22Plinker

Hoppe's # 9 kit. The bottle says its good for lead and copper. It took about 8 patches to get it so there was no visible residue. Ran a patch through with barrel oil last and it came out clean. I wondered that myself since I have run nothing but copper plated ammo since the first 500 rounds of lead ammo. After i broke it down and cleaned it I looked through the barrel with a soft white light at the end. It looks amazingly clear. Thats not to say there isn't spots I can't see, but nothing like what I've seen on youtube videos.

Cleaned the barrel with a bore snake and ran patches through until they came through clean. Looking down the barrel with a light it looks clean with no deposits. The action screws are tight and there doesn't appear to be any movement. The scope rings to rail are snug with the screws on the left side. I put blue thread lock on them this time to make sure they don't back out. The clamps holding the scope to the rings are even on both sides and tightened to snug with a little extra. made sure to not over-tighten them. I used a silver sharpie to mark both the ring mount to the rail and the scope to the clamp. After 150 rounds neither moved at all. I think the reason it moved the first time was because the ring to rail bolt loosened a little.

My sons gun I used Federal Champion HP for the 4 shot group and CCI mini mag for the single shots. My gun I used CCI mini mag for all the shots. The Federal Champion in my gun opens the groupings by 50%. I'll have to buy a few boxes of different brands to do a accuracy test.

I noticed my scope mounts were slowly creeping back so when I cleaned my 795 the other day I lock-tited the bolt threads. I figured while I was taking it to the range to get a -fresh zero I would do my son's as well as he has missed a dozen shots in a row. WOW! I don't know if he dropped his rifle or what but it went from being dead-nuts accurate at 50 yards to nearly 18 inches off. So after remounting his scope and sighting it in I finally got these results at 50 yards. Left to right... 1 shot, 1 shot, 4 shot group. So after getting the kids rifle all set, I figured I would do mine. Surprising how much just moving the rings back 1/5 of an inch will make a difference. At the end of the day I ended up with these results. Left to Right 1 shot, 2, 3, 4, 10 shot groups. It looks like the difference between an 18 inch barrel (mine) and a 22 inch barrel (the kids) is VERY significant! The kid has challenged me to hit a dime at 100 yards so we are going back to the range in the morning... and then out to put a few more squirrels and rabbits in the freezer. Anyone interested in hitting up Three Rivers tomorrow and / or Sunday with me?

I've been out 5-6 times per week since christmas. Plenty of squirrels in the freezer but those damn fluffy cottontails are being elusive. Found a few great spots for a tree stand or blind for deer season.

Completely understand. I'm 40 now and hunted with my father and grandfather from 14-20...took some time off and just got back into it with my son who just turned 18. I often find myself thinking about hunting locations, building blinds, what gun to buy next etc. At least it's a healthy obsession

While out stalking some cottontail in a new part of my local WMA I had two close encounters with deer. About an hour into my day, as i crested a ridge looking down into a valley, three deer come bounding through the valley not more than 30 yards away. Startled the holy beejeezus out of me. Later on as I was thinking about calling it a day, I looked over towards where I had parked my truck and I saw two solid ladies (I assume) slowly making their way towards me. They stopped a short distance which I paced out later at 38 strides. I included a short video of one of them. I watched them for about 20 minutes before they got spooked as I stood up to leave. Ultimately it was a good day out. Tagged three squirrels but the rabbits were playing hard to get. Was a little annoyed at the guys who decided it was a good idea to go out and target shoot at the WMA parking area down the road about 1/2 mile. It was really more of just a first time scouting in preparation for tomorrows nice weather. IMG_1986.MOV

I feel robbed. Mine was for $67. At least it was enough to fill up truck

You all have been very helpful with your suggestions. I'm going to be busy for the next hour or so looking up some reviews.

Not necessarily looking for rubber tips, its just what I picked up a couple years ago for ATV riding and figured I would use them for hunting this year. They held up great until i felt that barb rip through and cut the side of my foot. I probably shouldn't have tried yanking my foot out when i felt resistance... I thought it was just weeds until i felt that sting. I took a stupid shot as a bunny maybe 80+ yards and just missed him. I was tracking another set of tracks when i cut the boot. Made for a crappy walk back to the truck with a small cut and wet socks @wolc123 - is that what they are officially called? "Mickey boots"? I'll have to look them up. I only mentioned the liners in the event they do get submerged and wet inside or if they get moisture from sweating... its easy to take the liner out to let them dry. Thank you everyone for your quick replies. I'll look up some reviews and probably go out shopping tomorrow.

So I went out today looking for a rabbit or two and ended up getting one of my boots cut up good on a piece of barbed wire hidden under the snow. I was considering trying to fix it with a rubber tube patch but its in a bad place on a bend and close to the sole. Luckily I had a small roll of duct tape in my bag to at least get me back to my truck without getting my feet too wet. Anyway, my question to all you fine folks is: What brand do you recommend for mainly fall and winter use and very little openly wetland areas. I don't want to go crazy expensive but looking for something with comfortable removable insulated inserts and quality lace eyelets. Somewhere in the $150 range.

Please don't take this as me giving any support to evils performed my radical Muslims, but claiming Islam by itself is better or worse than Christianity is beyond silly. There are extremists in EVERY religion. If you hate all Muslims for the acts of a few radicals you should hate all Christians for the acts the radicals that started the crusades. It seems lately all these extremes are being considered normal and that should never have become so. There will always be extremes in every aspect of life but that is what they are supposed to be.... Extremes. Only the extremes are ever talked about so it just becomes the new normal... Extreme Liberal, Extreme Conservative, Extreme Christian, Extreme Muslim. Its just sickening.

