Hello from Minnesota…by way of Fargo, North Dakota

carbon

Well-Known Member
I've dipped into this excellent forum from time to time for gear advice, and have finally decided to become a member. You've turned me on to Ogden's rifle slips! You English with your poetic names! I have a bit of UK in me but I'll never approach your turn of phrase. By the by, my last name, Carson, seems to be Scottish by way of the Isle of Man (or so the unreliable intertubes tell me). And I did have a wonderful English girlfriend while I was in my 20's; I was an idiot to let her go.

I'm really more of a Dakota varmint hunter (prairie dogs with a .204 Rem 700, specifically. Attempting a try at coyotes soon as well), but I have occasionally followed more experienced people at your specialty, deer hunting. Failed miserably, each time! Haha! Either failed to see any deer at all, or only saw the opposite that my tag is for (doe if I have a buck tag, etc.).

My elderly father has, out of the blue, tentatively booked a European red deer hunt in, of all places, Wisconsin USA. Imported deer, game farm. Not paying for bucks, as they can cost up to $10,000 and beyond. We'll have a go at the does that the owner wants culled for $1000 for the first, and $500 after that. Monsters, those red deer are; I've never even heard of them before. Seems that they are near elk-sized; 300 lbs females. By Jove! (sorry, suddenly pretending to be some sort of English countryman)

I've purchased a 6.5 Creedmoor for this hunt, which I've gathered is some sort of bare minimum caliber for red deer/elk. But why am I explaining red deer to the likes of you? Should be the other way around and I'll shut up.

Anyway, sorry if game farms are a no-no in the UK. I have no idea how you fellows hunt and have a typical American's Lord & Manor idea when it comes to UK hunting. You fellows in tweed and side by side shotguns, leaning up against a mortarless rock fence while being served sherry by some winsome blonde lass, Land Rover in the background, all the while across the pond we unshaven slobs wear muddy RealTree® tactical crap and look like sweaty raw paranoid hicks in some Smith & Wesson advertisement about protecting somebody's family from an unseen force of evil.

I've hunted pheasants with my 20 gauge o/u on modest game farms (no fancy English foxing horses or posh hunt clothing, etc etc), but never hunted larger animals on such a farm.

Grew up in Fargo, North Dakota, which is about as close to an ice-cold hell of hells as one is likely to get. Certain, limited areas of Siberia excepted. In the 1980s, I remember -40 below F (where F meets C) air temps with -92F wind chills, followed up by honest to god 1920's dust storms in 110F heat. Nary a mention in the national press either. If that weather happened in New Frickin' York, every goat herder in Outer Mongolia would be aware.

Anyway, good to meet you!
 
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I forgot some caliber info that you might like. Of course, I enjoy .22LR (who doesn't?), 17 HMR is fun, I have a fussy 17 Hornet that's back at the factory, and I just bought a 22 Hornet that might make me feel better about the 17. Have to actually lay hands on it first, however.
 
Now that's what I call an introduction! You are very welcome. Although you do seem to have something of a stylised view of what happens in field sports in the UK. A bit like me thinking in the USA you ride around bare back (on horses) shooting arrows into buffalo. Yeeha!!
 
I've dipped into this excellent forum from time to time for gear advice, and have finally decided to become a member. You've turned me on to Ogden's rifle slips! You English with your poetic names! I have a bit of UK in me but I'll never approach your turn of phrase. By the by, my last name, Carson, seems to be Scottish by way of the Isle of Man (or so the unreliable intertubes tell me). And I did have a wonderful English girlfriend while I was in my 20's; I was an idiot to let her go.

I'm really more of a Dakota varmint hunter (prairie dogs with a .204 Rem 700, specifically. Attempting a try at coyotes soon as well), but I have occasionally followed more experienced people at your specialty, deer hunting. Failed miserably, each time! Haha! Either failed to see any deer at all, or only saw the opposite that my tag is for (doe if I have a buck tag, etc.).

My elderly father has, out of the blue, tentatively booked a European red deer hunt in, of all places, Wisconsin USA. Imported deer, game farm. Not paying for bucks, as they can cost up to $10,000 and beyond. We'll have a go at the does that the owner wants culled for $1000 for the first, and $500 after that. Monsters, those red deer are; I've never even heard of them before. Seems that they are near elk-sized; 300 lbs females. By Jove! (sorry, suddenly pretending to be some sort of English countryman)

I've purchased a 6.5 Creedmoor for this hunt, which I've gathered is some sort of bare minimum caliber for red deer/elk. But why am I explaining red deer to the likes of you? Should be the other way around and I'll shut up.

Anyway, sorry if game farms are a no-no in the UK. I have no idea how you fellows hunt and have a typical American's Lord & Manor idea when it comes to UK hunting. You fellows in tweed and side by side shotguns, leaning up against a mortarless rock fence while being served sherry by some winsome blonde lass, Land Rover in the background, all the while across the pond we unshaven slobs wear muddy RealTree® tactical crap and look like sweaty raw paranoid hicks in some Smith & Wesson advertisement about protecting somebody's family from an unseen force of evil.

I've hunted pheasants with my 20 gauge o/u on modest game farms (no fancy English foxing horses or posh hunt clothing, etc etc), but never hunted larger animals on such a farm.

Grew up in Fargo, North Dakota, which is about as close to an ice-cold hell of hells as one is likely to get. Certain, limited areas of Siberia excepted. In the 1980s, I remember -40 below F (where F meets C) air temps with -92F wind chills, followed up by honest to god 1920's dust storms in 110F heat. Nary a mention in the national press either. If that weather happened in New Frickin' York, every goat herder in Outer Mongolia would be aware.

Anyway, good to meet you!

welcome, great intro by the way. I find it interesting what you say about the weather and New York. I moved to the north of England 13 yrs ago and the first few years had hard winters with deep snow on the ground for several weeks yet nothing much reported in the news. But if there is a light dusting of snow in London or the SE you never hear the end of it! I thought it was just us that had this self-absorbEd Media.
and I love ‘motarless rock fence’ ! Very picturesque. I have one running around my garden.

and don’t be misled by the tweed and traditional clothing and side by sides. There are a great many people over here who shoot and stalk ( hunt) in tweed with traditional guns but are not toffs or landed gentry. Rough shooting and deer stalking are popular with many regular working folk here, probably more so than the driven battue you see in magazines.
 
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