Maximum PC

SpotLight on lkhanson


Leif Started folding on 1/21/05
He has 622,246 points
ppd 978
Processors 11/8

EOC Stats Click Here

Lets meet lkhanson...............

Where do you call home these days?

[i][color=green][b][size=150]Married since July 2004, and my wife puts up with my hunting and computers as long as I take care of her...

My name is Leif. Pronounced "Layf" or "Lafe" and not "Leef" or "Leaf." Just a minor pet peeve of mine after people know how to pronounce my name and revert back for some reason. However, this is not me http://www.bvbinfo.com/Player.asp?ID=56&Page=1 . And although I played violin and viola from 4th – 12th grade (and was accepted into the CU School of Music) this is not me either http://www.leif-hanson.at/ - and don’t even get me started about this: http://www.angelfire.com/music/hansonan ... epage.html

I have wavy hair down almost to my waist (this picture is a year old and my hair grows really fast - I was trying to make my hair look 80's metal, but came out looking kind of like Cousin It from Addams Family). As you can see, I have a scruffy beard and long hair because I had to keep it short for so long when I was in the Marines (all told approx 1991-99) working as a Systems Configuration Coordinator in a Tactical Air Operations Center, as my overall job of Air Command and Control Electronics Operator (controlling the flight of aircraft and missiles). I enjoyed my time as a Devil Dog (even though I was in the Reserves as I was going to college at the time), and am proud to have served.

My dog, Sage, is my current Avatar. He’s a 2-year-old rescue from Denver Dumb Friends League. We believe he’s a mix between a Siberian Husky and White Shepherd. I used to have a Senegal Parrot named “Bantan.â€

Nice to meet you Leif, great spotlight!

cool, great spotlight, when i first moved to colorado, my hair was a little longer than that, lived about 8 years in Sterling.

i was also captain of the school rifle and pistol teams, shot for my division rifle team in germany also, was asked to join the Army team, (no, reup for me) love to shoot though. i cant see now either.

did ok for a left hander shooting right handed.

Always nice to learn about a fellow folder! Thanks for a great spotlight!

Nice to meet you lkhanson! I appreciate your taking the time to do a Spotlight! Who's next......???

hmmmmm... lots of hair and likes our comments.....

I THINK WE MAY HAVE A NEW MONKEY FED CANDIDATE HERE.......

bro if you are interested in moose you need to come up where i live....

Northern Manitoba is moose central.... hell our banking machines are bilingual... english and moose.....

they get pretty big up here so bring your 30.06 with the grenade launcher mod....

i don't hunt myself but have heard stories that you simply have to go out by yourself and count to 10 then shoot in any direction and your odds are 50 - 50 that you'll bag something... hopefully it's not a relative of ours...

nice spotlight

Great Spotlight, Leif! Glad to know I'm not the only hunting/gun aficionado around here!

Hi Leif! Great Spotlight! And glad to meet you!

I started off with Pentium 3s and 4s. I still run a Pentium 4 3.2 Ghz, 1 Gig memory.

I also used to live to hunt and fish! Whitetail deer, Wabbits and Squirrels here in S. Il. I fancied myself as a pretty good shot with a 22 rifle, scoped or open sight. Like g.m., I'm a south paw, who shoots right handed. Won a couple matchs in summer camps in teenage days. Gosh I loved it...

Also used to have the hair, not quite as long. But close!

I wasn't able to serve my country. Would liked to be like Dad, who served in Pacific-WWII.

Great having you fold with us.

Hey Leif, nice to see a fellow shipmate with the MaxPC team! =) Great Spotlight. While I don't share your passion for hunting, I do share the love of PC hardware and tweaking, as well as bringing stanford closer to understanding the diseases you mentioned you were folding for. Awesome stuff!

Thanks for the peek into your life Leif. I always getting to know my teammates better. The mountains of Colorado look beautiful with all that snow around. One day I would like to do some traveling and head out west.
It looks like you enjoy a full life and have a great outlook.

Great spotlight.

Hey everyone - Thanks for all the replies to the spotlight. Makes me glad that I finally got around to finishing it.

gsmithman - to answer your questions:

- The hat for the 25/25 & 50/50 will (eventually) be put in a shadowbox, along with that hat for the 75/75, along with the patches from Winchester.

