airedale

Back when I first got my permit I went handgun hunting nuts and for a period used only a handgun for everything I hunted except for birds.I bought and tried a bunch of handguns, settled for the most part using a 6 1/2 inch S&W model 29 44 mag and a 6 inch Colt Python for Deer hunting, for small game I used the Python some but mostly a Colt Woodsman 22 autoloader and a S&W model 17 22. I took several deer with the big revolvers and a ton of small game with the 22s mostly Rabbits Chucks and Coons. As I got older and my eyes started going down hill I went back to long guns for most hunting but still play around with a couple of handguns now and then. What I am using these days is a Desert Eagle in 44 mag with a hard chrome finish and I still have my old S&W 17 22 which is my favorite, I used it one year for bullseye target shooting, it has been the handgun I have used most and it has taken a lot of small game. Al

Woodchucks are probably the easiest meal for Coyotes to obtain, just lay in wait at an active den for one to come out. I know of dogs that have learned that skill and killed Woodchucks in large numbers. At a NY Houndsman banquet I attended some years ago we had a speaker who was a biologist that studied the Eastern Coyote. They looked at the stomach contents to see what was on their menu and during the warm months of the year almost all had some Woodchuck in them. His exact words were if you chuck hunters wonder why you are not seeing the woodchuck numbers that you once did in years past, this rise in Coyote numbers has a lot to do with it. As a young fellow I did a lot of chuck hunting and there was no problem finding them in large numbers living in farmer's hay fields in my neck of the woods. These days it is rare to see a Woodchuck standing up in the middle of a hay field, The only place I do see them which is still pretty infrequent is next to roads and building where they are fairly safe from predators. Al

I sure do, they are beauties!

Eddie I do not have any experience or know of anyone owning one of those rifles but I did a little research and from what I am seeing the Parker Ballard 22 semi auto was imported and made by an outfit in Austria named Voere. My Dad owned a 300 Winchester mag bolt action rifle made by Voere, it was the Shikar model and in the mold of a Weatherby Mark rifle in looks, it was of high quality and a pretty good shooter and nice looking. I would think the Parker Ballard would also be a well made rifle at the very least and a high dollar 22 rifle in their day. I found prices on the Voere version and they start at $250 grading at 60% up to $585 at 100% and everywhere in between depending on the condition. Prices from 2013 Blue Book Al

The Ruger American rifle has received really good reviews and the 7mm-08 is a proven Deer cartridge as are Core-Lokt bullets. If they group to your satisfaction the Remington Core-lokts will kill any Deer as long as you do your part. Good luck with your new rifle. Al

I have gone on four trips to Newfoundland the last time I went was in the early eighties. The first was a fly in and the other three we went inland by all terrain vehicles. On those trips I took two bulls and two cows, three with a 280 Remington using handloaded 150 gr Nosler partitions, one with a 7 mm Remington mag using a 160 gr Nosler partition. Physically "lots" of miles walking on boggy ground also up and down some pretty high hills, back then a piece of cake and no problem for me, today it would be pretty tough. The outfitter's Bombardier J-5 tracked ATVs made recovery of the meat not bad as they could always get pretty close to downed animals. The first trip everything was carried on our backs to the shore of a lake where we could utilize a boat to get back to camp. I never took a whopper, my best one is the guy on the ground in front. Al

It would be my Remington 541S 22, we go back a long way, it was my first introduction to a high end very accurate rimfire firearm, I have taken a lot squirrels along with a bunch of other small game with it, won a couple of shooting matches with it also.

The banker saw his old friend Pygmy, an eighty-year old farmer, in town. Pygmy had lost his wife a year or so before and rumor had it that he was marrying a 'mail order' bride. Being a good friend, the banker asked Pygmy if the rumor was true. Pygmy assured him that it was. The banker then asked Pygmy the age of his new bride to be. Pygmy proudly said, 'She'll be twenty-one in November.' Now the banker, being the wise man that he was, could see that the sexual appetite of a young woman could not be satisfied by an eighty-year- old man. Wanting his old friend's remaining years to be happy the banker tactfully suggested that Pygmy should consider getting a hired hand to help him out on the farm, knowing nature would take its own course. Pygmy thought this was a good idea and said he would look for one that afternoon. About four months later, the banker ran into Pygmy in town again. 'How's the new wife?', asked the banker. Pygmy proudly said, 'Good - she's pregnant. How is that new hired hand working out? asked the banker. Pygmy replied great and she is pregnant too!

For me Deer hunting has always been anti climatic and the reason why I have always prefered small game hunting FUN, FUN, ACTION, ACTION! Let it happen quick because you can keep right on hunting. The small game seasons and limits are "liberal" (about the only good thing I can say about that word) you can go out the very next day and do it all over again. "Variety", Shotguns, Rifles, Handguns, and Archery all can be used and best of all you do not just pull the trigger on that expensive firearm once. Variety of game, Rabbits-Hare, Squirrels, Coons, Woodchucks, Fox, Coyote, Bobcat, Grouse, Ducks-Geese, Woodcock, Pheasant, Crows! Holy Smokes I am getting fired up and excited just thinking about it! Al

In my lifetime I have at least dabbled in just about everything when it comes to the outdoor sports many times just to get some insight, perspective and to experience everything I could. I enjoyed doing just about everything I tried but there is not enough time in the seasons and days to do everything there is all the time. The activities that I found especially interesting and fun for me, and some are even to the point of obsession, they are the ones I make time for and pretty much stick with on a continuous basis down through the years. That being said I still revisit some of the other fun stuff time to time for old times sake and a little change of pace. Al

