airedale

The three Quail in line in the middle of the photo with the gray coloring are California Valley Quail, they are the size of regular Bobwhites and are about half the size of these Butlers. I have four in all and as the saying goes 'birds of a feather flock together" the Valley Quail are always in close proximity to each other among the 30 Bobwhites. They are just getting some length on their top knot feathers which stand at attention when they are on alert. They are flighty compared to the Butlers and will not take any food from my hand yet but will sit at my feet and wait for me to drop something down to them. They are runners and if they were chicken size I bet they could hit 60 miles an hour. Al

15 weeks and on is generally the age they can fly well enough and will recall to a johnny house, They will be used to train my Setter pup to hold point, like chickens I just like messing around with them for something to do. They are fairly easy to take care of and like chickens they make good pets and watching them go about their business is entertaining. Al

Went from little bumble bee size two legged fuzz balls to Quail in about 4 weeks, these Butler Bobwhites are already close to the size of regular Bobwhites, more tame and not as flighty, they will eat out of my hand like chickens. Just hatched out 10 french red leg Partridge chicks, they are doing good so far. Al

Glad to see you do a refurb on that barn, it is sure a beauty, farmers do not build those kind anymore so what there are left need to be preserved. Al

If the old flooring was in not too bad of shape I would go right over the top with a laminate flooring. Al

I agree with Dan, cropped it out and blew up the photo and tried to clear it up a little and it looks like a Bobcat. Al

How does hunting with no seasons, no limits on game whose numbers are so large you can not put a dent in them? Best part of all using an 55 dollar assault weapon with ammo that costs literally small fractions of a cent per shot! Enter the 'Bug A Salt" an air powered mini shotgun pistol that uses table salt for ammo. A friend told me about these things and he was so enthusiastic on how well it worked and the fun he had eliminating flies I had to try one. Depending where you purchase they go in the $55 range, Amazon will not ship these to NY so I purchased mine direct. As instructed I patterned the gun on a sheet of aluminum foil using regular table salt. Once I got the pattern's point of impact figured out I was knocking off various creepy crawlers while relaxing last evening on my deck at close to the three feet maximum range this thing is supposed to have. So all and all while not quite as excited as my friend the Bug A Salt works as advertised and is a heck of a lot more fun than a conventional fly swatter. Al

I have an 89 Pontiac Trans Am pace car, been sitting in the barn covered for about 20 years or so. Have buying new updated parts, new rubber and plan sprucing the old gal up and getting her going. A file photo

