philoshop

Nice to see some basic agreement here! A lot of people in this country would like to completely rewrite the Constitution and effectively change the way we live as Americans. Guns, speech, assembly, religion, due process, you name it. I think that's wrong. There's the fight, no matter which state you call home and no matter which color tie you want to see your next president wear.

You might just find a few more customers right there.

Nicely done Gonehntn! The distressed paint makes it!! It can be tough finding the market for these kinds of craft items. Shipping will crush you (I'm guessing 30-40$ range) unless you're getting into a high price-point market. A month on ebay with some good pics and 'presence' options will cost you about 20 bucks or so. Throw it out there with a 'buy it now' price that makes it well worth your time (don't forget packaging time and materials, computer time, travel time, ebay and paypal fees, etc) and see if anyone bites. You never know. As stated above, craigslist is another option if you're willing to work at it and maintain your 'presence' there. The hundreds of Christmas-time crafts shows around Bflo might work as well if you have a bunch already made and need to liquidate in the fall to pay for deer processing and more ammo. I wish you all the best! Let us know how you make out.

Welcome to the site!

I saw that just yesterday. Almost clicked on the 'big grin' before I caught the followup salute.

Thanks Wooly. I got to within about 30 yds of him and decided not to push it any further. He was only about 20 yds from my best treestand and I'd rather not 'educate' him if I can help it. Getting close is half the fun, though. I've taken a couple decent bucks over the years that ended up with powder burns on them. LOL I shot about a hundred frames yesterday just playing with some settings and taking notes. It was a great day for experimenting: bright/sunny, hazy, rain, fog/mist... I'm surprised at how quickly everything's coming back to me. Now if I can just get my right eyeball fixed so that I don't have to rely so heavily on the AF.

That's something different!

I warned you'd that I'd post a gimpy pic: Caught this guy out behind my house when I took a quick walk between the thunderstorms this evening. I'm definitely hooked again! Kodak P880 with max zoom (140mm), ISO 400, f4.1, 1/30 shutter. 20 minutes of being bug-chewed and rained on, and 27 frames later, this is the best I could do, but if you look real closely, there is actually a deer in there. LOL!

Happy B-day, and many more!

It's a big sign on your back that tells everyone you're a hunter. Just in case they missed the fact that you're carrying a gun or bow in the field during hunting season. OTOH, if you're carrying a gun but not wearing the tag I guess you could be mistaken for a terrorist or something. Seems to me it would be easier to issue terrorist/nutjob/criminal tags than to bother all the legitimate hunters. They could pick up those tags when they go in to register their guns, right?

A couple more great shots!! Wow! Thanks for the reply, Wooly. I'm very familiar with the 'buy once, cry once' scenario of photography. If I had that $15k+ in Canon lenses back I'd know where to start. Sooo, I guess I do know where to start. In the meantime, I'll look around at camera bodies some more, probably ask you a few more dumb questions about digital, and maybe even get a few of my own gimpy pics up here. Thanks again.

I carry one of those extendable-handle magnetic things in the front part of my truck (calling it a cab would be gracious) just for those occasions when you might be able to slow down a little but stopping would be verbotten. With the right sharp-eyed and willing passenger and a little lane-changing I've snagged lots of little tool-type goodies over the years.

Do you currently have a Contender frame, and you're now looking for a barrel/caliber for deer hunting? Or are you looking to purchase a whole setup? One of the nicest things about the Contender is the ability to shoot one frame and become very comfortable with that trigger, cocking action, grip, hold, etc, regardless of the caliber. A .22 rimfire barrel will let you build confidence with those things for very little money without having to think about the recoil. When the time comes for a deer-caliber barrel, you're miles ahead because you already know the gun and you're confident with it, and the thought of recoil won't even enter your mind when you're in the woods and squeezing the trigger on a nice buck. In standard factory barrels and using factory ammunition, I would recommend a rimmed cartridge in the Contender. 357 rem mag is about the minimum, 44 rem mag is what I carry when I know I'll be walking/crawling in thick stuff and shots will be quick and 'dirty'. 30-30 win is a rifle round that's hard to beat as far as ammo availability, but I prefer the 7-30 waters when it comes down to ballistics between the two. These will all kill deer if the shooter does his/her part and respects the range limitations of the weapon.

