Gear

I stumbled across this handy item while perusing a fly shop in Bend, Oregon, last fall. The "Tailgater" is made by Umpqua and fits around and inside a Rubbermaid Roughneck (18-gal) container. The Tailgater is designed with the flyfisherman in mind, but I found it perfect for packing around all the gear and other necessities associated with a day or more spent bird hunting or dog training. The assorted pockets of the Tailgater are situated both inside and outside the Roughneck, and are perfect for storing a number of items including medical aides, e-collars, batteries, whistles, reading material, you name it. The heart of the container is ideal for storing water jugs, dog feed, bowls, shotgun shells, any number of the larger items you typically tote around on a hunt or training session.

Humane Society CEO resigns after sexual harassment allegations

Reported in the Washington Post on Friday February 2nd...

Wayne Pacelle was apparently sexually harassing staff members, donors and volunteers.

Read more here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/humane-society-dismisses-sexual-harassment-complaints-against-ceo-citing-lack-of-credible-evidence/2018/02/02/d5b163c4-083b-11e8-8777-2a059f168dd2_story.html?utm_term=.af94ddcb1d30

Wayne Pacelle, former HSUS  CEO... Were the animals spared?

Eagles at work

Saw this on BBC this AM...

Eagles trained to take down drones

Continue on.

A Willys for my bird dogs

I have, for many years, been the owner of a 1947 Willys CJ2A. I bought it in the late 90s to haul dogs on bird hunts and to take with me on occasional big game hunts. 

On an elk hunt on Day Ridge, Oregon

Inevitably, one day it 'failed to proceed'. I thought it was the fuel pump, but found a new replacement didn't help. Decided it was dirt (or rust) in the fuel lines or perhaps a bad carburetor. SO pulled the fuel lines and carb and sent it to be rebuilt… parked the Jeep and covered it with a tarp and got busy with other stuff. A few years later I got back to trying to repair the old buggy. By this time there were still more problems. It wouldn't turn over.  Pulled the head… had a piston frozen in the block. 

Now the fun began. Looking it over, I decided that it needed some serious attention and I began dismantling it to find and cure all the ills. In short order I was involved in a frame up restoration. Stripped it down and examined all components to see what could be used, fixed, or needed to be replaced. That was over a year ago. Now the old Willys has a newly rebuilt engine, transmission, transfer case, axles (with a full floating rear end with locking hubs), new brake system, new suspension, tie rod ends, and a rebuilt steering box. I am toiling to get the body repairs (read fixing the rust) done. This is what I am hoping to get to - a funky, but fully functioning, flat fender Willys classic…

How we roll...

I have been refining my hunting truck set-up and thought I would share the latest iteration. I still have the 4 dog topper and will use when needed, but I liked the idea of something a bit more flexible. 

My truck is an older (2001) F350 that does great towing my Airstream or my fishing boat. But I needed to add a few things to make it convenient for hunting trips. 

As a useable base, and to provide easy access to the contents of the truck bed, I installed a full length, roll-out Bed Slide that is 48 inches wide. On top I put an ARE shell with swing up side windows. The windows provide access to a Line-X coated ply box that sits within the bed rails - over the forward part of the bed. 

On the Bed Slide I fitted a poly 35 gallon potable water tank (48" X 18" X 10") and a small electric pump. This provides a means to carry plenty of water when I need to refill the tank on the Airstream or when camping out of the truck or if I just want to douse a dog.

My excellent friend and fellow blogger, Pete, made a very nice gun and 'stuff' drawer that fits on one side of the Bed Slide - leaving room for a storage box or a sliding tray for my Engel 45L fridge/freezer. Pete built it with 'double decker' drawers that occupy the center area and, somehow, boxes of sixteen gauge loads fit exactly in the top drawers. Thank you, Pete! The wire dog crates go on a piece of carpet on top of the box - ratchet strapped securely to the Bed Slide.

This works out to be a pretty good way to carry a couple bird dogs, four guns, a generous amount of ammo, a ton of hunting crap, a lot of water and nearly anything else you need to haul along.

A couple of short bits

I returned yesterday from a couple weeks in Oregon with Mike and stopped in the Owens Valley on the way back for the quail opener.  It was a warm day but we got into a few coveys and had some nice dog work before 10.00.  A couple of stellar moments ...

A sharpshin hawk was already working the area for quail when we arrived.  It seemed to welcome another hunter, slowly floating by within 20 feet of me at one point.  Soon after that it stooped on a quail that flushed wild, but the quail had a good head of steam and was headed down hill, so the hawk lost that race.  A few minutes later I killed a quail that dropped on open ground 30 yards below and to my left.  As I walked to pick it up the hawk stooped past me, grabbed the quail on the fly, and continued down the hill.  Tres cool.

Also, I shot (at) my first bird over a Maggie point.  She had quickly figured out that there were birds hiding in the low scrub and ran from bush to bush looking for scent.  She found a a bird that way, and held point for 10 seconds or so as I walked towards her, and I took a shot when the quail broke.  Wish I could say that I killed that bird, but I shot over the downhill quartering bird.  Anyway, Maggie is clearly on her way to a great career.

Men and lions

Saw this on Steve Bodio's blog and am including a link here. These guys are pretty cool.