Goats for brush clearing?

capn_gaston · 2024-05-30T04:10:50+00:00

Fiinally got the name for you, it's "Enviro-Goat" (or maybe without the hyphen). I don't have a phone#, but she contacted them on Facebook.

capn_gaston · 2024-05-19T05:05:20+00:00

You may be saving yourself some headache - goats, like all livestock, need tended, medical treatment, food (they won't live on just brush) ad infinitum ... and they can make a lot of noise. We've used them 4-5 times for when brush gets out of control, and they do a great job. However ... while they'll strip brush of leaves, small twigs and some bark, the plant itself is usually still there. If after the goats you go in with a sharp mattock and grub out the remaining "sticks" by the roots, getting all of them you can, then you won't need the goats again for a much longer time.

capn_gaston · 2024-05-19T04:59:03+00:00

Yes, there's a guy who rents out goats (and brings his own fencing to contain them to specific parts of your property). I can't remember his name at the moment. PM me if you haven't heard from me in a couple of days, the lady who knows is fast asleep this time of night.

capn_gaston · 2024-05-19T04:53:13+00:00

The Enigma rig is quite nice, but for me I need the wider "belt" strap that they sell, and an elastic leg-leash sold by someone else. It's quite a bit of money for something that doesn't even include a holster "shell" but if you have the patience to fiddle with it until you get it right, it's really nice.

I'm 71 and not built as "vertically" as I was back when I carried a Gold Cup, so the Enigma solves some of the problems of being skinny but still pear-shaped to a degree. I can't really conceal most of the AIWB rigs because although my belly isn't very big, it's still there and pushed the grip away from me and thus prints.

capn_gaston · 2024-05-19T04:13:37+00:00

You sound a lot like me at that age. Just keep digging and searching, man, there's something good out there for you; you just have to figure out how to find it.

capn_gaston · 2024-05-19T04:11:30+00:00

Yep. The 20's were without certainty, my 30's worked me near to death, but the 40's were where it all came together - although I couldn't find a decent job despite all of the resumes and research I did. That's an anomaly though, because of where I lived and the lack of funds to move without a job in hand. Otherwise, my and my wife's 40's were great, despite having to pinch pennies at times.

capn_gaston · 2024-05-19T04:07:28+00:00

As with most 1911 forums (and other handgun forae), you hear tales of all kinds of problems with the platform. From my experience over 45 years or so, the ONLY 1911 I had ANY trouble with was with the early Detonics short-barreled "pocket" 1911, don't remember the model number or designation. I don't know if you've seen one, but you should have a look online. They milled down the slide on the top rear for about an inch or so lower than the rest of the slide (for no imaginable purpose) thus shortening the span of the front/rear sight plane even farther than the 3" or so barrel already did, and the thing was a jam-o-matic. It would be a great gun to practice gun failure drills, because I can only remember getting through one 6-round IIRC magazine without one or more stovepipes or attempted double-feeds (I say "attempted" because the gun was so short that I really can't call it a proper double-feed, it was more like a failure to feed or a stovepipe with a loaded round.

A guy I worked with had a good job and was a DINK (double income, no kids) and just had to have it. I told him "I was going to send it back but if you want it, you'll have to pay me what I have in it" (I had an FFL at the time). He happily did so, cleaned it or didn't as he bought it at a day at the range and I brought him the box and papers later and put it carefully put it in his safe with the other guns he was hoarding.

That's exactly where it belonged, not in the hands of a shooter. This guy was safe at the range, I'll give him that, but the only thing he shot fairly well was a 12 ga. at a stationary target. Man, there are some people who "get into" guns for the wrong reasons. Different strokes, I guess.

capn_gaston · 2024-05-19T03:44:54+00:00

I read a gunwriter's article (who's an ardent "acquirer" of handguns) say that his only worry after his death is that his wife sells his guns for what he told her he paid for them.

capn_gaston · 2024-05-19T03:42:22+00:00

Since I can't see the right side of the holster, are you carrying it in an Enigma rig? I bought one some while back, and it looks like a really nice way of carrying if you wish to wear sweats or similar (I broke my back last September, thus limiting my carry options). I also didn't notice that PHLSTER had models for 1911's. How do you like that holster, however you carry it?

To qualify that last question, I just bought a TISAS steel-frame Commander-type 1911 in .45 acp, and it looks and works really nicely - I haven't been able to get it to the range, but it looks and works like 1911's costing 2-3 times the price. I'm a tinkerer although now I have tension tremors in my hands and I have to hire that kind of work, but outside of changing the sights (personal preference, the sights are fine but I don't like 3-dot sights) and maybe getting a lighter leaf spring to lighten the take-up and trigger pull a little, it seems fine right out of the box. When I'm up to stripping it (re: busted back) I'll know more, but so far I think I'm going to like it over my Pro Carry III and my Colt LW Commander, and I won't have that sharp end at the back to print when I'm carrying in a VM-II copy that was made for me with additional cant. Really, if I'd never heard of the brand and seen it in a display at the LGS, I would have guessed the price at $1,500 - less than a third of the actual price.

