Bad day in the valley of death.

[44man]

The day started normal, put the garage dogs in the fenced part of the yard, take my other two for a walk, then clean the pen and yard with a shovel and bucket. Gnats and spider webs drove me nuts.
Then down in the basement at this stupid computer with my coffee! [smilie=s: I had a mold ready to cut so I finished it and cast some for testing. I figured time to see if my knuckle could take some shooting. I grabbed a revolver and found I had few rounds and the gun was clean, oh well, dirty it. I threw everything in my little utility wagon and drove down to my range, "valley of death."
WEEDS! :veryconfu By the time I had a target up and weeds out of the way I was sweating with a billion gnats around my face. No breeze at all and 90*, hot and humid.
Shooting did not hurt my knuckle but every time I was taking a sight picture my glasses would fog. I managed a 1" group once but that was the end. Then a gnat flew under my glasses, right into my eye. I could not get it out so I quit.
I figured I better cut the range so I got a weed whip and the old mower out. No gas! :evil: Had to go to town and get the cans filled and top off my 4 runner, $51. Made sure I got a bottle on the trip.
Tires must be low, with the deck high I was cutting rocks and sticks. I got the range in shape, not checking tires or blades in the heat so I put it all away.
Put cases in the tumbler and found a few boolits left I can load but said the heck with it, took the little dogs for a ride in the utility wagon, ate and watched Fox news. Spent hours with eye drops trying to get the gnat out. Look in the mirror with glasses on and can't do anything. Take them off and can't tell if I am looking at me or some animal with blood shot eyes. :confused: I think I seen a black spot once but after mashing it around I have no idea where it went.
A few drinks later and I fell asleep on the couch until my little dog jumped on my chest to go out, sitting there looking in my face asking if I was alive enough to move. OK, OK, everyone out. Got a shower and went to bed.
Wife did not sleep good with a locomotive next to her.
But here I am this morning at this stupid machine again, my little dog sleeping under my seat after a few goodies.
Grass needs cut and tires on mowers all need checked first. Need to make alloy, cast and load something to shoot. Going to be 95* today.
Heck, I might just start drinking early and forget it all! :bigsmyl2::bigsmyl2:

[docone31]

Yeppir,
Breakfast of Champions.
Beer is good for you.

[skimmerhead]

ain't life GREAT!!!!!!!!!!



skimmerhead:lovebooli

[gray wolf]

At a time in my younger life I would have a day now and then that would suck real bad.
Now in my older life those days seem to last for weeks.

[markinalpine]

Heck, I might just start drinking early and forget it all! :bigsmyl2::bigsmyl2:

I have one shot glass that also works pretty well for an eye wash cup. I just add a little salt to plain tap water, and use it to flush my eye when I can't blink whatever is in there out. Just remember to rinse it out before you start drinking! :lol:

Mark :coffeecom

[44man]

I have one shot glass that also works pretty well for an eye wash cup. I just add a little salt to plain tap water, and use it to flush my eye when I can't blink whatever is in there out. Just remember to rinse it out before you start drinking! :lol:

Mark :coffeecom
No wonder it burned so bad! :bigsmyl2: Had booze in it! [smilie=l:

[Shuz]

Hey Jim,

Great story! Us old pharts can sure identify with your trials.
I got tired mowing weeds down at my range so I got real energetic.....well I got off my butt...and applied Round-Up to the whole 15 yard wide by 165 yard long shooting zone. No more weed mowing for me and I can even see my steel targets!--Shuz

[44man]

Hey Jim,

Great story! Us old pharts can sure identify with your trials.
I got tired mowing weeds down at my range so I got real energetic.....well I got off my butt...and applied Round-Up to the whole 15 yard wide by 165 yard long shooting zone. No more weed mowing for me and I can even see my steel targets!--Shuz
Sounds good but I need the weeds. In bad weather with a lot of rain or snow melt, water pours down my range. It is in a valley. I have seen it look like a river.

