crank it.

Knipex makes the best pliers of all, hands down. The ones from Harbor Freight with the dark red handles are good too (Doyle?). I read somewhere that they're made by the same company that supplies Mac's pliers.

I fished walleyes a little on 9/10 and the morning on the 11th and didn't have a fish to show for it. Hooked up twice with jigging raps and lost them both. Dragged around bottom bouncers for a while and fed some bluegills, but that was all. Tough fishing. Marked tons of bait and fish all over. A lot bait flipping in shallow water.

I love what that guy does, but man those videos are DRY. I can never watch one all the way through. I also don't think those digital testers are all that trustworthy. An old school carbon pile tester is the best way.

Bachelor group stopped in tonight.

I have considered rye. But there's 45 acres of winter wheat right up the hill from this plot, I like to think it's better to have a couple different kinds of forage available. My experience has been that those seed mixes are mostly a waste of money, you'll get one or two varieties that really take off and the rest won't. I think it's better to just plant a single variety that you actually want and get the seed from a co-op. Get a lot better stand that way.

Anybody else doing any this year? Decided to go with forage soybeans this year, planted earlier. Had seed left over from spring planting, so I sprayed and no-tilled all the plots at the end of June, in the past I would've been trying to get them in right about this time of year. The beans haven't really amounted to much. They sprouted but I think that really hot and dry stretch held them back quite a bit. They haven't died but they're still less than a foot tall. I went and hung a camera in the one plot a few days ago and took a walk through it. I'll be darned if the turnips that were in the seed mix last year didn't make a heck of a comeback. I'm not sure if they reseeded themselves or what. I'm not complaining though. Got a few takers the other afternoon.