Finally Starting on the Berm

[fortyshooter]

That berm is looking good! Good to have some heavy equipment that you can use anytime. What about the trees inside the target area...will you cut those down?

[BrokenolMarine]

That berm is looking good! Good to have some heavy equipment that you can use anytime. What about the trees inside the target area...will you cut those down?

Fifteen years ago, I would have. I would now, I know how and have the equipment to do the job safely, but miss t would have a stroke. If I torque (twist) the erector set right femor wrong, it could explode. (According to three surgeons). There are thirteen screws passing thru it, holding the reinforcing plate in place. If I tried to move out of the way of the falling tree if it went unexpectedly, I could apply that torque. That would be a bad thing.

My plan would be to tie onto the tree up high on the side I want it to fall toward. I would run the rope in that direction, thru a pulley, then off ninety degrees and out as far as the tree is tall, plus thirty or forty yards. That last thirty yards would be winch cable from the UTV. (Slack)

I'd cut my notch on the fall side.

Then put tension on the ropes by adjusting them, taking out the slack.

I'd start my back cut, down at an angle. Not going all the way thru yet.

Put tension on the hoist until I see the top of the tree move in the direction of the fall. Wait for all sway (if any) to stop.

Continue the back cut, not yet all the way thru.

Add more hoist tension. Wait for sway to stop, all the while, listen for telltale creaking from the cut. Repeat this procedure until the tree starts to fall. Leaving the sliver controls the trunk and helps eliminate kickback. I used this all over the farm in VA, and had controlled drops with every one.

I never dropped near buildings or powerlines. I paid to have those dropped. I didn't drop bigger than my saw or my control lines could handle. EGO was not an issue. One friend had one get away and dropped it on his truck. Another dropped one on his porch. Yup, see above... I don't drop near structures.

Of course, now I don't drop at ALL.

We had someone scheduled to remove them months ago. He was going to "Be out next week." ( ...and the checks's in the mail.). They won't bother me for now. IF I eventually get someone out... Yes, I'll remove them. Sigh.

[BrokenolMarine]

... Or, I'll get PO'd and drop them, gimpy or not.
"No, Miss T" shake my head, "I would never. The wind. Yeah, yeah, that's the ticket. The wind blew them down, and they broke apart."

[cooperhawk]

Enough bullets will drop most anything.

[dave77]

I've always wondered if this guy is very, very good or very, very lucky or maybe both good and lucky.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYrNXVdZq7Y

[BrokenolMarine]

I've always wondered if this guy is very, very good or very, very lucky or maybe both good and lucky.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYrNXVdZq7Y

I have seen the full length video, and others of his years ago. He is VERY Good.

[BrokenolMarine]

Didn't get out this morning, while it was in the low 70s. Miss T had ordered a window for the Feed Room for the new barn. Guess what was number one on the Honey Do list this morning. Knocked 'er out in about an hour, but that small feed room was HOT. It cooled a bit this afternoon, and 90% of the working area was in the shade, so I got busy.

This is what's left of the 13 tons of Fill....

13 ton pile.jpg (332.88 KiB) Viewed 373 times

Sheesh, when your wheelbarrow and shovel are diesel powered, you can MOVE some dirt.
The combined dirt from what was there and that dump load makes a good start on the berm. I can shoot into this to start off, but I have another pile I can be moving as well.

the berm.jpg (302.72 KiB) Viewed 373 times

A view from 25 yards. Yup, it'll be a narrow lane, but I won't be doing much competitive shooting or holding matches. This will work fine until I find someone who wants to earn a few bucks and will show up. Then the trees can come down. They can take them for firewood, or just limb and stack them and let them provide natural homes for nature.

25 yards.jpg (270.13 KiB) Viewed 373 times

I'll start on the other pile in the next day or so. Miss T will soon be working on the Limestone, when we get the gates in.
That hay field... they cut, raked, and baled in one day. They started loading the bales first light this morning and they were done this evening. With hay so scarce, I think they were afraid to leave the bales on the field.

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Gives us a clear view across the field for the next month or so. No hiding places for the yotes except the low spots in the woods and around the ponds on the sixty acres. But they can't low crawl thru the grass any more for a while. We don't have anything loose they can DARE sneak up on. The cows will stomp them into a puddle.

[BrokenolMarine]

After knocking out the 13 ton dump load yesterday, it was time to start on the pile that Miss T set aside when she cleaned out the pond edge last year. It's a bit farther away, and my plan is to drop it Over the berm wall from the back. Here is a view of the distance of the pile from the pond road. You should be able to pick out the pile from the clutter in the background, I have tried to make it easier to see.

pond pile arrow.jpg (248.58 KiB) Viewed 366 times

Maybe a bit closer look using the zoom... It might not look it, blending in covered in grass. But there is a lot of dirt there.

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I got started... same old boring routine. Back and forth, back and forth. It helped that I had an enthusiastic cheering section... Whoop whoop!

cheering crowd.jpg (168.64 KiB) Viewed 366 times

Working carefully, I dropped a dozen loads or so over the back wall and a couple over one side wall. It was a slow start, but the pile sat in the hot Oklahoma Sun for a year. I broke it loose in the one area, but the rest is like concrete. I may try using the hay spike like an ice pick in the morning when it's cooler, but if that doesn't work, might have to wait until we get a nice hard long rain. It was a slow start, but it was a start.

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I did manage to back fill the work from the past three days.

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backfill 2.jpg (355.61 KiB) Viewed 366 times

What I have now is an impact area. I "could" shoot into this. If I can't do any more work with the pond pile for a while, I just might.

impact area.jpg (320.15 KiB) Viewed 366 times

[BrokenolMarine]

After a long time working on the range, I went down yesterday and staked the 300 foot tape measure to the range and marked the yardage. I found I have 95 yards available if I back up past the range house to the fence at the edge of the pasture. I need to trim some overhanging branches back that far. I'll still need to drop a couple of the trees in the shooting lane for longer ranges but for the most part I can start shooting now. I have about twenty tons of dirt in the berm. I'll add another ten to fifteen when we get some rain and can break up the piles that have turned to concrete in the triple digit heat.

A view down range:

view downrange.jpg (196.39 KiB) Viewed 324 times

A view up range toward the range house:

range view uprange.jpg (258.01 KiB) Viewed 324 times

That view 95 yards from the fence line, down beside the range house to the berm.... yes, I need to trim.

95 yards.jpg (198 KiB) Viewed 324 times

at fifty yards:

50m.jpg (278.93 KiB) Viewed 324 times

50b.jpg (255.09 KiB) Viewed 324 times

Twenty Five yards

25m.jpg (215.63 KiB) Viewed 324 times

25b.jpg (314.66 KiB) Viewed 324 times

and at 7 yards:

7m.jpg[/attachment [attachment=0]7b.jpg

When I marked the range, I actually marked at 3, 7, 10, 15, 25, 30 and then every ten back to 95.
Never know what you'll want to try, and why get the tape out again?

[fortyshooter]

Time for a break and hang some steel or targets and have some shootin' fun! You got a plenty dirt there to stop most anything.
Still way too hot and humid for my shooting around here. I was down there late this morning just to cut grass and git!
Looks like you will have a great ol' time on your range....great job!