[JSH]

dunno if it works, but a group of guys were talking about gnats the other day.
it has to be REAL vanilla. daub that on your ears and forehead, they said it keeps them away
jeff

[TNsailorman]

The old standby at Paris Island years ago, when you could get it, was Avon's "Skin so soft" lotion. Believe it or not, it works and works well.

[StarMetal]

Jim,

Typical kind of day in this part of TN....gnats, heat, humidity. Gnats aren't as bad this year yet, maybe because of the bad long winter we had and we have lots of bats on my farm. They do make a big difference. My range is in one of my hay fields and my friend hays it so I don't have to mow it.

[pmeisel]

Skin so soft has been a standby for years a lot of places. Put it in a mister....

[Bass Ackward]

Up here it's sweat bees that you can't tell from the bead until you try to wipe.

[44man]

Skin So Soft doesn't work on these things, we have bottles of it in the garage.
I bought Liquid Fence and it helps a little but not much more then Deet, keeps them from biting but does not keep them away.
I have to try vanilla.
Need a strong breeze and face into it so they stay behind me.
One day I mixed up bug killer and sprayed the grass and as they swarmed me I would back up quick and spray the swarm. Nothing, they came right back, never seen one die.
In the army they issued 6-12 repellent at camp Drum, black flies!
They loved it so I smeared it thick on my helmet liner. Back in the barracks, the liner was 1/2" thick with dead flies. :bigsmyl2:
The next best is a flame thrower! [smilie=w:

[ole 5 hole group]

Well Jim, if you can't somehow get a tube of Bushman repellent save up a few nickels and purchase a thermacell and give that a try. It has worked for the past couple years for us both here at home & in the Canadian bush and there's a million mesquitoes, sandflies and no seeums up there. When we get back to camp we start the thermacells and at the same time light up a used thermacell pad and walk around with it smoking real good - clears eveything out immediately, so you don't have to wait while the unit gets going which takes about 10 minutes.

[MT Gianni]

We get some crawlies on the upper Missouri that go for eyes, nose and any body parts with moisture exposed. Vanilla works great for them.

[Dframe]

Clear safety glasses (the kind with the soft rubber that fits against your face) work real well at keeping the critters out of your eyes. We have a problem with buffalo gnats here.

[44man]

Well Jim, if you can't somehow get a tube of Bushman repellent save up a few nickels and purchase a thermacell and give that a try. It has worked for the past couple years for us both here at home & in the Canadian bush and there's a million mesquitoes, sandflies and no seeums up there. When we get back to camp we start the thermacells and at the same time light up a used thermacell pad and walk around with it smoking real good - clears eveything out immediately, so you don't have to wait while the unit gets going which takes about 10 minutes.
I have a Thermacell and they fly in the smoke! :brokenima

[txbirdman]

Jim,

Down here in Texas we not only have those pesky knats but also chiggers to compliment them. Shuz if you want to save a little money forget the Roundup and try to find some Big and Tuff. Down here they sell it at Tractor Supply.

[Shuz]

After listening to you guys, I really feel blessed living here in northeast Wa. State when it comes to insects. We have basically no mosquitos or gnats or black flys or any of those other real pesky critters that I've found when I was in Maine, Iowa, Texas, Pennsylvania or the Yukon Territory. I figgered they can't stand the high taxes! Come July or August tho, we do usually get a bunch of Yellow Jackets, but they're not real hard to deal with. Many traps work well.

txbirdman--thanks for the tip on Big and Tuff, I'll check it out.

[Crash_Corrigan]

I am afraid to go of doors at all. The temps are running around 105 to 111 here in Vegas and my shooting days are nil until it gets a mite cooler. I have confined myslelf to staying inside except to take Sgt. Rambo for a walk and then I retreat into the pool and stay in shade.

Ingest a lot of water and other adult beverages to keep cool. No ambition at all.

