airedale

An old Daisy Cork Rifle, can't hit the broad side of a barn from the inside, still they are fun for a little kid shooting for the first time. Al

There was a time when Skunk fur was as valuable as Coon and they were hunted by hunters using dogs, some of the above photos show quite a few Skunk hides. I would do everything I could to break my dogs off of them but still me and the dogs got into Skunks more times than I care to remember and had to drive home with the windows down and my head hanging out to avoid that reeking stench. My hunting vehicle in the old days was a 67 Volkswagen Beetle with the rear seat taken out to make room for the Dawgs and a tarp laid on the floor, could go just about anywhere with that car. Money would have to be "really" tight for me to hunt Skunks on purpose. Al

Put on a few miles in my day following Coon Dawgs, I would still be doing it but age has pretty much caught up with me and trouncing miles in the woods chasing the hounds and going through those swamps at night would be near impossible these days for me to keep in the chase. For me it was always about the dogs, some of the stuff those old Coons would pull to loose the dogs and the way the dogs figured out what they were pulling and put them up a tree was something. I still have the memories and there are plenty of photos out there of the folks still doing it that put a smile on my face. Al

A craiglist favorite is mining for legit email addresses and phone numbers. An item priced ridiculously cheap looking for a response which will give the scammer access to those email or phone numbers which in turn they sell to spammers who bomb your inbox with junk mail or have your phone ringing off the hook! A good example shown below.

"Wally Taber" probably need some age on you to remember this guy, one of the first to film hunting and fishing shows for the public, also wrote articles for various outdoor publications, he was pretty well known back in the day. I attended one of his shows back in the late seventies held in a local high school auditorium which helped raise funds for some charity. Several area sporting goods stores and vendors were asked to support the show and the Sporting Goods store I worked in back then set up three tables of hunting and fishing gear in the lobby outside the auditorium and believe it or not we had a couple of dozen firearms on display along with all the other stuff we brought in. There was a State Trooper in attendance that kept watch. The show was a sell out, Wally's presentation was pretty good and also informative, a good time was had by all. My, Times sure have changed! Al

So I installed the Grainger hammer spring today in the Henry single shot and I am pleased with the improvement in the trigger's pull weight, I would say at least one third less than the factory spring, she is letting off at a fairly crisp 5 3/4 lbs, no match trigger for sure but not bad for an entry plinker-hunting rifle. Got it back out on the range to check reliability, used the same ancient handloaded ammo I had lying around which was loaded for revolvers I had back in the day. Accuracy was not in the fly hunting category but not too bad, I have rifle specific loading data and I believe I can get this Henry shooting better with some fresh ammo. My main concern was the reliability of the Grainger spring giving light primer hits but that was not the case. The strikes were nice and hard and every shell fired. Al

Before purchasing the Henry I did a lot of online research as to what I was getting into. The heavy trigger pull was a main complaint of Henry owners and I read Henry's explanation as to why it is heavy. Typical liability issue to keep the company from getting sued, the rifles have to be able to survive a 4 foot fall with the hammer cocked without going off. For that to happen with absolute reliability Henry used heavy weight hammer springs, so in a nutshell that is why the trigger pull is heavy and it should be noted the rifle can not be fired unless the hammer is cocked. One can not blame Henry for wanting to cover their butt especially after seeing what happened to Remington and their model 700 trigger fiasco. After shooting the rifle yesterday I will confirm that the trigger pull weight is way heavier than I like but I got used to it and had zero misfires and shot some decent groups. Also I would rate the firing pin strikes on the cartridge primers as very heavy. That being said I do not own a rifle that I have not opened up and done trigger work on and this Henry will be no exception. Along with some careful stoning of sear mating surfaces I also found a spring fix online that changes out the heavy weight hammer spring and according to those that have done the mod it will cut the trigger pull weight in half. This spring called a Grainger will be arriving in my mailbox this morning and I will be installing it shortly. I wanted to wait to shoot the rifle first before installing the spring because the reloaded ammo I was firing. I used up some very old primers I had laying around for many years, forty to fifty years old and to be honest I did not know how reliable they would be because of their age. I wrote a post about old ammo here on the board some years ago and this again has proven as long as components and ammo are stored properly they will retain their reliability and still be accurate. So all and all I do like the Henry and with a little work on the trigger and some fresh new reloads in 357 geared to this rifle I think I have a winner. Mowin below a little better photo of the Remington 541S, they were discontinued quite a few years ago but they can be found online for sale. Based on the Remington 541X target rifle's action these are high end well made sporters that shoot about as well as any and you will not be disappointed if you can get your hands on one. Al

Got the Henry Single shot 357 out on the range today to fire some of the 38 special handloads I put up described in the big case load thread in the reloading section. I fired 6 different loads three 38 special and three 357 mag. The 38 special target loads sucked especially the swaged lead semi wadcutters, the same type of bullet in hard cast form was a bit better and copper washed Berry lead HPs shot the best of the 38 special loads which were all loaded exactly the same. It is the first time I have ever loaded or fired Berry's bullets and I can say I like them way better that swaged or cast lead. I had some of my old 357 mag handloads stashed away that are close to 40 or 50 years old, 146 gr Speer half jackets and 140 gr Speer HPs and a few 158 gr HP Remington factory. All three loads shot pretty well and I was satisfied with their performance, So the Henry had a definite preference for the 357 mag ammo over the 38 specials. Also got out one of my favorite rifles, a Remington 541 S 22 and did a bit of fly hunting as per crappyice's request for a couple of photos. Used honey for bait and splattered three at 25 yards. Al

