airedale

https://www.foxnews.com/us/supreme-court-case-new-york-gun-law Proceeding with strong backing from the NRA Anyone who wonders why the NRA is being sued the NY's attorney general, I will tell you it is not for New York's NRA member who are legal gun owners like she pretends it to be. Al

From Vanity Fair LOL! Libtard as it gets! More Great Stories From Vanity Fair — Mike Pence Is Already Cashing In on His Potential 2024 Run — Katie Porter and Her Whiteboard Are Just Getting Started — Trump’s New Social Media Company Is His Biggest Scam Yet — Former Bush Guy Matthew Dowd Is Trying to Turn Texas Blue — Joe Manchin Is About to Make Life Worse for His Own Constituents — David Zaslav Is Angling to Become America’s King of Content — Colin Powell’s Death Has Officially Been Hijacked by Anti-vaxxers — Rigged State Governments Are Steadily Undermining Democracy — From the Archive: Rupert Murdoch’s Tumultuous Third Marriage

I have some finger cots put away somewhere that I used over the end of my shotgun barrels back when I was doing a lot of hunting for Snowshoe Hare. I have also used them on muzzleloaders a couple of times, had some guys tell me balloons work just as well. Al

Pretty much the same as the old fashioned Flu, there is no beating it. Like the Flu, shots have a certain percentage of effectiveness depending on the strain, it will keep on mutating requiring updated shots and probably getting them annually because they wear off. Al

One night hunting Coon me and a hunting partner were slogging through a swamp toward our Hounds that were treeing loud and clear that they had put up a Coon. My buddy who was ahead of me stepped into a mudhole and went down ass over teakettle and in the process the 22 rifle he was carrying got the barrel full of mud. We had nothing with us to clean the barrel so there would be no shooting when we got to the dogs and the treed Coon. All was not lost as back in those days I was pretty knarly and could make a monkey proud when it came to climbing trees. So I went up the tree and shook the Coon out and my Airedale took care of the rest. Valuable lesson was learned, When hunting in the field have something on your body to clean a plugged barrel! For years I carried a boresnake in my pocket and while I never had to use it better to be safe than sorry. So recently I was shown by a friend a better solution for an in the field cleaning. A little packable cleaning rod called the "Rapid Rod". I liked it so much I picked one up and now carry it in my little waist pack that is on my belt. I want to make clear this rod is flimsy compared to a regular cleaning rod and is made for emergencies while hunting not regular firearm cleaning, but that being said if there is an occasion where I would have to remove a barrel obstruction I have no doubt it will work and like the package sez "it can save your hunt". Al

I went on several Moose hunts and a Caribou hunt in Newfoundland but it has been 40 years since the last hunt so I can not point you to any of the current outfitters. Syracuse has an outdoor show late winter and there are many outfitters that attend it so it may be a place you might want to check out. I has some great times in Newfoundland and as mentioned before the folks up there are the best. I personally never got a monster but I always saw plenty of game filled my tags. Below is a group photo of one of the gangs I hunted with, A good hunting friend "Tom" center and in the green coveralls with a real nice Bull, my dad over Tom's left shoulder in the orange hat and I am wearing the camo down jacket, that was a good day. Sadly Tom passed away this past spring, he and I had some times. Al

Yes

I just picked up one of these Caldwell Lead Sleds, I purchased it mostly for heavy recoiling rifles but an added benefit is it is totally adjustable to just about anything one wants to fire off of it. Amazon had them on sale a couple of weeks ago at a substantial saving. Al

I am not ashamed to admit I am paranoid when it comes to Ticks after getting a good dose of Lyme Disease a couple of years ago and I will be doing everything I can think of to keep them at bay. Sprays, repellents and various clothing are all part of the arsenal. Going up your pant legs is one of their favorite ways of crawling up and getting to a place to drill you. I have "elimitick: socks and I spray my boots and pant legs with "Sawyers" and for an added layer I wear Sawyers soaked gaiters which seal off your pant cuffs to your boots. Just replaced my previous set of cheap night lite gaiters which worked but were basically just elastic and would move around not staying in place very good. The new ones are much better class, waterproof "Kenetrek" hunting gaiters that have straps top and bottom that keep them in place. Gaiters also work well when having to go through brushy terrain and crossing some water, while not for standing around in water they work do well to keep your feet and pants dry for making a quick stream crossing. First day for Northern zone tomorrow, the weather has cooled and I will be doing a little still hunting and testing these gaiters out to see if I like them.

