airedale

Put the finishing touches on Uga Booga, mounted a clock and used up some old spike horns, I think he looks pretty good Al

That was a good one! Al

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All the years I hunted the southern zone I used various shotgun slug models and took my share of Deer with them, a well placed slug kills as good as anything. Back then it was the law so we used what we could. I can understand sticking with a firearm you are familiar with and have had good results with. For the last thirty-five years doing all of my Deer hunting in the northern zone I have used various rifles, not because they kill better but for their much more precise shot placement especially at longer ranges. With an accurate rifle you can thread the needle through small openings if need be or make a kill easily out to several hundred yards if the opportunity arises. From my perspective a rifle has performance in spades over the shotgun slugs in almost every situation giving the hunter a better chance at success. If I could have used some of the rifles I own now back in those old open country southern zone hunting days it would have been a massacre. Al

They have rechargeable batteries and can be charged over and over many times, 4 to 5 hour charge time from dead. They have three heat settings, low, medium and high. Depending on the heat setting the manual says they will work from 6.5 to 26 hours before running dead. I have found the medium setting to be plenty warm enough and have yet to use them so long as to run out of power. Al

Doing my outside chores in this cold weather can make for some really cold hands, doing stuff that requires a little bit of dexterity can be hard when wearing thick gloves so I usually have a chemical handwarmer in my pocket to keep things moving along. Problem is there is waste because I am not out long enough to completely have the chemical handwarmer use up all it's heat, and while you can put them in a plastic baggy to help save some of their energy much is still wasted. So I switched to electronic handwarmers that are USB rechargeable, they work every bit as good and there is no waste. I am now trying out a two pack of new ones I picked up on Amazon, these will put out heat twice as long as my old one, less bulky and were less expensive. How long they will hold up I do not know but so far so good, and they work great for hunting. Al

Glad to see you recovered her First light. You know that Black Mouth Cur dog of yours would probably make a good blood tracking dog with a bit of training, something I would seriously consider if I were you. Al

Now that is not far from the truth. I guess the silver lining in these hunter declines is that it does give those still active a bit more opportunity. Al

Man I have to give you credit for giving it a try. I have found that it takes a few days for game animals to settle into a new pattern after the heavy snows first come. Like you said they will hunker down and little by little they will come out of cover and get back into a somewhat normal for them routine. I did not start hunting Hare until after the Northern zone Deer season ended, mostly from mid December through February. The snow settles and gives you a much better base for both you and you dog for getting around and walking. I look forward to hearing how you do this season. As soon as Deer season ends I will be out with my Airedale pup and see what we can turn up. Al

Some pretty good tips on what to do after the shot, they can go a long way even with a perfect hit. Al

Them days are gone for me, I have done just about everything I wanted when it comes to hunting and fishing. I do take a few game animals to eat but nothing like I did in my younger days. From here on out I just want to enjoy myself being in the woods and give a lot of free passes when it comes to taking game. Most hunting now is more about using and testing new rifles and ammo to see exactly how they perform or training a young hunting dog. Al

Heck no, I have zero talent when it comes to art work. Like I mentioned above I have a pile of old Deer antlers laying around and just wanted to do something with them. I came up with the idea of a Totem Pole hat-coat rack some time ago and finally decided to do something. I had most of the stuff laying around and purchased the Tikki Carving online. Uga Booga is still a work in progress as I have other horns and decor I want to utilize, the goofier it becomes the better I like it, gives me something to do when I get bored. Al

You got that right Doc! Al

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Al

Have a box of old Deer antlers laying around and came up with a half assed idea to use some of them, a creepy Tikki Totem Pole hat rack LOL!

Watched this last night, it was pretty interesting, some good insight.

That big Buck you took makes for a good celebration I think. Al

He is a beauty! Al

Hell these days you can kill a human and get less of a sentence, sounds like baloney to me. Al

Thompson Center is back in business and will soon be available, Greg Ritz the new owner doing a piece on one of my favorite firearms the TC Encore.

Commercial from years ago when I was a kid, I had a Fanner 50, politically incorrect these days!

Sounds like a winning combination to me, I do not have any Winchester 94s but I do have lever action Marlins and a Savage that wear low powered straight 2 1/2s, 1x4 and 1x5s. They have all worked out great for any hunting I did with them. Al

Congratulations. Al

The shots fired in my neck of the woods have been few and far between in recent years, years ago there were shots to be heard somewhere off in the distance on a regular basis. No hunters ? No deer? Dont't know for sure but I would bet there are a lot fewer hunters. Al

At this point in time reloading your own ammo is the only relief from the draconian NY Democrats and I am sure they are looking for a way to regulate handloading. It is never too late to get started and I suggest not wasting any time getting into it. Shoots100 suggestion of a Lee Handloader will get the ball rolling for a small outlay of money. From there the sky is the limit for whatever one can afford. Believe me you will not be sorry for taking the plunge as things around this state regarding firearms and ammo will probably just keep getting worse. Al