THE Random Chat Thread - AKA "The RCT" - No shirt or shoes required - Open 24 / 7

By the way, I can't believe I forgot to mention this, but on Friday, I got my first trapped bobcat! 8-) It was a smaller one, but it's already at the taxidermist ready to get mounted.

The unfortunate thing with bobcats is, that once they are caught, it's not like you can let them go and wait for another one. If you get so much as within five feet of them, they turn into the most vicious thing you'll ever see. These things are ferocious predetors too, and can wipe out half of a turkey population by attacking the young poults.


So for this years trapping season, I got about 15 possums, 5 raccoons and a bobcat.

Good job. I want to know about your set plz? A cubby? What kind of trap do you use? I use MB650s exclusively now. There are more than needed but I was able to use a few several years ago and they are so good I just got more. I have released lots of bobs and helped release 1 mountain lion. I let young queens and all kittens go. I have a modified release stick, a Y and a T on the ends. I pen down with the Y and lean my body on the T and use 2 broom handles to push the springs down and they pull there foot out for you. Drop the broom sticks get ahold of the T and let them up. Have you heard of Mark June? I have been to several of his workshops. Read and watch what he does..
 

Tales!
The U.S.A. went to fiat money. No more silver and gold based currency redeemable for the same.

A man Dad knew ran a business. Selling meat or some food.
He saved the silver coins as they were handed to him. Kept it in a small drawer. Bought his wife a new sewing machine out of it's value.
Dad took note.
Tending bar he'd set the silver aside the cash register until he could replace it with clad.
He accumulated a serious amount.
Caught a guy in his house and in his silver one day... Then he squirreled it better.
Fifty-sixty years later , the loose silver was in his hidden ammo can. Other had been sold or sorted to coin books.
Also in the can were a couple rings. One he'd found around seventy plus years earlier. I don't know the origin of the second small one , maybe a sister knew. I already forgot...

A shield nickle was in there. Dad found that where a boat launch used to be. Laying exposed in the shallows after ice out , long ago.
Also in there was a liberty (walking?) quarter. A recovery Dad made when I was introduced to detecting. Around 1970 give or take.
It was "Uncles" detector and the fire siren had sounded , sending him racing for his truck as a volunteer firefighter.
He was hardly out of sight when the detector found the coin.


I was detecting a park I hunt by default. Pounded to death but it turns up an old coin now and then and more importantly , gets me refreshed/ back in sync with the detector.
The village president used to stop now and then to chat. We'd had prior dealings.
Detecting or picking dandelions , he'd spot me and visit sometimes.
Municipal workers would say hello or stop too.

One day a worker who knew what I was doing mentioned a practice fire razing an old house years before. And charred pieces of currency that floated down.
No big deal. And I'm listening while staying cool and trying not to look like a dog under a buffet table.
The old guy who'd lived there alone a long time died. Following years of declining eyesight and it's attendant challenges. To the barn and back , ect..

The rumor was , allegedly from a bank teller that he took his check in silver from the bank.
Being there was alleged paper currency noted during the fire , it stuck with me.
I put it as a potential lead in my index of cards. (About the nearest I'll ever be to being organized.)

Two(?) years later I'm ready to pursue it further... I'm no longer remembering the vague location and my notes don't tell either.
So , I collar the municipal worker who despite my giving him leads to an unrelated though valued goal of his is regarding me with a look of suspicion.. That dog under the buffet table look being apparent , attended with a too savage tone probably. L.o.l..
I wrangled the sites location out of the poor guy and started researching it better.
Mapped out I was finally on my way. By now convinced (regardless of the weak lead , but hey I was low on potentially sound ones) there was a cache of silver or two awaiting. I'd just have to convince the current site owner to turn me loose.

Arriving at the site (?) I could see a modular home or similar had been added up front towards the road. A good sign as the razed building was supposed to be farther off.
But here was a fence running a long ways around. And horses. (I'm fine around domestic stock. Not too crazy about rolling through poop though.) , But all over an acre or more of the greater potential recovery target area was a variety of farm equipment piled with hardly room to get around it , let alone in a wheelchair IF a detector did not scream from all the metal...

I should return. Hopefully I still have my notes.
A very slim chance exists the original home and barn were beyond the clustered area. Though the area beyond still presents plenty of obstacles.
From the looks of the place , I'd get beat up for a silver dime. But , I've learned over time not all is as it originally appears.
All the more reason to work up the nerve to knock on the door...

"Uncle" watched a field. Other people watched the same field.
The owner said no! Thou shalt not.
That's why people watched.
An orchard emerged. The orchard disappeared. So with time did the watchers as they aged out.
I drive by now and then and recall what might have been there ,and what might still be there.
And wonder if the same family still owns it. Or if anyone knows the tale of why the "field" was watched any more?

A couple miles away , a false wall was found in an attic. It had relics of the past not fit for todays P.C. crowd.
Kind friendly business folks.
Partway down the big ag. field adjacent to the business near the house used to stand a tiny house near the road.
In the early seventies it has a tree growing at the door about eight inches in diameter. An old house like the other.
I drive by today as in decades past and wonder where that house used to be. And if the site was ever detected. It would have required permission it seems.
There was a group in the area. I wonder (I do that a lot sometimes) what else they hid away besides what has been found......
 

