airedale

That shotgun would work out great for a varmint caller who mainly works the timber and has shots at shorter ranges. Years ago I used a Browning BSS s/s 3inch mag 12 ga, I killed a lot of Foxes with that gun but it was HEAVY. This O/U with short barrels and choke tubes, drilled for and optic base along with having sling mounts and it's light weight covers a lot of bases. Al

Like this idea, I am a fan of doubles and used my side by side last year on my Turkey hunts. Al

One of my all time favorite things to do was bowfishing for the Sucker's big brother "Carp", it is Carp that actually got me into archery. I had some ideal shooting back in the day and was at it all summer long. I see there is quite a bit of activity for bowfishing these days, some specialized bows and boats that are set up and equipped for just that. Al

All should be fine for you First Light, when it comes to Lyme I think it is better to be safe than sorry. Al

This is the time of year the ice went out on a nearby river I lived next to when I was a Kid. Suckers were the first thing we fished for, all night time fishing off the bank with worms, we used old tires for a bon fire so we could see. Caught quite a few of what they called dogfish too, basically big salamanders. It was a blast. Al

I figure I might as well go whole hog and get the reset reactive accessory targets that slide on a cross member and another bag of suckers, 400 for about $20 pretty cheap shooting. I am thinking I should be able to hang an archery target on this thing also. Al

So after some thought this is the plan for the "Sucker" shooting gallery. This GoSports "Blast" bracket kit uses 2x4s to assemble a completely portable target frame, the length of the 2x4s will determine it's dimensions. Just drill spaced out holes along the top of the cross members to insert the suckers, should work great. The good part is it's versatility and portability to use various types of other targets. Under $60 at Amazon. My trigger finger is itching. Al

I have come to be a big fan of compact scopes, I went over to SWFA but that scope is not in stock, it can be backordered. Never heard of the manufacturer so I would like to know a bit more about that before I took the plunge. The American brands namely Burris and Leupold both marketed some nice compacts but today they have fallen by the wayside, poor sales is usually the culprit. I keep checking ebay and have been buying good used Burris compacts if they are affordable, My favorite is the Burris Timberline that was selling for about $250 just a couple of years ago. Now that it is discontinued they are going for astronomical prices. Just did a quick check and this one on ebay is crazy high priced. Al

Those are pretty neat Rob, nice work on them, one of my boys gave me an item made in a similar style for Christmas a few years ago. Where he got it or what was paid I do not have a clue. As far as price you have to try your best and find what the going price is for items in that kind of style are selling for and price your stuff accordingly. Al

Doc is right about raptors, raise some free range chickens in a country setting, it will soon become apparent what wildlife is up against. Al

When doing your own scope-base work the most important tool are good quality screwdrivers made for gun work. Dedicated gun screwdrivers have the right grind to fit screw slots perfectly to keep you from buggering the screw up. Many scope rings and mounts are changing over to star and allen type screw heads so the screws can be torqued better. The Wheeler set below will handle just about any screw type you will run into when doing scope jobs and well worth the investment. Al

Having grown up myself in that era the movie is a pretty accurate depiction, there really were good old days. Al

They have a tree and plant program for not a whole lot of money that provides the kind of trees that produce ideal habitat and food so a land owner can make the improvements needed to provide for wildlife. Every little bit helps. Al

Absolutely, when I was a kid the hedge rows were one of my favorite places to hunt. They held Grouse, Rabbits, Pheasants and Squirrels in decent numbers. It was also where Woodchucks had burrows and lived. Today they are all gone. Al

There have been some big changes in farming also that has had effect on habitat. Al

I did not know what it was called but it sure worked great for drawing in Coons for training my young dogs, saved me a lot of time. Al

Just like old times the mal contents are not happy unless there is a shit show going on!! They have their dream board yet they still troll over here, Some real beauties! Al

It is all about habitat, food and cover, the better those three things are the better your wildlife populations will be. I had a decent wildlife population until the Gypsy Moth Blight, the worms ate everything and left a sterile landscape with no cover and no food. Consequently I killed very few game animals in the hope that their numbers will recover as the habitat improves. I am primarily a small game hunter so for me it stinks big time. Al

The guy that showed me these set ups used prepared Trapper's baits in his tires, once he got them coming he set traps around the tire. He caught a lot of stuff. Al

Nice find. Al

Snipe away!! LOL

Red is also showing his versatility and is coming along quite well on Pheasants, not bad for a ten month old pup. Al

Pretty easy for me to see who the trouble makers are doing the sniping and cheap shots and I am glad most are gone and wish the stragglers would just stay away. This board is on theme and pretty nice from my perspective. Al

An easy way to set up a predator bait station is with an old tire, just lay the tire on it's side and put the bait or attractant inside the tire. It is reasonably well protected from weather and the animals have to work at getting the bait out and keeps the birds from getting at it. Set up in the right place with the right bait can really draw them in. I would set these up targeting Coon, I did not shoot over them although one could if they wanted to. I did it for training my young dogs so I could go to the tire and would have relatively fresh tracks for them to run. I would use cheap dog food and corn for bait. A friend of mine put a camera on one and it drew in Foxes, Possums, Coons and Skunks in pretty good numbers. Al

Hit the timber for a little bit this morning to see what I could see, took the Browning Buckmark handgun along with my mono trigger stick. I think I have the Squirrels patterned pretty well, they are out right at daylight and stay out only for a short period before heading back to their dens. Saw a couple that would have been dead meat had I been carrying a rifle, with the handgun they were safe which is OK as I did not feel like killing one and having to dress it out. Tooted on one of my Varmint calls but had no takers today. Still had a good time. Al