Nothing like a little revolver therapy, you have some good ones there. Al

I recommend you getting lost non citizen, your political opinions do not mean squat, you do not belong here!!!! Al

I am a big fan of the Hornady interlock bullets for big game, I use them in several different calibers and their performance has always been perfect, those bullets hold together, penetrate and kill. Best part is they do not carry a premium price tag. Al

I know these days the latest rage for hunting varmints is calling after dark but I can tell you daytime hunting can be every bit as effective and even advantageous as you will see anything responding to your calls in your stand-setup better in daylight than any night lighting system ever can. Varmints are out and about all through the day. First thing in the morning and just before dark has been very productive for me. Also in my opinion taking a good shot and a longer shot is much easier during the daylight times. Al

Pretty easy for me to figure out! Al

The "Tabanga" From Hell It Came movie.

It comes down to what one likes to do, we all have our vices, you like to have a Genny Creme Ale from time to time and I like to target practice with my firearms from time to time. Nobody likes being gouged Wolc, live and learn as the old saying goes and I learned from the ammo shortages during the Obama years to buy and stock up on ammo when the prices are reasonable which is was during Trump's days so I am pretty much set to ride out the current knucklehead Democrat reign. Al

ThIs Winchester 223 ammo is made for larger game.

The most critical component of a cartridge is the bullet, I am a firm believer in matching hunting bullets to the game being hunted for the optimum result. I have a library full of books with the written word about bullets and hunting performance from master hunters and riflemen covering many decades. The number one reason for a particular cartridges failure on game with a properly placed shot is almost always bullet construction and it was especially so back in the early days of the then new jacketed bullets. Lack of penetration due to shedding the jacket causing wounds that due not reach vitals. Modern bullets have come a long way since those early days, better tolerances, better materials, and construction that is matched to the game being hunted. Innovations like interlocking the jacket to grip the core, bonding the jacket to the core, partitions that allows controlled expansion, solid copper and so on that will give deep penetration to the vitals even if a large bone is hit. The Vmax bullet line is a thin jacketed bullet made to expand rapidly on small animals where penetration is not needed, they are also known not to be ricochet prone sailing across the countryside on misses and instead disintegrating when hitting the ground or other hard objects and not going far. As brought out in the 22-250 thread there are much more suitable bullets in the 22 caliber if one uses it for Deer hunting. Al

Notice who is doing the complaining, they hate being exposed! Al

Briefly There is a wide selection of brands and loads in 22 LR these days. There are 4 basic types with some slight variances even within those types. Hyper velocity loads like CCI Stingers or Velocitors along Remington Yellow Jackets and a bunch of other similar rounds have a bit extra juice, higher velocity and better bullets made mostly for hunting bigger small game like a fox or chucks. Some of these hyper powered loads are not recommended for firearms with match chambers. Accuracy is generally good. Regular Hi Velocity ammo in both hollow points and round nose both are used for hunting. The Winchesters listed above and CCI Mini Mags a good example. A matter of personal preference for HPs or Solids for hunting, HPs kill better but on Squirrels and Rabbits cause a bit more damage, some like the lesser damage to the meat when using solids. Accuracy is good. Bulk ammo sold loose in large quantities is the bargain priced stuff like Remington Golden Bullets, Thunderbolts etc. this stuff is great for plinking and hunting stuff like Rats. Generally not as accurate as the above higher priced ammo and many feel it is very dirty, also more misfires and jams in auto loaders especially. Standard velocity and match ammo, very accurate for the most part and used mostly for target shooting, very reliable. Even though the velocity is lower I like using it for Squirrel hunting because of it's lower report and the fine accuracy it gives in most of my firearms. Almost always loaded with solid bullets there are a few outfits that load HPs for hunting. I have some Ely HPs that shoot one hole groups. I use just about everything made but if I was to be pinned down on a favorite brand it would be CCI When it comes to "anything" rimfire "Rimfire Central .com" is the place to go, it "THE" source. https://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/ Al

