MtnMike

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

@98Z5VThat's a good point. I like meters. Easier math for my neanderthal brain. And, I'm usually shooting alone. Just saw that it was a 4th Gen. And that there was a free hat. I love free hats! They do have the same scope in yards - metric version actually is sold out now. Same scope in yards https://www.primaryarms.com/primary-arms-slx-1-6x24mm-sfp-rifle-scope-gen-4-illuminated-acss-aurora-556-yard-reticle

If you want a First Focal Plane scope, this is a pretty good one from Vortex for $599. I've got one on my AR15(556) I consider my "coyote" gun. Deadly night hunting gun combined with a Fenix PD36R Pro rechargeable light. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1022548665?pid=235083

https://www.primaryarms.com/primary-arms-slx-1-6x24mm-sfp-rifle-scope-gen-4-illuminated-acss-aurora-556-meter-reticle Here's your scope. $339 and a free hat if you order this weekend. 🙂

Bud's Gun Shop currently has the Def-10 in stock for $1080, w/ free shipping. You'd be hard pressed to find a better AR10 in that price range today. Another well made reportedly reliable AR10 in the $1250 price range is the Springfield Saint Victor if you want a metal MLOK handgrip and a slightly better trigger out of the box. Those would be my two recommendations for out of the box solid guns under $1300. As a resident of the Carolinas, I wish I could recommend PSA - But, I cannot. Very hit or miss. Not what I want in a rifle. Not what I'd recommend. I'm a Leupold fanboy when it comes to scopes, but they are not cheap. PA and Vortex both make good medium distance scopes in the $500 range.

Haven't had homemade turtle soup since I was a kid (40+ years ago). We'd catch them sometimes on jugs or trot lines, which we put out for catfish. My recollection is my uncle boiling them for hours outside, repeatedly changing the water. I'd need to consult a youtube video for guidance as to how to dress and clean one at this point.

Got to see a 100% total eclipse a few years back. Saw it in SC at a buddy's lake place. Beyond cool. Highly recommend the experience if you have the opportunity.

With butchering season upon me, I finally got around to trying out the Ken Onion Worksharp sharpening system I picked up a few months ago. Initial impression is very good. Went through all the main kitchen knives and outdoor knives. Followed the directions in the box and the results were quite good. Seems to have done a bit better on the outdoor knives than the kitchen knives but no real complaints. Was able to shave the hairs off the back of my arm with the outdoor knives I most use and carry. Also felt like the very fine grit belt was pretty much shot by the time I got done.

Love my WW R16SFST-308. It's become my "hunting" AR. Rock solid dependable, accurate and relatively lightweight for a large frame. They were a great company to deal with as well. always promptly answered any and every question I ever had. Rare level of customer support in this day and age. Huge loss to the shooting community IMHO. They did things right.

One small step to bringing Cal back into the Union?

That's a mighty good looking bird. Was recently thinking about replacing the old Weber charcoal kettle grill at the VA fishing/hunting cabin. Was stunned to see how much prices for grills in general have gone up in the last few years. Ended up just replacing the old rusted wire grate with a porcelain coated cast iron grate from Amazon (still around $60). My main gripe with the old grill was that lean ground meat patties would stick and break apart. Only use the place 5 or 6 times a year. Think this will address the problem. Looking forward to deer season starting in about a month.

Nice looking piece!

Without digging through the upstairs safe to confirm - Model 37 sounds right. I looked it up a couple of years ago, shortly after I'd removed the guns out of the lake cabin. At that time at least (still pre-Lockdown), I could've gotten both the barrel and the stock without too much effort. I guess my thinking in not doing so was kind of two-fold. One - even if I fixed it up, I wouldn't use it. I'm kind of attached to my own Mossburg 500 - which will always be "if you can only grab one" gun. Two - if I fixed it up, it wouldn't still really be the same gun. So I'm guessing it'll just remain in the upstairs safe, along with a few other misfit toys, guns I'm holding for a nephew until he has a secure place to keep them, and a few black rifles of which the wife is unaware. Hell, they all look the same; who can tell them apart? Right?

It was my dad's first gun he bought when he was around 10-12 on an installment plan from a local merchant. (He's 86 now) Very used. Took many deer, turkeys, squirrels and rabbits. Was neglectfully stored in a damp metal gun cabinet up at the lake cabin before I cleaned it out a few years ago. Outside of barrel is pitted from rust to the point I wouldn't feel safe shooting it. I've though about replacing the barrel and a cracked stock - but I doubt I ever will.

Congrats! Let us know how you like it. I've got too many unused guns in my safes as well. Can never bring myself to sell any. Even the obsolete ones. Anybody interested in non-removable breech plug muzzle loaders, a 16 Ga. single-shot shot gun, a 70 y.o. 12 ga. Ithica featherweight or a virtually new .22 revolver? What the heck do you do with crap like that any way?

I feel ya. I've been eyeballin' this one. Somewhat similar. Company is about 2 hours from where I dwell. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1025701115?pid=947269 Felt real good in the hand ... always a trouble sign for me. I usually succumb...