jdmidwest

Hey, we made the paper. Wish they would have gotten a pic of our booth, we started out with over 300 handguns and long guns on Friday and took up the most floorspace of any dealer. Published Dec 21, 2008 Some dealers at Cape Girardeau gun show say sales up since election Some vendors at Cape's Original Gun Show in the Arena Building say business has been good since the presidential election. "There's been about a 500 percent increase in sales of assault rifles since the election," said Ben Mickel of Bonne Terre, Mo., owner of Cedar Falls Tactical. "They're selling like wildfire." Mickel, who displayed primarily assault rifles, said the weapons are mostly used for high-powered rifle matches but can be used for target shooting, defense or hunting. He said the AR-15 is the most popular because it has lots of accessories and because of the weapon's high quality. Jeff Poole, manager of Absolute Arms and Ammo in Cape Girardeau, said he has seen a sales increase of more than 100 percent since the election. Absolute Arms had handguns, shotguns and assault rifles on display. "The handgun business has always been good," Poole said. "Handguns are our best seller." Robust gun sales have been reported throughout the U.S. since the election of Barack Obama, prompted by fears that his administration will prohibit certain weapons. For example, the Illinois State Police conducted 24,076 background checks for gun purchases in November, 39 percent more than the 17,363 during the same month a year ago. Knives took up a good portion of the display tables at the Arena Building. Ronald Brown of Vienna, Ill., had a variety of custom knives. His most expensive knife was $700. Another knife had a hook at the end of the blade. "That one's good for skinning," Brown said. Brown has made knives for more than 30 years using one of two methods. The first requires heating the steel, beating it and stretching it with a hammer. The second requires designing the knife style and crafting it slowly to shape from a bar of steel. Father and son Harry and Bob Morris displayed custom leather goods and custom-made knives side by side. Harry has been at Cape's Original Gun Show for 22 years; his son, five years. Among Bob's custom leather goods, his best sellers were holsters and belts. The belts are popular with personalized names and fur on them. Most other items, like wallets, concealed weapon holsters, Bible covers, day planners, pistol cases and knife sheaths, are plain, without stamping or tooling. "I can add that later on if someone wants it," he said. In addition to guns, knives and ammunition, vendors also had camouflage gear, paintball accessories, cell phone and Bible cases, cleaning kits and binoculars. The gun show continues today. The Associated Press contributed to this report. cpagano@semissourian.com 388-3648 Were you there? Have a comment? Log on to semissourian.com Want to go? What: Cape's Original Gun Show When: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today Where: Arena Building © Copyright 2008, Southeast Missourian Story URL: http://semissourian.com/article/20081221/N...12219951/-1/RSS

The term Assault Rifle is such an ugly term for the guns it represents. Many are civilian versions of military rifles, sporterized for accuracy, hunting, plinking, or just fun. I have a spacer block in 2 of my 20 round mags for the AR-15 that limit the capacity to 5 rounds for hunting purposes. The bayonet lug is a great place to store your hunting knife while hunting, I also use it as a machete as I chop thru brush on the way to the stand. The assault rifle ban had nothing to do with extremists, it was enacted long before we knew anything about the radical terrorists of 9/11/01. I really don't know what started the movement, a bunch of liberals headed up by Brady decided to attack all guns and gun owners. The decided to attack anything that resembled a military weapon, often calling them machine guns and machine pistols, which is wrong, they are not fully auto. SIU, next time you cross over the ditch this way to do a little fishing, drop me a line and we can go out and shoot my AR. Maybe I could get you to understand that all guns are designed for shooting and enjoyment, not just for hunting. You don't just buy a gun, walk out into the woods and kill something. You shoot, and shoot alot, get good at hitting what you aim at, and have fun doing it. 90 percent of the guns I sold this weekend were not for hunting, most were self defense, target practice, plinking, skeet, and in my case, a collectable for the safe and the future. You cannot take away the right to own a gun based on its looks, its magazine capacity, or its country of origin like the Brady bill and the Assault Rifle Ban of the 90's did.

With trout production pretty much maxed out, that will not happen.

