TBow

Been AWOL myself on here for the past 10 years. Retired 12 years ago, but was hanging around Tim Horton's coffee shops too much for 2 years, so I opted to return to the work force. Was supposed to be a part-time job for 6 or 7 months, but turned into a 10 year full-time job that often compromised my off hours as well as weekends. Pulled the pin (retired again) this fall and have spent more time hunting this year than in the past 6 years combined. When I returned to work 10 years ago, my time on the 'ol computer took a significant back seat (as evidenced by this my first post in here in over 10 years). In the past 10 years, I have seen 5 grandkids added to the family tree and lost my brother 10 years my junior. Which reminds me to offer this advice, "Get a check-up at the doctor's office, get your blood work done and your heart checked! Playing the tough guy and saying that you don't need no stinkin' check-ups, makes no sense"! I see a few names here that I remember from 10 to 12 years ago. Hope y'all have had a great hunting season thus far, and all the best from the north of the border.....again! My condolences Gator on your loss! TBow

My 3-on-the-tree was a '53 Dodge Fargo with a flat head 6, a 6 volt electrical system and a floor mount foot starter button. Today I'm driving a truck with a lot more power and a heap more options, but not nearly as much fun as that 'ol Fargo was. TBow

I was flipping through some music videos tonight on YouTube and was watching Darius Rucker's "Wagon Wheel" and low and behold there were the Duck Dynasty boys in the video. A couple of them were driving some vintage pickups and I saw them manually shift two of the trucks with the "3-on-the-tree" shift configuration. I got to wondering how many people have actually ever driven a standard shift vehicle with the manual shifter on the steering column. About 25% of the vehicles that I've owned have been manual transmissions and one was even the good old steering column manual shifter. So just curious: 1. How many have experienced the "3-on-the-tree" shifter? 2. How many still struggle with a manual transmission? One would think that with questions like theses, that someone has WAY TOO MUCH TIME on their hands, but surprisingly, my free time of late is on an extreme premium! TBow

I've read posts previously that mentioned about swimming in the ocean (salt water) while they were infected with poison ivy, and it cleared up the sores in short order. I'm guessing that the "clorox" or bleach suggestions have the same effect as the salt water. On a somewhat related topic, I had a plethera of poison ivy plants growing on a building lot that I own. As me and the wooded root nightmare plant don't quite see eye to eye, I went at it with a vengence trying to erradicate it. I'd read all the suggestions and articles on how to eliminate it permanently, but most would only partially work. I used "Round-Up", PAR-3, ripped up the roots, tried covering it with opaque objects, but none of it worked to 100% erradication. After about 5 or 6 years of efforts, I finally got an old empty Windex bottle with a squirt handle, filled it with a Round-Up / water mixture of about 10% or more of the herbicide, then kept walking my lot twice a week for the whole spring and summer squirting the toxic mixture directly onto any plants that I could locate. I have finally wiped the dang stuff out. Mission accomplished....take that poison ivy! TBow

Well we got home about 3 weeks ago, and NO, we didn't pop any moose, but then again, I hadn't expected to, given our tag situation. I was calling bulls hoping to get a few picture opportunities, and I was able to get about 4 responses that we were aware of. Although I had bulls grunting in response, I couldn't get them into any closer than 150 yards or so. At one of my calling sites we did find a few fresh moose beds that indicated the presence of a cow with a pair of calves, and we had one bull that was working the area with regularity, finding fresh tracks in our ATV tarcks every day and lots of rubs. My son and my brother-in-law each had a lynx at 10 yards which they found really exciting. We also got to pop a few grouse with the bows and ran into some friends that we'd met in the area in previous years. One evening back in camp, after hunting, while we were prepping for a late supper and getting a camfire ready, we heard the most ungodly screaming taking place about 100 to 200 feet from our campfire. It sounded like a terrified woman in a horror movie. Scared the bejeepers out of us. We later found out that it was a mating call of a vixen (female) red fox trying to call in a mate. We all got a big laugh at that, given that we thought of ourselves as big ruff and tuff woodsmen.! He he he! Anywho, it turned out to be more of a camping excursion than a hunting trip, but I still had a blast and be will there again next year, health permitting. Hope we can pull a bull tag next year. We've been 3 years without a bull tag. TBow

My wife and I have 2 TVs in my house. One downstairs in the livingroom that I like to think I am master and commander of. And the other in our bedroom, that she has laid claim to control. So when I'm watching my TV downstairs, she has to put up with the shows that I favor, such as Swamp People, American Hoggers, American Pickers, Storage Wars, any hunting related shows, Game of Thrones....well, you get the picture. But OH lordy when I head up to bed and she still has control of the remote control for her TV, I have to put up with shows that can only be described as giving me the same sensation as listening to fingernails being raked across a blackboard. So here's my list of my most hated television shows: 1. The Young and the Restless 2. The Bachelor 3. The Bachelorette 4. Dancing With the Stars 5. Say Yes to the Dress 6. And the show I absolutely refuse to watch: NANCY GRACE So! Y'all got your own to add to the "Do Not Watch List"? TBow

