airedale

A consideration that would save you substantial money is buying a good used hunting rifle. At a well stocked gun shop or a gun show you can find rifles and shotguns that are without a mark and just like new with very few rounds put through them that will save you big because they are pre owned. Make sure you bring someone that has knowledge about firearms to make sure of condition. Al

If one is hunting big woods for the most part shots taken at game are under 100yds. I know there are many proponents of scout type guns with their sight or scope mid mounted but personally I never cared for that type of setup. The idea is to shoot with both eyes open for quick target acquisition and I guess with practice it works. The old Ithaca Deerslayers had their rear sight dovetailed to accept rings and a long eye relief scope scout style and back when I worked in a gun shop I mounted quite a few scopes on those Deerslayers and sighted them in. What I did not care for was the relatively small field of view the long eye relief scope have so target acquisition was not so quick for me personally. For short ranges in heavy cover I like a low powered traditional rifle scope with a big field of view, and when mounted properly I can shoulder my rifle or shotgun and be on target instantly. Again on the other hand there are those who swear by the scout setup so I guess in the end it is a matter of personal preference and what you are comfortable with and of course how you actually shoot after trying both styles and practice, practice, practice. Al

Jaeger, even though the Leupold 2.5 compact is short physically the eye relief it has is almost 5 inches, it should work well on just about any standard mounting situation. If you can find a store that has one in stock and take a look through it you will be impressed. Al

I have a Russian SKS that was my Dad's, I bought a bunch of the cheap military ammo and some stripper clips and played around with it. Actually had quite a bit of fun, not the most accurate but is totally reliable. As for your Uncle's SKS I can tell you some of the military stuff with documentation like you have may increase the value of that gun substantially with certain collectors. I don't have any idea what it may be worth but at a big gun show like the fall one coming up in Syracuse there are many collectors dealing with military weapons that may be able to give you an accurate estimate of it's value. Al

Yes that was a real nice head of hair 35 years ago, a real pompadour, today I buzz what I have left right down to the scalp. Dan some might say I am a little weird at times but I can assure you my last name is not Yankovich. I believe there may be a direct correlation with hair and horns, back when I had the mop I was taking some pretty nice bucks, these days the points have become a lot fewer. But like my hair today I am not nearly as fussy as I was when I was a young buck myself. Al

Back when I purchased the Leupold 3X it was a regular cataloged scope in their lineup, it is just about perfect for the shorter ranges Foster slug firing shotguns are normally used. For me it has a plenty wide enough field of view for short range, all the deer I have taken with slugs have been under 100 yards, some almost on top of me. This guy almost ran me over and I put him down at about 25 yards. Back then I had enough hair to keep my head warm. I have recently purchased a couple of the current Leupold 2.5 compacts, they have the same style but they are lighter and shorter, I like them a lot. They have a long eye relief and a huge field of view which makes them great to use on slug guns also I think. I have one currently mounted on a little Marlin 94 44 mag, when this weather cools off a little I will be putting it to the test on the range. Al

He is a dandy! Al

I believe those Greyhounds are coursing-hunting dogs not racers. Al

I screwed around with some Tinks many years ago, I applied it on felt pads that were worn on the bottom of rubber boots. The idea behind the instructions was when you walked to your stand a horny buck would hit your track and come in to you. Never saw any bucks but I had two Coyotes and one black Lab follow the trail to my stand. Al

For me it is always the leaves. Al

A 12ga Winchester Super X1, had the slug barrel made by Lefever Arms Rome NY back in the late seventies. Had them cut the choke off a plain barrel and install Browning sights. This gun would put the old Remington 7/8 ounce foster slugs on top of one another at 60 yds. It shot so good I ended up having it drilled and tapped for a scope and put on this Leupold Vari X1 3X (all my get serious guns have Leupolds) which had saw previous duty on an Ithaca 51 Deerslayer. I killed quite a few Deer with this outfit including the best buck I ever took. Don't hunt the southern zone or shotgun only areas these days so the old Winchester has not seen any action in some time. With the rifled barrels and sabot slugs of today she is not in the same league as the slug guns available now when it comes to long range. Al

Nice outfit you got there, it will handle all the big game we have in this country in just about every scenario it comes up against as long as you do your part. I will say it again you will never go wrong with a Leupold scope. Al

Nothing would surprise me, I have been around long enough to remember when it was common knowledge that there were no such thing as Moose or Coyotes present in NY State. People were just seeing things. Al