Having been in the gun biz about 16 years ago, I saw it ruined by the Clinton Assault Rifle Ban and other actions that limited a citizen as to what you could buy. I lost interest not long after I left the shop and strayed from the biz. G. W. Bush, Gov. Blunt, and the current Supreme Court of the US has changed the biz back almost to where it was before the Clintons. I have been active trading and buying guns, shooting, reloading, and back to my old self again. The major advancements in the past few years was the expiration of the Assault Rifle ban that let us have an Assault Rifle any way we want it. We can have folding stocks, pistol grips on long guns, threaded barrels, and even a bayonet lug if we want it. We can have magazines with capacities larger than 10 rds again. We have a concealed carry permit. You don't have to go to the sheriffs department for a permit paper to purchase a handgun. We can call in a person's information and find out in a few minutes if a person is capable of owning or purchasing a firearm. The Supreme Court has shored up our Constitutional Right to KEEP AND BEAR ARMS this summer with a landmark decision. We have the "Castle Doctrine" that lets us protect ourselves and our families from the ones that try to do us harm. Since the election, I have watched my favorite shop locally and seen a large increase in business. The staff has increased from 2 to 5 and has been packed everytime I stopped by. I volunteered my services to help them out at a local gun show this weekend knowing full well what was going to happen. I guessed it right, business was great. We sold guns out right, not many wanted to trade. Used guns are scarce. Ammo is selling like it is going out of style. I had more fun than I have had for years selling any product. Life is good for now. The Obama fear is on. Many said they were scared of Obama. I corrected them and said "Don't be scared of Obama, be scared of what Obama and his staff will do." Any thoughts?

Trout are free to swim down there, it just starts getting a little warm for them down there. MDC would probably stock there except the water temp does not meet the requirements for successful survival year round. There is a point on all of the MO trout streams where the temps start getting too warm to insure the trout survival. The springs determine the water temps.

If canoe rentals were responsible for the actions of their customers, like bar owners, would that curb the problems? If they allow an underage kid in a boat with booze, or if they let someone in their boat with excessive booze, impose a fine on them. Since most are between the ages of 18 - 25, I noticed nobody is blaming the parents for raising kids to display this type of behaviour. Its the poor little jello shots and beads we prosecute.

MDC has full authority to make arrest for any law violation. Local Sheriff deputies have authority to make arrest for game violations and any law violation in most areas. MDC usually has 1 agent covering multiple counties, and they really should be concentrating on game violations, not acting as bouncers on a stream. Their numbers are so few verses the area that they have to cover in comparison to other law enforcement, hence the need for more agents. I think that it is a better deterrent of law violation if the enforcers make their presence know. If people are aware an officer is around they tend to act properly. Case in point, people always slow down when they see a police car. If not, it usually costs them money in the form of a ticket. The actions on the rivers are well known, the sections of the rivers where the majority of the violations occur are well known. There is no need for an undercover surveillance of the area, stand out in full uniform and write tickets to stop it.

You can make hot glue eggs of any size and color, they are attached to the hook, and they catch fish. This eliminates the pegging issue altogether. And, it is a fly in MO if you add a little thread. I believe I posted some pattern pics when I went to AK a few years ago on here in the fly tying section. I used them in AK and have used them here, they work.

I have never used them in Missouri for trout, but they should work. If you peg them, then you are not really fishing with a fly per MO's definition so you would probably not want to try them in fly only areas. You are essentially fishing with a bare hook. In Alaska, where Dollies and Trout feed on eggs from the many salmon spawning in a river, they work great. As far as the pegging issue, I don't think I ever had a fish swallow a hook and all were released in great shape. You can't do that with a lot of other techniques. There are limits on how far up from the hook to peg it, mine was always about an inch. I tried other patterns because the dollies we fished for were so easy to catch with beads. But, the bead was the best producer.

Be sure to freeze it for a while to kill any lice or eggs on it. I don't know about pheasants but ducks are usually loaded with duck lice. The lice may not ruin the pelt but other bugs that may have laid eggs on it will. Or you could separate the feathers from the skin and bag them in airtight bags. I have been using citronella in my tying supplies to keep bugs out. I also cut up a flea collar and toss it in every now and then for good measure. Both smell a whole lot better than moth balls.

If you drink too much in public the charge would be "public intoxication". If it caused a fight, assault. If you are not old enough to drink, minor in possession. If you drive home after a float, DUI or DWI. If drugs are involved, drug charges apply. If you show your boobies, Public Nudity. If someone asks you to, Solicitation. We all know there is a problem. We all know where the problems occur. Law enforcement knows there is a problem. Forestry Service and MDC knows there is a problem. Arrest the problem and teach the problem a lesson and stop the problem with existing laws. The problems occur on the Current River, Jack's Fork River, Upper Black River, and the Huzzah. If you are on certain sections of these rivers during the summer on Saturday afternoon and to some extent Sunday, don't take young kids or anyone that may be offended by the above behavior. If you want a peaceful family fishing trip, go during the week, float early in the morning, or float any of the other beautiful streams in Mo. Truth be known, counties enjoy the tax revenue brought in to the motels, canoe liveries, food and liquor joints by the drunken party animals.

