airedale

I have one of the 452s in what was called the Lux model, pictured below it is a good shooter to be sure. I like the 452 models the best personally. Just want to mention ammo, I have found the Federal auto match stuff to be very accurate in just about everything I have tried it in, works great for Squirrels and target shooting. The good thing about it is that many stores have it in stock and it does not have a premium price. Congrats on the Kimber, they are good ones. Al

It is a 455 model, the 455s were a transition model made for a short time while CZ changed from 452s and 455s to production of their current 457s that are completely different rifles. Currently I think the CZs are "thee" best buy when it comes to new bolt action rimfire rifles, they pretty much have it all ,price, decent looks, quality materials and they are shooters. Al

Now this a subject that would take a book to cover and to cover thoroughly it would be of many pages. Squirrels rank right at the top for me as one of my favorite animals to hunt. Being serious I am not talking about bird feeder squirrels, all the things that go into the making of a good hunter are needed for squirrels such as finding habitat, food sources, stealth, concealment and precision marksmanship. In a nutshell, early season when the leaves are on and shooting distances fairly short I like using a good quality 22 rifle, a medium powered scope with an adjustable objective for parallax mitigation firing standard velocity or even match ammo which almost always gives me my best groups and has more than enough pop to kill Squirrels. I sight in dead on at fifty yards and my serious hunting rifles will print groups that are ragged holes. Later in the season when the leaves are off and the shots a bit longer I use a couple of specialized rifles that group very well with hyper velocity ammunition like Stingers, Yellowjackets and Velocitors, this ammo shoots fairly flat and makes for pretty easy shots out to seventy five yards and a little beyond. These rifles are sighted dead on at seventy five yards. When it comes to Squirrel guns I spare no expense, for my way of thinking my favorite type hunting should be done with the best equipment I can afford. Al

Blue Jays and barking Squirrels, usually means something is on the prowl. Al

One night Coonhunting with my brother we walking in some thick stuff to where my two hounds were treeing hard and loud, we both were wearing Coonhunting caplights which are very bright. About thirty yards from where the dogs were blowing the top of that tree out with their barking I spot the glow of eyes. I always carry a small pair of binoculars for spotting hard to find Coons in the tree tops, so I take a look at those eyes and there lays a big doe chewing her cud. I said to my brother there must be something wrong with her laying that close to the dogs with all the commotion and us added in with those bright lights. So we take a walk over to have a look see and at about fifteen yards she gets up blows and takes off like a bat out of Hell, go figure! Al

My dogs will kill them if they get the chance, my old Den Terrier Scruffy pictured below took out a black colored snake that looks a lot like the one above. Al

I have become quite fond of the small clip on cap brim led lights, a good quality model works great for all sorts of situations that can pop up where a light is needed. I like being prepared. Al

Ben Pearson archery equipment was right up there with any top of the line stuff back in the day. Al

Hey Brian, nice video, I enjoyed watching it. Love all the old traditional equipment you use. While not as fanatical as I once was I still get out a few days and hunt with my old Bear recurve, still hunt mostly doing my best imitation of an Indian, have a 20 yard range limit so I do not get many good shots but I see Deer and it develops woodsmanship, the main thing is I enjoy myself. Good luck to you this season. Al

NRA and the NY State Rifle & Pistol Association for me. Al

My archery stuff is pretty much vintage, I still use the old Bear Razorheads on Easton XX75 aluminum shafts, the old Bears can be sharpened quite nicely and easily on the Work Sharp knife and blade sharpener. Al

These type videos go back years, they were popular on the Tonight Show when Jay Leno was there, he asked the same type of questions and got answers much the same as the above. They are all over the place now and it does not make any difference who is doing them the results are pretty much the same and young people seem to be getting dumbed down even further. Al

Attended the Syracuse show last Sunday, crowd wise the numbers were low while I was there. A lot of empty tables and many vendors selling stuff other than firearms. Prices were pretty fair on most firearms and the vendors were willing to deal. A hunting buddy that I went to the show with picked up a beautiful delux new in the box Winchester Low Wall single shot in 223 at a great price. Ammo and reloading components were for the most part abundant but the prices were high in my opinion but at least available. Al

