airedale

A very rare sight in my neck of the woods and when they are seen this is the type of setting they are found, close to buildings and Humans. Went out my back door and spotted this one ducking under a shed, I filled his hole with rocks and yelled into the hole if he wants to stay alive he had better use his back entrance which if protected by fencing. If he keeps coming out onto the lawn my Airedale will get him for sure, that is what happened to the last one seen around here about ten years ago. Well I looked out the kitchen window and he dug his way past the rocks and gave me the finger, oh well.

1/8"

"TYM" not a well known name but a big player in the Tractor field in recent years, They are a Korean manufacturer and make many Mahindra models also the tractors Cabelas sold. I have had mine now for about 10 years, it works hard and I can say nothing but good about it. They had a 5 year warranty when I bought mine and their prices are good. Al

The Babe was an outdoorsman for sure and enjoyed and participated in all that was available, a few more photos below. Al

LOL, Dan I have to agree somewhat on the look of the TC Encores, they certainly do not have the beautiful flowing lines of design like a Ruger Number 1 or a Winchester High or Low wall. What captures my admiration for them is their versatility, it is truly a single firearm for almost any kind of hunting. Once a frame is acquired the sky is the limit, muzzleloader barrel, Turkey shotgun barrel, regular shotgun barrel, just about any rifle barrel can be had including rimfires. Stocks of many designs and materials are also available. To top it off they perform, accuracy is top notch and despite their quirky looks the ergonomics are superb. Bottom line once you mess around and get some experience with them they grab you. As for the 338 Winchester mag cartridge I wanted to own one again more out of a nostalgia thing than anything else and try to make up for the dumbass move of trading off the Sako Finnbear many years ago. With the new lightweight bullets available for the 338 these days the old shell takes on a whole new perspective. Back when I handloaded for my first one a 200 gr bullet was the lightest available and the cartridge was considered by most to be suitable best for game on the large side like Moose, Elk and big Bears and for a lot of the plains game of Africa. Today there are bullets to be had weighing 185 175 and 160 grs for Deer, they not only shoot laser flat they also reduce recoil considerably. I picked up a couple of boxes of Barnes 160 grain copper bullets and their loading data gives recipes that send those bullets screaming at 3400 fps. If they shoot accurately which by all accounts they do we have a long range Deer proposition that takes no backseat to anything. Al

It is pretty heavy with that 28 inch barrel and beefy walnut stock I am guessing around 9 lbs with the scope. The 338 kicks a bit so the extra weight will calm that down some.

It is finally alive, been acquiring parts from all over the US to build a three hundred and thirty eight Winchester mag Thompson Center Encore. She came out pretty well I think. Waiting for some brass which is terribly hard to get these days to handload some test rounds. I once had a very accurate Sako Finnbear in 338 and still have the loading equipment so getting this one stoked will be easy. Took several head of big game and and probably a couple of dozen woodchucks with that Sako rifle, some good memories. The hardest part was getting the 338 barrel, they are rare and I was outbid a bunch of times on any that came up on ebay and gun broker, once I had the barrel picking up the rest of the parts was was not bad. Every part was used except the walnut forend. Al

Babe Ruth

Got the Man Licker zeroed in today, so far only tried one brand of ammo, Federal Match. She shows a lot of potential and has exceeded my expectations as Mannlicher stocked rifles are not known for fine accuracy, two five shot groups at 25 yds, good enough to splatter flies. Al

I have become a fan of CZ firearms, like you I have found them to be very accurate and of nice quality built in the old ways using walnut and steel, a great buy for the money. They have become a major player in the firearms industry acquiring both Dan Wesson and Colt. I have an early 452 Lux 22 and it is a tack driver, also acquired a 527 years ago in 223, it is very accurate and I love that set trigger. There are no flies on their shotguns either as I picked up one of their Ringneck doubles in 28 ga and it is sweet. I have been after a Mannlicher stocked rifle for some time in a 22 rimfire cartridge, The Ruger 77/22 and the CZs were the contenders and both are hard to come by these days as I believe neither are in production now. The 455s are reputed to be not as accurate as the previous 452 but I think it will be accurate enough for squirrel hunting Their current 457 models replaced the 452s and 455s and I do not care for their look at all. Al

"Style stock" that is, picked up this little CZ 455 22 with a beautiful fiddleback Turkish walnut Mannlicher Stock at a price I could not refuse, one of those deals that I have always wanted and finally got around to getting. Had a good Japanese vintage Simmons 22 mag scope laying around and mounted it up and bore sighted her. Going to be doing some rimfire shooting this weekend with one of my Sons and a couple of friends, should be fun. Al