I find that the last song you hear before leaving the house or truck, just before heading into the woods, is usually stuck in your head all day long. You will inevitably keep imagining, whistling or humming long enough to drive you crazy. Heaven forbid it's a song that you hate! That's why I play country or 60s/70s oldies. If any hard rock ever came on my radio, I'm lible to rip the radio out or sell the truck!!!! TBow

Well this year has been a real wash out with the Ontario big game lotteries for me. My moose group missed out on a bull tag and I totally forgot to put in for the deer anterless deer draw....OOPS! Well today the surplus moose tags were up for grabs and there were a number of cow - archery only tags available in the WMU that I hunt in. So at 5:30 p.m., at the bell, I was off and running with two phones in hand to try and nab one of those surplus cow tags. Well low and behold, after 1-1/2 hours of painstakingly hitting "ON - REDIAL - OFF" on both phones over and over and over again and again, I got through......and there were still some tags available. So my group will be heading north in September with more than the usual calf tags in hand. Irregardless of whether we pull a tag or not, I still make the pilgrimage north as I quite thoroughly enjoy the excursion into the wooded northlands. When we're short on tags, we manage to fill our time popping a few grouse or taking to the water and try our hand at angling. We still hit the tree stands early mornings and evenings, but when tags are scarce, we normally are armed with cameras hoping for a hot and bothered bull to keep the blood pressure going and the digital cameras full. TBow

I was up at 5:00 a.m. on Monday to get ready to travel to Drummondville, Quebec. Loaded the work truck at 5:15, east bound and down on 401 at 6:00, stopped at the 730 Truck Stop at Cardinal for a "trucker's breaky" and made Drummondville by 11:00. Worked 'till 5:30 p.m. crating industrial surplus materials, then hit the hotel for a shower and dinner including a few Coors Lights just to relax. Got home today around 5:00 p.m. Traffic wasn't too bad as we skirted Montreal via Valleyfield and Chateaugay along the south shore. I was gon'na take the rest of the week off to help a buddy with some work at a house he'd bought, but my work partner had a death in his family yesterday leaving me as the only shop maintenance person, so back to work I go. And man oh man is the grass ever growing fast and thick around here. I'll be whittlin' lawns all this weekend I fig'r!. Time to recruit the grandaughter again to drive the lawn mower I guess. TBow

I own a few 18 volt Dewalt cordless tools and 3 out of the 4 batteries have gone bad. I figured I'd have to purchase a couple packs of batteries at a cost of near $120 per pack (a pair of batteries in each pack). $200 to $240 dollars isn't something I'm happy about having to dish out, but I use my cordless tools regularly and can't see going without them. So I headed to the internet to seek out the most cost effective means of resolution to my battery dilemma. I found I had 4 options: 1. Pay $240 dollars (plus tax) to buy new batteries locally from a retailer. 2. Buy new batteries off the internet such as Ebay for about $200 (plus S&H). 3. Buy a refurbishment battery kit which constitutes the replacement batteries alone and all I have to do replace the old batteries with the new batteries into the old plastic casings. A rebuild kit costs about $40 each, so 4 rebuilds would eat up about $160 (plus S&H or tax). 4. Try to rejuvenate the old batteries at a cost of..let's see....NOTHING!!!!!!!!! OH YA baby! Got'ta love the sound of that cost of "NOTHING!". Rejuvenation of the battery packs requires either a small welder with a DC output, a power supply capable of a higher voltage than the battery pack or a battery system with a higher voltage than the battery pack. All of the instructions I read stressed the safety factor requiring all personal protective equipment (PPE) such as goggles or faceshield, gloves, etc. The procedure involves hitting the battery pack terminals repeatedly (about 10 to 25 times) with a reverse voltage to clear dendrytes from the cordless battery pack. Then hit the cordless battery pack with the proper polarity. Then proceed to charge the battery. I tried it with 2 x 12 volt lead acid batteries in series (24 volts), and got'ta say it worked flawlessly. My old battery packs that I thought were nothing but paper weights, are back on my cordless tools powering them like they were new! For anyone thinking of trying this for the first time, I'd recommend going online and reading up on the procedures just to be safe. Oh ya, and as for what causes those dang nabbit dendrytes on your old batteries that causes them to go dead, it comes from overcharging, or leaving your batteries in the charger unit for too long. Don't leave your batteries on any longer than it takes for a quick charge (30 to 60 minutes). Happy cordless batterying! TBow

