Pygmy

Soldotna is down on the Kenai peninsula... Wonderful, GORGEOUS country... Great fishing right out your back door.. You can drive the main highway and watch whales on the sound on one side of you and see dall sheep on the mountain on the OTHER side.. Moose and caribou are a draw there..Good luck... However, good moose and caribou is available over the counter via air taxi across Cook Inlet. I'm not sure about deer hunting that far north ( Sitka blacktail) but I am sure there is good black bear hunting. Get accostomed to holstering a heavy handgun, or better yet, a light shotgun or big bore rifle, while hiking...Grizzlies are common there.. A few have been killed in self defense in recent years by citizens hiking or fishing..

I just received my Colorado deer tag in the mail.. I drew a deer tag for unit 61, 3rd rifle season... Now it's time to start making airline reservations, rental car, plans for meat shipping, etc. etc. Not to mention getting some ammo loaded up so I can get in some trigger time with my .280 this summer !

YUP....

I never have, but it certainly would be good practice for trigger control. I have read many times that dry firing would not hurt quality centerfires, but it always made me nervous..I think it's a good idea to go with the snapcaps. I remember, many years ago, a good looking young fellow about 12 years old did some dry firing with his Dad's antique Ithaca hammer double ( circa 1899).. Eventually, one of the firing pins split lengthways. Fortunately, Dad was a machinist and made another firing pin for it. He didn't even kick my butt TOO hard....<<blush>>...

What town is the hospital in ?

I am envious...I love Alaska...I can close my eyes and almost SMELL the muskeg and tundra.... By the way, if you get into Anchorage stop at " The Great Alaska Bush Company".. Look up a redhead named BAMBI and tell her that Pygmy says, " Thanks for the popcorn"....

A headband type magnifier is a help. I also use it for for tying jigs/flies. Cool tip from Mikejd about the surgical tubing. I never had a power wrapper, just used the book method...I tied up a few rods over the years, but nowadays mostly I just re-wrap to replace guides. Quality rods are not that expensive these days, and they last a long time, unless you close them up in the tailgate of your truck.. Of course, I never did THAT....<<blush>>....

I have a couple of custom wingbones, made by friends of mine. They are both wrapped with thread, similar to the thread used for wrapping guides on fishing rods, and then they are laquered or varnished ....

Now that's FUNNY right there.. That's the funniest post since Elmer's " HITLER" thread...

Not everybody hunts from a stand... Low powered scopes or peep sights...What a breath of fresh air !! I think I love you, ADK....Do you REALLY look like Fess Parker ??...<<grin>>....

Boo-Boo was just looking for a PIC-A- NIC basket....

Wooly, you never cease to amaze me...<<grin>>.. A female friend of mine, who happens to be a veterinarian, has a hobby of collecting skulls. I don't believe that SHE even has a turkey skull, and she's a very successful turkey hunter, with a couple of world slams to her credit. However, she also wears shorts and her legs are much prettier than yours.

Over the years I have read several articles concerning "brush busting". In one the tester constructed a maze of dowels and placed a target beyond it, and shot groups with various guns and projectiles. The conclusion in most cases was that NOTHING , even heavy, slow moving rifle bullets or shotgun slugs,really busts very much brush without significant deflection, enough to cause a miss, or worse yet, a bad hit at normal hunting ranges. Always try to pick an opening...

He must have had his nuts shot off last season...

Yup...drew a CO deer tag in unit 61 with 11 preference points... 3rd rifle season...

In 1989 in Alaska, my partner and I spent two weeks in the Alaska wilderness on a float trip...It rained every day, usually several times. the only day we did not get wet was the day the float plane picked us up. In 1999, four of us did a supercub drop near Koliganek, Alaska. We had two 4 man tents. About the 4th or 5th day a storm came up and wrecked one of our tents. We had to pile all 4 of us in one tent with only 2 sleeping pads and 2 bags.. It rained nonstop for 5 days with NO chance to dry anything out. We were on open tundra with no timber and no cover except our tent. However, we saw over 1000 caribou per day and we each killed two big bulls...We saw 13 grizzlies and a huge bull moose ( no moose tag). Finally the weather cleared and the ait taxi was able to fly us out. Great trip !!

