Great pix JR ! Dr Z is looking quite laid back compared to his usual sartorial elegance !!

Ya ol Randy is calming down quite a bit. Finally realizing there is fun in them there woods. Pretty easy to get a smile out of him now. It was funny because he was worried about going out due to the Shovel Creek fire and them shutting the road down. I said we will go early and get out there before the road block. Anyway we snuck by as the National Guard was putting in the first road block, smiled and we were on our way fishing. On the way back after a wonderful weekend of fishing, as we approached Murphy Dome, the National Guard had a road block up not letting anyone through. Well, I sure wasn't having any of that, We got stuff to do. The young National Guard soldier informed me that he didn't think he could let us through. Time to pull out the big card.... I tells him that Pete Buist said that I would have the right away and if he had a problem to give Pete a call. There was a long pause as the two young soldiers discussed what to do.... One comes back as says to me that that Snowflake Pete has no pull on this situation. Well in that case I says to him... then maybe you'll recognize my passenger over here to my right. He looks in the truck at my 9 year old Godson Tristan and says he doesn't. Look a little further right I tells him... Oh I'm sorry sir he says.... I didn't recognize you at first sir. I'm sorry President Zarnke he says, you guys have a safe trip and I'll radio ahead and give you all a clear road out. That's what I thought I told him and on our way we were. Little Tristan asks me what that was all about and why did that soldier call Randy, President Zarnke? I told him, you didn't know that you were fishing all weekend with Randy Zarnke, The President of the Alaska Trappers Association? Well now ya know....

I'm surprised you weren't arrested when invoking Pete's name !

Hey JR, it was a pleasure meeting you at the ID Rondy, glad you made it down. Everyone enjoyed the big screen TV presentation / ride-along on your line. Look forward to following more of your adventures. Thanks for sharing--Mike

Ol former Wisc resident Randy Zarnke..... alot of tundra under his feet since he left the township of Langlade !

Awesome pics as usual, JR. Say, what kind of trail camera do you like best? I see most of your tc pics are from a Browning. Is that correct? I'm looking to buy a few for hunting/trapping, but also for our youth camp supplies that we have upriver.

Happy fall Trappers... I'm sitting in the house drinking a cup of coffee on the 2nd of September typing on this computer... Something is dreadfully wrong with this and me.. I still have one freezer full so no need to be out hunting but still should be out in the mountains anyway. Got three days off of work so getting some projects around the house and cabin done.
Flew out to the cabin on Saturday to check game cams and get my solar back up and running. I messed up and drained the batteries but all is good again. Lots of pics on the game cams but nothing spectacular. Still not real impressed with my cams yet. They all seem to take good photos in the day but haven't been happy with the night pics. Here's a few of the thousands that were on four of the cameras.








Built a few #9's until I ran out of parts. Got 7 dozen put together and time to order parts for 400 more.

Was blessed to find my Artistic eye again and this is the first artistic projects I've done since my bout with cancer. Dang does that feel good. Been playing with the acetylene torch after work and some 3/4 inch thick channel iron. Guessing you can tell what is on my mind. Unbelievable feeling to be back doing art.





Shot a few pics of some critters from the plane this year in our travels to and from the cabin.


Good luck and be safe this fall hunting season..

Inupiaq... I run a few different cams. Browning are new to me and I cannot say I like any of them so far in all aspects of the game. I still don't get any good nighttime pics. They all seem to take good daytime pics but most predators move dusk till dawn and you know how much light we have up here in the winter. Still open to suggestions on a good cold weather cam that shoots good night pics.

Well done, JR !

I do like the photos ....and well know the feeling of art done to the desired effects .

You must freehand the outlines then follow them with the cutter ...very nice ! I like the colours aftereffects in the metal , though they can also be powder coated . I used to draw templates for a man who did wonderful plasma art for hunting lodges , etc. It was fun seeing my animals in flat black powder coated metal.

I really like your 3D Euro art. Dall sheep ? Though it looks also like it could be one of those amazing Marco Polos.

That would look fantastic as the icon on a plane , snow machine, or especially a truck hood mount ! I even thought of a big belt buckle ....I really like how you "carved " that head out of metal.

Thank you for sharing , JR

That one bull looks to be pretty good and has a really long beard. I really like the three wolves howling.

Wow! Awesome pictures JR! Your trail cam takes great pictures. Still early in the season for moose hunting. Too warm, and lots of leaves still on the trees as you know. Pete and I used to goose hunt years ago the first part of the season, then moose. Lyme disease still has a grip on me so no hunting for me these days.

Your metal artwork is amazing! Where can I see your work? Is it for sale somewhere in town? Who knows maybe we need more art in the house. Our house full now! Always an outside wall.

Have a safe and successful hunting season. See you at the next ATA meeting in October.

JR as always fantastic pictures and story to go with them , nice looking critters on the camera's I'd like to see any of those bull moose, bears and Caribou if I had a tag for them oh well someday it'll happen.

The metal art looks great also I miss seeing your antler art too by the way .

Those wolves hopefully will make a return trip when trapping season is underway the black and then the white are going to look good on a stretcher !

Good stuff, man, looks like you have been busy.

That white pup looks like a good goal for this season!

Nice pics as usual. Your art pieces look great. Glad you bounced back from that dreadful health scare you had. That is awesome. Good luck this Fall/Winter and thanks for sharing your pics of the great North.

Good to see you exercising that artistic mind! Looks like you got plenty of critters to chase on the line this year

Really nice work JR, love that 3D sheep. Got wolves on the brain here too....

Very nice JR!

Chris

Very nice work jr. Thank you for the donation of a #9 trap to the montana trappers association. I now own 2 of your traps and have hopes of filling them with wolfs this winter.

Greetings trappers, winter is slow getting started up here in the interior. Came home from work to 2 inches of fresh snow in the yard. Still working iron til I can get out trapping. Been doing a few projects on the weekends. Built this wood stove for a guy on the Chatanika River. Turned out pretty well. I started this stove 10 years ago for my trapping cabin. Not thinking, just doing before I realized this is way big for my little cabin. So it sat in the corner of my shop for 10 years until I get a call from a guy needing a stove for his new cabin.
They wanted nice but not too fancy so this is what I came up with. Been working on a few little stoves for guys but haven't had the time to finish them.
Selling #9's like crazy lately. Almost out of stock. Good and bad at the same time. Found out that my stamp company whom I order my parts from down in California is a Liberal,Bunny hugging, tree humping Anti-trapper and has been overcharging for years all the way back to when Dean Wilson. Time to start shopping for a new Stamp company. My spring company in Arizona just doubled the price of my springs. Doubled. Unreal, Maybe we should just all quit trapping and hunting predators and let them thin out this Liberal screwballs. Sorry rant is over.
So I've been modifying some older Manning #9's for a trapper. Laminating jaws, center swiveling, night latching and re-springing to put them back to work in the field.

They all had the little diagonal brace brazed by the trapper. Looks like a little gold on the bottom. This last trap is a high value trap for all you collectors. It is the very rare Victor #9. Only one I've ever seen. Let the bidding start.
Well good luck and be safe this season guys and gals. I'm going to work for a few more weeks anyway or unless I get the fever too bad and have to break down and fly out to the line again.