Some in depth data on shotgun and rifle recoil from Chuck Hawks Note that the most powerful shotgun loads generate recoil comparable to elephant rifle cartridges. Shooters who would never think of shooting a .416 Rem. Mag. or .450 Nitro Express rifle even once will casually buy a box of 12 gauge, 3-inch Magnum shot shells for hunting season and shoot all 25 shells at a single sitting. It is no wonder flinching (and missing!) is so common. Cal./Gauge (weight of load at MV fps) Gun weight (lbs.) Recoil energy (ft. lbs.) 7.62x39 Soviet (125 gr. at 2350) 7.0 6.9 .410 bore, 2.5" (1/2 oz. at 1200) 5.5 7.1 6mm Rem. (100 gr. at 3100) 8.0 10.0 .410 bore, 3" (11/16 oz. at 1135) 5.5 10.5 .30-30 Win. (150 gr. at 2400) 7.5 10.6 7mm-08 Rem. (140 gr. at 2860) 8.0 12.6 28 gauge, 2.75" (3/4 oz. at 1200) 6.0 12.8 .308 Win. (150 gr. at 2800) 7.5 15.8 20 gauge, 2.75" (7/8 oz. at 1200) 6.5 16.1 .270 Win. (140 gr. at 3000) 8.0 17.1 12 gauge, 2.75" (1 oz. at 1180) 7.5 17.3 .30-06 (180 gr. at 2700) 8.0 20.3 20 gauge, 2.75" (1 oz. at 1220) 6.5 21.0 .270 Wby. Mag. (130 gr. at 3375) 9.0 21.0 16 gauge, 2.75" (1 oz. at 1220) 7.0 21.5 7mm Rem. Mag. (175 gr. at 2870) 9.0 21.7 12 gauge, 2.75" (1-1/8 oz. at 1200) 7.5 23.0 .300 Win. Mag. (150 gr. at 3320) 8.5 23.5 .300 Wby. Mag. (150 gr. at 3400) 9.3 24.6 20 gauge, 2.75" (1-1/8 oz. at 1175) 6.5 25.0 .300 WSM (180 gr. at 2970) 7.3 27.1 16 gauge, 2.75" (1-1/8 oz. at 1240) 7.0 27.6 .35 Whelen (250 gr. at 2400) 7.5 27.9 .405 Win. (300 gr. at 2200) 8.0 30.6 20 gauge, 3" (1-1/4 oz. at 1185) 6.5 31.0 .300 Wby. Mag. (180 gr. at 3240) 9.0 31.6 12 gauge, 2.75" (1-1/4 oz. at 1330) 7.5 32.0 .338 Win. Mag. (200 gr. at 2950) 8.5 32.8 .340 Wby. Mag. (250 gr. at 2941 9.0 43.4 12 gauge, 2.75" (1-1/2 oz. at 1260) 7.5 45.0 .375 Wby. Mag. (300 gr. at 3240) 10.0 47.3 12 gauge, 3" (1-5/8 oz. at 1280) 7.5 52.0 .416 Rem. Mag. (400 gr. at 2400) 10.0 52.9 .375 Ultra Mag (300 gr. at 2800) 8.8 53.2 12 gauge, 3" (1-7/8 oz. at 1210) 8.75 54.0 .450 NE (465 gr. at 2150) 11.0 55.5 .458 Win. Mag. (500 gr. at 2100) 9.0 62.3 10 gauge, 3.5" (2-1/4 oz. at 1210) 10.5 62.9 Cartridge (Wb@MV) Rifle Weight Recoil energy Recoil velocity .17 HMR (17 at 2550) 7.5 0.2 n/a .17 Rem. (25 at 4000) 8.5 1.6 3.5 .204 Ruger (33 at 4225) 8.5 2.6 4.4 .218 Bee (45 at 2800) 8.5 1.3 3.1 .219 Wasp (55 at 3300) 8.5 3.2 4.9 .219 Zipper (55 at 3400) 8.5 3.4 5.1 .22 LR (40 at 1165) 4.0 0.2 n/a .22 WMR (40 at 1910) 6.75 0.4 n/a .22 Hornet (45 at 2800) 7.5 1.3 3.3 .22 PPC (52 at 3300) 8.5 3.0 4.8 .221 Fireball (50 at 3000) 8.5 1.8 3.7 .222 Rem. (50 at 3200) 7.5 3.0 5.1 .223 Rem. (45 at 3500) 8.5 2.6 4.5 .223 Rem. (55 at 3200) 8.0 3.2 5.1 .223 Rem. (62 at 3025) 7.0 3.9 6.0 .225 Win. (55 at 3700) 8.5 4.4 5.7 .224 Wby. Mag. (55 at 3700) 10.0 3.6 4.8 .22-250 Rem. (55 at 3600) 8.5 4.7 6.0 .22-250 Rem. (60 at 3500) 12.5 3.1 4.0 .220 Swift (50 at 3900) 10.5 3.7 4.8 .220 Swift (55 at 3800) 8.5 5.3 6.4 .223 WSSM (55 at 3850) 7.5 6.4 7.4 .224 TTH (80 at 3550) 7.5 10.2 9.4 5.6x50 Mag. (60 at 3300) 7.5 4.0 5.9 5.6x52R (70 at 2800) 7.5 3.7 5.7 5.6x57 RWS (60 at 3800) 7.5 6.9 7.7 6mm PPC (85 at 2800) 7.5 5.3 n/a 6mm BR Rem. (80 at 3100) 8.5 5.2 6.3 6mm-223 (75 at 2950) 7.5 4.6 n/a 6mm Norma BR (95 at 2914) 8.5 5.9 6.7 6mm Lee Navy (112 at 2650) 8.5 6.5 7.0 .243 Win. (75 at 3400) 8.5 7.2 7.4 .243 Win. (95 at 3100) 7.25 11.0 9.9 .243 Win. (100 at 2960) 7.5 8.8 8.7 6mm Rem. (100 at 3100) 8.0 10.0 9.0 .243 WSSM (100 at 3100) 7.5 10.1 9.3 6mm-284 (105 at 3000) 7.5 10.9 9.7 6mm-06 (105 at 3000) 8.0 10.2 9.1 .240 Wby. Mag. (100 at 3406) 8.0 17.9 n/a .25-20 Win. (86 at 1460) 6.5 1.3 3.5 .256 Win. Mag. (75 at 2400) 7.5 2.4 4.5 .25-35 Win. (117 at 2230) 6.5 7.0 8.3 .250 Savage (100 at 2900) 7.5 7.8 8.2 .257 Roberts (100 at 3000) 7.5 9.3 8.9 .257 Roberts (120 at 2800) 8.0 10.7 9.3 .257 Rob. Imp. (115 at 2900) 8.0 10.8 9.3 .25 WSSM (120 at 2990) 7.25 13.8 11.1 .25-06 Rem. (100 at 3230) 8.0 11.0 9.4 .25-06 Rem. (120 at 3000) 8.0 12.5 10.0 .257 Wby. Mag. (100 at 3602) 9.25 15.8 10.5 .257 Wby. Mag. (115 at 3433) 9.25 17.7 11.1 .257 Wby. Mag. (120 at 3300) 9.25 15.1 10.3 6.5mm Grendel (120 at 2600) 7.5 8.9 8.8 6.5x50 Arisaka (140 at 2600) 8.0 10.0 n/a 6.5x52 M-C (140 at 2200) 8.0 7.8 n/a 6.5x54 M-S (140 at 2400) 7.5 11.1 9.7 6.5x55 Swede (129 at 2700) 8.0 12.5 10.0 6.5x55 Swede (140 at 2650) 9.0 10.6 8.7 .260 Rem. (120 at 2860) 7.5 13.0 10.6 .260 Rem. (140 at 2750) 8.25 11.9 9.7 6.5x57 (140 at 2700) 8.0 12.5 10.0 6.5mm-284 Norma (140 at 2920) 8.0 14.7 10.9 6.5mm Rem. Mag. (120 at 3100) 8.0 13.1 10.3 6.5mm Rem. Mag. (140 at 2900) 8.5 13.9 10.3 6.5x68 S (140 at 2990) 8.5 16.8 11.3 .264 Win. Mag. (140 at 3200) 8.5 19.2 12.1 6.8mm Rem. SPC (115 at 2625) 7.5 8.0 8.3 .270 Win. (130 at 3140) 8.0 16.5 n/a .270 Win. (140 at 3000) 8.0 17.1 11.7 .270 Win. (150 at 2900) 8.0 17.0 11.7 .270 WSM (130 at 3275) 8.0 18.7 12.3 .270 WSM (150 at 3000) 8.0 18.9 12.3 .270 Wby. Mag. (130 at 3375) 9.0 21.0 12.3 .270 Wby. Mag. (150 at 3000) 9.25 17.8 11.1 7-30 Waters (120 at 2700) 7.0 10.0 9.6 7x57 Mauser (139 at 2700) 8.75 11.7 9.3 7x57 Mauser (145 at 2725) 8.5 13.0 9.9 7x57 Mauser (160 at 2600) 8.0 14.3 n/a 7x57 Mauser (175 at 2500) 8.0 15.5 11.2 7mm-08 Rem. (120 at 3000) 7.5 12.1 10.2 7mm-08 Rem. (140 at 2860) 8.0 12.6 10.1 .284 Win (150 at 2860) 7.5 17.4 n/a 7x64 (154 at 2850) 8.0 17.9 n/a 7x65R (175 at 2600) 8.0 17.1 11.7 .280 Rem. (140 at 3000) 8.0 17.2 11.8 .280 Rem. (150 at 2900) 8.0 17.4 11.8 .280 Rem. (160 at 2800) 8.0 17.0 11.7 7x61 S&H Mag. (154 at 3000) 8.5 18.4 11.8 7mm Rem. SAUM (160 at 2931) 8.0 21.5 13.2 7mm WSM (140 at 3200) 8.0 20.7 12.9 7mm WSM (160 at 3000) 8.0 21.9 13.3 7mm Rem. Mag. (139 at 3100) 9.0 19.3 11.8 7mm Rem. Mag. (150 at 3100) 8.5 19.2 12.1 7mm Rem. Mag. (160 at 2950) 9.0 20.3 12.0 7mm