I would not think there would have to be a whole lot of wood removed, as with most projects the right tools make for a good job. When it comes to inletting dedicated stock inletting tools are by far the best but very expensive and not needed for a small job. Some decent hobby sharp wood carving knives can be had for a small outlay. Another option for small work is a dremel type tool and or small needle files. I would use a marking pen to outline the area where the wood needs to be removed and start taking off very small amounts of wood working toward the pen border line. Once the wood is gone it is gone forever so it is all about going slow and easy and keep trying the fit until the safety works. When done a dab of walnut stain on a qtip will blend in the color and a dab of stock finish like true oil will put everything back to pretty much original looks wise. If you go slow and easy it should be a fairly straight forward job. Have confidence in yourself and best of luck. Al

Which is about 1000% more than you. Al

About 12 lbs of way too much of everything but the kitchen sink, to each their own but personally for a Deer rifle I prefer nothing with batteries, a lower powered scope along with a light weight and fast handling rifle. Al

I would be very surprised if that was actually attached to the stock with tacks, there is absolutely no reason to do so, the lacing is all that is needed to keep a firm fit on the stock. If it is actually tacked to the stock whoever did it is a nitwit. Al

I use those on several of my rifles especially single shots, the cloth and neoprene type go on and off the stock easily. The leather ones are laced to the stock and would be a pain in the ass to take on and off. The rivets do not go all the way through and are not into the stock. Nomad is right the fancy leather ones can be big bucks. I have a leather one on my Marlin 94 357 pictured below, I like it for carrying ammo and I like the look of something just a bit different. Al

I am dead serious People like you Virg, LOL do not pretend to be something you are not, the slant on your posts on this board have revealed exactly who you are.

Like I said nit pickin deflection at it's best, it is what you people do!!

Some nit pickin here, have you ever taken the time to watch one of those press briefing from the white house, I have seen multiple times when anything about the border crisis is brought up the first talking point out of their mouths from both of Biden's press spokespersons is they inherited the broken immigration policies from the previous administration.

Sending the illegals to their sanctuary states and cities should have been started long ago and in way bigger numbers, when these libtard phonies living the good life in their elite neighborhoods have to actually deal with the shithole problem themselves then maybe there will be action taken to relieve this mess. When you are insulated from anything rotten it is easy to blow and shrug it off. I would like nothing better than to see illegals moved where these libtard blowhards live by the tens of thousands. The best part about all this is they show their true colors when it happens to them, "hypocrites in spades"! Al

