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Check out the Binghamton Craigslist, also a Flail mower with hammer blades is a solid option. https://binghamton.craigslist.org/search/sss?query=brush hog#search=1~gallery~0~0

So today I got out the 6.5 PRC Winchester Model 70 and the Howa Super Light 6.5 Creedmoor for sighting and ammo testing. At the end of last year's hunting season I changed the scopes out on both rifles. I went with a little more power on the Winchester mounting a Burris 4.5x14 Timberline, the Super Light Howa got the same power scope but a different model, a HD 1X5 Leupold replaced a Leupold Vari X 3 1X5. I also went with a different set of mounts on the Howa using a Tally setup. Things did not go as I had hoped, the Howa with the factory base and Millet rings shot great for me last year. The new setup presented me a problem, the HD Leupold ran out of vertical adjustment printing my groups about 4 inches high at 75 yards, I was not happy. I had two choices, go back to the original scope mounts or try to shim the rear scope ring enough to bring the point of aim down where it belonged. I chose the latter and I shimmed the scope with some scope shimming material which consisted of very thin adhesive backed aluminum foil cut to fit inside the ring. I have yet to test it out as I did not get at it right away but it should solve the problem, I aint got to go down much. I had the Winchester to test out with some handloads loaded with 120 gr Barnes, to be honest they did not group quite as good as I had hoped. The speed was right on the money, a little over 3200 FPS out of a 24 inch barrel, they were advertised to be in the 3300 FPS area out of a 26 inch Barrel. I am going to play around with the overall length and see if I can get things tightened up. I have a couple of more loads to try out if these do not do what I want. This is the kind of stuff that makes things interesting and gives great satisfaction if the problems can be ironed out. Al

More of our brightest! Al

Now I do not see this in any way as some sort of drinking while shooting problem, what I see is a victory swig out of a bottle of beer after making a fantastic shot knocking off the cap. Al

Has to be a chore to bring up three, and they look nice and healthy. Al

Nice, you are laying them in there pretty good. Al

I am not there yet, have changed some scopes and have to resight some rifles and test handloads, should be ready by opening day. Al

They need standing water to reproduce, and it does not take much, anything that can hold water will be a breeding ground so try and eliminate that. As far as keeping them away there is all kinds of stuff like candles, lanterns that burn citronella oil that help some, ThermaCell works pretty good. The wife purchased a light for her gazebo that draws them in and traps them with a fan, it does work half way decent.. Then there is good old fashioned insect repellants. Al

I unequivocally agree!!

Back when I hunted the southern zone I had a place where I made a somewhat permanent blind much like Doc, just using limbs, and brush making a corral. It was about 4 feet high and had a couple of convenient stumps to sit on inside. I would have the ground cleaned up to bare dirt, It was probably 15 feet in diameter so I had plenty of room to sneak around in and reposition if I had to. I would go down a few weeks before season and refresh everything getting it ready. I also have an Ameristep throwdown wall type that I use mostly for varmint hunting, it is not really made for a permanent setup, more for hunting on the move but it works well. Al

That is the weird part, I have never seen anything quite like it. Al

Yikes!!!

They seemed to get a slow start in my neck of the woods this year, in the spring I did not see many at all. There are a few around now and I was watching a little guy yesterday going over a hanging flower basket on my front porch. Al

Personally, I do not do anything too radical to break in a new rifle, I do feel after a few rounds are put through a new barrel they will settle in and start shooting their best. I use tips I got from old time bench rest guys. At the range I make sure not to overheat the barrel and do not scrub a barrel hard, I will run a patch with a small amount of good solvent over a somewhat loose fitting brush down the bore every 10 shots or so, I always unscrew the brush after it exits the muzzle and then run a clean patch to wipe out any fouling residue left behind. Rimfires just get a solvent soaked patch every now and then wiped out with a clean patch, I do not use brushes on their barrels unless I have a leading problem which if it does happen is very infrequent and many times ammo related. Black powder is a whole different game, I have actually used a drill attached cleaning rod with a plastic brush to scrub out the crud that builds up in those barrels. Al

Wow!

Some interesting thoughts. Al Why Shooters Break In New Rifle Barrels The theory behind barrel break in is that cleaning the abrasive residue out of the bore after each shot allows the bullet which follows to flatten out or scour away all the tiny nicks, dings, and imperfections that are part of most bores, making the barrel smoother and less apt to pick up copper fouling. That’s the theory. Based on my experience, I have doubts. Gunsmith John Blauvelt, who has installed more barrels than most, wrote me: “On a rough factory barrel it may have some merit. But on a custom hand-lapped barrel it is not needed…. I don’t think that scrubbing the bore with a copper brush does anything except loosen carbon fouling…. A few shots and some J-B Compound is not a bad thing for a new factory barrel, but those long sequences of one shot and clean for 20 rounds and then 3 shots and clean for more are excessive.” I’d go further than that. I’ve yet to see a really rough barrel that was improved by any kind of break-in procedure. Barrels are made of steel. Bullets are made of copper, or gilding metal alloy, which is mostly copper. How is copper going to wear away steel? The only thing you can do with bum barrel is unscrew it and replace it with one whose bore does not look like the surface of the moon. There’s no correlation between bore smoothness and accuracy. I’ve seen horrendously rough barrels that shot extremely well, although cleaning them was a nightmare, and if you didn’t clean them, they would quickly lose their accuracy. Which brings us to the final point. Whether you break in or not, it’s an absolute truth that if you let your barrel collect powder fouling and especially copper fouling, you’ll quickly have a non-shooter, no matter how the rifle started out. This applies to factory horrors and the best custom barrels alike.

The boy is growing like a weed, put away the canvas bumper and introduced him to retrieving a real bird today (a frozen French Partridge I had in the freezer) and he took right to it and did great. Al

Like you I find if they are cooked up the same they pretty much taste the same. Al

Old reliable is all sighted in, Remington 541 S, bought new in the late seventies and one rifle I will not part with, if I do my part she can put one in a Squirrels ear at 50 yards. Al

Technology in rifle scopes is really getting to be something, the new Burris Eliminator 6 is at the top of the heap. It was not too long ago when taking extreme long range shots at game was considered to be somewhat unethical, now they are commonplace. With great strides in rifle tech along with superb ammo and these fancy scopes some of the shots made on game are really something. Al