Rem. Mag. (175 at 2870) 9.0 21.7 12.5 .275 H&H Mag. (160 at 3050) 8.5 19.5 12.2 7mm Wby. Mag. (140 at 3300) 9.25 19.5 11.7 7mm Wby. Mag. (160 at 3200) 9.0 25.6 13.5 7mm STW (160 at 3185) 8.5 27.9 14.6 7mm Ultra Mag. (140 at 3425) 8.5 25.3 n/a 7mm Ultra Mag. (160 at 3200) 8.5 29.4 n/a .30 Carbine (110 at 1990) 7.0 3.5 5.7 .30 Rem. (170 at 2120) 7.5 9.8 9.2 .30-30 Win. (150 at 2400) 7.5 10.6 9.5 .30-30 Win. (160 at 2400) 7.5 12.7 10.5 .30-30 Win. (170 at 2200) 7.5 11.0 9.7 .30-40 Krag (180 at 2430) 8.0 16.6 n/a .300 Sav. (150 at 2630) 7.5 14.8 n/a .307 Win. (150 at 2600) 7.5 13.7 10.9 .308 Marlin Express (160 at 2660) 8.0 13.4 10.4 7.5x55 Swiss (150 at 2800) 9.0 12.9 9.6 .308 Win. (150 at 2800) 7.5 15.8 11.7 .308 Win. (165 at 2700) 7.5 18.1 12.5 .308 Win. (180 at 2610) 8.0 17.5 11.9 .30-06 Spfd. (150 at 2910) 8.0 17.6 11.9 .30-06 Spfd. (165 at 2900) 8.0 20.1 12.7 .30-06 Spfd. (180 at 2700) 8.0 20.3 12.8 .300 Rem. SAUM (180 at 2960) 8.25 23.5 13.6 .300 WSM (150 at 3300) 8.25 22.5 13.3 .300 WSM (180 at 2970) 7.25 27.1 15.5 .300 WSM (180 at 2970) 8.25 23.8 13.6 .308 Norma Mag. (180 at 3000) 8.5 25.9 14.0 .300 Win. Mag. (150 at 3320) 8.5 23.5 13.3 .300 Win. Mag. (165 at 3110) 8.0 26.2 14.5 .300 Win. Mag. (180 at 2960) 8.5 25.9 14.0 .300 H&H Mag. (180 at 2920) 8.5 23.1 13.2 .300 Dakota (180 at 3100) 8.5 28.3 14.7 .300 Wby. Mag. (150 at 3400) 9.25 24.6 13.1 .300 Wby. Mag. (180 at 3240) 9.0 31.6 15.0 .300 Ultra Mag. (180 at 3230) 8.5 32.8 15.8 .30-378 Wby. Mag. (180 at 3300) 9.75 42.6 16.8 7.62x39 Soviet (125 at 2350) 7.0 6.9 8.0 .303 Savage (170 at 2170) 7.5 10.3 9.4 7.65x53 Mauser (180 at 2500) 8.0 15.4 n/a 7.62x53R Finn (150 at 2800) 9.0 13.1 9.7 7.62x54R Russian (150 at 2800) 9.0 13.1 9.7 7.62x54R Russian (174 at 2600) 9.0 15.0 10.4 .303 British (150 at 2700) 7.5 14.2 11.0 .303 British (180 at 2420) 8.0 15.4 11.1 7.7x58 Jap (150 at 2700) 9.0 11.9 9.2 .32-20 Win. (100 at 1984) 6.5 3.3 n/a .32 Spec. (170 at 2250) 7.0 12.2 10.6 8x56 M-S (170 at 2260) 8.0 12.4 10.0 8x57 Mauser (170 at 2400) 8.0 13.6 10.4 8x57JS Mauser (150 at 2900) 8.0 17.1 11.7 8x57JS Mauser (195 at 2500) 8.0 18.5 12.2 .325 WSM (180 at 3060) 7.5 33.1 16.9 .325 WSM (220 at 2840) 7.5 37.5 17.9 8x68S (150 at 3300) 8.5 25.3 13.9 8x68S (200 at 2950) 9.0 29.1 14.4 8mm Rem. Mag. (200 at 2900) 8.5 32.9 15.8 .33 Win. (200 at 2100) 8.0 13.9 10.6 .338-57 O'Connor (200 at 2400) 8.0 19.2 12.4 .338 Marlin Express (200 at 2400) 8.0 16.2 11.4 .338 Marlin Express (200 at 2600) 8.0 22.0 14.0 .338 Federal (200 at 2600) 7.0 22.2 14.3 .338 Federal (210 at 2630) 8.0 21.9 13.3 .338-06 A-Square (200 at 2800) 8.0 23.9 13.9 .338-06 A-Square (250 at 2500) 8.5 28.2 14.6 .338 Win. Mag. (200 at 2950) 8.5 32.8 15.8 .338 Win. Mag. (225 at 2780) 8.5 35.2 16.3 .338 Win. Mag. (250 at 2700) 9.0 33.1 15.4 .330 Dakota (250 at 2878) 8.5 40.5 17.6 .340 Wby. Mag. (200 at 3100) 10.0 29.6 13.8 .340 