Years ago I did quite a bit of shooting with some heavy hitters, while I won't say it was enjoyable I seemed to tolerate heavy recoil much better than I do today. My shooting style and technique has changed quite a bit to mostly rimfire and varmint rounds off the bench, their recoil is light and I hardly hold these guns when they are being shot from a rest and bench, after many thousands of rounds that easy holding method has become habit. Firing a heavy hitter using those methods will give you a rude awakening and I got one when sighting in that 338. Anyhow the Lead Sled arrived today and I got it assembled and it appears to be a very well made piece of equipment. I have my Dad's Marlin 45-70 model 95 to sight in as I put a 1x4 Leupold on it after removing the 2.5x8 Leupold that was on it and putting it on the Encore 338. Those two rifle will give this Lead Sled a good workout and test when this rain lets up. The Lead Sled after assembly with my tang safety Ruger 220 Swift light sporter sitting in the saddle. Al

So I loaded up some 338 ammo to fire in this Encore and see how it performs, I used some Sierra 250 gr spitzer boat tails that I had on sitting my shelf that are at least 50 years old. These 250s were one of Elmer Keith's favorite for the 338 mag. Personally I favored the Hornady 200 gr spire points, they were very accurate in my old Sako Finnbear, the recoil was not too bad and on game they worked out well for me so I never loaded up the Sierras. As mentioned above I also have some 160 gr Barnes coppers I want to load but powder for the lighter bullets is so hard to come by right now I am going to have to wait. So right off the bat I have a problem, the hammer spring in this particular Encore frame is for a light pull and it will not strike hard enough to set off a magnum primer. So to keep things moving along I switched out the 338 barrel to another Encore frame had a 22-250 barrel on it with a stock hammer spring. That frame has a synthetic stock setup that is much lighter than the wood stock pictured. So reliability was totally fine, the heavier weight hammer spring set off the magnum primers with zero problem. The bad part was the wicked recoil with the light weight stock setup, I will be installing a heavy weight spring in the wood stocked Encore frame and hopefully with the much heavier gun the recoil will be a bit more tolerable. The rifle grouped those Sierras very well and I am totally happy about that but the recoil is bad, I took a bruising, I guess I am getting soft in my old age. I have some powder ordered for the lighter bullets and that will make a difference also. Something else will make a difference the next time around, Amazon has a big sale right now on the Caldwell Lead Sled so one of those will be here shortly LOL! Al

Years ago I spent most of a day in freshly fallen snow tracking a Buck that ended up evading me by crossing a creek with waters that were well over my boots. I walked the bank up and down looking for a place to cross but it was no dice. I had a long way to go to get back to my vehicle and there was no way I was going to get a wet ass at that stage of the day. The Buck had been in a standing corn field bordering the creek and on the other side was a brush lot and golden rod that went several hundred yards. I sat down on the bank and started glassing with my binoculars and about 150 yards out laying low in the golden rod a nice 8 point looking right at me. He had been watching me the whole time. I was hunting in shotgun country back then and was hunting light carrying a Smith and Wesson model 29 44 mag revolver. The Buck was too far away for my abilities to make a good shot. He finally sensed I was watching him and he got up and trotted off and I quit for the day trudged back to my truck before it got dark. Being a Coon hunter I always packed a set of these chaps and put them on when heading into swamps at night which was often. I would just tie and cinch them up tight on the bottom against my boots and would be able to cross fairly deep water without getting wet feet. They are light weight and very tough, mine were made by Wick Outdoor Works and I still have them. Did not think to take them along on the Deer hunt described above but you can be sure I had them on me from that day on for any tracking hunts. The ones shown below are very similar to my Wick Chaps and can be found online. Al