"Jackass", sick but funnier than Hell. Al

Got the Henry all set up and ready to fire, accouple of minor things had to be done to assure fit and easy operation. The scope base I picked up was too long if the rear sight was to be retained so I had to shorten it, I used Burris low quick detachable rings which made getting at the hammer a tight squeeze so a hammer spur was added to take care of that problem. Got the little 6 oz Leupold all mounted up and bore sighted so she is ready for some range time evaluation. Al

My annual "Trump Tax Cut firearm" A Henry brass frame single shot in 357 mag to burn some of this 38 special stuff. I am a fan of single shots and I had been giving the Henry a serious look since they were announced a couple of years ago, with all this ammo to shoot the 357 chambering sealed the deal. The covid crap made the purchase go slower than I liked. Seems to be a quality rifle and I can't wait to shoot it, waiting for the little 2.5 X lightweight Leupold scope to come in early this week. Al

I did not say copper bullets are inaccurate, they are more than accurate enough for hunting and will shoot as well as any hunting bullets. I was referring to target shooting where traditional lead core match bullets are the most accurate of all. From most reports I have seen on 22 LR ammo using non lead concoctions they have been terrible accuracy wise, I always like seeing for myself, tried a box and I will concur with those assessments. Al

No seems to be, it is a culture problem plain as the nose on your face but nobody wants to admit it, not PC, the truth hurts! Al

As the old saying goes "Learn Something New every Day" and I just did!

Copper bullets perceived advantage is that they hold together with hits on game while not contaminating meat which can be possible with Lead fragments. ( That problem has always been solved down through the years by cutting away all bloodshot meat and tossing it) Target shooting is another matter, namely cost which can be substantial if one shoots a lot and while copper bullets can be accurate the most accurate match bullets are traditional jacketed lead, even Barnes match bullets are not the monolithic type they are traditional lead core. Bullet and ammo cost 22 LR lead free ammo around 20 cents per and the accuracy is crap! 22 LR plinking ammo 5 to 6 cents per Typical 38 pistol bullets cast lead 12 cents per Typical jacketed pistol bullets 20 to 25 cents per Barnes copper pistol bullets 60 cents per 22 centerfire bullets jacketed lead 13 to 18 cent per 22 centerfire bullets pure copper 45 tp 48 cents per Last but not least what never seems to be mentioned is pure copper is a toxic metal in it's own right, shooting it into a bank of dirt or hillside will cause some copper contamination to the land not much different than lead.

When it comes to traps the old Victor Traditional Rat traps works as well or better than any on Chipmunks using peanut butter or bread molded onto the pan, they are also cost effective. Al

A Chipmunk's cute looks have always been their saving grace with the general public, but the reality is they are nothing more than a cute Rat and when they come out of the woods and start getting into buildings and vehicles they cause the same kinds of damage and filth as Rats. They also breed similar to Rats so it does not take long to repopulate after killing them off, a lot like the beat the gopher games at carnivals, you knock them down and another will keep popping up. On my place it has always been a non stop battle with them as they get into everything here on the farm, my arsenal of dogs, traps, guns and water buckets is in full swing right now, we have eliminated a bunch but there is no rest from them, just try to keep their numbers as low as possible. Al

I have heard about using Aspirins, Necco Wafers and Charcoal Briquettes for targets, never tried it myself but one of these days I hope to. As the old Jack O'Connor saying goes you will never be a good shot unless you do a lot of shooting. If you are busting Aspirins on a consistent basis come fall when you are in the woods after Squirrels a head shot will seem easy. Al

When I was a kid my family lived across the road from Fish Creek, the major tributary of Oneida Lake where a major spawning run was made by Walleyes in April. These days the creek is closed to all fishing between mid March to the first Saturday in May but years ago fishing was allowed during the spawning run and we could catch Walleyes in huge numbers and I mean like every cast a fish was on. Of course Game Wardens where in constant patrol in big numbers watching to make sure all catches were released. Anyhow the consensus lure of choice of the local yokels was the L&S Mirrolure an early what they call today crankbait, they called them "plugs" back then and if you were lucky enough to be able to afford one you would catch two Walleyes to every one of anyone fishing along side of you with something different tied to the end of their line.

I will never be as good a shot as Jed or Jethro, hitting them on the wing is way out of my league If they sit still for a couple of seconds this Winchester model 52 B bench gun will leave a hole that is bordered by fly legs. With that period Redfield 3200 20X scope she will group a tad better than the target which I shot using Redfield Olympic target sights. Al

Was talking with some friends about fishing lures and what was the one that had the most success. I believe I have caught more fish using the Mepps Minnow inline spinner of various sizes than any other. At one time or another I think I have caught just about every species of fish there is to catch where I have fished using a Mepps even a Bullhead and a Carp. Al

One of my favorite shooting range activities is hunting Flies, I will smear some sort of attractant on my 25 and 50 yard targets to get Flies to land and takes shots at them with highly accurate rimfire rifles. I can knock them off pretty consistently at 25 yards, it is a bit tougher at 50. It has pretty much replaced chuck hunting for me, and even though they are just Flies I still get a bit of satisfaction when I drill one at 50 yards. Al

I have a backyard range that goes out to 100 yards with various reactive targets, I use it mostly for various rimfire firearms and handguns, also for sighting in and the testing of centerfire rifle handloads. A few years ago I purchased a small shed and set it up along side my old bench so I can shoot in lousy weather especially all through the winter when things get pretty boring around these parts. I love to burn ammo and for me there is not to many things that are more fun than an accurate rimfire firearm, a brick of 22s and making those reactive targets sing. Al

Seattle's "Summer Of Love" is going to be the gift that keeps on giving to Republicans running for election, I say just stand back and let the Antifa, Black Lives Matter, and other fringe knucklehead groups have free reign with their demands and show the whole country what a folly the libtard Democrat leadership that run that city is. The place already looks like a shithole in just a few short days and things are just starting to warm up. Al