Handsome Rob

Been getting it since January 3rd.

'Strawberry-Blonde' if you please!

This is me, getting waaaay to friendly with a channel cat....... And again with a Florida hog, my first taken with a bow I built.......

For God's sake man keep quiet! If th AR boys hear you they'll beat you to death with their Magpul catalogs!

Ummmm....you miiight wanna check on that. As far as I know baiting deer is very illegal in TN!

I used to have a LOT of luck running snare lines back in England, in my youth. To successfully set, you need to find the 'runs' the rabbits are using daily, preferably under a hedge or fence. Set your snares about 3" off the ground & big enough that your fist will pass through without touching the wire. I used to have more luck setting with the snares attached to the bottom run of a barb wire fence. You need to be looking for rabbit sized 'tunnels' through long vegetation & set them there. Make sure to wear rubber gloves when you handle your snares & if you can, store them outside for a month before you use them. I twisted my own up out of brass wire. I made the snare roughly 12" long, with a further 12" of strong string on the end to tie to stakes or fences. I remember the school summer break of '87, catching enough to buy my first shotgun (A Baikal SxS 12 gauge) If I remember correctly, they sold for £249 & I was selling rabbits for £1.50 a brace! However, you'll have a lot more luck with an air-rifle, if you want to eat them, or a cat if you don't! EDIT: Sorry, just read WD's post above. That blows

Other than my longbows & recurves, it's all I hunt with anymore. Lyman Great Plains .54 percussion, John Anderson longrifle again in .54 & an old Traditions Crockett in .32 (fer skwerls & sich) I've made all my own accoutrements ; bag, horn, powder measures, ball blocks, short starts & I cast my own balls. Like fly fishing & traditional archery, it becomes more of an obsession than a hobby!

What a tool.

Yup, that's the motor! To this day I'm not 100% sure what happened. I pulled up on the bank to get to my deer stand & 4 hours later came back to this. The only thing I can think happened is that the angle of the bank put the bilge-drain underwater & it back filled into the boat! I had to pile rocks on the front deck to raise the back end (thank you high-school physics!) & bail it out with my hands. The troller got my the 4 miles back to the ramp. Slowly.

Sometime you've just gotta shout 'Balls to it!' sit down & laugh. Boating trully will make a McGuyver out of everyone though. I managed to get home after this.......

All perfectly legal! It's pre-ban (documented) ivory. Very, very expensive, but readily available.

Here's a few more pics.....

I just got this one finished up today, for my Dad's 65th Birthday present. My folks are coming over from England for a visit this week & I wanted to surprise Dad with a nice gift. It's 240 layers of Alabama damascus (1095 & 15N20) Full tang construction with a nickel silver guard, pins & bolsters. The handle is Elephant Ivory. I'll admit, there are a couple of small gaps I'd rather not have left around the guard, but hey, my workshop consists of a 4' length of 2x10 & a 4" machine vice! LOL! OAL is 14½" with an 11" classic clip-point blade. The box I made from a Black Walnut tree that fell 3 years ago, lined with velvet...... I'll post a few, better pics tomorrow once the camera is recharged!

The REAL trick is being able to pick up & transport a 44' long length of 10"x6"x½" box section steel through an 18' wide doorway. Sideways. Drove a fork truck for 8years.

I'd never fire another shot there. My brass is MY brass, bought & paid for, be it in a factory box or my own reloads. If I collect it & throw it in the trash, then they'd be welcome to it, otherwise, it's coming home with Robbie!

Can you not???

^ This.