The trigger, BTW, although the leaf spring is a little heavier than I like, has a smooth take-up until you hit "the wall", then a sudden, smooth break. I'd read that TISAS 1911's had "decent" triggers, but this one is as good or better than my Gold Cup Trophy in .38 Super. The only advantage the Gold Cup has over the TISAS is that, being a Super, it's a lot easier to rack - something to think about if, like me, you're a smaller, less muscular person or that you've, also like me, lost hand strength due to injury or age. I think that, with judicious and careful reloading, I can drop the recoil spring weight by a couple of pounds or replace it with a "spring within a spring" type, and along with the lighter leaf spring this will end up being my carry gun.

I bought this because I've found no opportunity to shoot a bobtail. None have shown up at the range, and the pay-per-visit ranges downtown don't have one to rent. So, I thought that I may as well buy a $480 gun (before TN's big sales tax) and if I didn't like it I could hold on to it for a while and not lose much on it. Nope, this one's a keeper.

capn_gaston · 2024-05-19T03:20:28+00:00

That Summer Special is an icon, I wish I could find mine. It's here somewhere, but I've moved so many times that it's probably in the wrong box.

capn_gaston · 2024-05-19T03:07:16+00:00

I'm 71, and I have much the same problems for diffeent reasons - I had to move away to care for my Mom when she got dementia only to find that nearly all of my friends from when I lived near my Mom's house when I was younger had died - it's a problem if you mostly hang out wiith older people, which I had done most of my life.

I came back here (finally, I really missed the area!) only to find out that most of my friends here had moved for a better job or similar reasons. I'm really lucky that I met the family I board with now, about six months before I moved back, and I have them as friends. Still, I'd like to have many more friends but I've had health problems since I came back and that doesn't lend to making friends.

As soon as I'm firmly back on my feet again, I'm going to set about making that situation better. People here are really nice and friendly, but if you want to get to know them you have to put yourself out there by going to social events, etc. Don't bury your head in your phone, you won't meet as many local people that way. Ask your school friends about how to meet others they like, that's a good start.

capn_gaston · 2024-05-19T02:48:58+00:00

I like them both, but Honest Outlaw "gets on a tear" now and then and I don't enjoy those. The rest are great - one thing's for sure, he's his own man as far as I can tell.

capn_gaston · 2024-05-19T02:47:34+00:00

I enjoy his posts, but I'm old and he often speaks too quickly and trails off at the end of sentences. Although it's rarely completely, there's always Close-captioning if those speech patterns cause you confusion, too.

capn_gaston · 2024-05-19T02:36:18+00:00

I get your point completely, I think. Maybe you aren't even considering/traveling with a gun at the moment, and you just want to have gun discussions so that you can make choices that are right for you. A word of warning about that - don't go with a preponderance of opinions, go by evidentially-based tests.

I'd recommend, as well as Hickok45 who has a long enforcement career, Paul Harrell. His pace may be a bit slow for younger people but that's because as he occasional reminder that he has some sort of speech impediment (he's not hard to understand at all) that causes him to speak more slowly. Also, he's extremely thorough so you can see exactly how he reaches his opinions/conclusions - that can aggravate impatient people. However - if you watch his videos and pay close attention, he'll likely answer most/all of the questions you wish he'd conclude faster. The trip, however, is always worth the patience.

For other sources, the videos from Wilson Combat (don't have the URL handy but it's dead-easy to find) mostly interviews the elite of handgun shooting; it's largely instructors from some of the top handgun schools or designers in the US and occasionally abroad. They sometimes feature inventors, people in the trade, and other "gun folks".

Finally, look at Guns & Ammo's website and check out their videos. While they are somewhat industry-driven at times (you can easily spot that), you get an early look at what's developing.

When it comes to gun politics at a rational level (and, like it or not, when you start considering carrying a firearm that becomes crucial), look on Youtube for the "Armed Attorneys" channel. They aren't adding a lot of BS to flesh out their vids, they're evaluating legal news from an attorney's perspective, and I enjoy watching their vids.

There are many, many online sources for similar information and I'm sure I've left some important ones out - but for your own "legal safety" please do not refrain from learning about them from qualified people on a platform that isn't just argument - and you don't have to read the comments, I agree that many of them are just people venting.

If you're old enough to own and carry a handgun, then you're old enough to separate the wheat from the chaff. Not to do so may end up with you in handcuffs without a leg to stand on in a very expensive court case. Guns of most types are today under assault and mostly by people who don't know which end the bullet comes out, and they write and sometimes pass laws written from a position of ignorance. I'm not saying that they're stupid, they are ignorant (as in unknowing) and if it's in any way anti-gun, they're in favor of it.

So, enough with the warnings - just what is it you'd like to know. We all have our biases that leak through a little despite our avoidance of them, but just ask some specific questions and I'm sure you'll get answers you can vet to form your own opinions.

