airedale

It should be very easy to implement a comprehensive poll on allowing crossbows at the time of hunting licence purchase. A simple question asked and answered taking only a few seconds, when a hunting licence is purchased and a key on the licence computer that corresponds with support-oppose-unsure. Majority should determine outcome and I can live with that. Al

Grampy I bought that gun in the late 60s at that time the 222 mag was fairly popular especially with the bench rest crown as it is an inherently accurate cartridge. It never really caught on with the varmint hunters because it is virtually the same ballistically as the 223 and that shell ended up becoming hugely popular because of it's use by the military. Still brass and dies were fairly easy to come by back then. I learned a valuable lesson and that was to shy away from many of the less popular cartridges, even though they may be a great performer if they do not sell they will fade away you can run into problems finding ammo or components. back when it first came out some years ago I came within a whisker of buying the new Winchester 22 short mag which will out perform the 220 swift. I am glad i passed on that one because it never sold and it is now in the same boat as the 222 mag. Al

After many years of scouring gun shows, every local and not local sporting goods store and the internet I have to give a big thanks to both Midway and Nosler, Nosler came through with a run of "super super scarce" 222 Remington mag brass and Midway stocked it and had inventory for sale. I have been looking for this brass for YEARS!! One of my favorite rifles a Ruger Number 1 has been laid up forever because all I have is brass-ammo I loaded forty something years ago and some of the brass has been used multiple times so I have been conserving the 100 rounds or so I have left fearing I would never see it produced again. My only option up to this time to make cases from the 204 Ruger which is the 222 mag necked down something I really did not want to do. Now I have to get a new scope as I scrounged the 8X Leupold off the Number one and mounted on a Ruger 77/22 mag varmint and stuck a Simmons Atec I had laying around on the number 1. The Simmons is a decent scope but it is really too big for this rifle, I like those compact Burris Timberlines and I think that is what I may go with.

Grampy I do not want to overwhelm you but there is something you might want to consider for mounting your reloading equipment on your new bench is what I call a quick change mounting base. When I did a remake of my loading benches I used both the Lee and the RCBS mounting bases for several of my presses and things like powder measures and case trimmers and even my arrow fletching tool. What they do is is not only allow for easy quick changes of tools but it saves your bench from being swiss cheesed from having to drill the top full of holes to mount stuff and makes it easy to take everything off the bench if need be. I have accumulated a variety of loading equipment from different manufacturers so I like the Lee system a lot because of the metal and wooden block bases that can be easily drilled and mount accessories on. The main problem with the Lee is the base is somewhat small and other manufacturers large tools will not fit. The RCBS system is mostly for just RCBS equipment. Your Hornady outfit has come up with a nice system of their own, I like it a lot because of it's size. Not only will all Hornady stuff mount easily it looks like to me that any loading tool from any manufacturer can be mounted on it by drilling out holes to match the tool's base. Anyhow I posted a few pictures so you can see what I am blabbing about, these Items are surely not necessary but they sure do make it easier to manage equipment in a small area. Al

Yes that is a good setup but for my place it will not work too well as my meter is on a pole about 600 ft from my house. Al

The first thing is do not cheap out, you will get what you pay for. I have a mid priced Northern Tool 5500W generator, the gas motor that runs it is a Honda which I personally believe is very important. It is pull start and will usually start on the second or third pull. It is heavy so it needs the wheel and handle kit installed in order to be able to move it around easily. The current model runs around $1200 with the wheel kit, it is a high quality generator I have a 6 line transfer box that was installed by an electrician, it it mounted on a wall in my cellar next to my main service panel and is hooked up to the the most important circuits that I need to have powered. The transfer switch box is around $350.00 so final cost would be determined by how much your electrician would charge you to install but the total should be under $2000.00 This setup works perfectly for my needs and has been totally reliable for many years, use non ethanol gas, change the oil and plug when needed and you will be good to go. The diagram below is pretty much the exact way mine is installed. Al

I agree that one should support those organizations that share and fight for their beliefs and values, I am a proud member of NEW YORK BOWHUNTER'S INC. Al Kranbuhl

There are many shotgun and pistol powders that can be and are interchanged, they are all powders that burn at a relatively fast rate. Other than very small rifle cases like 22 Hornet or 218 Bee for example, rifle powders for the most part burn much slower and are not used for shotshells or pistol cartridges. Al

