Pygmy

Reminds me of myself when I was younger... Nowadays I'd be charged with " assault with a dead weapon"...

The markings have worn off many of my turkey loads. All I know much of the time is that they are 12 gauge 3" mag #4 or #6 shot, 1 7/8 oz. or 2 oz. As long as the bird is within good range it doesn't make any difference, unless I MISS, which is nearly always the result of me choking at the last instant and jerking the trigger instead of squeezing it. Come to think of it, that's the same reason I sometimes miss deer, squirrels, aardvarks and various other critters.

How far do you want to shoot ? If you are willing to limit your shots to 40-45 yards, any buffered, 3" or 3.5" copper plated load of #4 to #6 shot should do the trick... If you feel the need to stretch your barrel farther, then play around with the hevi blends or the Win Longbeard XRs, to name a couple. I don't shoot past 40 yards anymore, and just about ANY 3" 1 7/8 oz. or 2 oz. load of 4s, 5s or 6s gives me a sure kill pattern at that range with either my Kick's .665 Gobblin Thunder tube on my Rem 11-87 or the fixed full choke tube on my 35 year old Rem 1100 3" mag... I kill most of my turkeys with Win XX copper plated turkey loads or Federal premium( lead) heavyweight loads... I used to favor # 4 shot, but have switched to #6 shot lately, and I can't see any difference in performance on game. I have never owned a 3.5" gun..Those big long shells scare me...<<grin>>..

I was down in South Carolina a couple of weeks ago at the Pickens County Flea Market, which is supposedly the biggest flea market in SC.. I kept my eyes peeled for .222 mag brass or ammo..I did not see any, although they nearly everything ELSE in creation ! They had .222 Rem, but no magnum stuff that I could find.

Welcome to the forum, my good friend !! I'm sure that members here will benefit from your deer and turkey hunting experience.. And the first thing to establish... Proper pronunciation of LOUISIANA... If you live there, it's LOOO-sy- anna.... Not Loo-WEE-sy-anna... A good looking blonde South Carolina veterinarian told me that years ago, and after talking with Laturkeyhtr, I realized that she was right.

Please accept my most sincere condolences, Eddie...

Culver..Is the pork liver firm enough to stay on the hook, or do you use spawn sac netting or something similar to keep it on the hook? I've always used crawlers because they work and they are available, but I have heard that liver and leeches work well.

Anybody been bullhead fishing yet ? I know it's a little early, but with the mild spring I thought they might start biting a bit earlier than usual. The bullhead fishing hasn't been as good the last few years on the ponds that I normally fish, but my rabbit hunting buddy has got permission for himself and me on a big private pond near where he lives that supposedly has big bullheads in it. We're looking forward to giving it a try, perhaps this weekend. Bullhead fishing is simple bank fishing at it finest, sitting on a bucket with your rods propped up on a forked stick, waiting for the tip to start nodding. Good eating, too, dusted in flour or Bisquick and fried, or sautéed in butter. My Dear Old Mother, God Bless her, would KILL for a mess of bullheads !

Cool, Real...Check the bugs and let me know.. Things might be way different that far south on a major river than they are here on local trout streams.. Even in an early spring, the hendricksons wouldn't be hatching here until about May at the earliest...Shucks, mid April would be early for the Gordon quills, and they are the earliest major mayfly hatch.

It's way too early for Hendrickson's...Perhaps quill gordons ?

" Oh no.....Mongo STRAIGHT ! "

It reminded me of a red bellied racer, but they are usually darker on the back.

There's an old foundation near County Route 2 in Steuben County that is about 1/2 full of Genny cans courtesy of MOI, and they were put there BEFORE the nickel deposit rule came into effect..

Never heard that one, Dan, but that's not saying it's not true. I know several require .375 or larger. Also I believe that some specifically allow the 9.3 x 62 because of that cartridge's popularity on that continent.

My carry gun is a revolver , S&W 637, but I really like the pocket holster for it. Works well in either front pants pocket or a jacket pocket. I don't think it is that obvious, unless a person is REALLY looking for it. I have carried many times in public and no one has ever noticed it, at least not to my knowledge. Lawdwaz likes the ankle holster, but the pocket holster came with my gun and I liked it so well I have not bothered to try the ankle holster.

Hehehehe..Whatever floats your boat, Treeguy.. I can tell by your avatar that you like the BIG stuff.. As for 50 BMG rifles, I have stood behind the firing line watching guys shoot them from bipods AND offhand , and that's close as I ever want to get to one. Now if you have a tripod or vehicle mounted Ma Deuce, I'd like to put a belt or two through THAT, but shoulder fired ?...No thank you !

One of my nephews had a match grade M1-A, which is the semi-auto only version of the M14.. He was attending college at the time and did not have a good place to keep it, so it lived at my house for a couple of years, along with 500 rounds of ammo and the invitation for me to shoot it whenever I wanted.. I didn't shoot it very much, because I didn't want to take advantage, but it sure was fun when I did. Eventually, he took it back...<sigh>.....

I'm DROOLING over that piece of walnut...Can't wait to see the finished product, Wildcat ...

Let me know when you're gonna shoot it..I'll make sure I'm in the next county ..

This brings to mind a favorite poem recited by an elderly lady of Irish descent who was a friend of mine and passed away just a few years ago. " Ireland was Ireland when England was just a pup, and Ireland will be Ireland when England is all washed up. Well I'm an Irish Catholic and I go to Sunday Mass, And every English son of a bitch can kiss my Irish ass.."

I must admit I would have had to check the regs to see if it was legal to use FMJ ammo for big game in NY. Expanding bullets are required by law in most states I have hunted in. With the "any centerfire" regulation it is also legal to use anemic rounds such as .25 or .32 ACP for deer, but you'd hardly think that anyone would be silly enough to do it.. But then, there are those who would say they like the "challenge" of shooting 20 pound turkey gobblers with a .410....

Don't be bad mouthing Norm Peterson, my #1 role model.....

P. S.....I'd shoot the one on the right ...<<grin>>...

I'm sure they do, Lammer... However, so do skunks, possums, coons, foxes, coyotes, bears, domestic dogs, crows, ravens, bluejays and a bunch of other critters which are ALL much more numerous than fishers .. Even in areas where fisher populations are RELATIVELY high, there really aren't that many of them.. I doubt that fishers have a significant effect on turkey populations..

Al, as a veteran of MANY quill pulling sessions, I would heartily agree with that.. Mostly it involved coon hounds, but we had an Airedale who was a family pet and she always had to try to KILL the damn things..