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Oh my giddy aunt... Wish I had the funds to bid on that baby...

The wind blew and the duck hunters died on the Upper Mississippi in the Armistice Day Storm. MacQuarrie's and others' accounts are worth reading. Heroism and tragedy. Easy to forget with mild, drought conditions in so many places that Mother Nature can turn on a dime. Stay safe out there...

Where were they based out of? The skiffs make me think upper Midwest...

Worth, I didn't know that DH was in that storm...that's amazing. There's a decoy collector that has some decoys (carved by Heck Whittington, maybe?) that were actually out on the water and survivors of the Armistice Day storm. I am pretty sure they are Whittington's decoys because they are his...

He did. Since he was an outdoor writer for a newspaper up there, he wrote about it. When you read the accounts, it's a horror story. Sunny, warm day, hunters going out on the river mostly unprepared...then the wind starts, and the flocks of ducks coming down like crazy...then the temps start...

Lord...I wouldn't want to carry six hickory decoys...even hollow...much less try to carve it... With what they've done to our hardwoods here, "native" at this point is loblolly pine... I wouldn't mind cypress, but I've had good, dry cypress lumber check or split for no reason all of a sudden...

Nice. I haven't tried to find any tupelo in a few years; I have enough cedar and basswood to last me for a while yet, but I would still like to carve "native" species.

But cypress will add weight. Cedar is 24 lbs/cu ft, cypress is 32....30% more. You can get that here in Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, etc.; there are mills that could probably get boards with custom lengths up to 14', maybe longer.

Love those white oaks...3500 bf...wow. Enough to keep you for a year or two with various projects. You bring up a good point. If you are just buying tupelo blocks, there is NO way to know, and as a matter of fact, it was pretty common knowledge (historically) that the guys who cut it saved...

Eric, I will second what Bob said. My understanding is that many of the Louisiana carvers went into the swamps with chainsaws and cut the blocks as they stood. What I have heard but have not verified is that they could cut the blocks to decoy size, green, without worrying about checking. I...

You are correct. The closest mills are likely in the UP. I drove from Arkansas a long time ago and got a ton of lumber for decoys. The mill I used went out of business, but some up there still cut white cedar or "swamp cedar". The biggest issue will be finding boards clear and long enough...

Neat updates. Interesting that the autoloaders as updated to modern pricing are....about where new autoloaders are now. CSMC is/was making the Fox, but pricing is handsome, and they aren't making a full range of Fox guns...you couldn't get an HE "Super" now. One thing that really gobsmacked...

Dave, I'm sorry for your loss. Events like that cause a real flood of emotions, memories, and other responses. Hope you are doing ok, or will be.

Great little pond box...I feel like I'm not picking up on the plans well enough to interpret, or something is missing, but I would love to build this box...seems like it would be handy for a lot of places, and probably towable for some of the river/sandbar type shooting I do. Great low profile...

Amen. Always love to read the blessing of the fleet. Well thought out and well said. My prayer every year is that we go one season without hunters drowning, firearms accidents, or other major mishaps. God's blessings to all of you - a safe and joyful season.

May be; I haven't looked at the regs yet this year...I am about three weeks behind... I think they did make it legal again, which really bugs me. I wish the State and Feds and Flyway would all get together.

Eric, I looked up the Cache River permit sheet that has the map, etc. NO spinners or electronically operated decoys on the refuge this year (can use a jerk string), which is new, AND...hunting parties have to keep a minimum distance. A party can't roll up and "hunt with you" unless you agree...

Eric, one of the reasons I ever found this site in the first place was that I fell in love with the Barnegat sneakbox. I've always wanted to build one and own one to gun out of, even though there are almost no places down here to use one.

That is a heck of a boat…and I love the “reverse” stool rack.

Neat decoy...can't go wrong on the price, either!