airedale

Some hunting dog magazine cover art.

It is a pretty good show, I have attended several times. If nothing is going on this weekend I may be there. Al

So doing some spring cleaning in the gun room and found this jar with a bunch of odd and old cartridges of various types that I have been collecting down through the years, some I still do not know what they are as they have no markings on them. I picked up a display board them some time ago so I decided now is the time to get them out of the jar and on that board. Also put up a bunch of different shotgun slugs. This is the second one of these I have done, the first one has cartridges of different rifles and handgun I have owned. Once done they look pretty cool. Al

From some of my Airedale compadres. Al

Cool info Charlie, that guy had a little age on him, having raised Geese I know they can live quite a long time. Al

Where are the simple and reliable straight power scopes? Once common and favored by hunters and target shooters the straight power scope is now a thing of the past. I have probably seen more K4 Weaver scopes mounted on hunting rifles than any other. Below is some of the straight powers Leupold sold for years and they are scopes I personally own. 12X, 10X, 4X, 3X. I do not think any are in today's lineup. Same goes for the other scope companies, seems like everything they make these days is a variable. I always liked a straight powered scope for certain hunting guns, they are lighter in weight and most times cost less and have never found myself missing a shot on game because my firearm was wearing one. I also have many variable power scopes and I like them also but they are really not needed in most cases and are set on a low power most of the time I am hunting. Al

Gunner looks like he is coming along nicely Charlie, he will provide many memories for years to come. Al

An ad showing the Bushnell Scope Chief workings, I liked the one I had.

The old Cookstove came in handy last night, power went out about 2am and just came back on 11am. Kept warm and perked a couple of pots of coffee. Still fired up the generator so I could watch some TV. Al

Got the Go Sports Blast target frame assembled this afternoon, easy peasy, I just have to drill the holes on the bottom rail for the sucker sticks. This is going to work out great for all kinds of reactive target options and will hold my archery target. When the weather starts straightening up the lead is going to fly. Al

Still plugging away, went out with my caller and my Marlin 256 mag Winchester to see if I could entice a Coyote, no such luck today. Did have a nice Red Fox show up and also a Barred Owl, they of course were safe. Paraphrasing Forrest Gump, "calling Varmints is like a box of chocolates, you never know what is going to appear", that is what is so much fun. Al

Nice, Congrats, I will say it again nothing more fun than Hare-Rabbit hunting with a good dog. Al

Through the course of a day I knock off two of those pots easily LOL. Al

I have not had much luck finding shooting incident stats involving rifles when hunting Turkeys. Did find this Indiana article below that has some revealing stuff. Al =================================================== Surprisingly, national studies show that most turkey season shooting incidents on persons involve experienced hunters who accidentally fire on their own hunting partners. The studies also show most turkey hunting shooting accidents occur on private land. Did you know... Most shooting accidents take place at 11-50 yards when the shooter failed to properly identify the target. About two-thirds of all incidents occurred on private land. Shooters involved in these incidents were, on average, 45 years old with 30 years of hunting experience and 16 years of turkey hunting experience. Victims, on average, were 43 years old with 13 years of turkey hunting experience.

Oh around 25 years ago I had this bunch of big Toms hanging around out back of my place, the wife would go and throw a can of hard corn out for them, they must have always been watching for her because as soon as she got into the house they came down out of the woods to get that corn., she called them the magnificent 7. Al

Just watched a video on fortunecookie 45lc's channel a favorite of mine for reloading tips, he loaded up some 30-40 krag ammo using surplus H4831 powder he purchased back in the 70s but was actually produced in the 40s. When fired ignition went off well, the bullet speed was chronographed and right where it was supposed to be and it grouped well. I personally have had similar results firing old ammo loaded with powder from that era, stored properly it produced the same performance as the day I loaded it. I once read that nobody really knows how long ammo loaded with smokeless powder will keep if stored under proper conditions because all that is tested still goes bang. From what I have seen I would have no problem buying old ammo that was kept well and in good condition especially in hard to get cartridges. As the old saying goes keep your powder and ammo dry and stored properly. Al

Old School all the way, the old Revere Ware copper bottom coffee pot percolating on the woodstove which is also heating my house. Al

I have to agree, a good turkey hunter is still going to kill a bird most times no matter what gun he or she is using. Al

I totally agree and continue to preach the same to anyone who will listen. Al

7x64mm Ammo | In Stock 7x64mm Ammunition - AmmoBuy

I am having a hard time finding these ATI shotguns in stock, if anyone happens to see some on a shelf for sale give me a shout as I would take a drive to get it. It is probably going to be an online sale. Al

The whole premise of this thread was PA's ban on rifles for hunting Turkeys, I was surprised that there was zero mention of any safety factors that had anything to do with their decision. It was all about reducing the number of Turkeys taken, not safety. Al ================================================================ “The Board of Commissioners wants to take the necessary steps to protect Pennsylvania’s turkey populations, which have been below-goal in many Wildlife Management Units,” said Commissioner Scott Foradora, who represents District 3 in northcentral Pennsylvania. “Faced with a decision between either shortening the overall season length which will impact all turkey hunters, or removing rifles which are used by a smaller group of hunters, the board believed that the better option is to remove rifles.” According to recent survey data provided by the DCNR, 14 percent of Pennsylvania fall turkey hunters primarily use rifles, but rifles are responsible for 33 percent of the fall turkey harvest. “Taking rifles out of the fall season will reduce the harvest of hens in that season, without further reducing season lengths, thus giving turkeys further protection without limiting hunters’ time afield,” Foradora said. Commissioners said future fall turkey seasons could be re-extended if removing rifle hunting reduces harvest numbers enough.

As far as I know there is no place period to legally hunt waterfowl with rifles so it is not even up for a debate as far as I am concerned. But I can tell you I also raised a flock of Geese and absurdly they also were taken out with the 22 mag and 17 HMR, shooting them was much more effective than the old chopping block method and less stressful. Beheading my livestock never set too well with me. Al

Your someone image will more than likely have the same habit no matter what they were hunting be it Squirrels Rabbits Deer or Turkeys and be doing it with whatever firearm they were using. Someone that fires at a movement is the worst as far as I am concerned. You do know that the blaze Orange law just went into effect and at least from what I see most Deer hunters try to conceal themselves and wear camo. Personally I am all for blaze Orange and never go into the woods period without a blaze Orange hat on. I will again cite the doom and gloom predictions about rifles being used in the southern zone for Deer saying dead hunters would be stacked up like cord wood if rifles were ever allowed. Bottom line none of it happened. Someone is going to have to show me undisputable proof that in states that allow rifles for Turkey hunting there are more incidents of hunters been shot or injured with a rifle than where shotguns only are used and I have seen nothing of the kind that is official, just hypotheticals of what possibly can happen not what did happen. They are two good calibers that work well for taking Turkeys. Here on the farm for several years I raised a flock of Merriam wild Turkeys. When it came time to harvest one for the pot I used both a 22 mag and a 17 HMR which beat in spades trying to hold a big Tom down and killing him using the old chopping block method. At distances of up to 100 yds those two cartridges were 100% effective with very little meat damage, hit them right behind the wing where it attaches to the body and it is lights out. Al