MtnMike

So, cleaning issues aside... How does the Banish 30 actually do at quieting down a .308? Does it get it down to what ya'll would consider safe w/o hearing protection? Mainly interested for hunting purposes and for the nerves of my more shell-shocked pup.

You might want to consider the new Daniel Defense H9 pistol. All metal, low bore axis, striker fired but with a 1911-ish trigger. Kind of the best of the old and the new. Mind you, it's not cheap .... $1299 with a waiting list. I own a couple of Sig pistols, but no 320s and only one plastic striker fired - a P365xl. No complaints with it as a CCW.

I recently got my wife a .308 CVA Cascade XT having similar concerns. This particular bolt action is pretty tame as far as recoil goes. Comes equipped with a brake (and a threaded barrel), an above-average recoil pad and is a little bit heavier barreled than your typical pencil barrel deer rifle. And it is a helluva shooter with the Bergara barrel and an excellent adjustable trigger. I got it for around $600 a bit before Christmas. Of course, it's not an AR and there's nothing to build ...

Doesn't matter now. Just pulled the trigger and ordered a Micro Suppressor Supreme, extra bolts, 150 g target points & boltcutter broadheads, and a micro survival kit directly from Excalibur. Thinking I'd better get a lot of work done on the kitchen renovation project this weekend before telling the wife that there's a package coming she'll need to sign for ... 🤣

@Lonewolf McQuade I was wondering if you are still liking your Excalibur micro. Taking a bow back up, will allow me to get into the woods about 4 weeks earlier in VA. Both my 87 y.o. father-in-law and my cousin (who are both damn good hunters) effective use and like their Ravins. I've looked a bit at some of the lower priced Ravins and TenPoint models. Hate the thought of dropping much more than a Grand on a bow. I can swallow something in in the $1200 - $1400 range. But above that, damn hard to justify. From the reviews I've read, TenPoint's customer support is iffy at best. I've also read Ravins are loud AF. I have not personally shot one. Both the Ravins and the TenPoints are also fairly high maintenance when in comes to the strings and cable systems (again - based on what I've read, not experienced). The complexity of the more compact compound crossbows, is nudging my interest towards the Excalibur Micro series. KISS and minimize possible points of failure are philosophies I try to follow. I'm rapidly approaching 60, shortish, but still strong. Wondering if I'll have any issues cocking an Excalibur. If I get one, I'll be buying blind online. No stores around here keep them on hand. Any insights you can offer would be appreciated.

If I were in the market for a new CC, this one would be on my short list. But a crossbow is the next toy ... want to get in the woods a few weeks before muzzle loader season. Sumuvabich hunting the next property over got to a big ass buck I'd been stalking before I could this past season. Still got plenty of meat - but no "trophy".

How is the breakdown for cleaning?

I'm w/ @98Z5V on this one. Waiting on the review. I've already got 3 conceal carry pistols - a Sig P938, a Sig P365xl / with a Holosun red dot, and a plain Jane Hellcat. I'd need a real good excuse to get another.

We started using Starlink at the lake cabin in Va. this past year. No other internet options there. Most cell phones have no coverage at all. You can get a half decent signal with Verizon. Only real issue we had was finding enough clear sky. Lots of mature oaks around the cabin. For those not familiar with Starlink, the reception dish moves a fair amount to track the multiple satellites that make up the network. It's not like a Dish or Direct TV dish that just points at a single or multiple fixed geosynchronous satellite. Ended up using a longer than standard cable (150') and still had to take down 3 fairly large trees. Once I did that, it works well 95% of the time. There still is an occasional dropping of signal. Not sure if it's still some limbs from other trees are occasionally blocking the signal or if there is a gap in the satellite chain. Frankly, it's a Godsend for me. Allows me to spend more time up there because I can check in and get some work done. My clients are now not entirely abandoned when I'm up there, which makes for happier clients. Only other gripe I have is that you cannot bury the cable. Seems like an outfit that can set this amazing system up in outer space should be able to come up with a cable that does not have to lay on top of the ground.

Merry Christmas to all!! Hope there's lotsa toys and ammo beneath your trees!

I've had 3 of the Leupold Mark one-piece mounts. Still using two of them. Only reason I'm not still using the 3rd is because it was a 1" and I replaced it with another Mark 30mm when I upgraded the scope. All of them have been rock solid with perfect alignment and no need for lapping. No experience with the Warne one-piece mounts. I do know that all one-piece mounts are not perfectly aligned. I got a Durasight one-piece for my CVA muzzleloader. Pretty sure it was made in the same shop that makes muffler mounts for Midas or else the alignment was set up by some one who was cross-eyed.

Knock on wood. My Proears Stealth 28 HTs did very well through this year's hunting season. Freezer is full, so I'm done for the year. Hope they perform similarly next year, etc.. Time will tell.

Good stuff. I knew who Bobby Jones was. But now I know more.