You've inspired me to get back into photography, Wooly! I spent part of the weekend playing around with a Kodak P880 that I use for documenting coins. It has a great lens and macro setting for the coins, but it's not an interchangeable lens system. Looking to upgrade later this summer. Back in the film days I was a Canon guy, but all my bodies and lenses were stolen and I never replaced them so I'm starting from scratch and leaning towards Nikon this time around. Would you mind if I pick your brain a little regarding your recommendations for used gear that won't break the bank? Something like a D5100 maybe with a 70-300 lens? Or save a little more and go for a 70-200 lens that will work with a doubler? Thanks, Mark

The 35 rem headspaces on the shoulder, and there is very little shoulder on that cartridge. T/C has never been known for doing precise chamber and throat work in their factory barrels. You can shim the breech face on the frame to correct the headspace, but then you've pretty much matched that frame to that particular barrel. Lots of good info here regarding misfires and headspace issues in the Contender http://www.bellmtcs.com/store/ As far as recoil and muzzle blast, the 35 rem can be a handful but it really depends on the individual shooter. Some folks have more tolerance for it.

Bubba, you're spot on with your assessment. A registry of gun owners who have formally chosen not to be on a registry of gun owners. Both registries are available to the public under FOI in the end if someone is willing to work hard enough for them, regardless of the piece of toilet paper that many of us have signed. Damned tight corner we're being chased into with this. I honestly thought, as have many others, that there was more to this than basically another registry which is freely accessible. My apologies if I have mislead anyone with my earlier posts. OTOH, the NYS police maintain records of all pistol permits in the state. Even if your county clerk won't give them up, it'd be a stretch to think that the troopers won't, under the right/wrong pressure. This from a retired captain who has chosen to forget a lot about his tenure with that particular group. Please correct me if I'm wrong here, I'd really like to be.

Finally got a daytime pic. Cute little devil.

Good point Mike.

Greats photos Wooly! Sorry about your camera.

Unleaded shotgun loads for waterfowl we've all accepted. When that regulation first came out there were an awful lot of crippled birds left to die in inaccessible areas. We didn't know that the old shotgun barrels wouldn't shoot steel shot. We knew it didn't shoot for crap, but nobody said it just wouldn't shoot for us, or that it would kill your barrel quicker than it would kill a bird. One of the main reasons I stopped hunting waterfowl. Now it's solid projectiles? Unleaded bullets might work for woodchucks and squirrels, but a lot of deer, elk, bear, and caribou are going to be lost without the retained energy of lead. This smacks of an insidious anti-hunting agenda to me. Once again, CA leads the way in anything gun-related. I'll do some research and some actual math on this when I get some free time, but I just can't imagine that the amount of lead contained in the bullets and slugs and ML balls being shot into game carcasses in this country would add up to very much compared to the other toxins that are routinely released onto the planet by people with far more political power than we mere hunters.

Lookin' good! All that I've seen so far look very healthy. I'm hoping for a daylight pic of that little one when I check the cams this weekend.

In the first case: you would need a permission slip signed by the judge in your county (the permit) and a bunch of other paperwork. In the second case: a very large pair of cajones and a desire to see the inside of a correctional facility.

I'll second G-Man's post. Don't prune them now. Cut the suckers back (the new growth that is not fruit-bearing) in the late fall/early winter.

Unless you plan on processing the deer in the field even a big kayak isn't gonna be stable enough to haul it out. Hard enough with a big canoe. Been there many times, and it's a lot of fun getting into the tough spots with a boat, but the hauling out can be pretty nasty. Not a one-person job in my experience, even with a sturdy canoe and a block&tackle rig. Think about the fact that you will get wet putting a deer carcass into a boat, and pack dry clothing for the trip home. Have fun and good luck, sounds like you have a great spot!

Thanks! I remember that one.