My Dad started me out hunting with a Savage single shot 22 rifle and a Mossberg 3 shot 16ga bolt action shotgun with an adjustable choke. To the best of my recollection those two guns accounted for most of my hunting firsts, I know I killed my first Rabbit and Woodchuck with the 22, Squirrel, Grouse, Woodcock, Pheasant, Hare and Ducks I believe were firsts taken with the 16 ga. My first Deer was taken with a Sako bolt action 222 Remington First Fox a Mossberg 22 mag Chuckster First Coyote Remington 597 22 Mag One Elk a Sako Finnbear 338 Win Mag One Caribou a Sako Finnbear338 Win Mag First of 4 Moose a Husqvarna Bolt Action 280 Remington Hog S&W model 29 44 Mag Turkey LC Smith 12 ga

When it comes to gun control the Democrat's backdoor roadmap to get around second amendment fights is as plain as the nose on your face. Taxes, fees, permits, traditional lead based ammo bans etc. All this hoop jumping is put into place to make owning a firearm so cumbersome it eliminates many even bothering, IE the NY State pistol permit system. Does not effect the criminal element one bit, the honest folks that want a firearm to hunt, shoot or protect themselves are the ones that take it up the butt! Al

A firearm can be sighted in at just about any size range so long as you have an accurate distance from gun to target. These days I use the Hornady Ballistic calculator for most of my sighting as a starting point, with accurate information put into the calculation I can get a gun sighted in for the range I want right on the money using my 50 yard target. When these firearms are checked out at longer ranges they are putting their shots exactly where they are supposed to be according to the calculator. Ballistic Calculators - Hornady Manufacturing, Inc Below is an example of the 300 Savage factory 150 grain pointed soft point at the typical 2630 fps factory loading sighted to be dead on at 100 yards. It shows where the bullets will print at ranges with 25 yard intervals. Using a 75 yard range you can see where your bullets should be hitting the target, virtually dead on only 2 tenths of an inch high and only 1.5 inches low at 150 yards. Al

I like it. Al

Back when I was a young fellow I went on a scout merit badge excursion with a friend of mine. We went on a hike and the deal was he had to start a camp fire and cook a simple meal which was to be bacon and scrambled eggs. His dad made sure he had all the latest gear including the mess-cooking kit, the thing that really caught my eye and impressed me was his Boy Scout knife in the Hobo style, bottle opener, spoon, knife and fork. I thought that was about the neatest knife I had ever seen and thought to myself some day I am going to have me one of those knives. Well that was over 60 years ago and the Hobo Boy Scout knife was long since forgotten. That was until the recent edc knife thread got me poking around on ebay to see what would catch my fancy. Lo and behold I just happened to come across a USA Case made Boy Scout Hobo knife, it was easy to press the buy it now button, took awhile but I finally got one. Al

They are Gypsy Moth Caterpillars. They have stripped several Oaks around my place and when out of the trees seem to be attracted to light colors like white. The gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) has five pairs of blue spots followed by six pairs of red spots in the oldest larvae stage. It prefers dining on oak, but in a full-blown infestation it will eat just about any kind of leaf. Federal government agencies are trying to keep gypsy moths from expanding into new areas rather than trying to eradicate them from existing areas.

Man in my neck of the woods there is a huge infestation of what I think are as known as Tent Caterpillars, they are attacking the trees around here in force and defoliating a big Oak in a matter of a couple of days then moving on to the next tree. Always had a few show up around here but nothing like this, how long this is going to continue I do not know but these trees are going to be in tough shape if it goes on.

Especially when a Republican wins an election, just ask Trump, he got hammered four straight years with no letup on that premise. Al

The gun control Democrats are just getting started and voting Democrat this is what you get and the kind of knucklehead nominee that is typical of who is in their ranks and what their agenda is, believe me the best is yet to come!! Al

As the old saying goes "The Truth Hurts" Al

Why post political stuff? As it pertains to this forum I want to know who supports the activities discussed and participated in by members who live the Outdoor lifestyle. Be it Trapping, Fishing, Hunting, Shooting, Gun-Ammunition ownership for starters. Just as important is I want to know what politicians, political party and activist groups along with other antis that do not support the Outdoor lifestyle, also I like knowing who goes along with and votes for the above. I want to know who my friends are!! Al

There are many old cartridges no longer available, if you are a handloader you can probably form usable brass cases from some still existing rounds the obsolete case is based on. I found this outfit "Ammunition Artifacts" that does a bunch of case forming obsolete cases for handloaders, not cheap but at least you can make some ammo for that old rifle or handgun. Al https://www.ammunitionartifacts.com/