August what's on your workbench

Good morning, Bob~


Congratulations! I'm tempted to say that piece really "hangs together".....


You've got me curious what part of the Empire State you were visiting. We're way east - almost in the Green Mountain State - but we've lived throughout New York over the years.


All the best,


SJS


 

Wow, Eric, with a few more upgrades you could convert those blinds in Tiny House Air BnB's. They are definitely first rate. very impressive. Congratulations!
 
Okay, we are on a duckblind roll! Myself and a couple of the guys in our crew, Patrick and Colton, whipped out another blind in two evenings. This one is 8x29 and sits on a pontoon boat. It is so big I had to make the walls in three sections both front and rear. Once you get a design and process in place it is really fast to replicate. The crew is a well oiled machine. We get faster with each blind even though they are getting bigger. We loaded it up Friday night on a flatbed and Patrick and Colton made a late night road trip As of now it is in place overlooking a flooded corn field in Northwest TN where Patrick and Colton are in a lease. Rich, if you look closely there is a kitchen area.

Eric


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Haven't had much time to do anything on the bench for a while but this has been a few years waiting. Started this at the beginning of the year after the hickory has dried for several years, some thin parachord for the string and some turkey feathers for the fletching on the arrows, my 9 year old loves it. Now to cut some more billets out this winter for my other two boys so they will dry in time for when they get older, might try to cut one for myself as well.

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Good morning, Eric~


I have a serious question - spurred by my Dad's hunting in North Carolina many years ago: Do you need to worry about snakes in your blinds - and do you have a common practice for checking/clearing each time you hunt? I would imagine that a Moccasin might find such a dry, concealed spot rather inviting.


(Further north on the Atlantic Tidewater, we need only concern ourselves with Great White Sharks....)


All the best,


SJS


 
Eric,

I just now focused on your blind build. That is some serious construction! How many guys does your son hunt with, it looks like room for at least eight? Several of the little 8' blinds we make would fit inside yours. I like the pontoons, I've wanted to try that for years but never get around to it.
 
Steve

By the time duck season arrives the snakes have gone into brumation and seldom crawl from their holes or hiding locations. In all my years of duck hunting I've only encountered a snake one time. On that occasion we were hunting a flood and pulled the boat under a dense tree to hide. I soon noticed a rat snake a few feet above my head. Jeff prodded it a bit and it could barely move due to the cold temps. We figured it climbed the tree when its den flooded. As for venomous snakes we frequently encounter them when tending our water control structures in the spring. Especially the one with rip rap rock. Those sun warmed rocks really attract the moccasins. So far we've not had any snakes take residence in our blinds, but it wouldn't surprise me. I am most concerned in the early fall when we camo the blinds after leaving them for the summer. I was a member of a duck club yeas ago and we found a snake skin in the shower floor. I never once showered there....

SJ

Our hunting crew consists of Thomas, Patrick and Colton G, Zac A, and myself. I'm the old guy in the bunch. We are the workforce that help manage, maintain, and enhance the property which is approximately 1500 acres dedicated for hunting. On occasion we are able to invite guests. Sometimes we are joined by the landowner, Michael K, and his guests. We've never had everyone there at once. The four man blind is near two other blinds so we can all hunt the same flooded field. The six man blind is in a timber hole and should it not be enough there are other locations not too far away. The ten man pontoon blind is for a lease that Patrick and Colton belong to in Northwest TN. I'm not involved with that but have an invite to hunt there after helping build their blind. We have one more blind to build and will tackle it in Oct. I'll post pictures of it as well.

As a side note I'll mention in the past decade I've invested quite a bit of time helping develop this land for duck hunting. What an educational and rewarding pursuit this has been. Between the time spent with my son and his peers and learning about land management it has been incredibly satisfying. My son and his friends have gained experience very few waterfowlers are able to, especially for being in their early 20s. Everything from operating farm and heavy construction equipment, planting food plots, working with herbicides and fertilizer, controlling invasive aquatic vegetation and trees, levee and water control structure construction, blind construction, managing moist soil impoundments, timber and row crop land, planting trees, etc. etc.. We've implemented our own ideas and we've worked with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) helping develop Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE) land. I'm incredibly proud of what we've accomplished. I truly believe the knowledge these boys have acquired at such a young age is not only rare but will serve them the rest of their adult lives.


Eric


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From left to right - Brittany, Matthew, Zac, Patrick, Thomas, and Colton
 
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Very cool Eric. Being the old guy isn't bad when you have a bunch of young(er) guys to hunt with. Good job getting the kids started right, keep getting out with them. With luck they'll pass the tradition along to their kids, and you'll be out there with a third generation.

I keep in mind you're not really old until you think you are anyway. I know I'm Peter Pan. [;)] But you can be a cagey rascal. I suggest keeping your powder dry while the youngsters flambe at a flock. When the inevitable happens at some point and it looks like no feathers were harmed, that's your opening. Rear up and fold a big old greenhead with one shot. Calmly retake your seat, and pick up your coffee without a word. Never make eye contact with the vanquished warriors, but your body language clearly indicates they are to retrieve. Priceless.

I have several blinds started in my garage right now, I'll have to post a photo or two during construction. No plywood at the local Home Depot so the blinds are just skeletons for the moment. They're buffleheads to your honker.

Steve's question reminds me of one of the few times I hunted "down south", which for a yankee is the Carolinas. When it rained the locals saw dragonflys which they called "snake doctors", and said to watch out for snakes. I don't recall seeing a serpent, but I looked.
 
Yesterday was a glorious day for painting. Both are done other than camo and doors, which will be simple a simple curtain of strips of rubber gasket material that you part with your hands and walk through.

The link below is a vid I made of painting the blinds.

Blind Painting Vid (Large)


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