Wby. Mag. (250 at 2941) 9.0 43.4 17.6 .338 Ultra Mag (250 at 2860) 8.5 43.1 n/a .338 Lapua Mag. (225 at 3000) 9.5 37.2 15.9 .338-378 Wby. Mag. (250 at 3040) 11.75 41.1 15.0 .348 Win. (200 at 2510) 8.0 23.7 n/a .357 Mag. (158 at 1650) 7.0 4.7 6.6 .35 Rem. (200 at 2050) 7.5 13.5 10.8 .356 Win. (200 at 2400) 7.5 17.5 n/a .358 Win. (200 at 2490) 8.0 20.9 13.0 .358 Win. (250 at 2260) 7.66 23.0 13.9 .35 Whelen (200 at 2675) 8.0 22.6 13.5 .35 Whelen (225 at 2525) 8.0 25.0 14.2 .35 Whelen (250 at 2400) 7.5 27.9 15.5 .350 Rem. Mag. (200 at 2700) 8.5 22.3 13.0 .350 Rem. Mag. (225 at 2550) 8.5 24.2 13.5 .350 Rem. Mag. (250 at 2500) 8.5 29.0 14.8 .358 Norma Mag. (250 at 2723) 9.0 31.2 15.0 9.3x57 (232 at 2330) 8.5 19.8 12.2 9.3x62 (250 at 2450) 8.5 25.7 14.0 9.3x62 (270 at 2550) 8.5 33.3 n/a 9.3x62 (286 at 2360) 9.0 28.0 14.1 9.3x64 (286 at 2650) 9.0 36.5 16.2 9.3x74R (250 at 2550) 9.0 29.1 14.4 9.3x74R (286 at 2400) 8.25 34.3 16.6 .370 Sako Mag. (286 at 2550) 8.5 35.2 16.3 .375 Win. (220 at 2200) 7.5 17.1 12.1 .375 Ruger (270 at 2840) 9.0 41.3 17.2 .375 H&H Mag. (235 at 2700) 9.0 29.5 14.5 .375 H&H Mag. (270 at 2690) 9.0 36.1 16.1 .375 H&H Mag. (300 at 2530) 9.0 37.3 16.3 .375 Dakota (300 at 2600) 8.5 44.5 18.4 .375 Wby. Mag. (300 at 2700) 10.0 47.3 17.5 .375 Ultra Mag (300 at 2800) 8.75 53.2 n/a .376 Steyr (270 at 2580) 8.0 39.0 n/a .378 Wby. Mag. (300 at 2900) 10.25 71.1 n/a .38-40 Win. (180 at 1100) 7.5 3.1 5.2 .38-55 Win. (220 at 1650) 7.5 10.1 9.3 .38-55 Win. (255 at 1415) 7.0 9.5 n/a .450/.400-3" (400 at 2150) 9.0 51.0 n/a .404 Jeffery (400 at 2170) 10.25 41.0 16.1 .405 Win. (300 at 2200) 8.0 30.6 15.7 .416 Taylor (400 at 2350) 10.0 47.8 17.5 .416 Rem. Mag. (400 at 2400) 10.0 52.9 18.5 .416 Rigby (400 at 2400) 10.0 58.1 19.3 .416 Dakota (400 at 2500) 10.0 59.2 19.5 .416 Wby. Mag. (400 at 2700) 10.25 83.0 22.8 .44-40 Win. (200 at 1200) 7.0 3.4 n/a .44 Rem. Mag. (240 at 1760) 7.5 11.2 9.8 .44 Rem. Mag. (275 at 1580) 7.5 11.4 9.9 .444 Marlin (240 at 2400) 7.5 23.3 14.2 .444 Marlin (265 at 2200) 8.5 22.1 12.9 .45 Colt (255 at 1100) 8.0 4.0 5.6 .45 Colt +P (250 at 1500) 6.5 11.1 10.5 .45-70 (300 at 1800) 7.0 23.9 14.8 .45-70 (350 at 1900) 7.0 37.9 18.7 .45-70 (405 at 1330) 7.5 18.7 12.7 .450 Marlin (350 at 2000) 7.0 37.2 18.5 .450 Marlin (350 at 2100) 8.5 33.6 16.0 .45-120 Sharps (405 at 1850) 9.0 33.9 n/a .450 N.E. (465 at 2150) 11.0 55.5 18.0 .458 Win. Mag. (400 at 2050) 9.0 41.7 17.3 .458 Win. Mag. (500 at 2100) 9.0 62.3 21.1 .458 Lott (500 at 2300) 10.0 70.4 21.3 .460 Wby. Mag. (500 at 2600) 11.25 99.6 n/a .500/.465 N.E. (480 at 2150) 11.0 60.7 n/a .470 N.E. (500 at 2150) 11.0 69.3 20.1 .470 Mbogo (500 at 2509) 11.0 83.5 22.1 .480 Ruger (325 at 1450) 6.25 16.4 13.0 .500 N.E. (570 at 2150) 12.0 74.5 n/a .50 BMG (647 at 2710) 30.0 70.0 12.3 .577 N.E. (750 at 2050) 12.0 127.5 n/a .600 N.E. (900 at 1950) 12.0 154.0 28.8