If those were from Missouri, there would have been a black bear and an otter in the pic too. Kinda reminds me of the 10 ft rattlesnake with the grain bins in the background, a hoax also.

Nice Tye, how does it cast soaking wet?

It has been years since I was there also. It was always a put and take fishery, stocked from March to Oct. with exceptions during the summer when water temps were above 70. Fishing was good for several weeks till all were caught out. I have in the past fished it during the winter months and picked up a few nice holdovers.

I think it is a Hatchery Problem first and a Federal Problem second. I don't think any of the Missouri Hatcheries are set up to raise either of the fish. When stocking occurs of the Brown trout, they come in from a hatchery as a fingerling and I think that Shepard of the Hills is the only one that raises them. Don't know for sure anymore, I don't spend alot of time with hatchery personnel like I used to. Since most trout streams in Mo. are in Federal waters governed by the Forestry Service, they have a say in what can be stocked as to protect native species. That may be the second reason. Carrying capacity of some of the streams may affect it also as well as crossbreeding with Rainbow strains and Cutthroat. I could see it happening in Taneycomo as it has in the Ark portions of the White River system. It probably won't happen in any other streams. A majority of streams rely on the stocking to sustain the trout with the exceptions of Crane Creek, Mill Spring Creek, and some of the other minor streams. Even some of them are stocked by fish migrating from the stocking points.

White fronts have been pretty common this year, they will decoy to Canadas. They are also called Specs. They are not very vocal, I usually use a few calls from a snow goose call to get their attention. I have seen several flocks come thru back during deer season and they were pretty thick over in Union Cty Il Refuge last week when I went thru there. On my reservation back Dec. 1, there were several flocks of Specs using the refuge field next to ours but we were not able to get them across. Winters have been so mild the last several years, we don't see many Canadas. Brant are a sea bird and fly the Pacific and Atlantic Flyways. Probably won't see many in the Mississippi Flyway. I got out today, 3/4" sleet and ice on roads this morning going to Duck Creek, all gravel roads were Ice. Busted 1/2" ice to timber blind this morning, left at 9:00, no ducks. Nothing was flying the timber, all were using crop fields.

+1 for BRB. Our elected officials need to spend more time on important legislature. I really wish the kids could float the stream through our properties like I did when I was a kid, but due to poor forestry and land management, it is choked up with gravel. But, legislature and government does not worry about things like that. When I was a kid, you could float a john boat thru the entire length, now you could not even float a kayak empty without dragging it. Throughout the entire watershed, timber has been stripped off, farms cleared to the creek banks of timber, and poor soil conservation has killed my stream. And it is killing alot of streams. Its not the beads or jello shots that is hurting the majority of float streams in MO.

I had not noticed the increase in the woodies, good thing to know as I am hunting timber at Duck Creek tomorrow. What exactly is a mottled duck anyway? Early season geese was over back in early October, now the bag limit is 2.

Spend some time reading about each of the rivers on here and you should learn alot about any of the rivers. Each have their good points and strengths. One thing to consider is whether you want to catch and keep or just fish. Areas with regulations would limit the techniques and amounts of fish you could take. Many of the sections of each river are better at certain times of the year. Some receive more float traffic than others. Or, you could just float them all and give your own opinion on here.

BRB, that is a major challenge on a day when birds are flying good. Early morning and on dark days, it is really hard to tell the difference in the drakes and the hens. All species have limits so you really need to pick your shots carefully. Mallards can only be 2 hens, 2 wood ducks, no canvasbacks, and one scaup. Most hunts that are good leave you to have to pick and choose to carefully fill your limit. I made an amazing shot on a flock of 30 teal before deer season. The crossed the decoys in a tight flock and I shot one time and missed. I could only kill one more and I was done so I was aiming at a low single and not the flock....I missed the whole flock luckily!