Somewhat concerned about a bad report card from my recent visit with my Doctor. I had a bed case of bronchtitis combined with my Asthma and COPD I was having a really tough time. They cleaned up the infections but now I am on oxygen while I sleep. Arthritis in neck and right should and edema in right ankle due to broken leg two years ago have slowed me down.

Now they tell me I have a Aeortic aneyurism and a partial blockage of both my Cartoid arteries. Either of those babies could knock me off really easy.

It is like walking around with a time bomb inside my gut and in my neck. Makes you think about your mortality really being just day by day.

Going back to the doctor on Friday and she will be sending me to a cardiologist for further testing but I can forsee some surgery in my future. More medications to thin out my blood and other nasty stuff to keep this old carcass alive and moving.

Time to rewrite my Last Will and Testament and decide who will be gifted with my shooting irons and such if I bite the bullet.

I am not afraid to die but I don't wanna go just yet . I still have some many loads to develop and guns to get to their maximum level of accuracy.

But the good news is that it is so hot and dry around here that we do not have gnats nor mosquitoes to bedevil us. Flys yes but even they need some moisture to survive and there ain't much when the wind is blowing at 30 MPH and the temps are 110 degrees. My dog has no fleas and heartworms are not a problem here due to the fact that the insects to transmit the disease cannot survive here.

It is a desert.

[44man]

Crash, that is so sad to hear. I will pray for you every day and hope everyone here joins in. Don't you dare leave us.

[44man]

dunno if it works, but a group of guys were talking about gnats the other day.
it has to be REAL vanilla. daub that on your ears and forehead, they said it keeps them away
jeff
I tried vanilla today and it did seem to work. I was working on my old pickup and I was not bothered near as much.

[Edubya]

****** Crash, teach that doctor a lesson and out live her. You be sure to stay in touch here and if there is anything that I can do, just holler. I do enjoy your contributions to this forum and look forward to your every post.

EW

P.S. I don't apologize to the OP for straying of topic.

[Crash_Corrigan]

Hello there....I was on topic in my last paragraph right? It applied to the weather and the local insects and such right? I dealt with it...it just took me a while to get there.

Whatz an OP?

Hey I have a captive audience here. If I decide to out into left field after I touch on a subject..........Now what wuz he talkin about?

Hey it's been 109 here today. I went out early in my venerable F-150 and picked up some more Rx stuff from the local CVS. Then I moped up to my gunnie and picked up my newest fling.

A VZ 24 Based 8 MM Mauser with a sporter stock and a decent set of mounts for a scope on it. I found it on Auction Arms and spend a whole $205.01 for it. It arrived yesterday afternoon. However as I was ensconced in my AC trailer I was not about to go out and drive anywhere unless it was an emergency.

Running out of beer is an emergency but I have another half a case on the floor next to the fridge. Getting back to the gun. Real nice......somebody did a nice paint job on the metal parts and the stock is in excellent condition...the trigger...........well it is a trigger. Horrible 2 stage yanker that merits instant replacement.

I have already ordered a Huber trigger from Huberconcepts.com and the spending of another $90 to bring my grand investment into the gun up to $390. The shipping on the gun was $25. Gunnie nailed me with $50 for the transfer, another $25 for the mandatory call to NCIC and another $16 and change in sales tax based on the selling price of $205.01.

When I get done I will have a decent lead slinger for all those 8 MM cases and boolits I have and a reason to use my group buy Lee mold in that .324 dia. I could not see all that good stuff going to waste and taking up space. The .223 is kinda lite for a hunting rifle and the 6.5 is almost too pretty to take out into the wilds so the 8 MM will have a function.

In bolt guns I go from .22 LR, .223 Remington, 6.5 MM Sweede and now another 7.92 x 57 MM rifle. The previous 8 MM is now the 6.5 MM Sweede. I also have a model 94 in thurty thurty and a Garand in 30-06.

