airedale

I have had pretty good luck with Sierra match bullets both the 52 gr boat tail and the 53 gr flat base, they are hollow point bullets but but not made to expand. They are the most accurate bullets in most of my 22 centerfires and while they do kill well on varmints they are hard and do not blow up making a mess of things. Al

My carry gun is a Sig Sauer 938 9mm, it is fairly small and could actually be carried in a pocket which I sometimes do depending on the pants I am wearing. While I have several holsters for this gun my favorite is a simple nylon type with a belt clip. I can wear the pistol anywhere on my waist and also slip the whole works in my pocket. I also have a couple of concealed carry vests that I like a lot. Al

Not too many things I enjoy more than spending an afternoon at one of the many County Fairs we have going on in this state during the summer. "Rural folks" my kind of people! The smells, the food, machinery, the animals, exhibits and attractions make for a fun time. One year me and the wife in the months of July and August and hit the Oswego, Oneida, Jefferson, Otsego, Lewis, Cayuga, Madison, Herkimer and Broome and State fairs, I must have gained 10 pounds eating fair food in that stretch. Al

Personally this looks to me like it can turn into some trouble and ill feelings, from the hired hand's perspective you have already caused him lose one of his hunting spots, granted he should not have been there without having permission. So the farm hand has to retreat to his employer's land where he does have permission and has to hunt there only. Now you are wanting to leave the spot he had to leave and move in on the spot he has left, I would not think he will be too happy about it, something his employer will have to think about if they want to keep their help happy as farm hands these days do not grow on trees. This is the kind of stuff I would avoid like the plague!

The quick attach system is the only way to go, adds so much versatility and ease of changing loader attachments. I have a bucket, a pusher and a power angle plow that make the tractor very useful for a wide variety of chores. Al

The JC Higgins model 30 and 31 were very handsome looking rifles with that woodside walnut stock. When I was a young feller one of my hunting companions had one and I was jealous. If I ever happen to come across a real nice example I would probably buy it. Al

Just starting to do some shooting, been getting the equipment tuned and working properly and the target backstop refurbished and back into shape. Picked up a new old bow to mess around with, an 1990s Oneida Eagle Aeroforce lever type compound I am still learning about it's idiosyncrasies, so far it has been interesting and fun. Al

Years ago much of our hunting information came from the outdoor publications like Outdoor Life, Sports Afield, and Field and Stream to name a few. The artwork used on their covers and advertising was outstanding. Today the outdoor magazines are a shadow of their former selves in both content and art. The evolution of companies can be seen, The old Bair Machine Tool Company which manufactured reloading equipment, turned into Pacific Reloading and now it is Hornady.

That old Sears and Roebuck ad reminds me of those big catalogs they offered and that at one time a person could buy just about anything that was available because they carried it, today they are just about gone, sad! Al

Now you are talking, a beautiful blond model 70 Winchester Super Grade. I have been looking at those myself. Al

They do have a bit of a repulsive look to them with that rat like tail, scruffy fur and the teeth showing perpetual grin on their faces along with a lot of drooling. I would take a few every fall back in my coon hunting days, I was lucky to get a couple of bucks for their hides. I noticed that while my dogs would kill them they showed a lack of enthusiasm, definite displeasure in their smell and or taste and once they were dead wanted no part of them. Al LOL, I am not a possum lover but I do get soft sometimes when I see hard luck. That Possum must of had a death wish to be killed by a car.

Possums are not the brightest in the animal kingdom. Years ago driving home during a snowstorm in the middle of winter I came up on a possum trudging down the middle of a back country road, the snow banks along the road side were so high and steep he could not climb out of the road way. I stopped the car to see if I could help him get out of the road and when I walked up to him he just stood there looking pitiful and half frozen like he was not long for this world. I thought that maybe I could get him to a place where he would have a better situation so I picked him up by the tail, opened my car trunk and put him inside and went home trying to think of a place I could turn him loose. So I get home and open the trunk and there he was curled up in a ball sound asleep, at the time I had a couple of empty rabbit cages and decided to put him up in one of those until I could figure out what to do with him. He was easy to take care of as he liked dog food, it only took a few minutes of time to feed and water him while doing the rest of my chores and the days turned to weeks and I just said to myself when the snow was gone I would just open the cage door and let him go. And that is exactly what I did on a nice warm spring morning, after doing the chores I opened the possum's cage door and left it. So about noon time I go out to get my mail and there in the middle of the road was my possum friend deader than a doornail, flattened by a vehicle. All was for naught. Al

As Bow hunting pioneer Fred Bear said "The best camouflage pattern is called, “Sit down and be quiet!” Your grandpa hunted deer in a red plaid coat, think about that for a second."

