Did You know - outdoor edition

doc henderson · October 14, 2022, 01:50:31 PM

If it was breakfast time, maybe they were gobbling there cereal grains! smiley_turkey_dancing :D :D :D 8)

WV Sawmiller · October 15, 2022, 12:34:44 PM

Did you know that, IIRC, the Army and USMC found that young men who were raised in the outdoors hunting, trapping and tracking and such were able to use those skills successfully in combat to help identify targets, ambushes and booby-traps and such? Well that seems reasonable but did you know that they also found that many young men raised is dangerous inner city environments with drug dealers, muggings and drive-by shootings, also possessed many of those same skills pertaining to situational awareness and self-defense.

BTW - the turkeys were gobbling again this morning and I had a yearling bear cub that looked to weigh maybe 60-70 lbs hanging around my in, around and directly under shooting house. He was funny to watch as it seemed like every tree he walked past or every log he walked under he would scratch his back on it and he sat on his butt at one point looking at his paws. My camera is the shop for repair and I did get several shots on my phone but I don't have the hardware/cables or knowledge yet to download them.

WV Sawmiller · October 16, 2022, 08:10:31 PM

Did you know that fires (Grasslands, brush and forest fires) can be started by glass bottles or a piece of broken glass? If the bottle is out in direct sunlight at the correct angle to the sun and the right tinder is in position the sun shining through the glass can concentrate or focus the light like a magnifying lenses and set the tinder on fire. On many official fire reports "glass bottles" is a checklist item for cause of fire.

I have watched various survival shows where they used a plastic bag partially filled with liquid (water or urine for dramatic effect) and used as a lens to start a fire. One old Anthony Hopkins show indicated ice could be formed to do the same thing. I have not tried it but the theory seems sound.

KEC · October 16, 2022, 08:58:47 PM

WV, About the young bear scratching his back on a log, did you know that sometimes they get mange? I haven't seen anything about it recently and they probably get lice too. I wouldn't wish mange on any critter.

WV Sawmiller · October 17, 2022, 06:43:10 AM

I knew coyotes and foxes got mange like dogs do. The bear's coat looked think and glossy and I did not see any bare patches like mange be he had something that itched.

Did you know people can get mange? I think it is called Scabies in people and maybe Doc H can chime in and confirm or correct that.

In Cameroon if traveling in country and staying at local hotels many of my co-workers carried their own bed linens to help avoid it as apparently the local hotels did not wash the sheets between every user.

tule peak timber · October 17, 2022, 09:19:08 AM

I'm sharing some pics my friend Richard just sent me from Alaska. Looks like a freezer filler.

doc henderson · October 17, 2022, 09:26:16 AM

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mange

tule peak timber · October 17, 2022, 09:34:20 AM

There were cases of scabies in my Army barracks, among other things picked up while on leave. Pretty nasty stuff

doc henderson · October 17, 2022, 09:44:57 AM

among a few other things I would guess!

8) 8) 8)

tule peak timber · October 17, 2022, 10:13:12 AM

Yes, self-propelled wildlife of various description

WV Sawmiller · October 17, 2022, 10:06:54 PM

Thanks, Doc.

WV Sawmiller · October 18, 2022, 07:17:13 PM

Did you know beavers are herbivores? They only eat bark and plant material but I have run into people who thought they ate fish and thought they should be killed to help the fish population. They have the same problems in the amazon with the Amazonian manatee which is a plant eater but many local tribesmen want to destroy them thinking they eat the fish. Environmentalists trying to protect the manatees concentrate on teaching the kids who in turn educate their parents to varying degrees.

WV Sawmiller · October 19, 2022, 11:47:04 AM

Did you know the Gerenuk is an odd shaped antelope in East Africa that looks sort of like a Pronghorn body with a long slender neck and an ET looking face? The long neck helps it browse in the tops of brush that other similar sized animals cannot reach. It also has excellent balance and can stand on its back legs for the extra height/reach.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerenuk

WV Sawmiller · October 20, 2022, 11:29:02 AM

Did you know the gauge of a shotgun, with the exception of a .410, is the number of round lead balls that would fit down its bore if made from one pound of lead? For example a 12 gauge shotgun would make 12 balls per pound, a 16 gauge would make 16 balls, a 20 gauge 20 balls and a 28 gauge would make 28 balls per pound.

The .410 is actually the diameter of the bore or the caliber so a .410 shotgun should shoot a .41 caliber bullet.

