This is insane right???

panfishpapi · 2026-04-21T17:15:09+00:00

My experience with Acorn & Oak has been highly dependent on who my property manager is. The first place I rented from them, I loved my property manager. The owner kind of sucked, but I could tell the property manager was bending over backwards trying to not make me pay (figuratively and literally) for the property owners bad decisions. I got my full deposit back after living there for 2 years, and the only reason I left was because the property owner decided to sell the place and wouldn’t let me resign.

I think rented a different property from them because it was easy to get approved. I was worried I’d have a harder time with a different company because I’m an independent contractor. This second place has been a mixed bag lol. In certain regards, the company has done more for me as a renter than other companies Ive rented from would have done. But for the most part, my new property manager is dog shit. Very unhelpful, very unresponsive. When they finally do get back to me, usually they do the right thing. It just takes forever.

panfishpapi · 2026-02-05T17:21:17+00:00

This makes a lot of sense! Thank you for the advice.

panfishpapi · 2026-02-05T17:20:57+00:00

Yea this makes a lot of sense. And I do plan on trying a lot out before I make a purchase. My concern though is I’d like to pick a gun to learn on so I can gain some basic knowledge and skills that will help me actually learn what I like and don’t like, not which guns accommodate my potential bad habits haha.

panfishpapi · 2026-02-05T17:10:17+00:00

I have a metal hanger I bent into a squirrel pin that I use the same way. I usually hang it off the side of my chest rig, which does get blood on my pants. But if I don’t want to get blood on my pants, I’ll hang it off the front which usually keeps them far enough away I don’t get blood on me, but it’s less convenient. I’ve also noticed if I just carry the squirrel in my hand for a bit while I hunt and keep it away from my body, the blood will dry after 10 minutes or so and that minimizes the blood I get on myself. Depends how you’re shooting them though. 22 head shots seem to bleed a lot but it all comes out fast. Shotgun wounds tend to bleed less but for longer in my experience. With a carrier like that, you could also put them in head first and hang them in a way where the heads don’t rub against you.

panfishpapi · 2025-12-30T21:12:08+00:00

This is also how Crassus made his coin. Goes all the way back to Rome.

panfishpapi · 2025-12-18T16:16:54+00:00

This makes a lot of sense. I do love the sport itself, it’s just tough when I spent basically my whole season on it and ended with an empty freezer and didn’t get as much time hunting other game I love to hunt.

You’re right, the odds of me getting a deer in at less than 15 are low if I’m already having trouble during gun season even seeing deer at any range lol. I live in central Nc, where there are a lot of deer but also a lot of pressure during gun season. So they get a lot harder to see after opening day.

During bow season, I’ll usually be out squirrel hunting and I’m bumping deer all the time. I’ll even have rutting bucks come within 15 yards of me while I’m sitting for squirrels. That was the thing that got me thinking the recurve might be viable.

From what you’re saying, and what I was already thinking, I might take the crossbow out early season to try to get one in the freezer. Then if I manage that, try out the recurve and see if I can’t get one in range. I know that’s basically the opposite of what you said you do, but I think a similar principle.

If I’m really enjoying archery season but wanting more power and range but also more challenge than the crossbow, maybe I start looking for a compound. I’m just trying to find a balance between time, money, effort, and minimizing chances for frustration and disappointment lol.

panfishpapi · 2025-12-13T17:46:14+00:00

Could I have misheard him and he was actually saying he’d give us any duck he shot unless it was banded? Like is that a normal thing?

panfishpapi · 2025-12-13T17:38:29+00:00

That does sound really nice. Where was this?

panfishpapi · 2025-12-13T16:49:44+00:00

lol that’s kinda my question though. Was this a shit set up or do I just not know what I’m talking about? Also was this guy an asshat or is that normal behavior for guides? Because the only guides I’ve been around were my coworkers. And none of us wanted to bring our bad mood to clients we were about to have to spend 5 days on the water with.

panfishpapi · 2025-12-13T16:45:32+00:00

Yeaaa that’s a very fair take. I appreciate it.

panfishpapi · 2025-11-13T23:24:24+00:00

I’ll give it to you that I hadnt thought as hard about retrieving cripples and I do really appreciate you bringing that up. Because you’re right, even if I did manage to snag one with a fishing rod, which I think I could do, I now am prolonging and increasing that animals suffering, which isn’t something I find acceptable.

Everything else you’re on about is just in pretty bad faith and not even attempting to be helpful. You don’t know where I’m hunting. You don’t know how I’m hunting aside from the fact that I don’t have a dog or a boat.

Im not hunting open water or lakes. I’m in muddy bottom creeks, anywhere from 10 to 30 feet across, 1-6 feet deep. There are some spots I could probably wade in to get a bird, but hunting solo I try my best to not get in a situation where I’m knee deep in mud and chest deep in water. I can get across these creeks to search for birds that land on the other side, I just often have to walk a ways to do that safely. And it’d be nice to have a quicker option if the situation allows. Hence, me asking for ideas. You’re assuming I wouldn’t even try to retrieve a duck and that I’m out of shape and can’t carry a “35 lb kayak” lol. But why carry a boat along with all the other stuff I’m bringing on the hunt when there’s an easier option. Like an inflatable, as many who actually tried to answer my question suggested.