Every now and then I get a goofy idea, the plan for this winner is to make a cross of the Jersey Giant and a Malay should make for something interesting and "BIG" I think. Al

Always have a few chickens here on the farm mostly American Gamefowl because of their toughness and ability to survive dealing with predators as free range birds. Also raised quite a few different game birds over the years such as assorted Pheasant breeds, Quail, and Merriam's Turkeys. Kind of got out of it in recent years but after acquiring a new Setter pup last summer I thought I would get a few birds to help me training her for this fall's hunting season. So I ordered me up a bunch of assorted hatching eggs and fired up the old incubators and had at it. Purchasing hatching eggs are always a big time gamble mostly because of the rough way they are handled during shipping by the US postal service, I have had some eggs not hatch at all and some batches hatch at close to 100%. Anyhow the past few days the hatch has taken place with typical mixed results with some batches yielding little success and some doing pretty good. First photo are of mostly Butler Quail chicks sleeping in their typical outward facing circle as they do in the wild. Butlers are the largest of the Bobwhite breed averaging around a pound. There is also one Gray Partridge which at one time were in decent numbers in northern NY and four valley quail. Next photo is to show some scale in size difference, on the left are the Quail and on the right black Jersey Giants and Malay fowl both reputed to be the largest chicken breeds, they are a first for me so it will be interesting to see how big they grow, The bottom photo is the what I ended up with in Pheasants, 3 Bianchi and 2 Zurundnyi Raising chicks are work but it is something I like doing. Al

