Pawpaws and a 44-40

[ghostdncr]

I had a mostly free afternoon this past Sunday, so decided to hit the woods in search of pawpaws. For those not familiar, the pawpaw is a rather large, indigenous fruit of the eastern US. It looks kinda like a top heavy pear and tastes somewhat like a banana, and I know where there's an entire grove of them. The terrain is severe, so my only real competition is the local deer population. In addition to my pack, I carried along my old Interarms M92 chambered in 44-40. It served absolutely no purpose on the trek aside from being comfortable in hand:



The Kentucky hills are alive with color right now, although the most vibrant days are yet to come:









Mushrooms were plentiful in the area of the pawpaw grove. They both like the moist floor of hollows (called "hollers" around here) so it's not uncommon to find the two in close proximity:



Unfortunately, I had no luck finding pawpaws on this journey. We had such terrible heat and drought this past summer that I'm guessing the pawpaw trees cast their immature fruit just to survive. I did get a photo of the leaves, though:



With my primary objective unrealized, I decided to shoot the 44-40. The prospect had been on my mind and that led me to stash a few improvised targets and a small cardboard backer in the backpack. Shot at 25 yards while leaning against a tree, I was pleased enough to watch this group unfold. The rifle will shoot a ragged, quarter-sized hole off of sandbags at this range, so the vertical spread is entirely of my own doing:

[Borregos]

Sounds like a great day out
The colours here are really vibrant this year and seem to be lasting longer
Nice pics, thanks

[RustyJr]

Those are some beautiful pics, and the levergun is a nice touch. I've thought of getting a 44-40, not that I need it mind you. Much like some people like things in 45 caliber. I'm partial to the 44s

RustyJr

[ollogger]

Well I learned something bout pawpaws, seen some awesome colors & a nice 44-40

looks like a great first post & WELCOME

Thanks for the pix

ollogger

[Griff]

And here I thought it'd be about grandpas and .44-40s!

Edited to add: and Welcome to THE Forum. Great 1st post!

[pwl44m]

Welcome Ghost.You done Good on Your first post. Beautiful Pictures of Ur local and a pic of Ur Gun.
I seem to remember a Song or Poem from grade School. "Way down Yonder by the PawPaw patch" I don't even remember what it was about other than PawPaws and I that was only a referance.
again "Welcome"
Perry

[wecsoger]

Boy, that all looks familiar. Approximately where at? My parents live in the area of the Carter/Rowan county line. I've never actively looked for any paw paw trees around but I'm sure there are some nearby.

Wish I had time to be in the woods down there. I'm stuck in Ohio but I'm keeping my Ky passport active for when I'll eventually be able to retire back there.

[Leverluver]

I haven't tasted a pawpaw in over 50 years. Boy when they are perfect ripeness they will whip a banana six ways fron sunday. October is the only month I actually miss the east; perfect weather and leaves of a million colors. We had a few colors here but they left the country heading east at about mach.7. WY don't have pawpaws but we do have wind

[AJMD429]

Welcome.

We found a few Pawpaws this year - more than usually we see, actually, despite the heat.

I think deer and/or coons get most of 'em.

[Rusty]

Welcome to the forum dancer... Those are beautiful pictures.

Hold those colors in the trees if you will. My wife is headed up there next week to look at them.

[Tycer]

Great first post! I have 4 pawpaws I planted two years ago. One has really taken off this year. Maybe next year I'll get fruit.

Welcome to the forum!

[piller]

Beautiful Fall foliage. In the Dallas area we don't see much of that. Today was about 90 degrees, so Fall is still a month or more away. I saw a couple of ruby throat hummingbirds at the feeder today.

[M. M. Wright]

Great pictures ghostdancer! And the 44-40 is my favorite cal. We have, or had, pawpaws here in NE OK but I haven't seen any for many years. Usually in the big bottoms near creeks and rivers. Guess I'd better take an expedition to find some. Anyway, welcome.

[ghostdncr]

Thanks for the warm welcome, guys! Glad to hear the photos were appreciated. I have a couple of other spots to check out that may have fruit, but this grove has always been a sure thing in the past. I live in the Louisville area but was raised down in the middle part of the state, and the other trees I've found are down in that area. This past summer's weather was record setting, and we had many cornfields that only topped out around waist high.

