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BS: Shooting down mistletoe???
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Subject: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bobert Date: 12 Nov 11 - 05:14 PM Okay, I've heard that the best way to get mistletoe out of the top of a tree is to shoot it down??? I donno... Never had any to shoot down but I do now... So what's the deal here??? I mean the stuff is like 100 feet up there... Do ya use a shotgun, or what??? No, Rap... Don't tell me to use a Howitzer... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: VirginiaTam Date: 12 Nov 11 - 05:37 PM harpoon |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: VirginiaTam Date: 12 Nov 11 - 05:38 PM well I wasn't far off. The traditional way was to tie a long string to an arrow (so you can retrieve it easily) and shoot down the branches with the arrow. (Works better with a hunting head than with a target head.) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: GUEST,999 Date: 12 Nov 11 - 06:01 PM Here's yer answer, Bobert. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bobert Date: 12 Nov 11 - 06:10 PM haha, brucie... Ya' sure about that, Tam??? It don't sound right... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: SINSULL Date: 12 Nov 11 - 06:27 PM fOR 79 CENTS YOU CAN BUY A BUNCH AT THE SUPERMARKET. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: JohnInKansas Date: 12 Nov 11 - 06:33 PM Previous accounts I've seen indicated that you'd want to use a shotgun. The idea is just to blow it apart until enough pieces fall down to meet your requirments. Unfortunately those articles didn't provide a lot of detail about where to aim, or how much ammo you'd need for a decent harvest. Harvesting Mistletoe There may be other methods generically called "shooting" but if so I haven't seen details. Dynamite should work, but it skins up the tree. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bobert Date: 12 Nov 11 - 06:34 PM That's not the issue, Sins... Ya' see, we have about 7 or 8 large bunches of it up in the top of a hickory tree and we thought it would be nice to have our very own... I might just take a couple shots at it with my shotgun??? B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Greg F. Date: 12 Nov 11 - 06:50 PM S'posed to harvest it with a small, golden sickle, if memory serves. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: GUEST,Shimrod Date: 12 Nov 11 - 07:05 PM My brother lives in the Cambridgeshire Fens (UK) near to the village of Crowland. Near to his house is a long, straight drove lined on one side with Lime trees. Until a couple of years ago one of these trees bore a fine crop of Mistletoe. Then some evil git shot the Mistletoe out of the tree (presumably to sell it for Xmas decorations). According to local opinion they probably used a shotgun. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Mrrzy Date: 12 Nov 11 - 07:10 PM I thought it had to be a golden sickle... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: JohnInKansas Date: 12 Nov 11 - 07:47 PM I thought it had to be a golden sickle... Only if you're using it to steal a kiss from a virgin. (That's what the last virgin told me, when she explained why mine from the florist didn't work.) John |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Jack Campin Date: 12 Nov 11 - 07:56 PM Is this some kind of echo of the Norse myth of the shooting of Balder? You shoot the mistletoe to get revenge for him? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: catspaw49 Date: 12 Nov 11 - 08:35 PM Are you huffin' me? Your rep has a hillbilly has just taken a major hit! I can't believe you never shot mistletoe............. Use #3 in a full choke 12 for best results but even a 20 with 6-9 will work. Since you're such an idiot I might also mention not to shoot straight up.......Get your wesginny slide rule and protractor and work out something like 75 degrees on the angle................... Surely this is a joke right? You've had to have done this before............... Spaw |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: gnu Date: 12 Nov 11 - 08:40 PM Well, ya can use a shotgun if yer a good eye and use a slug but that still maims the tree. If yer a piss poor shot and ya use shot, yer definitely gonna maim the tree. I'd say... DON'T SHOOT THE TREE. WTF did the tree ever do to you? If I HAD to shoot mistletoe out of a tree I would use a 22... a course, that takes marksmanship... a tha loikes a yer Rap. I spect Rap could knock mistletoe outta yer trees from Idaho dependin on tha wind. Jus ask im. But, ta be safe, take cover eh? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bobert Date: 12 Nov 11 - 08:52 PM Well, Spawzer... I done shot a lot of shit outta trees but I ain't never had no mistletoe to shoot at... Or if I did I was too blind to see it up there... I drive by this tree and the stuff be up there laughin' and flippin' me off... Heck, I just want to blow one sumabcihes outta the tree... I don't need no protractor or nuthin'... I just don't see that shooting the sumabich up is gonna make it wanta fall down... But I'm gonna find out... I sold my 12 gauge so all I have is a .410 but I got lots of #6 shells... I can mess with the sumabichin stuff... Sho nuff... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: catspaw49 Date: 12 Nov 11 - 09:17 PM Just wanted to be sure you weren't havin' pelletss rain down on your scrawny old ass........ Spaw |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: SINSULL Date: 12 Nov 11 - 09:26 PM Somehow, all the romance of being kissed under the mistletoe is falling by the wayside, the scrawny asses and the shotguns. It's about time for Paw, Cletus and the Reg Boys to chime in with their two cents... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bobert Date: 12 Nov 11 - 09:27 PM Sheet fire, son... I could use a few pellets... I ain't been shot at for years... Gives you that humility you need to play the blues... Okay, true story... I once shot a wasp with a BB gun on a band board on the rear deck of my Wes Ginny house... Got him but the BB came back and hit me in the eye... Hurt for days... See, I know humility... And it's 1st cousin, stupidity... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: JohnInKansas Date: 12 Nov 11 - 09:50 PM The mistletoe clings to the tree at multiple places, so if you just cut the stuff at one or two spots. like you'd do with a rifle, it still ain't gonna fall down out of the tree. And any damned fool that should be allowed close to a gun knows you don't shoot solid slugs UP unless there's somethin' up there shootin' down at you. Even a .22 can go downrange quite a bit over a mile, and you can't know for sure what's downrange no matter how "unpopulated" it is. You want to use the smallest shot that will tear up a sizeable part of the mistletoee, to minimize damage to the tree, and a choke that will give you a "spread" at the range to the 'toe that's about half the size of the clump you're trying to get down, or maybe just a little more "open." Muzzle velocity is pretty much the same for any shotgun, so a bigger bore just lets you get more pellets of a given size up in each shot with a bigger gun. Two shots from a .410 will give you about the same effect (same number of pellets) as one from a 12 ga. Smaller shot gives you more hits, if the pellets are heavy enough to break something where they hit, and all you've got to do is rip the 'toe tendrils loose. I'd guess that about #6 shot should be heavy enough, but you might put a couple of #4s in your pocket in case three or four shots (with your .410) with the smaller stuff doesn't get results. At 60 to 80 feet, #6 shot only goes about 3 inches into a quail or pheasant, and each pellet that hits the tree at that range is only likely to go around a half inch or an inch at most into the wood, and is about like driving a 10 penny nail in far enough to hang granny's picture on, so it shouldn't hurt the tree all that much. A #4 pellet is more like a 12 penny nail. At close range where the bunch of pellets all hit close together, you might "bark" the tree and injure it, but reasonable range, decent aim, and a smart choice of shot sizes should be safe enough (for the tree). You may knock a few small branches (pencil size?) out of the three, but that's not going to hurt a mature tree much. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bobert Date: 12 Nov 11 - 09:57 PM Well, John, all I got is box of #6s... I ain't gonna buy $10 worth of shells to get 89 cents worth of the stuff... I'm gonna take me a few shots and see what happens... If nothing happens then I'll have to find another way to get kissed at Xmas... B;~) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Richard Bridge Date: 12 Nov 11 - 10:21 PM Surely using a shotgun is going to result in the harvested mistletoe being somewhat short on berries. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bill D Date: 12 Nov 11 - 10:34 PM ...and NO one has suggested a ladder? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: olddude Date: 12 Nov 11 - 11:08 PM dont bother i stood under the stuff fer years and she still wont kiss me she |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: GUEST,Eb Date: 12 Nov 11 - 11:23 PM Years? Olddude, I hadn't realized that you've known the P-Vine that long. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 13 Nov 11 - 04:44 AM In Tenbury, Worcestershire (UK) there is an ancient, traditional mistletoe and holly auction for wholesale trade, held every autumn. None of the stuff has been shot down, it's cut using long ladders. The mistletoe grows on apple trees (cultivated for cider) and the holly comes from ancient plantations. It seems a bit extreme to me to use a gun to harvest mistletoe! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: GUEST,Shimrod Date: 13 Nov 11 - 04:59 AM It is extreme, Eliza - and shows a lack of reverence for the natural world. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Paul Burke Date: 13 Nov 11 - 06:49 AM Use a rocket to get intercontinental ballistic mistletoe. A lawyer might get you Unfairdi's mistletoe. A girl with a fine, somewhat lower voice, would get you Miss Alto. And a Catholic priest for missaltoe. But using a shotgun? If you don't miss, you'll get hitletoe. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bert Date: 13 Nov 11 - 08:27 AM Yer right BillD. When I was a kid we lived on a farm and Dad used to climb the trees to harvest the Mistletoe which was shipped to Covent Garden. He used a ladder to reach the lower branches. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bobert Date: 13 Nov 11 - 09:14 AM Anyone have a 100 foot extension ladder they'd lend me??? B;~) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Lizzie Cornish 1 Date: 13 Nov 11 - 09:35 AM Bobz, you and Mrs. Bobz put 2 ladders close together, then each climb up them, way up to the top, then...you kiss her under the best branch of the mistletoe you can find, right there, on your ladders.... Kinda romantic, in a Fireman's Kind of A Way... Better still, just let Mrs. Bobz be taken up there on a Fireman's Ladder, with the local Fire Crew....Hell, she could have a whole New Christmas Experience! :0) x Dan, I'm on my way over! ;0) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: JohnInKansas Date: 13 Nov 11 - 10:18 AM I ain't gonna buy $10 worth of shells to get 89 cents worth of the stuff I can see you ain't bought any fresh ammo in a while. An alternate method might be to tie a weight on a stout string and try to fling it up to pull down some mistletoe. People use that method to put up ropes to hang their flags on at festival; but we've had two dislocated shoulders and three or four sprained elbows among the "kids" who find they're not as athletic as they think they were "back when." Ladders beyond about 15 - 20 feet off the ground are one of the most dangerous tools you can try to use. Most of the "trimmers" around here use the ladder to get into the tree, and then just shinny up to what needs trimmed. Your tree probably needs some pruning anyway, so if you know your ropes just climb the tree and cut off the branch that's got a good bunch of what you want(?). The mistletoe isn't really good for the health of the tree anyway. (But if you don't know how to rig good safety ropes, stay out of that tree.) John |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Jim Dixon Date: 13 Nov 11 - 11:08 AM Mistletoe doesn't grow where I live. I only knew it as something sold in supermarkets at Christmas time. When I first encountered it in the garden of a country pub in England, I was fascinated. Luckily it was at nearly eye level. Here are some pictures that show why it is sometimes possible to harvest mistletoe without significantly harming the tree: http://www.wcosf.org/articles/mistletoe.shtml More pictures: http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook/trees/phle.html In Arizona, a very dry climate, I encountered a different kind of mistletoe. It was reddish brown in color, and consisted mainly of stems, rather than leaves—at least when I saw it. Maybe it changes with the seasons. http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/diseases/az1308/ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bobert Date: 13 Nov 11 - 11:45 AM Well, even in my prime baseball playing years (3rd base) I couldn't throw something straight up 100 feet... That's what's it's gonna take... I might be able to shoot an arrow with a string attached and then use the string to pull something heavier like a nylon rope but I don't have a bow no mo'... 'Er I could cut the tree down... (What, Boberdz??? You gonna cut down a perfectly beautiful old hickory tree for 89 cents worth of mistletoe??? Are you nuts, 'er what???) I'll think on it some more... But I'm gonna take a couple shots at it anyway... Maybe tomorrow... Sunday ain't a nice day to be disturbing folks with shotgun blasts... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: gnu Date: 13 Nov 11 - 04:13 PM JiK... ahhhh... buddy... yer a definite fuckin fountain of knowledge but... I said DON'T use a shotgun. A fer the 22, I said you had to be a marksman to use one. I am a marksman and my bullet ain't goin a mile. AND *I* know about shotguns. You might be book smart about weapons but I dare say I could outshoot ya in the field (open? who the fuck shoots open in the bush?... skeet/trap/field, yeah, but a big bush shooter is always dime if he has the eye). Dunno why I am gonna say this... I used to outshoot an international and European skeet champion regulary in the heavy brush woods of New Brunswick. He used a Browning custom that would cost over $30,000 today. I used a Russian full over modified that cost me $300. (The Russians KNOW how to build a GOOD shotgun for the bush. None of the US makers make a shotgun I would prefer.) He was a master on the range but I put supper on the table... often AFTER he had a go. It's only polite to allow the other guy to have a go when you got the last one. Guess I said that because I just miss competing with my bro? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Arkie Date: 13 Nov 11 - 04:30 PM I got here late as usual, but do have some experience in shooting mistletoe out of trees. Growing up in rural Virginia in a relatively large extended family our Sunday gatherings often included finding something to shoot at, a situation that was encouraged by an uncle who was a gun collector and who always had something different for us to fire. When it came to shooting down mistletoe we used a .22 and it was not unusual for it to take more than one shot. We ended up with relatively small sprigs. If I were to try to shoot mistletoe out of a tree now I would most likely aim for the branch that supported the mistletoe rather than firing into the ball itself. If one wants a sizable section of the mistletoe it might be more productive to find some way other than shooting to harvest it. A relatively good shot at the smaller branches supporting the mistletoe could bring down a sizable portion and if lucky it will fall directly to the ground and not get caught among lower branches. