airedale

http://ez2url.com/good-bad-ugly.html A pretty good theme from a pretty good movie. Al

When my eyes were young I hunted quite a bit with handguns, way more for small game than for Deer. I have taken a couple of Deer with a handgun and went on a couple of hog hunts. Mostly I have taken Woodchucks and Snowshoe Hare with handguns. I also liked using a handgun Coon hunting when I was out hunting by myself. It is not as easy as a long gun but can be a lot of fun and satisfying because of the extra difficulty not to mention ease of carry. Al

I once spotted a big one waddling across a cut off corn field while Woodchuck hunting, I let him have one from my 220 Swift at about 100 yards. The best analogy I can make when the bullet made impact is what happens when fireworks get up in the air at their apex and burst into a shower of sparkles. Quills in a porky seem almost loose and will come out very easy, when that Swift bullet hit the Porcupine broadside a huge amount of it's quills just went flying up in the air in all directions in spectacular fashion reminding me of fireworks. Al

Humans can also contract Mange by coming in contact with animals that have it. Mange is caused by tiny mites that burrow into the skin and cause severe itching. On animals the mites will thrive and reproduce eventually to the point of covering the whole body. On Humans they will not survive and reproduce but for the short while they are alive and active you will itch worse than having poison ivy. Al

When I was a young fellow chucks were many more in number than what I am seeing these days. Back then I was an unrelenting chuck hunter and loved it. A great way to learn range estimation and long range marksmanship in the field. Al

Had he stayed the size of a small rabbit I would have considered it but this guy became huge, at least 30 lbs maybe more and with those long quills it made him look even bigger. Living the good life eating Rabbit feed and vegetable produce along with pine and hardwood branches put the fat on him. Big time mess maker also. Al

When it comes to varmints and vermin for the most part I am a live and let live kind of person as long there is no personal conflict. The vast majority of the time I have no problems but when I do I take care of it. For example a Fox that is killing my chickens gets shot, Starlings nesting in my chimney plugging it up get shot, Rats in the barn crapping up hay and feed get trapped, poisoned or shot etc. etc. for Coons Skunks and Possums. I live and hunt in an area of the state that seems to have plenty of Porcupines, As long time hunter that hunts with various breeds of hunting dogs porcupines have caused me more grief quilling my dogs than I care to remember. I have also had a couple of incidents where my Cows apparently came up to Porcupines in the pasture and got close enough to get quilled in the nose. Any Porcupines spotted where I hunted with my dogs I would kill, any porcupines that are around my property I find I kill. They also have an appetite for chewing on odd things, I had one destroy several sheets of styrofoam insulation before I took him out. I once caught a baby Porcupine and kept it in a pen and raised it to adulthood. It became quite tame and was always happy to see me and made a big fuss when he saw me coming at feeding time. I had an ulterior motive and that was to use him to break my hunting dogs off of the wild porkies using this captive guy and an electronic collar, and it worked out well for all involved. After my dogs were well trained to leave the wild porkies alone I crated the boy up and released him in an area that I through he would do well and where he would not be a problem with someone's dogs. Al

Hog Al

Many times it seems they like getting out in open fields best when the rain is coming down steady. Al

I have purchased mostly reloading components from them and have had no complaints with what I bought or their service, like mentioned above they many times do not have the best prices on some items so it pays to shop around. Al

I have a strap on seat that I like using when not in a permanent ground or tree stand. There are times when I like moving around checking out places for different stands. They are much better than sitting on the ground as they are comfortable for long periods and when comfortable I fidget less, also your outline is not well seen as you are backed up against a tree. Mine is a bit bulky and a little cumbersome but worth the effort to carry. Al

Cut the breast into 3 or 4 inch strips about and inch thick, soak in buttermilk for a few minutes, coat with seasoned bread crumbs and deep fry. Al

The best source for trapping equipment and how to trap is the Fur Fish and Game magazine, about anything you want to know about trapping can be found. In my opinion probably the best outdoor sports magazine available today, I have been a subscriber for years. Al

Good to hear you are getting some action, I took a ride down to Bass pro in Auburn a few days ago and saw about a dozen chucks out in the fields, the most I have seen in some time. Keep after em! Al

Congratulations! Al

Good luck and have a good time. Al

Nice find Dan, those 92s are fine rifles. Al

They sell just the bullets and other reloading components, no live ammo. Al

Don't do it, go online to Natchez or Midway and get the 380 bullets they will have them in stock and will ship them to your door. Al

I have been told that the FMC ammo in 223 is manufactured to function and give decent accuracy in the AR type rifles many of which have a different twist in their barrels from hunting type rifles. Al

The two indicators you have mentioned are the main ones and will usually start showing up at about the same time when pressures start getting up there, also the shell case head itself will have shiney marks from being pressed hard against the bolt face. Working up a load gradually at half grain intervals the signs will start showing slowly and will increase rapidly if you continue to raise the powder charge. The worst case I have personally witnessed was a friend's 338 Win Mag in a Ruger 77. The handloads were mine that were not even considered to be a hot load and worked perfectly fine in my Sako showing zero signs of high pressure. In the Ruger we had all we could do to to get the bolt open and pull the case, the primers were flat and very bright marks on the case head from the bolt face were very apparent. I backed the load down a grain and a half and there were no pressure signs and the gun shot great. A case of slightly different chamber dimensions that made a big difference in pressures and a good reason to never start with a maximum load in a loading manual. Al

That is a nice chuck hunting outfit, tough to beat a Savage like that for accuracy. Like you said it is a little heavy if you are doing a lot of walking. Al

I worked in a retail store and also raised and sold hunting dogs for many years if the customer is not happy I always refunded their money. Did I like doing that ? Absolutely not but it saves a lot of hassle and you keep your reputation. Al

Most of my firearms are made of the chrome moly blued steel and from what I have seen if taken care of properly they will hold up extremely well. I do like stainless and under certain situations I would prefer it over chrome moly because it is definitely more resistant to corrosion. I just put together a black powder rifle and went with a stainless Green Mountain barrel over chrome moly more than anything because of it's resistance to rust and corrosion. Also stainless barrels in the high velocity calibers like a 220 swift and the fast over bore magnums hold up somewhat better to throat erosion having a longer life, almost all top end target rifles these days utilize stainless barrels. In the end a lot of the decision will come down to the looks, some like it and some don't. For me today if I were to buy a target rifle, a black powder gun or a varmint rifle that would be shot a lot I would buy stainless if it was available in the particular firearm model I was wanting. Al

Today and tomorrow, 1000 tables of sensory overload for gun lovers! I will be heading out shortly. Al