Sunday, February 27, 2011

Brewer's first duck


Tough life, this was after a day of shed hunting by me and Brewer. Abby our cat is always up for a nap too.


Well, finally after almost 2 years, many long training sessions and several duck hunting trips that turned into wildlife viewing escapades, Brewer and I found our selves in somewhat of the right place at the right time. Several weeks ago(waterfowl season) I was hunting with a friend at Falls Lake. A merganser flew by and my friend dropped him with one shot.Ignoring his training and out of built up excitement, Brewer took off into the water without me giving the signal and was on the bird within a few seconds. Turns out the bird wasn't quite dead yet when he got to it, caught off guard he swam in circles around the bird for a good 30 seconds barking. I am certain he could be heard for a solid mile in all directions. Finally he got the courage to grab the bird and he made it back to shore. It would have been a near perfect retrieve but he dropped the bird just short of my hand, shook off his coat and just looked at me like what now. Patience is a must when training your pup. Brewer is 20 months old, and my first gun dog. We are both learning as we go but I was so proud of him when he brought that duck back to me.This was a huge step for him in the right direction, I am confident we will get there... But in the mean time I thought I would share this funny story with you about Brewer's first duck. Unfortunately I was without a camera to capture this feat, I have really got to get a camera.

-Andrew

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Tires for my Tacoma

This post was going to be a few weeks down the road, however having recieved a comment from a reader suggesting tires, I felt I should go ahead with this one. So if any of you are like me at all, you get into ruts where all you can think about is the next cool thing you want to buy or in this case need to buy. For the last several months I have done tons of research on the right tire for my tacoma. I have a pretty good base knowledge of tires but my situation is a bit unique. I have a 2004 Toyota Tacoma extra cab with a the 2.7 liter 4 cylinder engine. It is also a five speed manual transmission and 4WD. The truck has 1.75 inches of lift in the front and around 2.5 in the rear along with a camper shell.My dilema is that while I want to continue to run a larger then stock tire, I also have to be gas conscious and make an effort not to wear out my clutch before its time. Currently I run a 265/75/16 Bridgestone Dueler Revo in the Passenger rated (4 ply) version. This is one size larger and 3.5 lbs heavier(42lbs) then my stock tire. These tires have been outstanding, and I have gotten right at 62k out of them. If I had rotated them more and kept better tabs on the air pressure I probably could have made them last longer. Any who, I also get 22 mpg on the highway if I keep it just under 70mph.
I want to move to a different size tire 235/85/16, I really like the tall skinny look of these tires. Not to mention the added benefits of less wear and tear on your drive train/steering components,and being a little less likely to hydroplane. The problem is that this size only comes in the LT (light truck)E rating (10 ply rated). This makes for a much heavier tire, which defeats the purpose of a skinny tire in my specific case. One other variable to throw into the mix is the fact that whichever tire I buy has to last as long as possible(not always a priority). So here is a list of criteria for my perfect tire.

- at least 31.7 inches tall
- fairly aggressive tread
- at least 50k warranty on tread
- no more then 45 lbs per tire, less is better
- in the ball park of $150 per tire
- good online reviews

Of course I would love to run the old stand by BFG AT but in the size I want to run that tire weighs 49 lbs, which equals less clutch life and worse gas mileage. As far as tires go, that one is my absolute favorite no doubt about it. After researching many different all terrain tires and judging them against my picky criteria one has emerged a clear winner. The Cooper Discoverer ATR. In 235/85/16 It is 31.78 inches tall, has a tread depth of 16.5/32, a 50k treadlife warranty, fits my budget and weighs in at a light 42 lbs per tire according to www.gripston.com. I think it will be a great fit for my backwoods adventures while still providing a good tire for all of my daily driving. Other tires I seriously considered where the Hankook Dynapro ATM, the Bridgestone Dueler Revo, Toyo Open Country AT, and the Kumho Road Venture AT. All of these tires came very close but had one strike against them. I havent purchased my new tires yet but it wont be long. Well I have to go for now, This was a brief overview of my findings, but hopefully it will be helpful to someone else.

Coyotes in the triangle


If you talk to any hunter around NC or do a quick google search it is easy to figure out that we are being encroached upon by the wily Eastern Coyote. Or perhaps we have encroached on him. In either case encounters with these wild dogs are becoming more and more common all over North Carolina, including the triangle area. I have written a very similar post in the past, but in the past few weeks at Raleigh Country Club, basically in the heart of Raleigh, there has been a fury visitor roaming the grounds. While the coyote hasn't been spotted in two weeks, for about a week before that he made several appearances during regular working hours in broad daylight. He was spotted one morning at 9:30 standing on one of the greens not 50 yards from the main clubhouse. While the NCWRC website linked above lists coyotes in this area topping out at around 44 pounds, I saw this one in person and I estimate him/her to be closer to 55 pounds.Regardless of my opinion on its size, animal control was called to set traps since you cant have a coyote mingling with golfers. To date there has been only a raccoon caught in the trap and no more sightings of the coyote.Maybe he went back where ever he came from or maybe he just got smart, who knows. The greenway for the city of Raleigh is not far at all from the golf course, perhaps he found a safe place along that trail. One thing I learned is that if you are suspicious a coyote may be roaming around your area, look for sign. Scat was seemingly easy to find, holes dug in search of moles and voles where abundant and a deer carcass dumped by hunters was found in pieces throughout the golf course. Even if I had never seen the coyote it was pretty clear that something similar was taking up residence close by. I will keep you posted on this on going story, but in the mean time, I would love to hear other stories of coyote encounters in North Carolina. Shoot me an email or just leave a comment.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Moving Forward

Hey guys,

So I guess I have some explaining to do seeing as how its been so long since I have posted anything. There are two things that I will blame for this dry period. One, having no energy to keep this up to date and two, thinking that no one was reading it any way, so why bother. Well I was caught off guard the other evening at an Appalachian State basketball game while catching up with an old friend and they mentioned reading my blog. I was blown away since I hadn't talked to this person in several years. To make a short story even shorter, this has given me a renewed interest and a new attitude for not giving up on NC Outdoorsman. I think I am going to set a goal of at least 1 post a week, maybe more, maybe not. I am excited again about writing so we will see where this goes. Recently there have been several things in my life worthy of writing about. Posts coming soon will include:

-Coyote at Raleigh Country Club

-Deer Season in review

-Brewers first duck

-Time to buy tires for the Tacoma, a breakdown of my search for the perfect tire.

-New BBQ recipe on trial for the Super Bowl, how it stacked up.

-Appstate football update

-$50 DIY Camper shell paint job

-Can my bird dog shed hunt too?


Moving on to a more serious subject. What a tragedy that occurred on Falls lake this past Sunday evening. As it has been well reported, the body of 40 year old Greg Feeter was discovered in the water Wednesday evening by authorities. Feeter was kayaking and perhaps fishing from his kayak on Sunday and didn't return home that night. We may never know what happened, but what a tragic reminder of the importance of being safe above all else while enjoying the great outdoors. Greg may have taken every necessary precaution, I am not saying he didn't, because he was apparently an experienced paddler. I know many times in the excitement of preparing for a hunt I will forget my harness or something along those lines and take a gamble I should never take.Since it only takes one small mistake, we have got to become more safety conscious in our outdoor excursions. My prayers go out to his family and friends.

Check back in a few days to learn about the coyote roaming around Raleigh Country Club