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comanche

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Everything posted by comanche

  1. comanche
    The baby dog was pretty certain that this drain under a gateway was concealing goodies . Unfortunatly it was full of water and not having an otter handy I had to lower the water-level by clearing the ditch on the down stream side to have any chance of persuading a ferret to enter . Nets down ,ferret in and ping ! I have to come clean and admit that there turned out to be two bunnies up the pipe and the second one having waited for his mate to fill the net made good his escape from the open hole . He managed to evade the lazy-net stretched over the track but made the
  2. comanche
    Space ,you need space to get a decent viable population of managed rather than stocked greys , Thousands of undisturbed acres. Who's baron partridge ?
  3. comanche
    I recall that ducks were quite good at raiding the pheasant hoppers that I had set near a wood land pond but they made a mess!. These were45 gallon drums with little letterboxes cut in the base that spilled grain into metal trays. The Wetland trust at Arundel uses hoppers on legs with spring agitators in some of its enclosures . The springs have big (white I think) pads on the end for the ducks to knock to release food . I have been trying to find the picture I took but think I must have deleted it . I think that for a lot of ducks you will need to have several hoppers and be prepared t
  4. comanche
    Always take the batteries out after use just in case things have got a bit damp in there which could cause leakage of power or corrosion. Always use decent watch batteries not the zinc-air ones designed for hearing aids as the latter don't last- often just die without warning . And for optimum battery life don't touch the ends as it can cause a power leakage . Watchmakers use little plastic tweezers.
  5. comanche
    Useful film for the beginer . Another tip for the beginer (or those of us who's memory is fading ) is having zeroed your rifle at your selected range is to go back and try it at closer ranges just to see how high or low it is hitting the target . A rifle zeroed at 45 yds might well be firing a couple of inches high at 25 and be doing something completely different at ten yards. If you shoot a lot it will become second nature to adjust your aim either through experience or with the help of technology. Otherwise just make a note of the variations on a sticky label and
  6. comanche
    Bit more fun than spending the night in a kid's play tent waiting for a buzzer to go off I'll bet. Lovely catch. A few years ago a mate and I were trout fishing from a boat at Weirwood and he actually hooked a carp on a fly . It was a real comic situation with me desperatly trying to keep the boat under control and him muttering instructions and curses at me every time his backing started to reach a critical point .In the end I managed to get it part way into the trout-sized landing net and unhook it in the water. It was a real hand shake moment and that one "only" weighed around 12
  7. comanche
    There are plenty of cosmetically excellent copies of the Talpex about at half the price or less than the originals .Sadly they are let down by springs that are only half as powerfull. As spring strength is one of the features that makes the Talpex so adaptable to different trapping situations it is best to pay-up and stick with the real deal . My local Scatts sell Duffus types by Albi at a very reasonable price . They seem crudely assembled and always need a load of tweaking and bending but once set-up do the job and last quite as well as more expensive ones I've bought in the pa
  8. comanche
    I guess there is the answer to why some folk think the originals imported traps are a bit pricey . If a chap in Britain can knock some very good-looking copies yet has to price them at a fiver (and possibly not be making that much money once materials ,time and such-like have been factored in )is it any wonder that the US made ones are a bit more expensive.Someone has to pay their fare across the big sea and then pay import duty and then get em by magic carpet to KG who obviously want to make few bob on the deal . By the time the traps have passed through the distribution networ
  9. comanche
    Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Steve Albano ,who has every moral right to feel aggrieved , seems thus far to have been very gracious about the affair . Fair play to him ! He supplies usefull little devices that work in situations that Duffus,tong and Talpex traps would'nt and I certainly have not regretted in investing in a few .
  10. comanche
    Yip . Wedge the clunky washer behind that blobby knot and I bet you'll find it will hold there at just the right level of tension till some unfortunate beasty hits the net and dislodges it causing it to drop .
  11. comanche
    I think this is what Clint was practising self -abuse over . The pride of Britain's motor industry .A hand painted 1600 Humber Sceptre and a ratty Daytona . I owned em both in my spotty youth . ..But the Bonnie hardtail is on the road at last !
  12. comanche
    The atlatla itself isn't a weapon. It's an extention of the throwing arm that allows more leverage on the butt of a spear to produce greater velocity. It was (is?) used a lot by Inuit hunting from kayaks as it allowed a forcefull throw of the harpoon without the hunter having to rock the boat too much!
  13. comanche
    Often don't know till I've dug the hole . Sometimes you just get a "feeling " that tells you to which one to use .