My gun collection is varied (yep, Kreller1, you're not the only one!):

- 2 BB guns - a Daisy carbine lever action from when I was a kid (spring loaded) and an air compression one I ordered from the Cabelas catalogue when I was 14.
- 2 .22s (a bolt action Mossberg and a semi-auto Montgomery Wards model from the 50's)
- 2 12 Gauge's (the SX-1 and a Winchester Model 1400 semi-auto)
- 1 side-by-side 20 gauge
- 1 side-by-side 10 gauge (for goose hunting)
- 1 Remington 30.06
- 1 .54 Caliber Black Powder

g.m. waters - I am going to get a pistol for my wife and I sometime before November, along with a CWP. Elections are on their way, so I want to get in just in case the laws change (a la D.C). I've done some pheasant hunting near Sterling. Not a lot of pheasant up there (compared to some places I've hunted in South Dakota) but it's just fun to get out and walk through the cornfields/CRP.

staypuff - I'm looking around at guide services in both Alaska and Canada for the moose. It's a little hard right now to cross the border to the north with firearms, so I need to find a guide service that will let me borrow something I feel comfortable with. But thanks for the tip!

jack5995 - I too have a love for wabbits/squirrels - tasty little things! Grilled up or cooked in creamy mushroom soup... Never had whitetail deer, but intend to get in on the Kansas whitetail season soon (not enough numbers of whitetail in Colorado). Dad in South Pacific? Was he a jarhead as well?

Thanks b00tp, Michael, Newbie1, DreadedOne, everyone else. Good to be back!

Army. He was in communications.

He's told me a couple stories, but I don't push...

One is where his buddy and him were sitting on a log. A shell went off above them. A limb come down and took off his friend's right side, starting at the shoulder. He said to Dad, "I'll be damn". And he was gone.

bro i'll make some inquiries as to guide services..... there are tons of them up here.... depends how much you want to spend though... i know lots of wealthy Americans come up for the hunting.... as well as some celebrities (Cheney ain't welcome as you have to fire at wildlife)....

as far as i know these services include flying you to remote places, food, lodging, firearms, license and anything else you can think of.... it may be expensive but believe me once you come here and see what the hunting and scenery is like you'll never regret it.....

considering much of this area is owned or controlled by the Aboriginal population some of my friends are the chiefs of said groups and they may offer some solutions.... give me some time to inquire.... i'll post or pm you the details.... i can also smooth the road as i'll post you as a long lost relative so you can visit much easier....

Thunar - thanks for the welcome. Most of what you see in the background is near Craig, CO, which is a 'high desert' area. Although I've been hunting on the high mountain peaks for elk (you may have heard of the Flat Tops Wilderness Area in the White River Natl Forest) it's easier to hunt them when they migrate down to their wintering area (less climbing up and down the steep mountains!). But if you do get out here, I would recommend that area to get a 'taste' of Colorado, or, Rocky Mountain National Park is a favorite of mine as well.

Jack5995 - Ya gotta hand it to your dad's buddy. Talk about an understatement! Not that I have a true comparison, but in the pics, you see me hanging over the back of my truck. It's because I had just returned back to the hunting area so my buddy could get his antelope, after I'd returned from the Craig hospital! I sliced my thigh open with a really sharp knife when I was slitting the throat of the antelope. I'm used to using my knife, but my buddy handed me his after I shot it. Different size, different weight, and he'd probably spent 30+ hours just sharpening it. It was like a scalpal, and I put too much pressure and energy on it when slicing. It went through so easily that before I even knew it was through, it was buried in my thigh (I chose the wrong angle at which to slice). When it went into my leg, I felt the muscle collapse, and my leg collapse just above my knee - I had to quickly put my weight on the other leg. I turned to my buddy and said, "dude, I think you need to take me to the hospital." He was kind of freaking out. I was fine - it sliced so cleanly, without hitting any major veins, that it didn't really hurt at that point.

Thanks StayPuff - let me know what you find out about hunting in the great white north.

One of my buddies and his father went north to Canada to hunt moose. The guide was 'native' and because of his efforts, they were able to get their moose. When sitting around the campfire that night, they asked the guide what cut of meat he wanted from the moose. He asked if he could have the noses! They said sure, and he cut off the noses from both moose, threw them in the fire, and ate them. Apparently it's a delicacy.

