airedale

The 25-06 is a favorite of mine, back in the mid seventies I had a semi custom 25-06 made up using a Santa Barbara commercial Mauser action and a 26 inch Douglas premium air gaged sporter weight barrel to squeeze out all the velocity I could get out of that big case. I put this gun up not for Deer but for long range windy day chuck hunting. I always loaded bullets on the lighter end of the 25's scale, 75 gr and 90 gr bullets gave me the best accuracy and I can say some of the longest shots I ever made were with that 25-06. I never shot a Deer with mine but there is no question in my mind that with bullets in the 100 gr and up category the 25-06 would be one of the finest long range deer rifles out there. I always wanted to take my 25-06 on an out west Mule Deer Antelope hunt but never got around to making it happen. Sold off the old Mauser many years ago but have been seriously thinking about one of the 28 inch stainless barrels Thompson Center makes for their Encore rifles as I still have quite a few 25-06 bullets and brass laying around which gives me a pretty good excuse to get one. Al

As long as your style allows you to hit what you are aiming at with consistency and importantly confidence, it is the end result that counts in my book. Personally I shoot both ways, with a shotgun or a snap shot with a rifle and most times firing a handgun I have both eyes open. From the bench or long range varmint shooting with scope mounted rifles where I have pretty much all the time I want I will sometimes draw down using one eye for a very precise shot. Al

I once handled a so called switch blade knife, you pushed a button and the blade snapped out The first thing that came to my mind is what the Hell is the big deal about that? I can open a jackknife in a couple of seconds without practice. Must be a huge advantage to the millions of knife fighters and slashers out there and the reason why the switchblade is illegal just like a pistol grip is some kind of huge advantage on an autoloading rifle. Just another "Bull Crap" law that accomplishes little or nothing! Al

Came bob bob bobbing along in my pasture, got the camera out and got a half way decent photo. Al

It is frustrating when your vision goes downhill to the point where using open sights accurately on firearms becomes very hard. Once I went to the bifocals focusing with open sights went south bad especially with the rear v-notch-buckhorn types. With the peep-aperture type I can still get a pretty fair sight picture and can shoot well but there are some older design firearms that are not suited for a peep or there is just no manufacturer that makes one that fits. I have three 22 rifles of vintage design, a couple of Taurus rifles that are modern copies of the Winchester 63 autoloader and the 62 gallery pump, both with crappy v-notch rear sights. Also a little Savage favorite single shot with the same type of sights. Scopes would solve the sight problem but these old designs were just not made to put a scope on. There are tang type sights that would work but finding one that fits properly and having to to drill and tap some hole makes that option a pain in the ass. Aso tang sights are mounted right on top of the grip making for me an unnatural hold that I don't care for. Well a couple of sight companies manufacture peep sights that mount in place of the old buckhorn v-notch sight's dovetail on the barrel. Skinner is one outfit that makes a very nicely machined high quality sight in both stainless and blues steel and old standby Marbles also makes a sight similar to the old buckhorn style except there are a couple of circles to sight through instead of a v-notch. I decided to give them a try and ordered one of each, the Skinner was mounted on the Taurus pump and the Marbles on the Savage single shot. I would say the biggest improvement with these sights is seeing a small target. Both the Taurus and the Savage's rear v-notch would cover most of a Chipmunk size target making a precise shot hard. With the peeps I can actual see a small target and am limited now by the size of the bead of the front sight which with longer distances eventually covers the target. Now I have some real tack driving scope mounted rimfire rifles that make shots on small game pretty easy but there are times I just like using an old vintage type firearm. So to sum things up I have been using both classic rifles with decent success eliminating Chipmunks here on the farm. Both rifles are better than they were and are now usable for vermin and being shot instead of sitting in the gun safe not being used for anything. That was the point of this thread, anyone that has an old classic just sitting around not being used because of the sights might have an option to dust off the old timer and fire it up. This is the Skinner sight that I have on the Taurus pump. This is the Marbles that I have on the Savage single shot.

