Benbrown

If you're basing your final decision on whether or not you would like the hunting, you're not committed enough. I would encourage her go and get settled, and then go up for an extended visit or two--then make up your mind whether or not Minnesota is for you. I interviewed there for a university position and was actually relieved that I got better offer in Kansas. I have been to Minneapolis a number of times since (on business and hunting birds with friends ) and I am still glad that I didn't relocate there. YMMV...

I bought a Ruger 77 RSI in .243 in 1981 to start my daughters deer hunting. Since then, it has started three grandsons and the children of several friends, plus served as a loaner for guest hunters. I just sold it last month, as I never shoot it any more and there are no more grandchildren to start. The same year, I bought a Ruger 77 in 7mm Rem Mag and used it as my primary elk gun for about twenty years. I gave it to my son-in-law in the early 1990s as a gift for doing a lot of plumbing work for my wife's mother. It is still harvesting elk for him. Both of these rifles shot reasonably well. The RSI was a full stock ("Mannlicher") and would keep 95 grain Ballistic Tips and Partitions under 1.5" with several different powders. The 7 Mag was an honest 1" shooter with 160 and 175 Partitions and would do better than that with 120 TSXs. If the price is right, I would not hesitate to buy the 6mm--chances are, it will shoot just fine.

Several of the truck forums have multiple posts about Dodge diesels having front end trouble. It's not all of them, but enough that it is a topic that is addressed on these forums regularly. I just did a quick search and found accounts of failure of front end components at anywhere from 36K to about 125K miles. Apparently doesn't matter whether the truck is lifted or stock. The conventional wisdom seems to be that you will be lucky if you don't have to change most of out most of the front end parts by 100K miles. To quote one fellow that apparently had the same problem you have, "Not so much the ball joints, but the steering stabilizer bar. When that goes bad you get the "Death Wobble", well known on any Chrysler product."

According to who? Under ARS 13-2927 you can't put out food for wildlife in Maricopa and Pima counties only...and hunting activities are specifically exempted from the law. So, what authority are you referring to, because I'm sure a lot of people would like to know if there is something else out there? From the FAQs page on the AZ DGF website, in response to "Can I use bait or attractants to lure big game?": Yes, except for bear. The Arizona Game and Fish Department does not allow you to use any substance to attract bears. Different federal land agencies, such as the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service may have restrictions against the use of salt or other bait as an attractant for wildlife. If hunting these lands, contact those land management agencies to verify the legalities of attractants.

A couple with whom I was friends over in Texas had one back in the '70s. It liked the woman and reacted to her just like an affectionate house cat. However, it hated her husband (and men in general). It was amazing that someone never lost a finger--really.

Haven't watched one in several years, even though one of my clients contributes to Rinella's show. They are timed for the Eastern Time zone and I am not curious enough to program the Tivo to record the ones that seem like they might be worth a look...

Those old 721s are rising in price. You can actually find 700 ADLs cheaper. Both are good, though, especially in .270!

Well, there are several things to consider. First, as you noted, you max COAL is going to be determined by the length of your magazine. I run all of mine through the magazine to be sure that they will feed from a full magazine--that may be several to as much as twenty or so one-thousandths of an inch less than the reading you get from your micrometer, depending on your magazine. If you want to know where that puts your bullet in relation to the lands, you are going to need to get something like the Hornady Lock-N-Load Straight O.A.L. Gauge, a modified .300 case and a good micrometer (if you don't already have one). (If you want to go first class, look at Sinclair's offerings--they are second to none and will last you the rest of your life.) You didn't say for which "300" your rifle is chambered, but if it's a factory round other than a Weatherby with the freebore, you probably will have to push the 210 Berger deep into the case, reducing effective case capacity. Second, starting 2 grains below what you think your maximum load will be is playing it fast and loose. I don't know where your maximum load data came from, but you should start ten percent below maximum and work your way up, watching your chronograph, your primers (for flattening or cratering) and bolt lift (when it starts to be a little hesitant when you lift it on a fired round). Third, you should be looking for accuracy, not speed. A hundred to two hundred fps at the muzzle won't make that much difference, even way out there. You just have to shoot at regular intervals out to what you consider to be your maximum acceptable range and generate a drop chart.

I have an old Pacific Super Deluxe "C" press that you can have if you want it. It is pretty heavy, though, so it might be cheaper to buy one close to home as compared to paying to ship this one to Prescott. Ben

State Trust Lands are not public land, per se. I know that seems illogical, but especially in Arizona and New Mexico, their primary purpose is to produce revenue for the public schools. Unlike National Forest and BLM lands, there is no requirement that they be managed for multiple use. Even when the state wildlife agency contracts with the State Land Office for access during open hunting seasons, they can still be closed to trespass if access by the public would compromise the fiduciary return to the state. Leases often do stipulate that public access is not permitted. For a start, check out this source: http://ti.org/statetrusts.html

Drive up to Portal and spend the day glassing up Cave Creek Canyon and hiking some of the trails. You will see whitetails and you will start to get a search image. Once you have seen some, you will know what to look for in areas where they are hunted.

