Pygmy

I've been in touch with my daughter in Potsdam...She, along my SIL and grandson still have power, so they are hunkered in safe and warm for the time being.. Keeping our fingers crossed that they maintain power. Meanwhile, back at the oasis, it's about 60 here in southern Steuben County.

I guess I should have bought a few more bricks of 500 back when they were selling for $8.99 per brick...

....Absolutely....Snow on ice defintely slows the forming of safe ice. If your weather is like our weather here in SW NY, it's going to take a few days after this thaw to get safe ice again.

Those Rem 788s had a reputation of being REAL accurate, even though they are ugly as a side order of s**t... I'm a big fan of the 7mm08 myself... Performs well on game, accurate, and kicks noticably less than other chamberings with similar performance, like the .270, .280, 30-06 or .308.

Yeah....Everytime I eat pigeon I wonder why I don't hunt them more often. Fun to shoot..Easy to clean and DELICIOUS !

I have had them come in to crow decoys and field duck decoys many times.. I remember a magazine article years ago where a guy used crumpled up newspapers as pigeon decoys..Obviously, that would not work well if there was any WIND to deal with...<<grin>>... I suspect that plastic beverage bottles dabbed with blotches of white and dark paint would work as well as anything.. Of course, like waterfowl hunting, they would work best in an area where the birds are accostomed to coming in to feed.

Bounties were once common in many states. When I was growing up there was a $5 bounty on foxes in NY..At the same time PA had bounties on foxes AND great horned owls. Many states had bounties on predators INCLUDING eagles..A friend of mine used to shoot bald eagles in Alaska for $50 per bird. Eventually nearly all ( if not all) states gave up paying bounties as a waste of taxpayers money.. The NY fox bounty was ended in the early 70s..

Heck yes, Greybeard...I've shot hundreds of them over the years..They are very good eating..Dark meat, similar to wild duck..The only thing is, the older birds tend to be somewhat tough, so you need to use a slow, moist method of cooking, like braising, slow roasting, pressure cooking, or crockpot. The meat is all in the breast..I simply skin and cut the breast away and discard the rest... In the crockpot, put a layer of pigeon breasts, a layer of onions, another layer of breasts, etc. salt, pepper and then add some red wine and cook all day on low ..Good stuff. They also provide some very challenging wingshooting.. I have a local dairy farmer that lets me come down once or twice a year and shoot pigeons..He has dozens of them hanging around his corncribs and silos. It's a great way to spend a winter afternoon and burn up a few dozen shotshells. Field loads of #6 or 7 1/2 shot do the job just fine.

Heck no, Virgil... I just thought that you would be a natural for a Peace Corps or Missionary type job, considering your obvious compassion for your fellow man. Oh yeah... I'm sure it's just a coincidence that the only person I ever met who joined the Peace Corps is gay...

Holy CRAP, Virgil, are you still here ? I'd have thought that by now you'd have gone off to join the PEACE CORPS, or something.

Hehehehe..Hey... If you travel the "Hershey Highway" you should be prepared to be the BUTT of a few jokes..

Maybe so....It's probably rude and insensitive, too... But it's FUNNY !!!! Hehehehehe...

I was going to change my name, but Shrimp, Squirt, Shorty and Midget were all taken. Besides that, I kinda LIKE running around the woods carrying a spear wearing only a loincloth and a bone in my nose..

Early...You like to use the word "hate" when referring to people who don't approve with other philosophies, such as the gay lifestyle. How is someone's expression of thier opinion about gay people any more hateful than the statement that you just made about "bible thumpers" ? I guess I am to assume that in your mind it is unacceptable to make negative statements about gay people, but it is perfectly acceptable to make negative statements about " bible thumpers"...

Years ago I broke the hickory ramrod that came with my TC Hawken. I replaced it with a fiberglass one and it has lasted for many seasons with no problems. Sorry, I can't remember where I bought it, but I would think an internet search would turn up something for you.

Totally tasteless..

Plugs are impractical for many rifles. The 3 shot plug rule for tubular mag shotguns is very common..I'm required by law to plug my shotgun for turkeys and other small game in Pa, Ontario, Maine, Virginia and other states where I have hunted. Since I use the same guns for turkey hunting as I do for waterfowl, I just leave them plugged..No big deal either way for me.

What have you been smoking, young feller.. ?? If you need an answer, NO...

Holy CRAP, Crappy...!! You still have a TURNTABLE ?? My last one burned up in a housefire in '94... BLESS yore pea pickin' little heart, my friend !!!... <<grin>>... Oh yeah, and MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!

To the OP.. Don't handicap the kid with a .410...Taking game such as turkeys and pheasants with a .410 is possible at very close range by someone who is an experienced and steady shot, but it's more of a STUNT than anything else. A 20 gauge gun is a fine starter...Light field loads are effective on small game at reasonable ranges. They don't kick excessively, even in a light fixed breech gun.. Heavier loads are effective on game as big as pheasants and turkeys at reasonable ranges.. I have patterned several 20 gauge guns that shot good, sure kill patterns for turkeys at ranges from 35 to 40 yards. If I were buying a first gun for a youngster, it would be a 20 gauge gas operated auto. Recoil is mild, even with slugs, which can be BRUTAL in a light fixed breech 20 gauge such as a single barrel or an Ithaca M37...

Growie... I am so sorry for your loss... I lost a lifelong friend a couple of months ago..We went to high school together and shared a lot of good times hunting, fishing, chasing girls, etc... I extend my most sincere condolences..

I'm no longer using LAST Year's stamp.. I'll give you a deal on it.. Ten bucks and it's yours...<<smile>>.... Hehehehe..JK, of course..Good luck finding a stamp.

Keith Richards did that ? Wasn't it originally by Chuck Berry..?.. I do like it, at least Chuck's version.

Ah yes..How could I have left out Nat King Cole.. ?..A classic... And then there's ANOTHER King..Elvis..."Blue Christmas"...

Three songs come immediately to mind. " Santa Baby"..Original version by Eartha Kitt " All I Want for Christmas is You " by Vince Vance and the Valiants " Merry Christmas From the Family" by Robert Earl Keene Honorable mention goes to a duet sung by Doewhacker and Steve 863.. " Walking 'Round in Women's Underwear"....<<grin>>....