jdmidwest

We have about 3 inches of sleet, glazed with freezing rain, froze hard, and another 2 inches of fresh sleet and still coming down. I tried to get out with the Explorer, made it to the end of the Subdivision and found main road still covered and untouched. Office called, we are off tomorrow too.

Sleeting more than freezing rain here and coming down good at 9 pm in Jackson, MO. Schools closed and calling for worst storm in 2 decades. Maybe 2 inches of ice with 5-10 inches of snow. Why can't we get a nice gentle snow?

Its a tuff crowd around here......... I'm lucky its a 2 hour drive for me so I only get there 2 times a year, I save money that way. But I make stops at both of them and spend the most time shooting the bull with Tom. Orvis opened a Company store near them years ago and I will have to say it was the rudest place I had been to. The manager was always complaining about something. Being a part of the Orvis Family with my affiliation with a couple of dealers and having worked for a shop, I had to share my experiences with the higher ups. I guess others had the same problems and now they are gone.

Great Blind Idea! Pretend to be fishing and blast them as they fly by. We had a pretty slow year up here in the Middle Zone. Ducks early, gone by Mid Dec. due to freeze out.

Its hard to beat T Hargrove or Feather Craft if you are in the city. Both have good stock, great experienced help, and good prices. And they always man their booths.

Unless you load volumes, you probably won't save much money with the price of components lately. I went to load some 30.06 this year for a new rifle, Wally had Federal 180 grain ammo for $13 a box of 20. Bag of 50 brass was $29, 50 ballistic tip nosler $29, powder and primers another $25. But, I can make a custom load and tune the rifle to its max accuracy. The Federals were used for breaking in and target practice, the brass recycled so you don't have that expense every time. A RCBS kit with press, scale, powder measure runs $300 and has all you need except for dies which are around $35 per caliber. A good digital scale, calipers, and case trimmer is extra, probably another $200. A progressive from Dillon Precision starts around $500 if you want to load in mass quantities. Like Fly Tying, it is an addition to your sport that completes the heritage of guns. I really don't buy anything but target ammo and rimfire which you can't load yourself. I don't shoot enough shotshells so I have never messed with them, strictly metallic. It takes some time but the rewards at the range are great.

There is a shortage of primers around here and the price has increased. No small pistol or small rifle. Friend of mine paid 3.45 per hundred for small pistol and thought it was a good deal at the Bellvue Gunshow 2 weeks ago. I sent a list off to the wholesaler last week and 90 percent was backordered. Shotshells are plentiful except for slugs and buckshot loads.

I have a hard time telling if there are any hunters or shooters on here, but just passing along some info. Ammo is getting really hard to find. Wally World has run out of all Centerfire and Rimfire ammo locally. They had a little shipment this weekend and I snagged it all. All is 2 boxes of Blazer Brass 45 acp and 2 boxes of Federal 22 bulk boxes. One trip to the range for the 45 and a year of plinking for me and the kid. Our shop is out of anything 22 LR except for premium stuff like CCI and Ely and it is not available from our suppliers in bulk or brick. Prices are on the rise, the Blazers were marked $12.97 on the shelves and rang up $14.97. Still a better deal than the $21.50 the wholesaler was going to charge us last week for an identical product. I wonder what/who is causing this?

Was reading the local news and 3 headlines popped up in the KC area. One about incest, one about starvation, and one about killing roommates. The incest family was especially disturbing. Incest and Covering up bodies by KC family. MO Parents cover up sons starvation death. Man charged with killing roommate, torches house.

