ReeferMac

I wanna hear the "how I lost my fingertip" part of this story ..

Jeeze, for 200 clams thats a nice rifle. Someone buy this thing before it tortures me some more!!!

Does that .308 have the AcuTrigger? Man, the wife'd kill me, but thats a great price! How many rounds through it? - K

Thanks for the suggestions.... there was a TGO branded T-shirt printed a couple years ago. Kicking myself for only getting one... I like the TGO design and want to support the board, too (heard they got a small break on orders). Thanks. - K

Would love to see a re-print of the "What part of 'shall not be infringed' don't you understand" t-shirts.... Especially given the election cycle coming up. I absolutely love wearing mine out in public. I'd buy 2 for myself right now (and probably a 3rd for a friend!) Thanks. - Kevin

LMAO @TripleGGG.... I understand OPSEC, but could you narrow down the West Knox part? I'm a little west of you and we have coyote around, too. Fortunately I already talked to TWRA, and if its harassing my family, pets, or livestock, the 2 gentlemen who cover Roane county said Im free to do whatever whenever... I've seen one here repeatedly, lost 4 chickens this year (cost of free ranging). I agree with the airsoft idea, or msybe a supressed .22? I mean, folks here are really good at helping one buy toys! LOL! If population is that dense, I'm surprised the coyote is so bold... THAT would make me nervous. Mine is very shy. Interested to see how this pans out? I have a friend who traps, I reached out and will let you know if he is interested.

Thanks everyone. I have a couple on the edge of an area we cleared for pasture, and they just look burned up... yellow leaves year round, first to turn brown and drop. I'll keep an eye on them and hopefully they'll adjust (though it's been a few years). Most of the one's I've seen deeper in the woods by me are smaller tree's surrounding a larger specimen (those 30-40 footers). Probably root propagation then. There are several stands however, and I've seen some fruit, so there must be a couple... I think I might try to dig a few out and transplant them up near the edge of the pasture to see if I can get them to adapt? Thanks again for the info and discourse! - Kevin

Finally found a fresh one and was able to try it... interesting taste and texture. I could see mashing a bunch up and using it to make a bread or some other cooked dish. They're not going to replace my Oreo's, though. Thanks. - K

LOL! Yes, I did read it. Just never seen one growing in full sun before. Shrug, I tend to be skeptical to begin with.... especially with things I read on the internet. It's possible we're talking about different varieties? Perhaps they have a commercial cultivar that they have bred to tolerate full sun over the generations? Every one I've ever come across in person, was buried in the back of the woods under heavy under-story. Most of what I've read on wild varieties is similar. The only places I've seen full-sun mentioned, is places that sell it. Perhaps these are 2 different tree's? Thanks.

Interesting, thanks for sharing @Omega! I've had a hard time getting a lot of things to grow in the native soil around here..... compressed clay! LOL @ E4 No More, I hear ya... But remember, Burpee makes money selling you seeds.... The hundreds that sprouted on my property via mother nature are all under heavy under-story. I've read that you can sprout them in shade and gradually move them to sun, but from what I've heard they are rather sensitive plants, and not very adaptable. .... Which is odd, really, when you think about plant biology... they need the sunlight to make the sugars (that they use for energy and store in their fruit). So if the plant is in an environment with a minimum of lighting, how does it make a sweet-tasting tropical fruit? Neat stuff! - K

Amen to both comments! (And it's the opening credits, not the closing) ((The rest of the people in this thread are thinking WTF are they talking about Meese for?)) You're right, it's been a while. Kids love that one, too.... I smell an Amazon purchase.... my credit card's getting all tingly. - K

Paw Paws are a shade-loving tree, I don't think they do well in full sun. That's why I was worried about trimming back some of the surrounding shade tree's around the patch I found. I don't want to burn/kill them in an attempt to get more fruit from them. Thanks. - K

Thanks martin5, I figured @Highwalker would chime in when he gets back from his hike in the woods! ... I've taken his class, twice! Excellent opportunity and a great guy... Amazing that it's just there free for anyone willing to take a few hours on Saturday. Do a search for the seeds @Omega, there are several sources available. Was looking at the one's for sale over here: https://www.rareseeds.com/pawpaw-premium-giant-mix/ and considering order some for myself, as I usually get a passel of packets from them every Spring.... didn't want to wait 7 years for it to grow, LOL! Guess I got lucky finding them. I believe the seeds are sensitive to moisture, and need to be stratified to grow. Growing-guides I've read suggest just burying the fruit whole in the fall. I've got gaggles of the little one's sprouting all around, if you ever get out near Knox-town, bring a shovel and let me know.... Thanks! - K

Found a patch of Paw Paws in the back corner of the property today. A few even had some fruit. Were still hard and green, so I left them alone and made a note to come back and check them every few days until ripe. I've never had them before, but was looking into getting some seed's to try growing some! Guess I know where the right conditions are.... Some of these specimens were really old. Easily 30+ feet tall, 6-inch caliper trunk or greater. Lots of little one's in the under story I thought of trying to transplant.... ... If I wanted to make conditions better for these tree's (aka make them fruit more), what should I do? I know they need shady conditions, but are heavily crowded. Would I be amiss to try thinning the nearby stuff out? Fertilize a little in the spring? Any other suggestions? Thanks. - K

Thanks Pop Pop... dunno when I'll get out to see him again, but it does seem to come up every now and again. I get that way for work once a year or so, but it's usually in and out for a training event or something @ Corp. office by the airport. I'll keep it in mind! -Kevin