A few more.

I like old advertising and the work of the old outdoor artists especially Philip Goodwin.

Love looking at vintage hunting photos and art, some hard looking folks back in the good old days and many depended on hunting so they could eat. An old timer that grew up in the depression days said "He knew things were getting better as he was starting to see rabbits and other small game crossing the roads without a dog and hunter following in close pursuit.

Well for me if I lived around that many Rats there would be a silver lining and I would take advantage and get some recreation out of the filthy rodents.

Article about complaining about the Rat problem in NY City =========================================== What are there more of than people in New York? If you said any type of vermin you guessed correctly. Roaches, I hate these little critters. But I hate rats worse. They live in the sewers, in the basements, in the walls of buildings, in construction areas, in alley ways and in the docks and rivers. There are millions of them in the downtown district alone. Late at night, they emerge from their hiding places to forage. They form a stream of living creatures as they migrate after midnight from their hidden lairs they call home to scour the streets for bits of hot dogs, pizza crusts, subway sandwich leftovers in trash cans, on sidwalks and the hundreds of thousand pounds of edible trash left over by Brokers, Lawyers and every worker, who works in the downtown area. If you ever have the bad luck of having to work very late at night and to take the subway home, you may have had to literally jump over the swarming rodents to get to the subway station. When you get to the station, look at the tracks in the shadows and darker areas. You will see them crawling around scavenging for food. Sometimes at night a car does drive through the downtown area and produces road kill which lets you know what the rodents look like. They are only slightly smaller than a cat with greasy, dirty fur and long yellow gnawing teeth. These teeth can eat through wood easily, cables with copper core, and even concrete with only a little more difficulty. Once in a while they will show themselves in daylight. It is not a pleasant sight. They have attacked people as well. A pack of rats when disturbed can bring down a person with a well coordinated attack. Their attacks on children in tenements are well know and well documented. However, they have emerged from lairs and attacked people walking in the street in broad daylight. I have seen them attack a woman walking by a fenced off pit of a long ago demolished building. Many of the people on their lunch break beat them off of her with briefcases, canes, and by well place kicks. She was taken to the hospital with multiple bite wounds on her legs. Luckily she kept her footing and they didn't reach her neck or head. The next day there were about 30 exterminators with clubs, rat poison, and large burlap sacks. They were fully dressed in protective body suits including high thick boots. They opened the wooden fence and descended into the pit. Dozens upon dozens of filled, large, burlap sacks packed with dead vermin were carted away in dump trucks during the day. This process went on every day for weeks. I think they just scratched the surface with their labors. But eventually the street was re-opened to pedestrians and the wooden fence resealed. You would think they would get cats by the truck load to fight this problem which exists even as I write this article. The truth is that a cat is no match for two or three New York rats. They are tough. Dog breeds used for rat killing would not fare any better. So the rats are accepted as just another New York problem. They are ignored. How many are there? Are there ten million rats in New York City? No, think hundreds of millions of them in the five Boroughs, maybe more. There is no way that anyone can accurately estimate their numbers. Some words of warning if you walk down the dark streets of New York at night. Stay away from the sewer opening. Stay out of dark alleyways. Don't look to see what is making that scratching sound in the basement. Play by New York rules in New York. Oh and by they way, have a good night.

The creepiest sounds I have ever heard in the woods came from a Porcupine. I might be able to make it to this get together. Al

Tough to diagnose stuff with dogs. As long as it is just a not being able to sleep issue try picking up a bottle of 10 mg size melatonin (Walmart) and give him a half tab tab in the evening for starters, try a full tab if the half does not work. It is safe. Al

I need a new gun like I need a hole in the head but that does not stop me from picking one up when the urge hits me. There is one caliber that I have always had a yen for and the is the 264 or 6.5, always drooled for and wanted a 264 Winchester mag but never got around to actually obtain one. Kind of forgot about it until this recent uptick in interest in the 6.5 cartridges. Nosler came out with their Nosler 26 which upped the ante making the Winchester play second fiddle. Then Weatherby got into the game with their 6.5-300 out performing both the Nosler and Winchester cartridges. This baby is pushing bullets out at 400 yards as fast as the 6.5 Creedmoor load leaves the muzzle. A barrel burner deluxe for sure, probably washed out after 700 shots but I do not care. The new Weatherby First Vanguard Lite with a 28 inch barrel has a guarantee to group 3 shots under an inch and a street price of well under a grand is beckoning me!