The 44-40 is a relatively new addition but I'm really liking it, so far! The group above was shot using Mag-Tech's cowboy load (200 gr. FP at around 750 fps) and my rifle seems to love them. It's got a .430" bore, so I didn't expect much accuracy out of the factory rounds and was pleasantly surprised by its performance. I especially like how the case's thin neck expands to seal the chamber at lower pressures. You have to really stand on the .44 Mag to get that effect.

[Old Savage]

Welcome - a gun of romance.

[TedH]

Beautiful colors. The rifle ain't bad either.

[rock-steady]

Great pictures! I listen to a radio station in East Tennesse often. They play the "Paw Paw" song ever now and then.

Where, oh where is pretty little Susie?
Where, oh where is pretty little Susie?
Where, oh where is pretty little Susie?
Way down yonder in the paw-paw patch.

Come on, boys [or girls, or kids], let’s go find her,
Come on, boys, let’s go find her,
Come on, boys, let’s go find her,
Way down yonder in the paw-paw patch.

Pickin’ up paw-paws, puttin’ ‘em in her pockets,
Pickin’ up paw-paws, puttin’ ‘em in her pockets,
Pickin’ up paw-paws, puttin’ ‘em in her pockets,
Way down yonder in the paw-paw patch.

—The Paw Paw Patch
Traditional folk song

[pwl44m]

Thats the one rock-steady, although the verses escape Me the chorus rings true.
Thx - Perry

[rock-steady]

We got another version down here.

"Way down yonder in the fork of the branch,
the jaybirds whistle and the buzzards dance!"

[gamekeeper]

Beautiful photos and welcome to the fire, I like a guy who carries a rifle for absolutely no purpose, I do it often...

[Nath]

Most excellent post. Thankyou very much

Nath.

[tman]

A beautiful fall scene with a Winchester SRC. Don't get much better. Thanks for the pics.

[Batman1939]

Very nice post and beautiful scenery. I like the Interarms too !! Welcome.

[Paladin]

Beautiful photos, great post, and nice rifle. Make me wish I was back in the hills instead of the desert.

[Dave]

Nice area!

[ghostdncr]

Some photos from yesterday afternoon's follow-up hunt, probably the last of the year. It seems I've missed the pawpaw harvest for the year, beaten by excessive work hours and 'coons and 'possums that do this for a living:










Work of the pileated woodpecker, I'm guessing:




See the deer trail? It was much more apparent in person, and I was very grateful for its presence as I scrambled up the hillside. The deer do a pretty good job of finding the most efficient route up a hill:




And THIS is a pawpaw seed. One of my competitors paused to drop it on this rock as they were heading home:







The rifle pics:






And finally, into some flat land on the way out of the woods:

[Old Ironsights]

Great pictures! I listen to a radio station in East Tennesse often. They play the "Paw Paw" song ever now and then.

Where, oh where is pretty little Susie?
Where, oh where is pretty little Susie?
Where, oh where is pretty little Susie?
Way down yonder in the paw-paw patch.

Come on, boys [or girls, or kids], let’s go find her,
Come on, boys, let’s go find her,
Come on, boys, let’s go find her,
Way down yonder in the paw-paw patch.

Pickin’ up paw-paws, puttin’ ‘em in her pockets,
Pickin’ up paw-paws, puttin’ ‘em in her pockets,
Pickin’ up paw-paws, puttin’ ‘em in her pockets,
Way down yonder in the paw-paw patch.

—The Paw Paw Patch
Traditional folk song

No PawPaws here... and I'm not sure Susie would appreciate either being in a Prickly Pear Patch OR picking them up & putting them in her pocket...

[veeman]

Those are some beautiful colors. I often wonder if this being a dryer year has made for more colorful leaves this season? Nice carbine too, I have one in 44-40 also.

[Bill in Oregon]

Wow, what gorgeous color! Kentucky is surely a beautiful state. Thanks for taking the time to post those images Ghostdancer. You're sure welcome at my fire anytime.

[KirkD]

Fall is my favourite time to be in the bush. Beautiful country.

[Pitchy]

Used to drive semi down to Kentucky for whiskey , great pictures of beautiful country.