Pygmy

If my musty old memory serves me right, I killed 5 deer with that pistol. One was a chip shot in the woods, about 30 yards. The other 4 were all about 200 to 250 yards. All of my shots except the close one in the woods were made resting with the bipod, either prone or resting on a round hay bale...

1 buck rifle 8X

I know just you feel Noahmstone... Years ago I lived briefly in the little town of Whitesville, in Allegany County just a few miles north of the PA line... There is a trout stream that runs through town, and it's name is CRYDER Creek. However, all the locals call it The KYDER...

Yeah, Doe...In Maine BEAR and DEER are both two syllable words. BAY-uh.......DEE-uh... Also in Maine there is a difference between a grouse and a partridge ( PAH-tridge). If you shoot it on the wing, it's a grouse.. If you shoot it off a limb or on the ground (usually on a logging road), it's a PAH-tridge...

Nice doe, Larry.. I'm really happy to see that the XP-100 found a happy new home...<<BIG smile>>..

Just buy a good quality low power scope for your shotgun, and don't worry about batteries, forgetting to POWER UP your sight, or whatever. Keep things simple... Get a good quality small profile, lightweight 2 or 3 power scope and you'll get on target as fast as you will with a red dot..

Culver...If you grew up in Addison, as I did, eleven miles down the road..... You would have heard it as WOOD-hall..hehehehe..

Geeze..You got me going, now... Rathbone.......RATH-bun Cameron.....CAM- run Woodhull....WOOD-hall Caton....KAY-ton Presho...PRE-show

Yeah, Jerry..We grew up fishing CRICKS. Goodhue CRICK, Meads CRICK, Tuscarora CRICK, Post CRICK, yada yada.. And the town over the hill is CAMP-bell...Not pronounced CAMBLE, as it is everyplace else in the world.. My daughter lives in the north country, near Bubba.. The little town she lives in is NORFOLK... It is pronounced NORFORK by the natives...

A group of 1.5" isn't bad at 100 yards. Perhaps you were having an off day. Assuming you have everthing tight, I think you're OK.

Tucked inta the southern teer out here next ta tha Pee -Yea border, I never realized I had an ACK-sent, until I joined tha Navy and was stationed in Fawt Skyler, da Bronx...

Bobcats are becoming very common here in the southern tier. Several trappers that I know are releasing 2-4 cats per season from thier fox and coyote sets. I have personally seen 3 this year either while hunting or crossing the road. I suspect that the state may soon open a limited season for them here. There seem to enough of them around.

Asthetics are important to some people. Some people like nice vehicles. As per MOI, I'm not much interested in cars as long as they get me where I want to go. I DO like attractive, quality firearms...Life is too short to hunt with an ugly gun. Many people however, could care less about what thier firearm looks like, as long as it gets the job done. Nothing wrong with that. Different strokes for different folks.

Elmo..Mossberg makes a 24" vent rib choke tube barrel for the 500. That is a nice, handy length...Long enough for smooth swinging on ducks or the uplands, but short enough to be handy in a blind or in the turkey woods. Cabela's lists them for $175... If you check online auctions and gun shops, you may find a used one for less $$...

Pygmy deer...That's the species I hunt.. <<grin>>... Regarding the multiflora rose. Back in the 1950s, the DEC was promoting it...They called it " the living hedge" and claimed it would not spread, so a lot of landowners planted it. Of course, as we know NOW, the durn stuff spreads like wildfire. Birds eat the berries and then pass the seeds...NASTY stuff.. It DOES make good escape cover for the game, but it is horrible stuff to try to navigate through. I know of many places that are impossible to walk through due to the rose tangles. I've shed a lot of BLOOD due to those thorns over the years.

As far as utility is concerned, there is nothing wrong with the Mossy 500 or the Rem 870 express. Both are functional, dependable shotguns that will do anything you require of them for hunting deer, turkeys and waterfowl. However, I could never really warm up to the Mossberg. It looks cheap, feels cheap, and rattles and makes noise when you handle it. The Remington is a little better. One down side of a pump gun is that they kick like demons, especially with the heavy magnum loads that you use for deer, turkeys and waterfowl. You seem to favor the Rem 1l-87. Due to it's gas-operated semi auto action, felt recoil is considerably less than with a fixed breech gun such as a pump gun, especially a light one. Example... My Browning Citori, an O/U, gives me a headache after a couple dozen 3 inch duck loads. I can shoot one of my 1100s or my 11-87 all day and not notice the recoil. I have shot 1100s for 50 years and an 11-87 for 20 years. They are solid ,dependable guns. If you can afford one, you may be happier with it in the long run than you would be with a low budget pump gun.

I agree, Skillet... Squirrels are more fun to hunt than deer, and they taste better... A LOT more action... It takes a few more to fill the freezer, though... This brings to mind a conversation I had with an old gent who lived in King Salmon, Alaska, about moose hunting. He told me that he used to hunt moose, but eventually he gave it up, and currently only hunts ducks.. He said they are a lot easier to carry home and the decoys are a lot lighter.

Biz...Good luck with the snow...A buddy of mine booked two cougar hunts consecutive years and never got to hunt. There's certainly a good chance that you'll get snow between now and when you hunt.. Keep us posted... Do you plan to shoot your cat with a handgun, rifle, shotgun, or maybe your Xbow..??..

Helluva bruin... Congrats to Squirrel...!!...

It depends on a lot of things, Vet... Is it a 1903 or a 1903 A3.?.. The 1903 was the earlier model used during WWI and the 03-A3 was still being manufactered and issued during WWII and even Korea and Vietnam, as sniper rifles.. There were also a number of variations to the 03 and they might have considerable value to a collector, depending on thier rarity. Original, unaltered specimens bring the most $$ . A sporter based on the 03 action basically has value as a shooter, with no collector value. Any alterations reduce the value considerably. Your best bet for a value is to check out online gun auctions like www.gunbroker.com and see what they are going for. Good luck and keep us posted. I, for one, have always admired the 1903 and it's variations, although I have never owned one. I guess it's from watching Gary Cooper gun down all those Huns with his Springfield '03 in the movie " Sergeant York"....<<grin>>...

I always run a dry patch through my Hawken prior to the season to take out any oil that may be in the bore. After that, I fire at least 3 caps to insure that the nipple is clear before I load it the first time. Never had a misfire...

Joe...As long as you have enjoyed your season, you are certainly not a loser.. You have different standards and expectations regarding what you shoot than some others do.. Nothing wrong with that. As por MOI, I'm just happy to have a couple deer ( a doe and a 1.5 year old buck) for the freezer. I don't NEED the venison, but after eating it as my main red meat since the late 60's, I would kind of MISS it if I didn't have any...<<grin>>...

Dave 6x6... Congrats on the buck. Judging by his size, I'd guess him to be a 2.5 yr old. Nothing wrong with that and some good venison for the freezer.

Very nicely put, Doc... I cherish the memories of being able to take my gun and walk as far as I wanted to go in any direction and never be on property where I was not welcome. There are still some places on the continent where you can do that, but western NY certainly is not one of them. I guess I'll go wax my Edsel...After that I'm going to get out the Sears Wish Book and order a Mattel FANNER FIFTY for my grandson for Christmas. <<grin>>....

Doc, that is a VERY good chronology of what has happened within your lifetime and mine. Can't say that I LIKE it, but it IS what it IS... I'm glad I'm an old fart...I think I'll just give up this hunting BS and take up needlepoint and basketweaving.. It's time for my NAP..