airedale

For long range varmint hunting I will sometimes use a time proven Harris Bi Pod that mounts to the rifle's front sling swivel stud, they are light, they carry easy and fold up, also they are adjustable and they work well in open fields. In the woods I will just shoot from a sitting position off of my knees or off hand. I have one of those mono pods and I like it but I use it more for a walking stick and take it out only when I just have a handgun. All and all I like keep my gear as simple and as light as possible. Al

When I first got my permit I purchased a stainless Single Six and a 357 stainless Blackhawk both with 6 1/2 inch barrels. I shot and hunted with both of them a lot and they were totally dependable with good accuracy. After several years of shooting different styles of handguns my preference took a turn toward double actions revolvers as the grip and ergonomics of the double action guns just had a better feel for me so the two Rugers were traded off for something more to my liking. The longest shot I ever made with a handgun on game (a Woodchuck) was with the Single Six loaded with CCI Stingers. The Bearcat is a very fine little revolver that many call a "trail gun" I liked them but felt they were hampered by the lack of adjustable sights. The large range of bullets and velocities found with 22 rimfire ammo make a fixed sight gun a deal breaker for me. Lipsey is an distributer that has a special relationship with Ruger and has limited runs of custom models made just for them, they had a limited edition Bearcat made with adjustable sights, if I had to have a Bearcat that would be the one for me. Al

I felt the same way for a long time but the Encores and Contenders have a way of making you like them and like them a lot once you get to mess with one. They are shooters, "really good shooters" and for me even though they are not very appealing visually I am hooked on their performance. Remember Jimmy Soul back in the early 60s and his number one recording "If You Want To Be Happy For The Rest Of Your Life"? There is something to be said for endearing qualities LOL! Al

That ram is a "Texas Dall" they are a white sheep in the hair sheep family similar to the wild sheep of the world in that they have a wooly undercoat with a hair outercoat and do not have to be sheared. They do not weigh much more than 125 lbs. The Texas Dalls are popular to hunt and are bred and raised for that purpose on the big ranches in Texas. I raised some Barbados hair Sheep which are similar to the Texas Dall in most ways except for color and can attest that the mature rams get pretty ill tempered, mine would pull the same crap on my Herford cows giving them some good broadside smashes. My ram came after me several times and we had some pretty good tussles. Al

Some serious money can be made with firearms and like anything else where there is serious money involved serious knowledge is required. High quality, the manufacturer, model desirability and numbers made (rarity) is the starting point with many other smaller factors that keep adding on to what the values end up being. There is always a market for those that want to own the good stuff and will pay to get it. Al

They are your firearms, do with them what you wish. Been wheeling and dealing with firearms all my adult life, I have some guns I purchased over fifty years ago. I do like first hand experience so I have owned and messed around with a fair number. It is not an absolute that I have to hunt with every one on a regular basis. When I get a gun I like it stays around, they do get shot time to time at targets or are hunted with, the ones that do not catch my fancy or measure up go down the road. Looking back with hindsight I know I have made more than a few boneheaded deals that I wish had not done. Al

Before the vote every single person that would and could vote on this law should have been made to watch a video of an actual late term abortion so they can see an unsanitized detailed education of what they are casting that vote for! Al

For my old bones I bought a new cold weather outfit for my outdoor chores and snow removal at the beginning of winter. Only used it a couple of times so far as it is too warm to wear unless it is really cold, looks like this week I will get to use it again. It would actually work pretty well keeping one warm for stand hunting on those extra cold days. Al

"Even if I don't hunt with it all the time I want one anyway just like the looks of it ." I could not possibly hunt with every firearm I have acquired down through the years, I have quite a few that fall under the category of "just liking the looks of". I still have a ton of fun with them working up loads and taking them to the range and shooting the Hell out of them. Al

The reason why Hollywood and many Democrats hate and do anything to discredit all Religion, they can not reconcile their Sodom and Gomorrah lifestyles with any Religion. Al

I think if everyone in favor was made to watch a detailed video of an actual abortion especially a late term abortion the view on abortions would be drastically different. Al

Another option is Weatherby who puts out several rifles that fits your parameters, the Vanguard line is moderately priced, configured in many ways and comes along with an accuracy guarantee. From the reviews I have been seeing on those rifles they are living up to that guarantee. Al

Forgot about these guys.

