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  1. TheBenHoyle

    Ben's 2026 semi-live hunt thread

    It was both infuriating that we had spent 9 shells trying to kill a bird that had been almost within punching distance, but it was also exhilarating. I really felt like I had worked hard for that bird. He weighed 17 pounds and had maybe a 3.4" beard. His spurs were just nubbins. I like to...
  2. TheBenHoyle

    Ben's 2026 semi-live hunt thread

    Friday my other tag opened. That tag was on private land about 30 minutes from my parents' house and my dad had a tag to go with me. We haven't chased turkeys since like 2010. He is 79 and honestly he is in great shape. I need to get my act together if I want to be able to keep hunting that...
  3. TheBenHoyle

    Ben's 2026 semi-live hunt thread

    OK, sorry it has been so long since I updated you. I couldn't stop thinking about how close my buddy and I got to sealing the deal on that public land tag and I had until Thursday to hunt it, so I left straight from work on Wednesday and drove out there to roost a bird at sundown. The sun set...
  4. TheBenHoyle

    As they lay

    Here is the Jake I shot on Sunday. There's a woven wire fence on the other side of that bush, which is probably the only reason I recovered him.
  5. TheBenHoyle

    Only took 23 years

    My biggest complaint with Illinois in regards to CWD is that they do a piss poor job with testing. I feel like the disease is here and will continue to spread and no amount of intervention will materially change that equation. So the only real reason to test is for individual hunters who feel...
  6. TheBenHoyle

    Ben's 2026 semi-live hunt thread

    Well, the weekend hunt was eventful. My buddy and I were driving separately and planning to meet in a small town in Northwest Illinois about 10 miles from the public hunting ground so we could hop in one car and drive the rest of the way and try to roost some birds for Saturday morning. About...
  7. TheBenHoyle

    Ben's 2026 semi-live hunt thread

    I'm just about to leave the house and I got a nice picture from the game camera I have on the property I am hunting with my dad next weekend. Hopefully he and his buddies will make this a habit.
  8. TheBenHoyle

    Replacing a boat floor

    Back in the summer of 2001 my dad and I built a 10' sailboat with plans from the Wooden Boat. We ordered 1 sheet of 3/4" marine grade plywood that was 8' and 3 or 4 sheets of 1/4" marine grade plywood that were 12' I think. I forget what the cost was, but it shipped from the east coast...
  9. TheBenHoyle

    Ben's 2026 semi-live hunt thread

    I'm headed west tomorrow at 5pm to get out by my parents' house. I might try to roost a couple of birds at sundown, but there is an expected severe weather alert for that area from about 5pm to 1 or 2 in the morning. So depending on the weather I might just skip the roosting attempt. Saturday...
  10. TheBenHoyle

    Metalworking Hunttalkers!

    Just an update on my knife project. My friend the metallurgist reports that my tablesaw blade was M2 High Speed Steel. I gave him some scrap and he tested it and is working out the annealing and rehardening process. That's the scrap in his kiln/oven... I'm not sure what it is called.
  11. TheBenHoyle

    Turkeys

    I just went trough my feather collection from many past turkeys and found the beard off the first turkey I ever shot back in 2015. I remember thinking that it was the most amazing thing and in my recollection it was as long as any other beard on a turkey that I have shot since, but it was only...
  12. TheBenHoyle

    Turkeys

    Need gas tank camo to hunt those birds.
  13. TheBenHoyle

    Future hunting trips

    I feel like I have answered this question before, but it can't hurt to remind myself of my goals. With my short stint of unemployment and starting over with a new employer, the budget for vacation time and free cash flow is murky at this point. In 2026 I'll have some Illinois turkey and deer...
  14. TheBenHoyle

    Woodworking Hunt Talkers?

    I had a friend invite me to watch him build a lightsaber at Disneyland. It was fun and I was happy to be a part of it. I'm a big fan of Star Wars and on top of that I figured I could build him a nice display stand. I always like to have a reason to make something. He designed the overall size...
  15. TheBenHoyle

    Metalworking Hunttalkers!

    It was a table saw blade. Not a table blade. Little typo there. These are my first attempts at making blades. There were plenty of sparks when I was cutting and shaping them. My friend has them and some scraps from the table saw blade that he can test. We'll see what he thinks of the steel...
  16. TheBenHoyle

    Woodworking Hunt Talkers?

    Sorry to hear that your paycheck is being F-ed with.
  17. TheBenHoyle

    Woodworking Hunt Talkers?

    A reason to get a CNC and a new router... Sounds like you just talked yourself in it. ;)
  18. TheBenHoyle

    As they lay

    Congrats! Is that a Mouflon from Hawaii? that's a bucket list hunt for me.
  19. TheBenHoyle

    Metalworking Hunttalkers!

    OK, I'm trying my first attempt at making a knife, technically knives. I took an old table blade and cut out two skinner-style blades. I did some grinding and a lot of sanding as well as some work on a course and a fine whetstone. I am relatively happy with the sharpness and I think I can...
  20. TheBenHoyle

    Ben's 2026 semi-live hunt thread

    Let me just share with you the key need for success in a mid-March coyote hunt: a weapon. That's right, I got all loaded up and ready to go this morning. I was heading out the door on time if not before. I made great time on the way to the spot I was planning on hunting. Everything was going...

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