Now, I eat pieces of the raw liver, heart, and kidney, when I'm harvesting the buffalo, to honor their sacrifice (being that in some native cultures it's traditional, and we are on the Crow reservation), but I've yet to eat the nose. I'm game to usually try anything once, so, it's not out of the realm of possibilities. To see some pics of the '08 spring harvest (note: this is not a traditional hunt, but a 'harvest' though I still use my 30.06), click the link at the bottom.

WARNING: Images are graphic, so do not click on the link unless you can handle the sight of buffalo being eviscerated. Also shown are some pics of the Sundance grounds where a Native Cultures from around the world Sundance was held on her property in 2007 through the World Council of Elders. http://www.worldcouncilofelders.net/ I was invited to be a dancer, but was unable to attend at the time. But, you can see the tree and all the prayer flags, and all the tobacco ties still attached. Another time in 08 we went up and we visited the taxidermist where they were going to boil the skulls (after we dropped off the robes). They taxidermist had a couple of bobcats and a mountain lion as a pet. I went in the cage to pet the bobcat - softest fur I've ever felt. Click the following link to see the 'album' - you don't have to join Snapfish - just click "View Now" (another Warning - some pics have lots of blood and guts - don't view if you have a sensitive stomach).

http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=36641204701167606/l=355272527/g=88767098/cobrandOid=1000131/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

wow freaky coincidence... i just had two bison burgers tonight....

they taste better than regular burgers and have less fat and more protein....

it's a thriving business raising Bison in Canada right now...

according to the pics.... whatever stupid one comes up to lick your hand gets a bullet between the eyes...

now you know why monkeys ain't so friendly.....

Great photos, I also like the rib eye steak and even bison version of brats. Impressive collection of hunting wins, very nice. Thanks for the tour through your hobbies.

If you ever see me being a bit sickly, straggling behind the herd - do not shoot.

I live a few hours from the BWCA in minnesota, which I also got to see a good number of moose. Makes you feel quite small very quickly.

Welcome and be sure to join the Maximum_Monkey challenge, even better load up for bear and join the smack thread.

gsmithman: To answer your questions:
What is the definition of a Harvest in this case?
What I am implying is that it is not a "hunt." There is no stalking, no scouting. I am trying to differentiate between everything that goes into a hunt, and everything that goes into the harvest.

Are they trying to control the size of the herd?
She has about 112 Buffalo. There is one "herd" bull, "Junior", (I took several pictures of him - see the link below) who keeps everyone in line, and the herd matriarch, "Buffy" (who you can see the Ranch Manager hand feeding). The land right now can support up to 120 head - however, they will be having about 30 baby buffalo next spring, so, we are trying to keep the herd down. She is a land conservationist (all the buffalo eat are the natural grasses, and, the hay gathered from the land itself, and an occasional 'buffalo treat.' When I've fed them, they have a tongue similar to a cat, except a little more 'slimy' but not excessively so). She cares as much for the land as she does the buffalo. And while she is on the Crow Res, she is part Lakota.

How do they pick the animals for harvest?
That's an intersesting question. No, actually, I don't shoot them between the eyes (StayPuff), that would ruin the skull. I shoot them just behind the ear and down 3 inches. That way, it severs the spine/jugular, and they go down in one shot. I am the only one she allows to come up and be the "shooter" because I'm a good shot, and she requires that all animals go down with one squeeze of the trigger. The ranch manager is my backup shooter, but has never had to take a second shot. He also, occasionally, will be the shooter when the ranch owner 'approves' it. But to get to the point, the animal 'chooses' to be the one to be harvested. Now, this may sound a little strange / far out / wacky to some, but others will get it.

The night before the first harvest of the season, we (the ranch owner, the ranch manager, myself, and whomever I have brought along to assist us) perform Native American Pipe Ceremony. The ranch manager 'calls in' the ancients, the elders, the grandmothers and grandfathers, the spirits of the land, and the energy/spirit of the buffalo, as we sit in the circle and pass the pipe. We smoke the pipe (natural tobacco) and put our prayers/intentions into the ceremony, into the smoke, and we blow the smoke in all directions (calling in the spirits of the East, South, West, and North, and the animal totems associated with the cardinal directions). And, you better believe that I set the intention/prayer that the animals go down in one shot. Upon the closing of the pipe ceremony, we put the tobacco ashes outside in a sacred space to honor the land on which the buffalo roam.

