The Kansan
40 Cal.
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2005
- Messages
- 381
- Reaction score
- 1
Since I'm new here, I might explain that yes, my mother DID raise at least one fool; While Dad raised all 5 of us boys to hunt and fish whenever the opportunity arose, I'm the only one who uses a smokepole.
I was on the road from the day after Christmas til the night before last and didn't get my usual holiday hunting in. I had a weeks' worth of honeydo's yesterday and the weather went to heck in a handcart while I was "earning my keep." Then comes this morning:
My better half and I got up at 4:30 to get things going so she could make the 50 mile drive to work by 6:30. Being the wonderful guy I am I went out to warm up her Yukon while she was making herself beautiful. To make a short story long, the darn Jimmy wouldn't start, so I had to fire up the ol' Ram tough Ramcharger and jump start it.
After she left, I looked at the snow coming down sideways and thought "Man, I'll bet them ol' cottontails would sure be sittin' tight this morning!" Well, the Ramcharger was already warmed up and I haven't had the little .40 cal. Mowrey out yet this season, so I went upstairs and slipped into my union suit, elk skin winter breeches, wool capote and coyote hat and headed for the hills!
With temps in the single digits and a 15/20 mph North wind, it didn't take me long to figure just where to go: A 3 - 5 acre plum thicket about 4 miles east of where I live. The south end wraps around a small hill providing some slight relief from the wind and that's where the cotton tails congregate in bad weather.
After loading the little Mowrey with 35 grains of FFFG Goex behind a .010 pre-lubed patch and a .395 roundball, I headed into the edge of the thicket. Working my way carefully from Northwest to Southeast I scanned the underbrush for the telltale black eyeball that makes cottontails so easy to spot in the snow. I won't say that the hunting was fast and furious, but I did see more rabbits than I had time to shoot at.
By 10:30, I'd taken 5 rabbits and one coyote and decided to call it quits. Digging out flint and steel, I brushed snow away and built a fire that I could've covered with my hat. Melting some fresh snow in my billy can, I soon had a warm and tasty cup of Earl Gray steaming over the flames. As the flames died to coals, I dug a handful of fine ground cornmeal from my belt pouch and made two fair sized ash cakes. While they were cooking I ran a clean patch down the barrel of the little Mowrey and took stock of the day; Man, oh man! What a perfect way to spend a Wednesday morning in January!
After my brief meal, I once again took rifle in hand, slung my rabbits and tied the coyote to a small drag, then headed back to the Ramcharger. Once home I first cleaned the rifle, then went to work on the rabbits. I'll skin the coyote tomorrow while a couple of the rabbits are cooking in the crockpot with some homemade noodles...
Wow, ain't this a great land we live in?
...The Kansan...
After making this post, I realized that it prob'ly should have been posted on the Traditional hunting board. I guess I was figuring that the Mowrey is a percussion gun, soooo...
...The Kansan...
I was on the road from the day after Christmas til the night before last and didn't get my usual holiday hunting in. I had a weeks' worth of honeydo's yesterday and the weather went to heck in a handcart while I was "earning my keep." Then comes this morning:
My better half and I got up at 4:30 to get things going so she could make the 50 mile drive to work by 6:30. Being the wonderful guy I am I went out to warm up her Yukon while she was making herself beautiful. To make a short story long, the darn Jimmy wouldn't start, so I had to fire up the ol' Ram tough Ramcharger and jump start it.
After she left, I looked at the snow coming down sideways and thought "Man, I'll bet them ol' cottontails would sure be sittin' tight this morning!" Well, the Ramcharger was already warmed up and I haven't had the little .40 cal. Mowrey out yet this season, so I went upstairs and slipped into my union suit, elk skin winter breeches, wool capote and coyote hat and headed for the hills!
With temps in the single digits and a 15/20 mph North wind, it didn't take me long to figure just where to go: A 3 - 5 acre plum thicket about 4 miles east of where I live. The south end wraps around a small hill providing some slight relief from the wind and that's where the cotton tails congregate in bad weather.
After loading the little Mowrey with 35 grains of FFFG Goex behind a .010 pre-lubed patch and a .395 roundball, I headed into the edge of the thicket. Working my way carefully from Northwest to Southeast I scanned the underbrush for the telltale black eyeball that makes cottontails so easy to spot in the snow. I won't say that the hunting was fast and furious, but I did see more rabbits than I had time to shoot at.
By 10:30, I'd taken 5 rabbits and one coyote and decided to call it quits. Digging out flint and steel, I brushed snow away and built a fire that I could've covered with my hat. Melting some fresh snow in my billy can, I soon had a warm and tasty cup of Earl Gray steaming over the flames. As the flames died to coals, I dug a handful of fine ground cornmeal from my belt pouch and made two fair sized ash cakes. While they were cooking I ran a clean patch down the barrel of the little Mowrey and took stock of the day; Man, oh man! What a perfect way to spend a Wednesday morning in January!
After my brief meal, I once again took rifle in hand, slung my rabbits and tied the coyote to a small drag, then headed back to the Ramcharger. Once home I first cleaned the rifle, then went to work on the rabbits. I'll skin the coyote tomorrow while a couple of the rabbits are cooking in the crockpot with some homemade noodles...
Wow, ain't this a great land we live in?
...The Kansan...
After making this post, I realized that it prob'ly should have been posted on the Traditional hunting board. I guess I was figuring that the Mowrey is a percussion gun, soooo...
...The Kansan...