I don't need to Google Gitchigoomee. Well, not as long as you had been listening over and over again to Gordon Lightfoot's rendition of the Edmund Fitzgerald.....and I've been on that lake. Only great lake I haven't been on is Lake Michigan. TBow

Shaun, I too wish you the best of luck, but as I'm sure you are aware, becoming a commercial jet pilot is a long and expensive uphill battle. It could take 15 to 20 years and I'm thinking more than the $70K you eluded to. Although I've never talked to any of the airline pilots, I have worked with several rotary wing (helicopters) pilots and have gained a little insight into the aviation world. Few airlines will hire anyone without a considerable number of air hours, which only comes with years of experience in the pits. You will likely have to take jobs with one or a number of smaller air services in order to tally 2000 or 3000 plus air hours before any of the larger airlines will even consider you. One of my chopper pilot friends had a son in the military who was a fixed wing pilot for the airforce branch. He mentioned to me that quite a few of the major airlines hire ex-airforce pilots as they have a tremendous amount of air time in larger aircraft. Here's just some food for thought. As you are an outdoor enthusiast, I was wondering if you ever considered becoming a chopper pilot. You would be more in your element as choppers tend to work in bush type areas. The majority of them only fly VFR which means no nightime shifts. I know there is a helicopter training institute in North Bay for rotary wing which is pretty much right around the corner from you if you ever considered taking a weekend tour to check it out. I believe at one time, the hours required for a private rotary wing licence was 35 hours and for commerecial it was 100 hours. The most expensive part of that is paying for the air time for the machines which can run anywhere from $500 to $1500 per hour depending on the type and model of machine they use. Again, few of the major companies will hire anyone without a lot of air hours (2000 plus), so it still involves hopscotching working for smaller companies in remote areas to tally those needed hours. I know chopper pilots would not make what the larger airline pilots make, but I know I just loved working around choppers far more than anytime I ever spent around fixed wing. Again, this is just me thinking out loud and giving you some food for thought. I truly wish you the best of luck in whatever endevour you opt to pursue. From reading your posts, I can see that you have a passion for whatever road you choose to take and the competence to fulfill your dreams. TBow

I've been on the water for over 37 years. Mostly inland waters comprised of the St. Lawrence River, the Ottawa River, Lake Ontario, the Welland Canal, Lake Erie, Detroit River, Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River. I'va also sailed on Lake Huron, Georgian Bay and Lake Superior, but not a lot. For the past 13 years of my career, I also sailed to the eastern arctic during the summer sailing out of Quebec City through the Gulf of St. Lawrence, through the Straits of Belle Isle to the Labrador Sea and Atlantic Ocean, through Hudson Strait, Ungava Bay, Frobisher Bay, Hudson Bay and the Gulf of Boothia near the Arctic Ocean. Believe it or not, the scariest trip I had was on Lake Ontario in a November storm with winds gusting to almost 100 mph. The next morning was spent with mallets and shovels, breaking and tossing the ice away so the ship didn't get top heavy and roll over. I did make one trip to Sydney, NS way back in '71 when I was 19. I got drunk, hung over and sea sick all at the same time when the ship sailed out into the Atlantic to test their ballast stabilization system. The drunk part came the evening before when I was cooerced into testing out the local taverns for the first time in my life. If you've never been hungover and seasick at the same time, the phrase, "Just shoot me!", will take on a whole new meaning! Eyes is bin Screeched in as well in St. Johns as eyes was made ta kis 'da cod....along wit a few udder colourful activities! A definate hilight of my career! LOL Although some of my sailing experience was on ships, I mostly ran small craft for most of my career. TBow