A lightweight, reliable, autoloading carbine in 30-06 makes for a great still hunting deer rifle. NICE! Al

Corporate Outhouse Still Hunter

While they are most active during the night Coons are up and about during daylight hours to a lesser extent. I did a lot of Coon hunting years ago and was working nights at my job back then. Consequently mornings were the only Coon hunting times I could get out unless I had the day off , me and the dogs would hit the timber as soon as I got home from work. Certainly not as productive as night hunting but I did pretty well until 10 am or so. A drawback to hunting the mornings is by that time they are pretty close to their den tree so many times the dogs would tree them there after a short race. Al

I have a bunch of quail eggs in my incubators to hatch out for training and polishing up my English Setter pup "Matty", hopefully she should be ready to go by time the bird season opens, Al

I would have no problem using an accurate rifle chambered in 22 mag for hunting Turkeys where it is legal. Some years ago I purchased a pair of Merriman wild Turkeys, they are native to the western mountain states and are similar to the eastern version except their tail and back feathers have white tips. When the hen Turkey made a nest and laid a clutch of eggs I gathered them and put them under a couple of sitting game chicken hens. The chicken hens hatched them out and raised the poults with great success and after a couple of years I had a whole bunch of Turkeys. When raised along side domestic fowl these Turkeys became remarkably tame especially the Toms, they could become quite evil and ornery. Problem with these Turkeys is when I wanted to catch them for processing for dinner or the freezer, they did not follow the other fowl into coups at night, they roosted in trees. Even if I did manage to run one into a pen where I could catch it by hand you had a battle, an adult Tom would beat the hell out of you with his wings while trying to subdue him. So I found the easiest way to put one in the pot was to just go out and pop it off with a gun and this is where the 22 Mag comes into play. I never let the the Turkeys see me when it became time to harvest one as I did not want them associating me with their demise and becoming wary of me. I would take them out concealed from inside the barn. I would use the solid nose 40 gr Winchester ammo aiming behind where the wing is attached to the body similar to a heart lung shot on a Deer. This is a much easier shot to take than a head shot which always seems to be moving. The range was usually 75 out to 100 yards and all birds dropped pretty much where they stood. The solid bullets went clean through and meat damage was minimal. I knocked off at least a couple of dozen big Toms with the 22 Mag. The last birds I took out I used the 17 HMR which I liked a lot also because the bullets did not pass through and kill just as well. Below is the last of the Merriman Toms and he was one mean SOB that loved to blind side you, he tasted good. Al

Like Uncle Donald says "The Failing New York Times! Like Woodchuck hunting Prairie Dog hunting is all about the skills involved for precision long range marksmanship, taking out a small target in the field with superbly accurate rifles and top quality ammunition loaded to match the rifle's capability. Always wanted to go out west and have at it in one of those big Prairie Dog towns with my varmint rifles, have not got around to it yet but still may some day. I have done a lot of a lot of Chuck hunting over the years and it is one of my favorite types of hunting. Al