Published Jan 23, 2009 State conservation agents pinpoint trout problem in Jackson's Rotary Lake Rotary Lake in Jackson City Park will be fully stocked with trout when the season for the cold-water fish opens Feb. 1. The Missouri Department of Conservation pinpointed the private hatchery where the fish were raised as the source of a parasite problem that killed nearly 500 of the 1,300 trout that were stocked in the lake Oct. 30. On Tuesday, another 500 trout from the state's hatchery, averaging one pound and about 12 to 13 inches in length, were stocked in the lake. Shane Anderson, director of parks for Jackson, said the decision to restock the lake is welcome. "The interest has just been a standing question, will the lake be restocked," Anderson said. "That has been answered. That is a fine amount of fish." In December, anglers and park workers began noticing an unusually heavy death rate among the trout. An investigation found that the fish were infected with a tiny crustacean called a copepod that attaches itself to the gills and inside the mouth of the fish. In all, 493 dead fish were collected, said Salvador Mondragon, a fisheries management assistant with the conservation agency's Cape Girardeau regional office. Few fish have died since, and the life cycle of the copepod is long enough that the 500 trout stocked Tuesday won't be affected, Mondragon said. "We have continued to monitor the lake to make sure all the parasites were eradicated from the lake," Mondragon said. "We were just monitoring the fish that were surviving, and we went out a couple of times to take some samples and evaluate the fish." A fish infected with copepods will be less vigorous, and the copepods themselves look like tiny maggots on the tongue or gills. Infected fish are safe to eat, but they should be thoroughly cooked. The fish that were infected came from a private hatchery that sells to the department, Mondragon said. While fish from the hatchery have been stocked into other lakes and streams, no other waterway beside Rotary Lake experienced a major fish kill, Mondragon said. Catch and release Until the opening of trout season Feb. 1, the lake is open for fishing, but anyone catching a trout must return it to the water. A fishing license is required for any fishing activity at the lake in City Park. But after Feb. 1, anglers intending to keep the fish they catch must have a trout permit as well, Mondragon said. The trout program has been well-received in Jackson over the years, Anderson said. Rotary Lake is stocked with trout in late fall each year when water temperatures fall enough to keep the fish alive. Trout are cold-water fish, and each spring, as water temperatures rise, any trout that survive the open season die as the water warms in the late spring and summer sun. While the fish will not survive warm temperatures, Anderson said he has never seen any dead trout due to warm water. "They are caught or the turtles catch them or somebody catches them," he said. "They are going to good use." The department is still studying why the fish at Jackson's lake died while those stocked in other locations did not, Mondragon said. The fish could have been subject to stress while they were moved, or the lake could have concentrations of algae that depleted the oxygen supply. After the evaluation is completed, he said, one possible measure would be to use a herbicide of some kind on the lake to cut down on algae growth. rkeller@semissourian.com 388-3642 Does this affect you? Have a comment? Log on to semissourian.com © Copyright 2009, Southeast Missourian Story URL: http://semissourian.com/article/20090123/N...1239969/-1/NEWS

I want some nice wood panels, looked on Ebay last night and have a gun show in 2 weeks. Now I need the Commander Series and my stable will be complete. I have a Government made by Brolin Arms back in the 80's. I have owned 2 Colts and an AMT Hardballer in the past.

I stopped by the shop on my way home today and look what I found. I have been wanting a Colt Commander or Compact for quite a while but could not come across a used one. I found this Colt 1991A1 Compact today and traded off a Glock 21 for it that I bought a few years back. The pistol was a little flashier than I like so I dug around the junk box and came up with a set of black grips. The Ivories had a slight pink tinge to them but they were Colt, I stored them for later use. Can't wait to get out and shoot it some. Calling for poor weather all weekend and snow till Thurs. so I may have to wait a while. Should make a good carry gun. A little thinner than the M&P with 6+1 like my Kel Tec.

How much do you want for it?

Nothing against bait fishing at all here either. It is not a method for catch and release fishing, it has too high of a mortality rate, no matter how careful you are. Bait fish till you reach your limit and then change to an artificial to catch and release.

I would like to extend a personal invitation for the ones that like to shoot guns, reload ammo, and talk a little politics to come over to www.mp-pistol.com and talk about the p word all you want. Rules for the political forum is anything goes. And it draws the same amount of interest as it does on here. Seriously, if you have any interest at all in handguns, Smith and Wesson products, ammo, competitive shooting, and preserving the heritage of the shooting sport, join in. We are going to need all the help we can get.

While I was out and about today running calls, I came across an eagle feeding on a deer carcass. It must have been road killed, but was laying in a field. When I stopped the truck, the eagle moved out into the field. I took a few pics from the truck and then made it fly. I think it was juvenile bald eagle but am not sure. Also snapped a few pics of some longbeards in a field also. The snow came down pretty good around here this morning, first of the season to amount to anything. Sun popped out and burned it off pretty quick.

Don't ask. Don't tell......

I think since mad cow, they have to be tracked someway. Amazing how we can find and back trace one package of hamburger back to the farm it come from but can't keep the Mexicans out.

