airedale

Wild hogs are considered to be a pain in the ass for the environment and especially for farmer's crops, where they are prevalent there is open season on them year around. I have had the chance to hunt them a couple of times and it is about as much fun as I can handle, dogs are the way to go for me, exciting with that possibility of danger. Some folks I know are hammering them on a regular basis, wish there was some good Hog hunting closer by, I would like to get in on the action. Al

Nothing like seeing a young dog coming on to do what he was bred for, they live for that kind of stuff. Al

I am in the same boat, I do not think I am not quite as enthusiastic about it as you LOL, this last storm blew over a tree that knocked down my shooting range 100 yd target I have to get at immediately, this snow should be melted off shortly. I have been using Echo saws for the past few years and have nothing but good to say about them, my big saw is the 590 Timberwolf, it is wearing a 2 ft bar and works great on large stuff. Have fun with that new Stihl. Al

Craigslist is the place to go for speakers, very good ones can be had for a fraction of what they originally cost. Al

One of my all time favorite hunting shows was Dez Young's "Hunting With Hank", I purchased the whole series on DVD and also "Dash In The Uplands", and bought his book to boot. Those shows were hands down the best. Al

I am no expert "audiophile" by any means but I do like to listen to music every now and then, I purchased an old Rowe CD Jukebox, I like the old school lights and atmosphere it brings and she will rattle the windows. I would really like to have one of the old Rowe, Wurlitzer or Rock OLA Bubblers, if I could get my hands on one for a decent price. If money was no object I would have the digital ROCK-OL-A Peacock, but I am a little light for that one, it would be more along the lines of what you are thinking but it will cost some big coins. Al

Regardless of what excuse is used a ban is a ban, I would not be surprised that we will see more creative excuses to ban cameras down the road. Al

I have to think as far as hunter numbers go the amount of licenses issued is probably the best indicator. Everything is computerized with software tailored for the job so being counted more than once is not much of an issue. Data can be searched out showing the number of licenses issued year by year showing the downward trend. One of the biggest differences I can readily see from years back to current times is the huge decline in small game hunting. When I was a kid everyone hunted small game. That is where we got our feet wet and ended up getting the hunting bug. Way too much emphasis on deer hunting with a lot more posted land and seasons that are too long. Add in anti hunting rhetoric, humanization of animals, gun control among other things. Startup cost can be a factor. The people that have money will be able to hang in for years to come, for the average working stiff the future not so good. Al

Over the past 50 years, the number of hunting licenses in California has been on a rapid decline, falling 70% from more than 760,000 in the 1970s to under 268,000 in 2020—even as the state's population has skyrocketed. A look at who runs the state tells everything you need to know. Al

A great time to get to reloading done, 223 on the docket, had a bunch of prepped "Lake City" cases and an old box of FMJ bullets, I figure they will make some good plinking loads, also loaded up a couple of boxes of 55gr Hornady varmint bullets to use up the rest of the cases. Al

The trees grew leaves half way decent but the Apple trees had not a single blossom and the Oaks zero acorns. Hopefully they will bear some fruit and nuts this year. Al

This trend has been picking up some steam, there are several other states that have some sort of ban for trail cameras and you are right about NY the democrats like being on the lead for these sorts of things. Al

Over the past few years California has banned hunting just about everything one would hunt with dogs, add the traditional ammo ban to a host of other garbage laws they have passed and hunting period has been flushed down the toilet out there. Al

Don't know the story of this photo but if it is what it appears to be I have to commend that young fellow for getting it done the hard way. Al

Don't be so sure of yourself, I saw Bear hunting with dogs get shut down by a moron Governor who watched a movie and based his decision on it, that with the "just people (ANIMAL RIGHTS GROUPS) spouting off on what they think needs to happen". When you have Democrats running the show nothing would surprise me. Al

The final piece of the project came today, the muzzle brake. Installed brings the total weight to 7.85 lbs. The Howitzer is now ready for an artillery barrage when I get some decent weather. Al

Fellow has his pup coming along good for tracking. Al

I weighed the two Thompson Center Encore rifles with a handy little scale I have, supposed to be for luggage and fishing but it works good for guns too and accurate enough for that job. The 45-70 rifle with the synthetic stock has a medium weight barrel 24 inches long, it weighs 6.9 lbs as pictured. The 22-250 rifle with the walnut stock and a 26 inch medium contour barrel weighs 9.6 lbs as pictured. A big difference in the scope sizes that are mounted on each rifle also which play a role in weight. The 45-70 is set up as a light weight carry rifle while the 22-250 I view as a long range varmint-target proposition. The TC Flex Tech stock setup fits me perfect, even though it has an odd ball look when I shoulder that rifle everything is exactly where it is supposed to be. That being said setup with the 45-70 barrel and the stout 350 gr loads I have it sighted in with, recoil is brutal but tolerable. With the 458 Win Mag barrel firing full power 500 gr loads it would have to be most unpleasant to shoot from a rest unless the claims made by the muzzle brake company are close to what they say. So my scope and rings came in yesterday and I got everything mounted up, I put the 458 barrel with the slightly heavier 1X4 Leupold on to the frame and weighted it up and she came in at 7.4 lbs, still too light for a 458 Win Mag in my opinion. So once the muzzle brake is mounted that will add a few more ounces and the total will probably be just under 8 lbs. If the muzzle brake works as claimed this is the setup I prefer. I can fall back to the walnut stocked frame if it does not work out. This is the kind of stuff that is interesting and fun for me, in the end it will be right. Al

From what I can see it turned out great. Al

Two of my favorite cartridges are a couple of close relatives, the 250-300 Savage and the 22-250 Remington. Al

Sincere condolences to you and your family Dan. Al

Both my Marlin 95 and the Thompson Center Encore show very good accuracy with the 350 gr Barnes pointed soft point and the 350 gr Hornady round nose and 3031 powder. I have to say I was somewhat surprised on how tight the groups are with these big bores, I just never thought of them being tack drivers but with the right setup up they are pretty fair shooters. Al

Most of my firearms and cartridges I load for are of the varmint type so I can understand your passion completely. I own plenty of so called barrel burners, maintained properly they will hold on to their practical accuracy and outlast me. I like learning about new stuff and your 20-250 cartridge is an interesting one for sure, and I liked your writeup about it and learned something new. Al

In 23 Baltimore City Schools, zero students tested proficient in math in 2022, according to a report by Project Baltimore. Through an analysis of 150 Baltimore City Schools, 23 of them, including 10 high schools, eight elementary schools, three high schools and two middle schools, no students met math grade-level expectations, according to a report by Project Baltimore. Approximately 2,000 students took the state administered math exams that tested proficiency levels. (RELATED: Chicago Educators Get An ‘A+’ On Teaching While Their Students Get An ‘F’ On Reading) “It just sounds like these schools, now, have turned into essentially babysitters with no accountability,”