wolc123

I think current production (since Leupold took over in 2008) is limited to the Revolution line made in Oregon). My two older Redfield (Low-Profile widefields) were also made in USA.

I just pulled the Bushnell Banner off my Marlin and was surprised to find out it was actually a fixed 4X (I always thought it was 3X), made in Korea. It was on the gun when I bought it, about 15 years ago, and never gave me any trouble until last fall. It really don't owe me anything (except maybe a little bit for the doe I missed with it last fall). I can not really blame it for that one because I should have rechecked the zero after dropping the gun while dragging out my buck. The first year I hunted with it, I was able to kill deer on three consecutive hunts. The second one was my longest shot at a deer at home (163 yards). I have lost count of the does and button bucks that it has accounted for since then, and I was very thankful to finally kill an antlered buck with it last fall. Ironically, that will be the last deer before it gets trashed. Besides being made in USA, when and if the new Redfield goes south, I can turn it in for a new one, thanks to the Leupold-backed lifetime warranty. I also like that it comes with the "illuminator" glass. That will be nice in the dense woods, where I often find myself hunting lately, early and late in the day. One thing I won't do is buy foreign when I can buy American for a similar price with a better warranty. Kind of like the John Deere tractor I bought a few years ago rather than a Kubota or New Holland. That one has not let me down either.

What country do they make them in ?

I was a little relieved that the "warrior" I killed last fall had a couple points broken off. That saved me the expense of a shoulder mount and let me get away with a "free" power-washer euro. If I was going to fork over the cash for a shoulder mount, then I would also have the points restored, as did the OP. It looks like it turned out great.

That was the second Bushnell Banner scope that took a crap on me, in addition to a pair of their binoculars. That, and the fact that they are made overseas, took them out of the running.

I like shooting trap with my 410. It is a great challenge. The secret is to acquire the target and shoot real fast, before it gets beyond the effective range of the pattern. I would not use it in the spring for turkeys but I may try it in the fall. Killing a turkey with my 12 gauge last fall seemed a little too easy. Squirrel is also open at that time. They are much more abundant than turkeys and the 410 is better for them than the 12 gauge because the sound is less and it takes less time for the woods to quiet down so that more come out. Being light and easier to carry is another bonus. In addition to limited range, an additional downside of the 410 is that the ammo is much more expensive. On those fall hunts, grey squirrels will likely be my primary objective, but a turkey inside of 15 yards might be a good "target of opportunity". I usually use #6's in the 410 for squirrels, and I suppose they would also be good for a turkey at less than 15 yards. I also have a couple old boxes of #4's, which would probably be a little better on the turkeys. So the bottom line for me is that I will probably go for it in the fall, but definitely a no-go in the spring.

I expect that you will be right about that. In reading the reviews of this model online, I did see one that mentioned a point of impact shift. I am thinking that was more than likely the fault of the shooter, the ammo, or just pure nonsense as is often posted on the internet by disgruntled supporters of competitor's products. As I mentioned in previous posts, my other Redfields have been flawless. I have also heard few if any complaints about Leupold, the new parent company. I am really liking the lifetime warranty of this American-made product. The price seems pretty good also. I am looking forward to the variable power scope, especially when it comes to sighting in this slug gun. I live in a shotgun-only zone and I don't think that I was seeing the real capability of my Marlin 512 at long range with the fixed 3X scope that it had on it. I am hoping this new scope will give it an effective range of 200 yards. I know that it has plenty of energy to get the job done at that range, unlike my 50 cal ML, which also wears an older Redfield 2-7X scope. I was never able to quite match the accuracy of that ML, on the range at 200 yards, with the old 3X scope on this Marlin bolt-action 12 gauge. ML's are also legal here, during regular gun season, but I don't like to be limited to a single shot at that time. Several of the button bucks, that I have been blessed with thru the years, have fallen to a second slug after their mother took the first. After seeing what it can do at 200 yards with the new scope, which will hopefully happen in the next couple weeks, my next step will be disassembling and cleaning the bolt so that I don't get any more of those pesky mis-fires. Those have saved the lives of a couple of does, on real cold days, over the last ten years. There is a pretty good youtube video of a guy disassembling and cleaning a bolt on an old Marlin goose gun (same basic parts) and it looks pretty easy. After the snow melted, I did locate the Hornady SST slug that I ejected after my mis-fire last fall. I will be sure to see if I can land it on the bulls-eye, after getting the new scope dialed in. I certainly have a good amount of range work to do, so hopefully the weather will improve and dry up soon. I also replaced the factory iron sights, on my short-range Marlin 336BL 30/30, with fiber-optics. I could not get that one to hit quite as low as I wanted, at 50 yards, with 150 grain ammo and the factory sights. The new fiber-optics have much more vertical adjustment. This is the deer gun I use up in the northern zone when it is raining or sleeting.

