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It is difficult for me as a Southerner to visualize the cold weather and it's associated happenings and precautions which you guys take for normal"way up North".
Garage door freezing to the floor,warm clothes and food and other supplies stocked in the car?Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.It would be nice to visit for me but I couldn't live there.I like warmth too damn much.It's a wonder that you are as nice a bunch as you are having to wrestle with such.

Stan in warm South Carolina

Stan,

I Never leave in the car without having supplies in it after Oct 1 of each year. I've had to walk a few times and once I walked in the dark over 6 miles with a 45 below wind chill. I won't do that again I hope! I've hit snow drifts before that were 8 feet deep and had to dig my way out the windows. This and Momma handed me kiddo so I packed thunder kiddo on my back through waste deep snow over a mile to get home. All the while Momma had to sit and wait with the baby while I got the tractor out to plow the lane open and pull the car out. Took me 3 hours to get back down to the car and she couldn't run it as the fumes from the muffler would get back in. Yep extra clothes, sleeping bags, candles, windshield deicer by the gallon, I pack the kitchen sink in the car.

Plug in the cars sometimes at night but most of the time anything below zero and my woodstove in the garage gets stoked every couple of hours. Its 12 degrees now at 10 pm with a windchill of 5 below and if anyone can stand out in that in office clothes for an hour and be comfortable I wanna meet them. I pack extra clothes in layers and lots of them with me, enough for the whole family. Not to mention both my cars are actually a truck and an SUV both also are 4by4 and I hope I never have to own another 2 wheel drive in winter.

All of this in Mo. I cannot immagine some of the things Dave and the guys must do. Good Story you told about the rifle by the way I'm also Glad you kept it...

bout the only thing you forgot to list was the gasline antifreeze.

and some very cautious driving so you don't end up walking

Sorry Stan, I missed by one. -29. So far nothing's broke! But that can change in an instant.

I always tell my boy, "this climate isn't anything much worse than most places you could live, but screw up when it's this cold, and you screwed up real bad."

Bad thing is it isn't Christmas yet. This could get to be a long winter........

Craig

it stayed warm up north here.

i saw -23 this morning. not sure what the low was though

Not sure what the low was here, but it was -11 on my way to work this morning.

The sad part is there was no wind, so it didn't feel that cold out.

Heck, it was a balmy -13 at my house. You learn to live with it though. A guy at work flew from here to Washington DC and it was 60 degrees when he got off the plant. He was sweating a river walking down the street. that is pretty funny really.

I flew into Fargo from Okinawa Japan in January 1994. I was golfing in flip flops & shorts at an air base in Okinawa earlier that day. I had a nice tan

the -20* air hit my lungs in the parking lot outside the airport in Fargo & I thought my lungs had collapsed!

-28 here yesterday morning in NE MN. I went fishing. My favorite time of the year. No bugs. Its all a matter of what you're used to. You just gotta have the right gear. Of course, I can't stand it if it gets over 70 degrees or so. I remember how confused I was during my first trip to California many years ago. It was in late december, and I was peeved because they had the motel pool closed and covered for "the season." I rented a car and took a trip up the coast. I saw only a couple of folks on all the beaches in N California. They were all bundled up in winter coats and hats, digging for clams or something. It was 65 degrees for crying out loud. I was in t-shirt and jeans and was kinda thinking of going swimming. But there is stuff out there that can eat ya, ya know. And Stan, we're all not that nice, and I can prove it.

I found a perfect eight-point rack shed- both sides last thursday. They were laying next to each other in my driveway. That's a new one on me. And it seems a bit early for sheds?

Sheds already???? holy crap!!

we found an awsome set of 11pt sheds durring deer season up on the range.Fresh, blood and all. It was the 94 season or something like that.

It is not too early for sheds.

Nice that you got them both...

"I was golfing in flip flops....in Okinawa..." Nice ND. My visual of our troops working so hard every day to protect our freedom has just been shattered!

I'm used to seeing antler sheds starting in early Jan. But I'm always willing to learn.

Guys, here is the picture of the sheds from one of my the four eight-pointers that have been around the house through both rifle and muzzleloader seasons. None of them were anything special, but I like the looks of this one's future, if he lives a couple more years. I found both antlers right next to each other in my driveway, 20 ft from my steps on the Thursday before the last weekend of muzzy season. I figure the buck was thanking me for not killing him. He's pretty funny right now, as even my the two fork-horns intimidate him. He's like twice their size, but shys away when they approach him.

I wonder if anybody ever registered such a buck as an "antlerless" deer......

What do ya think guys, inside spread about 36 inches or so? He had a pretty big head!

He's gonna be a dandy by the looks of those sheds. Hopefully he stays away from cars and poachers.

Wow, you guys have a lot of snow already! All I can see are his antlers!


Nice set of sheds.

I picked up a wonderful little shotgun at the Greenville,SC gunshow this past weekend.Ithaca featherweight "Deerslayer" in 20 gauge with 20" barrel.Almost brand new.Not a scratch or dent or mark on it.
I researched serial number and found it was manufactured in 1988.As new as it looks it's hard to believe it is 20 years old.
It's not a model 37.They renamed the model to 87 from 1987 thru 1995,if I remember the ending date correctly.Something to do with the bankruptcy of Ithaca.Exact same shotgun except the model 87 will take 3" shells and the 37 would not.At any rate I'm tickled pink with it.
A very MERRY CHRISTMAS to all.

Stan

Great catch Stan! Should make for a Good shooter...

Ok guys if ya missed it then ya need to check out the Christmas rifle story on the hunters campfire forum. Pulled tears reading that story as it reminded me of many of the Great Men I grew up knowing as my Uncle's,Grandfathers and Especially my Dad. My Dad would give the shirt off his back and mine too inorder to help those in need, many times I helped him shovel snow and bring in groceries to elderly who couldn't do for themselves. Many times I split wood for other peoples fire and watched them smile at seeing it get done. I dearly loved reading that, it reminded me of all that I've learned from those who are now gone.

It also gave me an idea or two, this Christmas is going to be Good.. Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Good find Stan. Is that a deerslayer for you, or a bird swatter?

Either way, you have to love those Ithica's.

Hey merry christmas everybody. we're headed out of town for a couple days for holidays.

Dave