airedale

For those folks that wear rubber boots I got a tip from a fellow on how to make them more resistant to cracking wear, a rubber preservative called 303. It seems to do a decent job of prevent early cracking, I have used it on an old pair of Lacrosse hip boots I used for Coon hunting and on the rubber bottoms of my LL Bean boots and Muck Chore boots. After several years so far so good. Al

And the band and the biddies play on!

Most of the varmints I have called have been with mouth calls, they actually will work every bit as good as the electronic jobs. I have a little pocket sized mini Phantom that I carry a lot and it works well. Many of the Varmints I have killed have been when out Squirrel hunting, when the Squirrel hunting gets a little slow I take out a call and cut loose. While I have some pretty nice Varmint rigs I do not need anything fancy for the short ranges I run into most times in the woods, I have taken quite a few with just a 17 HMR, 22 or 22 mag. As for electronic calls the FoxPro is near the top and many top Varmint hunters use them, I have an old early model and it works well but I use it more for crows than Varmints. Al

Nice first class rig!! Al

When I use mine I have it close to the caller and will try my best to make it easily seen even hanging it, I hunt in the daylight mostly in the woods early morning or just before dark, 50 or 60 yards it about the average distance I set it out. Al

Most times there is a pretty good base so they can go along pretty well without sinking in too deep because they are fairly light weight. If there is a good fall of lake effect snow it is so light and fluffy they can have a pretty tough time. Al

It takes two to tango and these gossiping biddies stoking the fire are just as bad as he is as far as I am concerned

When it starts getting around the foot mark especially if there is a crust I would start using mine mostly when hunting Hare with Hounds up on the Tug. Snow really can get many feet deep up that way in the middle of the winter and without snowshoes there is no getting around. I was in a stand of dense balsam once and my Beagle had circled the Hare a couple of times through a cutout I found where I had a good view and could get a shot. It was a little tight in that area so I stomped down the snow with my snowshoes and decided to take them off so I could maneuver quickly if the Hare came by. Big mistake that was, I sunk down almost up to my armpits and had one Hell of a time getting out and back on my shoes, it was almost like quicksand. Al

Greg Hertel's Airedale "Angus" Barking At The Moon, he is a pretty fair dog on cats having treed several Lions and Bobcats out in Wyoming this season. It is a good varmint site.

Have been running a Hunting Dog message board for almost 20 yrs, foolishness like this goes away quickly once the delete button starts getting used. What this board needs is more moderators with itchy trigger fingers. May be a moot point as the owner of this board seems to have lost interest, I would not be surprised one day to log on and find it gone.

Sound like a bunch of gossiping old biddies, threads like this should be immediately deleted. Al

Never had a problem with him myself. Al

Do you use the one that is a flat foam pad or the one like the old Hot Seats ? I use both types, the foam flat pads are lighter and I like using those when I am still hunting covering a lot of ground and just sitting for short periods. The hot seat type I have is a Mossy Oak Heat Seat, more comfortable but somewhat bulky, I use it for what I call stump jumping when I am hunting a small area and moving a short distance stopping and sitting on the ground, stumps or logs glassing for as far as I can see and then moving going through the glassing drill again and again. For sitting in a stand for long periods I think the cushy hot seat type would be best.

For most of my bore cleaning Hoppes Bench Rest has worked very well for me, I do a lot of rimfire shooting and I like bullets like Winchester's Dynapoints that use a copper wash over those that have a wax like substance. After a few hundred rounds some bores can get fouled and the Hoppes puts them back into pristine condition, works just as well for centerfires. Muzzleloader bores get cleaned with hot soapy water and get swabbed with Frog lube when dry. When I get inside of guns for internal cleaning I use Ballistol quite a bit. For external and internal rust protection I like wiping down with Frog Lube Al

You have got that right, I have collected more than a few myself but for many years the one I go to and carry most times when hunting is an old USA made Western two blade, nothing fancy but nice quality, the old gal can hold a razor edge and with the two different style blades handle all the field dressing and skinning chores I run into no matter what type of game I am hunting. Al

It is all about knowing and having confidence in your weapon and shooting skills along being totally honest with yourself about such skills. I don't miss my mark, when I pull the trigger I know exactly where the bullet is going to hit. That comes from a lot of practice something too many hunters neglect, a half dozen shots at a target before season and they are good to go and that is where the poor shooting disasters start. A hunter that does not have confidence in making the shot should not pull the trigger. Al

Taking any shot at a Deer is not a black and white situation, there are many factors that come into play when pulling the trigger. Things like distance, running or standing still, weapon being used, the bullet construction and the skill along with confidence of the shooter to name a few. As far as I am concerned the rear end shot has proven to be as deadly as any other shot when it is executed properly. Al

I have gone through two fairly expensive Food Savers in a short time, a friend of mine has the expensive Cabelas and it crapped out after relatively little use. I got on Amazon and took a look at what they had, looked over the verified purchase ratings of all their models and picked up this cheap one that rated good. Did up my whole Deer with it plus a bunch of other things and it worked fine. If it craps out tomorrow I will be "WAY" ahead of the game money wise compared to what I paid for those Food Savers, I am done shelling two to three hundred bucks for these things.

My favorite handgun bullet the old discontinued Speer 44 cal 225 gr HP, recovered this one from a Boar I killed under the hide on the off side, the only one I ever recovered, they go through the Deer I have killed. Al

For me shotgun slugs have proven to be wickedly devastating on Deer when it comes to power and penetration, their main drawback has always been a lack of fine accuracy especially at longer range. Todays technology for the slugs themselves and the firearms that are made to shoot them are a far cry from the stuff used fifty years ago. Easily and securely mounted quality scopes, rifled barrels, slug design-construction and sabots have brought the accuracy in line with groups that will rival many rifles, their rainbow trajectory which limits long range somewhat and their fierce recoil is about the only downside today. Kept within it's range limitations a modern slug gun tuned for accuracy with quality ammo can handle most big game hunting with no problem. I still have my old slug gun, a Winchester Super X 1, she killed a lot of Deer in her day but is pretty much retired now. Al

For the most part YES!

None of the Deer I shot were wounded, Like Buckmaster said aim for and hit the center between the hams, not as much meat loss as one would think even if the shot is off by a bit. Al

Yeah baby If I know I can make the shot I have no problem taking it, 4 bucks and 1 doe on rear end shots, all with 12 ga shotgun slugs and none went more than a few yards after being hit, Funny how things change with time, I have books showing how to place shots on game for just about every angle possible including the rear end shot. Now for some it is taboo. Al

I sit here pondering your question and thinking back to the weapons and ammo I have personally used to take Deer. Rifles, shotguns, handguns and muzzleloaders and the one thing that is apparent I have used a wide variety of bullet brands, styles-shapes and calibers. There is nothing that really stands out head and shoulders above all others as every Deer I have ever shot except for one "anomaly" either dropped where it stood or maybe sprinted a few yards and piled up. The common denominator is they were all hit with a well placed shot into a vital area. From 222 Remington and 220 Swift to 45-70 and 338 Winchester mag and a whole lot of inbetweeners the end result was pretty much the same, dead is dead. So for me at least todays modern bullets from all manufacturers do their intended job well as long as I put them where they are supposed to go. Al