The Taurus rifle is just one tool in the arsenal against the Chipmunks, inside the barn and sheds I do use various traps including the BOD with good success. Like Dan mentioned the 22 provides a bit more fun than the traps and I get to use a rifle that has not seen much action and make it earn it's keep. Al

Where I live is a Chipmunk metropolis, they are all over the place and in to everything, my sheds, my vehicles, my lawn equipment, farm tractor, the wife's flower gardens and even in the house sometimes. When you have dogs as do I and especially an Airedale, they are unrelentingly after them wherever they go. I ain't got time to tell of the damage caused around here by the chipmunks and also by the dogs trying to get at them. Anyhow I set myself up with a rig especially for sitting on the front porch and knocking off any Chipmunk that shows itself. A Taurus model 62 22 pump patterned after the old Winchester gallery guns which I can remember shooting at the midway in Sylvan Beach when I was a kid. I made a couple of mods to help with my old eyes, a truglo front sight and a dovetail mounted Skinner peep. Has been working pretty fair so far, I have picked off a dozen or so this week and there are still plenty more from where they came from to go. Al My Taurus

Had this bunch of long beards spend the winter out in back of my place a few years ago, the wife would clear a little patch of snow on the ground and put out some corn for them and they would come down off the hill and eat it every day. Al

Nice outfit WJ, the Remington 591 and it's 5mm chambering was and is real nice rifle for short to moderate range chuck hunting. I always thought it to be better than the 22 mag which is also a good little round. I think had the 5mm had been chambered in some other rifles for a bit of a selection to choose from along with different loadings as the 17 HMR has received it might have been a lot more popular. Aguila still makes runs of 5mm ammo every now and then to keep the old 591s usable. That conversion to centerfire was a good option if one is a handloader, it kicks things up a notch and you sure can't beat cost per round. Al

I shop all over the internet, I like Natchez for components, they seem to have the best prices across the board especially for powder. Amazon has pretty good prices on equipment also Midway and ebay. Al

Police Tracking Bloodhound's expression when he got a sniff of those drawers!!

At least with the 358 Winchester you can form the brass with the right dies, brass for those short magnums is going to be tough to come by down the road. Al

While I think the fur maybe could be used for something I have not ever seen a hide tanned or made into any kind of garment. Probably because the fur is not very dense especially on the belly and it somewhat coarse and hard feeling in my opinion. As for eating I have had Woodchuck several times and it was always very good. A Woodchuck taken out of a nice green alfalfa field has fine flavor and is not tough if prepared properly. If you like eating Rabbit or Squirrels it is a good bet that you will like Woodchuck. Al

Well I am going to guess the OPs "Big Woods" question is geared toward shots taken at shorter ranges which is the case most times when hunting large forested areas. Most of my Deer hunting is done in woods and I believe every one of my shots taken in the woods have been under 100 yards especially early in the season when all the leaves are still on. Back in the shotgun slug only days I killed plenty with a weapon that I do not consider to have gilt edged accuracy when compared to most rifles but accurate enough to place those old Foster slugs in the kill zone. In the last 30 or so years almost all the Deer I have taken have been with a rifle and few with a muzzleloader. Most with my 280 Remington Husqvarna and several in recent years with my Dad's model 95 45-70 Marlin lever gun. The common denominator on all those guns was I know exactly how they perform and had enough confidence in them that I could hit where I was aiming. So I guess what I am saying is as long as your Deer gun has enough power and you can shoot it and hit what you are aiming at with confidence it will do the job for you in big woods. Al

To release thousands of un-biodegradable balloons only to have them come back down and crap up the landscape has never been a good idea. They do provide a spectacular sight for a few minutes and if some smart person came up with balloons that degrade in a short period of time I would have no problem with them. I once found one of those mylar balloons hung up in one of the trees on my place, I got a pole and pulled it down and found a note on it. Some little girl from I know not where had wrote to her Grandma whom she believed to be in Heaven and sent it on it's way by balloon. It was sad to read and readily apparent they had been real close. Al

A 22 LR in an accurate gun will work well for hunting Chucks at shorter ranges and around populated areas where a high powered rifle may cause problems with noise. Ammunition is a critical factor and the differences in 22 LR performance can be huge. When hunting Chucks with a 22 LR I like using one of the so called Hyper Velocity types such as CCI Stingers Remington Yellow Jackets or CCI Velocitors etc, they have a big edge in killing power over the standard stuff. Some rifles will have a definite preference for one brand-type or the other so it is wise to try them out and see what works best in your particular gun. As for range I have found that about 100 yards and under I get reliable kills with the 22 LR with good shot placement which is also critical because Chucks pound for pound are one of the toughest animals to kill and anchor in it's tracks for their size. Al

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