Good luck with the weather, Critter... Camping is no fun in the rain, Lord knows I've done enough of it over the years...<<grin>>..

It will be a little bittersweet for me. One of my fishing buddies, whom I grew up with, and who had been my favorite bartender for many years, passed away last October. The trout opener this year was the first one in many years when we didn't fish together, and he also was my partner for years on the bass opener. Even in his 60s, he always got really excited about opening day. I'll have to stop by the cemetery and give him a report..Perhaps I'll leave a beer and a couple of my hand tied hair jigs for him...

I have developed some scar tissue in the brow area myself over the years....Let's see, if my moldy old memory serves me right, there was a 12 gauge slug gun, a .50 cal muzzleloader, my M70 .280, and, of all things, my M700 Mountain rifle in 7mm08 that all left me bleeding profusely... Believe it or not, it was the last time, with the 7mm08, that did me the worst. I had a cut between my eyes and the two most beautiful black eyes you ever saw for about two weeks.

The bass opener has been an event of some magnitude with me and my friends for the last 40 years or so. We used to get a group together and rent a cottage or campsite for the entire weekend. We have always had a little wager on the biggest bass ( usually $5 per person). Over the years we have fished the St. Lawrence, Seneca Lake, and Keuka Lake. At times we had as many as 15 or 20 fishermen involved. The last few years we have done Keuka. It is closer for us and we seem to catch just as many and just as big bass there as anywhere. We no longer camp for the weekend...Just 2 or 3 boats on opening day. It's still a special day, and generally it takes a 4 pound plus fish to win the money... Most of us concentrate on smallmouths and most of our fish are caught on light spinning tackle and hair jigs..

No problem there. Fungus Face, one of my hunting buddies, hunts everything with his .300 Win mag. He is ugly as sin, dumb as a stump, and as recoil proof as a tractor tire. He's also one of my most treasured friends and is a very good shot. He's as solid a friend and hunting partner as there is and I would ( and I HAVE ) trust him with my life in a tight situation. I would not want to have him know I said such a thing, but he's too busy chasing loose women to read forums like this. I load his ammo for him and I worked up the loads for his M70 .300 Win mag , featuring 180 grain Speer Grand Slams. The damn thing kicked the snot out of me while I was working up loads, but it doesn't bother him a bit. He said he never realized it kicked that much until he watched ME shoot it from the bench. Works for him...<< GRIN>>....

You might win that bet.... How about this one ? I'll shoot a charging grizzly at 20 yards with a 30-06 and 200 grain bullet.. You shoot a charging grizzly at 20 yards with your bow and whatever arrow you choose. Want to bet on which one of us is more likely to end up as bear s**t ??

Why would a .270 EVER be superior to a 30-06 ? Essentially the same velocities with equal bullet weights, and the 06 will handle significantly heavier bullet weights than the .270. The 30-06 has a big edge on heavier game, due to it's ability to use 180-220 grain bullets at velocities high enough for shots out to 300 yards or so.

Steve certainly wasn't talking about me. I put my gun in my purse when I sit on the can.

I checked my supply this morning...I have lots of primers. Fortunately I had stocked up before the shortages. PROBABLY I have enough powder, but I'll pick up another pound or two if it's available. Definitely need bullets, specifically Barnes TTSX 140 grain 7mm....I'll try Beikirch's in Knoxville, PA. If they don't have them, Cooper's in Mansfield PA is another good source. I spent some time this morning and prepped a good supply of casings...They are all FL resized, trimmed, chamfered, primer pockets cleaned..All I have to do is prime, charge and seat bullets.