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: catspaw49 Date: 13 Nov 11 - 05:33 PM Most trees around here it grows a helluva' lot higher than I'd wanna' climb up a ladder! But Bobertz old buddy.....You touched me when you said........... "If nothing happens then I'll have to find another way to get kissed at Xmas.." So I tell ya' what......iffen you wanna' drive up here to Ohio, you can kiss my ENTIRE ass. Spaw |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: GUEST,Shimrod Date: 13 Nov 11 - 06:18 PM According to my copy of Britton & Brown's 'An Illustrated Flora of the United States and Canada' American Mistletoe species are in the genus Phoradendron. Apparently there are around 100 species in this genus - all American and parasitic on broad-leaved trees. There are another 10 species, in the genus Razoumofskya, which are parasitic on conifers. B & B was published in 1913 - so the taxonomy may well be out of date now. The only British species (and possibly the most traditional?) is Viscum album. Just a request from a Brit: Can you Americans put your f***ing guns away and stop f***ing shooting things???!!! Who knows, one day I might visit your bullet riddled country and might actually survive long enough to see an American Mistletoe. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: olddude Date: 13 Nov 11 - 06:21 PM Fishing pole Bobster, ya can cast a lure up there and pull it down. I can lend ya mine |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: gnu Date: 13 Nov 11 - 06:22 PM Put our guns away? Why, you'd have no missletoes. Talk to BP about that eh? >;-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: olddude Date: 13 Nov 11 - 06:37 PM We could also find the skinniest catter and have them jump on a trampoline fer ya |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: gnu Date: 13 Nov 11 - 09:05 PM I just lost 100 pounds but I ani`t young enough to bounce anything. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bobert Date: 13 Nov 11 - 09:18 PM First of all, I want to thank Spawzer for the invite to drive all the way to Ohio to kiss his ass... I mean, that is touchin'... Sniff... But with gas at $3.50 a gallon, I'z gonna have to take a pass on the offer... (Yo, Boberdz... Do you realize that you used "pass", "gas" and "Spawzer" in the same short paragraph???) Nah, I didn't... Glad you did, anon... Maybe the fishing rod??? Heck, I've caught my share of trees in my day... Most of them hiding under water when I have just bought one of them high dollar lores... Tomorrow is the day... I'm gonna take the .410 out and see what's what... .022 is out... I ain't shooting no real bullets straight up... I done learned that much in life... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: catspaw49 Date: 13 Nov 11 - 11:20 PM I actually got a sailboat's mast stuck in a tree once...........don't ask. Spaw |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 14 Nov 11 - 02:53 AM very interesting thread sandra (not asking) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Allan C. Date: 14 Nov 11 - 06:01 AM I'm thinking you must have pretty good eyesight or a great set of binoculars. At a hundred feet I doubt you could tell that it is, indeed, mistletoe. There are quite a few other parasitic plants that grow in trees. But then again, you have about a 75 percent chance of being right. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: GUEST,Patsy Date: 14 Nov 11 - 07:49 AM It is an ancient tradition in the rural parts of the South West too, I think it was originally to ward off any evil spirits that might harm the next apple crop for the cider making. What it has to do with mistletoe I have no idea. It seems to me a good excuse for villagers to go to the pub though. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Lizzie Cornish 1 Date: 14 Nov 11 - 08:51 AM I'll never feel the same about mistletoe again... :0) Imagine the scene..Johnny Depp finally beckons me under some and then...just as he starts to close his eyes (in horror) I start up..."Did you know that some people SHOOT mistletoe out of trees, some use trampolines, some use ladders and some........" And the spell gets broken... It will never leave me now, this thread...I'll become a Mistletoe Bore forever and a day.. Oh, Bobz, WHAT have you done? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Arkie Date: 14 Nov 11 - 10:55 AM Footnote. One has to be a contortionist to shoot straight up (and also foolish). A little trip to Wal-Mart and one can find a big hunk of plastic mistletoe which is about as real as many of the kisses that will result. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: catspaw49 Date: 14 Nov 11 - 11:27 AM I'm so sorry for you Lizzie........Since Bobertz vacated the invitation, you could come over here and kiss my ass! Spaw |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Lizzie Cornish 1 Date: 14 Nov 11 - 12:36 PM Oh, well, that's er...very kind of you, Spaw, but...well.........how can I say this? Rumour has it that....well...shucks, ya know..... But thanks for the offer! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Lizzie Cornish 1 Date: 14 Nov 11 - 12:37 PM Besides, I kiss no man's ass! ;0) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: olddude Date: 14 Nov 11 - 12:38 PM I still waiting on Cristie Brinkley ... sniff sniff ... not to be I guess |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: GUEST,leeneia Date: 14 Nov 11 - 01:47 PM "If nothing happens then I'll have to find another way to get kissed at Xmas.." We should have thought of that before: chocolate, diamonds, silks and satin. Or cheapest of all, a tender kiss and a smile from YOU. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: VirginiaTam Date: 14 Nov 11 - 03:57 PM Bobert, I cannot find the article about how mistletoe was harvested traditionally, which said a bow and arrow was used. But is seems logical to me with maybe fishing line (monofilament) tied on it would work. So in effect a harpoon. Failing that perhaps Chongo might know some chappies who can climb that tree and bring it down for peanuts. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: gnu Date: 14 Nov 11 - 03:57 PM "Besides, I kiss no man's ass! ;0)" You ain't much fun. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: GUEST,leeneia Date: 15 Nov 11 - 10:59 AM Trained animals? Monkeys would be too much trouble. Can raccoons be taught to harvest mistletoe in return for a couple chicken wings? It's an idea. Beats climbing a 60-foot tree. Somebody invent a boomerang with a sharp inner curve. Throw it up there, let it slice through the mistletoe, let it come down again. Bobert could probably do it. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: GUEST,leeneia Date: 15 Nov 11 - 11:04 AM I should explain I meant that Bobert could probably craft the specialty boomerang, not just throw it in the air. But these are guy approaches. A gal's approach would be to stroll through the woods, sticking mistletoe berries into low branches, then come back after a while and cut them off. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Pete Jennings Date: 15 Nov 11 - 11:11 AM Been two days now since Bobert last posted and it was yesterday he was going to take his .410 out and try it...should we be getting worried? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Joe Offer Date: 15 Nov 11 - 04:01 PM I haven't done it yet, and in fact I haven't fired a gun since I left the U.S. Army in 1973 - but I was a pretty good shot, and it sometimes feels tempting to use a gun to knock out mistletoe or a dead branch instead of climbing up forty feet to reach the offending article with a saw or loppers. I'm not fit enough to climb that far any more (if I ever was), so I'm paying a tree surgeon megabucks today to work on our trees. It's fun to watch them work, though - I can't believe how high they climb. -Joe- |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bill D Date: 15 Nov 11 - 05:02 PM I used to climb trees every chance I got as a kid...my mother used to yell at me.."Get down from there!" I'd reply, "Come up & get me." .If it had branches at reasonable intervals, 60 ft. would not bother me...even at my...ummm...advanced age. (I know that even stepladders bother some folks, so I don't judge... but if I could get to the lowest branches with a ladder, I'd attempt to harvest some mistletoe.) If I could get within 10-15 ft., other tricks could be applied. Ummm... maybe Bobert is laying outside with a branch on his chest? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bobert Date: 15 Nov 11 - 06:59 PM No, ya'll... I been busy all day blocking and leveling my 1954 Spartanette trailer guest cottage/music studio but I did attempt to shoot down some mistletoe yesterday and I feel like I have been on my first snipe hunt... What a lot of bull... I mean, Wyatt Earp couldn't shoot one of them things down... But I hit the heck out of evidenced by the mistletoe debris that fell all over me... 5 direct shots nothing bu noise and small pieces of debris... This is about the dumbest thing I have ever done... B;~( |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: gnu Date: 15 Nov 11 - 07:05 PM What? Why did you even bother when Rap could shoot em down for ya from out west. He's got the eye and he's got the weaponssss. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bill D Date: 15 Nov 11 - 08:09 PM Plan B... "My Chainsaw Rocks" |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: catspaw49 Date: 15 Nov 11 - 08:18 PM Debris? By any chance did a dead squirrel fall out? Are you sure this is mistletoe or is it an old squirrels nest? Spaw |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bobert Date: 15 Nov 11 - 08:45 PM Mighta been half and half, Spawzer.... No squirrel parts, however... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 16 Nov 11 - 12:49 AM Bobert, are you're now going to spend 89 cents for some commercial mistletoe? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 16 Nov 11 - 04:28 AM UK mistletoe grows at almost eye-level on smallish apple trees. The stuff you can't quite reach can be cut using a ladder. But you don't cut the whole thing, you leave some to re-grow. You can start a mistletoe by wedging a seed (from the white berry) into the gnarled bark of any tree. Guns would damage the tree (and the mistletoe!) By the way, the juice is dodgy stuff. If it got in your eyes when you shoot at it, it could burn. You do seem to adore guns over there in the USA! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Pete Jennings Date: 16 Nov 11 - 05:38 AM Now, now, ladies, don't discourage him. This is the funniest thread I've read for a long time! LOL Pete. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: MartinRyan Date: 16 Nov 11 - 05:43 AM Click here Lost for words... ;>)> Regards |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Pete Jennings Date: 16 Nov 11 - 05:51 AM Brilliant! It's beginning to look like it's a national sport in the US... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: MartinRyan Date: 16 Nov 11 - 06:35 AM A thought strikes me... The problem is somewhat similar to that of bringing down the spars of the opposing vessel in naval warfare in the Age of Sail. Maybe some development of chain-shot is needed? ... Regards |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: GUEST,Patsy Date: 16 Nov 11 - 07:21 AM I've been reading that mistletoe can grow on a range of host trees and is actually a parasite. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: catspaw49 Date: 16 Nov 11 - 07:54 AM And over here in the land of the tree and the home of the gun we blast the livin' shit outta' them gawdamn parasites! Hellfire there Liza Jane, we'll blast anything! We even blasted you guys a time or two!!! Nowdays we blast a lot of folks even if some of our Republican presidential hopefuls can't tell Libya from Liberia from Lemonade!!! Lock and Load!!!! Spaw |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 16 Nov 11 - 12:32 PM Patsy, yes, our neighbour has a fine bunch of the stuff growing on his small rowan tree. The tree has a sickly branch, but NOT the one with the mistletoe on it! I would imagine it sucks goodness from the tree, as it has no roots of its own. But a parasite usually doesn't kill its host. Anybody else, apart from me, puke at Cliff Richard's Mistletoe and Wine song? (Sorry Cliff!) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: catspaw49 Date: 16 Nov 11 - 01:49 PM How come the tree's rowan? Is it on a little river trip or what? If you want, we can blast the mistletoe out of it........... Spaw |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bobert Date: 16 Nov 11 - 03:38 PM I suspect that the video of the guy shooting that mistletoe is fake... Ya' notice that it doesn't show the mistletoe in the tree... Just some mistletoe falling after he shoots... I mean, I think this is one of the Reg Boys tricks... I think one of them was up further in the tree and then Bubba shoots well under him as the Reg Boy drops a ball of the stuff that he cut (or bought) to make it look like it got shot down... I demand a recount!!! B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: GUEST,leeneia Date: 16 Nov 11 - 03:45 PM "You do seem to adore guns over there in the USA!" Have you ever heard of poverty? Many of the poor live in rural areas. If a man can make a little cash bagging mistletoe, I say let him. Martin, that was a clever video where the guy shot the gun and then the trained raccoon dropped the mistletoe out of the tree. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: JohnInKansas Date: 16 Nov 11 - 04:06 PM Most mistletoe is a parasite, although there are a couple of varieties that aren't. Unlike some other parasitic plants, mistletoe (most of it) doesn't invade the growth wood significantly, but it does take moisture and nutrient from the host's sapwood circulation and can weaken what it grows on. Most horticulturist advisors recommend removing it (the parasitic kinds) from "good trees" where it's found growing. The mistletoe itself is unlikely to kill a host tree, but may weaken it enough to make it more susceptible to other pests that can damage it; and it can directly reduce productivity of orchard trees. It's apparently difficult to just remove mistletoe, since the remaining bits will grow back rapidly. Removal of the entire host branch, for all branches it grows on is a usual method. There's a chemical treatment, but it will also kill the host tree unless it's applied while the host is fully dormant. (Mistletoe is an evergreen, so it's always growing and susceptible to the poison.) Obviously the chemical can't be used on mistletoe that grows on an evergreen host. And the chemical treatment is a "listed herbicide" that requires application be done only by a licensed "tree surgeon" in the US. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Mo the caller Date: 16 Nov 11 - 04:37 PM If you cut mistletoe you should... Thank the tree Leave a bit for him. Bad luck not to. Ah, but I forgot. That's folklore and we're below the line here. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: catspaw49 Date: 16 Nov 11 - 05:12 PM See all that great shit John posted? Fuck all that....just blast it ferchrissakes! Seriously Bobertz, do you want to be outdone by a couple of Hoosier kids? Damn man.....You need to turn in your redneck card.......... Spaw |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bobert Date: 16 Nov 11 - 05:25 PM Sheet fire, Spawz... That stuff is 10 feet off the ground... Why shoot at it at all... Just take a stick and knock it down... But no... Yer Hoosier kids gotta blow it up from close range... Big deal... My dead grandmother could have done that from her grave... The mistletoe that I'm shootin' at is a hundred feet up in the tree... Tell ya' what... Bring yer ass down here and take a couple shots at it yerself... Yeah, okay... The rest of you can come with yer ass seein' as yer ass is a lousy shot... Deadly.. Butt that's about it... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Jack the Sailor Date: 16 Nov 11 - 05:35 PM 10 feet Bobert? That kid looks taller than three feet to me. Now I am wondering what you mean by a hundred feet up? Can you bend down to pick it? Cool video Spaw. Two shots with a rifle? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: catspaw49 Date: 16 Nov 11 - 07:55 PM Yeah Jack.....Kinda' makes me wonder how good the Bobertz-Boy was at estimating the size of his, uh.....well, let's say "body parts." Hundred feet huh? Tree with his mistletoe is probably a sapling............. Spaw |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bobert Date: 16 Nov 11 - 08:14 PM Shot gun, JtS... Not a rifle... And the stuff is right there in front of the guy... When I say 100 feet up I mean just that... Might be 120 feet up... Might be two miles up... I donno... If I were to climb it and measure it than I would just take a knife and cut some down... I ain't climbin' no 100 feet plus tree... That's dumb... Sapling, my butt, Spawzer... I mean, I might not know the difference between 8 and 9 inches but I know what a 100 feet plus looks like... Like I said, ya'll bring yer assesa dn yer guns here and shoot one down... If anyone can shoot one down than this ol' hillbilly will turn over 100 dollars in US money papers to ya'... Bring your stuff... No Howitzers... No nukes (sorry, Rap)... 