phade

No the lithium AAs will fully outlast the pack by itself and so will alkaline. The pack is small because it is charged by the solar daily.

Depends on how much use you are going to get out it - like the famous Simpsons episode.

Better than buying her a bowling ball!

Alot of people look at the fuel cost. I think that is what most people expect. At some point there is a delta against expected cost of service/use vs. an estimated cost of gas. But in reality, it is also HOW those miles are used. 10K miles in a short trip, urban setting vs. wide open 70MPH on highway are not the same. I'm looking more at reliability long-term. Alot of ICEs in today's market are very reliable. I have a younger guy at work who bought a Rav 4 Prime in September. He has a commute of about 25 miles round trip. He uses non-ethanol gas, and just put in his second tank of gas. I back tracked the math on that for me, as I have a 60 mile round trip work commute (depending on backroads), and with 40 of it covered by the Plug In component, I'd be using about 40% of the gas I normally do now, also adding in non-work miles. That ballpark places me at $1.8K-2K per year gross savings. In her scenario I bet the savings would be more on a PHEV because she would likely go alot of work trips without ever hitting the ICE hard. The PHEV have tax credits that make them look real nice. 7500 Fed tax credit and a 1000 instant NY rebate.

The longer weather outlook....looks kind of lame for late season. Was really hoping for snowpack to drive bed to food action in a more concentrated and "required" way. Our plots are actually being extremely under-utilized compared to most years. We have a few acres of standing corn, the only in the area, and it's a practical ghost town. Same with brassicas. Usually by now there is action, even if at night. We had alot of acorns, and with the lack of snow I am wondering if food availability is comparatively high for this time of year in a more widespread fashion.

Our Hybrid Escape treated us very well. I forget exactly where but it the motor would carry us through the mid 20mph and the engine kicked on right at 30mph. We averaged over 30 mpg with it from beginning to end when we gave it to the lady. 2009 model year. The engine would kick on in colder mornings or when heat and defrost was on, but overall it seemed to do very well on gas consumption. I wasn’t excited about a hybrid but for typical use I was won over.

Is it a plug in hybrid? If so that is the Prime. I found one on a lot not sold in wNY. Otherwise they’re not available. The one is “speeding ticket” red and dealer started out saying it had a $5K dealer add on adjustment. LOL. Highlander hybrid is on the list to look at too.

I am buying my wife a new SUV for Christmas. We typically have three vehicles in our household, with the third being the general "back-up" in the form of the oldest vehicle we have, opting to keep it vs. trading in, for the newest one. We unexpectedly and unplanned "sold" our back-up hybrid Ford Escape to an older lady in town who was in need and a financial log jam, about 8 months ago. My wife has a newer minivan for her daycare business, but we're both ready for that thing to be used solely for the business or as back-up duty. She enjoys driving SUVs. I am no longer a GM or Dodge customer - hard pass right now. Also not excited about the market conditions to buy, but it is what it is. Looking in the mid-size category and hoping to get her into a hybrid if at all possible. Also considering the Rav4 Prime with the tax credit potential, although I wish it were larger. I have a 4Runner. Anyone have good experiences so far with any hybrid SUVs?

I'm getting second rut type photos the past 24 hours, including today, at nearly every property. Get out there if you can.

I have one or two X in Verizon and ATT. I sold my last XB last week however, I will likely place an XB order tomorrow. I am told they are in stock as of this week.

They're solid for the price point. Optics can escalate quickly in price and value vs performance and everyone has to find their comfort level with dollar spend. I am rough on binos and my partner, well he makes me look like I baby mine. So far the Vanguard have held up to both of us tossing them around. I have their spotter too. Athlon reminds of Vortex when they were up and coming; Vortex is trying to be more mainstream and big box the past few years. They have expanded model lines now, too, which I think complicates things.

I see very little need for solar in NY for anything other than high video use. No baiting, no minerals. People are not getting 10-20K images a month here. If you are, you're being dumb on how to use cells. X and XB IMO. I have lithium AA in Gen 1 and X since April. The gap in price between the XB and SK is such that I can run lithium for about 4-5 years, year-round in pic mode in the XB and finally break even with the initial SK cost. For the X, I can run lithium for 7-8 years. One replacement battery pack for the SK is going to put the cost of service for that cam much higher over a 5 year outlay. Sometimes simple is better.

