philoshop

I'll stick with my original statement: A Mini 14 is not a bad alternative. It's a big step down from what most any AR platform will offer, but it's legal without mods and it's a lot of fun for about half the money. Spend the other $600 on ammo and put a grin on your face. Sorry Buckmaster. JMHO. I own and enjoy both. Each has it's place.

Mr. Obama would be dancing through the rose garden if he were allowed another SC nominee. Barring a fatal accident, I don't see it happening, but keep an eye on Hillary. She knows the game. The next Conservative president (Nov '16) may have a couple of opportunities though. I'm not giving up hope.

Thanks guys. It's a beloved beater. She's got 50 years worth of cosmetic wear on her. Always well cared for but it has been in the muck at the bottom of several swamps over the years. It was never babied. It's never failed me, and I kind of miss carrying it. The smoothbore punkin balls have taken lots of deer over the years. We're set go for Wednesday morning. It'll be a nostalgia trip for sure. I'll get some pics while I'm at it.

Therein lies the rub. A detachable mag is just that, detachable, and the argument could certainly be made that a bullet button or a maglock doesn't conflict with the premise that it's still a detachable magazine. Depends on the judge and the prosecutor. There is currently some language in the law, however, that qualifies that detachablity to mean "without the use of tools". The point of a bullet is a tool to detach the magazine. JMO. The more we talk about it here, the more the idiots will refine their laws. They don't know what they're talking about, but they do keep an eye on this site.

I would define 'good alternative' in this case as being completely legal off-the shelf, with the ability go bang at a semi-auto pace. I agree it will never be an AR, but I don't consider it an 'absurd' option for someone who's just looking to plink with a centerfire.

I have the opportunity to do a little duck and goose hunting this year. A friend owns a place along Seneca Lake and has a blind set up on his dock, and permission to hunt a couple of fields for geese as well. Strictly for fun, without being too serious about it. I haven't hunted ducks since the steel-shot law went into effect. Yep, I'm that old, though I took a lot of them back in the 70's and early 80's. The only shotgun I have with a bird barrel is a mid-1960's Ithaca 37 with a modified choke. From what I've read it's considered safe to use with steel shot, but is it worth buying a duck stamp to take an older 2 3/4" chambered gun to a duck hunt today? I could just take the camera, but it would be fun to shoot a duck again. Thoughts?

All the best on your birthday!

Sounds like you had fun! I'd love to meet some of you folks. I belong to an international chainsaw/logging/arborist forum that has get-togethers all over the world. Haven't been able to connect with one yet, but it sure sounds like they have fun. Might be something to think about for the summer doldrums.

The features that are covered by the SAFE act are precisely the features that make the AR platform so desirable. Collapsible stock, pistol grip, fast reload, etc: Gone, gone, and gone. :-[ As posted above, the Ruger Mini-14 is an attractive alternative, or you can get a stock with all the AR type bells and whistles for a bolt-action gun. McMillan makes some nice ones.$$$ Not nearly as much fun as a semi-auto though. The 'maglock' conversion looks promising, but the wrong LEO and/or judge could make your life miserable if they wanted to. It might just be considered a loophole in the law, and if enough of them show up at the range that loophole will quickly be closed. Things like political corruption, tax evasion, and insider trading are much easier to get away with than owning a "scary-looking" gun.

To add to the general trend here, you'll never see a Stihl chainsaw in a big box store. The company makes only high-quality stuff. The folks at Lowes or Home Depot simply don't know enough about chainsaws to be Stihl dealers. They don't know much about major appliances either.

I like this one.

Real gunsmiths are highly trained craftsmen. Very few of the older ones are staying in NY, and the young ones are leaving as soon as they get their acceptance letters from a 'smithing school in another state. They're not coming back. The oppression is working at many levels. The claw on your extractor has broken off. Fairly common problem with 870's and 1100's. It's a $20 part and a 20 minute job.

It's not dead at the national level yet. FUAC. Molon labe.

I hope she at least has a camera for the afternoon sit.

You're seeing deer Core, just be patient. A lot of things can and will go wrong in archery when you move from the range to the field. The absolute worst shooting at the range suddenly becomes the best that's possible when faced with actual hunting conditions, and distance-to-target just magnifies even the smallest mistakes the archer might make. Let the animals come in close and get a few of those 'chip-shots' under your belt. Even the 'chip-shots' aren't gimmees, they just lessen the chance for error. Best of luck.

Sorry to hear it Doc. Get well soon! I'll find out on Tuesday if cataract surgery is my near future. Hopefully I can get in at least one week of gun season before the carving, but it's infinitely more important that I'm ready for work after the holidays. On the plus side, I'm pretty sure all of my hunting buddies are going to stay away from my stand site on opening day. ;-]

The legal system in the US is very clear about what constitutes a criminal offense. As much as the gun-grabbers would like to change the law in their favor, owning a gun is not, in and of itself, a crime for an otherwise law-abiding citizen. If they want to start targeting 'potentially unsavory' groups/gangs within the US who may be predisposed to lawlessness, they should start with the US congress, the executive branch, and the bureaucrats in the federal government who enable them. They'll never hold up that mirror, however, because they won't like what looks back at them.

You haven't been on a chainsaw forum. ;-]

I did some work Tuesday for a friend who has a cottage on Seneca Lake. He's an avid duck hunter, and there was not a single duck in the air for the entire day. A few seagulls and cormorants, but not a single shooter for the whole day. He's owned the place for about twenty years, and he said it's been the strangest season he's ever seen. ?

These bureaucrats were never empowered to enforce the law. They were never empowered to make the law either, for that matter. But over the last three years they have made 27X more laws than than the elected Congress. We have a federal government that has gone rogue.

Bill Whittle is very intelligent and highly informed. He often challenges viewers to prove him or his facts wrong, and to the best of my knowledge the ones who have tried have failed. This would include many of the MSM personalities. He's able to shoot them down because he knows more about the subject matter than they do. The MSM is scared to death of him, to be honest about it. He's not a talking head with a crew of writers, he does his own in-depth research and comes up with his own positions. Pick a rainy day and watch his "afterburner" series. If you find something he's made a mistake on, shoot him an e-mail and he'll look into it and he'll personally get back to you. I don't always agree with his position(s) on certain matters, but he's absolutely truthful in his facts. If they sometimes seem a bit 'out there' it's primarily because of the spin that the government propaganda machine tends put on everything.

Maybe I can get a nuisance tag and set a pop-up blind in the ER waiting room next year. ;-]

The people who think that animal was exhibiting human qualities are foolish. If the animal had the brain power to do that the Democrats would have all the deer registered to vote.

Check my photo in the "show your mug" thread. I apologized for the sour puss. It took me almost 6 hours to find that deer and drag it out of the brier patch it had burrowed into, and it was 75 degrees that day. The deer was quartering away and I hit just about every organ in it's body before the broadhead sliced up the lungs. A couple more hours and the meat likely would have been inedible. I was very happy about the kill and thrilled that I was able to recover the animal, but it was a lot of work and I still had to get it to the processor's cooler 45 minutes away so that I could get the carcass cooled down. That's my excuse for the less-than-joyful look on my face. Plus I tend to look dopey when I try to force a smile.

I've always liked Gene Wensel's writing. Good, smooth style IMO.