Sorry to hear about the Lyme disease, Peter. Brunswick Stew was originally a small game stew. I have a friend who makes his only with squirrel meat. Just use any good recipe you find and substitute squirrel meat for the meat part. He pressure cooks them in a little water, debones them, and saves the gravy for his base in the stew. It takes 4 to 6 squirrels, depending on their size, for one pot of stew. If you just want to kill them, the 17 HMR is fine, as is the 17 Mach 2. But for hunting them to eat I would recommend a .22 LR. The Eley subsonic hp is a great squirrel stopper that doesn't tear them up.

At home, 3 summers ago we had a BAD Skunk problem. I killed 7 of them with my RWS.177 pellet rifle. It's fairly quiet and VERY accurate and you can do head shots at about 20-30 yards and not tear the meat up. My longest shot was about 23 LONG steps from the first one I killed (now you know how I got my name).

Thanks for the recipe HD...sounds good...wishing now I had'nt sold my Sako HV .22LR....that was great with Eley Sub Sonics but the trajectory was a bit of a "curve"....

On the Lyme's front...crawling round as we do I have had a lot of ticks over the years...but I think I might have caught this in the US when I was there last year in Fall...or alternatively I picked it up just as I came back ....anyway the rash on my leg showed up in Novemeber and I have been out of it up until February really....did'nt fire a shot over Winter and was in bed from Decemebr to Mid January...high dose antibiotics seem to have knocked it on the head but I was lucky I spotted it quickly. I know of a couple of old timer Deer Stalkers who died with this and a Ghillie in Scotland lost all the skin off his legs from the waist down!!! He was in hospital a long time!!

So my issues are not too bad....it hit me like Malaria which I have also had...but leaves you feeling like you have "Yuppie Flu" and are totally wiped out...still...I have fought it fairly hard and always did some exercise....now I am back to normal nearly...although there are some days when I still feel tired out. I got to enjoy the Forum more though....which was Cool! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

Without wanting to go off topic here...any links on sprays you guys use to keep ticks off would be interesting...I am trying to sort out a good repellant for our Ghillie Suits...we mainly now use the unscented Avon Skin so Soft stuff for midges and flys over here...but not sure if it works on keeping ticks off...any help appreciated. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

Drat, I just missed a squirrel close in with the Henry...twice. My old eyes just don't focus a good sight picture any more. Besides, I haven't finished my morning coffee yet.

Lizard King is still out there puffing up his throat and bobbing up and down.

As for insect repellent, the hunters around here treat their hunting clothes with permethrin. Let it dry before wearing, as the chemical is a carcinogen. It repels and kills ticks, chiggers, and other evil bugs.

http://www.travmed.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21_80&products_id=165

Wow that thing is awesome.

You guys eat some weird food...
Almost as exotic as McDonalds. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/doh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/doh.gif" alt="" />

permethrin is awesome stuff - I treat all my gear with it, including my pack, hammock, tarps, tents, etc etc etc.

I have my youngest with me this weekend. She got to drive my Jeep and do a little target practice with her sister's Henry. She shot pretty well. Better than she drove. Just kidding. She did fine. Linda was amused at the Lizard King's antics all morning.

Guess you don't gotta worry too much about any boys breaking her heart, huh?? She might break a bit more than their hearts <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

He has worked for it. What a stud. Nature rewards persistence.

Hey family forum!!

thanks for the pictures <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />.