That is a Burning barrel and the top of an old weber grill fits right over that barrel to keep rain out, protect smoldering embers from getting away, and to put the fire out should it ever get out of hand. Burning barrels don't last long here. Because of use of course, but usually a black bear will come in and knock a huge hole into them or drag them off into the woods. So I now stake them down.



My smoker.. seen here, is actually home made. Last winter I forgot to take the snow off the roof and the weight crushed the roof. I guess I need to make some repairs. The smoker was made by taking the stainless steel case that held a mobile home oil furnace. I removed the old furnace and threw that away. But the shell intrigued me. It was basically a stainless steel box with a very large hole on the bottom of it already there. That was the vent that blew the hot air out into the duct work. And the top had a hole that the chimney ran out of. So I took box car siding and some 2x4's and built the box, insulated it, and then build the door out of some poplar I ripped into boards. The heat source is an old charcoal Brinkman Smoker that the top is drilled full of holes (by me). You fill the smoker with charcoal or wood, light it, and then wet sawdust is placed in a pan over the coals. That's your smoke and heat. With all the holes in the top of the Brinkman, that releases a very cold smoke almost. And you control the amount of smoke kept in the box with an old pizza pan that you adjust over the stack hole to allow as much or little smokr you want. The smoker sits on cement blocks to level it and keep the door free in the winter. And the Brinkman smoker fits through the hole in the bottom so it gets plenty of air and burns nice and long. The inside racks came out of an old gas oven. I built shelving brackets and they slide right in. Then you can hang salami or jerky off them and smoke all sides at the same time. the drippings simply fall onto the top of the Brinkman cause more flavored smoke.

I am a pack rat. I throw nothing away until I can think of something to do with it.



That is a 3/4 inch PVC target holder. Easy to make, and stands up to winds real well. And depending on the how deep the snow it, that will still stand in snow and hold the target over the snow level. Its cheap to make, easy to move, comes apart for transport, and when a ricohet does brake the PVC you can add a replacement piece or in my case.. duct tape and a stick work just fine.