I just ordered the Redfield Revolution 2-7 with 4-plex reticle from Optics Planet (Running did not show it in stock). $ 171 with tax seemed like a good deal. Now I just need it to get here and for the lane, back to my range, to dry up enough so I can get back there and try it out. One thing I need to verify is that the point of impact does not shift between 2X and 7X. With variable power scopes, I usually fine-tune and sight in at the highest magnification, but most shots while hunting are at the lowest. This gun always had a fixed 3X on it, so that was never a concern. The old (pre-Leupold) Redfield variables on my ML and 30/06 have always held the same point of impact throughout the 2X-7X and 3X-9X magnification range, and I hope this one will do likewise. Although I ain't from Missouri, this scope will still have to "show me", on the range.

You should send some of that to Belo so he can try cooking them with his hero Steve Rinella's "Meateater" method (uses olive oil and lots of pepper). No time, too tasty to slow down for a picture.

My wife made stuffed peppers with our second last pack of doe-fawn grind tonight. That was some fine eating for sure, possibly the best I have had. She is going to make chili tomorrow with the last pack. I suppose the quality of our eating is going to drop off a bit after that, at least when it comes to the ground meat. All of that remaining in our freezer after tomorrow will be from mature bucks. Fortunately, we are still pretty well stocked with button-buck and doe-fawn roasts and backstrap.

Talley-ho

I am going to try and get my first cut done after dinner. I just repaired the leaky tire on one of the mowers. I did not need to add any slime to that one, because it turned out to be a broken stem (on a tubeless front tire). I just popped off the wheel and laid it down under a larger tractor. I used a small hydraulic jack to break the bead and then replaced the stem. 10 minutes and a new $ 1.00 NAPA stem and the tire is almost as good as new.

Rabies was not much of a problem, back when average coon hides were worth $ 40. That $ 40 would also purchase a lot more back then. Should it be any wonder that rabies are a problem, now that average coon hides are worth less that $ 5 ?

Thursday might be my first cut. A few spots are still under water, but it should be dry enough by then. More rain is coming on Friday. It will be way too thick to cut with my hydro-transmission mower and will likely take me at least 90 minutes with the gear job. Each of my mowers has a low front tire. I will split a can of slime between them and hope it stops the leaks. Yesterday evening, I finally finished raking the stones off the lawn that got pushed on it from the snowplow. Getting that first cut finished will be sweet. After that, I can't wait for it to slow down during the summer. Cutting it every other week is a lot better that every 4 days, which is the frequency it usually needs cutting at this time of year.

I have not heard of any taxidermist who can do fast, good, and inexpensive. Usually, you have to pick two. I always go for good and inexpensive.

I bet you can't shoot a turkey with that gun while wearing the bunny suit.

Good for the doggy. Easter ain't supposed to be about bunnies anyhow. This is the most important day on the Christian calendar. The Holiday when He gave up everything, so that we could all spend forever in Heaven with Him and our loved ones (including our beloved pets), even though we have done lots of bad stuff. Happy Easter everyone.

If they fix the politics, we would be troubled by too much traffic and less available "free food" (aka wild game). For me, that political dysfunction is a very small price to pay in exchange for relaxing drives to and from work every day, and all the wild game that my family can eat. I always long for a return home to NY state, whenever work or family vacations take me out of it for a while. I feel sorry for all those folks living elsewhere.

My recommendation would be to get an area worked up near that blind over the summer and plant a mixture of winter wheat, white clover, and soybeans in late August. The sprouting soybeans will draw the deer in like candy and get them using the plots right away (thru September). The first hard frost will kill any that the deer don't eat first, but by that time the wheat will hold them on the plots. Wheat is more preferred by deer than cerial rye, easier to find and cheaper. It is also tolerant of acidic soils. That wheat will make for some good "kill" plots in late ML season this year. If the soil is not too acidic, then the clover will do well for the next few years. The remaining wheat should be mowed off the following late spring (before it goes to seed), to let the clover take over. The wheat acts as a "nurse" crop to keep the weeds down in the clover, besides giving you good attraction into the first winter. If you really want to get ambitious, you could get in some spring field corn, or some brassicas in July. Wheat alone, planted in Late August would be the easiest, and cheapest way to get started, but it would not hurt to mix in a little soybeans and some white clover if you can find it.

