16ga.com ~ View topic

Joined: 17 Jan 2014 Posts: 1691 Location: Denver, Colorado

Leaving Friday to make the long haul up to LOTW.

Grouse camp in September & October requires several activities to assure a clean and comfortable place to operate from (& a few walleye get caught in that process as well). I've got a new rig (to me) to make the long drive in and I am looking forward to a now fairly-comfortable transit across the middle part of the country. Lawn care and vehicle maintenance (including a now-ancient John Deere riding mower) mostly fill the days, with a few scouting & fishing trips thrown in to keep things interesting.

With my bride now being semi-retired (yay!) I will also be looking at the options for making that part of the world more of a 4-season option.

Lots of variables to consider on this trip, for sure.

Lloyd3,

Have a great time at the camp!

all the best,

Pine Creek/dave
L.C. Smith/Westley Richards Man

Joined: 17 Jan 2014 Posts: 1691 Location: Denver, Colorado

Saw my 1st ruffed grouse of 2026 yesterday.

Fired up my old Isuzu Trooper (that stays up here all winter) and went deep into the forest to see how much timbering had occurred over the last year and if any of my favorite coverts had been affected.

On the way south I saw a smaller red bird that had stepped out from the side of the road. I was going too fast to stop for a closer look at it but I tried anyway and went past it before stopping, when I backed up to find it again it was gone.

From conversations with the forest manager here, earlier in the week, he confirmed what I thought I had observed from afar...that the weather here over the critical nesting period (last week in May, 1st week in June) had been warn & dry enough to allow for good clutching success. He has even seen broods where the chicks are flying already (!) so....this coming Fall is looking very promising up here. I had been walking daily at home but now... I'm redoubling my efforts.

By September I will be ready (that does seem to get a bit harder with every passing year, hmmm).

[url=https://imgur.com/mYCdcfB]

[/url]

My brother even cleaned up my old Ford truck for me while he waited for me to get here (it stays up here all winter too). Not bad for almost 200k miles and 30-years old, eh?

Lloyd3,

Great looking old Ford truck, in really good shape for its age also. Looks like the Grouse population is in good shape up your way also. I fully understand how tough it is getting around as we get older, my foot operation was a success, however the swelling comes and goes depending on my arthritis, some very painful stuff. My ability to walk long distances while Grouse hunt has been severely limited.

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith/Westley Richards Man

Joined: 17 Jan 2014 Posts: 1691 Location: Denver, Colorado

Dave:

Cleaned up allright, eh?

Let me tell you, none of the other 1997s up here look like that. It was a garaged Colorado truck that never made it to the dirt with it's previous owner (airline pilots are fussy like that) but it's been up here for 10-years now so...didn't know what to expect.

It's quite plain (only has 3-doors) and on it's original clutch, but it only gets lightly used from June to November then it goes back to sleep (not many miles per year up here). It is usually dusty, dirty, full of cobwebs, and covered in pine sap and bird poop. The interior however has always been excellent.

[url=https://imgur.com/IudzAhZ]

[/url]

It has made for a good hunting vehicle for up here (paid $1,800 for it when it had 130k on it).

Wish I was there Loyld, sounds great to me , can't see your photos over here but I sounds like a good way to spend a bit of time at your camp , good to hear what your at WJ.

Joined: 17 Jan 2014 Posts: 1691 Location: Denver, Colorado

WJ Jeffery: I had heard that you folks could no longer receive uncensored photography from outside the UK but...this is utterly amazing to me. We're talking about an old pickup truck here....who cares about things like that?

Good Lord...I am so sorry for you. I had no Idea.

The concept is chilling for me.

Joined: 17 Jan 2014 Posts: 1691 Location: Denver, Colorado

[url=https://imgur.com/5wRlmj0]

[/url]

Headed home tomorrow. All the boats are unserviceable and the bugs are bad (even the ticks!.

I'll be back in September, God willing.

Lloyd3,

Hate to tell WJ to move, however it is time for him to come and get his US citizenship started! My home is where freedom reigns!

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith/Westley Richards Man

Joined: 12 Sep 2010 Posts: 2013 Location: Maine

That's a nice walleye anywhere.

Lloyd: as a PA native this may interest you. In the current legislature there's Senate Bill 1313, which would create a Pennsylvania Native non-resident license. As it's currently written, this would be for people who were born in PA or resided there, but don't currently (and would therefore have to buy a non-resident license to hunt there). Show proof of birth or prior residence there and you could get a hunting license for $20. The current configuration of the license would be good for 5 days during deer season.

Apparently, the deer are so thick on the ground they need native PA people to come home and hunt them. (The deer are plentiful but largely in areas you can't hunt them.)

Joined: 17 Jan 2014 Posts: 1691 Location: Denver, Colorado

Dave:

Thankyou for that insight.

We have a similar problem as I have deer and turkey in my yard almost everyday here anymore. Cannot grow anything in the yard without fencing and have to shoo anyway the deer to get down the driveway some mornings.

Of course...discharging any firearm in this neighborhood is a serious crime.
Our son is now living and working in lovely Pittsburgh, perhaps I need to return to the land of my forefathers, rifle in hand?

I had a custom flintlock Pennsylvania long rifle (w/ a 42-inch swamped barrel) built for hunting there several years ago now, but my hunting partner was killed in a motorcycle accident (in '22) so...I've never even fired it (chambered in .45 so it isn't even legal for use here in Colorado).

Hmmm....