airedale

The clouds broke up here enough to give a pretty good view, I was down in the barnyard to see how all the animals reacted. I kind of thought as the darkness crept in the chickens would go into their coops and go to roost but it got dark almost instantly like a light switch was thrown. The sheep the geese cattle and chickens got caught in the open and they were definitely confused when it got totally dark so fast and all the barnyard night lights came on. But the totality only lasted for a couple of minutes, it got pretty light out quickly and their routine went back to normal fast as if nothing happened. Cool and interesting! Al

Spotting shots at the range this year is going to have a different twist. I picked up a Tridapter phone adapter for my spotting scope. It is a gadget that places a phone over the eyepiece and lines up the phone's camera lens with the spotting scope's lens. Once setup you can see the target on the phone's screen at a glance, a nice convenience that also allows pictures to be taken. This gizmo will work out great I think. Al

I love the Browning Auto 5s, they are timeless classics and worth putting time into, the receivers are real tricky to take apart and reassemble. Years ago the first one I totally took apart to clean I could not get it back together, I had to have gunsmith Bill Demare of the old Lefever Arms up in Lee center NY show me how, there is a technique and sequence, he was good, he could do it blindfolded. These days there are probably good videos on youtube to help. Al

Man, that was some wind we had around here yesterday, power was out for eight hours and there are limbs and branches down all over the place, my yard is a mess. Al

Yes that is the serial number The chart below shows the build dates of the G serial numbers, looks like 1957 Al

You got that right, I get a kick out of seeing weapons used in time periods before they were even available. Al

I will be in my barnyard observing the animals during the eclipse, it is going to be interesting to see how they all react. Al

I sent off for one of the modern catapults as they call them, made in China and although not a lot of money it seems to be of good quality. It has sights that can be used if desired, something to fool around with when I am bored. Al

It is a never ending battle, just purchased the new Remington Bullet bird knife, American made with a jigged bone handle. Al

The movies are full of blunders, I see them all the time but most go over people's heads. I watched the old Fenimore Cooper "Deerslayer" movie the other day, most of the story takes place here in NY and surrounding states. The opening scene has the Deerslayer walking up to a nice big racked buck he just shot, a real trophy Mule Deer not from around these parts. LOL Al

Have yourself a good one. Al

They are trashing this country big time!! Al

Yes there is, too much lube will cause dents in the case shoulder. I use Hornady Unique case lube, it is a paste that I put on with my finger and spread on the cases very thinly. Al

It may not have been the die that caused the problem, it could have been a flash hole in a case that was a little off center causing the decapping pin to miss the flash hole and hit the brass mucking things up. Broken decapping pins happen and it is a good idea to have some spares, they are cheap. Al

You are correct, the large rod is for large rifle and pistol regular and magnum primers, the small one is for small rifle, pistol magnum and regular primers. I am sure the large rod can be purchased separately. Al

I am looking forward to doing a bit of spring fishing this year, Trout, white Bass and Walleyes will be on the agenda. Al

Just want to add a heads up, I have tried just about everything when it comes to Poison Ivy relief and healing, the stuff below has by far given me the best results. It is a jell wash that is something like lava soap with their proprietary concoction mixed in, picked it up on Amazon and from here on out I will not be without it in my medicine cabinet. Al

I got plastered real good crawling on my stomach through a patch doing a stalk on a Woodchuck, did not know I even went through any Ivy, the next day the rash lit up good. At least I nailed the Woodchuck. Al

I found out Poison Ivy is not dormant in the winter, took down one of my apple trees that was killed by the Gypsy Moths last week. There were a couple of vines of Poison Ivy wrapped around the trunk, I had gloves on and pulled them away from the tree and out of the ground and proceed to cut up the tree using quite a bit of it for fire wood. So a few days ago the itch started on my arms and it was not long before the rash raised it's ugly head. I get a small spot or two on me in the summer frequently but not too bad but this time I got a good dose, the itching will drive you nuts. Bad for a couple of days but pretty well subsided now. Hard to see Ivy this time of year so you have to be careful. Al

I have not made a decision for this year yet , I have several virgin contenders to choose from that need to earn their stripes, probably an eneey meeny, miney mo thing. Al

We had paper tags for many years and we got along fine with them, I use a water resistant back tag holder and have a license wallet dedicated to hold all the various licenses, so there will not be much of a problem. What I am most worried about is that this new system rolls out smoothly with zero glitches. Al

The primitive camp above is very similar to the long houses built by native Americans. On the state fair grounds in the Indian Village they have a Iroquois long house on display, basically poles frame covered by sheets of bark. Al

Enjoy your day1 Al

I ended up going with and ordering a new Charter Arms Target Pathfinder, it is a good solid little revolver that weighs 20 oz, it should fit my bill as a trail gun. Should have it in a week or so. Al