Schwager's Web Page

The Home page of Larry, Carma - Tigger and Tammy

My name is Larry and my wife's name is Carma. We live in the great State of Idaho. We both work for public service - Carma - the School District and me - for the City. We have two sons, Paul and Ryan. Paul is married to Sheila and they have two little girls, Abbey, and Ali.. Ryan is married to Holly and they have three little ones, Max,, Zach and Samatha, both are great daughter-in-laws and the grandkids are great also. Idaho is a pretty great place to raise a family. Yes - we have problems like any other place - in general - schools are pretty dang good - weather (excluding the wind) is totally acceptable. The sports of hunting and fishing over the years has gone down quite a bit - but still lots of fishing around the area. I live within 2 hours of fishing to 4 different Reservoirs. The Snake River is about 5 minutes away. Between low water - fish hatcheries - run off from farms - the water is not as clear as it once was. Pheasant hunting is almost totally gone - cover is being burnt off by the farmers. Other wise - we love it - and as far a hunting goes - I quite doing that years ago. I just got tired of killing critters. Rock chuck hunting was great and still is. I am sure there are farmers/ranchers that would love to have the chucks hunted. Now I only shoot paper. Guess my heart got soft and would rather see the critter running around. I enjoy seeing nature at its best. We had one dog - she was my third child - a black lab./Nor. elk hound cross.. I lost Tammy a while back - and I will forever be sad about that. For 18 years she was my constant companion and best friend/fishing buddy. We have one cat - Tigger and he is another story.. If you ever read "Garfield" I also think my cat - Tigger reads Garfield, as he acts just like him. He does about everything Garfield does - I swear - he is a chip off the old block. Tigger now weighs in at 18 pounds - see his web site - no fat - just a ball of energy. When not working, I spend my time fishing and camping. The Hell's Canyon area of Idaho is really neat and a great place to spend some quality time - Idaho Power runs most of the camp grounds. I guess you can say your camping - as you have water - electricity - paved parking in your camp site - and great bathrooms with Individual shower stalls - with heated water. The dock at Brownlee is quite large and I suspect you could load and un-load 4 boats at a time. Crappie - catfish - blue gills - trout - are a featured fish in the area. I understand that they remove (fisherman) tons of blue gill/crappie from the Hells canyon area. I found a new hobby, working with Ruger 10/22 rifles. Have a lot to say about that . (See 10/22 page) I have taken to customized rifles. Very costly - but lots of fun.  I love spending time taking care of our home, the lawn and my garden. Wow, 1 3/4 acres is a lot of lawn to mow. The garden takes a lot of work. But the products that we grew were outstanding. I never knew things could get so big. Must have some great soil in that area . We love living in the county and really enjoy being out of town. The country is great and to be out in the open is really neat . The cat and dog seem to like the country too - they have all the freedom that want and take full advantage of it. Well - its been awhile - still feel sad over losing my dog (Tammy) - but life must go one. Now its 2007 and a new year. I built a 24 X 24 wood working shop and am into woodworking. Love it and it gives me some place to go in the winter months. Pyrography and scrolling take up most of the time as - lumber is not cheap anymore. But I will build something someday. Take a look at the shop - not the best - but my little place to get lost in.

A HOUSE IS NOT A HOME WITHOUT A DOG OR A CAT! Remember to hug your pet each day

Hobbies and Interests

Tammy's interests... Sleeping and taking one (1) mile walks, and smelling the roses along the way.

Tigger's interests... Sleeping all day so I can cruise at night, laying in the sun, chasing mice and birds.

This page is dedicated to our loved pets that we have lost:

Pluto, Leia, Thomas, Susie, Snowball, Gizmo, Cujo, Sam, Nat, Fluffy, (Tammy's mother Tubbs) and of course my be-loved Tammy

There is an animal heaven!

Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food and water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable. All the animals who have been ill or old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing-they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind. They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent, his eager body starts to quiver. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face, your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life, but never absent from your heart. Then together you and your special pet cross the Rainbow Bridge.

-Author Unknown

Tammy Tuckerbutt Schwager 1986-2003

...Hi, this is my home page...

And I live somewhere in Jerome, Idaho in the country. Hummm, I am not sure where, but I have a doggie door and I can go in and out of the house whenever I want. That is so neat. I have 1.3/4 acres to run around on. I know not to get into the street. I have a fence all around the place but I can crawl through it any place. But I will not. The street is very dangerous and I will not go out there to play. (Oh my, how things change. On Sunday the 13th. I went outside about 0530. Ya know just to do my job.) I got confused and lost my way. I walked about three miles out into the desert. I was so thirsty. I fell down a zillion times, cause of my bad hips. I was dirty and had thorns in my feet. I just did not know which way to get home. Then my master found me. It was 12 hours later. I got taken home and fed and watered. My feet were taken care of and I got my fur cleaned. I think I slept about 14 hours. But when I got up the next day and went out the doggie door, there was a new fence built around the back yard. I know it’s for my own good, but I sure miss my freedom. But my master and I still take walks each and every day. We have been walking for the past 17 years. We walk one mile each day. Gee, Thats over a zillion miles.. Wow no wonder my feet hurt. I am getting old (17), cause I am getting a gray chin, and I have to take 3 different pills each day, and my hips really give me trouble. Talk about falling, geese’s, I fall all the time anymore, but I bet I can run your butt off. (Heehaw urrrr barkbarkbark) I love to dig in the fields for mice. I also like to wade in the water. When my master takes his boat out, I sometimes get to wade along the shoreline and catch small fish. My mom loved to eat fish, but I think they stink! YUKE!!!!! I would be a great hunting dog because I can smell really good and I point at the birds. But I am reallllllllllly scared of guns. My vet. Dr. Allen says my hearing used to be too good, and the noise hurts my ears. He did not have to tell me that, I know! I was really scared of the thunder, and ran and hid in the bathtub when I heard it. I got so scared I start shaking and couldn't even stand up. WOW it was really a bummer! But now, I cannot hear at all. At least I can sleep without being scared. But I cannot hear anything. That SUCKS. My mom lived in Meridian, Idaho, her name was Tubs. I really loved my mom. She cleaned my face and my ears. She was a good mother. (She died on March the 11th. 1999) This is also a bummer. My best buddy Leila died. She was 24 years old. Boy do I miss her. She helped me eat my food and we sat around the yard watching all sort of things. My heart is sad. Gee, where is the crying room. Anyhow on to the home page. Hope you like it and forgive my typing, as it is damn hard to type with paws. Well, don't bury to many bones!!!

Oh, almost forgot. Have to tell you a few of my pet peeves:
1. Stop blaming me for your farts.......................its not funny
2. Stop yelling at me for barking............................I'M a frigging' dog you idiot!!
3. Do you think that the stupid cat isn't all over everything while you're gone? (You notice that your toothbrush tastes a little like a cat's butt??)
4. You take me for a walk, then will not let me stop to check stuff out...........Exactly whose walk is this anyway?
5. You yell at me for rubbing my butt on the carpet, why'd you buy carpet?
6. Dog sweaters. Have you noticed that I have FUR!!
7. When you pick up the crap piles in the yard. Do you realize how far behind schedule that puts me?
8. You take me to the vet for "the big snip", then you act surprised when I freak out every time we go back.
9. The sleight of hand, fake fetch throws. You fooled a dog! What a proud moment for the top of the food chain, you nitwit.
Hehe haha....................................................Bark Bark

THE END OF A GREAT LIFE

I made this page for Tammy because she was such a good girl and a joy in my life. It’s sad when you loose a friend of so many years. I cannot remember when Tammy was a little pup, that was so long ago. She belonged to my youngest son. I had lost Pluto a few years before -after a 15 year friendship - but she was a family member and catered to all of us - I swore that I would never own a dog again. My son went to college and then off on a mission for the LDS church. Of course I kept Tammy and she became my very best friend. Through out her lifetime, we have walked at least one (1) mile per day for over 18 years. That is a lot of walking. We have been on many road trips, vacations, fishing and camping trips that we have enjoyed so much. Tammy was always waiting for me, with her tail wagging, and that little bark. She loved to ride in the pickup and stick her head out the window, catching the air with her nose and her ears out stretched like a pair of airplane wings. Her joy was chasing fish along the shoreline when we went fishing, and acting as the hood ornament of the boat as she stood for all to see-just who was really running the boat. Tammy had abilities that I never saw in other dogs. You could show her how do something one time, and she would do it the second time without any coaching. She knew exactly when her suppertime was, and made sure I knew it also. She loved to chase our many cats that we had, but never hurt them at any time. Tammy never knew how to swim and it amazed me when she fell off the boat the first time and sank. I had to jump into the water to save her. She never did really learn what swimming was about. Her front legs would go 90 miles per hour, but she forgot to move the back legs. She always stayed pretty close to shore and did not try swimming at all. Her ability to know when a storm was approaching was amazing. She would go outside and pace back and fourth for a long time. Up to 30 minutes would pass and then you would hear the thunder. Tammy was so scared of loud noises that she would tremble and shake so bad, she could not stand up. The bathtub, which she hated, was her friend during a thunderstorm or on the 4th of July. I had to take her to the Vet. for an X-Ray. (Fishhook caught her mouth). The Vet stated that she had the biggest hearing area he had ever seen in a dog. He then told me that loud noises have to really bother her. (We knew that.) Later in Tammy’s life, she had an ear infection. About 3 months after that, she lost her hearing all together. Totally deaf. It bothered me, except she was no longer afraid of the loud noises that she heard. Two years ago, when we moved to the country, Tammy loved it. She had 1-¾ acres of land to run. She had a pole fence to keep her in, (she could have went through the fence anywhere, but for two years did not. She only left the yard if I had a leash on her. Otherwise the yard was her kingdom. Last year I noticed a change in Tammy’s walking and running. She was limping a little and was slowing down. It was apparent that she was having hip problems. Our walk of 1 to 2 miles became shorter, and that 15-minute mile, now took us over an hour. This was just fine with me. It let me unwind from work and I loved walking with her anyhow. There was not a rose (sage brush) that was not smelled each and every day by Tammy. It was her walk and I never tried to hurry her. We have walked in rain, sunshine, windstorms, winter blizzards, and anything else that Mother Nature tried to throw at us. Then right before Tammy's death, she was unable to walk our mile route. She had become so lame in her back leg that she could only walk a few feet and then had to sit down. I tried to walk her around the home, and it got so she could not even do that. The last time we walked together - we were in a terrible rain storm, I had to pick her up and carry her home. She put her nose inside of my jacket and acted like I could and would protect her from anything. She slept most of the time after that, I had to carry her in and out of the house to do her job and I had to feed her while she lay down. We had messes that we had to clean, but I did it with love. From her chest to her head, she is the same old dog, except her eyes were clouding and her hearing was gone. But those big brown eyes still looked at you with love. The hardest thing I have ever had to do was to choose when the right time put her down. I keep thinking of the saying:

and my friend, when I am very old and I no longer enjoy good health, hearing and sight, do not make heroic efforts to keep me going, please see that my trusting life is taken gently, I shall leave this earth knowing with my last breath I draw that my fate was always safest in your hands.

Remembering this, I choose to have the Vet. (Dr. Allen) come to the house and do what he had to do. He advised me that he would be there around 3:00 pm. I sat with Tammy from 9:00 am. until the Vet. Arrived at 3:00 pm. During that time, we talked, we cried and Tammy ate some cat treats, which she loved. I promised Tammy that I would continue walking each and every day. We could not be together physical but we would be together in spirit. We made peace with each other and then her life ended, one day before her birthday. (Born May 28, 1986 - Died May 27, 2003.) She went very peacefully, just like going to sleep. I buried Tammy by a big pine tree, where she will be in the shade most of the day. She has two stone bears watching over her. I say good morning as I leave for work, and hello when I get home each day. Every night, I stroll out to her grave and say goodnight. I loved this little gal so very much and I always will. It has been a while that Tammy has been gone and I know I should get another dog - but I just can not get myself to do so. We have such a great place for critters to live - and our cat - Tigger - love it. But the pain of Tammy's death is still heavy on my heart. Maybe someday - but as for now - I just want to remember my best friend - Tammy!

