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After a failed deer season, I’m back to basics. One bagged, two escaped. I am slipping. First squirrel of 2023 goes to the Stoeger Longfowler in 20 ga.

“Honey, aren’t you hunting today?” “It’s snowing, what are the chances I’ll see a deer today?” Looks like muzzleloader time…

FML. I decided not to go out this morning because I had pain in my shoulder. Look what was sitting in front of my trail camera at the precise moment I should have been. I’ll probably never see this deer again.

No deer today. I think they missed the memo about showing up for work early. I’ve been working on this hunting set-up since the summer of 2020. I’ve been obsessed about setting up an accurate but relatively inexpensive, low-profile, compact, multi-purpose chassis rifle with the purpose of...

Ruger American Ranch. Great Whitetail Rifles all. I took a forkie with my 7.62x39 last year at 40 yards while I was scouting.

450 Bushmaster?

This is the first time in seven years I have even a deer on open day. Sadly, it was just a baby. I did pull this photo of the illusive northeast American Sasquatch from my trail cam.

I’ve been at my job for about 25-years. Most of that time I’ve been in a supervisory position. Kids that half-ass it in school get pegged pretty fast. Yours has a bright future.

This is how I broke my collarbone.

I was squirrel hunting with the Steoger Condor Longfowler 20 ga. near Onteora Lake. I was a little hesitant to hunt here because it’s pretty popular with hikers a campers. West of the lake there is the bed of an old quarry road on a short ridge overlooking a primitive campsite between the...

Just a personal note.

I spotted what I thought was a spot were game was crossing a small stream. I put up a trail cam. It turned out to be hikers. I ended up deleting a whole bunch of people pics. But, there was this…

I rotated the camera 90-degrees and managed some non-rail based traffic.

WTF?

I had an idea that deer were using a rail track to traverse the base of a ridge. I put out a trail camera to investigate. Turn# out to be difficult to verify.

They’re pretty hard to spot on the trees as well.

I took a brief scout into the woods to put up a trail-cam. I bumped three doe off the camera location. I figure that’s a good sign. I’m frustrated not to be out with a bow. But, I did bag first blood with the Benjamin Marauder.

Same 2 as always. 3M and 3J. I think everyone gets them.

My bones argue with me to get outta bed in those colder mornings.

Four weeks after my collarbone fracture, I’m trying to get back into the swing of things. I went for a brief scouting in a nearby DEC MUA . As I’m able to shoot a little, I brought my stalwart 10/22 Sporter. The Sporter is mounted by a new Vortex 2-7x32 Crossfire II Rimfire. It replaces the...

Why am I shooting virtual whitetails from my couch instead of real ones from a stand? I broke my collarbone two weeks ago and I’m out-of-action for the next six-weeks. I probably have lost bow season. I’m not sure I’ll even be well enough to drag a carcass from the woods. On the other...

Ruger 10/22 “M1” Carbine. The ultimate WW2 cosplay rifle? Feel like storming the Normandy Beaches or planting the flag atop Mount Suribachi? You can make everyone’s favorite 22 look like the WW2 classic M1 carbine. I was looking for a non-laminate wooden stock for my Ruger 10/22...

My issue is the nature of sampling a random variable. This is not a problem that can be circumvented through technology or methodology. There is a theoretical limit to the information the Math provides. I ran 100 mini mags through my 10/22 and the result supports the notion that muzzle...

You have to shoot thousands of rounds of ammunition. The chi-square test factors in the sample size. As long a you shoot 30 or more, the central limit theorem kicks in.

It matters because the loader was making decisions based on these numbers. Accuracy in a load is a product of consistency. That required measuring. Manufacturers can do extensive testing to make their loads consistent. People that load their own don’t have that luxury. I ran this...

I actually used a chi^2 goodness-of-fit test. If anyone is curious, they can look it up on YouTube. I didn’t want to make a math lecture. I just wanted evidence to support that muzzle velocities are normally distributed. That makes computing the confidence-interval estimating...

I was watching a Youtube video where the OP was doing some load testing. He fired several 5-round groups while measuring the muzzle velocity, computed the mean and standard deviation of that random variable. He presented the results proudly and was moving to make a conclusion about each...