10, 12, 16 gauge... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bill D Date: 16 Nov 11 - 08:20 PM I can see Bobert's place being the next training venue for Marine Corps snipers.... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bobert Date: 16 Nov 11 - 08:40 PM That just gave me an idea, Bill... I have this Marine who hunts in the woods behind me... I think I'll challenge him to bring some down... Why didn't I think of this before??? B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: gnu Date: 16 Nov 11 - 09:07 PM I kin shoot the eye outta a birch on a dead run thru one by one pines in a rutted pulp yard and I ain't no marine. This here mistletoe... does it bob and weave like a cock birch? BTW, I would use the top barrel of my o/u full/modified Russin made (the Ruskies KNOW how to make a field shotgun) 28" vent rib with PROPER ammo... CIL. Not that Yankee crap ammo that we are forced to buy these days. Mistletoe deserves better. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Pete Jennings Date: 17 Nov 11 - 07:42 AM Bobert, you willing to hand over $100 for a 79 cent bunch o' mistletoe? You stopped takin' yer meds? (Jeez, Now I'm writin' with a hillbilly accent. I gotta stop readin' this thread!) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bobert Date: 17 Nov 11 - 10:11 AM Well, hell yeah, I'd pay 100 bucks 'cause there ain't nobody here can shoot this stiff outta this tree... I mean, I tank wouldn't get it out of the tree and nukes are illegal here in North Car-lini... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: GUEST,Patsy Date: 18 Nov 11 - 05:52 AM Eliza you are not alone Cliff Richard's Mistletoe and Wine song has the same effect on me. My remedy is plenty of sherry. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: GUEST,leeneia Date: 18 Nov 11 - 09:23 AM Thanks for the video, Spaw. I didn't really think anybody could shoot mistletoe out of a tree. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: GUEST,leeneia Date: 18 Nov 11 - 09:28 AM Spaw's video was from Indiana. I have an Indiana story to tell. My mother's family came from Indiana. About 15 years ago, my cousin from Chicago bought a little farm in Indiana for second home. After a while, he invited a cousin of his from California for a visit. The California cousin stepped onto the driveway, gazed in awe at the huge trees in the front yard and said, "In California this would be a national monument." ========== If Bobert says the mistletoe is 100 feet up, then it probably is. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: GUEST,Eliza Date: 18 Nov 11 - 01:32 PM LOL Patsy, good idea! "Mistletoe and....plenty of sherry!" That video of Mistletoe and Wine makes me feel seasick, they sway to and fro grinning fixedly at the camera, most peculiar IMO! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bobert Date: 01 Dec 11 - 07:05 PM Well, well, well... I've been decorating all day and about 4:00 just needed a break so I say to myself, "Self... You got three shotgun shells left..." so... ... went back across the pond and surveyed that mistletoe one more time and... BANG!!! Nuthin'... BANG!!! Nuthin'... BANG!!! Well, it wasn't the motherload but I did get a chunk about the size of my hand... 'Nuff for smoochin'... $20 of shotgun shells = 89 cents worth of mistletoe... But, hey... I wasn't skunked... B;~) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: gnu Date: 01 Dec 11 - 07:19 PM $20 fer 3 shells? Yer gettin ripped off eh. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: JohnInKansas Date: 01 Dec 11 - 09:24 PM Nah gnu, the $20 was for the whole box. He shot the other 22 out a the box the first time(s) he went out, and went out again with the last three. No more often that it appears he shoots anything, he probably couldn't get off more than 4 or 5 at a trip, 'cause he'd have to go back to the house to put an ice bag on that purple/blue armpit. Three weeks or so since he started gettin' with it's probably about right for at least four expeditions out to the tree. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bobert Date: 01 Dec 11 - 09:33 PM You got secret cameras in my house, 'er what, John??? Feeling better now... Got mistletoe... Got beer and... ...got ice... I'll be okay... B;~) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: gnu Date: 01 Dec 11 - 10:21 PM First of all, yer armpit ain't got shit to do ta do with shootin a gun. Iffin ya get fucked up in any way by shootin a gun, ya ain't doin it right. Second of all, $20 fer a box a shells is a ripoff. The Wallymart sells em cheaper that that... of course, the crap that passes for shotgun ammo these days is a ripoff no matter the price. Dear lord... please bring back CIL Dynawad... Special Long Range...I beg you almighty one. Those were shells you could rely on to put supper on the table. The shit shells sold now are just that... shit. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: JohnInKansas Date: 01 Dec 11 - 10:23 PM See boys. Only took me one shot to scare Bobert out. But he'll feel good once the beer kicks in and he fergits about the bruises from the blunderingbus. But ice in his beer, I don't know fer sure about that - - er maybe was he putting it on the sore shoulder?. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: GUEST,leeneia Date: 02 Dec 11 - 10:08 AM ice in his bee? Oh John, don't even raise that awful spectre in jest. I'm glad you got some mistletoe, Bobert, even if a small amount. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Jack the Sailor Date: 02 Dec 11 - 11:55 AM Gnu, two things. 