Don't know where that info came from but if you actually click on the link and at the top of the page click on the shop by category in their shooting section they show to be selling huge selections of firearms (both long and handguns) and accessories, archery also! They are also claiming to have a complete gunsmithing service. Whether all that they sell will be in stock or have to be ordered is another matter, but I will check it out and see. Al

Back in those days a 6" group with the old shuttlecock foster slugs at 100 yards was tack driving, most shotguns could not keep slugs in a pie plate at 100 yards. The Ithaca Deerslayer barrel was bored slightly under size with no choke giving the slug a snug fitting smooth ride that promoted about the best accuracy one could obtain with the old Foster slugs. As for brush busting it was common to hear that slugs could shoot through brush, there are still many today that believe big hunks of lead will make it through thick stuff and make a kill, as many tests and experiments have proven all bullets can be deflected by brush and that is the problem, it is best to pick a clear spot to shoot through and avoid hitting anything except the Deer. Slugs and slug guns have come a long way since 1968, even the foster type slugs have been improved a lot and will shoot pretty well out of a good barrel. Al

Looks like they are about ready for business, I will have to check them out. https://www.ganderoutdoors.com/store-locator/details/Cicero-NY-646

An outfit in Ohio bought the Ithaca name and a bunch of the machinery from the old factory and have been making Ithaca 37s in limited numbers for a few years now. I saw a 28 ga featherweight at a gun show and it looked to be every bit as good as the old Ithaca produced guns, I would love to have one, a heck of a grouse-woodcock gun I think. The chrome finish looked real nice and in a practical sense would keep that shotgun looking new for many years. Al

Going through those old gun factory photos in the other thread and seeing the demolition of the old Ithaca Gun factory reminded me of the purchase of my first brand new gun back in 1968. An Ithaca 20 ga Deerslayer with the rat tail forend and a 20 inch barrel from Wells Boat Shop in Rome NY $126.00, paid him a few bucks a week all summer long and had it in time for Deer season. The purchase was evened out when the owner of Wells bought an Airedale pup from me about 20 years later. Ithaca was ahead of the curve back then using light gathering front sights and the scout scope mounting system. Al

And the reason being for those statistics is that period is when the majority of the Deer hunting is done. Most hunters have a job they have to attend and make a living, many will save their vacation time to hunt early as much as possible and many without that option can only hunt weekends when they are off from work. If everyone could hunt the Deer season for as many days as they would like without losing any pay the take numbers would change big time. The biggest reason the woods are empty later in the season is because of hunters having to work and family obligations. Al

Well if you think that a poll involving 70 members of a message board should the determining factor for what goes for 600,000 other NY hunting licence holders you are even nuttier than I first thought. Personally I am all for a democratic solution, if the majority of NY hunting licence holders can be legitimately polled and they are for full inclusion of crossbows so be it. Al

Not even 70 members have participated in this poll up to this point, this board has almost 8000 members and beyond that there are somewhere around 600,000 hunting licences sold in this state. One could go to another hunting board and find the numbers completely reversed. As Doc said 70 members voting on this matter on one particular message board is about as insignificant as it gets. Al

Three more manufacturers from NY, all producers of quality American sidelock side by side doubles Hunter Arms, Fulton NY- LC Smith Shotguns Lefever Arms, Syracuse NY Baker Gun, Batavia NY

Any time muscles go for extended periods of time without being used and then when some serious stress is put on them pulls and strains can result especially when you get some age on you, as the old saying goes "use em or lose em"! If you are an archer that shoots your bows on a regular basis the muscles you use for drawing your bow will stay in decent shape and the chances of getting "stove up" are kept to a minimum. Now if you do not shoot every day there is a device that will keep those muscles in top condition without having to shoot every day and in fact even make them measurably stronger. The old tried and true Bullworker which has been around since I was a kid, this thing is no joke, it works and works well. I ain't no spring chicken but I can draw my old Bear Alaskan which has always been set at 75 lbs with no problems, I believe it is the use of the Bullworker for a few minutes several times a week that makes it possible and keeps me hanging in there without sprains,strains and pulled ligaments and muscles. The benefits are not only seen when drawing a bow, a little exercise goes a long way in preventing injury any time something physical is required from your body doing every day chores. Works for me.