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What's up with the bird and the weight lifting lizard?
Well done.

The bird? Just a mistake. I explained in the post.
The Sleeping Blingie? He's been around so long I believe he has an honorary membership on T-net. He's hibernating now but he tries to wear all the bling he's confiscated, even in his sleep! I keep telling him he's gonna kill himself if he keeps it up. :dontknow:
 

Good job. I want to know about your set plz? A cubby? What kind of trap do you use? I use MB650s exclusively now. There are more than needed but I was able to use a few several years ago and they are so good I just got more. I have released lots of bobs and helped release 1 mountain lion. I let young queens and all kittens go. I have a modified release stick, a Y and a T on the ends. I pen down with the Y and lean my body on the T and use 2 broom handles to push the springs down and they pull there foot out for you. Drop the broom sticks get ahold of the T and let them up. Have you heard of Mark June? I have been to several of his workshops. Read and watch what he does..

I got most of everything this year with a live cage trap, but towards the end, I used a single #2 foothold trap from Rural King. I don't really know much about stuff like this because I only started last year. Later this year, I'd like to branch out a bit.
 

By the way, I can't believe I forgot to mention this, but on Friday, I got my first trapped bobcat! 8-) It was a smaller one, but it's already at the taxidermist ready to get mounted.

The unfortunate thing with bobcats is, that once they are caught, it's not like you can let them go and wait for another one. If you get so much as within five feet of them, they turn into the most vicious thing you'll ever see. These things are ferocious predetors too, and can wipe out half of a turkey population by attacking the young poults.


So for this years trapping season, I got about 15 possums, 5 raccoons and a bobcat.
Well there Rusty some do it bit different up in these here parts-grab those polecats by the scruff of the neck and give them a talking to. :laughing7:

https://www.iheartradio.ca/cjay92/f...eck-after-it-attacked-his-chickens-1.14638517
 

I got most of everything this year with a live cage trap, but towards the end, I used a single #2 foothold trap from Rural King. I don't really know much about stuff like this because I only started last year. Later this year, I'd like to branch out a bit.

Have you seen the piece of plywood with hand holds/oblong holes in it's sides to pin critters with?
A coat draped over them can help too. No , Not my coat...

You'll want to be able to release anything you trap alive.
(Note , don't trap a badger ...)

For those who have not trapped , a foothold pinches.
I've released possums that walked away grumbling/cussing.
A hound I had was caught in a foothold . Well , he was living on the farm I'd rented before getting ordered out during a divorce , but I took him in where dogs were not allowed and returned him a day or two later , just fine.
As long as land set traps are checked regular , things go well. And critters can be turned loose if desired most often...
 

One more tale and I'll shut up for awhile...

"Boomer" turns up around the end of WW2.
Like others , his perspective of the world and life quite different than prior.

On federal land was a shanty far enough off the road to escape notice.
When I was a kid there was no viable trail already , second growth of trees having volunteered to hide the past over time.
A tiny structure , but enough to be out of the weather. Packing crates from the distant rail depot suspected as lumber material. (A relationship may follow...)
The walls were newspaper covered. Flour paste maybe? Kept the wind out though , and were fun to read.
Bread for pennies a loaf ect..
No door , it and windows had probably been salvaged.

Dad hinted it might have been Boomers place at one time. Then recounted a little about him.

Boomers car could at one time back when , often be found parked at the V.F.W. (Veterans of Foreign Wars).
Door opened and a pan of water near it to allow his dog freedom and some degree of comfort.
Boomer stepped on toes. By selling fish.
Fish picked up at the depot after arriving by train.
With little in overhead (no storefront , middlemen ,utilities ect.) he had fish at a price point that affected competing vendors/storeowner(s).
When threatened about it , Boomer didn't back down or cease his enterprise.
Threats grew to "we'll blow up your shack". Thus his being called "Boomer" ever after. There may be a tie to the land rush Oklahoma boomers , or more likely the definition of a transient worker , that inspired local folks to pick up on the nickname , but "Boom" meant dynamite to those threatening him.

What he did then , was build a new shack. This one was constructed of steel sheeting. Less chance of fire hazard with those threats still valid I believe was the reason.

I had an idea at one time where that steel shack was , but I've lost it to time.
Boomers post war tale is recovery enough I guess.
But did he have any surplus money , or anything to squirrel around those shacks?

It's different when an account lacks family or friends towards the end of a seniors doins. Or someone introverted who unexpectedly never returns "home" for varied reasons.
The rush to dispense/settle estates can overrun what had been goin on on a site.
Folks get forgetful.
Some don't give a rip about after they're gone , but tried to put something aside (close and tangible) to keep on as long as they could.
There comes a day when it don't matter anymore anyways. If something was left. That's just how it is/was. Better to have it and not need it.

