airedale

You got that right Dan, I just hit the big Seven O and am not half the man I once was. Hope it was just some kind of a minor fluke deal and a speedy recovery back to normal. Al

I see them at night on the bird feeders. Cleaning out my Blue Bird nest boxes one spring I reached in a accidently grabbed a sleeping Flying Squirrel, scared the Hell out of me, let out a scream that would have made Fay Wray proud. Al

The Henry single shot looks to be a fine rifle and by all reports of very good quality, a 243 would be a good choice. I have been on the hunt for one of these in a 45-70 for myself. Al

The 25-06 is one of my favorites, a very good dual purpose Varmint-Deer cartridge especially on the Deer side, you can really reach out and touch with the right setup. Al

The disabled or elderly card is one thing that is fairly valid when the arguments are made for full inclusion but it is statements like the above that piss traditional archers off, it insults the intelligence of anyone who has had any meaningful experience using both implements. To try and imply that there really is no advantage in the overall ease it takes to become proficient in the use of a crossbow over a traditional bow is ridiculous. Al

"Natchez Shooting Supply" and "Ballistic Products" are two outfits that have treated me right. Al

Rinella has one of the few hunting shows I will watch on occasion and it is one of the better ones I think. I have found myself becoming somewhat soft of late when it comes to making kills, something to do about getting old I think. I feel the same way many times not taking the shot and letting the animal walk, the satisfaction putting myself into a pretty sure position of making the kill by calling, stalking or picking the right stand is good enough some days. Al

You need to do spend some serious time traveling around the country, for the last three months it has rained or snowed just about every day and winter ain't even here yet.

You will surely not go wrong with that scope it is first class al the way. I think I would go even lighter and more compact myself sticking to the theme of that lightweight rifle. My favorite big game scope is the regular 2x7 Leupold, it is reliable and will do everything need be for most big game hunting. Al

Happen to have an old Herter's catalog from 1972 sitting here on my desk, the range finder I have was $25.47 back then. Al

Really don't know how much they cost, my Dad got that 1000 yarder for me as a Christmas present. Al

I have an old 1000 yard ranging range finder like the one pictured below and back in the day they were about the only ranging device available. They claimed 99% accuracy at 100 yards and the accuracy percentages went down as the distances increased. Out to say 400 to 500 yards they were accurate enough to make good range estimation for a shooter and rifle that was capable of such shots in the field. Used it mostly for chuck hunting. One of the good features was the sighting monocular is of good optical quality, detachable and like a binocular can be used stand alone for identifying things at a distance. When I want to travel light in the field I still use the monocular on occasion today. I have not messed around with mine in a good many years and have never tested it side by side against my Bushnell Legend laser range finder but I can say with some certainty the modern laser is better all the way around. Smaller and lighter, much easier to use and more accurate especially at long distances. Al

Back in the day the areas I hunted in the Southern zone mandated the use of slugs, I tried them all looking for the best possible accuracy. It was before the use of rifled slug barrels and most shotguns fired open choked smooth barrels to get the best accuracy. I have not used slugs in years as I have been hunting the Northern zone for the past thirty something years. This thread got me poking around through my ammo and I found a bunch of different slug brands laying around that I have tried. I noticed that I have both the Brenneke style wads Stormy pictured, the 12s have the pedestal and the 20s a solid wad. The best shooting traditional slug I found was the old 7/8 ounce Remingtons, my Winchester Super X1 would lay them on top of one another at 75 yards, they discontinued them in the late 70s and went to one ounce slugs which did not group as well for me in my slug gun. Al

Believe it or not there are still pumpkin balls available for handloading, they should be fold over star crimped in the hull like bird shot or crimped with an over the top card so there is no rolling out the barrel. The accuracy is probably similar to the old revolutionary war muskets, LOUSEY! Al

There are several slugs available to hand loaders using a variation of the Brenneke screw attached wads, as you can see they all have their own idea on what is the best design. I like and use 410 Brennekes in my Savage model 24 over and under 22 LR/ 410 Al

Yes

Ammo is constantly being upgraded and improved, wads are a component that has seen many design changes through the years, all you are seeing pictured is a newer wad that is currently being used, the old Brennekes used a pedestal type wad. Al

The slug you are holding in your hand is a Brenneke, the box you are picturing is for Winchester Foster slugs. Looks like someone put Brennekes in a Winchester box. Al

There is nothing abnormal pictured with that slug, the old translucent plastic hulls allowed one to see the way Brenneke designed their slugs with the wad and pedestal screwed into the slug bottom and stays with the slug in flight. The gap you see is the is the pedestal area which cushions the slug a bit to prevent deformation and was supposed to give some stabilization in flight, something like a badminton shuttlecock. The shelf life of ammo depends on the care that was taken during storage, cool and dry is the way to go. Stored properly it will work fine and be accurate even decades old. Old paper shot shells would swell and weaken with age and I would not fire them in any of my guns. Al

When it comes to doubles I have always preferred side by sides but recently been pondering an over and under field gun in 20 ga myself. Had a Winchester 12 ga 101 Trap gun many years ago it was my only experience with over and unders, it was ok for it's intended purpose. I have been looking at used Ruger Red Labels and have been leaning in that direction. Another contender is the new Galazan Connecticut Revelation model (below), American made, has good reviews so far and while not cheap as far as over and unders go it is somewhat affordable. $1995 - $2500 depending on the wood.

There is really only one good way of getting around the issues of which you speak. If you are a dyed in the wool outdoor sports person putting in special effort for choosing your place of residence to live raise your family is the best way of having your cake and eating it too. A home with enough land to hunt on or close to decent state or public lands will allow the whole clan to be together and enjoy outdoor stuff even on a tight time schedule. I have purchased two properties in my lifetime and both had strict requirements to be met before I signed on the dotted line so I and my family could reasonably enjoy the outdoor lifestyle I want to live. When my boys were young even if the time was short we could walk out the door of our home and within walking distance could hunt, fish and target shoot. While not an easy thing to accomplish it is well worth the effort it takes to get done. Al

Ouch!! Shooting a heavy recoiling slug gun laying down is not pleasant, there is very little give when that stock comes back. You can come up with a serviceable make shift bench that is portable for your 100 yard driveway range for not a whole lot of money. One of those folding steel legged plastic topped utility tables with a folding chair will do a half way decent job for a bench. There is a multitude of rests that can be purchased within your budget for the table top, everything from simple bags all the way up to a fancy lead sled. The table itself can also be used for other useful duties around the home. A picnic table can also serve as a shooting bench. Al

I look to a manufacturer with a proven track record and longevity, Bushnell was a pioneer in the laser range finding field. They have developed a good reputation for both quality, reliability along with accuracy and standing behind their products. I picked up a Legend 1200 several years ago and have been completely happy on how it performs. Al

I agree with Storm, I believe to be relatively calm when taking a shot at game no matter what implement ones uses comes down to being mentally conditioned. Hunting small game frequently is a great teacher, it provides mental conditioning because of much more opportunity taking shots and the phenomena of "Buck Fever" fades away. The more shots that are taken at game the more second nature it becomes, and while the excitement is still there you will aquire a confident calmness that allows you to close the deal. Al

I bought a couple a cheap dehydrators that worked but not very well, they were slow and the trays of jerky did not dry evenly. Sprung for an Excalibur because of all the positive reviews and it worked as advertised, large quantities done very fast with even drying on all trays. I do the ground meat method with a jerky gun and assorted packaged seasonings, much better flavor and for an old gummer like me easy to chew. If you are a serious jerky maker you will not go wrong with one of these. Al