Gear That Lasted At Least A Decade?

My chainsaws are all over 10 years old. Professional grade saws with no EPA emissions BS. These are my two primary saws....a 72 cc Husky 372 xpw and a 60 cc Stihl 361. I always have a chainsaw in my truck if I'm hunting off trails in wooded areas or camping, where I might want a camp fire.
 

Attachments

  • 20240224_145214.jpeg
    20240224_145214.jpeg
    1.9 MB · Views: 5
I’ve had T-shirts that have lasted 15 years. Truly amazing considering some of the shirts I buy now days last a few months. Bought a polo shirt from a golf club early teens that I still wear every time I go.

Pair of winter boots from Walmart, pair of upland pants, many other things. It’s amazing what lasts sometimes and other things don’t
 
Another item is a Rapala fillet glove which I wear whenever I use a knife in the field.
It takes me about 4 hours to deal with a bull moose alone, and often under head-lamp,
so use of a fillet glove has prevented cuts many times over the years.
filletglove.jpg
 
AtTheMurph said:
I think you underestimate the damage cats do.
Click to expand...
I shoot every single one I see. The damage they cause is catastrophic to bird populations, including upland birds we love here so much. One feral cat will wipe out an entire clutch of pheasant or quail chicks if given the chance.

That being said, I have not seen very many where I hunt in recent years because I thinned them considerably. I saw 3 of them while I was deer hunting but I wasn't about to blow a hole in one with my deer rifle.

Also, I do not ground swat them either. Wait until they go in a tree and then shoot them.

So, my question here is: do you want more feral cats or more upland birds? The answer is simple for this guy.
 
At least in MN they are definitely around. I know lots of people who may leave stuff out for them and see them every few weeks. But they are wild.
 
BrownDogsCan2 said:
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a cat that didn’t belong to someone.
Click to expand...

And let me be clear. I am not opposed to a cat as a pet that stays in the house. Be responsible about it, just like with any other pet.

Its when they are strays or feral ones roaming the countryside as an invasive predator is when I have issues. Its very easy to tell the difference. Keep fluffy inside please.
 
I’m no cat lover for sure, but the cats I see are usually near a farm stead. On the farmers land or maybe his neighbors. If they don’t have some sort of outbuilding at night they don’t last very long, the coyotes will take care of them. Even at that the farmers who like having cats around have to supplement them occasionally from outside sources, they are not self sustaining. Kansas cats
 
BrownDogsCan2 said:
the coyotes will take care of them
Click to expand...

That's one of the primary reasons I don't shoot yotes anymore. They are the number one predator of feral cats in both a rural and suburban setting.

Two deer seasons ago I saw a yote pick off a big black cat while I was in my stand. That cat didn't even know what was coming. The yote snuck up to the cat in an open beanfield and by the time the cat realized what was approaching, the yote had grabbed the the kitty by the back of the neck and it was over quickly. Coyote 1, cat 0 (dead).
 
Here's one problem with cats. Maybe it's more a problem with people. I know of two seperate country houses that keep outdoor cats. No big deal. But now the cats have multiplied and they are coming out of the woodwork. I drove through the farm yard last fall and there are cats everywhere, I can't even guess how many. Come to think of it I know a third situation where an older buddy of mine just had his parents go into the nursing home. There were so many cats inside his parents house, it was a mess. He had to shoo them all outside and thin the herd. One other time this fall I knocked on a door with some sweet pheasant property, and in the small outside entryway there were old food bowls and hairballs so thick. I was kinda nervous who was gonna answer the door, kind of a creepy old house. No one ever did. Whew😅.
 