Par for the course, my power has gone out twice today, the generator will be on standby most of the night with these high winds. If you actually think about it when it comes to so called picture perfect "Chamber Of Commerce" weather, out of the 365 days we have in a year, percentage wise there are really not many of those days here in NY. Al

With things being a bit slow here and with some of the squabbling I am seeing down in the politics I thought I would post this small game hunting piece to lighten things up a bit Some years back a fellow Airedale breeder (Pete Bassani) and good friend of mine who was writing the Airedale column for "Full Cry Magazine" a hunting dog publication bugged me to write something up for the column. I had been working a young at the time Airedale male named TJ and had had a pretty good day afield hunting so I wrote up how the hunt went and sent in to Pete. I called it TJ's big adventure. TJ's Big Adventure I have been pretty busy the past few months and have not had a lot of time for writing. Most of my older dogs have passed on and I am left with a bunch of half trained youngsters. So this past fall has been one of the busiest years ever, too many dogs and not enough time. I've been working the dogs mostly on squirrels, coon, and some grouse and there comes a time when you have to put some game in their mouths. I started looking at some new areas as close to home as possible where I could do some hunting and put something down for the dogs. I decided to check out a state land pheasant release area and give it a try. I usually stay away from such places to avoid crowds, but I wanted to at least check it out as I knew there were pheasants there. So I signed up and got my permit and maps and took my young male Airedale, TJ with me to scout this area and see if it was worth messing with. TJ is a 70 pound male that is one of my yard dogs, and far from any kind of finished dog, I have messed with him some on squirrels, coon, and some retrieving work. I would say TJ's biggest turn on is birds. He is crazy about them. This turned out to be one of my best days hunting with a dog ever and I call it "TJ's Big Adventure". I opened the gate to this area and pulled down the dirt road and went about half a mile. We came to a parking area and mine was the only vehicle there. I let TJ out to stretch while I signed the 'sign in' board. I got my gear out of the truck and my .20 gauge double along with the maps and sat down at a picnic table to plot some strategy on where to hunt. I was not sitting there but for a couple of minutes when I heard TJ bark once and I saw him tearing through the woods. I grabbed my gun and went over to see him run a gray squirrel up an oak. As I approached the tree I saw the squirrel timber over to a big evergreen and disappear into the top. I wanted to put the squirrel down to reward TJ and bring home, as he was treeing pretty good, but I could not find the squirrel to get a shot. I was not too happy about missing an opportunity right off the bat, but I petted TJ up well and decided to move out on a trail that cut through a huge swamp and see what we could find. I had not walked too far when I could see TJ was again working scent. I got up close to him and all of a sudden two woodcock flushed. I shot twice and never touched a feather. I reloaded quickly and walked into T J and he flushed another woodcock and I shot and missed again. To say I was not happy was an understatement. I do not claim to be an expert shot, but I was not this pathetic either. TJ was doing his part but I am zero for four on game in the first half hour of hunting. So on we go. I was in an area of some old growth trees that one doesn't see much around here as we come up to a ridge. I saw TJ getting gamey and as I got close up to him I heard a grouse flush but I had no shot. About the time I am thinking what else could go wrong, another grouse flushed straight up and landed on a branch looking down on TJ. Not being proud, I immediately dumped him, as they say a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, and we were finally on the scorecard. About a mile up the trail I heard TJ bark and I could see that he was working around a big pile of brush, looking to get in it. I got over there and looked around and saw nothing, so I climbed up on the pile and jumped up and down a couple of times and out shoots a cottontail rabbit which I bagged. Now I am feeling a little better, as things are now starting to go our way. On we go heading for an old railroad bed that cuts through a huge swamp. I hear TJ bark and whine a couple of times working scent along the edge of the swamp. He was having a hard time moving it out so I figured it must be some kind of feed track. I just followed behind him and let him work and after a bit I moved out some. I had no clue what he was doing but I was ready. He started checking trees for scent and I started looking around myself. The one big oak