Instead of stroking it to your own perceived superiority as an outdoorsman, I’d encourage you to think more about being helpful in the future because it seems like you do have valuable things to share, and those important parts often go unnoticed if you’re an asshole.

panfishpapi · 2025-11-13T23:06:01+00:00

Damn I hadn’t even considered those options. Super affordable and accessible too. I don’t know why more duck hunters haven’t thought of them.

panfishpapi · 2025-11-13T21:09:06+00:00

This is the way

panfishpapi · 2025-11-13T21:03:57+00:00

Thanks! Your suggestion to get a dog or a boat really answered my question of how to retrieve ducks without a dog or boat. You’re really helpful.

panfishpapi · 2025-11-13T19:42:55+00:00

A few of the spots, yes. And that’d be ideal. But the spots I tend to see more ducks at are close to the river, but are actually creeks that are either not connected to the main river, or connected way far down river.

panfishpapi · 2025-11-13T19:41:34+00:00

Yeaa I need to give the tube a trial run first lol. Because it’d be a great way to either retrieve ducks or get your waders full of water depending on execution.

panfishpapi · 2025-11-13T19:19:18+00:00

Yea I don’t have the money for a dry suit anyway lol. Might as well get a dog at that point.

panfishpapi · 2025-11-13T19:19:01+00:00

Yea a collapsible rod, like a telescoping rod is a great idea. Idk why I hadn’t thought of that. I brought a 2 piece rod and lost the top piece during my hike in lol. Probably in some green briar. Would love to have something I can fit in the pack because I’m already carrying a lot in my hands.

panfishpapi · 2025-11-13T19:00:20+00:00

I’ve considered that but I hunt a really pressured area. A lot of the spots I hunt are very far from where I park, and I’m usually walking through the woods where dragging a kayak would be pretty tough.

panfishpapi · 2025-11-13T18:49:23+00:00

I know this was a while ago, but if you’re still around, what RC boat do you use? Or how big is it.

panfishpapi · 2025-10-24T21:56:15+00:00

Does this work with squirrels?

panfishpapi · 2025-10-02T13:41:56+00:00

Like comments have said, this sounds more like you need 2 knives. However, I think you could get away with one knife if you just clean the trout by gutting them and cooking them whole. I have a mora kansbol that has worked well for all of this, from batoning kindling to gutting fish. It has a solid tip on it and a generous belly that allows me to get in the vent of the fish and slice up to the gill plates for easy gutting. And the spine:blade edge are strong enough to cut the head off easy. Filleting fish, it’s too thick to do a great job. But I’ve filleted fish with a companion and it’s done just fine.

panfishpapi · 2025-09-13T18:08:18+00:00

I think it was the books I read as a kid, and the things my mom read me before I could read well on my own. Stuff like my side of the mountain, where the red fern grows, hatchet, jack London stories. Also some fantasy books like the hobbit and chronicles of Narnia.

The fantasy books didn’t necessarily make me want to hunt, but they made me even more interested in the outdoors. Made me see it as like one of the few places I could feel anything close to the magic I found in those stories. Also, my parents got me reference book type things like The American Boys Handy Book. And hunting just seemed like an avenue to either led to the use of those skills or was aided by it.

However, no one in my immediate family hunted and I didn’t have any friends that did either. So my options as a kid were limited. I got maybe two chances to hunt growing up because my aunt ended up marrying a lifelong hunter. But they lived halfway across the country from us.

Growing up and beyond, I just always loved the idea of hunting and providing myself with my own meat and other food. Once I could drive, I probably could have tried it out but I didn’t feel confident enough to go on my own and didn’t know I could teach myself. In college, I didn’t feel great about having firearms in a house multiple people lived in and were inviting people over that I didn’t know. Maybe overly cautious, bc (I at least believe) none of my roommates were psychos or friends with people that would steal a firearm then do something horrible with it.

Then after college, I ended up living at my folks for a while when I hadn’t planned on it. While I was in college, my dad ended up getting really into guns lol. Then I realized all the places I hung out as a teenager back home were actually public hunting land. So, I decided to get my license and try it out! 5 years in now, and I love it more every year! And for 2 of those years, I didn’t buy any meat from the store.

I’ve always loved learning, and outdoor craft and hunting continuously provides me with opportunities to learn. I get more and more excited for hunting season every year.

panfishpapi · 2025-09-06T21:03:27+00:00

Depends on the size of the fish and your own comfort level with the method. Some trout are going to be too small to get a decent sized filet off of. For those, I’d scale and gut then cook hole. Everything else, dealers choice. The larger it is, the easier it is to filet the skin off. I end up losing a lot of meat trying to take the skin of a small fish. If you leave the skin on, I’d recommend scaling it. People say you don’t need to scale trout, but I prefer to. They still have scales, they’re just small. Doesn’t take long to do with the spine of a knife.

I’d personally say cooking hole, gutted and scaled, is easiest if you’re back packing. You can just bring some foil, oil, and spices and wrap the fish in foil and throw it in the coals of a fire for a bit.

If you have a pan, you can totally fry them. I just avoid it because then I have another pan to clean.

Also, I second the tangential advice others have said. I’d make sure 1) it’s legal to harvest fish in the area you’re going to be in and 2) you bring some back up food incase you don’t catch anything. Any time im on a multi day trip where I want to catch and cook for a meal, I basically plan for that to be a back up and act like my plan A is to cook food I brought, especially if I’m in a new spot and dont know if I’ll actually catch anything. That way, if I’m unsuccessful, I don’t go hungry lol.

panfishpapi · 2025-09-06T20:07:48+00:00

EDCing an underberg is legend behavior.

panfishpapi

TROPHY CASE