As far as I am concerned the state's people and their elected officials should be the ones determining how it is to be used. What you are insinuating is that the people of a state and it's elected officials are not bright enough to determine how to use public land for outdoor recreation, such as game management, setting seasons etc etc. Using the scare tactic that all the good public hunting lands will all be sold off or prevent access willy nilly screwing hunters and fishermen is ridiculous, the residents of those states would not stand for it. States like Wyoming and their residents do not want or need outsiders or elected officials like Elizabeth Warren or Chuck Shummer both of whom probably could not find their way out of NY's Central Park, having any say on telling them what, how and when they can they can use the public lands of their state for hunting, weapons or ammunition to be used, fishing and other outdoor recreation activities. The Adirondack park run by the state of NY while not perfect it has not been sold off, the sky has not fallen in, the access has not been shut down for most recreational use and that status will continue to roll along in the foreseeable future. I would expect other states would use and protect their public lands entrusted to them much in the same way.

As far as I am concerned there has been no bad news for hunters from the Trump administration just a lot of typical fake news crap twisting the story in an attempt to fit special interest narratives and make his administration look bad at every turn. Trump is the best possible thing that could have happened for shooters and hunters in this country. Al

I have an affinity toward many precision mechanical devices and the high quality firearms like the S&W and Colt revolvers rank high for me. To me they are like a fine watch, lots of wonderful craftsmanship made from beautifully hand fitted steel parts they just reek of quality, gunmaker's art. Years ago I was once watching an anti handgun news segment and the reporter had a few handguns on a table in from of him. He picked up a beautiful new Colt Python revolver to look over and after a minute or so of playing around thumbing the hammer and pulling the trigger his face lit up and he said " I can somewhat understand the attraction to these things, this is a beautiful piece of workmanship." Al

Rummaging around the gun room and found these two Speer 44 cal 225 gr half jacket HPs, they were fired out of the S&W model 29 and recovered from the hog above. That style of bullets are some of my favorites out of handguns, they were very accurate and performed great on game, I handloaded them over a charge of 21 grs of 2400 for a velocity in the mid 1400 fps area. That half jacket style bullet was also made in 240 gr soft point and in 357 cal in 146 HPs and 160 soft point. I used the 146 HPs frequently which also had good performance when fired in several 357 revolvers and a Marlin 94 rifle. Looks like all of these half jacket styles were dropped from the Speer line and are no longer produced, glad I have a few stashed away. Al

Western- "Shane" & "High Noon" Horror- original "Night Of The Living Dead" & "Dawn Of The Dead" Fantasy- "Lord Of The Rings" trilogy Action-adventure- "Jaws" & "Raiders Of The Lost Ark" War- "Saving Private Ryan" & "Full Metal Jacket" Sci-Fi- Star Wars

The key for locating squirrels is finding forest that hold mature trees that grows food they like, oaks, beech and big white pines are a good bet. Years ago I was sitting around with some of my hunting compadres and we were having a discussion about the palatability of oddball game animals. The subject turned to squirrels, red squirrels in particular and none of us had a clue because none had cooked one and tried it. Easy enough to find out, a squirrel hunt was scheduled for the upcoming weekend. We met up at a good stand of oak woods and decided that everything squirrel was fair game for the cook pot including chipmunks. So between the four of us we ended up taking about a dozen and a half assorted red and grey squirrels and chipmunks in pretty much equal numbers. They were all dressed out and cleaned up good and it was decided a good stew recipe would be the best way to give the rodents a try. Bottom line we all felt as far as taste there was not a lick of difference, all three species tasted pretty much the same, very good! The only way we knew which animal we were eating was the body size. Al

Looks like a flying squirrel and they do come out at night, I have seen them on my bird feeders in the middle of the night. Al

There are many good choices available and priced for everyone's budget. I do a lot of benchrest shooting and the main problem I have always had is the fit of the front rest to the rifle's forestock so I have several different style rests that I use depending on what firearm I am shooting. A couple of years ago I had a gift card to use and so I purchased a Caldwell Tack Driver shooting bag. It is just a simple heavy large one piece setup that will hold a your firearm rock steady and will fit just about any rifle out there, for a casual shooter just trying to get their rifle sighted in this works great and is priced right. I like it a lot and use it frequently.