Looks like the local winter trout program is dead for this year around here. I fished it in November after the time change and did not have any luck. Water was green with algae and did not get any bites. Now it looks like most of the fish have died off and who knows what shape the rest are in. Published Dec 16, 2008 Trout in Jackson lake succumb to copepod parasite A parasite that is killing trout recently stocked into Jackson City Park's Rotary Lake is not harmful to humans, a Missouri Department of Conservation fisheries management agent said Monday. Over the past month, about 500 of the 1,300 trout released into the lake Oct. 30 have been found dead along the shore of the lake, said Salvador Mondragon of the Cape Girardeau Regional Office of the conservation agency. The trout appear to have been killed by a small crustacean called a copepod that attaches itself to the gills and inside the mouth of the fish, Mondragon said. "Usually when you open the mouth, they will be on the tongue or underneath the gill cover," Mondragon said. "It looks like small maggots attached to the gills. It is really easy to notice." The copepods contributing to the death of the fish do not attach themselves to other species in the lake such as bass, crappie, bluegill or channel catfish. Trout that are properly cleaned and cooked to 140 degrees are safe to eat even if infected with most parasites, the conservation agency said in a news release. But no one is supposed to be eating the trout at this time of year. Rotary Lake is stocked with trout each year, generally in early November, when water temperatures drop low enough to keep the cold-water loving fish alive. Over the late fall and early winter months, Rotary Lake is limited to catch-and-release fishing for trout. A season for catching and keeping trout from the lake opens Feb. 1. As water temperatures rise above 65 degrees during the spring, the surviving trout die off. The copepod species infecting the fish also will die off in warm water, Mondragon said. The fish die-off is being studied to determine if it is worth the cost and effort to restock the lake before anglers are allowed to keep the fish, Mondragon said. The source of the parasitic copepods is an open question, Mondragon said. They could have infected the fish at the hatchery, he said. But other lakes stocked around the same time have been checked and no significant fish kills have been reported, he said. That means other factors at Rotary Lake may be contributing to the kills, perhaps too much fertilizer runoff or a lack of food, he said. There have not been a lot of complaints from anglers using the lake, said Shane Anderson, director of parks and recreation for Jackson. On the Monday before Thanksgiving, he said he noticed 20 to 25 dead fish floating in the water. Typically a few fish die soon after stocking due to the stress of being moved, he said. The next day, Anderson said he walked around the lake and saw about "200 fish gasping for their life, and they were all trout. We took an oxygen level of the lake, because it looked like they were all having trouble breathing." The copepods make it difficult for fish to breathe when they attach themselves to the gills. Anderson said he has been removing the fish from the water as they die, keeping a count for the conservation agency and waiting for lab results to confirm whether the copepods contributed to the deaths or whether some other condition in the lake is to blame. Cold weather and poor fishing conditions have keep the number of anglers, and complaints, down, Anderson said. "The common individual thinks there is something wrong with the lake but it is just pertaining to the trout themselves," Anderson said. rkeller@semissourian.com 388-3642 Does this affect you? Have a comment? Log on to semissourian.com © Copyright 2008, Southeast Missourian Story URL: http://semissourian.com/article/20081216/N...12169956/-1/RSS

Around here, closer to ground zero, there will be massive damage. Most bridges will fail, infrastructure will be shut down for days. I don't sit around and worry about it all of the time but I have thought about it some. I do have the camper if the house is damaged. If I can make it back from where I am at. Back in the late 80's there was a guy that predicted that one would happen on a certain date and everyone stocked up and prepared for it. Nothing came about except for a small 4.0, 6 months early. But like you said, a country boy will survive.

The limits are 2 Canadas, 2 White Fronts, 1 Brant, and 20 Snow Geese. You could have stayed out longer and waited for others to come thru. White Fronts decoy to Canada decoys or Snow decoys. They are good to eat also and come to a call pretty good. Snows are a different story, you would have probably have to put out a bigger spread for them.

Since the 90's, I have watched the Seismic Activity of the local area on the net. The prediction of a major event coupled with some pretty major seismic events really peaked my interests. We go thru periods of tremors then quiet times. This year, we have seen some motion on the New Madrid fault and the Wabash Valley fault along with isolated tremors in Hot Springs and the Mt Carmel incident that has been quiet since I was a kid in the 60's. It is a different pattern than normal. One of these days, the New Madrid fault system is going to let go of some pressure like it had done in the past. Has anyone really gave it much thought or do you just plan on coping with it when it happens? Any Geologists on here want to comment? Wabash Valley Seismic Zones St Louis University Seismic

Sounds like a good hunt. This system should freeze them out up north and the next few weeks should be grand. I bank alot of my time off till the last few weeks of the year and it is not because I like to spend time with the family during the holidays!