Be careful with marketing. Vortex has moved to using or not using the HD designation. Highly suggest you look into lenses at that pricepoint that include ED or HD (same designation in most marketing situations). Those will help with hunting conditions. Vortex has found a way to sell Diamondback and Crossfire with and without the extra-low dispersion (ED). The non ED glass, I would pass on personally for hunting use considering their impact in low light conditions in the field. Vortex makes a good product and known for replacement policies that are favorable to consumers. Most all manufacturers of the lower price point glass is going to be made in China or have significant exposure to materials from China and be assembled in Philippines, etc. One company that you may want to look into is Vanguard. They own their entire production chain - very much unlike alot of the brands we think of first who contract out. If you search hard enough you can find a deal on Endeavor ED or EDII close to your price range. They are solid for the money. I sold my Vortex and run the Endeavor ED glass now and am happy with it.

They lost revenue from YT with their change in policies and strategy. They were largely exposed to this as a business issue because rumor was they were supporting the core team with revenue solely from YT and it fell off a cliff a few months ago. So they have added their club, and other sponsorships to try to recover from it. Tough spot. But, you want a real kicker, they have been getting paid by STATES and STATE agencies out of their advertising budgets to come hunt their public ground. GA did it and I believe several other states. They drive license sales....

He has done that before in prior articles and conversations. Perfect example. They re-use the same tactic from media in general to stir up the water and generate revenue from discord.

I'm convinced the Rinellas just spew stuff to muddy up the water and then profit from it taking pious positions all backed by money from someone with an anti-2A history. Not a fan, personally.

Cool to read the stories of the lineages from forum members. WWII seems to have been our very best generation. My generation (I am the oldest of multiple grandkids) is the first to not have military service in our family since WWI....until last month. My younger half-brother and the youngest of the grandkids just moved out of basic training for the CG. My dad wouldn't let me enlist or try to go the officer route. Said he spent 23 years in the Navy (the first to retire with 20+ in the family) so I didn't have to go. I broke alot of rules as a kid but that one seemed like a sacred cow. I have mixed feelings on it to this day and suspect it will be one of my biggest regrets in my sunset years. Especially because that little shit was allowed to go. Dad got soft. For Veteran's day my FB group donated funds and surprised a young serviceman at Ft. Drum with a CVA Optima/Scope/Kit. We recorded his dad having the convo with his son via Facetime. The son was on base and he absolutely lost it, that strangers would do such a thing. The group raised $800 in about three hours to make it happen.

Yep, the hunt is on! The opt out option was never granted to counties this year/yet (if they do). Sounds like Erie and Madison and other county politicians can go play with a ramrod. Not including any bore butter.

You couldn't pay me to want to use a ML as my primary in reg season lol. Rain, snow, sleet, moisture, etc. Cleaning. The ability to follow-up. Nope, I'm good with that. I can see bringing one to long-range spots like a plot or field but that is purpose driven. No way for general regular season toting, at least for me!

220 and the 20 H&R Ultra Slug are the two best production ones made IMO. So happy I have two of the Ultras since they are no longer made. It is quite impressive the groups I've seen from both of those models over the years. I like the H&R though personally. The Rem Accutips seem to be in large the most popular option for both of them. Also popular are the SSTs and expander options (Federal/Barnes). Hunting in a shotty area myself so options are limited but at least these can bring some confidence IMO to being able to reach out and touch a deer. I doubt NY ever goes the way of allowing straightwall in the shotty counties. Ohio did and I have to say more than 50% seem to have converted the past few years to straightwalls. At least based on what I see and heard last week. The 350 L seems to be by far the most popular....rows of them on shelves in stores there.

Not at all. I'm talking about my situation. I don't shoot beyond 100 yards in most late season hunting situations. Field edges usually result in being too late to the party after dark, except for our plot areas. Usually in the timber or edge of cover. Can't shoot that far into it. I can think of only one shot over 100 yards in past 5 or so years with ML.

I can't say I disagree with it. I've sold a few mid and high end CVAs this week that are more money than the modern options I hunt with in regular season. One for $800. For a ML...that is crazy. All that said, I've reverted to mostly using my Wolf in ML season. Cheaper, still drives good accuracy out to 100 yards (I can't recall being in need for longer distance that time of year), and I don't lose sleep over the cost. My higher end ones have not even been out of the safe this year. I've sold alot of MLs this past 2-3 months. I think the extended season is getting more people into it. Usually it is pretty quiet in terms of participation.

You all punched too many buck tags already.

Yeah, I agree. I did get the sense that some of the industrial/"older" stocks were beat up bad last week so I looked into some of the airlines, oil, cruises, etc. and CCL seemed like to one to go with so I sunk a bit into some short term options and I hope it pays off. Probably should have taken the 33% and ran with the money only in play for about 12 actual trading hours, but it's play money. If I hit 50% I'll probably take it and run.

Grind it out. Hunting is zero to hero in 10 seconds.