I was in Tennessee some years ago and had a fellow show me some ginseng, if I remember right the plant has five leaves, three across the top and two smaller ones just below. The berries are in a bunch very similar to the ones in your photo. If I were to guess I think those are ginseng berries. Al

She is a beauty! When I was a kid I remember the mostly Winchester model 70 snobs looking down their nose at the Remington 722, cheap looking, no checkering, tiny extractor, stamped trigger guard, bla bla bla! Today it is highly regarded as a sought after all time classic and deservedly so. It goes on to become the 700 one of the best and most accurate rifle actions designed period and is still so today. "257 Roberts" another all time great! Al

Most times I just put my squirrels in my game bag and dress them out when I get home. I think on a real hot day and if you are out for a long period of time one of those cheap foam coolers and a cold pack would not be a bad idea. Cleaning a squirrel is easy when you know the tricks even when cold. A couple of tips, have a razor sharp knife, I use a folding bird hunter pocket knife. I also use a small cheap pair of pruning loppers to cut off the feet and head along with a pair of pliers when I need to pull on the hide, they work much better than your fingers. Here is a you tube video that shows the way I was pretty much taught to do it, as they say pictures are worth a thousand words and it is easy when you know how. Al

Happy Birthday Al

Found this out by accident, got a catalog in the mail the other day and found a upland shotgun case that I really liked, went to their site to purchase it and got a serious big time Labor Day savings when I checked out. LLBean can be a little pricey but as they say you get what you pay for, I have had nothing but good luck with their merchandise. Al

Got my Dad's old Winchester 88 284 out of the safe last year and sighted it in with some new ammo (139 gr Hornadys) I picked up at the Syracuse gun show, no shooter buck for me using it last hunting season so I will probably be using the 88 most days I Deer hunt again this year. I would like to take at least one Deer with it just because it was my Dad's. Al

Carmen was a huge figure and sports hero in my neck of the woods as I grew up only 20 minutes away from Canastota where he lived and everybody knew who he was. His fights were action packed and some of the best ever, he was very highly regarded in the sports world period as he won the Hickok Belt in 1957 the top award at the time for any athlete.

If I was 40 years younger I would kick his ass! Well maybe not but for 30 million I would give it my best shot!

Nobody I know that hunts with dogs (and I know more than a few) would consider it noble for them to be killed and eaten by Wolves. Al

Always easy for the bunny hugger (especially the NY Times) because in far off places they have no dog in the fight, stuff like livestock loss and harassment, hunting grounds lost, game depletion in hunting areas, pets and hunting dogs being killed etc. why should they care? The folks that have to live and deal with this stuff have a different view. Al Wisconsin tries to keep records https://dnrx.wisconsin.gov/wdacp/public/depredation/2016 A couple of examples of what is left of some hunting dogs,

When you superimpose 2.4" to 2.7" over an average Deer's vitals out to 150 yards it is not that big of a deal as they are a fairly big target, just hold ever so slightly low at the closer ranges and you will be fine. Get some range time in with that gun and those slugs at all ranges so you see exactly where they hit and you will have the confidence if presented with a good shot you can make it. Al

I agree with moog's earlier post, this whole deal was a well concocted get rich scheme by both Mayweather's and McGregor's brain trusts and it worked, behind closed doors they are both laughing all the way to the bank, Mayweather pockets 100 million and McGregor takes home 30 million. All the pre fight bluster and hype leading up to this farce was a page straight out of WWE Wrestle Mania to fire up the fan bases of both MMA and Boxing fan camps to sell tickets. I do believe the fight itself was legit and McGregor gave it his best shot hoping for a puncher's chance but knew he was going to lose this contest right from the get go along with anyone else that knows combat sports. Boxing is on the decline because of lack and just about zero exposure to the average person so you have no fan base. In the past all but the mega fights were televised on network TV. When I was a kid there were fights on every friday night, in later years before Disney destroyed ABC and ESPN, Wide World of Sports televised major fights on a frequent basis and NBC also had it's share of good fights. ESPN had Top Rank Boxing, USA network had fights every week. Amateur Boxing was promoted heavily with big events like the USA vs Cuba or Russia being televised. Pay for view, HBO and Showtime buy up contracts and have an Iron Grip on the sport and in my opinion have ruined it. Al

It came out real nice and whether you hunt with it or not you still can enjoy shooting it and the best part you have given new life to your Dad's old bow. Al

ny hunter is on the right track, I was having exactly the same problem with open sights seeing them double and it just started to happen in recent years with my newest glasses. A little while back I was going through some older glasses I had laying around and put on a pair from 10 years ago and the double front sight problem was gone. I got out a couple of my open sight rimfire rifles on my back yard range and had those reactive targets singing and dancing, the good times were rolling again. The old glasses are not as strong as the newest and while they may not be quite as clear at distance for all around vision they work best and what I am wearing right now.

I have zero experience with that cartridge but from all accounts it is gaining quite the following among target shooters and is starting to get a good foothold with hunters. It has a fine tuned case design developed especially for accuracy and target shooting at long range and ballistically pretty much the same as the 260 Remington. On paper it has a lot going for it along with light recoil, loaded with good bullets some believe it is the perfect Deer hunting cartridge. Al