Lots of doe in the area, but very few DMP's given out. There is a ton of state land around there. If you don't punch your (2) buck tags, during the regular archery and gun seasons, it can be a slam dunk to fill them there on antlerless deer during the late ML season, especially around standing corn, brassicas, or winter wheat. I would definitely look into getting all of that you can planted around that blind. That also might be the best area in the state for black bear. One downside is that the deer bodies run quite small, compared to other areas with lower numbers per acre and more available food.

I am very thankful that my own wife and kids love venison. A cool side-benefit of that, is that they are always encouraging me to spend more time deer hunting. It's a dirty job at times, but someone's got to do it. When I was a kid, my folks fed us too much chicken. I do not care much for that to this day as a result. That also encourages me to spend more time hunting deer. If you ever happen to get a 6 month old deer, see if you can convince your wife to try a little of the backstrap, cooked medium rare. That might be enough to get her to change her mind. Another way to convince her might be to stress the health benefits. "Organic" seems to be the rage in store-bought meats these days. It don't get much more "organic" than free-range whitetail. I remember an article in the Sports illustrated swimsuit issue many years ago, where cover-model Elli Mcpherson said venison was her favorite food. She sure looked pretty healthy.

I was able to get both of our lawn mowers fired up last weekend and tested them a bit, but the lawn did not need cutting yet. Now we are getting rain for the next three days and it is looking very green. It will surely need cutting when it dries out, but I should be ready. I mow about an acre around the house and barns with a couple of 15 hp, 38" cut riding mowers. One of them has a gear transmission and works better when the grass growing fast in the spring and fall. I definitely prefer the one with the hydro transmission the rest of the year, but it is a little lacking on power when the grass is real thick. In order to keep that lawn in check, it usually needs to be cut about every 4 days, after I start. I can't say that I am looking forward to starting. I like it a lot better when it slows down in the summer and only needs cutting once a week or less. The job takes me about 50 minutes with the hydro and about 70 minutes with the gear transmission.

The only ones that I cut up right away sometimes are the 6 month olds, but even those benefit slightly from a day or two hang. Those are certainly in a class by themselves however, minimally effected by rigor mortis. We got pretty spoiled with two of those last year, so I will probably have to wait about four years for another (they have usually come along every other year or so).

I can go along with "no benefit" for you, however aging venison does provide a benefit for many, myself included. The bulk of our family's protein comes from venison, so I can not afford to put "tough meat" on the table. Google "aging venison" and you will quickly find many articles explaining the benefits. You will learn about "dry aging" and "wet aging". You do not happen to can your meat do you ?. That is one easy way to skip the aging process and still end up with tender meat. My mom used to do that while I was young, and a few friends still do. If not, you must have some pretty strong jaws if you are eating mature bucks after hanging for just 3 days. I can understand where a walk-in cooler might be a pain for maintenance and for tying up floor-space. The old 1950's GE deer-fridge in our garage (on bottom of sideways photo) does the trick for me when it is too warm to hang in our insulated garage. It also comes in handy for beer now and then. I skinned that 3-1/2 year old buck in the photo (named "taco" by my youngest daughter), cut it in half and hung it in there for 2 weeks. It was as tender as any 1-1/2 buck or doe that I have had. Last year, the outside temperature was cool enough for just hanging them, with the hides on, inside the garage. That is definitely my preferred way. The hide keeps them from drying out and insulates, but it is a bit tougher to remove later. I usually skin them one evening and process them the next to break up the work load a bit. p.s: I agree with you about the people who don't like venison. My wife makes a real good bean recipe that uses ground meat. At family functions, when she brings it, all I have to say is "nothing brings out the flavor of beans like ground deer meat", and my sister in law will not touch it. That leaves more for the rest of us to enjoy.

Too much is always better than not enough. Not many meats keep better than vacuum-sealed venison. I never add any pork to my grind and packs that have been in the freezer up to 4 years taste just as fresh as it did when first butchered. I hope our own supply holds out until the fall, when the new stuff starts coming in. I would be in better shape, had I not blown opportunities on a couple of late-season does last year.