Pygmy

Call it a satchel if you want.. I call it a " FAG BAG "....hehehehe...

I agree...I take a lot of pride in the fact that I work up and load quality custom ammo for my rifles..I get a good deal of satisfaction from taking game with my own handloads. Several of my rifles have never had a factory load fired in them, and those factory rounds I did fire were for barrel breakin and to obtain brass. There are lots of quality factory loads available nowadays for most popular chamberings, but loading your own adds another dimension to the sport.

I know what you mean, Growie.. I was up on a ladder cleaning out single story eaves troughs yesterday, and just THAT had me shaky... I sure don't have the balance, co-ordination and agility that I once had. The mere thought of doing things that I did just 10 or 15 years ago SCARES me now..

I love my Rockchucker..It's kind of the press that all other presses are compared to. However, I only load rifle ammo and usually in fairly small lots ( 20-40 rounds). For loading pistol ammo or if you regularly load several different calibers, I can see the advantage of a turret press.

No book, Early..I'm just a duffer..I'd really rather hunt birds than deer... Let's see...I'll try to recall all of the guns I have shot deer with.. 20 gauge, 16 gauge, 12 gauge...All with slugs ( or sabots) .50 cal. muzzleloader.. Centerfire chamberings.. .222 Rem, 25-06, .260 Rem, .270 Win, 7mm08, 7x57, .280 Rem. 7mm Rem mag, 30-06, .338 Win Mag, .35 rem, .356 Win, and 9.3 x 62. I also did a coup de grace on a buck one time with a .38 special and a road hit doe with a 3 inch mag #4 turkey load.. I know it was not legal to finish off the doe, so SUE me...I could have let her lay there and suffer for a couple of hours. I think that covers it... I think that's it...

I have the exact number written down someplace...With out looking it up it's 60 something bucks..Consider the fact that I hunted two states most years and hunted many years under the NYS party permit system that allowed the party permit to be used as an either sex tag. I shot two bucks legally that way several years. I have several friends my age who have (legally of course) shot quite a few more deer than I have. Bored shooting does ?..Not me..I like to pull the trigger and I never ate a doe I didn't like. I honestly can't remember a season since I started hunting that I did not shoot at least one deer.. There was one year that the only deer I shot was a small doe that I got the last few minutes of legal shooting time on the final day of PA antlerless season...LOL...

Opening day of gun season has always had it's special appeal...There is nothing quite like it.. I have hunted every opening day ( southern zone) in NY since 1965 plus MOST of the PA opening days since 1973... Back when seasom opened on a Monday, the weekend before was a big party..That was fun..I still get together with a few friends Friday night and swap lies over a few brews, but it's not like the old days.. It's probably easier on my LIVER this way, though...LOL...

Anytime someone tells me that nearly all the deer they shoot collapse on the spot, it tells me that they they are shooting them in the head, the neck or the spine, or MOST LIKELY, the shoulder, which will nearly always also affect the spine. Coming close to the spine ( as in a high lung shot) may also drop the deer in it's track due to the close passage of the wound channel to the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM.. Before the deer can recover from the shock to the spine, it has bled to death from the lung damage. A deer shot ABOVE, but CLOSE to the spine or neck vertebrae will often drop at the shot, but will often soon recover and run off as if unhit. I have heart shot and center lung shot too many deer ( with too many different calibers) to believe that those shots drop deer in thier tracks, except perhaps in rare cases, regardless of what you shoot them with. I am not doubting your experience, just saying that it is shot placement that determines whether a deer drops in it's tracks, not the chambering that you shoot them with.

Chances are slim to none on the same buck... Another deer ..? Perhaps..

I've killed perhaps 70-80 deer with shotgun slugs, and perhaps 30-40 deer with rifle bullets... The rifle bullets disrupt more tissue than the shotgun slugs, but I can honestly say that with good shot placement, I can't see where there is much difference in how fast they expire. With a heart/lung shot, they will run from 20 to 100 yards and pile up. With a shot that hits ( or passes very near to ) the CNS, they will fall down on the spot... No matter WHAT you shoot them with.

From a fellow vet ( Navy)... Happy birthday, you jar headed seagoing bellhops.. Thanks for all the times you busted my poor swabbie butt going in and out of the gates of the base !! No offense, Gyrenes..With what they put you through, you had every right to be miserable and ornery.<<smile>>...

Handwarmer muff, eh ? I agree that there is nothing like a warm muff to warm a fellow's hands....

Sold...Lock her up..!..

I agree with everything you said...The only time I would consider a "scout" configuration would be on a military rifle that I did not want to alter, like a K98K Mauser. You can remove the rear sight, install a scout type mount on the rear sight base, and then if you want to return the rifle to ORIGINAL condition, just remove the scope mount and reinstall the issue rear sight. I am also a fan of peep sights..I use the issue peep when hunting with my Garand M1, and I have peep sights on my TC Hawken .50 cal, one of my 10/22 rugers, and a Yugo M48 8MM Mauser.

You Da MAN, Joe !!! That decoying waterfowl is exciting stuff...

Well, Mike, that grinner isn't the culprit that uncovered your trap...They are dumb as a box of rocks and will walk right into an uncovered trap.. At least you got something for supper... Anybody got a good recipe for possum ?...

I don't that any of them are legal... 15 will get you 20....

Is that place still in business ? I never hunted Goose Haven, but I hunted Lawson's Goose Farm, near there, about 40 years ago...I have no idea if THEY are still operating. Good luck..Post your results...

Muck boots are a quality product..Not cheap, but you get what you pay for. They are very tough, and the models with insulation are warm... I'm on my fourth season on a pair of Muck Woodies..They are showing some wear, but they still don't leak and they have a LOT of miles on them.

Got a grenade ??

A buddy of mine is a very talented trapper..Takes 30 + yotes and 70-80 fox per season.. He just whacks the foxes and coons in the head with a maul handle and then stomps on thier ribcage...DONE !! Yotes, he shoots them in the lungs with a .22 CB short or CB long... Leaves less blood than a head shot, and excess blood at a dirt hole set can be counter-productive.

It's as simple as this...The .223 is capable of making clean kills on deer with proper shot placement and bullet choice... However , you may not always be offered ideal shots , such as nice broadside shots.. It is not an ideal chambering for shots that require a lot of penetration, such as ranging shots, or shots that contact heavy bone. The ,223 excells as a varmint cartridge, but can be very effective on deer under the right conditions.. The .308, however, is ideal for deer sized game and will also do a good job on larger game such as moose and elk with proper bullets... It is NOT overkill for deer, but will make clean kills from any practical shot angle... If I had a rifle in each chambering that I felt confident with, accuracy wise, I would take the .308 for deer every time. Given equal accuracy, I can see NO advantage for the .223 over the .308 as a deer cartridge, and I see definite advantages of the .308 over the .223.

I do the same things Doc...I often use screw in treesteps placed in strategic places for gun rests, and I always carry a set of shooting sticks besides..The only treestands I hunt out of are ladder stands or constructed stands with a shooting rail. On one of my favorite watches I stand between three big round hay bales, which make an excellent rifle rest.

Maybe I was on CANDID CAMERA... There WAS a guy there that looked like Allen Funt... Wait a minute.....He's DEAD !!...

Elmo...Good call...Never thought of that... It appeals to me because I usually like to think the BEST of people..