airedale

Congrats on your find Grampy, I have several pieces of Lyman equipment and their stuff has always worked as advertised. Cases get dirty and tarnished needing a cleaning from time to time so a case cleaner is well worth having. I purchased Frankford Arsenal's version a few years ago after my old one crapped out, it is much quieter than my previous model and operates the same way as your Lyman and I am pleased with the results it gives. Al

Congratulations! Years ago I shot a little Trap and one of the guys I shot with used a BT 99, they are very well made and finished nicely and for someone getting into the Trap game the Browning will break birds with any. I picked up a used 101 Winchester Trap model to shoot with and the thing I quickly found about Trap guns is that is about all they are good for, as field gun they are just too long, heavy and cumbersome to carry along with being made to shoot high. If you are considering getting into Trap shooting you have a very good piece of equipment to compete with. If not I would send it down the road for something that will get some use, that is what happened with my Win 101. With some smart horse trading you should be able to wheel and deal to get yourself something pretty nice as the BT 99 is not a cheap gun. Feel out some of the gun clubs in your area and let them know what you have, there is always someone looking to upgrade. Al

There was a time when Bears could be hunted with Dogs in NY. The first Governor Cuomo who was in bed with the animal rights groups put an end to that, Dogs are still allowed to be trained to run and tree Bears but no shooting. As for baiting it is a common method for hunting them in many places, I would have no problem with it personally as long as the numbers held up. Al

Took a walk out back of my place with the new TriStar 28 ga to see if I could knock off a couple of Squirrels for the pot, it was slow and quiet and the bugs were biting. Saw one nice big one running along the ground at 20 yards for an easy shot and that was about it. So the 28 TriStar is cherry no more and the squirrel is in the pressure cooker as I type this. Al

Spent some Range time with the 250 yesterday and got her dialed in for this up coming season. I decided on loading the Sierra 90 gr hp bullet and used H414 powder, according to the Lee manual I should be between 3200 and 3300 fps which is pretty good velocity for this little cartridge, I will chronograph these loads to see how they jive with the manual. The 90 Sierra was a favorite of mine fired in my first 25-06 many years ago, it gave outstanding accuracy and was used for long range chuck hunting. Today Sierra markets the 90 gr bullet as a dual purpose varmint-big game proposition, I am confident with good shot placement it will do it's job. The 99 Savage A performed well putting 3 shots in slightly under an inch, it's trigger is very heavy but crisp, not good for shooting tight groups but will suffice for Deer. I will be looking into this heavy trigger for a remedy.

I installed a fiber optic style front Kensight on my Kingston, I have put these glow type sights on almost all of the firearms I use with open sights and for me they make a big difference in low light conditions. Al

For me regardless of the hunting weapon I am using when it comes to Deer and Varmints the wind and how it is blowing is the main determining factor in how I go about establishing a hunt plan each time I hit the timber. The nose of these animals is their number one defense. Al

Another reason out of many it would be wise to consider taking up handloading especially the younger shooters and hunters, I only see bad stuff coming down the road so protect yourself. Al

While not having a big following among mainstream hunters and clay bird sports one of my favorite firearms is a Turkish made CZ Ringneck side by side double 28 ga, slim and trim along with light weight 5 ¾ lbs make it a joy to carry and is of very good quality. I love using it for early season Squirrel, Grouse and Woodcock, it also works well on Pheasant as long as I stay within it’s moderate range. The only drawback I have for the 28 ga is the shells, they are not easy to find, there is not a good variety of factory loads and when I find some in stock they are expensive compared to what the cost of other common gauge shells sell for. I get around those aggravating shell drawbacks by loading my own. I picked up a MEC Jr press set up for 28 ga on ebay for a decent price which allows me to produce ammo in line with cost and quality of the more popular gauges. So as of late on the crappy weather days I have been spending some time brewing up a variety 28 ga hand loads, everything from ¾ ounce standard loads to some heavy loads that are for all intents the same as 20 ga and even loaded some non toxic IXT shot in case I get a crack at a low flying duck. I now have a nice supply of 28 ga ammo for just about any type of small game hunting or clay bird target practice I want to do. Gee! that gives me an excuse to pick up another shotgun to utilize all these shells LOL! Not wanting to spend a lot of money I was seriously considering the NRA’s shotgun of the year the TriStar “Viper” auto loader, manufactured by another gunmaker from Turkey that has received rave reviews from all that have tested it. But while I do like autoloaders when it comes to wing shooting I have always been a double man at heart. Already having a pretty nice side by side in the CZ Ringneck my sights turned toward over and unders, a style of shotgun which I do not currently have an example of. The O/U shotguns can get pretty pricey but while on the TriStar site researching the Viper I saw they had a pretty extensive line of O/Us and they were entry level priced. One model that really caught my attention was the Hunter EX LT weighing an astounding light 4.8 pounds. A firearm that light would have to be nice to carry especially for a geezer like me, I realize it is entry level and a little rough around the edges, no Perazzi for sure but at 71 years of age I do not think I will be firing it enough while hunting to wear it out. Now last but not least was the way I went about making the purchase, for the first time I used “Davidson’s Gallery Of Guns”, it is an internet firearm distribution system that teams up with local FFL dealers. The site uses a search feature called the ‘Gun Genie’ to find the exact firearm you are interested in. Once found you will see if it is available-in stock and dealers within a 25 mile radius of your zip code will be listed showing their total prices with fees and tax. Choose the dealer you like best and purchase, the firearm will be shipped to that location where you can complete your purchase and pick it up. https://www.galleryofguns.com/default.aspx The TriStar was picked up today, my initial impression is it is a good buy for the money and will make for a good field gun, I will be shooting it soon. Pictured below is the CZ Ringneck along with the TriStar hunter, the CZ is no doubt a better quality shotgun but it should be as it costs almost twice as much. Al

Grampy, like you I find loading shells relaxing and fun especially on rainy days, got my rifle cartridges done earlier in the spring and summer, for the past few days been doing batches of various 28 ga shotgun loads. Al

Here is what I recommend for training your young pup, save yourself from a lot of aggravation, obtain these two books, "Walk With Wick" volumes 1&2, they are by far the best information on training Coon dogs but the same methods will work training for Bear, Squirrels and Possums. Ebay and Huntsmart.com would be good places to start looking. Al

The 2X7 Leupold is one of my favorite hunting scopes, it is a tough to beat all arounder that will handle just about any big game hunting I think. Al

Subscribe to Fur Fish & Game, probably the best single resource for acquiring trapping skills and equipment. Trapping is a lot of fun and no better teacher about wildlife and their habits. Checking your line provides a lot of anticipation, excitement and surprises, like Forrest Gump's famous saying, it is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get. Have fun and good luck. Al

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