We go back far enough and distrust of banks had good reason. IF a bank is/was convenient to get to and from.
Generations following picked up on part of that.
No , we don't expect banks to fail ,or lock up during a brief disruption. But it has happened.
That mattered to some folks back when.
And some today keep a stash on hand , just in case of other reasons.
I keep an eye/ear out for those kind of folks. Those isolated or not too friendly with family and or society.

So who,why,how,when, and where?
:metaldetector:
 

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I’ve seen wooden boxes the size of storage totes used to release cats. It’s just a whole lot more stuff to pack around. Cats have been the only thing I have released. Using a board is basically what I do. I also use a choke stick if I feel like it will be better.
There are some really neat box traps you can make for skunks or rabbits or mink all different but basically the same. Skunk box’s can be money makers.
Catching mice were you store dogs food and stuff like that can be fun and good bait for trapping.
Make some pics of what your doing. Send them private to me if worried what others will say. Fur is the original organic renewable resource. I can get myself worked up just like talking arrowheads or new to me Spanish treasures. I think a trapper knows more about nature and natural things, I think a deeper appreciation and understanding of life and death and how we fit into that puzzle. There aren’t enough words to explain this to somebody who just doesn’t get it but for those that do I’ve said too much. To me it’s that simple....
 

I'll have to try and release "tamer" stuff from a foothold trap long before I try it with a bobcat. This thing was ready to kill me, screaming, swiping and trying to bite every time I got near it. I guess as I get more experienced, It won't phase me as much.
 

I'll have to try and release "tamer" stuff from a foothold trap long before I try it with a bobcat. This thing was ready to kill me, screaming, swiping and trying to bite every time I got near it. I guess as I get more experienced, It won't phase me as much.

Cats are kinda like girls huh? L.o.l..
 

I’ve seen wooden boxes the size of storage totes used to release cats. It’s just a whole lot more stuff to pack around. Cats have been the only thing I have released. Using a board is basically what I do. I also use a choke stick if I feel like it will be better.
There are some really neat box traps you can make for skunks or rabbits or mink all different but basically the same. Skunk box’s can be money makers.
Catching mice were you store dogs food and stuff like that can be fun and good bait for trapping.
Make some pics of what your doing. Send them private to me if worried what others will say. Fur is the original organic renewable resource. I can get myself worked up just like talking arrowheads or new to me Spanish treasures. I think a trapper knows more about nature and natural things, I think a deeper appreciation and understanding of life and death and how we fit into that puzzle. There aren’t enough words to explain this to somebody who just doesn’t get it but for those that do I’ve said too much. To me it’s that simple....

I make cubby sets for mice outdoors using plastic coffee tubs.
About a one inch hole cut in the lid near where will be it's bottom edge.
Keeps the set out of the weather , and neighbors cats or other critters from stealing the trap with a mouse in it.
Keeps birds out of the traps too.

Stability can be added to round tubs. I've taped a round plastic ring to the bottom of one.
A piece of scrap lumber or flat rock can bed a trap inside a round tub.( Snap the lid on gently. Or reset the trap again.....)
Best to lay a branch or anchor a couple sticks to secure tub from wind. I've held them in position with rocks too. Whatever is at hand.
The brand of coffee using square tubs has the better tub. Of course it's not my brand..L.o.l..
 

Good morning pirates and piratessesss!
Aww, thanks for the life perserver, and the hot buttered rum. Sure hits the spot after a week of swimming! May help de-salinate me!

WD, my son just had to spray flex seal on the drain hose going to the pump on the clothes washer...for the second time. Need to replace it. Have to look up the part & order it. I use to do most of the repairing, you learn alot...then they change things. :dontknow:

Bart, those sure are pretty, pretty, shiny, shinies ...as Blingie would say!

I may have to come back in a few minutes, the rest of the revolving crew here in my section of da'ship is awake and thar be mutiny!!! I have to quash this, have the rum ready! :BangHead:

Afternoon MSBEEPBEEP
 

After trying many installers and all declined to do the installation of a display shower enclosure I was forced into the job.
Now I am not going to say its a easy thing, parts missing, manufacturer sent more, all the wrong things.
Still need a cap cover and 2 seals that go around the fixed panel.
All I can say-buy it jim-have it installed:laughing7:
20210228_151749.jpg
 

Good morning pirates and piratessesss!
Aww, thanks for the life perserver, and the hot buttered rum. Sure hits the spot after a week of swimming! May help de-salinate me!

WD, my son just had to spray flex seal on the drain hose going to the pump on the clothes washer...for the second time. Need to replace it. Have to look up the part & order it. I use to do most of the repairing, you learn alot...then they change things. :dontknow:

Bart, those sure are pretty, pretty, shiny, shinies ...as Blingie would say!

I may have to come back in a few minutes, the rest of the revolving crew here in my section of da'ship is awake and thar be mutiny!!! I have to quash this, have the rum ready! :BangHead:

formal_bow.jpg
Your Ladyship. Hot_Buttered_Rum.jpg
 

Said Cap'n Kirk to Scotty:

"Alright....uhhhh...Scotty.
Very, very funny.

NOW BEAM DOWN MY CLOTHES!!!!"

:tongue3:
 

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