  14. comanche
    This post could be subtitled "Numpty angler gets lucky after duff Cast ". Very rarely do I catch a fish worth showing off about . When it comes to angling I'm probably best described as a keen and experienced enthusiast rather than skilled . Just recieved the picture my mate took of the tench I caught yesterday . I noticed his car parked up as I came home from a job and eventually found him on the bank . He'd had a few tench and as I was in no hurry I popped out his spare rod with a bunch of rather sickly looking worms as bait while we chatted . Strange rod and not quite
  15. comanche
    Not a stupid question as there are lots of different spades available and just as many ideas on which is the best one . Small spades make neat litle holes but are hard work when you really need to shift some heavy soil to make deep wide hole in order to reach the ferret . All I can say is that I prefer a decent old fashioned garden spade with a split wooden handle -a classic Spear & Jackson No 1 type of thing that is probably a lot older than I am - simply because I've had it a good few years and I've got used to using it. Sadly the handle had to be replaced last season with an i
  16. comanche
    A friend of mine was caught short of toilet paper but was lucky enough to find a dead hamster that someone had discarded . Unfortunatly the little rodent was only resting , slipped from his grasp and dissapeared into the nearest available orifice . Thus my mate was forced to visit casualty to have the creature removed . ...At least that's the story he told everyone ....
  17. comanche
    Pups from a fast longdog type lurcher dog put over a collie. I've had two and they shine .
  18. comanche
    Might be a bit obvious but teach the dog the meaning of the word "NO" If its not been taught basic obedience before it meets livestock of any kind there could be problems ... Once you've calmed it down a bit and its attention is on you rather than every potential bit of prey you are in with a chance . Then show that the ferret is something that is yours and that you don't want the dog to interfere with it just as you don't want it nicking your dinner or ripping your best shoes up.Somehow you've got to make the ferret appear as part of the everyday boring scenery rather than somethi
  19. comanche
    Ah a true connoisseur of net making equipment . I expect you are admiring the ease with which exactly the correct tension is being placed upon the spool ends .
  20. comanche
    Yesterday I decided to take a series of step by step photograghs depicting the making of a purse net. I explained this to my other half and she agreed to help with the vital task of transfering the twine to the needle. She was very patient as it took a few attempts to get the shot I wanted . Number 1 No, the light is all wrong . Number2 No, wrong angle. One more go .... Luckily we share a sense of humour but i still recieved a whack round the head with a ball of orange string!
  21. comanche
    Seen that enough times to know what's going to happen but it still has the same impact every time I watch that bit of film. . If I'm not mistaken that was taken from a programme filmed on a stretch of river where they are hoping to encourage water -voles! When I saw the 2 mink take the 2collared doves it was just as quick . I take my hat off to you Duck wing . 60 mink this season . That is proper control Whoever was doing it in the past must have really let things slip .
  22. comanche
    I think that there is one big arguement against the let mink live theology and MOO has just made it. Duckwing is right when he writes that livestock keeper's can do more to protect their stock . That of course may includes killing mink as a matter of course . Mink proofing on a large scale might not be easy ,or cheap . I have seen a mink pass through electified chicken mesh unshocked . In fact one of my customer's has an old running duck that survived an attack albeit with a wonky neck because the mink caught it inside the run but could'nt drag it through the meshes of the electri
  23. comanche
    That's the answer I expected Duckwing . Not a lot in the stomachs .Very hard to get a true picture of diet from stomach analysise from animals that are caught whilst hunting because possibly the very fact that they are hunting means that they have not made enough small kills or a single large kill to satisfy their hunger and give a true picture of diet . I once was lucky enought of see a pair of mink kill two collared doves in as many minutes . The first bird was on the lower edge of a millwheel when a mink popped up from the water and grabbed it. The bird's mate was left sta
  24. comanche
    Got any pix? dunno why by something tells me he wont have any Everytime I ask to see a pic of a black ferret, I get blanked, wonder why I'm afraid stealthy you may have to appologise to "Kevin from Bristol " (come on down ). Not only has Romany come pretty close but I've unearthed an historical document that indicates that in the past at least black ferrets did exist .. I found it secreted in my mother's drawers with her old Wembley Lions speedway programmes and three bottles of absinthe!.
  25. comanche
    Lovely looking . Proper little chaps .Could easily pass them off as young wildies . Do you expect them to lighten-up in the under fur and facial department as they grow older ? you can sort of see the mask there and what lovely long sleek tails .Bottom one loks like he's wearing brylcream .
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