airedale

a I have been training hunting dogs for over 50 years and I believe the electronic training collar and the key is "when used properly" is the single greatest training device a dog trainer can have in their arsenal. Be well educated in their proper use before putting one on your dog. Al

Breeding and natural ability are high on my list when it comes to a hunting dog. An animal's genetic makeup will determine it's hunting potential. How much of that potential good or bad that is actually achieved depends on the environment to which the dog is exposed. The definition of environment pertaining to this subject is how the dog is taken care of and fed, it's training and handling, and exposure to the game that is to be hunted. Al

For the activities you are wanting to try I think looking into the North American Versatile Hunting Dog outfit would be a good place to start and get you pointed in the right direction. There are quite a few NY chapters. Al https://www.navhda.org/

I always just wore camo and tried my best to not be outlined. If I do get out after Turkeys I will be using this poncho I picked up last summer, I got it for varmint calling and it seems to conceal pretty well, worked on a couple of Foxes ok. The best part is it is very light and can be carried in a big pocket or game bag and put on when you get on stand. Al

Looks like a real shooter, good luck with her and give a report. Al

There is no better way to test the build quality and recoil resistance of an optical sight than a shotgun firing slugs or heavy shot loads. Back when I worked in a gun shop mounting scopes on slug guns I had to send plenty of various optics back to the manufacturers for repair from failure to hold up. That was quite a few years ago and I expect optics are of much better quality today, personally if I were to go with anything it would be a high quality low power scope, IE Leupold. I am not a serious Turkey hunter so I went simple and reliable with a True Glow rib mounted adjustable open sight, not a lot of money, easy to mount and it works.

Can't offer a whole lot of advice as I am not much of a Turkey hunter myself and have only connected a few times but I like your enthusiasm and sounds to me you are on the right track, wish you success. Al

They are the party of anti "EVERYTHING"! Al

An experienced Airedale can take out most Varmints with ease if they can catch them. Dog-Varmint encounters and situations are varied, Skunks, Rats, Possums Weasels and the occasional Coon will sometimes get caught by the dog and killed on the spot. Many times the Coon are treed by the dog and I will shoot them, I had my young female Airedale tree three Coons last summer that were killing chickens. Fox and Coyotes will be run off by the dogs for the most part but there are always a few exceptions that try and push their luck. If they stay in sight long enough they will be shot and on a couple of occasions I dinged them and had to use a dog to track them down and they will finish things. I have a Fox right now looking for trouble and more than likely he will end up dead if he starts killing. I will set up with a Varmint call and that will be it. Al

A good yard dog will go a long way on saving livestock losses from Varmints, raising poultry is ringing the dinner bell, it is an endless battle.

Pygmy's 1966 Woodchuck tale brought back some good memories and especially of this Ruger 77 Varmint rifle in 220 Swift. If you were a Woodchuck or a Crow and I was setup in your field you would not be safe out as far as 500 yards and even a bit beyond. Not a raving beauty but boy does she shoot. 52 gr Sierra HP Match 3950 FPS Al

I do not believe anyone is absolutely perfect so I have to give myself a strong R9 which is pretty obvious and proud of it. Keep America great! Al

I have had several chicken Hens that crowed like a Rooster, other than their crowing they acted the same and laid eggs the same as all the other Hens. The Turkey Human Counterpart

Through the process of elimination Skunks are the only animal in the wild I know that would have a tail like the one pictured. I would say Dan's explanation of an Owl kill is the most plausible. Al

How about you talking about hunting for a change! That would really be funny. Al

The best archery shot I have ever pulled off was on a Woodchuck, I was using my Bear Super Kodiak recurve. I had taken about a dozen shots at ranges from 30 to 60 yards and while I was coming real close and even cutting hair I think on a couple I had no clean hits. I took a walk with one of my Airedale pups and the bow one summer afternoon through a hay field and had a Chuck stand up on his mound in plain view at close to 60 yards. I drew back and let one fly and the whole deal was like in slow motion, the flight of the arrow's rainbow trajectory was clear to see and it sailed true to it's mark with a dead center chest hit. It was a bit gross because I had a field point on the arrow and it went through the Chuck about halfway with equal length of arrow out on both sides with the Chuck still quite alive but not being able to get down his hole because of the arrow holding him out, the Airedale finished things up on that one. Al

