airedale

As a long time handloader I have ended up with a collection of an even dozen handloading manuals from most of the major component manufacturers. When researching a new load the first thing I will find is the huge discrepancies in the data from book to book. The reasons for this are many, slight variations in cases, chambers and barrel dimensions and barrel length. Powder lots of the exact same powder can differ slightly just as bullet weights from different makers will give different results and in recent year liability. Loads from the same manufacturers have been toned down in recent years from what they once were. While it all adds up to a good starting point for loading a cartridge it can be far from being the last word on actual performance. The 25-06 and the 257 Weatherby are both great hunting cartridges, I in fact owned a custom 25-06 I built up myself and loved it. But in all honesty between the two the 257 Weatherby has the edge in performance and it is fairly substantial. There is a sizable difference in case capacity and with suitable powders a 250 to near 300 fps difference can be obtained by a handloader who knows what they are doing. While the cost of factory ammo is in favor of the 25-06 handloading cuts that dramatically. Al

I don't believe folks that buy rifles firing the Weatherby cartridges are looking to be practical or save money. Like 600 horse power cars, 80 inch big screen TVs, a $30000,00 Harley Davidson motorcycle etc etc, it is all about having the baddest. If one has the desire and the ability to scrape up the cash I say treat yourself and have fun, you only live once. Al

For western open country it may be the best Deer-Antelope caliber there is, if I lived and hunted out west I would definitely have a rifle chambered for it. Al

An inherently accurate cartridge, an inherently accurate action and an inherently accurate barrel, and sounds like a pretty good stock. If I were a betting man I would say you probably have a real tack driver there. Al

When you read this stuff one can understand why the TV show Duck Dynasty is popular with some, they relive many of the simple ways country kids invented things to amuse ourselves during our childhood. Al

Dan, The rifle's magazine limited my overall length of the loaded cartridges, when I seated the bullets out a little more there was a marked improvement in the average group size. Not really a big deal but it kind of pissed me off because I know the gun will shoot better. Al

Back in the late seventies a good friend of mine ran a sporting goods store that I helped out in part time. We took in a really nice Husqvarna 30-06 sporter on trade from a fellow I knew well. That particular Husqvarna has a commercial 98 mauser action. I had a bad habit of falling in love with the merchandise and paying for it with my paycheck and the Husqvarna ended up coming home with me. My Dad was still alive back then and we were going on hunting trips pretty much every year to Canada mostly. After using a Sako Finnbear 338 Winchester mag for a couple of hunts I decided I was going to try a 280 Remington in a light weight sporter and my plan was to re-barrel this rifle with a 22 inch sporter barrel. I sent the barreled action off to Douglas and had them put on their best barrel and had the everything reblued. I then glass bedded the barreled action into the stock. After that I took off the old varnish finish and did an oil finish. I topped things off with my favorite big game scope the Leupold 2X7 that kept the whole package fast handling and light weight. A good friend of mine who actually turned me on to the 280 had extensively worked up different handloads and felt that the Norma MRP was the best powder for this case. I went with his advice and worked up more of a power load than a fine accuracy load. I ended up going with 60.5 grs of the Norma MRP and it was chronographed at just over 3000 fps. I was getting one and a quarter to one in a half inch groups with the 150 grain Nosler Partition bullets and although I got better accuracy with some other bullets I stuck with the Partitions for a couple of reasons. I was going to be using this rifle on Moose hunts where varmint accuracy was not needed and for the unfailing reliability of the Noslers holding together. To sum things up the 280 Husqvarna has been a winner for me, after several moose and a bunch of deer it has performed 100% and I would not hesitate to use it on any game in the US. Al

Glad I could help you out. Al

I will support any group that supports my hunting and shooting interests as much as I can. I support Ducks Unlimited and buy Duck stamps most years the same as I buy Turkey permits even though I hardly hunt much for either these days. A so called "Birder's" stamp for the bird watchers is an easy solution. Al

This data is out of the latest Lyman manual for the 204 Ruger 45 gr sp type bullet. Bold print had best accuracy. Al

There are groups out there fighting the fight, like the animal rights groups they need members and donations. Below are a few and of which I belong to a couple. Al https://home.nra.org/ http://www.sportsmensalliance.org/ ActivistFacts.com HumaneWatch,com PetaKillsAnimals.com http://www.animalagalliance.org/protect/ http://cqrcengage.com/naiatrust/AnimalRightsExtremism

"Rifles Only"?, these would be the ones I would keep, 22 LR, 220 Swift, 280 Remington, Al

The CZs are probably the best buy out there today in a quality bolt action rifle, they look good and they are good shooters. Al

A Colt Ace and a Winchester 52, top of the line and both highly desirable. Al

Having fun. Being serious.

Well when this archery mess finally gets settled I think it will be time the Handgunners get some consideration for a special season too. Al

Utica Club, Comedienne Jonathan Winters was the voice of Shultz and Dooley

From the local boys in Utica, Saranac Black & Tan and Saranac IPA Legacy, and good old Utica Club Pilsner are fine with me. Al

I like the 17 Mach 2 a lot Dan for the same reasons, I believe it is the ultimate Squirrel hunting cartridge. I need another rifle like I need a hole in the head but if I found one that struck my fancy in the 17 Mach 2 chambering I would be sorely tempted. Al

Airedale and one of my Airedales

I just for the first time have got into some 223 military brass by Lake City at a huge savings over commercial sporting brass. It was cleaned and polished like a new penny but it needed the works. It had to be deprimed and the crimps reamed out along with being trimmed to length and deburred. Not going to form anything, it will be loaded straight up to feed a CZ 527. I will give a report on it after I give it a run through. Al

This will get you straightened out, I found just what you are looking for from Huntington's but they are pretty pricey. You can buy quite a bit of new 222 brass for the cost of those dies. I am in a fix myself trying to locate 222 mag and 284 win brass and unless I get lucky I will be forming my own. Al http://www.huntingtons.com/store/product.php?productid=17747&cat=579&page=2

HSUS is against any kind of sport hunting "PERIOD" and they sure as Hell don't give a crap about what kind of weapon or bullets a hunter uses. Yes they will use "ANY" kind of tactic they can to get their goal accomplished including the false fear mongering narratives about lead based ammo." Al

A long time ago I was big into Coon hunting and competition nite hunts with Coon Hounds, I worked hard on keeping my dogs straight on Coon. I would break them from running any off game like Deer, Rabbits and Fox. Anyhow I purchased a silver phase Red Fox kit from an animal dealer to use for breaking my dogs. Silvers are basically black with some of the guard hair having white tips. Below is my little fox kit whom I named Roxy and one of my best English Coon Hounds Eli. Roxy grew up to be a beautiful fox especially in the winter when her coat was at it's best. So yes there are black Foxes. Al

Dan I have walked up on Owls sitting in trees quite a few times, they just don't seem to have any fear of people for the most part. This guy was sitting in a tree in my back yard just this winter, he paid little if any attention to me.