1. Who said he was doing it right? John is the one with the hummingbird spy drones in Bobert's house. He should know. And 2. $20.00 per box is a very good estimate for the price. They probably are a little cheaper at Walie world, but not enough to quibble over. Shotgun shells per box |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: beardedbruce Date: 02 Dec 11 - 01:41 PM for shooting at trees he can use the cheap stuff... from JtS clicky |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: gnu Date: 02 Dec 11 - 03:19 PM JtS... mabey down south but they ain't that price here. Also note the steel shot shells and steel jackets and plated steel jackets... crap. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bobert Date: 02 Dec 11 - 06:34 PM Well, I still have another box of #6 shot so I'm good to go... I'm not shooting a the mistletoe anymore... If you find that I am then tell Betty Ford to make up a bed for me... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: gnu Date: 02 Dec 11 - 06:40 PM Betty makin up a bed? Who is this slut and what are you doin runnin around on the wife? Better check yer shotgun if yer gonna mess with this here Betty slut. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bobert Date: 02 Dec 11 - 06:48 PM Good grief, gn-ze... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: gnu Date: 02 Dec 11 - 06:59 PM Good grief? Only grief can come from messin around with some slut. Been there, done a bunch a them. They ain't worth it. Give up yer lust or ride that Long Black Train. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bobert Date: 02 Dec 11 - 07:38 PM Heck of a good video, gn-ze... I don't play no geetar in train tunnels but I know lots - more than I'd like to know - about train tunnels... Google up "Churchill Tunnel"... One of the best (as well as worst) song was "Legend of the Churchill Tunnel" which I recorded in 1996... 33 Verses... Haunting to this very day... Both the song and the story... Ain't gonna put it on this CD... For private listening only... BTW, sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel ain't the end of the tunnel... It's a "Long Black Train" coming for ya... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: gnu Date: 03 Dec 11 - 04:07 PM CIL vs Win There's yer proof... high brass vs low ass steel crap. I used to use a Russian o/u f/m 28" vent with CIL ammo. Iffin a tree was in the way, chop it down with the o and get the bird with the u. That there Win shell wouldn't take out but some needles offin a pine and only some on the front. Now, iffin I was still huntin, even fer yer mistletoe, I would pay $20 a box fer the old Canuck ammo rather than buy that crap... grrrrrrr! 60 yrds to 20 yards? grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bobert Date: 03 Dec 11 - 07:56 PM Forget it, gn-ze... I done shootin' at the stuff for this year... Maybe next year.... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: ChanteyLass Date: 03 Dec 11 - 08:06 PM I just finished reading Christmas Mourning, one of Margaret Maron's mystery series featuring Judge Deborah Knott. It's set in North Carolina. In this book, Deborah's husband takes his 9-year-old son (her stepson) to shoor down mistletoe. It's the first time the boy has been allowed to handle a firearm. The boy's mother (now deceased) refused to allow them in her house. Deborah loans him hers. Something else I'd never heard of: apparently the custom there is to pick a berry off the mistletoe after kissing someone. When the berries are gone, no more kisses are given. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bobert Date: 03 Dec 11 - 08:12 PM Yeah, C-Lass... The berries are white... Got plenty on the chunk I shot down... Got my chunk in water to keep if fresh until closer to Christmas... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: JHW Date: 04 Dec 11 - 08:54 AM Most mistletoe I ever saw was at St Chartier. The original camping field with the sole water trough had high trees all around. One night in a massive storm with the village and dance floor lights going off and on the storm brought down whole boughs of the stuff onto my and other tents. Too early though in July. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bobert Date: 04 Dec 11 - 09:29 AM Lemme guess... Nine months later there was a rash of babies... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Jack the Sailor Date: 04 Dec 11 - 09:35 AM Babies don't come from kissing. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bobert Date: 04 Dec 11 - 07:21 PM Ya sure about that Jack... The story has to start somewhere... B;~) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Jack the Sailor Date: 04 Dec 11 - 11:27 PM Storks. Storks and cabbage patches! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: GUEST,Patsy Date: 05 Dec 11 - 02:24 AM And gooseberry bushes. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: JohnInKansas Date: 23 Dec 11 - 11:14 AM I guess I must be the only one who heard the news that the drought in Texas has caused a severe shortage of mistletoe this year. Major suppliers saying they ain't got any. Prices skyrocketing. A separate report says the supply of trees producing frankincense are also down by 50% and rapidly dwindling. Sure hope the fruitcake makin's hold up. Otherwise we might have to drop Xmas off the calendar. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: Shooting down mistletoe??? From: Bobert Date: 23 Dec 11 - 11:23 AM Wish I had known of the shortage a couple weeks ago 'cause I coulda cut the sumabich down and made a fortune... Maybe next year if the drought holds up... B~ |