Been picking up the small caliber ammo and accessories to fire the Squirrel rifle so I am now pretty well set to test her out. Changed the rear sight to one that is adjustable so I will not have to be filing the front sight. Hopefully can get a decent day to touch her off. Al

I have chores to do every day on my hobby farm rain or shine, Mittens are best for warm hands but I wear leather work gloves most times and on bitter days like today my hands can get darn cold. So this morning I am going through a drawer looking for some extra heavy socks to wear and I find this pair of gloves in there someone gave me as a gift at one time. I tried them on and they felt pretty nice so I decided to give them a try for chores. Geeze these things worked really well for gloves, they have very good dexterity and are especially good for messing around with snow and water when watering the animals and best of all my hands stayed warm. I do not think they will hold up for a lot of hard work every day but for instances like today of even hunting on cold days they are great. First thing when I got in from the chores was to check and see if Amazon carried them, they do and they are not expensive, I ordered up a couple of more pairs as I like them a lot. Al

Had and still have a yearning for a Kimber Super America 22 LR Rifle. Al

That is a behavior of most canines, turning on and attacking injured, a domestic dog will do the same thing. Al

Add myself for a big thankyou to Rachunter, being a traditional sidelock user the possibles bag and powder horn fit the theme of my muzzleloading equipment and will be utilized. Al

There are basically two groups of hunters that pursue varmints (Fox-Bobcat-Coyotes), one group hunts mostly for sport, fun and to keep varmint numbers in check. The firearms this group uses is an almost anything goes mindset. All calibers and weapon types come into play, bolt actions to deluxe outfitted AR platforms, just about every so called varmint cartridge from the old 222 Rem on up to the 25-06 Rem and everything in between. I see in my current varmint hunting magazine the 6.5 Creedmoor has some advocates. The other group of hunters I would classify as "fur hunters", their weapons and ammo are somewhat specialized with the main concern was obtaining the most killing power but in turn causing the least amount of damage to the hide. A now defunct message board I belonged to aptly called the "Coyote Gods" were in the "Fur Friendly" cartridge crowd. This bunch consisted mostly of hunters located in the southwest and these guys were really good at what they did. Almost to a man they favored the 17 Remington, their reasoning was simple, good long range capability, small bullet entry hole and no exit hole with good killing power = a good hide with almost zero damage that retained maximum value. It would be hard to argue against their point as they stacked up varmints like cordwood with minimal damage to hides, as the old saying goes "proof in the pudding". Getting back to the OP's post about the 204 Ruger, with the right bullet loaded I believe it would be in a similar category to the 17 Remington, a very effective and fur friendly varmint cartridge. Al

You can not have too many loading manuals Grampy, they are all a bit different and something can be learned from each one. I have one of those little Lee presses, it is handy, I have used it along with the universal Lee decapping die quite a bit for depriming cases. I did a thousand Lake City 223 military cases a little while back with that setup. Al

So I have been puttering around loading some 45-70 ammo and got to looking at the powder measure setup I was using, what a conglomeration! The powder measure is a vintage Redding, it is mounted on a Lyman powder measure stand which in turn is mounted to a Lee quick change base plate. The powder measure has a Prairie Dog powder baffle installed inside and the lid is off from an old Bair powder measure. A lot of manufacturers contributing to the cause and all works well. I like this old Redding a lot because it works really good with long grained powder. Al

Called running the hair off their tail, one of the reasons some hunting dog breeds tails are docked. Hard to get those tails healed. Al

I will take the black powder stuff it will go good with the new Crockett Squirrel rifle. Al

If you decide to go for a lever action carbine make it easy on yourself and get a 44 Mag, Like I posted earlier the ammo selection is much better. If you are not crazy about Marlins maybe a Henry carbine will fit your needs. I have three pre merger Marlins and I have had good luck with all of them, there are plenty good used ones available. Don't have any experience with Henrys but their reputation among those that do have them has been positive. Treat yourself Stormy

As of now you can still buy black powder muzzleloaders and get them shipped without messing around with FFLs. You can not buy something like a Thompson Center Encore muzzleloader without going through an FFL because of it's barrel interchanging design allows a regular smokeless powder cartridge barrel to be used.