BTW I believe this thread has fallen completely off the rails since we are not any where near the original topic.

Oh you are just so correct its almost funny. I am not disagreeing with your position on the liberal agenda wanting laws and structure, but I would hardly say the conservatives don't want government and think of it only as a necessary evil. There are simply too many laws and actions provided by the conservatives that contradict that very statement. I understand the difference between the foundations of both parties but its simply turning into a pissing contest between the two big guys on the block. Thankfully I'm a registered Independent.

Are you kidding me? Please tell me you at least feel the same about Right Wingers as well since there is a board full of them here and over at NYFirearms that whine constantly about Obama and liberal agendas. I think its fair that any party is not going to be truly happy if the government is run by an opposition party and that is because many of the more extreme of their ilk (left or right) focus more on the fringe or extreme side of their party specific issues. It just happens that this decade the focus seems to be on guns. In the last several decades we have drugs, religion, "family values" etc in the same hot seat as guns are now. Its just silly to say only Leftists don't like government when they feel it's not on their side. Rightists feel the same way.

That is not entirely true. Laws CAN be created or changed at any time. Someone being arrested or harmed is not necessary for a law to be changed. The fact there are over 300 million people in the US and people get arrested all the time for all sorts of reasons doesn't mean you have to be arrested first to change a law. Either way wanting to change a law doesn't give anyone the right to do what the Bundys are doing. I'm not even addressing the Hammonds issue because that part of the issue has been blown so far out of proportion its silly. My point is directed towards the Bundy occupation of a federal property. It's illegal and like any criminal they should be arrested and face the consequences.

I'm not exactly sure what point you are trying to make.

very interesting

In reference to the "people here", there is a huge difference between being some person behind a computer screen saying you agree or disagree with how people make a stance for what they believe in and actually going out and committing a crime in that same stance of belief. I am willing to bet every person that has posted in this thread has an opinion for or against some law or regulation that has a direct impact on their lives, but none of them have gone out and committed a crime completely unrelated to the original law or regulation in an effort to make a stance against the government. If the Bundys had performed a legal protest, even one that lasted days, weeks or months I personally may not agree with their position but I would absolutely respect their right to make their stance. What they are doing is in no way legal and the very essence of what they are doing hinders others who don't wish to be involved in the situation to begin with. Making a stance against the government should NOT force others to get involved against their wishes. People with property bordering the federal land, as well as people who used the federal land for recreation are not allowed to use that land because of its current occupation. That is forcing people who were previously not involved in the Bundys "protest" to now be affected by it.

Gald you are ok and it wasn't permanently debilitating. The guys that do work details with me for my ATV club smirk and make comments when I tell them I don't want anyone going out and doing trail work with power equipment by themselves just for that reason. I've seen way too many people do stupid things with chainsaws and those electric bush trimmers. Last thing anyone wants is to get hurt alone out in the woods 15 miles from the nearest bit of civilization...

The fact they are standing up for what they believe, I can completely respect that. It's HOW they are doing it that pisses me off. Plain and simple they do not have the right to occupy state or federal land in the way they are doing it. I don't like the fact I can't hunt with a rifle in Onondaga County but that doesn't give me the right to break in to buildings on one of the region 7 WMA's, occupy that position and hold it with force if desired. And then give surrounding landowners shit for trying to use the property. They are breaking the law and should be punished like any other criminal. Just my opinion

Speaking as the VP of a CNY ATV Club I want to point out that NYSORVA (New York State Off-Highway Recreational Vehicle Association) is currently trying to make changes to the engine size limits by age for children riding ATV's because some children are simply bigger than others. As it stands now children under 16 are not allowed to ride vehicles by themselves if the manufacturer places stickers on them. The engine size depends on manufacturer and I have seen them from 90 to 150cc. NYSORVA is trying to make the restrictions by size of the child so that a 6'2" 15 year old isn't riding a 90CC machine which would be more unsafe than an inexperienced rider on a 1000CC machine. I just wanted to point that out if your children are either above average height or approaching teenage years. I highly suggest checking out the NYSORVA page, more specifically the Youth Resources page: http://www.nysorva.info/?page_id=1342 for more information.

I eat all squirrels, it just depends how I cook them. There isn't a lot of easily removable meat on reds so I normally slow cook them with 75/25 water and chicken broth with some seasoning (garlic, onion, ground celery seed). After the quartered reds cook in that for about 3-4 hours I strain the liquid and fork off any little bit of meat I can get. Eat the meat and freeze the liquid for making stew.

The one that has been following me around was waiting for me at the parking lot while I walked the trail. I heard tires screech and watched a little white mini cooper pull into the parking lot and a woman got out and started taking pictures. When I got to the parking lot the woman was using the back of my truck to rest her arms on while she photographed the bird. That annoyed me a bit but when she saw me approach she quickly apologized and wanted to talk about the hawk. I explained to her that he has been following me on my last few outings and if she really wanted to bird watch I suggested she go down the trail as there were some monstrously large Blue Jays and Wood Peckers. She was so excited she got her snow shoes and vest on before i could even but my rifle back in the case. I've never seen anyone run in snowshoes before but she was close to running speed

I tagged another little red this morning and was surprised to see its tail was half missing. This is the second red in 2016 that has been missing half of his tail. In fact both were taken in the same general area maybe 30 yards apart. Is this a common thing with reds (I haven't seen it with local greys) or is it most likely from fighting or mating? Sorry for the bloody image. Hollow point mini-mag removed the lower jaw and part of the neck.