Ramblings and Such From Hunting Coyote

Do you anchor to the post or up on the wire?

Thanks

Buck

to the post, it's a long snare so that a coyote can climb over the fence and then not reach the ground for a quick kill.

I have been known to hook two snares together when I didn't have an extension cable with me to be able to reach a post as an anchor, I don't like anything shorter than an eight-foot snare, for the way that I set mine. You can have 16 feet or cable but still only have 8 feet of useable snare cable depending on how you make the set. They make earth anchors as well, but I don't tend to like them due to the large variety of ground that I encounter, rocky, sandy, gumbo and sometimes good sandy loam, frozen ground of all types is hard to deal with then when it thaws out what was onetime hard fastened and immobile pulls out readily.

Here it is the day before Thanksgiving. We all have somethings to be thankful for, yes, we may have had some unfortunate things happen in our lives but still we will be able to see somethings to be grateful for. For me I find a ton of small things like watching a squirrel hide its treasure, a red-tailed hawk hunting a mouse, as well as the big things such as friends and especially family, the friend that has just had her baby and they are doing well, the granddaughter who is going to have her baby and both are well and healthy. The kids that are doing well with jobs that they don't feel are jobs or work just enjoying them as they spend their days doing them. All of the friends that I have the pleasure of visiting here and the people that I am able to help along the way who enjoy visiting and asking questions that I might be able to answer, or at least someone else can that is here. May we all spend a small amount of time to reflect on the things in our lives that mean so much to us and give thanks for them as we go about our day but not be distracted as we do other things in our lives such as drive or operate equipment. Hoping that all are healthy and safe have a blessed holiday, Dave

Happy Thanksgiving.

As recounted in Encyclopedia Britannica, the 1621 harvest feast shared by the English Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people is often considered the origin of the American Thanksgiving holiday. In fact, firearms played a key role in providing both the meal and the entertainment at this historic gathering. The Pilgrims, who were struggling to survive in their new environment, set out "fowling" to procure food, which likely included hunting turkeys but more probably geese and ducks as they were more plentiful and easier to kill. In one day, they managed to kill enough game to feed the entire group for almost a week. That's quite the hunt in the days before bag limits!



As the Pilgrims prepared their feast, 90 Wampanoag people made a surprise visit to the settlement, contributing venison, that had been hunted as well, to the table and joining the celebrations. The feast included not only fowl but also fish, shellfish, vegetables and stews—a diverse spread that likely relied on both hunting and the resources of the land.

During the celebration, the men fired guns, ran races, and enjoyed some liquor, marking the occasion with camaraderie and perhaps a little disorderly fun. This shared meal, along with the bonds formed between the two groups, ultimately led to a peace treaty that lasted for over 50 years. While the event may not have been as formal as the Thanksgiving celebrations we know today, it was a pivotal moment in our history—a reminder of the importance of community, collaboration, and, of course, the role that firearms have always played in the American story.

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11. First Thanksgiving held in Virginia?

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Several members have told me the first Thanksgiving was here in Virginia.



One member sent me this:



It seems worth mentioning that Berkeley Plantation in Virginia is considered by the White House research staff to be the site of the original Thanksgiving celebration.

Thanksgiving​

Historians note that in the early days, the celebration of Thanksgiving was strictly a religious experience, focused entirely on prayer. It was a solemn affair, not a festival of food, such as our friends in Massachusetts had experienced.
On November 9, 1962 Virginia State Senator John J. Wicker sent a telegram to President John F. Kennedy taking issue with President Kennedy's 1962 Presidential Thanksgiving Proclamation, where full credit for Thanksgiving was given to the pilgrims in Massachusetts. Senator Wicker claimed he had already proven to the Governor of Massachusetts the validity of Virginia's claim by simply displaying the records to him.
In response, Senator Wicker received an apologetic reply from famed Historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. writing on behalf of the President. Mr. Schlesinger attributed the "error" to unconquerable New England bias on the part of the White House staff.
The White House mended its ways. President Kennedy's next Thanksgiving Proclamation, on November 5, 1963, stated that "Over three centuries ago, our forefathers in Virginia and Massachusetts, far from home, in a lonely wilderness set aside a time of Thanksgiving. They gave thanks for their safety, the health of their children, the fertility of their fields, for the love which bound them together and for the faith which united them with their God ". Finally, Virginia was given its rightful recognition and place in history! To put this in historical perspective, Kennedy was assassinated, in Dallas, just 18 days later.
In addition, further historical proof is in the November 24, 1969 Congressional Record (Volume 115, Number 194), which tells the story of The Virginia First Thanksgiving. The Congressional Record gives a glowing review of the Virginia Thanksgiving Festival itself. In it, Senator Harry F. Byrd Jr. recognizes the officers of the festival and asks to have a Thanksgiving Prayer read into the Record. There being no objection, this was done.

I got the above information from VCDL: Virginia Citizens Defense League and a website they suggested. If you live in Virginia you should definitely be a member of VCDL. It is a great second amendment organization.

Happy Thanksgiving to all! A day of family, friends, FOOD, and reflection. I've been busy lately but have kept up and enjoyed the last couple weeks worth of posts.

We have a 72-hour check in Wyoming, this is the first check after posting the picture of the snare set in the crawl under with the natural grass tuft scent post marker. She was probably in the snare within 24 hours of it being set. She was a 3- or 4-year-old, with a good neck catch, using the Thompson snares made of 5/64 cable, Thompson lock with a breakaway device. They are a little slower than the cam locks and they don't seem to lock up and hold as tight as a cam lock but with a little more practice using them, I will learn how to make them faster and lock up tighter. I already use preloading on my other snares, that use aircraft cable and cam locks. The Thompson 5/64 cable works as well as the 3/32 aircraft cable without untwisting and becoming weaker, bird caging. Some of the newer store-bought snares are using a smaller cam lock and it isn't as fast as the older locks were because the bail is smaller and fits tighter on the cable. I saw a coyote caught by the back feet the other day telling me it made it nearly through the snare before the lock closed, I have seen some body catches as well. The loupe is too big, or the lock is too slow, or both, when this happens to me. I like my snare support to be stable and not move till the lock has set and is being tightened, which helps with good neck catches also.

Good catch and great before and after pics. Your description of the set the other day and now the reward show how it all comes together. Thanks as usual for the lessons!

We got our first frost here in northwest Florida. It has been unusual weather this year I can't remember when our frost did not happen the second week of October. Mr Dave great pics of before and after

Thanks

Buck

The weather all across the U.S. A. has been odd this year we also were a couple of months late getting our first frost. Is it true that you need a frost to turn the persimmons sweet? I know that when I was a kid, and we moved to southern Indiana they had two types of them a big sweet one and a smaller not so sweet one. I enjoy helping people learn when I can.

Dirspyros virginiana our common persimmon is only sweet for one day but I have not figured out which one. Frost or not. I do graft the fuyu Japanese persimmons onto our native to get some big ones and they are good. The deer don't get many of those if my wife sees them first


Thanks

Buck

Buck;, do you have paw paws down there? I liked them when they got ripe but found that rubbing the leaves together, I didn't like the smell of them at all, kind of like crude oil.