Looks great! Little full… Lotta sap…

[seeth07]

This thread, along with all the fun satire involved, is exactly why I spend time on HT.

Thanks for the idea and getting it going @rtraverdavis . Well done.

 

[Laszlo Cravensworth]

You western guys are lucky to be able to pursue your trees in a natural environment. Our herds are tightly regulated here in the east, that leaves high fence establishments as our only real opportunities.
The wife doesn't have any qualms about the ethics of high fence hunts and is a bit of a score junkie, although symmetry is usually the final deciding factor before she pulls the trigger.
My work is done, the trophy is mounted, lights are hung and anti cat measures are deployed. She and the kids will get to the ornaments later todayView attachment 305513

They always get hung up on symmetry and net score. I think gross matter mores. Nobody seems to appreciate a big atypical.

 

[kansasdad]

Spot burning Kansas like nobody’s business.

 

[Chad Gus]

Did a canned hunt this year, dollar store sale rack

 

[Addicting]

At least I didn't go to a tree farm and try to pass it off as a legitimate free range tree.

Hey now, these places don’t have fences, it’s free to leave if it wants! But they choose to stay in place, I’m the bad guy because I take advantage of their folly.

Heck no, I’m the smart one. I got brownie points from the wife as they serve coffee. Kids were happy with the free popcorn. For Christ sake there was even a petting zoo. What doesn’t say Christmas like a pair of old goats and a small donkey you can pet?

It’s not like there is a struggle and hunt purity scale on it like there is with Utah elk. Geeze

 

[Hunting Wife]

Did a canned hunt this year, dollar store sale rack View attachment 306075

The look on that dog says “I beat you to it and tagged it first. It’s mine.”

 

[VikingsGuy]

When it comes to trees, I am a road-hunter through and through.

Switched it up and cut a Subalpine fir this year. With the lack of snow we were able to get up into country west of us that we typically don’t.

In his book, “The Beast God Forgot To Invent”, on Christmas Trees, Jim Harrison wrote:

“There are no perfect trees anymore than there are perfect human beings.”

Same goes for family pictures, but maybe not afternoons.

View attachment 303457

I LOVE the middle child expression of enthusiasm. This one needs to be the holiday card photo!

 

[SaskHunter]

I wish I had pictures, my wife and I used to go cut down small firs after moving in together. True Charlie Brown xmas trees!!!

 

[Moserkr]

Dunno why I just dont grow a few on the property. Found this one down the road. It was a little skinny for its young age, 30' height, and likely suffering from TWD. Still a decent white fir. Put it out of its misery with the hand saw that I found last year. Some flatlander left it in the snow after poaching their tree so now its mine.

Things that worked this year:
Half an arrow shaft and some twist ties to hold up the star.

Things that didnt:
Xmas lights as usual

Half the ornaments are 20-40 years old. Dont make em like they used to.

 

[Irrelevant]

wow! Some of you guys cut 20+ year old trees

One of the smaller ones we have ever cut was 96 yrs old. I felt bad. It'd struggled for almost a century then finally caught a break as a wildfire burned through, sparring it, but opening the canopy. It a one year of great, thick growth ring, before we hacked it down.

 

[OleRedbeard]

I'm ashamed to admit it but I took the low road and let my wife use her debit-08 on a high fence tree this year. We like the way it looks but miss having a real one already.

 

[Laszlo Cravensworth]

I'm ashamed to admit it but I took the low road and let my wife use her debit-08 on a high fence tree this year. We like the way it looks but miss having a real one already.
View attachment 306159

Debit-08... More dangerous than a creed.

 

[520 Road Sow]

How many of you guys just top those 20 footers?

 

[Moserkr]

How many of you guys just top those 20 footers?

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Debit-08... More dangerous than a creed.

A debit-08 isn't ethical for a xmas tree dude, you need to be using at least a credit-UM

 

[Laszlo Cravensworth]

A debit-08 isn't ethical for a xmas tree dude, you need to be using at least a credit-UM

Midwesterners always telling us folks out west how to do things, flaunting their fancy gear and money

 

[Khunter]

If you really want a slammer need to hunt from the sky.

Watch this reel https://www.facebook.com/reel/887352533059731?fs=e&s=TIeQ9V&mibextid=WaTAxP

 

[rtraverdavis]

If you really want a slammer need to hunt from the sky.

Watch this reel https://www.facebook.com/reel/887352533059731?fs=e&s=TIeQ9V&mibextid=WaTAxP

A different kind of "hunting from the sky," but I used satellite imagery to on OnX to find my old tree spot. Certain elevation band for nobles, thinned timber, road access, etc. In a heavily forested, Doug Fir rich place like Western Oregon, e-scouting really paid off.

And yes, I realize how bro-ey that sounds. My brim was flat, the Mtn Ops were running hard, and my hit posse came in clutch...

 

[rtraverdavis]

Reviving this one.

I don’t know why getting a Christmas tree ends up being such a cluster-#*^@#*, but I sure love it.

This year my brother and his family joined us, and as soon as we get to our spot, his oldest boy (who’s three) just loses his mind because there’s no snow. So we start hiking up this little slope with his boy’s wailing echoing through the woods. This went on for a good fifteen minutes until my sister in law abandons ship and takes him back to the truck. Then my son trips over some blowdown and twists his ankle, so then he’s wailing too. Then my wife twists her ankle and she’s mad at me for leading them “up this ridiculous mountain.” Everybody’s having a good time.



But we find some real beauties and get them cut and down to the road. We walk back to my truck to drive them to where we stashed the trees.

When we get back to my truck, there’s this sweet little song bird that’s sitting on the ground a few feet from the truck, alive but clearly hurt. My daughter insists that we take it to a vet. There are a lot of sad cooing noises coming from both her and my son. I explain that shit happens in nature and the best thing we can do is leave it alone and let nature do its thing, but I promise I won’t run it over with the truck. We get in the truck to start heading back to pick up the trees.

So I ease out and carefully turn, trying to avoid the bird, and my kids are riding in the bed of the truck and I hear them start screaming. I stop the truck and they’re banging on the roof screaming that my back tire completely ran over and squashed the bird. My daughter is so upset she can’t even look at me. I load the trees by myself.



Tonight I got the tree all set, we’ve got Christmas music playing and hot cocoa made. I get the lights strung and plug them in and half the lights don’t work, so I spend a half hour trying to figure out what the problem is while the kids start fighting, waiting impatiently to be able to decorate the tree and my wife places a pickup order for new lights for tomorrow…

But it’s a real nice tree.

 

[Dave N]

Eat your heart out, Clark Griswold!