I never ate one, I did try a piece of Ostrich at the State Fair once and it was just OK in my opinion. These birds have no breast, most of the edible meat is on the legs. In the Rhea's case even though they stand 5 feet tall they have less meat on them than a large production bred broad breasted Turkey. Al

There was a movement back in the 80s to breed and raise Ratites [Ostrich, Emu, Rhea} for food, feathers and oil. There was some modest success in the beginning but that has since pretty much faded as it never really caught on. There is still some activity for the oil for cosmetics but not a lot. I purchased mine just for fun. Al

Raising various species of birds has been one of my favorite pastimes, I have messed around with waterfowl, gamebirds, Turkeys, and chickens for most of my adult life. One of the goofiest species I had the pleasure to have messed with were Rhea birds, pictured below on the bottom, they are of the Ratite family and are similar to an Ostrich but smaller. About 5 feet tall and around 70 lbs, the males get very territorial and mean as a snake. Al

For me hunting both Woodchucks and Squirrels down through the years has been my best teacher for making precision shot placements on game with a rifle in the field or woods at all ranges, conditions and positions. Al

You are a talking my language Dan, I lived dream and slept Woodchucks for many years starting much in the same fashion as yourself. Started out with a Savage single shot 22 that my Dad got me and shot my first chuck with it and remember the whole stalk as if it was yesterday. My Dad had a 222 Sako I killed quite a few with and he also purchased a Winchester 61 pump in the new at the time 22 mag chambering and I killed a bunch with that until I could afford my own Mossberg "Chuckster" bolt action 22 mag scoped with a Weaver V22. Finally earned enough money to hit the big time purchasing a used Remington 700 ADL in 22-250. It was off to the races from then on, I believe I purchased and loaded for just about every Varmint caliber available in those time. I also blasted away at them with all of my big game rifles and handguns for practice in the field. The main cartridges I used in addition to the 22 LR and Maggie 22 Hornet 222 Rem 223 Rem 222 Rem mag 22-250 Rem 220 Swift 243 Win 6 mm Rem 25-06 17 HMR And I would like to nail at least one with my Savage 99A in 250-3000 I would still be at it today if the Chucks were in decent numbers as I still have all those Varmint rifles, I still get them out a shoot them and they still drive tacks. Good memories. Al

I have always kept a few chicken here on the farm, my favorites are American gamefowl because of their toughness and hardiness as free rangers. Have a some Blues and Brownreds now and a few Jersey Giant hens.

That stuff does not bother me in the least, being under constant attack I like seeing him fight back and fight back dirty, looks to me he has taken a page out of Mohammed Ali's playbook with the naming of opponents. "Crying Chuck", "Nervous Nancy", "Sleezy Shiff" "Sleepy Joe", best part it is all true. Al

LOL, they are not shiny because of being polished, they shine because back in those days many die manufacturers plated their stuff to keep them nice. The dies on the right are old Bair machine tool dies also over 50 years old and they were chrome plated, Bair was partnered with and later bought out by Pacific tool and also chrome plated their dies, went by "DuraChrome", and I like both sets very much. "Pacific" was later bought out by Hornady. Al

When setting up my dies on the Lee Classic Turret press things got a little tight for adjusting and locking down the die lock rings. I was using my old Lyman All American carbide set that I purchased over 50 years ago, and while I have no complaints about the quality of the ammo they produce I do not care for the way they adjust and especially the outdated locking rings and set screw system. On my single stage press they are much easier to adjust and lock down but they are rough. So I got to looking around for rings to replace the OEMs and found Lee's "Finger Tighten Lock Rings", no wrench or screw driver needed although they do have a small wrench that is a help if using in real tight setups. I have to say these rings work as advertised and are so much better that any of the nut style locking rings, the secret is the rubber gasket, a simple idea that is a game changer. I like them so much that I am going to change out the nut style rings on all of my older die sets, a before and after below. Al