Y'all having a little problem with cattle rustlers over there? Cattle rustling rising in SW Missouri THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 01/20/2009 SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The souring economy has led to a surge of cattle thefts in southwest Missouri. The Greene County sheriff's office has received almost a dozen cattle theft reports since October, and 30 head of cattle have disappeared from nearby Barry County in the past six months. Among the victims is Chip Porterfield, who said it will take years to recover financially after 10 of his Black Angus cattle were stolen from a farm outside Springfield over the Thanksgiving weekend. The cattle were worth about $10,000. "That's a big chunk to try to overcome ... that's my livelihood," said Porterfield, of Sparta, Mo., who has been a cattleman for more than 20 years. "You're looking at four years to recover from losing 10 cows." Jeff Windett, executive vice president of the Missouri Cattlemen's Association, said it's more prevalent in the southwestern part of the state partly because it's easier for cattle thieves to take their stolen property to nearby Kansas and Arkansas. Also, the area is full of beef cattle. "With the economic situation that's going on, there looks to be more desperation to come up with cash," he said, noting that cows can fetch up to $1,500 based on the breed, weight and quality. Calves range from $400 to $800. "For a lot of these people who have had these cattle stolen, that represents a significant chunk of their yearly income," Windett said. Thieves also typically steal expensive trailers, he said. Authorities with the Greene County sheriff's office and the Missouri Cattle Theft Task Force say arresting the thieves is difficult because cattle sales often involve little paperwork and it's hard to catch thieves in the act.

Actually, I think it is the thought of all the Clintonista's coming back to power.

Its happening all over. One theory is the water table is getting lower. I know there seems to be more gravel in the rivers than when I was a kid. And really, we have less rain too, its been over a month since a good soaking rain here, my ground is pretty dry. Ponds are lower also. I like to blame deforestation. Cutting trees leaves hillsides open to erosion. The bare ground lets water run off faster and carries soil and gravel away instead of slowing it down and letting it soak in. Riparian areas along streams streams help also, keeping the streams in their courses and slowing runoffs. I am a big believer that you should not cut trees to the edges of streams. Lots of streams I fish have been affected too, Castor, St. Francois, Big Creek, Big River, Cane Creek, Little Black, Hurricane, Frederick, Saline, Bear Creek, and Little Whitewater.

Any electrical supply place may have them. Radio Shack may have them or search online. Is that the only opener in your house? What brand opener is it?

If it just hums, it may be a stripped gear or stuck relay. Pop the cover and look to see if the motor is spinning or the drive gears are stripped. Some older ones have belts. If it is a Sears, Liftmaster, Chamberlin, etc, all made by the same Co. you can pick up new gears and install yourself for around $50.

A new version of a virus I have noticed a few of you may have been hit with is going around again. I cleaned one off last week. It seems to be a version of the old Antivirus 2008 scam. Virus spreads quickly, but may be a dud (AP) * Posted on Sun Jan 18, 2009 1:49AM EST NEW YORK - A computer virus that may leave Microsoft Windows users vulnerable to digital hijacking is spreading through companies in the U.S., Europe and Asia, already infecting close to 9 million machines, according to a private online security firm. Fortunately, however, it may be a dud. Though computer bugs have become a common affliction, Finland-based F-Secure says a virus it has been tracking for the past several weeks has surged more rapidly through corporate networks than anything they've seen in years. But the virus doesn't appear to be working as its designers intended. F-Secure's chief security adviser, Patrik Runald, said the virus's coding suggests a type of bug that alerts computer users to bogus infections on their machines and offers to help by selling them antivirus software. Instead, the virus is simply spreading to little effect, though it may still pose a threat to infected computers. "The gang behind this worm haven't used it yet," F-Secure's chief research officer, Nikko Hypponen said by phone. "But they could do anything they like with any of these machines at any time." Microsoft issued a security update Tuesday to deal with the so-called "Downadup" or "Conficker" virus, which appears to be a new version of a bug that popped up in October. "Over the last couple of weeks, a new variant of this worm has been affecting customers," the company acknowledged in a blog post. Microsoft said the virus is spreading by gaining access to one computer and then guessing at passwords of other users in the same network: "If the password is weak, it may succeed." A company representative couldn't immediately be reached Saturday to comment on F-Secure's estimate of infected machines. Most computers with Windows will automatically download Microsoft's security update, but Hypponen said the virus disables updates on infected machines. While the origin of the virus is a mystery, F-Secure's best guess is it came from Ukraine. Hypponen said it is coded to avoid computers there, which may indicate whoever wrote the virus was trying to avoid drawing attention from local authorities.