that he was especially interested in I looked over well and there sat a good sized layup coon. He kept getting up on the tree and whining so he knew the coon was there but lacked the confidence to tree hard. I encouraged him and he started to bark treed well. Now this was the situation I wanted for TJ. My problem was I had the shotgun and didn't want to ruin the hide so I took careful aim at the head and touched one off. It looked like I shot just a tad low and just splattered the coon with bark and maybe a couple of BBs, but out he came. He was full of fight but was no match for TJ as things were settled in short order. I was real happy with his job on this coon and it looked like we were now on a roll. We found this railroad bed and started through the swamp to an open area where the pheasants were supposed to be. I got my map out and took a trail towards some open fields. We then went about a half a mile and came up over a small knoll and there stood two cock pheasants on the trail about 30 yards away. I could have probably gotten both with one shot, but I put TJ on them. One flushed and went to my left and I shot. I could see him go into the woods with T J in hot pursuit a long way and I assumed I missed clean. The other bird ducked into a field of goldenrod to the right. I called TJ back to me and was just about to see if we could flush the other bird when a couple of other hunters appeared and said they saw the whole thing and were positive I had hit the other bird good and said they saw it go down I should be able to find it. So I took a good look at my map and saw that where the pheasant had gone was a several hundred acre patch of woods, and was surrounded by a trail, oval in nature and kind of looked on the map like a giant oval race track. I got TJ in there as close to where I thought the pheasant flew and he started quartering back and forth. I could see that TJ had scent and was working it so I started following him, staying as close to him as possible. After several hundred yards, I started to think we were not on no pheasant, but definitely on something. Finally, we came out on the other side of the woods to the trail surrounding these woods and there was that huge swamp full of water facing us, I began mumbling about those two guys being full of it about me dinging that pheasant. I was just about to call TJ in as he was heading towards the big swamp when up flushes the pheasant and he lands in a tree looking down at TJ just like the grouse had done earlier. Needless to say the way I had been shooting, I flattened him right where he sat. I must say that TJ put on quite an exhibition of tracking on this pheasant. I forgot to say this was getting to be a fairly hot day. It was now 3 PM and we had been going since 8AM and I was beat. I found a resting place and sat down to eat one of those power bars. While sitting there I got out my new varmint call, I always carry one in my pocket when hunting. It is produced by a local outfit called a Black Creek and it is a three in one call: squirrel, rabbit squeal, and coyote howler. I cut loose on the squealer a few times and was just quietly sitting there when I saw TJ coming to attention. Looking in the direction he was staring I see a red Fox coming in on the run. We were busted immediately and the Fox spun off in the opposite direction but I got off two quick shots with three inch number fours. TJ got on the trail and went only about 50 or 60 yards and he found the Fox dead. Well by this time my old bones had enough for the day and it was a long way back to the truck and I make it a point if I shoot anything while hunting it has to be taken out. So with Fox and Coon slung over my shoulder and the small stuff in my game bag I haul my tired butt back to the parking area. I can't remember when my feet hurt more but I also can't remember having a better day afield. A beautiful Fall day with your Airedale in woods that contains a good population of game animals, man life don't get much better than that. TJ was still pretty green and could stand a lot of improvement in order to be a number one hunting dog, more experience and some polish would take care of and bring that out. That being said for the actual amount of hunting he has had, he sure made me proud. The thing I was most interested in seeing and looking for was that real natural ability and drive-versatility geared toward hunting multiple types of game animals. If I would have done my part, we would have bagged seven different species of game this day which in my opinion is a pretty good feat in any hunter's book! In traditional Airedale hunting fashion, he showed he is a versatile meat dog and game for anything that walks, crawls or flies, I am sure the breed founders would have been happy with him.....a pretty good hunting Airedale. TJ and our catch and another photo of me and the boy out after Squirrels, old TJ is gone now but is certainly not forgotten, he was a good one!

