5.5 hours of treking, who knows how many miles...a LOT. And, through the most perfect, I mean the most perfect habitat I have ever seen....I'd have bet my bank roll it was just thick with birds. It had it all, water, food and perfect cover.

Not a peep all day.

I called, I hiked....Elvira got mounted a few times on some tweetys....then 2 hours out from the truck it started BA-LOWING.

So I hit the lee sides of draws and canyons. Nothing. Pans, zero. Mesa's....right. I kicked up 3 Cooper's, the biggest owl I have ever seen (soiled myself a lil)...but not one quail.

Real head scratcher today... I pulled out all the stops. Zippo. No one home.

Pic- boots were prepped and oiled last night. Not anymore! Good boots are worth their weight in gold.

Next week- we are moving 3 hours to the N/W to Kingman. Hope luck is waiting!

OH- yes, um...heh-heh...the "crow" sammich....I'll take it on rye with some tarragon and Dijon please there, Bush-boss. (you just know he's enjoying this beat down I'm taking...)

That country will soften ya up a bit huh? I have some steel toe boots that I wore in high school and the leather (at the toes) is worn to the metal. We always used mink oil on them but they don't breath at all. You need to get some summer type cloth boots or do what I did and wear 2 pair of socks to give your feet some breathing room. That's a lot of hours tredging around in heavy boots!

For a bird?

Anyways good luck..don't sit on a scorpion.

keep at it Stovie...you will wear them down one day...did you put fry pan on the cooker beside the truck before you left???????
thebirds might feel sorry for you and sacrifice a few brother birds to feed you...

Suzanne wrote:

That country will soften ya up a bit huh? I have some steel toe boots that I wore in high school and the leather (at the toes) is worn to the metal. We always used mink oil on them but they don't breath at all. You need to get some summer type cloth boots or do what I did and wear 2 pair of socks to give your feet some breathing room. That's a lot of hours tredging around in heavy boots! For a bird? Anyways good luck..don't sit on a scorpion.

Interesting. ST boots get dinged in the rocks- I stub my toes at least 5000 times a hunt (see pics), had a pair of ST on a hike once. Had to stop and bang the dent out. One guy rolled a rock on his foot and it pinched darn near shut. Sam White's are non-ST for a reason, fighting fires? They get hot! Then fabric types would last maybe a mile on my hunts. Plus they DO NOT stop cactus spines. Them in the knees and shins is one thing. Get a spine in the foot and it's OOO OO OOOH! I have one pair of good socks and a powder them and the foot beads nicely. Comfy! My hunts average 10 miles minmum with big climbs sometimes. I SWEAR by these Irish Setter Black Bear boots. Just amazing protection and comfort, and the grip on rock is great. Never had a better pair. I can walk forever in them, and usually do for one stinkin' bird!. If any of you are in the market- please do not overlook them, they come in both plain leather (me) and Thinsulated. Just an amazing boot on the cheap.

Elvis wrote:

keep at it Stovie...you will wear them down one day...did you put fry pan on the cooker beside the truck before you left??????? thebirds might feel sorry for you and sacrifice a few brother birds to feed you...

No pan with me anymore, I live pretty close- just a 30 min jog down the mountain into the deserts now. But I do prep the fixins afore I go in case I score.

I am getting a wee bit peckish, and I am hoping for a sacrifice for some tucker, mate!

good on ya mate.

I'm anxiously waiting for Round 3 now. No doubt that will be a good one.

Yup...Round three. Photo of a Quail standing next to Stovey upside down hanging from a large fish scale hook and the Quail holding Elvira.

Put a shine on them boots, son...

Mink oil? Phhssshhh...Neatsfoot oil. Mink oil is water soluble.

Stovey, that is just what we wanted to see, a picture of your dusty unpolished boots. You can't beat Bushy so don't even try. Maybe you should take some lessons from moose2, both for spraying the lead and snapping the picture. Best wishes on round 3.

Bushmaster wrote:

Yup...Round three. Photo of a Quail standing next to Stovey upside down hanging from a large fish scale hook and the Quail holding Elvira.

Quote::

Put a shine on them boots, son... Mink oil? Phhssshhh...Neatsfoot oil. Mink oil is water soluble

Neatsfoot? Hmm...OK I guess....in a pinch.

Fer me it's Sklidmore's baby! It's the Best for leather!

www.skidmores.com/prod...asp?cat=14

Skidmore speaks for itself being manufactured in one of the wettest places on earth. Port Townsend, Washington.

Beeswax is from Laramie, I think both were at one time....

Love the label! Dryin' boots and oilin' the jackhandles!

slimjim wrote:

Stovey, that is just what we wanted to see, a picture of your dusty unpolished boots. You can't beat Bushy so don't even try. Maybe you should take some lessons from moose2, both for spraying the lead and snapping the picture. Best wishes on round 3.

I love tryin' ta beat the Bush-boss....it's what gets me up in the morning!

Oh trust me, if there was something to spray and snap at? Elvira would be speaking... And yes, his pics are something truly special, like out of an Uplander's Journal! Those are cover shots for sure.

Bushmaster wrote:

Put a shine on them boots, son... Mink oil? Phhssshhh...Neatsfoot oil. Mink oil is water soluble.

I have to agree. Neatsfoot oil is for leather. I think mink oil is good stuff to disinfect all these little wounds. I have a friend with a mink farm and he always told me that whenever they cut their hands while skinning these animals, it never ulcerates.
So Stovey, you better put this mink oil on your nicely shaven leggs instead of on your booths, it even might be somekind of bait for some animals, maybe for these mammals with short ears...

Hey I grew up in Arizona, that's all we had at the time. Not much need with so little rainfall. We used it when we got to go up the mountain and play in the snow. Seems to work well but it really softens the leather. Yup the dogs loved to lick it off too.