Few Redtails

So far this season i have seen few and far between red tails. Having Driven to McAlester (180 miles round trip) along Highway 75 North, Grant (140 Miles round trip) along Highway 70 and today to Dallas Highway 75 South and Highway I-45 i have only seen one Redtail, I have seen a number of Merlin's. We probably need another couple of cold fronts to come in to push down this way again

i'm in the market for a gun, a big gun

I've been wanting to get a gun to go hunting for some time. A friend of mine is a gun collector and has been helping me to find what i want and what would best suit me.

Remington 760

Yesterday on the way back from a photo shoot Latrell and i stopped off at his house to try our a Remington 740 in both .308 and 30-06 Cal's and a Remington 760 .308

Remington 740

Latrell and i shot off about 40 rounds between us trying out the different guns, We where shooting at 6 inch targets from 300 yards. Latrel has a little bit more experience as she shots a M16 and a Saw for the National guard i have only ever shot once before and that was with the ruger 10/22. We also had a go with a lever action .22 which was a fun gun.

Both of us a little tender today but nothing like what i thought i would be. You hear all these stories about how a 30-06 will fl out of your hand and kick your butt. I was expecting the thing to nearly blow my arm off and be in allot of pain after the first shot.

All in all i preferred the 740 but in the 308 cal version. mainly because the pump action on the 760 i felt i was over stretching and therefore not comfortable , There seems to be very little in the amount of kick from a 308 and a 30-06 it is noticeable but in my opinion negligible. I felt both Latrell and i where a little more accurate in hitting our targets and yes we did hit them and hit them hard than with the 30-06.

Jim suggested we try a 30-30 and a .243 in two weeks time and then after that make our final decision. All i can say is watch out Deer and Watch out hogs the Olners are coming !

On another note on hunting i cam across a video on YouTube where a young land of about 14-15 was shooting a Hawk and laughing about it. I've since reported it to Operation Game Thief and am waiting on there report. I have never seen anything so irresponsible as i had in the video. I really do hope the game warden for that area catches the youth and the youth is really punished.

I stumbled across this program on youtube. There is an interesting section in it about goshawks that i thought people might like to see.

Oklahoma Wildlife department called today to say that i should have my state permit by the end of next week, Reason for the delay being that the state biologist is caught up in the wildlife expo in oklahoma city.

painting and weathering

Well as i waite for permits to arrive i've been water proofing everything, we have had none stop rain since the actual inspection. I noticed the sealant i had used had not bonded to the wood and therefore let water in. I experimented ona 2x4 and with a blow torch lightly heating up the aluminium backing. This melted the pitch that was supposed to seal the wood cracks and joins. The instructions said just run your hand along the top and that is enough. Well that's not the case. I found you have to use a blow torch on it. Lightly brush it over the top use an old towel and its bonds very very well. So yesterday i re-sealed the whole roof, i also painted it with some black asphalt paint, No 201. This should completely seal the wood and keep it water tight, i should no again in a few days as we have another cold front coming in and probably some rain with it. I have also been painting the OSB board white and sealing that. This shot was taken from the farmers field next door. I'm wanting to put some siding on in a few weeks time but overall its pretty much finished and waiting its new tenant.

Yesterday we where heading down the platter road bypassing some very heavy traffic heading north on highway 75 out of no where a coopers hawk flew right across our wind screen with one wing actually hitting it. I couldn't believe how close we came to hitting it. It was flying like a bullet and was gone by the time we looked round no where to be found.

My wife and i have been thinking about some ethics of falconry recently. One conclusion we came to is we never want to pay for a bird of prey and we feel morally obligated not to be potentially responsible for the accidental realse of a bird of prey that is not native to this area.

Whilst the red tail is the apprentices bird i don't want to give up that hawk once my two years is up. however for the above reasons i feel uncomfortable introducing a Harris hawk or a goshawk into the area. Don't get me wrong i love Steve's birds, smash is an awesome hunter and when charlie gets going he will be too, however i feel what a miserable existence not being able to find a mate or one of its own kind. This came to light last year as Steve was hunting in DFW and a female Harris joined them on a peace of flood plain in the middle of the city, wild but either realised or escaped in that area.

In this area there are lots of pecan orchards. One of the biggest problems the pecan farmer has is crows. Someone recently suggested that i should use the RT to bait the crows (as they will mob the RT) bring the RT down and then get someone with a coopers to get the crows. Interesting concept and thoughts. Potentially opening up allot of hunting areas for me in this area.

Also recently when the game warden came by to inspect my mews he left a Game Magazine for me to look out, Two things Car Hawking on public land (including public roads ) is not legal in Oklahoma . During muzzleloader and gun season, the hunter orange has to be warn both a head covering and a vest.

Trapping Season

Trapping Season Starts today, good luck to all those looking for new birds to fly this year.

Mews inspection Passed !

The local game warden arrived prompt at 4.30 and inspected my mews, filled out the correct paperwork and promptly passed me. He told me this was the first inspection he had done in 20 years of working in this area. He was very concerned about predators getting under the weathering area but i showed him the chicken wire i put around the edges to prevent that. quick check of my scale and Jessie's and he was happy and out the door. So sending off for permits as soon as my sponsor gives me his letter to include with my application !

Mews inspection on Friday

Well D-Day is approching fast, because my wife had a major operation it ment putting back my mews as and when cash and time allowed. Now there is a rush to get everything ready. Pleased to say its pretty much up apart from some cosmetics but enough to get inspected. So the local game warden is comeing on Friday just after 4pm and hopefully i can send off for my permits !