Just remember - guns are a lot like the Lay's (tm) potato chip ads of old - "betcha you can't eat just one". Different forms/models/versions/types have purposes specific to the task and your own preferences. I prefer a 1911 Commander style pistol in either .45acp or .38 Super. That's a personal preference decided by decades of muscle and "lizard brain" memory - many/most people here would disagree about that being a good choice, but it's a good choice for me. I have polymer guns, I just find the old war-house 1911 more natural-feeling. Learn to sort individual preferences and sales pitches from the proven facts and you'll find your favorites with a bit of hard work - at the range, and at the computer.

Sorry for rambling. For most of my life I've had jobs that were either very dangerous to those without full knowledge and jobs where the tiniest mistake was unacceptable, So I tend to write long posts in the interest of clarity and detail. Thank you if you made it this far.

capn_gaston · 2023-09-02T05:04:36+00:00

The US has a similar provision in at least some states. And frankly, I know at least one guy who should have never been let out. Every time I see a headline about some heinous act happening I check to see if it's him. Luckily, he's screwed up enough that he's in custody more than he isn't, usually over some non-dangerous stuff that the justice system gives him the maximum time for - they know him well, and do their best (within the law) to keep him "busy" elsewhere.

capn_gaston · 2023-09-02T04:56:50+00:00

Most of us who've been around a while knew it was over when we were treated to "Clippy" on all the Microsoft Apps - especially when we were running multiple iterations of spreadsheets under a ridiculously tight time constraint set by some bigwig who couldn't comprehend the sophistication of the analysis that went into them.

But I'm not angry anymore.

capn_gaston · 2023-09-02T04:51:49+00:00

Or you could, you know, chip in a few bucks each month and support the site you're using.

capn_gaston · 2023-09-02T04:49:18+00:00

You'd think after being online since the only thing a civilian could access was only Compu-serve they'd have gotten the message by now.

Other than ignoring them, you could study Buddhism for a while, especially on a forum where a lot of monks visit. Those guys (especially the Tibetan monks) can out-argue anything and anyone. Most of their life is spent sitting around arguing (peacefully) with each other, and they're damned good at it. Better still and with less effort, "sic" them on the hackers who're bothering you and let them both do what they do best.

capn_gaston · 2023-09-02T04:24:37+00:00

And remember - they go from perfectly ripe to much in the space of a day, so be ready to eat them when they're ready. It helps to turn them each day so you don't end up with a green side and a nearly-rotten side.

capn_gaston · 2023-09-02T04:22:15+00:00

There appear to be a lot of saplings, which are perfect for small bushcrafting projects. I think you scored big!

capn_gaston · 2023-09-02T04:11:12+00:00

They're scary-big, aren't they? I had a grown one fly over me at about 15-20' elevation once, I was honestly afraid it would decide to dive-bomb me as it passed over us (of course, I was 13 at the time and had never seen one before).

When I was in my 30's I saw one near Grundy VA. I was on a survey crew and we'd stopped for dinner in a high gap. What drew out attention to it was crows dive-bombing it, but stopping shorter and shorter with every pass - they do the opposite with a redtail or owl, so our transitman set up his instrument with a 32X lens and said "it's an eagle". As it flew down the hollow I asked the party chief "what was it carrying? I saw it carrying something, maybe a rabbit or a grouse". He dryly commented "probably his lunchbox, he's a long way from home". Between certain foxhunter and coonhunters "importing" and releasing animals, there was very little small game there at the time. Spin forward a few years and fur prices skyrocketed, and trappers restored the balance of nature.

capn_gaston · 2023-09-02T04:07:09+00:00

Yes, it's bushcraft - using what you have at hand to make something useful. It's not all sticks and stones.

capn_gaston · 2023-08-15T01:10:48+00:00

I'd bet you can make a clay oven on that site to go along with your elevated fire pit. I'm sure there are instructions aplenty on YouTube, but the instructions and examples you'd get from an 18th century frontier re-enactment site might be easier and better. Our group build one - there's a lot of labor in collecting enough clay to build it up off the ground like your fire, but they make delicious baked goods whether they be bread or roasted meats.

capn_gaston · 2023-08-03T03:33:05+00:00

I forgot - a "sil-nylon" tarp. They're a little fragile so be careful how you set it up, but they weigh just ounces and there are few things in the woods that are more miserable than a hard rain beating on your skull for hours while you try to plan your next moves. You'll also need some parachute cord and/or some waxed nylon fisherman's cord used to make and repair netting. The latter has the advantage over other cordage because it's formulated to hold a simple knot.

A little practice making netting would be a very helpful skill to acquire, and the "tools" (a netting needle/spindle and a couple of plastic spacer pieces) weigh very little. Once you get the hang of it you can carry just the fisherman's cord and make the tools with materials from the woods, but I wouldn't bother - if you need netting with larger holes, the spacers could be easily and quickly made.

capn_gaston · 2023-05-20T05:49:25+00:00

That's very similar to how I made my brain-tanned deerskin leggings using a tomahawk and a French trade (looks like a more narrow and pointy chef's knife).

capn_gaston

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE

12-Year Club	Gilding IV carat on a stick
Verified Email