@Sisco Glad to hear you're getting good service there. I'm always refreshed by the people and values I encounter when I visit Wisconsin. The two stores I've had issues with are both small in cities in the SE. My local store in Asheville, NC is chronically understaffed with a lot of turnover. I generally do get what I order. Sometimes it takes awhile to get a notification. Often, I have to go to the store and ask them what's going on before they locate my order. The other store was in Lynchburg, VA, which is the closest store to my lake cabin. The issue that really irks me is when I place an order for something to pickup from a specific store, which says the specific item is in stock and ready and for pickup, and then crickets... that's where I am now with this scope and rings. Placed the order yesterday online before the store opened. Immediately, got an email confirming order. Then nothing. Now, over 24 hours later, the website still shows both the scope and rings as being in stock at my store, and my order status as "pending". This is the 3rd or 4th time, at least, that I've ran into this with Sportsman's. Not really that big a deal. I'm in no huge rush. Just disappointing service. Not a lot of local options. Glad we at least have a store for now.

Ordered a Leupold VX3 from Sportsman's Warehouse. Coupled an early Black Friday $100 off sale with a 15% off code I got for signing up for text notifications. Fair price that way. Of course being Sportsman's even though the website say it is in stock at my local store and ready to pick up, getting the actual merchandise might take weeks. My experience online ordering for pickup from them over the last while indicates to me that they have no clue when it comes to what they have in inventory. I recall talking to a kid working in the store some months ago. While trying to find some boating gear, that the phone said was in the store but we couldn't find, he told me that more stuff walked out the store stolen than was sold. Said state of affairs.

Glad to hear you got it running like you wanted. That's a nice lightweight rig. Sometimes it can be a long journey getting our toys to play as nice as we like ... as I dig out the lapping kit for the latest.

I was looking at one of those earlier this week. I thought it might be good to use on both a threaded bolt action .308 and on my AR308s. They were having a BOGO sale, which made it very tempting. The reviews were extremely positive on multiple sights. But, now I'm glad I didn't figuratively pull the trigger. I am currently waiting on a stamp for a Banish .22 so I don't bother the neighbors as much when shooting groundhogs, squirrels and other varmints. Hoping that works well.

Thought I'd follow-up on this topic after using the Pro-Ears Stealth 28HT for the last 4 days during muzzle loader season. In a nutshell, I like them and recommend them for hunting. If you crank them all the way up, I'd estimate you can hears things twice as far away as with the unaided ear. And, your hearing is well-protected. Fired 3 times, once from a fairly enclosed stand structure, and noticed no hearing discomfort afterwards at all. Only caveat is that a boisterous turkey vulture sounded a little bit like Godzilla. Takes a little bit of getting used to to separate the squirrels and the falling leaves from the careful steps of a whitetail. But really only a few minutes. The other unexpected benefit was that they made me much more conscious of my own noise. So they made me a more stealthy hunter.

@Turd FurgesonI've got several variants of the small Fenix rechargeable lights in the 2800 - 3000 lumen range and they are bright AF. Be careful you don't blind yourself with a 10K variant (only kind of kidding).

A manufactured shortage wouldn't surprise me in the least nowadays. The thought has recently crossed my mind that my generation (I'm 57), often thinks of the 80s as the decade of greed; symbolized by the movie Wall Street phrase "Greed is good". However, the 80s didn't touch the level of greed which currently motivates the elite in control of our corporate/government state. I'm a decent student of history and when so much wealth becomes concentrated in the hands of a few elites, such societies tend to collapse and dark times follow. Ancient Egypt, Rome and the Dark Ages all come to mind. At least, my personal armory is fairly well stockpiled. I do want to increase my 22lr stockpile somewhat. I figure in the event of a major kerfluffle or collapse, I can always go back to eating squirrels like we did when I was a kid.

WTF. I guess I can justify the cost of US made Leupold for a .22. That's a lot of eye relief in an 11 oz. scope. And, I know from prior purchases that the glass in the VX-Freedom series is excellent for the $.

@98Z5VToo lazy to lap rings on a .22 in my old age. Also, this will allow me to discard the Weaver rail adapter that comes with this particular model 10/22. Fewer connection points, fewer possible points of failure. Well learned lesson from rock climbing in my younger days. KISS. Wish that the Nikon Prostaff rimfire scopes were still being made. Put one of those on a high end Marlin 60 I gave my wife about 20 years ago. That rifle has scored more groundhog headshots than I could count. Leaning toward the Vortex Diamondback rimfire scope 2x7-35. Less than $200. Cannot justify the cost of a US made Leupold rimfire scope for a rifle that will primarily be tasked with rodent and woodpecker control.

Curious if any of you guys have experience with DNZ rings/mounts? Considering the integral one-piece Reaper rings for the 10/22 I just ordered.

Damn 10/22 got me looking at another 10/22 ... next thing I know, I'd confirmed an order from Bud's. Now I have to decide on rings and a scope. https://ruger.com/products/1022Sporter/specSheets/31167.html