Cameras are a lot like guns for hunting it is pretty hard to come up with one that can handle all situations. Like my hunting arms which over the years have been purchased to cover most types of hunting I do I have done much the same with cameras, I have purchased a lot of them over the years. I still have my almost 50 yr old Polaroid 360 Land camera that I took a couple of photos with the other day for shits and giggles. When out hunting I go as light, small and as tough as possible and yet try to have a camera that can capture a decent shot. Cannon, Nikon, Olympus and Panasonic etc all make compact pocket sized cameras easily carried in the field that take decent photos. I have been using a Panasonic Lumix 16 megapixel that has a stainless steel body and a automatic lens cover that covers the lens when the camera is in my pocket. It is about the size of a deck of cards and it takes good photos in the field. When not carrying a gun I use a full size Cannon sx20is 12 megapixel it has a big zoom and takes beautiful photos but it is heavy and bulky. Today's cameras are easier than ever to use and the prices are good compared to just a few years ago. The main thing is to stick with a brand name and do a little research online and you can come up with something that will suit what you have in mind. Al

From a couple of years ago, I have a range out in back of my house and this young Turkey decided to roost on one of the targets.

The recoil from a slug firing shotgun is a real test for a scope's build quality, buy the best one you can afford. I see many of today's manufacturers produce dedicated shotgun scopes so something from those types should hopefully hold up to recoil and be reliable for your son's slug gun. Al

I have done business with the Sportsman Guide for many years, as for the membership fee it is easily recouped with one decent order. On common run of the mill outdoor sporting goods that other dealers carry their prices are pretty much the same as everyone else. Where this outfit really shines is with factory close outs, discontinued items and factory seconds along with military surplus merchandise. If the need is there a huge chunk of change can be saved by a smart shopper when this stuff comes up for sale. The stuff I have purchased has always been as advertised and worked out fine for me, never had to send anything back so I can not comment on customer service. Al

Natchez has the Leupold 3x9 on sale for 199.00 and free shipping. https://www.natchezss.com/leupold-vx-1-riflescope-386391.html Al

The 3x9 Leupold Vari 1 scope is an iconic classic that has a long unmatched track record in the field that can not be beat for performance, reliability or a company that stands behind it's product for the money. I go back to the sixties with Vari 1 Leupold scopes of both straight power and variables, always did their job in any conditions with Zero! issues. I am still banging away with them today and expect them to continue on for yet many more years after I am long gone. You will never go wrong with selecting a Leupold scope. Al

Boots are a lot like the rest of your outdoor clothing and gear it depends on the type of hunting, terrain, time of year and weather, are you a stand hunter or are you walking and stalking? So you end up with several pairs to fit the task of the day. Early season and for walking I like light boots, my favorite style are moc toe upland boots that bird hunters favor. I have three different brands right now and they are pretty much even in performance. The main difference are their soles and material they are made from, Cabelas Kangaroo are as the name states made from Kangaroo leather, they are light and comfortable with a sole that gets decent traction but not so aggressive that they get packed with crud, flatland boots. I also have a pair of older Rocky "Outbacks" that are a gore-tex-nylon construction, today' current Outbacks are only made in leather, they very light and have a more aggressive sole. The third pair are Bass Pro's Redhead "upland boots" a leather nylon combo with a waterproof membrane, the sole is medium aggressive like the Rockys. The pair I have is a few years old and I love them but I hear the current production is junk so I would not touch them at this time. For mid season cooler weather, a bit of snow and some stand sitting I like those Danner Pronghorns like you already have, I like them a lot. If I were to pick one pair it would be the Danner Pronghorns. When the snow gets deep and the temps get cold I go to rubber that have plenty of insulation, they are heavy but I do not do a whole lot of walking I am mostly sitting in a stand. Sorrels and Mucks have been good to me. Al

I only know that there is a lot of lead in the water so I have no idea of what the ultimate consequences of the Flint water fiasco will end up being because I have not really followed it closely. I am sure we will all know exactly what the real impact was over time once tests are eventually done and the dust settles and the lawsuits hit. But it would not surprise me to see concentrations of lead in people that actually drank and consumed a lot of that water full of lead over a long period of time, how could there not be? Still it is much different than eating a few meals of properly butchered game meat taken with traditional ammunition. Like playing the tobacco card not even close to being an analogy between the two. Al

As I have stated many many times in this thread, proper butchering of your game animals and discarding all blood shot or questionable meat that may have any bullet fragments will reduce any lead that may be left behind to insignificant levels. "You can be assured that other anti-hunting organizations will try to manipulate the data from the CDC study and scare people into thinking it is unsafe to eat game taken with traditional ammunition." Again I will pick my source for info and whom to believe on this scam you can pick yours. There is still not one single case that anyone can point to where a person got any significant lead poisoning sickness from eating game shot with traditional ammo. One thing you can be assured of I will not sit idly by and see you wolves in sheep's clothing eagle zealots attempt throw millions upon millions of hunters and shooters that use traditional ammo under the bus with this false narrative. Al

You can fry it up like chicken, Peel and slice then soak in butter milk or egg then dredge in seasoned bread crumbs and deep fry. It is good! Al