Now that photo above of that bag of rabbits brings back some memories of tales I heard as a young fellow, there was a time according to some old timers I knew when European Hares were in huntable numbers here in NY. Found up by the St Lawrence and in the Hudson valley if I remember right, they were twice as big as our native rabbits and hard to hunt with dogs as they would line out of the country. The guys that hunted them liked to track them in fresh snow and jump them out for a shot. Never got to ever see one myself but would have liked to give them a go. Nice little piece about the European Hare below for anyone interested. Al ============================================================= European hares of upstate New York. Editor's Note: This summer we heard from William Weckesser of Middlefield, CT, a 74-year-old gent who waxed poetic about bygone days. In his letter, he asked a question that piqued our interest. A few phone calls and e-mails took us back to earlier times and brought forth an interesting short story worth retelling: that of the European hares of upstate N.Y.Mr Weckesser writes, "When I was a boy, my grandfather would tell me stories of getting in a horse-drawn wagon and going out to Millbrook to hunt what he called 'jack rabbits.' I found out later that they were actually European hares that were brought to eastern Dutchess County and released. The 'game guide' (as we called the hunting regulations booklet back then) used to list them as a huntable species in Dutchess County, but it no longer does. I often wonder what became of the hares.I've included a picture of my great uncle and grandfather after a successful hunt. The hounds in the picture appear to me to be Walker fox hounds. It is only conjecture on my part, but I'm thinking that these hares run such a large circle that the hunters wanted a fast dog to bring the hares around more quickly.Thinking back on my own 60 years of hunting in Dutchess County, I'm thankful for all the great outdoor experiences I've enjoyed. Still, there is one thing I wish I could do: I'd trade a lot for the ability to go back in time to the 1920s for just one day. I'd spend it with Grandpa Lou and Uncle Carl, hunting for those big 'jack rabbits.' Unfortunately, life doesn't work that way. I'll just have to do it in my dreams."Not knowing anything about European hares myself, I thought I should do a little research, and what better place to start than with the Conservationist magazine itself?European hares made several appearances in the Conservationist over the years, most notably in a February 1957 feature article aptly titled "The European Hare in New York." The article, which was also reproduced as an information leaflet, was written by the then Conservation Department's rabbit specialist, Game Research Investigator, Joe Dell.Although I met him on several occasions, I can't say I knew Joe well as he had retired by the time I started my DEC career as a wildlife biologist. But like so many biologists "bitten by the bug," Joe had a hard time making a clean break from work; he continued to visit friends and colleagues in the office, even years after he retired. And it was then and there that I came to know him. Joe passed on recently, so I didn't have the luxury of asking him in person about the hares.No matter; Joe's article on the history of European hares in New York is very informative. I'd encourage you to read it yourself at a local library, or perhaps we can post it online if enough folks are interested. In the article, Joe tells of how the hares were introduced from Hungary beginning about 1893, onto a wealthy landowner's estate in Dutchess County.With messages that should be heeded today, the article goes on to explain that even a nine-mile-long fence couldn't contain the hares, and they expanded their range outward, first into neighboring counties, then into Connecticut and up the Hudson Valley. Dell's article reported that in a series of severe winters in the early 1900s, the hares damaged Dutchess County orchards, so the county paid a bounty of 25 cents a piece on 12,000 hares between 1912 and 1917. That's equal to nearly $6 in today's money! For you small game hunters out there needing no additional incentive to pursue your pastime, can you imagine being paid to hunt hares?Next, I called and e-mailed a number of older colleagues and recent DEC retirees, asking if they knew about the hares. Around here, retirees become a sort of institutional memory, mined when necessary, such as in this case. It's a little alarming to me, how many times I am taking on just such a role now!In turn, colleagues pointed me to former wildlife technician and later conservation officer Collin Bursey, who, like Joe, retired just before I began my career. Collin worked on hares for a couple of years after being discharged from the service in 1955. He spoke of the hares once reaching as far north as Washington County, and as far west as Cherry Valley.Sometime in the 1930s, European hare populations began a dramatic decline which continued for decades. According to Bursey, the hares liked large expanses of open area. Abandonment of farms during and after the Great Depression, and resulting landscape-level habitat change from open fields to brushlots to young forest stands certainly aided in the hare's demise.As far as Bursey, or any of my colleagues knows, European hares (not to be confused with snowshoe hares) are no longer found in the wild. Although who knows--maybe an astute Conservationist reader can demonstrate otherwise!In today's busy, rush-rush world of 100 e-mails a day, and tweets of no more than 140 characters, it's important once in a while to take a deep breath, power down the computer, read a handwritten letter, and enjoy a conversation with an elder. Someone who was there, well before we were.Someone who can tell a story.Dave Nelson is editor of Conservationist.

The shell holder is put on the top of the press ram, pull the handle all the way down so the ram is all the way up. Screw the sizing die all the way down until it makes contact with the shell holder. Screw the decapping rod down just far enough to knock out the old primer and tighten your die locking rings, that is it. As far as cases being sized effortlessly that all depends on the case, some rifles have a bit of a sloppy chamber and when a cartridge is fired the case will expand and become enlarged and more out of spec than a gun with a tight chamber. I just did a batch of 30-30 once fired cases and I had to put some muscle into pulling the press handle and I have a very heavy duty press. Do not over do it with the case lube as you will put dents in the shoulder, a very thin coating is all the is needed. As far as I am concerned there is zero downside to handloading and a huge multitude of upsides, like anything else a bit of experience goes a long way and once you get the hang of things handloading becomes practical, money saving along with great performance, personal satisfaction and fun. Al