While losing popularity in the USA a 16 gauge was still the most common shotgun I saw in use in the Amazon region of South America.

Hilltop366 · October 20, 2022, 12:25:28 PM

A .410 would be a 67.62 gauge if calculated that way.

I had used a few different size shot guns for upland bird hunting, started with a (borrowed) 20 gauge side by side then a 12 pump then I had my own .410 side by side.

I much preferred the .410 except for the extra cost of the shells. The .410 was lighter, quieter and longer range than the others.

WV Sawmiller · October 20, 2022, 05:27:44 PM

My first shotgun was a .20 gauge Remington Wingmaster 870 pump that Dad bought 2nd hand from a co-worker. I got it when I was 7 y/o so I have had it 62 years now. It still works fine. I may try to kill a deer with it this year just for the novelty of it.

Hilltop366 · October 20, 2022, 06:06:42 PM

The Ithaca 12 gauge pump I used was my uncle's, he bought it in Yellowknife NWT in the 50's. If I recall he said he paid $125.00 for it at the time and said he could have got one with the sides gold plated and engraved for $1200.00, not sure where he got the Stevens 20 ga.

I think .410 was a IGA, it wasn't very expensive but fit me well. I rarely missed a bird or clay with it. I also would shoot clays with a .22 for fun. (there were no houses for miles in that direction).

WV Sawmiller · October 20, 2022, 08:42:07 PM

A few years ago I inherited my late older brothers little 20 gauge Stevens double barrel. I may have to dig it out and see it we have the same model. Maybe I should kill a deer with it in his memory.

KEC · October 20, 2022, 10:04:36 PM

I've been wanting to buy a Model 870 20 gauge pump youth gun for a long time, but I can't find one.

WV Sawmiller · October 21, 2022, 09:08:10 AM

KEC,

Mine is not the youth model which I guess is just a shorter stock. Mine is the adult model. When I first got it I used to have to hold it under my arm to shoot till I got bigger.

When we had been married a few years I got my wife a 3" vent rib 870 Remington Wingmaster because she was using mine for squirrel hunting and had started referring to it as her gun and I had to stop that.

WV Sawmiller · October 21, 2022, 09:16:42 AM

Did you know in Europe a popular hunting gun was called a "Drilling" which was a side by side with a centerfire rifle underneath? A buddy of mine had one. I think it was a 16 gauge rabbit earred shotgun and a 7 X something mm rifle underneath. When you flipped the selector for the rifle a rear sight popped up. I guess that was their answer to an over and under stack barrel used in the USA. As I remember the over and under generally puts the rifle on top and the shotgun underneath.

doc henderson · October 21, 2022, 09:23:10 AM

Yes, I got my wife a Ruger red label over under 12 g... but it was too big for her so now it is mine. It can work both ways Howard.

Hilltop366 · October 21, 2022, 11:52:11 AM

In line with the hunting and shooting.

A local guy the my brother use to work for had moved to England for a while when he moved back he was telling of how he went pheasant shooting, apparently it is on land that they raise and release pheasants for the well to do to go shooting on. Each shooter has a minder and after they are set up at their spots some other people called beaters go in the bush and beat the bush with sticks. The guy thought it was a bit odd that beaters were in the general direction of the shooting even though they were shooting well above their heads so he asked the minder if anyone had shot a beater to which the minder replied in his thick upper class British accent "oh no sir they are much to tough to eat"

WV Sawmiller · October 22, 2022, 08:58:41 AM

On with the hunting theme I am reminded of the tale of a bunch of guys in S. Ga who came in from the hunt and one pair had not returned. It got pretty late and finally LeRoy came in dragging a big 8 point buck he had killed. They all complimented him for his success then one asked "Wasn't Bubba hunting near you? Have you seen him?" LeRoy replied "Yeah, he was hunting in the next stand and came to help me drag this deer for a while then he suddenly grabbed his chest and collapsed on the ground. I reckon he had a stroke or something." The first hunter said "You mean you left Bubba in the woods and dragged the deer out instead?" LeRoy sagely replied "Yeah, I thought about it a little bit but I decided wouldn't nobody steal Bubba."

WV Sawmiller · October 23, 2022, 07:15:00 PM

Did you know that the male Maned Wolf from South America marks his territory with Urine that smells almost identical to a skunk? We visited the zoo in the Science Center at Greensboro NC today and long before I got to the Wolf's pen I had commented that someone had stirred up a skunk. When we got to the wolf pen one of the Factoids posted on the outside was the fact his spray smells like a skunk.