AtTheMurph said:
I think you underestimate the damage cats do.

www.nature.com

The impact of free-ranging domestic cats on wildlife of the United States - Nature Communications

Free-ranging domestic cats cause wildlife extinctions on islands, but their impact on wildlife in mainland areas is unclear. This study presents an estimate of mortality caused by cats in the United States, suggesting that 1.4–3.7 billion birds and 6.9–20.7 billion mammals are killed annually.
www.nature.com www.nature.com


Anthropogenic threats, such as collisions with man-made structures, vehicles, poisoning and predation by domestic pets, combine to kill billions of wildlife annually. Free-ranging domestic cats have been introduced globally and have contributed to multiple wildlife extinctions on islands. The magnitude of mortality they cause in mainland areas remains speculative, with large-scale estimates based on non-systematic analyses and little consideration of scientific data. Here we conduct a systematic review and quantitatively estimate mortality caused by cats in the United States. We estimate that free-ranging domestic cats kill 1.3–4.0 billion birds and 6.3–22.3 billion mammals annually. Un-owned cats, as opposed to owned pets, cause the majority of this mortality. Our findings suggest that free-ranging cats cause substantially greater wildlife mortality than previously thought and are likely the single greatest source of anthropogenic mortality for US birds and mammals. Scientifically sound conservation and policy intervention is needed to reduce this impact.
Click to expand...
Ok, just imaging all the mice, vols and, rats there would be if the cats weren't keeping them in-check! Is this really a problem? I seldom see a cat that I think doesn't belong to someone. No, I don't own one, it just is like shooting any other non-target animal while hunting, just generally don't do that.
 
remy3424 said:
Is this really a problem?
Click to expand...
Well, if you believe the data posted from multiple scientific studies, then it certainly is a problem.

I get more satisfaction out of removing a feral cat than bagging a rooster because I know I just saved an entire clutch of future pheasant chicks.

The feral cat population is so thick in Wisconsin that the state legislature seriously considered a bounty on them. They backed off once the tree huggers caught wind of it though.
 
Well I don’t shoot them either, I know others who have. Guess it never occurred to me about potential damage they could cause.

But they are most certainly feral cats. Maybe started out as farm cats, but they are out there and they breed.
 
When I lived down south feral dogs and cats were a common occurrence. I was going for a run in rural Alabama and a pack of wild dogs started follwing me and barking. I remember one dog even ran out of a yard to join the pack! Eventually I saw a very large stick and picked it up for protection. They followed me a long time and I had to stop and yell at them and raise the stick over my head, etc. etc. I particularly remember a number of cats hanging around at a boat ramp on Santee Cooper lake in SC. Just mangy flea infested gnarly old cats. Those ones should have been put out of their misery. They looked horrible.
 
Bob Peters said:
When I lived down south feral dogs and cats were a common occurrence. I was going for a run in rural Alabama and a pack of wild dogs started follwing me and barking. I remember one dog even ran out of a yard to join the pack! Eventually I saw a very large stick and picked it up for protection. They followed me a long time and I had to stop and yell at them and raise the stick over my head, etc. etc. I particularly remember a number of cats hanging around at a boat ramp on Santee Cooper lake in SC. Just mangy flea infested gnarly old cats. Those ones should have been put out of their misery. They looked horrible.
Click to expand...
My old man said when he was growing up ( southern MN) they were some wild packs of dogs around.

But your yelling reminds me of the screaming I’ve had to do to my neighbors hound dog. I hate that thing, don’t trust it one bit. I’ve had a few not so nice convos with them. They have gotten better.. but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t always prepared to choke that dog out if it steps on my property when my daughter is out there.
 
Mosby said:
My chainsaws are all over 10 years old. Professional grade saws with no EPA emissions BS. These are my two primary saws....a 72 cc Husky 372 xpw and a 60 cc Stihl 361. I always have a chainsaw in my truck if I'm hunting off trails in wooded areas or camping, where I might want a camp fire.
Click to expand...
I also have a Stihl that is about 20 years old and a little Husky that is 30 years old.
One day I was tired from humping up avalanche chutes after blue grouse in Idaho.
Coming down a Forest Service road, around a corner there is a giant ponderosa pine that fell over blocking the road.
Easy to deal with since I had a saw, otherwise I would have been stuck for awhile.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top