God bless the animals of the world and may their suffering be minimal.

Coyote's 10/22 Page

I became interested in the Ruger 10/22 after connecting with two great web pages. RimFireCentral and Perfect Union. They have anything about Ruger 10/22's, its there.

I purchased a new 10/22 carbine from Sportsman’s Warehouse. I removed everything and just used the action for my project. The rest of the parts went into a 10/22 for my wife. She needed something light and short. I added a Green Mountain fluted barrel and left the stock on the unit and I added a used action and the new trigger assy. from the new 10/22 I purchased. Before I put the trigger assy. in the weapon - I added a Volquartsen Extended Magazine release - hammer and springs, WeaponKraft bolt buffer, Volquartsen extractor, and I jeweled the bolt and added a Simmons 6.5 X 20 44 Mag scope . I wanted her to have a good shot at getting good groups with the rifle although she is just a Plinker and shoots for the fun of it - instead for one hole groups. Good Grief - now she wants me to redo the finish on the factory stock - and stain it purple.

Well women get their way and below are a picture of my wife's new 10/22 with her purple stock.

(Thanks Tuck for an outstanding job)

Those lines in the stock are the reflections of the field - that is how glossy the stock is.

ACTIONS

I really did not care about keeping all the parts Ruger - So I purchased a Volquartsen trigger assy. - A bolt buffer from WeaponKraft and I also added a new Ruger bolt that was worked over by CPC. (The bolt buffer replaces the bolt stop pin in the rear of the receiver. This bolt stop pin stops the bolt from crashing into the rear of the alloy receiver and in doing so transfers that energy to the drilled receiver holes. )

BARREL

I call my 10/22 the Coyote although I do not hunt with it but paper shoot only. It had the Green Mountain fluted bull blue barrel. Length is 20”. This is a matched barrel, so be prepared for it not to shoot all ammo. Mine likes Wolf Match ammo and Federal Lighting. That is about it. It really hates Remington Gold ammo. I change the barrel over to a Green Mountain full Bull barrel instead of the fluted. I wanted more weight and the bull barrel did just that. If you have a Ruger Hammer forged barrel you can send that action and barrel to Connecticut Precision Chambering and they will do a great job with just the Ruger parts.) I purchased the Green Mountain barrel from Cabalas. Available are 16”- 18” and 20” barrels. After I made the purchase I found out that the barrel was really a 20” barrel instead of the 18” I wanted - so I could of went through a different dealer.

B-SQUARE WEAVER STYLE BASE

The base I decided on was a B-Square 10/22 Weaver Style Base (also from Cabala’s). I just like the B-Square mounts. Have always had good luck with them. The Scope rings are Burris Signature Zee rings. I think they are some of the best.

GUN STOCKS

The stock took more thought. (I purchased a Boyd's Nutmeg Blaster. The cheek comb was so high that I was unable to use this most beautiful stock. I had the high Burris SZ rings and it was still not high enough. After a couple of outing and coming back with a sore neck, I sold the Blaster.) I wanted a good stock for bench rest shooting only. The McMillan Intimidator was my first thought, until I found out the price ($550). This was way out of my price range. I then looked at the Bell and Carlson Odyssey. I really like this stock. But thinking about all the adjustments of that stock and me liking to keep things simple, I choose the Bell and Carlson Anschuts stock from Cabalas. The more I shoot this stock the more I like it. I wish it weighed more but other than that, it is a very easy stock to shoot. It fits me really well. Well - changed the stock again - Went with the Revival Industries TunDra thumbhole stock. Man - what a difference - this weapon shoots so sweet now....