I think it's important to ask yourself, and/or let us know "What will I/you be using this knife for?" 1. Is it an every day pocket knife? 2. A utility work knife? 3. A hunting knife? 4. Camp knife? 5. Caping knife? 6. Cutting down trees knife or Rambo wan'na be? lol! Just kidding! Although some people do select knives based on those very conditions. I've personally owned Buck, Schrade, Kershaw, Camillas, Letherman, Gerber, Case, Knives of Alaska, Grohmann, Puma, and likely a half dozen more whose names elude me. I just love buying a new knife. Nothing like getting a new toy to boost a body's spirit. Kind'a like when you were a kid and finding all those great toys under the tree at christmas. A knife is certainly a needed tool especially on hunting excursions, so it's important not to merely choose the right brand name, but also the right model or style that's personalized to your needs. Some people like folding knives and some prefer fixed blades. Both are great, but that decision rests solely with you. I personally carry a multi-tool every day. It's a Gerber Legend and I think it's the cat's meow! (sorry, I just dated myself). I've also had Letherman multi-tools, but prefer the ergomics of the Gerber more than the Letherman. For a hunting knife, I long ago learned that the "go big or go home" approach is just plain wrong! In my hunting world, smaller is better. I always used to first guage a hunter's experience by the size of his/her knife. The bigger the knife, the less experience I surmised they had. Unless you plan on chopping down trees, or prying harpoons from Spanish galleons,stay away from those Rambo-type mega blades. Trying to skin a rabbit or field dressing a deer would be extremely awkward with a knife of those dimensions. I've hunted moose for over 30 years, and the addage, "bigger knives are required for bigger animals" is way off base. A 3" to 4" blade is more than adequate, and in my opinion, preferred, over larger and longer knives. I really don't think you can go wrong with any of the top brand names, but here's a few things to look for: 1. Warranty. Many of the top manufacturers carry life time warranty replacement or repair. 2. Will it hold an edge? What type of steel is the blade made of? 3. How difficult or easy is it to sharpen? Generally, the harder it is to put an edge on it, the longer it should hold an edge. That's not written in stone, but sounds logical. 3. What blade shape do I want? ie: caping, skinning, utility, etc. 4. Folder or fixed? 5. What does your budget allow you to attain? If the sky's the limit, git 'er done, but I would think the average price for a good knife will run about $40 to $60. My current contingency of blades that I carry is a small folding pocket knife made by Zippo which I've carried for over 10 years, a Gerber Legend multi-tool that has been replaced under lifetime warranty twice and my hunting set-up is a Knives of Alaska combo pack with the Cub caping knife and the Jaeger. I paid about $150 for the KoA knives from Bass Pro, I won the Gerber Legend from Dave Watson's Secrets of the Hunt back in the late 90s (but they run about $110) and the Zippo was a gift. Best of luck!

Two more coffee and a donut for me. TBow

PRESCOTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AW MAN, I work just two buildings away from Timmies!!!!!! I was there at noon hour. Wish'd I'd a knewd yu was gon'na be there. Guess I should'a checked the 'ol computer yesterday.... C'est la vie! BTW: I won another coffee today! TBow

Another cafe for moi aujourdui. TBow

Shaun, I'm afraid I've got some bad news for you. It would appear that you will, in all probability, be suffering from withdrawal as getting a Timmies in Myrtle Beach may be a tad difficult, not to mention how far you're likely to fall behind in the "r-r-r-r-r-r-oll up the rim" race! KE Ke ke! Have a safe and great holiday! Don't forget the Sherwin Williams sun bloc. You know how us winterized Canucks react to that there southern sun what with the over-exposure we tend to indulge in! TBow

Loud music, particularly loud hard rock in hunting shows...ludicrous...where's the remote? Turn to Swamp People! Rather watch Mitch and Glen on the porch huntin' squirrels and Troy shoutin' at the help to , "SHOOT 'IM ELIZABETH!". Loud music on hunting shows ..... BAD! Gators and Cajuns .................... GOOD! TBow

Whenever I hear a song that either has a lyrics or tune that is so repetative and rediculous that it sounds like the person who wrote it has the IQ of a prairie oyster, my favorite sarcastic saying is: - "Man! They must have stayed up all night writing that one!" Or when I see a vehicle that is homelier than a hedgehog (and there are lot of them, both in designs of new buggies and in rides that supposedly have been TRICKED (???) out), I usually comment: - "Lord luv a duck! That is one ugly vehicle! What a waste of good money!" My kids can usually pre-anticipate my responses in both of those situations. And when I experience a miss with my bow, whether at game or at a target, I rarely provide a lengthy excuse. Rather I merely indicate that, "I just experienced a number 29 (or whatever #)" drawing from the Bowhunters' List of Most Commonly Used Excuses! Saves a lot of time! TBow

I've been seriously bowhunting for over 40 years and tinkered with a bow when I was a kid in the 60s, so archery has been a big part f my life for quite a while. In the late 80s, the movie TOP GUN came out. My family bought me personalized lisence plates for my truck shortly after that, which read TOP BOW, as I hunt almost exclusively with a bow. When I started going online and visiting hunting websites in the 90s, I needed a handle that had some meaning to me. Not wanting to use the handle Top Bow, I shortened it to TBow and have been using that name for 16 years online. Now that I'm crowding the 60 year mark, I'm glad I picked such a short handle, as trying to remember really long names is starting to become a real chore! TBow

Congrats drk (Stirling) on making the top 15. I'll pop in some votes as well for Stirling. TBow

They just posted the top 15 that are moved into the voting round. Unfortunately for my hometown, we didn't make the cut. TBow

I picked up a free coffee this afternoon. That makes: 1 donut 1 coffee TBow