airedale

I have a craving for some Squirrel stew so I will be out there as long as the weather is decent, Squirrel hunting is a favorite for me and good warmup to hone skills for things to come. Al

What I don't like is when I buy a gallon of gas say for $2.69 and 9 tenths of a cent and give the clerk $2.70 and do not get my 1 tenth of a cent change back. Al

The first Ridgeline edition looks wise reminded me a lot of the Chevy Avalanche, in 2017 Honda did the new redesign and it is better looking to me and actually pretty sharp. I love mine, In this day and age it is very easy to research a vehicle and get pretty good reliable information on everything about them. You Tube is another resource showing vehicles put through their paces so there is a lot of help making an informed decision. When it comes to trucks owners there is a lot of "All Hat and no Cowboy" stuff that is spewed so consider the source of your information. Al

I have had plenty of bullets fail my tests but it is not from disintegration, the jacket will peel away and separate from the core and while there may be a few pieces of lead here and there I have seen nothing like what is pictured above unless it was a dedicated varmint bullet which is made to explode. Al

I have always been one of those people that have to see things for myself and bullet performance has been one of those things. Years ago when developing handloads I made all kinds of bullet traps to see how my bullet choices for my handloads performed, penetration expansion and how they held together was what I was looking to examine. Boards, Clay, Branches, Dowels, Soaked Newspapers and Magazines, Water Jugs, Sand along with other goofy concoctions I devised. I shot hundreds of bullets and other than thin jacket explosive "Varmint" bullets traveling at extremely high velocity, I never saw any big game bullets of any make no matter what medium they were fired into disintegrate into tiny pieces as pictured above. There is no doubt in my mind that that photo is bullshit anti lead-traditional ammo propaganda plain and simple.

Another consideration is the Flail mower, they do a great job on light brush and grass-weeds, a favorite for maintaining orchards as they mow between the rows of trees pulverizing everything. They are made for different duties, heavy duty for constant use is what one sees the road and highway departments use along side the roads, medium duty for occasional use on brush weeds and grass, a light duty would be for just grass. I bought a medium duty 6 footer a couple of years ago and I love it, I have the hammer blades and it will pulverize small trees-branches and brush, they are closer to the back of the tractor making for easier maneuvering, the leave a much smoother cut and they do not send rocks flying like missiles like a brush hog. Nice used ones turn up on Craigslist every now and then. Plenty of you tube videos on all these mowers showing them in action. Al

The Winchester Model 70 Featherweight is about as good as it gets when it comes to a bolt action hunting rifle. Al

"Que sera sera-whatever will be will be", other than trying to live a somewhat healthy lifestyle we all have an expiration date and there is not much we can do about it, something I do not dwell on. My philosophy is to live life and do things the way I always have (grudgingly a somewhat slower) for as long as I can. Al

Pygmy is right, there should be some decent factory loads available these days for the old Mauser but because the 7mm Mauser is such an old cartridge with many rifles being over 100 years in age the ammo manufacturers go on the side of safety and do not load offerings that are up to the true potential this shell can be in a modern firearm. This cartridge is a good example where careful handloads can maximize old timers like the 7mm Mauser and bring them up to snuff, it should be able to at least equal or slightly outperform the popular 7mm-08. The Hornady 139 gr bullet weight is a good balanced choice for the Mauser case capacity, there are other 140 gr bullets that have good reviews that will also perform well. Al

Congratulations, A classic old cartridge with a track record that stands the test of time, on medium game it is tough to beat. I do not have any actual experience with the 7mm Mauser but have quite a bit with other 7mm cartridges namely the 280 Remington which is slightly more powerful, the 284 Winchester and the 7mm Rem mag, my wife has a 7mm-08. A bunch of Deer and several Moose were no problem for the 280. There is a wealth of handloading info available and with the right bullets fired out of that Winchester Featherweight you can hunt just about anything in North America with proper shot placement. Al

My preferred method of hunting Deer and Squirrels is still hunting so almost all of the time when after those two species I am by myself. I do enjoy getting together with family and friends at Deer camp once in awhile mostly for the food concoctions, tale tales, ball busting and comradery. Coon, Rabbit, Bird and Waterfowl hunting can be a lot of fun and productive sharing the experience with trusted hunting partners. Al

Mountain Feists are a favorite breed for hunting Squirrels. A top Squirrel dog is hard to come by and it takes special traits which are acquired through good breeding to be proficient. Squirrel dogs hunt with all three senses eyes, ears and nose and they also must have the trait to tree. "Full Cry" magazine has a lot of info on Feists and Squirrel hunting. Al

As Robert Palmer would have said, "Might as well face it I'm addicted to knives" the newest addition is a Davy Crockett made by Dickson, a double edged Damascus that was harder than hell to sharpen. A good mate for my 32 cal Crockett Squirrel rifle. Al

American Rifleman, Predator Xtreme, Fur Fish and Game, American Cooner, Full Cry, NY Outdoor News.

Don't have to tell them to hold the cheese up here, all you are getting is what appears to be a tiny photo of cheese on your bun LOL!

So the wife and I stop at a Mcdonalds to get a bite to eat, rarely do I ever buy their food but it was late and we wanted to get something quick and not have to cook supper. I love fish so I decide to get a couple of their Fillet-O-Fish sandwiches one of the few things on their menu I like as they put a slice of cheese on that sandwich giving it a unique taste. Well we get home and sit down to eat, I open both of my sandwiches to scrape off some of the excess tartar sauce and there on the inside of the bun was a yellow colored two inch square that looked to be put on by a printer it was so thin, it was supposed to be the slice of cheese. Talk about cheaping out! Good God add a damned quarter to the price and make the sandwich right!, I will not be going back anytime soon!

The Oregon outfit had big time financial problems and had to fold. The Yonkers owners basically bought just the name and have since produced a whole new line totally different from the originals. Al

Cordless power tools have come a long way especially since the lithium batteries came on the scene. I purchased a set of Green Works 40 volt items a couple of years ago, a chain saw, a pole saw, a leaf blower and a mower and have had very good luck with all. Very good power and battery life allows them to do the smaller jobs around my place easily, quickly and conveniently. The set of Milwaukee Fuel cordless power tools I have for all practical purposes work as well as corded stuff. Al

Collecting Classic tractors is a hobby that has been growing by leaps and bounds in recent years, there are several shows in central NY along with clubs that organize them. One of my favorite things to do is hitting those shows and looking over the old iron. State fair in Syracuse has one of the best and a few are always driven in the nightly parade around the Fairgrounds. Mecum has several televised classic tractor auctions which I find interesting. A smart shopper can purchase a nice tractor relatively cheap as compared to cars, they are fun and easy to work on and parts are readily available. Al

My first tractor was a early fifties beautifully restored Allis Chalmers WD 45 exactly like the one pictured below, it was an ergonomic clusterf**k but she could really pull some weight, Did not care for the snap coupler hitch AC used. Also had a loader with a trip bucket, the bucket was small and did not hold much but the system could lift some heavy weight. Had one of those crank start systems that worked pretty well if the battery happened to go dead, I had it kick back on me once and it almost broke my arm.

Nice collection you have there. Always yearned (Still Do) for a Kimber Super America 22 LR like the one below, maybe someday.

All I can say is I never used the Kubota for mowing, it did a lot of loader work and towing, it was reliable. My step son now owns it and other than a few minor repairs it is running strong he uses it on his farm on a regular basis.

I owned a B 7500 Kubota Hydro and it did pull that dump trailer it was a great tractor that I liked a lot but I needed something bigger and purchased the TYM geared shuttle Tractor in the background, which has been stellar performer and trouble free for the ten years I have owned it.