So I was in lebhuntfish ( Patrick ) part of the world last weekend and got to hablng out with him most of it and all day monday. If yall ever get a chance, meet this guy. He is good people. After helping ( read doing ) me with a leather handle wrap for a bow and playing with the chronograph we went on a 5 hour road trip to give the bow to a fellow out of state. We took his truck and he spent his gas. We got there and I traded the bow and got 25 pieces of osage. Turns out the guy was also a trapper and a swell guy. We picked up two skunk skins and I bought an otter for Patrick. We got back and I spent the night at his place.
Next day we spent morning to night splitting it all out in half and some in thirds. We got lots of staves from the haul. Darn near twice what we picked up but not without sweat, blood, and sunburn. Its 5 year old stuff but still wet because it came from a monster tree. If you sat on it like a horse ( I did ) your feet do t touch the ground. We got branches that were bigger around than any osage trunk I ever seen. I cannot describe the size of this thing. Shoulda took pics but it was dark. I came out with 29 staves and im not sure how many Patrick got out his keep. But we both got some good ones. Most do have wasp larvea in them. Most stubborn critters I ever seen. Over two inches into the heartwood in many spots. But the size of these staves leaves us plenty of room to chase.
Probably going back for this many more in a few months. Thanks Pat for the help and awesome weekend! Your defiantly a good dude to hang with. Look forward to doing it again, though a fishingpole in hand will be in order next time. Your welcome at my house any time.