About halfway between Camden and Oneida lake.

A few years ago I changed out my old reloading benches over to a couple of Harbor Freight woodworker benches, they have to be put together which is a pain and the drawers are not smooth as silk but they work good enough, they are pretty solid and heavy duty they make a wonderful loading bench. I could not be happier and for $129 on sale (which is all the time) the price was right. I also have a Frankford Arsenal portable loading bench, they are are space saving with folding metal extensions, a good and solid movable piece if space is a concern. I have two presses mounted on mine and just spin it around for which one I am needing to use. Al

Grampy that kit is of high quality and has all of your needed basics to load accurate top performing handloads, you will have to purchase loading dies for each caliber, a shell holder, it will be the same one for both the 7mm 08 and the 270. Powder, bullets and primers along with empty brass and you will be set to go. All manufacturers dies will fit that press. Lee dies are a best buy and come with a shellholder. Handloading is not hard, there is a bit of a learning curve but it is fun, between youtube videos and the loading manual that comes with the kit you would be able to find the correct components and instructions to load ammo to suit your type of shooting and hunting. Nothing like shooting a ragged hole group or drilling a buck with ammo that you yourself concocted and made. Al

That question covers a whole lot of territory, enough to fill a book, there is plenty of models to choose from both new and current and a bunch of discontinued old timers that still can be purchased in good used to new condition in calibers for just about any kind of hunting. Most of the deer I have taken have been with a bolt action rifles and autoloading slug shotguns. I ain't no lever action expert but I have hunted some with various lever action rifles and have had some success on Deer and Varmints. Like the other types of actions the lever guns come in a wide variety of barrel lengths, calibers-chamberings for just about any big game species and any types of terrain and cover. So as to the question which lever guns are the best and what caliber to use will come down to the habitat and terrain you hunt, thick woods vs more open country, stand hunting or still hunting with a lot of walking involved? I have a couple of Marlin 94s, they are short fairly light, and I think the nicest handling lever rifle, and importantly "accurate",one in 357 mag and one in 44 mag. I like using these in heavy cover early in the season when the leaves are still on, the ranges where I hunt in these areas do not exceed 100 yards. These two are nice carrying when doing a bit of still hunting and walking. My Dad left me three lever action rifles, a Marlin 95 in 45-70, a Savage 99 in 30-30 and a Winchester Model 88 in 284 Win. I have used the model 95 45-70 quite a bit and have taken several bucks with it. I use it quite a bit because of the connection it has for me with my Dad as it was the rifle he used most the last few years he hunted and what he took his last buck with. Personally I doubt that I would buy one for myself but I have to say it has a lot going for it. I am truly amazed how accurate it is, cloverleaf groups are the norm for the Winchester 300 grain ammo it is sighted in with. Even though the 45-70 cartridge is a relic from the past it is more than viable for a wide variety of big game and at long ranges if one learns to dope it's trajectory. A reloader has bullet weights from 300 up to 500 grains to choose from, with an 1895 45-70 a person can hunt just about anything that walks with the right loads. As for the magazine fed Winchester 88 there is a cult following of folks that love that rifle but I am not one of them, although I do think a lot of the 284 Winchester cartridge which is ballistically the same as my favorite big game hunting cartridge the 280 Remington. The 88 is pretty much the same as a bolt action as it has a bolt with rotating locking lugs, it is just operated by a lever instead of a bolt handle. Basically it does everything good but nothing great. It is not light, she groups decent but is not a tack driver, the action is the least smooth operating of any lever gun I have messed mostly because of the way it feeds from the magazine, the experts tell me that it needs to be operated like you are angry. And last but not least the trigger is just fair and there is no fix on making it better. Because of the connection with my Dad the 88 will stay with me and be passed down to one of my boys, I gotta kill at least one Deer with it first. The Savage 99 in 30-30 has even a bigger connection with my Dad as he worked for Savage Arms when it was located in Utica just before he went in the Navy. This is a firearm in my opinion that still should be in production. I really like the Savage 99s a lot, talk about a design way ahead of it's time, they can easily hold their own with the modern lever guns made today. The action is smooth and super strong allowing the use of high pressure cartridges, the rotating spool internal magazine allowing pointed bullets, the little window on the side of the receiver displaying a shell counter, an indicator on the top of the receiver showing she is cocked and locked and very good accuracy. Whats not to like? A new 99 A in 6.5 Creedmoor would be one sweet Deer hunting rifle. I have no experience with Henry rifles but from all accounts they are of very good quality and their customer service goes above and beyond if any problems arise. The long range model appears to a somewhat of a copy of the Browning BLR. The main complaint heard about Henrys is they are heavy. I think if I were to seriously move to a lever action for most of my big game hunting and had to have new I would go with the Browning BLR. Like the Winchester 88 the bolt is similar to a regular bolt action rifle, a bolt with rotating locking lugs operated by a lever instead of a bolt handle making it able to handle the pressures of all modern cartridges, magazine fed so spitzer bullets can be used with no problems. My brother has been using a BLR in 243 for many years and has killed a lot of Deer with that rifle. Good variety in calibers, weights and lengths along with ease of scope mounting if needed and decent accuracy, pretty too! Al

This site goes over a bit of the history of many US firearms manufacturers that have ceased to exist or have changed dramatically. Most were located here in the northeast and it is sad to see the way they have gone and what has happened to them. I found the historical photos especially interesting, the old Savage factory in Utica was a place my Dad was employed before he joined the Navy, I have his old model 99 30-30 produced during the time period he worked there. http://tincanbandit.blogspot.com/2016/02/ghost-gun-factories.html