It's actually pretty hard to describe how good they are, without swearing. One of THE finest battle rifles ever made by anyone, anywhere, ever. OK, so they're not the strongest of actions, compared to a Mauser action, b ut for the pressures they were designed for, they're more than up to the task. They're possibly the smoothest bolt-action made, although if you're not used to it, the cock-on-closing can feel a little wierd. If you want to see exactly why they were so loved by the Commonwealth countries, rattle off 10 rounds as fast as you can.......10 shots in 5 seconds isn't hard to do Accuracy is pretty much legendary the world over. They're a cinch to work on & clean, headspacing isn't an issue, because you can replace the bolt-head in about 8 seconds with no tools & ammo is as cheap as you can get. I buy & shoot Prvi Partisan 150gn softnose from ammunition to go dotcom at $14.00 for a box of 20 Recoil is no worse than a .308 or heavyweight .30-30, as you'd expect with it being a cross between the two. They make for an exceptional hunting rifle & to this day are still one of the most popular rifles in Africa, Australia & Canada. They say that the .303 round has taken every animal on the planet.....well, I'm not sure about that, but I'd confidently pit one against anything smaller than a Cape or Water Buffalo. The original English iron sights are sighted at 300yds for the battle sight & the flip up ladder sight is good for 100-1200yds. The US armory versions of the No 4 Mk 1 (Springfield armory, CIA, Savage & some Long Branch) have a dual aperture flip-over battle sight, ranged at 300 & 600yds The No4 Mk1 model & Mk1 No 3 are the most popular & the easiest to find. The No 5 Mk 1 Jungle carbine is a great rifle & a pleasure to carry & shoot, but accuracy is simply awful past 100yds It was designed as a short range rifle, so this is no great surprise. Oh, & SMLE stands for Short Magazine Lee Enfield, which is odd, 'cos they never made a LMLE! The Ishapore Enfields chambered in .308 (7.62 NATO) are NOT a modified SMLE. They're designed specifically to shoot the higher pressure round, so don't worry. They're also a spectacularly good gun. If you're ever around Tullahoma, hit me up & I'll let you take one of mine for a run!

I have a Tri-Star, O/U 12ga & I'm going turkey hunting this coming weekend. I've never hunted Turkey before & I'm really confused as to what choke/shell/shot size I should be looking for. My gun is chambered for 2¾" & 3" shells & it takes Beretta/Bennelli thread chokes. I'm told to expect a shot at no more than 40yds. I've screwed in my Full & IM chokes & tried a couple of shots with the shells I have available (High brass, 2¾" #5s & 3" #4s) At 40yds my pattern is spread over roughly a 26" circle at best with the 3" & a little tighter with the 2¾" Is this adequate? Should I be looking to buy a couple of extra full chokes? Are 2¾" 5s good enough? Do I really need to spend $5 a shot for Hevi-shot? SO CONFUSED!!! What am I aiming to get pattern wise & shot size wise?

1) Red River Hog in West Africa with a traditional bow 2) Complete the 'Ham Slam' with a traditional bow (I just need to get a Bushpig) 3) Maine Moose with a traditional bow 4) Wyoming Elk, either bow or muzzleloader 5) Alligator over 9' (fingers crossed for this fall!) 6) Longnose gar over 6' (I've got 2 at 71" right now) 7) Freerange Texas Aoudad. I reckon that should keep me dreaming for the next 20 years or so!

I know it's a slim chance, but if you ever catch or shoot a gar, of any species, DO NOT EAT IT'S EGGS!!!! They are unbelievably toxic & can (and probably will) kill you. As far as I'm aware, they're the only species or genus of fish found in the US that have toxic eggs. Again; DO NOT EAT GAR EGGS!!! On the other hand, their meat is excellent. One of the bestest eating fish around!

Been using MAC for about 20 years now (although I still say that their screwdrivers SUCK compared to Snap On) & I've never had a single bad experience. Tools break & I've broken lots of mine over the years & MAC have replaced every single one, no problems, no questions. L-O-V-E their commitment to their customers.

Well, it worked for Elvis's record sales..........

1) You're NOT going to be attacked by a pig. Ever. 2) They're really NOT the armored killing machines the TV makes them out to be & they're no harder to kill than a deer. 3) Anything much bigger than a .22 will kill a pig. (Actually, in Texas, more hogs are killed with .22s than any other caliber) Any pistol/rifle caliber carbine will do. 4)The good thing about pigs is that you don't ever need to shoot beyond 40yds. If I can kill them with an Osage bow, wooden arrow & knapped, flint point at 10yds, you can stalk them to 40. Getting close is no problem & 99% of the fun. Ignore their eyes, but beware their ears & nose. The problem is that folks don't realise that a hog's anatomy is totally different from most American game & therefore shoot them waaaay too far back. Keep your shots low & tight to the shoulder & you'll be fine.

I was just reading the thread regarding how best to invest 5 grand & have it work to make money. Funnily enough, whilst reading the thread the Big Sky Loans company ad came on the TV & for the first time, I managed to read all the smallprint at the bottom of the screen. They openly admit that the money they loan you 'isn't cheap' but I never realised just how EXTORTIONATE their rates were! Did you know they have an APR of 117.1%?!?! If you borrow $5000, you agree to make repayments of $468.58 a month FOR 84 MONTHS?!?!?! That works out at a repayment of (sit down for this) $40,872.72!!!!! So there you have it. You want to make money off five grand? Lend it to somebody who doesn't know any better. How the hell is this legal?????