airedale

I have watched over time the scope manufacturer's landscape having changed dramatically especially in recent years they are in constant upheaval with companies dropping out or getting bought up by big conglomerates, sometimes as in Redfield's case for the good but many times for the bad. Weaver, Bushnell, Simmons, Burris, Tasco, Redfield, Bausch & Lomb, Unertl, Thompson Center, Weatherby and recently Nikon to name a few have called it quits or the original company was bought out and their lines were replaced many times by a lot of cheap Chinese junk. All those companies put very good warranties on their products many "lifetime" but as the OP reports years down the road if problems arise it may be tough to obtain satisfaction. I have quite a few of the old model scopes and will probably be holding my hand on my butt if one craps out. What I would do if I was you Sbuff is to take the very best scope you can obtain even if it is not exactly what you are wanting. You may be able to use it down the road or make a good trade with someone that can, at least you will not be taking a screwing monetarily. One of the main reasons I always try to go with a Leupold for most of my get serious firearms, there is something to be said for a long proven track record. Al

When it comes to firearms it is tough to beat the workmanship and beauty of a fine double, I especially like sidelocks. Al

Having Lyme Disease, you feel terrible with no energy or desire to hunt.

I am not familiar with that particular brand of bullet so I had to look up the manufacturers lowdown on it, what is very apparent because of it's construction it is an explosive bullet and I can see it could be deadly. There are varmint bullets like Barnes "Varmint Grenades" made in a similar way, I have the 35 gr 22 cal bullets, they are light for their length and I can load them to go well over 4000 fps easily. I think they are best used on varmints like Chucks, Crows because on impact they literally explode and so does the target hence the term "Red Mist". Animals like Fox and Coyotes will sustain a lot of hide damage rendering their pelts useless. The construction concept is not new, 40 or so years ago an outfit called Safety Glaser marketed a jacketed bullet that used compressed shot for it's core. It was mainly for law enforcement, especially for Air Marshalls that may have to use their weapon on a plane as there is no pass throughs. I and a friend of mine experimented and made up our own Glaser type 44 mag bullets by using a propane torch to melt the lead out of factory bullets and packing number 9 shot the best we could into the empty jacket capped by some silicone on the tip. Ours turned out to be very inaccurate but the milk jugs and cans we did hit were devastated and I do not think anyone would survive a torso hit from one of those things. Back to the Smackdowns shot from sabots, the 170 gr weight is no problem if the bullet is accurate and performs, like I said I think they could be very deadly but wonder how well that compressed core holds up and about their ability to get penetration, a hit on a deer's shoulder might be a problem. As time goes on and they get used by hunters the results of their performance will start coming in. Personally I would stick with something with a long proven track record. Al

Way to go , congratulations. Al

He is a beauty, congratulations. Al

Have a safe and Merry Christmas everyone. Al

Actually I like young ladies better but you all are acting like old biddies, but to make you happy.

Sounds like you have the best of everything with that 223, both points you mention are some of the real advantages of carbon fiber barrels, the little Browning only weighs 3 lb 14 oz. I do not consider it to be a tack driver compared to some of the bolt actions I have but it is one sweet carrying rifle and hard to leave home when I am doing a lot of walking. Still it does group with better than average hunting accuracy and I have taken a good many Squirrels with it. Sighted in with CCI Velocitor LR hunting ammo which is extra hard hitting, it will take care of business on Varmints at closer ranges and Squirrels with no problem. Al

Because whether you know it or not you all are acting and looking like as big a fool as he ever was! Al

And the Biddies or is it the "SQUAD" still can't let it go!.

That is a carbon fiber barrel Browning BuckMark 22 LR The middle rifle is a Ruger 77/17 17 HMR The Top is a OU Savage 24 22 LR- 410 Al

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