SCOPES AND RINGS

I took the suggestions from the folks at Rim Fire, I chose a Weaver in the T36. I purchased this scopes from The Optic Zone. You can also get the Weaver or the Simmons 1048 from SWFA , Natchez or Midland. The rings for the scopes are Burris Signature Zee rings. They work very well and with the inserts you can move the point of impact without moving the scope's adjustments. The only thing I do not like about the Simmons scope is that when you finally get sighted in; do not move the knobs back to zero by un-doing the two screws. After doing that, I shot and found that my point of aim was very far off. If I had to re sight the weapons in all over again. I have purchased a pair of Stoney target knobs. This should take care of the problem I have just spoken of. Well to add to the confusion, the Stoney target knobs did not work on these scopes so did not use them. The Weaver Scope worked just great and I love it. One of the things that you can do yourself is to make an auto bolt release by doing some very minor work to the Bolt lock.

Below is a picture of what needs to be done. Just remove yours and you can see the little peak that needs to be removed from the Bolt lock. The peak is in the big hole. If you purchase the Trigger assy. as I did - All the bells and whistles come with it. (This picture shows peak removed).

Finished the 10/22 and I took it to the range. I only shot it at the 25 yard range. Slight wind blowing but nothing to off set the bullet flight. You could cover the shots with a 50 cent piece. Love the way it shot. When you remove your barrel, make sure that the V block is straight. The one on my GM barrel have a very small angle to it. I moved the barrel around till the V block was straight. My group became a great ½” group. Now I am very happy with the GM barrel and it is shooting great. Well, another up date. The GM barrel and action do not like Remington Gold ammo. JAMS and jams. Misfires all the time. This sucks. Well that is easy. Do not shoot that ammo. Federal Lighting and Wolf match. Now the weapon now shoots like a dream. No misfire..............................................No jams... Shot 150 rounds and the groups made me so proud. Two misfires and it was the shells.

Update: Wolf and Federal chamber perfect. Came home and measured the Remington rounds. Remington rounds are a little bigger (2.23+ vs 2.22 Calipers are weird. Measurement reflected by those calipers) than Wolf or Federal. Remington chambered okay in the Ruger barrel and action. SO-if your going to just want to shoot anything, do not get a matched barrel. You will have problems. If your going to shoot quality ammo, get a matched barrel such as the Mountain Green barrel. In leaning your 10/22 - remember not to use any item that will hurt the barrel. Get some weed whacker line, melt one end to a smaller size than that of a 22 round and cut the other end to a point. You then run the sharpened end through a cleaning patch, pull the patch to the melted end and pull through the barrel from the breech. That is all the cleaning the barrel needs. So far the gun will place shots at 25 yards within the 1/2 “grouping. I am also getting good groups at the fifty yard range. I must say that the two best ammos for this gun are Wolf M and Federal Lighting. I had a lot of stove-piping with my gun. After cleaning the bolt, very well and adding Remington dry lub, it stopped stove-piping. Remember to clean the bolt very good. You will have a lot of money put into a weapon like this – far more than its worth - if you try to resell it. But mine will stay in the family for a long time - I hope. If it is passed down from family member to family member –

I will be smiling in my grave.

All pictures are shown below

Some fishing links hope they are useful

Fishing World

Idaho Fish and Game

Bass Pro Shop Outdoor

Trout Fishing Tips

Oregon Fish and Wildlife

Idaho Fishing

GO FISH ! ! !

One of the places that I really like to fish - is CJ Strike just South of Mountain Home. Pretty neat place (see pictures). You name the fish and you can probably catch it there. Catfish, crappie, bass, trout, sturgeon, carp, troup, ect. The Narrows is a really good place to fish - some large bass - trout - and catfish there. Be careful going along the edge of the lake - some pretty big rock just under the surface. I use all plastic bait - during the fall the perch fishing is something different - expect to catch 50 to 150 perch - on a good day - just off the dock at Cottenwood. Of course you may get skunked also - as I have done on a few trips. Another spot is the Hell's Canyon area - I really love this place but because we sold our camper - will probably not go there anymore - unless I can find the money to purchase a small trailor. Its great fun and Idaho Power keeps the parks up great with low cost to stay in the almost perfect camp grounds. Plus the fishing is something else.

Good luck - and if your not going to eat it - catch and release..