From what I’ve read, resizing 308 to 7mm-08 is not complicated.

I’m trying to come up with a standard method for measuring the consistency of guns and ammo. I decided to measuring the average group of 5 groups of 5 rounds each at 25 yards. I decided to 25 yards so my open sights rifles can also be measured. Groups are measured center-to-center. Today...

We get deer at the range often. Lately, we’ve been overrun by turkeys…

We ran across this buck while hiking in the Shawangunks. I actually have permission to hunt here. We got pretty close. The deer moved about 5 yards from the road behind some brush and came back out to continue feeding after we passed. Spring deer feel no pressure.

This crappy video is from the dash cam in my Toyota. I’m driving back from work last evening on I95 north through Secaucus NJ and there’s a herd of deer on the shoulder. All that meat is just walking around suburban New Jersey. No Justice.

Many of the firearms in my collection serve practical purposes. Hunting rifle, target rifles, defensive rifles… One is just a grown man’s plaything. The Henry H001 lever in 22LR. It stands in mostly factory configuration with only a skinner barrel sight and large loop as modifications...

A statement that is trivial, since the consequence is always true.

I got a hand pump. But, it only took a couple of trips to the range to convince me I needed a compressor. I bought the cheapest Walmart pump I could find still capable of 3,000 psi. It’s not fast. But, it’ll service a single rifle.

My most recent built is a rabbit hole that ending up bigger than the original plan. Usually, around my birthday, I think about purchasing a new rifle. The lack of available ammo made adopting a new caliber problematic. I was also looking for a more quiet option for small game. I considered...

As long as we’re talking tech-sights. Here is the 10/22 I assembled from spare parts. It sports tech-sights.

I have an annual membership to a nearby pistol range. I visit weekly to practice shooting unsupported and offhand with my carbine. I purchased the Ruger PC9 in March 2019. I spent the next year shooting at least once a week. Ammo was relatively cheap and plentiful. However, after March...

Yet another awesome rifle I don’t have money, ammo, or storage space for. Therefore, I’ll buy one anyway.

I have lots of turkey loads on hand. I usually pick up a few boxes year before I remember that I suck at Turkey hunting and have ammo left from previous years.

If I was younger and alone, I might shoot matches. But, I want to spend time with my family before they get too old to want to do it. Who knows, maybe I’ll do this when I retire.

The range was enshrouded in fog this morning. The best I could do is shoot my CZ 455 at a 50 yard target. I usually shoot paper groups with CCI SV. But, I had brought AE HV for long range shooting. The HV loads shoot a bit flatter and it makes a big difference out at 300 yards. The AE is...

Occasionally, I like to run comparisons between the different ammo loads that I have on hand. Today the four contenders were. 40 gr. CCI Standard Velocity LRN (Target) 36 gr. CCI Minimag HP (Varmint) 40 gr. Agulia Super Extra (Bulk) 40 gr. Federal American Eagle LRN HV (Target) The rifle I...

The pros can call the windage using mirage. I edited down the video of myself trying to dial in the 700 yards 2/3 IPSC. This target is 12 inches wide and I was having a difficult time holding on to it. The snowy splashes are easier to see in the video. I was using the EBR-2C reticle to...

My spotting scope is garbage. That accounts for a lot of the aberration.

The outdoor range was open for the first time since November. The temperature was in the 30’s. I brought the Ruger M77 Hawkeye Long Range Targert 6.5 PRC. I loaded some Hornady 140 grain HPBT match over IMR 4831. The resulting muzzle velocity was 3,040 fps. It was hard to see the impacts...

I’ve sort of gravitated toward Ruger when it comes to working rifles. But, everyone loves a classic 22.

I got a vintage Mossberg 340BD target Sporter. It’s pretty accurate for a gun that is older than I am. But, I can’t use it for squirrels because the rear peep is too dark. I used to have a Marlin Model 80. But, I gave it to my brother when he bought an old farm house in Vermont and...

Will they take testicles? I’ve got no extra cash ATM.

I like the old Marlin Model 30. But, there are already 2 Marlins in the list. I understand the classic appeal of the Model 60. It’s a sentimental favorite and I won’t piss in that. I do think the 10/22 is an objectivity better gun for squirreling. I think a tube mag is great for...