The serial number dates the rifle to 1938. What is "good shape" to you may not be "good" to a collector, but if the finish on barrel and stock are >95%, it could be worth quite a bit--my latest copy of Schwing says $2,500 for "very good" and $1,850 for "good". As a shooter, if the rifling and throat are not worn, it's still worth $850-$950.

The two things that determine velocity (given the same powder charge) are mass and friction. For conventional bullets, pure lead bullets are the densest for a given weight. There are alternatives to pure lead, one of which is a tin/tungsten/bismuth alloy that can be cast anywhere from 80 percent to 110 percent as dense as lead. Thus, a 180 grain bullet with a TTB core and a cupro-nickel jacket can be made shorter than the same bullet with a lead core. Theoretically, the TTB bullets can be used in rifle barrels with a slower twist. As the proportion of copper or gilding metal in a bullet increases, the mass decreases given the same overall length. Pure copper bullets such as the Barnes offerings, are pretty much the least dense of the commonly available center-fire rifle bullets. Friction varies with the composition of the bullet jacket, the total bearing surface of the bullet and the finish of the barrel. In the same barrel, a copper bullet (such as the Barnes) or one with a pure copper jacket (such as the Swift Scirocco and A-Frames) are "grabbier", i.e. their jackets will develop more friction between the bullet and the barrel, resulting in a decrease in velocity with equal powder charges. Friction can be reduced in these bullets by adding a longer ogive (the sloping nose to the point of the bullet) and a boat-tail to reduce the bearing surface. The grooves in the Barnes TSXs and TTSXs (as well as the Nosler E-Tips and Hornady GMXs) are there to not only reduce friction, but also to give the copper (or copper alloy) that is displaced by the barrel lands someplace to go, also reducing friction. This is a somewhat simplified explanation, but still generally correct in most instances.

Well, if you load your truck with lead weights or old engine blocks and compress the springs or struts to their maximum, and then leave them stored in your garage or barn that way for indefinite periods of time, what happens then? Springs don't wear out nearly as fast by operating through extension and compression cycles within their design parameters as do when they are compressed to their maximum and left that way for extended periods. Shocks, on the other hand, do wear out from repeated cycling--that's why you have to replace them after a certain number of compressions and extensions. However, magazines have springs, not shocks. I based my response on advice that I received from Skeeter Skelton, Charles Petty and a few others whom I can't recall over the years.

I unload my magazines once or twice a month, by shooting them dry, to maintain proficiency. I have three extra magazines for my full size 1911 semi-custom and one extra for my Colt New Agent. It requires firing 40+ rounds to empty all of them and that makes for a good practice session. I would argue that everyone ought to empty their magazines at least once a month, either serious practice at paper targets or just plinking. If you're going to depend on your pistol in an emergency, you need to develop and maintain good habits.

Judging by what's in my gun safe, I guess that it would be .338 Win Mag--I have three of them. However, I really like my Ruger No. 1 in 9.3x74R lately.

For general carry in the field, I use an S&W Model 66 with a 4-inch barrel. I have taken several lions with it and have used it to finish off wounded deer and pronghorns, as well. When I hunt south of Hwy 9 these days, I carry a Colt New Agent compact .45 concealed in a shoulder holster or an IWB holster. Several folks around here have had shots fired at them or in their direction by armed illegals when they were carrying openly. So far, I haven't heard of any rifle hunters that have had problems.

Wish that I lived a little closer.

Sent you a PM.

Well, you'll always remember that one! Congratulations! Glad you held on and got the shot you needed. The next one will be bigger.

OK, you guys have turned me. I am going to try one more round with Verizon and an iPhone 4s.

Mu experience is somewhat different from most of the posters. We have had Verizon since we got our first "book phone". I now have a Blackberry and my wife has an iPhone 4s. The guys with whom I hunt elk all have AT&T and they seem to have service wherever we go and I don't have service once I get off the major highways. Both of my daughters in Texas have AT&T (with iPhones) and they have better service here at the house than I do with Verizon (I live in a pretty remote area). My daughters drive out here from where they live south of San Antonio, TX, and almost never have a call dropped. My wife and will have a half-dozen dropped calls between us on the average trip over there. Now that my Blackberry contract is up, I am planning to go with an iPhone and AT&T, now that they have a store up in Silver City. Wish me luck!

Guys like you are the reason that I loved living and hunting in both Kansas and Nebraska. Go to some of the other web sites and look at the Washington hunting threads... Guys like me? Idaho is not far away...great hunting ! British Colombia to the North....Great Hunting! Even though Seattle itself is not so great. Lots of public land available to hunt. I was fortunate to be able to hunt BC in the 1970s and Idaho in the early 1980s. Won't be hunting either again at this point in my life. Glad you like it. Hope you stay there and enjoy it.

Guys like you are the reason that I loved living and hunting in both Kansas and Nebraska. Go to some of the other web sites and look at the Washington hunting threads...

I have two .338 Win Mags and would not hesitate to use them on Coues whitetails. With a 200-grain Ballistic Tip or 200 AccuBond, they shoot plenty flat. However, given my age and stage of life (and the habitat where Coues live) I would require a the services of a gun bearer. I have lighter, handier rifles that will kill them just as quickly. If you like toting your .338 around in the mountains, go for it. Whatever trips your trigger.