The next morning we lay out all of the equipment (rifles, ammo, knives, etc.) and she performs a cleansing ceremony with a smudge stick (a bundle of sage, burning at one end). The smoke from the sage is wafted onto us (front, back, all around) and then onto the equipment, with an eagle feather. After the ceremony is complete, we load up the equipment and get into the vehicles (3 - my truck and trailer, the ranch truck and trailer, and the flatbed with the bailer arm) and drive up the hill.

We choose the spot for the harvest, and, if the buffalo are not there, the ranch manager 'calls' in the buffalo. It looks like he's doing Tai Chi, but, the buffalo come running. I attempted to capture that in the photos, (click the link at the bottom) but as I was inside the truck, the camera thought I wanted to take a picture of the inside of the windshield - so the buffalo are a blur. You can see that not all of her land is flat, and not all accessable by vehicle, so where we have to choose the location carefully.

When the buffalo come, they surround the vehicle. You have to be very careful in getting out of the truck, because the buffalo could be 10 feet or less from where you are standing. I then get on the back of one of the trucks and 'send the energy out' of asking one of the 2 1/2 year old bulls to volunteer their life, to go on to greener pastures, to fulfill their mission for being here. I know, it's hard to explain that to a very technical, computer/engineering oriented audience, but, it is what it is, and it would take me a few pages to really state what goes on internally when I get into that mind set.

Anyhow, the reaction in the herd is immediate, and I usually see one or two of the bulls separate themselves out from the herd (they use their horns to drive the other buffalo away). If they are in a clear shot range (no other buffalo moving in front of them, none moving behind them) I ask them to turn broadside. When they do that, they turn just their head and look at me. I put the crosshairs of the scope in the correct place, and 'say' again, if you are the one, turn your head straight so I can get a clear shot. It's happened more than once that they immediately run back into the herd, and the process starts all over again.

If the buffalo turns its head, and gives me a shot, I squeeze off a round. Immediately the buffalo goes down and the other buffalo surround it, lock horns with it, etc. There are a number of theories as to what they are doing at that point in time (they are trying to get their brother up on his feet again, they are making sure they if he's down, he stays down because it can be a detriment to the herd to have a sick buffalo - it attracts predators, etc.) They rancher states that they are coming to say their goodbye's.

We then surround the buffalo in a triangle organization with the vehicles so that when we are 'working' on the buffalo, the other buffalo don't come in too close. They are really curious animals and would walk right up to us when we're working.

After slicing the throat, we then put tobacco on the head/eyes of the downed buffalo and say prayers, thanking the buffalo for its life, for the sustenance the meat will provide, the warmth the robe will bring, the honor and decoration that the skull will provide, etc. Some of the skulls are used in the Sundance ceremony for the 'piercings.' - Too long of an explanation now for that.

We then begin the evisceration process and, when we come to the organs of interest (liver, heart, kidney) we all eat a piece of them, raw, to honor the buffalo and integrate the 'buffalo energy' into us as we work. We then set them aside for packaging (we also keep the tongue - but don't eat any of it in the field). We then load the buffalo into the trailer after it's cleaned out.

After the 1st buffalo is done, we continue the same process for each buffalo after that. And, if there is no buffalo that sets itself aside, we don't harvest. I don't 'force' the shot.

We then bring the buffalo back to the garage and skin them, then take them into Billings for processing at the butcher. Now, when I get deer/elk/antelope, I do all of the butchering myself (I have a good set of knives, a grinder to make burger/sausage, and a dehydrator to make jerky). But, these animals are much too big for that, especially if we have two or three to process!

Here is another set of pics (from the 3rd time we went up this last spring)

http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=580211208840072068/l=369032553/g=88767098/cobrandOid=1000131/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Thanks Roverdude - I plan on visiting the Boundary Waters someday - my dad did a canoe trip through there during college, and it sounded exciting! I'll make sure not to shoot any stragglers...

Staypuff, you are absolutely correct - the bison burgers are more healthy for you than beef - I try to eat mostly deer/elk/antelope/bison for my meals, and I'm slowly convincing my wife that it's a good thing. Although her dad hunted, she was never really into wild game cooking, so it's been a bit of a challenge...