That is about as much fun as I want in a rifle. My buddy Blake has a 505 Gibbs Custom rifle built on a 1917 Enfield action and it is a beauty. I fired it once.

Yup ONCE! Other than in a fight or a car accident I do not want to feel that kind of punishment to my body ever again. That rifle is brutal. It throws a 50 calibre, 525 gr condom boolit at over 2,400 FPS to what purpose? There ain't no Water Buffaloes, Elephants or Rhinos a ranging around here in Nevada.

Yes he has a Water Buffalo and a very nice pair of Elk heads mounted on his walls. But he went to Africa to get the Buffalo and way North to colder and hillier areas to find the Elk. He also has a brace of Smith 500 Magnums which he loves to shoot. He apparently likes to abuse his body with recoil. I fired his 500 Magnum a few times. It is nice with a 300 gr round loafing along at 1200 fps but HOLD ON NELLIE! when he loads that thing with the Hammers of Thor rounds that he had me try one time. It was not fun at all. Those long flat nosed hard cast slugs were over 400 plus grains and only Blake knows what powder and such are under them.

Again nice but to what purpose? To each his own and if he likes it then who am I to criticize him for his hobbies? They shur do look pretty at night with all that flame and such bouncing offa the rocks and the clouds etc.

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
I'll go camping w/ friends & family, I'll eat a garlic clove, a day, lots of onions, wild ones are the best ( the stronger the better), & take a vit. b pill a day. the others get sucked dry, bit, etc. but bugs mostly leave me alone.:bigsmyl2:
Just lucky I guess.
It is good Elephant & Yettie repellent to..... never had 1 walk into camp in sixty years.:bigsmyl2:

[Forester]

The day started normal, put the garage dogs in the fenced part of the yard, take my other two for a walk, then clean the pen and yard with a shovel and bucket. Gnats and spider webs drove me nuts.
Then down in the basement at this stupid computer with my coffee! [smilie=s: I had a mold ready to cut so I finished it and cast some for testing. I figured time to see if my knuckle could take some shooting. I grabbed a revolver and found I had few rounds and the gun was clean, oh well, dirty it. I threw everything in my little utility wagon and drove down to my range, "valley of death."
WEEDS! :veryconfu By the time I had a target up and weeds out of the way I was sweating with a billion gnats around my face. No breeze at all and 90*, hot and humid.
Shooting did not hurt my knuckle but every time I was taking a sight picture my glasses would fog. I managed a 1" group once but that was the end. Then a gnat flew under my glasses, right into my eye. I could not get it out so I quit.
I figured I better cut the range so I got a weed whip and the old mower out. No gas! :evil: Had to go to town and get the cans filled and top off my 4 runner, $51. Made sure I got a bottle on the trip.
Tires must be low, with the deck high I was cutting rocks and sticks. I got the range in shape, not checking tires or blades in the heat so I put it all away.
Put cases in the tumbler and found a few boolits left I can load but said the heck with it, took the little dogs for a ride in the utility wagon, ate and watched Fox news. Spent hours with eye drops trying to get the gnat out. Look in the mirror with glasses on and can't do anything. Take them off and can't tell if I am looking at me or some animal with blood shot eyes. :confused: I think I seen a black spot once but after mashing it around I have no idea where it went.
A few drinks later and I fell asleep on the couch until my little dog jumped on my chest to go out, sitting there looking in my face asking if I was alive enough to move. OK, OK, everyone out. Got a shower and went to bed.
Wife did not sleep good with a locomotive next to her.
But here I am this morning at this stupid machine again, my little dog sleeping under my seat after a few goodies.
Grass needs cut and tires on mowers all need checked first. Need to make alloy, cast and load something to shoot. Going to be 95* today.
Heck, I might just start drinking early and forget it all! :bigsmyl2::bigsmyl2:



So you:
Got a little work done, mostly related to your fun.
Had good 4 legged company all day.
Shot pretty good.
Found out your health(knuckle) was improving.
Rode into town.
Had a drink.
and slept soundly.

That's a bad day? :)

[44man]

This is my baby.

[Geraldo]

By the time I had a target up and weeds out of the way I was sweating with a billion gnats around my face. No breeze at all and 90*, hot and humid.
Shooting did not hurt my knuckle but every time I was taking a sight picture my glasses would fog.

Just tell yourself you're in training for shooting in Florida. What you describe is every shooting trip I make between say, April and October, except that it's hotter here. If you're not soaked in sweat, partly dehydrated, covered with black powder residue and boolit lube, you're just not having any fun. If you do this long enough, you'll learn to wait to see the sights and target through the partial fog and sweat running inside your glasses. :drinks:

Fortunately I shoot on a covered range, so sunburn and monsoon rain are not a big threat. Either the BP smoke keeps the bugs away or I'm too dehydrated to notice them.

[44man]

Just tell yourself you're in training for shooting in Florida. What you describe is every shooting trip I make between say, April and October, except that it's hotter here. If you're not soaked in sweat, partly dehydrated, covered with black powder residue and boolit lube, you're just not having any fun. If you do this long enough, you'll learn to wait to see the sights and target through the partial fog and sweat running inside your glasses. :drinks:

Fortunately I shoot on a covered range, so sunburn and monsoon rain are not a big threat. Either the BP smoke keeps the bugs away or I'm too dehydrated to notice them.
Remember, I was born in Ohio! [smilie=1: Heat and me never went together.
Now figure this out, Why is it when I put muffs on, my glasses fog. I always figured it was I could no longer breath through the empty space between my ears! :Fire:

[bearcove]

Same here in NM. No bugs, only a few spiders and lizards eating the few bugs they can find. Haven't had a mosquito bite in 2 or 3 years.:groner:

[Whitworth]

This is my baby.


Hey what's that? Part of your bug problem? :kidding:

[cptinjeff]

Hey what's that? Part of your bug problem? :kidding:


See. I was convinced he had a bull dog for many years......you know the saying about owners and pets starting to look alike after a while...:wink::wink:

[Geraldo]

Remember, I was born in Ohio!

You say that like you're proud of it :kidding:

Well, don't feel bad, so was I, but with help you can overcome that as well. 8-)

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
Now using vanilla may help with the bugs, don't know as I never tried it.
BUT IT MAY CAUSE A BEAR PROBLEM, IFIRC vanilla attract bears. :bigsmyl2:

[44man]

You say that like you're proud of it :kidding:

Well, don't feel bad, so was I, but with help you can overcome that as well. 8-)
Yep, never had a problem finding farms and public areas to hunt and shoot on anywhere in the state. Had 5 clubs to shoot IHMSA at within driving distance.
Had good neighbors all up and down any road I lived on.
Had pheasant, rabbits, squirrels, grouse, chucks and deer.
But things have changed where I lived, I won't go back. All the fields and trees are gone, miles of shopping centers and all the roads are shot.

[Changeling]

See. I was convinced he had a bull dog for many years......you know the saying about owners and pets starting to look alike after a while...:wink::wink:

Now that was funny, LOL.:p

[44man]

Now that was funny, LOL.:p
I might be LIKE a bulldog but I can honestly say I don't look like my little girl. :mrgreen:

[Four Fingers of Death]

Welllllllllllllllllllll, as we used to say when I was in the Army, 'it could be worse, it could have been me!' I'm retired now and make great plans and am amazed how a day can evaporate!

[44man]

Welllllllllllllllllllll, as we used to say when I was in the Army, 'it could be worse, it could have been me!' I'm retired now and make great plans and am amazed how a day can evaporate!
My friend, you are wrong, YEARS evaporate! It is almost hunting season again and my freezer is still full of deer meat.

[Four Fingers of Death]

Best be cranking up the barbie!!!